Avery's Birthday Brownies

A couple of days ago was my big sister Avery's 23rd birthday!  Growing up, our mom always let us choose between homemade brownies or white cake for our birthday.  I secretly was hoping Ave would want cake so that I could use my new cake pans that I got for Christmas, but she picked brownies so I happily obliged.  I topped them off with the same very easy homemade frosting that our mom always makes in Avery's choice of pink.

Brownies Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup shortening
• 3 squares unsweetened chocolate
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt shortening and chocolate together in a small bowl in the microwave.
3. Beat together sugar, vanilla and eggs in a large mixing bowl.
4. Blend in chocolate mixture.
5. Mix in dry ingredients.
6. Spread in greased 9x13 inch pan. (Use a smaller pan if you prefer your brownies thicker.)
7. Bake for 25 minutes.

Frosting Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 cups powdered sugar
• ⅓ cup softened butter or crisco
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
• About 2 tablespoons milk (may need more)
• Food coloring

Directions

1. Combine powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, and milk in a medium mixing bowl and beat together.
2. Add food coloring as desired.

Recipe courtesy of Karen Spencer

Happy 23rd Birthday Big Sister!

Baked Cake Doughnuts

For Christmas I got a doughnut pans from my parents and Ladders, my roommate. They both clearly know me and my love to doughnuts too well! Because it is a new year, these almost qualify as healthy too. There is no frying involved, which makes them fairly quick and less messy.

I made these before going to a birthday dinner for my fellow blogger's, Kelsey, sister. She gave them a thumbs up on taste, eating both for breakfast! I thought they were a tad dry, but good. Overall they are delicious, but no replacement for a fried doughnut. As a doughnut connoisseur I may be being over critical. 

I put the batter into a plastic baggie and snipped the end to pipe it into the pan. It worked wonderfully. I didn't have any problems with them overflowing or being too misshapen. Most importantly, if in doubt, under bake them. They will continue to cook a bit outside the oven.  I struggled with how to get cinnamon sugar to stick without dipping them in butter first. I made a vanilla glaze after getting frustrated with the sugar.

Ingredients:
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg, less if using freshly grated
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup buttermilk
3 eggs
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 cup melted butter
Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. In a large bowl combine, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and flour in a bowl.
2. In a medium bowl, combine buttermilk, eggs, maple syrup and butter. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. 
3. Put the mixture into a plastic baggie and snip off the end, pipping it into the doughnut pans. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes. Remove doughnuts from pan and let cool.
4. For cinnamon sugar: brush doughnuts with melted butter and then dip in a mixture of sugar and cinnamon. 
5. For vanilla glaze: combine 3/4 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla, dipping the doughnuts into the glaze to coat.

Easy Chili

This is a simple chili recipe that you can make for picky eaters or to use as a baseline and add ingredients (aka to be creative!). My stepmom makes this recipe all the time because it is one of the family's favorites.

I was really craving chili since two of my roommates made batches once the weather started to get colder. But, I didn't have any chili leftovers stashed in my freezer from home (when I visit home its always a request I make). So, I got the recipe from my parents and I realized it's pretty easy! Usually I see it being made on the stovetop but since my day was going to be busy, I opted for the slow cooker. I had an afternoon badger basketball game to go to and the Big 10 Championship game to watch after. I prepared it in the morning and it was ready to enjoy when the football game began. It was perfect - the chili was great and the badgers won!

Easy Chili
from my stepmom, Jennifer

Ingredients
1 large can Sacramento tomato juice
3/4 lb. ground beef
3 to 4 c. elbow noodles
3 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp sugar

Directions
1. Brown ground beef and drain grease
2. Cook elbow noodles according to box
3. Mix together tomato juice, chili powder and sugar
4. Place beef and tomato juice mixture into crockpot. Put on low for about 4 to 6 hours, stir occasionally (or when you want to peek)

5. Put cooked noodles in fridge for later (I like my noodles close to al dente so I did not add it to the crockpot - they may get mushy if they are added)
6. After 4 to 6 hours, add the noodles and stir

7. Enjoy with shredded (Wisconsin) cheddar cheese :)

Beef and Spinach Lasagna

So I actually made this lasagna a little over a month ago for my boyfriend's birthday dinner, but I've been so busy with finals, Christmas, and a trip to California for the Rose Bowl that I just hadn't gotten around to writing a post!  Hopefully I'll get some good cooking in before spring semester starts, especially with the new cookbooks and cooking gadgets Santa left for me under the Christmas tree.

This lasagna is only the second one I've ever made.  The first time I used sauce from a jar, but this time I decided I wanted to make it myself.  I tried making it the way my Mom does because it is always so scrumptious, but there is definitely plenty of room to alter the recipe as you please.  I wanted to use spinach in mine, but it will taste equally delicious without.

Ingredients

• Wheat lasagna noodles (about 11)
• 28 oz can diced tomatoes (may want to use diced tomatoes with italian seasoning)
• 28 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 lb ground beef
• Italian seasoning
• Onion
• Garlic
• 1 tablespoon butter
• Mozzarella cheese
• Ricotta low fat cheese
• Parmesan cheese
• Spinach

Directions

1. Brown ground beef.  In a large pot mix together diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, ground beef, italian seasoning to taste, chopped onion to taste, diced garlic to taste, and butter.  Simmer.

2. Cook wheat lasagna noodles as instructed on package.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

4. Lay down a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan.

5. Add a layer of noodles, sauce, dollops of ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, and mozzarella cheese.

6. Add layer of spinach if desired.

7. Repeat steps 5 and 6.

8. Add a last layer of noodles, sauce, parmesan, and mozzarella.

9. Cook for 1 hour.  Let sit for 10 minutes to allow lasagna to settle so the layers don't fall apart.  Cut and serve.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Cranberries

I came up with this one on my own, not even realizing the colors were perfect for Christmas dinner! It is a super simple and quick side dish. My dad who strongly dislikes brussels sprouts was raving about this one. He had a second helping!

If you are skeptical of brussels sprouts or cranberries, the balsamic vinegar helped to sweeten everything. The balsamic vinegar caramelizes in the oven and becomes sweet. The sweetness cuts the tartness of the cranberries and the strong flavor of the brussels sprouts. Because there are such bold flavors it is perfect along side other less boldly flavored side dishes, like mashed potatoes.

Overall it was a super fast and easy side dish. There are minimal ingredients and I am sure you could use frozen brussels sprouts too. Be sure to watch the cooking time because mine cooked a lot faster than I was anticipating. I probably overcooked mine a little bit, but they were a hit with the family none the less.  I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:
About 2 cups or 30 small brussels sprouts, trimmed
2 cups frozen cranberries, thawed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste


Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Wash, clean and drain brussels sprouts. Cut any large ones in half and remove stems.
2. Place the brussels sprouts and cranberries on a rimmed baking sheet, coating them with all the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Season them with salt and pepper. Put them in the oven and roast for 10-20 minutes. Check with a fork to see if they are done. They should be tender but not soft. 
3. Serve and enjoy!