Monday, February 6, 2012

Brownies

Today is Julie's 10th Birthday....she wanted to take treats for her class and requested brownies, so I tried this recipe. It was super easy.

Chocolate Chip Brownies

  • 1 cup butter, melted
  • 3 cups white sugar
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
 
  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder and salt.  Set aside.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix together the melted butter, sugar, vanilla and eggs.  Fold in the flour mixture until the ingredients are just combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips.
  4. Line a 9x13 pan with foil, and spray with cooking spray.  Spread the batter evenly in the pan and bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes back mostly clean (brownies should be very moist).

Friday, February 3, 2012

Cajun Meatloaf

We had this last night.... it was so yummy the kids and david loved it. It had the perfect amount of spicy and the sauce on top...amazing.


Pastor Ryan’s Cajun Meatloaf

Added by Ree on August 18, 2009 in BeefMain Courses
Prep Time 
Cook Time 
Servings 8Difficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 3 whole Bell Peppers (2 If They're Large)
  • 2 whole Medium Onions
  • 1 bunch Celery (5-6 Ribs)
  • 8 cloves (to 10 Cloves) Of Garlic
  • 6 Tablespoons Butter
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire
  • 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
  • 1 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
  • Optional: A Few Shakes Of Hot Sauce
  • 2 cups Ketchup, Divided
  • ½ cups Whole Milk
  • 1 cup (to 2 Cups) Breadcrumbs
  • 2 pounds Of Lean Ground Beef (92% Lean)
  • 1 pound Ground Pork
  • 3 whole Eggs
  • 2 Tablespoons Honey

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Chop all of the fresh vegetables (peppers, onions, celery) into a small dice and mince the garlic. Over medium-high heat, melt 6 tablespoons butter. Once butter begins to start browning, add the diced vegetables and garlic. Add about 1 teaspoon salt.
After these have cooked for a few minutes add 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon nutmeg and 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper. If you like it hot, add a couple shakes of your favorite hot sauce. Next add about ½ cup of ketchup. Continue cooking and stirring for a few more minutes. Remove from heat.
After allowing the mixture to cool for a couple of minutes, add about ½ cup of milk. Stir until combined. Next add at least 1 cup of breadcrumbs. Continue adding breadcrumbs and stirring until mixture is a nice, thick paste.
In a large mixing bowl place the ground beef and pork. Whisk 3 eggs and add to the meat. After allowing the pasty vegetable mixture to cool down a bit, begin incorporating it into the meat. Keep working all of the Cajun-Vegetable mix into the meat until all is blended well.
Spray a sheet pan with some non-stick cooking spray. Next, using your hands, form your meat mixture into a loaf on the sheet pan. Make the loaf around 6-8 inches wide and about 1 ½ inches thick.
In a small bowl or measuring cup, mix together ¾ cup of ketchup with about 2 tablespoons honey. Slather this sauce over the whole meatloaf.
Place in a 400 degree oven for about 40 minutes.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

January 2, 2012

Chinese Food Night w/ the Davis's

Caitlyn made her famous crab ragoon and egg rolls
Grant helped with the salt and pepper calamari
Julie and Beth made Chicken Tempura rolls which were yummy from the 2011 Taste of Home Christmas Cookbook I got for christmas from Jeanette
I also made Jaden Hair's (from Steamy Kitchen)

Broccoli Beef

Broccoli Beef

INGREDIENTS

  • 3/4 pound flank or sirloin, sliced thinly across the grain
  • 3/4 pound broccoli florets
  • 2 tablespoons high-heat cooking oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, very finely minced or smushed through garlic smusher
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

For the beef marinade

  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
  • 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce

  • 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
  • 1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup chicken broth

METHOD

1 Marinate the beef: Stir together the beef marinade ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the beef slices and stir until coated. Let stand for 10 minutes

2 Prepare the sauce: Stir together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.

3 Blanch the broccoli: Cook the broccoli in a small pot of boiling, salted water until tender-crisp, about 2 minutes. Drain thoroughly.

4 Heat a large frying pan or wok over high heat until a bead of water sizzles and instantly evaporates upon contact. Add the cooking oil and swirl to coat. Add the beef and immediately spread the beef out all over the surface of the wok or pan in a single layer (preferably not touching). Let the beef fry undisturbed for 1 minute. Flip the beef slices over, add the garlic to the pan and fry for an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute until no longer pink, Pour in the sauce, add the blanched broccoli and bring to a boil. Pour in the dissolved cornstarch and cook, stirring, until the sauce boils and thickens, 30 seconds.


and also made chicken stirfry which was yummy too.....This is one of David's favorites