S'mores Brownies

I've mentioned before that I like to keep some store bought brownie mixes around to make a quick dessert.  I like finding ways to make them a little more special, not just plain brownies.  These Peanut Butter Frosted Brownies are already one of our favorite ways to kick-up a brownie mix.  I recently found another way to kick-up a brownie mix, S'mores Brownies! 

Ingredients (printable recipe)
About 16 whole graham cracker sheets (enough to cover a 15x11x1 baking sheet)
2 brownie mixes---plus eggs, oil and water per instructions (each mix makes a 9x13 pan)
3 cups miniature marshmallows (*I used a bag of large marshmallows)
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
Directions
1. Place graham crackers on greased (I used cooking spray) 15x11x1 baking sheet.
2. Prepare brownie mixes as instructed on box. Spread over crackers.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 25-30 minutes.
4. Sprinkle with marshmallows and chocolate chips.
5. Bake 5 minutes longer. Let cool.

Adapted from Food.com

Notes: Dip your knife in hot water and wipe with a cloth or paper towel while cutting these brownies. The marshmallows stick to the knife, so I had to wipe it a few times while cutting.

*I would stick to the miniature marshmallows instead of the large ones. The mini marshmallows mix with the chocolate chips better and spread out more evenly on top of the brownies.

Super easy bottom layer

Spread the brownie batter right on top.

The extra goodies go on top for the last 5 minutes.

Ooey, Gooey, Goodness!

The Results...
S'mores Brownies would be perfect for a summer potluck or anytime you invite some friends over.  This recipe makes a BIG pan, so it's a good idea to share. :)

Our family really liked these brownies, but I wish I had used miniature marshmallows instead of large marshmallows.  I think the miniature marshmallows would have mixed more evenly over the top of the brownies with the chocolate chips.  This recipe is still a new favorite way to kick-up a brownie mix.  If you're not a fan of brownie mixes, you could make a double batch of homemade brownie batter and use that instead.

The graham crackers do soften as the brownie batter bakes on top of them.  We liked them soft, except for my oldest daughter.  She still gave these brownies 5 stars, so I don't think it was that big of a deal to her.  She still had s'more!


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Stovetop Cheesy Broccoli Rice with Ham

It is so HOT!  It definitely feels like July.  We've had a Heat Advisory most of this week.  Since we're trying to keep cool, I've been looking for easy, quick dinners that don't require the oven.  Stovetop Cheesy Broccoli Rice with Ham met those requirements, plus it cooks all in one pan!    

Ingredients (printable recipe)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 cup long-grain white rice
2 1/4 cups chicken broth
2 small heads of broccoli
2 tablespoons butter
3 cups cooked, diced ham, warm (microwave for a couple of minutes)
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
splash of milk, if needed
Directions
1. Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add the rice and stir to coat. Toast rice, stirring often, just until it starts to turn golden.
2. Pour in chicken broth, bring to a boil, turn heat to low and cover. Cook covered for 10 minutes.
3. While rice is cooking, chop broccoli into small, bite-sized pieces. After 10 minutes, add the broccoli to the rice and continue to cook for another 5-10 minutes or until most of the liquid has been adsorbed. ( The broccoli will be tender-crisp. Add it sooner if you want it more tender.)
4. Remove from heat and add the butter, ham, cheddar and garlic powder. Stir until well incorporated. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes.
5. Stir again and add salt and pepper to taste and a splash of milk if you'd like to thin out the texture a little, if needed (I didn't add any milk).

Source Buns in my Oven

Toasting the rice in olive oil

I poured in the chicken broth and let the rice simmer (covered) for 10 minutes.

Here's the broccoli that cooked with the rice for another 10 minutes.

Here comes everything else! Lookin' Good. (I used a sliced ham and chopped it into bite-sized pieces.)

Time to Dig in!

The Results...
The kids and I had this for dinner last night.  Most of them liked this dish.  My oldest daughter doesn't like broccoli, so you can see why she wasn't crazy about this.  She did say that she liked everything else and just left her broccoli in her bowl.  We agreed on 3 stars (out of 5) for this dinner.  We liked it and it was easy to make.  I wasn't left with too much of a mess to clean-up AND we left the oven off!  Stay cool.


I share recipes at these linky parties.

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Green beauty, the beauty of Foodie attitude

Here are some tips of Jolene adopt the position "the beauty of a foodie" from now on:

"beige, is it wrong": famous quote Dr. Jeannette Graf, doctor and dermatologist. In the same way as a beige cannot work in the mode of food "beige" (industrial bread, cereals) lacks such and is thus our digestive tract, what makes it pretty indigestible. Complete cereals are weak alternative in fat and rich in fiber and such.Do not make the dead end on the green. Are forgotten or to avoid them, and green vegetables (spinaches, parsley, vegetables with leaves, bettes) pH balance of our body and are rich in iron. The tendency to come into the world to more pleasure in your daily dose of "Greens" with trendy cocktails and other natural green juice.For us the bays. In addition, the sweetened and magnificent, especially in this epoch of the year, bays (blueberries, raspberries, currants) is rich in oxidants and vitamin c and is to encourage the production of collagen.Nice proteins. Fish, poultry, nuts and almonds are packed with such a true jets of collagen and keratin, nail and hair, nice and firm.It ' s (green) tee time! Its beneficial effects on health are known to all, green tea is also a powerful bastion of anti wrinkle cream.Detoxez-moi ... Instead of rushing for a cup of coffee in the morning, why not rather her day with a glass of hot water with a little bit of lemon? This beer to wake up your digestive enzymes, detoxera of the digestive tract and favours the brightness of the skin and stress away! Stress, age your skin prematurely and favors weight gain. protect your skin from the inside. Red and orange diseases (beta-carotene and vitamin A) are good for your health, and protect the skin damage caused by UV radiation. There's too much exposure to the Sun? Fill your plate, tomatoes, carrots, with melon and at least 2 weeks prior to arrival on the beach (or the pool, terraces, etc). And not a dead end on the sun protection cream!

Read more here http://www.stylezza.com/green-your-beauty-beauty-foodie-attitude-1686

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Florina Tudor published 1 article. Article 16 July 2013. Word Count: 361

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Cake Recipe With Chocolate Flavor

Cooking has never been this easier with the introduction of the Internet. At first I thought that baking cakes was something that was hard and would take my whole day. This was short-lived as a friend of mine informed me that she was simply using the Internet to bake cakes for her family. This surprised me a lot since she was simply searching for a recipe that she thought she could manage. Once this was done, her work was simply to rush to the stores and find the ingredients that were recommended in the cake recipe that she was about to use. I thought over this and I knew it was time to try out my cooking skills. I tried this twice and the best recipe that I found to be easy was the chocolate one. I am quite certain that by following my way of cooking you would definitely prepare something that your family would enjoy. Below is how I cook my chocolate cake:

Ingredients of the cake recipe

1½ serving of butter - softenedSugar- 1¼ spoonfuls of sugarEggs - (number will vary)All-purpose flour - 2 cupsUnsweetened cocoa - 2 cupsBaking powder - 2 spoonfulsOne and a quarter servings of baking soda1½ spoonful of vanilla¾ cup of milk - buttermilk

Filling ingredients:

Pie fillings of cherry - 2 servings3-4 servings of cream that is chilled2 cups of confectioner's sugarMilk chocolate (shaved) - will help in garnishing the baked cake

Cooking tips and procedure for your cake recipe:

The first procedure of this cake recipe is to preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit [should be done before you even start preparing your ingredients].

Using a non-sticking paper, you should line your cake pan to ensure that the cake does not stick on the sides of the pan.

Allow the butter that has been mixed with sugar to soften before you beat it using an electric mixer. Add the eggs to the mixture but make sure that you add an egg at a time as you mix well before adding another egg. You then need to add sifted flour, baking powder, buttermilk, cocoa, baking soda as you stir well to ensure that no lumps are formed. Once your oven has reached 350 degrees Fahrenheit, as mentioned earlier, slowly add the batter into the pan and allow it to bake till there is a middle set. Ensure that the bake time is about 40-45 minutes. Use a tooth pick to determine if it is ready or not. If it comes out with some crumbs in it then you will still need to place your cake in the oven for a few more minutes.

Serving

The best way to serve is when it is cold. Cut it into three or four layers for easy storage if the cake is big enough. This will ensure convenience in keeping it in a refrigerator.

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Preparing a delicious Strawberry Shortcake

There are many things to consider when you make a cake. First, make sure that all the ingredients are cold. Butter should be diced and it's best to chill the flour before making the cake. Use ice water in the preparation of pie crust. If you are using hot ingredients, the result will be a tough pie crust. This is a step that should not be ignored. In addition, every time you use fruit, make sure that it is well matured. You can make a nice flavorful pies, if you use the fruits of which are seasonal, especially when you are making a strawberry shortcake. Below are two different ways to prepare Strawberry Shortcake.

Recipe 1

Ingredients for this strawberry cakes are:

Baked 9-inch pie crust-strawberries 1Fresh-1 quartWhite sugar-1 cCornstarch-3 spoonsWater-¾ cHeavy whipped cream-½ c

Preparation: In a nutshell, pastry, arrange half the strawberries. In a medium saucepan combine with fruits after mashing is sugar. Place the pan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Whisk together water and cornstarch in a small bowl. Strawberry mixture into boiling slowly stir in cornstarch mixture. Lower heat and simmer until mixture thickens, about 10 minutes, while you continuously stir. Pastry shells, pour the mixture over the berries. Before serving, cold Strawberry Shortcake for a few hours. Cream in a small bowl and serve this cake with whipped cream.

Recipe 2

Ingredients for this strawberry cakes are:

Roll-out pie crust-2 sheetsMelted butter-2 spoonsFor bark, white frosting, grinding sugarWashed and peeled strawberries-5 cGranulated sugar-½ cCornstarch-3 spoonsA a pinch of salt

Preparation: Preheat oven to 350 degrees f. you must first roll out pie crust and place it in the plates about the size of 9 cm and crimp the edges so that it makes a nice presentation appearance. Cut the second sheet after rolling to a ½ inch thick strips of pastry wheel or knife. Mix together all the ingredients for the filling in a medium bowl and pour into pie crust. In a grid pattern, arrange the strips across the pie, tucking the edges. The use of melted butter, the upper eyelid and sprinkle with sanding sugar. a 25-minute bake Strawberry Shortcake, and then reduce the temperature to 300 degrees f. Bake for half an hour or until the top turns golden brown in color. Allow it to cool before serving with Strawberry whipped cream.

Strawberries with whipped cream:

Ingredients:

Whipped cream-the cVanilla-sugar extract, ½ tspConfectioners-2 spoonsStrawberry jam-¼ c

Preparation: In a medium bowl beat cream until it thickens. Add Confectioners ' sugar and vanilla. Continue to beat. Add the jam and beat until it forms firm peaks.

If you want to learn some new and interesting Strawberry Shortcake (or as it is known in Denmark, jordb?rt?rte), and then recommend recipes to take advantage of some of the best in this business that you can find on the Isabellas.

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Lemon mini Cheesecakes with Fresh Blueberry Sauce

It's time for another Behind the Curtain Dessert Challenge from Lady Behind the Curtain.  Each month we are assigned two ingredients.  The challenge is to make a delicious dessert with those two ingredients.  This month it's Blueberries and Lemon.  One of my favorite food combinations!  I had a difficult time deciding what to make.  I finally decided to take an old family favorite recipe for mini cheesecakes and give it a blueberry-lemon twist.

Ingredients (printable recipe)
Cheesecakes:
2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 eggs
cupcake holders
vanilla wafers
Blueberry Sauce:
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Directions
Place one vanilla wafer into each cupcake holder. Beat together softened cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and lemon juice until smooth. Add 2 whole eggs and blend well. Pour into prepared cupcake pan. Bake at 325 degrees F. for 20 minutes. Makes about 20 mini cheesecakes. Fill any empty spots in your cupcake pan with water before baking. This helps the cheesecakes bake more evenly. Let cool completely and chill in refrigerator, preferably overnight.

Make sauce before serving. Combine blueberries, sugar, corn starch, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Over low heat, cook mixture, mashing blueberries slightly, until sauce has reduced and slightly thickens (about 5-10 minutes). Remove from heat and let cool. Serve over mini Cheesecakes.

Recipe for mini Cheesecakes is originally from a friend in Texas. I changed it slightly.
Recipe for Blueberry Sauce is from Foodnetwork Canada (just the sauce part).

Notes: Add some lemon zest to the cheesecake batter next time to boost the lemon flavor.

cute, easy little crust

An ice cream scoop makes pouring batter into cupcake pans easier and less messy.

Baked and chilled overnight. Ready to make some Fresh Blueberry Sauce!

Before

After about 10 minutes on low heat.

They're mini so it's OK to have a few. Stack them up and serve with lots of yummy blueberry sauce.

The Results...
The fresh blueberry sauce is definitely worth making again.  It has simple ingredients, was simple to make AND it tasted so good that I licked the pan clean. :)  It would be delicious on pancakes, waffles or ice cream, too.  It was tasty on top of these cute mini cheesecakes.

The only thing I would change next time is add some lemon zest to the cheesecake batter.  The lemon flavor in these cheesecakes needed a boost.  If you like cheesecake give these mini cheesecakes a try.  They are much easier to make and quicker to bake than a whole cheesecake. Enjoy!

I share recipes at these linky parties.
This recipe is part of the Behind the Curtain Dessert Challenge.  Check out the other Blueberry and Lemon recipes at the end of this post.
   

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How to Design Memorable Wedding Cake?

Recently I went to a wedding in Birmingham and the one thing that was unforgettable was the wedding cake and its decorations. It is not that bride and groom were not looking awesome, obviously they were at the top of everything else that happened in the wedding but it was cake that catched my attention and dreamed of having most memorable cake at my own wedding just like that. So I thought of ways to make it most memorable and decided to discuss it with all. With right decorations and shape, you can make wedding cake that you dream of.

Mostly round shaped cakes are widely used in weddings because of its simple design and low cost. As now more and more people are going for such stuffs, many suppliers are offering various styles of cakes to choose from like Cadbury purple with diamantes and cascading flowers, photo cakes with picture of bride and groom onto the cake, 3 tier with shapes of your choice, decorated with edible diamonds, raspberry pink satin ribbon and many more decorations to choose from. When such a large varieties are available then why would any one go for traditional shapes of round, square and oval?

I would not recommend you to go for heavy decorations cake if you are planning a small gathering as it will not suit your theme. Choose the cake according to the theme. If you are planning a budget gathering then go for real stuffs like fresh flowers and ribbons to bring down the cost. They will add beauty as well as real essence to it. These decorations will make your cake look beautiful without adding much to the budget. Instead of ordering special cake, people prefer to choose from already made that are on display in grocery stores. I know of many such stores in Birmingham that sell them and even offer you to add extra topping to match your theme.

Choose the taste of cakes by keeping your guests in mind. Some of the most common preferred taste are fruitcake, lemon, chocolate, marble, marzipan and all time favorite white. Look out for best deal by visiting shops and searching online. Do some research before finalizing any deal with one particular baker. Check their portfolio and website for reference. Be sure to check the price of cakes with decorations to avoid last time confusion and delivery option. By giving attention to small things you can make your wedding cake most memorable and crowd pleaser.

Care 4 u by Julz is supplier of Wedding Cake and Wedding Decorations Birmingham . Also supply and fit party decorations for any occasion, to compliment your cake and special event. To contact call 07796646493 or 0121-353-5980.

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