A Monkey Makes Cookies

The monkeys have been learning to cook and bake this summer. Among other things, I taught the Goose to make her great-grandmother's spaghetti sauce and Tinker Bell to make her grandmother's meatloaf. I also let them experiment with box mixes. Now, you would be hard pressed to find a box mix of any kind in my kitchen before this summer, but it is a great way to get the girls starting baking. It's how I learned, after all. Tink makes the most amazing Chewy Bars from a Jiffy cake mix. (I'll have to post pictures of her making them!) The Goose has been making brownies from a box, but I found a recipe on another food blog, Life's Ambrosia, for making cookies out of a brownie mix. I was intrigued and the Goose said she would love to make them. What fun we had!! Okay, she was a little annoyed at me hanging over her shoulder taking pictures, but I'm that kind of mom. :)

You will need:
1 box fudge brownie mix
1 1/4 cup King Arthur flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 stick butter (Smart Balance), melted
2-4 T water
1 cup (or whole bag) of chocolate chunks



Put your brownie mix in a large bowl and add the brown sugar...



and the flour and mix together.



You need to add the eggs one at a time. Always break an egg into a small bowl before adding to your batters or mixes. This way you can check for shell or other anomalies. Our chickens lay perfect eggs, of course. :)







After the eggs, add the butter and start with just 2 T of water. I actually ended up needing to add 4.



At this point the batter is pretty stiff. You might have to help your monkey stir.



Now it's time for the chocolate chunks. The recipe calls for one cup, but Goose thought it would be more fun with the whole bag.



CAUTION: Monkeys have been known to steal chocolate! Keep your eyes on them at all times!!



Dang, I turned away for one second!

Stir in all the chocolate chunks that are left after the bowl is raided by monkeys.



Grease your cookie sheets with a bit of cooking spray. I use Smart Balance, of course.



Here's what I changed about Life's Ambrosia awesome recipe-- I lowered the oven temperature to 325 because I...well, I just never bake cookies at a higher temp. Probably doesn't make a hill of difference, but it's just what I do. We did not refrigerate the batter for two hours either. The starving monkeys were too impatient and I figured with the lower temp they would be chewy without chilling. And they were!

Goose put heaping soup spoons of dough on a standard size cookie sheet. She got 9 on each sheet. Press down on the cookies just a little bit. Don't flatten them, but just help them look more like cookies and less like balls. (hee hee)






Since I had the oven turned down a bit we had to bake them for 14 minutes instead of the recommended 8-10 at 350. Let them cook on the cookie sheets for two minutes so they will set. Then you won't be able to stop eating them!



Goose said, "the chunks melted and make the cookie creamy. The edges of the cookie are crisp like a cookie, but the middle is squishy and chewy like a brownie. And they smell like pure chocolate!"

Tink said, "heaven with a side of heaven."

So...a hit, I think! The cookies got that amazing brownie crust on top that is sooooo good. Try them today and head over to Life's Ambrosia and check our her great blog.

Anything Muffins

I call this recipe "anything muffins" because you can add pretty much any flavor, fruit, or confection to them and they taste amazing. From this one recipe I can make blueberry, orange, lemon poppy seed, cheddar, cranberry, chocolate chip (the kids favorite), and many more. The possibilities are endless. No matter what you add to this base recipe your muffins will be perfect and impressive. You'll never go back to those disappointing mixes.

You will need:
2 cups all-purpose flour (if you haven't switched to King Arthur...hurry up!)
3 tsp baking powder (aluminum free)
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk (more on what kind later)
1/4 cup oil



Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. I know it seems high. I would never bake a cake at 400 and cookies never bake at higher than 325, but the higher temperature is necessary for muffins. It's what gives them their dome tops!



Add your flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar to a large mixing bowl. If you use King Arthur you don't need to sift. :) Mix well.



Add your milk to a 2-cup measuring cup. Now, what kind of milk. It really doesn't matter, but remember that the higher the fat content, the fluffier the muffin. So use whole if you have it or mix 1/2 skim and a 1/2 whole or 2%. I used a mixture of skim and half and half. It makes a difference and let's face it, you aren't making muffins because they are healthy. Add the egg to the milk cup. (Thank you Smores for donating the egg.) Mix the egg and milk with a fork.



Now add your oil to the milk cup.



Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients.



Add your milk, egg, oil mixture all at once.



Stir just until combined. Overstirring will make tough muffins. The batter will be lumpy.

The fun part! This time around I made chocolate chip muffins for my girls. I added 1/3 cup of mini chocolate chips. Okay...I dumped a good portion of the bag into the mix and it was probably more like 1/2 cup.



Orange muffins: add 1 tsp of orange extract and 1/2 tsp of orange zest, drizzle with an orange powdered sugar glaze
Lemon Poppy seed: 2 tsp lemon extract and 1 tsp poppy seeds
Bacon and Cheddar: 1/4 cup bacon and 1/4 cup cheddar cheese
Blueberry: 1 cup blueberries
Cranberry: 3/4 cup dried cranberries that have been soaked in apple juice (or use craisins)
Snickerdoodle: 1/4 tsp cream of tartar (decrease baking powder by 1/4 tsp) and sprinkle tops with cinnamon sugar
Peanut Butter Cup: 3/4 cup chopped peanut butter cups

Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners and evenly divide batter between each cup. I added a bit too much to each of my muffin cups this time around and only ended up with 11 muffins. You'll get 12 muffins out of this recipe just like I always do...except this time because I was taking pictures. If you do end up with an empty spot or two keep the liner in the cup so that the pan doesn't scorch while the muffins bake. And please excuse the sad state of my muffin tin. It has been baking muffins for me for 15 years and can't help how old and abused it looks.



Bake for 18-20 minutes. Check them at 16 minutes. If they have started to brown on top and a toothpick comes out clean, they are done. Nothing worse than a dry, overbaked muffin.



(My new green frying pan wanted to be in the picture. I never put it away because I like looking at it.)



So fluffy, so tender, soooo delicious. The perfect weekend morning treat!



I don't make these for the kids during the school week because of all the white flour, but they are the perfect muffin for the weekend. Just keep them in a bowl under a towel and your family can snack on them all weekend. They also freeze really well. Wrap in tin foil, place in a freezer bag, and pull one out whenever you want a quick treat. Let it thaw and then warm one muffin in the microwave on half power for 8 seconds.



Enjoy!!

Surprise Mashed "Potatoes"

The girls and I were watching Food Network Challenge Sesame Street Cakes on tv the other night. The bakers got to meet the characters and even got to visit Sesame Street. (!!!) While one baker was interviewing Elmo about the cake she was making with his image Elmo said, "cake is a sometimes food." And so it has become in this household, sadly. (It didn't used to be this way.) Potatoes have joined cake, cupcakes, cookies, and brownies on the "sometimes" list. Oh, how we love potatoes in this family. Hash browns, mashed, sauteed, baked, in pot pies, in stews and soups, and (my personal favorite) sliced and layered with cheese, flour, and milk in my Pampered chef pan. I'm drooling! Steaks, roasts, everything just tastes better with a side of potatoes. So I had to find a substitute. I dug out my old South Beach Diet cookbook to find the recipe for Surprise Mashed "Potatoes." I've heard many, many good things about the recipe, but was always skeptical. But I was in the throws of major potato withdrawal, desperation fueled my every step. I tried it, I compared it to potatoes, and...I loved it. Really! A bit sweeter than regular mashed potatoes, but otherwise very little difference. Maybe a little less dense, but I wouldn't lie to you. This recipe is very good and will satisfy your potato cravings! Especially with a side of steak.

So here's what you will need:

1 bag frozen cauliflower (not thawed)
1 T butter
2T half and half (or milk)
garlic salt to taste (or regular salt)
pepper to taste
food processor (or blender)
*****************
optional:
rice cooker/vegetable steamer





I have a vegetable steamer so I will give you the directions using one, but if you don't have one, steam your cauliflower any way you like. Just make sure that the cauliflower is softer (more well done) than you would cook it if you were just going to eat it. Your fork should just slide right through with no resistance.

Assemble your steamer with full water on the bottom and the cauliflower in the tray/bowl with the holes. (It probably has a name, but I lost my booklet on my steamer a loooong time ago.) You don't need the rice bowl. Put the whole bag of frozen cauliflower in the steamer.



Set the timer for 30 minutes.



When it is ready, remove the cauliflower in its little tray and pour it into the food processor or blender. Do not add any of the water from the steamer. A note of caution: never try to open your steamer without hot pads or the Ove Glove on each hand. The very first time I used my steamer I steamed my fingers and had to go to the hospital and get a tetanus shot. To this day when it rains they cramp up... :) :)



Add your butter, milk or cream, salt, and pepper. I really like the little bit of flavor that garlic salt adds to these "potatoes."



Now pulse, pulse, pulse until it's all smooth.



Very creamy, super yummy.



Did I mention incredibly cheap?? Less than $2 for the bag of cauliflower and you probably already have the milk and butter on hand. This recipe will feed a family of four with a couple of second helpings. Your little kids may not be able to tell the difference at all. Slap a little fat free gravy on top and I bet they will lap it up. Big kids won't be fooled, my two weren't. But they did like it. Not as much as mashed potatoes, though.


*note: Sadly, Elmo's cake didn't win the Challenge.

Tequila Lime Chicken Tacos

Those baked chickens in the warmers at the grocery store smell so amazing that sometimes you just can't resist buying one, right? But then you are left with a ton of meat on your bird. This recipe is perfect for jazzing up leftover baked chicken! If you don't have leftovers you can always bake a few pieces of boneless, skinless chicken breasts sprinkled with a little Montreal Chicken seasoning or poultry seasoning. The quantities of tortillas, tequila, and lime you will need depend entirely on how much chicken you have leftover. I will list the basic amounts needed for about 2 cups of chicken. You can increase or decrease to fit your needs. This recipe makes 6-8 tacos.

You will need:

2+ cups of shredded chicken
4 T lime (1-2 limes)
2 T tequila
1 green pepper, sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 T oil or butter
6-8 whole wheat tortillas
************
toppings for your tacos:

sour cream
shredded cheddar cheese
salsa
anything else you like on a taco!!




Add your tequila to a small bowl and then add your squeezed (or measured) lime juice. I only needed one lime this time around.



Pour the mixture over your shredded chicken and make sure it is evenly coated. You can cube your chicken, of course, but I much prefer it shredded. I think it soaks up the flavors better. Let it sit while you saute the veggies.



Add the oil or butter to a frying pan and then add your veggies. Cook over medium heat until they are a bit colored, but are not completely soft. They will go from this...



to this...



and will be done when they look like this:



Remove your veggies from the frying pan and set them aside.



Add the shredded chicken to the same pan and reheat over medium. You don't need to cook the chicken at all, just warm it up. Doesn't take but a couple of minutes. Stir often.



While the chicken is warming, warm your tortillas in a pan over medium high heat. You don't really need to add any oil or butter to the tortillas, but I sprayed them with a little pan spray on each side. (If you aren't using a nonstick pan then you should probably give the pan a spray, too.) Heat on both sides for one minute each.





When the tortillas are warm and slightly brown, remove them from the pan and immediately flip them in half. If you wait they will harden a bit and you won't be able to fold them in half. Just stack them on a plate.



Now just fill your tacos with the chicken, veggies, cheese, sour cream, whatever you like!






You will turn boring, leftover baked chicken into a whole other meal that is easy on your wallet and tastes amazing! The lime and tequila give the tacos a refreshing bite and the whole wheat tortillas add a nutty flavor. Out of this world!

Enjoy!

Quick Tip Follow-Up

In my post on London Broil I showed you how to take a cheap, tough cut of meat and make it as tender and delicious as an expensive steak. Here's a quick tip for another tough, cheap cut of meat. Buy some lean (or not) stew meat. It comes together in a package for about $5, sometimes less. One pack will more than feed 2 people, two smaller packs will feed a family of four with leftovers. Treat it the same way you did the London Broil--marinate the stew meat in homemade Italian dressing for two days. After the first day cut up as many green peppers (or yellow, or red, or orange) and onions that you like and marinate them in a plastic bag with more homemade Italian dressing. After the second day, alternate the meat an veggies on skewers...



and grill! Easy peasy.



I neglected to take a picture of the shish kabob on a plate, sorry. I thought about not posting, but it's just such an easy idea for a cheap, awesome meal. We had some leftover skewers, so we added some shrimp to the grill. We just seasoned them with a little Old Bay. And for those of you who are watching your carbs...this whole meal is low carb and low on the glycemic index.

Enjoy!