Cooking Chocolate Brownies

What girl doesn't love chocolate, right?

I woke up a few mornings ago and wanted some brownies with my vanilla ice cream (Blue Bell, say what?!). I looked through a bunch of cookbooks on my shelf for a recipe but I couldn't find what I wanted. So I ended up remixing a recipe.

This recipe uses dark chocolate to create rich brownies that stay moist for days.

Dark Chocolate Brownies

1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter

9 TBL unsweetened dark chocolate

5 TBL canola oil

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup flour

3/4 cup chopped walnuts, or pecans

    Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. For a dark colored pan, preheat at 325 degrees.
    Place 2 TBL oil in a 9X13-inch baking pan.
    Place the baking pan in the oven.
    Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
    Stir in unsweetened dark chocolate and the remaining oil. Use a wooden spoon for this.
    Remove the saucepan from heat.
    Add sugar and mix well. Do not mix out the lumps!
    Add eggs 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. For fluffier brownies you can add the egg yolks now and fold in the beaten egg whites last.
    Stir in the vanilla extract.
    Add flour to the bowl and mix well. Do not over work the batter!
    Fold in the nuts.
    Bake at 350 degrees in preheated baking pan, for 35 minutes or until the brownies pull away from the side of the pan.

Allow the brownies to cool for about 10 minutes before cutting into bars. If you use a butter knife, or a plastic knife, the brownies will be easier to work with.

This recipe makes about 20 brownies.

Possible Substitutions:

These brownies are thick and fudgy and should be paired with vanilla ice cream.

If you want a low cholesterol solution you should replace the eggs with applesauce. Do not replace the butter with margarine.

You can also use regular unsweetened chocolate in place of the dark chocolate, though I personally think that will detract from the richness of the brownie.

For every 3 TBL unsweetened chocolate and 1 TBL oil, you can use baker's chocolate. Melt the baker's chocolate in a double boiler and use during step 5.

Prepare 7 Meals in Less Than 1 Day

Why are you still cooking dinner every night? What a hassle! Are you sick and tired of it, yet? Well then, stop it! Start cooking your dinner meals once a week. It takes less than 8 hours to make seven delicious dinners that freeze well and you can reheat in less than half an hour, so you can have your favorite home cooked meals any day of the week.

Prepare a Large Pot of Sauce

You need a lot. Double your favorite sauce recipe, use the stuff from the jar or follow the recipe below, but in the end you will need approximately 16 cups of sauce.

Quick & Easy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons garlic, crushed
2 lbs. ground beef
3 (28 oz.) cans crushed tomatoes
2 (28 oz.) cans diced tomatoes
2 packages Italian salad dressing mix, dry
4 tablespoons sugar
2 beef bullion cubes
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Pour the olive oil into a large skillet and heat on medium temperature. Add the garlic and sauté until lightly brown. Add the ground beef to the garlic and continue cooking on medium heat until the meat is brown. Pour the crushed tomatoes and diced tomatoes into the skillet. Add the Italian salad dressing mix, sugar and bullion cubes. Stir to combine. Add salt and pepper, as desired. Continue cooking the sauce on medium temperature until bubbling. Turn the heat down and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Separate sauce into four separate containers, each holding approx. 4 cups of sauce. Save one container of sauce in the freezer. You will need this later in the week on Spaghetti. Use the remaining three containers to prepare recipes 1 - 3 below.

Roast a Chicken - a Big One

1 large roasting chicken (approx. 6 lbs. is best)
2 tablespoons garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons pepper
4 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the wrappings and rinse out the inside of the chicken. Place in a small roasting pan. In a small bowl, combine garlic, salt and pepper. Rub butter all over the outside of the chicken. Sprinkle garlic mixture all over the top of the chicken. Bake the chicken, uncovered for 1 hour and 40 minutes (or 20 minutes per pound of chicken). Remove the roasted chicken from the oven and allow it to cool, at room temperature, for 20 minutes. Peel the skin off the chicken and start pulling away the meat. Place the meat into a large bowl. Continue picking the meat off the chicken until there is no more. You should end up with approximately 6 cups of chicken meat, both white and dark. Separate the meat into three containers, each holding about 2 cups of meat. Use the roasted chicken to prepare recipes 5 - 7 below.

Meal # 1 - Lasagna

1 lb. lasagna pasta
4 cups sauce
2 cups ricotta cheese
4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
Additional toppings, as desired

Prepare lasagna as directed on the packaging. Layer lasagna, with sauce, ricotta and mozzarella cheeses and any additional toppings you like, in a large casserole dish.

If eating immediately: Cover with aluminum foil. Bake, covered, at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. Remove cover and continue baking for an additional 10 to 15 minutes.

If saving for a later date: Cover uncooked lasagna with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil before freezing to preserve freshness.

Meal # 2 - Ziti

1 lb. ziti pasta
4 cups sauce
4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Prepare ziti as directed on the packaging. Drain and pour into a large casserole dish. Add sauce and 3 cups of mozzarella cheese to the ziti pasta. Stir to combine. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese on top.

If eating immediately: Cover with aluminum foil. Bake, covered, at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. Remove cover and continue baking for an additional 10 to 15 minutes.

If saving for a later date: Cover uncooked ziti with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil before freezing to preserve freshness.

Meal # 3 - Chili

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground sausage
4 cups sauce
1 (15 oz.) can dark red kidney beans
1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans
4 - 6 tablespoons chili powder

Pour olive oil into a large pot on medium heat. Add garlic and jalapeno pepper. Sauté until lightly brown. Add ground beef and ground sausage. Continue cooking on medium temperature until brown, about 10 minutes. Pour the sauce and beans into the meat. Add chili powder (as desired) and stir to combine. Simmer on medium-low temperature for 25 to 30 minutes. Serve tonight or freeze in meal sized containers or gallon zipper bags.

The night of use: Remove the chili from the freezer. Place in a large pot with about 1/2 cup of warm water. Heat on medium-low temperature for 25 to 30 minutes before serving.

Meal # 4 - Spaghetti & Meat Sauce

1 lb. spaghetti pasta
4 cups spaghetti sauce, frozen and reheated

The night of use: Prepare spaghetti as directed on the packaging. Top with heated spaghetti sauce.

Meal # 5 - Chicken Stew (DOUBLE THIS RECIPE if making Meal # 6)

2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 cups roasted chicken
4 medium potatoes, washed and quartered (leave skins on)
1 cup carrots, sliced
1 cup celery, sliced
32 oz. chicken stock
1 cup cold water
2 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons seasoning salt
1 teaspoon chicken bullion
1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup peas
1 cup green beans
1/2 cup corn

Heat the oil and garlic in a large frying pan over medium heat. Continue to sauté the garlic until lightly brown.

Add the potatoes, celery and carrots to the pan. Sauté for an additional 5 minutes or until the potatoes begin to soften.

Pour the chicken stock over the vegetables. Place roasted chicken in the pan and stir to combine. Continue to cook until bubbling.

In a separate dish, whisk together the cold water, flour, seasoning salt, chicken bullion and pepper. Pour the mixture into the bubbling stew, stirring continuously.

Stir in the peas, green beans and corn. Turn the temperature down to medium-low. Cook for an additional 10 minutes. Serve or simmer if eating today.

If saving for a later date: Pour chicken stew into freezer safe zipper bags preserve freshness.

Meal # 6 - Chicken Pot Pie

4 cups chicken stew (from above)
2 refrigerated piecrusts

Unroll one piecrust and position in the bottom of a pie plate. Pour 4 cups of chicken stew into the piecrust. Cover stew with the remaining piecrust. Cut a few slices into the top piecrust to allow steam to escape.

If eating immediately: Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown.

If saving for a later date: Cover, uncooked, with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil before freezing to preserve freshness.

On the night of eating: Thaw potpie! (Remove plastic wrap!) Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown.

Meal # 7 - Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

2 cups elbow macaroni
2 cups frozen broccoli
2 cups roasted chicken
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
6 slices American cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt

Boil the elbow macaroni as directed on the packaging. Add the broccoli to the macaroni for the last 4 minutes of cooking time. Drain the macaroni and broccoli. Pour the macaroni, broccoli and chicken into a large casserole dish.

Easy Recipes Using a Bread Machine

Using bread machines is the easiest way to prepare bread at home. They turn out the most delicious bakery-like bread machine recipes that is fresh and gives you the liberty of adding the ingredients and flavors of your choice. Given below are two delicious and easy bread machine recipes that are nutritious and taste just like bakery bread.

Oat Wheat Flour Bread Machine Recipe

Ingredients:

- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

- 1/2 cup oat flour

- 1 cup all-purpose flour

- 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

- 1 cup warm water or milk

- 2 tablespoons white sugar

- 2 tablespoons butter (softened and at room temperature)

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

Method:

- In a bowl, mix the wheat flour, all-purpose flour, oat flour and salt, and set aside.

- In a separate bowl, mix the yeast, water and sugar. Dissolve the mix well and let it stand for 10 minutes.

- Pour the yeast mix in the bread machine pan.

- Add the flour mixture on top of the yeast mix and add the butter from one side.

- Close the bread pan and set the machine to run on white bread setting and normal time.

- Cool on a rack before cutting in slices and serving.

Oats and wheat flour are rich in fiber and very good for the digestive system.

Onion Garlic and Herb Bread Machine Recipe

Ingredients:

- 1/3 cup chopped onion

- 1 minced garlic clove

- 2 tablespoons butter

- 1 cup warm water

- 1 teaspoon mixed herbs (thyme, oregano, basil)

- 2 cups all-purpose flour

- 2 teaspoons white sugar

- 1 teaspoon salt

- 3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast

Method:

- In a saucepan, sauté the chopped onion and minced garlic clove until tender. Set aside to cool.

- In a bowl, mix the yeast, sugar and water and let it stand for 10 minutes.

- Pour the yeast mix in the bread pan of the bread machine.

- Add the flour, salt and mixed herbs on top of the yeast.

- Cover the bread pan and set the machine to run on normal cycle for white bread.

- Once the bread is done, let it cool for a few minutes on a wire rack before cutting in slices.

This bread is especially a favorite among the kids.

Both the types of breads can be eaten for breakfast and can be used for:

- Toasting.

- Preparing sandwiches.

- As a side dish with salads.

Cooking With Shrimp and Grits

Southern food recipes take their cues from the South's earliest inhabitants, the English, French, Spanish, Native American and African American cultures contribute to the flavors in Southern recipes. Because there is a good deal of coastline in the South, seafood is very popular, particularly in the "Low Country" of the Carolinas, and through the Gulf cost region. This area is known to have some of the best Shrimp in the world.

In the South, the tradition of cooking recipes handed down by generations of cooks has created a cuisine loved around the world. now that southern cooking has become popular, and specialty products like Grits are now available nationwide.

About a Southern Favorite: Shrimp and Grits

A food that is a favorite southern recipe is Shrimp and Grits. Southern recipes for this dish are relatively new, when the South's cuisine enjoyed a renaissance in the mid-1980s, and its young celebrity chefs made the dish famous. Shrimp and grits actually is a very old dish, that Southern fisherman often ate for breakfast, shrimp cooked with bacon, serve on grits, which are commonly served at breakfast in the South.

For those never having tasted grits, if not from the South, they are very similar in flavor to Italian polenta, a soft corn meal product that is cooked into a porridge consistency. Corn meal mush, a recipe popular in the North, is also similar. But grits produced in the southern cooking style are considered by Southerners to be a superior product.

Southern recipes for shrimp are popular, because shrimp are abundant in the beautiful waters of the Gulf Coast and the Atlantic Ocean that line the South. In the Low Country, shrimp and grits is not generally served with cheese, although that is a popular addition to recipes in many other areas of the South. Shrimp and Grits are now on the menus of most of the finest Southern restaurants.

Southern Cooking Recipe: Shrimp and Grits

Ingredients:

1lb Florida Shrimp
4 cups cooked grits
1 stick of butter
1 chopped onion
1 green pepper, chopped
1 stalk of celery, diced fine
1 clove of garlic
6 chopped green onions
Hot milk

Melt half the butter in a skillet, and cook the onion, green pepper, celery, and the green onions until softened, then add the garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the cooked grits and hot milk if you need to thin the mixture a little. Stir until the grits are thickened slightly, but still porridge consistency. Remove from heat and cover until ready to serve. Melt the remaining butter in another pan, and add the shrimp briefly until they are just cooked. Serve the shrimp on top of a bowl of grits, sprinkle with freshly cracked black pepper and serve with hot sauce on the side.

Easy Bread Recipe for the Kitchen Novice

Nothing beats the taste of freshly baked bread! And, you will double your satisfaction if you do the baking yourself. Here's an easy-to-follow recipe for first-time bakers.

First, assemble the following ingredients:
3/4 cup warm water
1 package of yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoon of sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening
1/2 cup milk
3 cups of all-purpose flour

Instructions:
1. Pour the flour and water onto a large bowl. Slowly stir in your active dry yeast until it dissolves.
2. Stir in your sugar, salt, shortening, and milk to the bowl.
3. Bring the flour mixture from the sides of the bowl into the center. Keep on doing this until you get a thick and heavy consistency.
4. Add the remaining water and continue mixing until you get a thick consistency again.

5. Sprinkle some flour on a kneading board, and transfer the dough onto the board. You may add more flour to the mixture to make the dough softer and less sticky.
6. Cover your hands with flour and start kneading the dough. Just slap, push, fold and roll the dough around for about 5 minutes until you get a stretchy and flexible dough.
7. Spread a little butter onto a bowl and transfer your dough into that bowl. Turn the dough over to get the greased part of the dough on top.
8. Cover the bowl and place in a warm area for about an hour. The ideal location is moist and free of draught. This will enhance the flavor and texture of the dough, and aid the yeast in making your dough rise.

9. After an hour, the dough would have doubled its size. Get the air out of the dough by punching and squashing it for about half a minute.
10. At this point, you may now shape and flavor the dough to your own preference. You can fold it or add a filling. It's up to you.
11. Leave the dough to rise for another 30 minutes until it has doubled its size again. This is a very important step, as this will give your bread a light and soft texture. Just leave it untouched and let it rise on its own.

12. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
13. Spread a little butter on your baking tray or bread pan. Gently set your dough into the pan or on the tray. Cut three slashes across the top of the dough to score it.
14. Put the bread dough into the preheated oven. Remember to close the oven door gently so you don't lose the air inside the dough. Bake it for around 45 minutes or until it turns golden brown. To find out if it's done, tap the bottom. It should give out a hollow sound, otherwise return it to the oven and bake for a few more minutes.
15. When bread is done, place it on a rack or a clean dishtowel and let cool for about half an hour.
16. Enjoy your bread! You may put any leftovers in the freezer.

Breakfast Smoothie Recipes for Weight Loss

I love to make breakfast smoothie recipes for weight loss because not only is having a healthy breakfast important for the day, but making it with fresh fruit and greens is an effective and healthy way to get all the vital nutrients you need to start your day and your metabolism! But there are some things you need to take into consideration when making these delicious treats, and that's the quality of the ingredients and the power of the blender you are going to be using. Also keep in mind that the quality of the water or juice you use can greatly affect the taste and health of your smoothie too!

Now the first thing to making sure you have the healthiest weight loss breakfast smoothie is to use only organic ingredients so that you can avoid putting nasty toxins and other chemicals into your food. Organic produce also happens to be much tastier and more dense in terms of nutrients per volume, so you are more likely to get the extra fiber and nutrients you need to help keep your body burning fat longer and and more effectively. They also can be purchased affordably by using frozen produce which is often available year round compared to fresh seasonal produce.

Now another important factor to consider is the blender itself, and I like to use high powered blenders made by blendtec or vitamix brands. This is because they provide the highest horsepower motors for there blenders which means the produce gets chopped up a lot better, which makes for a more consistent smoothie. This is not only important for taste, but also for health too because by emulsifying the ingredients you make them more "bio available" or easier to digest, so that your digestive system will absorb more of the nutrients!

A great starter recipe is a strawberry banana weight loss smoothie. The basic recipe is:
-2 cups filtered water
-3-4 fresh strawberries
-1 whole banana in frozen chunks
-1 cup of non fat organic Greek yogurt
-1 tsp of organic ground Stevia for a safe and natural 0 calorie sweetener

Breakfast in Bread

Let's try a different kind of bread and veer away from the usual wheat based Bread Recipe, shall we? A lot of people suffer from Coeliac disease or Celiac Sprue: a genetic intolerance to certain proteins that are found in grains like wheat, rye and barley. As you might well know, these grains are the basis for most bread recipes. What we are going to go for would be readily available alternatives; like rice and corn. Between the two, rice flour makes a better substitute as it has a more neutral flavor and gives bread a smoother, softer texture. This Rice Flour Bread Recipe is highly recommended for those with wheat-intolerant, discriminating tastes. Plus, this kind of bread does not require kneading, so less stress for us, right? Alright then, let's start.

Ingredients:

- 1 cup of rice flour

- 3 teaspoons of baking powder

- 1/2 teaspoon of salt

- 4 tablespoons of butter

- 4 tablespoons of sugar

- 2 eggs separated (with the egg whites beaten, but not stiffly)

Method:

- Preheat your oven to 325°F and line a loaf pan with wax paper or spray with non-stick spray, or brush thinly with oil (depends on convenience and availability).

- Mix the flour, baking powder and salt thoroughly in a bowl.

- Add the butter and beat the mixture with a hand mixer at medium speed.

- Gradually add sugar until well-blended.

- Add the egg yolks until the batter has a smooth consistency.

- Fold in the egg whites and pour the mixture into the greased loaf pan.

- Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. You may increase the temperature of the oven for a darker brown crust. I prefer the regular pale crust.

- Remove from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes. Place the loaf on a cooling rack. After half an hour, remove from the rack and slice the bread thickly.

Let me tell you more about your bread. Rice flour (also referred to as rice powder) is a form of flour made from finely milled rice. Rice flour can also be used as a thickener for recipes that are refrigerated or frozen since it absorbs the liquid and inhibits separation of the ingredients.