My son came home the other day and begged for brownies. Apparently one of his classmates had a birthday and the treat they brought in was a brownie which created a craving for him. I completely get this as I have this reaction frequently when eating something yummy so I quickly did a search on the computer for a quick, easy brownie recipe.
The search landed me on AllRecipes.com to a recipe called, “Best Brownies” which had 4.5 stars out of 4,962 reviews. Now, I always look at reviews but I have never seen a recipe ranked so high with that many reviews. I knew I found my recipe. I also love that everything is on hand and you don’t have to use a mixer which is always a plus as far as I am concerned.
I made the brownies, they were fantastic and one of the things I liked best about them was the frosting you put on top of them while they are still warm. The warmth from the brownies allows the frosting to ooze into this decadent treat. Try them, if you don’t believe me trust the 4,962 reviews.
Best Brownie Recipe
(adapted from AllRecipes.com)
Ingredients
Brownie:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 cup chocolate chips (this is my own addition)
Frosting:
3 tablespoons butter, softened
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan.
In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, chocolate chips and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not overcook.
To Make Frosting: Combine 3 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons cocoa, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 cup confectioners’ sugar. Frost brownies while they are still warm.
Makes 16 brownies
Celebrities have been wearing the winged eyeliner look for some time now. It amazes me how a line of black ink can transform a look so much. Ah, the beauty (no pun intended) of makeup. Below are four of my favorites eyeliners to achieve a perfect winged eyeliner look:
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Toffee Cookies – Yes, this is a mouthful, but my gosh are these some fantastic cookies. My friend Carol that is in my book club is this AMAZING baker. She is also one of the sweetest people in the world because every month at book club she makes an amazing dessert of the birthday girls choosing.
One of the favorites is her Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, which are divine. The only problem is that my boys aren’t fond of raisins, so I put my own spin on these. I added toffee bits and milk chocolate chips to turn these into something sinfully decadent. In the case of my toffee bits, I used a package of Chocolate Nips and crushed them with my mallet to get coarse chunks. See below:
Whether you use Nips, toffee bits, Heath or whatever…these are dynamite!
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Toffee Cookies
Ingredients
1c. butter
1c. brown sugar
1c. white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2c flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3 c. quick cook oatmeal
At least 2 c. of chocolate chips, toffee bits, coconut, candied fruit, raisins, currants-whatever you wish (I used a box of nips, crushed and 1 heaping cup of milk chocolate chips)
Directions
Beat butter and sugars together. Beat in eggs, vanilla and then dry ingredients. I use small ice cream scoop and bake on parchment paper. Bake 10 min. at 350 degrees. Do not overbake. The secret of this cookie is to remove it from the oven while still soft. Enjoy!
I am still on my kick of trying to eat a bit more clean and healthy. I will say that I am feeling really good and I am sure that the additional fruits, veggies and reduction of refined sugar may have something to do with it. 🙂
So, I had a craving – a really, really big craving for potato soup. Normally laden with butter, cream, cheese and all sorts of other fabulously rich items, I knew that my normal recipe was not going to be what I was looking for, however I had an idea…
I bought these giant and I mean giant potatoes from Costco. One potato could easily serve 2-4 adults. Don’t believe me – check it out:
Anyways, I decided to bake it, then scoop out the pulp and puree that with some chicken stock. Sautee some onions ahead of time and add a few spices and it I have to say, that it is a pretty darn good alternative when you are trying to eat a little cleaner. This could also easily be made into a vegetarian version by using veggie stock instead of chicken stock. Of course I did top mine with some scallions, low-fat plain greek yogurt and some bacon – because you can’t have potato soup without it (in my humble opinion any ways. :))
No Guilt Potato Soup
Server 4
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 – 2 lbs baking potatoes, baked in the oven until soft (I baked my giant potato in a 400 degree oven for about 75 minutes)
- 2 cups chicken stock
- salt & pepper (to taste)
- additional spices (I used a little garlic powder, onion powder & cayenne and just sprinkled it in until the soup tasted good to me
- Garnishes – top with scallions, low-fat plain greek yogurt, bacon and/or cheese
Once pureed, add salt, pepper and seasonings to taste. Top with garnishes and enjoy this warm, delicious soup.
I have to start this post by stating that this shake is NOT as delicious as a chocolate shake that will make you forget that amazing, smooth flavor that only sugar and fat can bring. However, I will say that this shake is a pretty darn good alternative when you are trying to shed a few pounds and will definitely feel you up for many hours. Definitely a go to in my arsenal of healthy recipes when I am trying to shed a few lbs.
Healthy Protein Shake
serves 1
Ingredients
- One scoop protein powder (for this recipe, the protein powder I use is 100 calories per scoop – I also used chocolate for this recipe, but any flavor would work)
- 1/2 frozen, ripe banana (if you don’t have a frozen one, no worries a fresh one will work also :))
- 1 cup cold water
- 1/2 cup crushed ice
- 1 T. light peanut butter (I used a brand called Better N Peanut Butter that I found at Trader Joe’s. I should also add that this should be called, “Better N No Peanut Butter At All” because it has 50% fewer calories, but isn’t as dynamite as the real thing)
Directions
Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth & frothy.
200 calories, 2 grams fat & 15 grams protein*
*Please note that protein comes from my protein powder that I used, which was the GNC Be Buff brand. I used chocolate, but couldn’t find that variety online. Click here for the link to the vanilla bean.
