Brownie Mix

I found this on my friend Shelby's Facebook page. She is an excellent cook so if she say's I can make good brownies without a mix, well I am going to try it!

So simple, so easy. Not just frugal but cuts out the unknown ingredients (approximately $.30 a mix).

Prepare the Mix:
1 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1/3 Cup Cocoa
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Baking Powder
Put mix in plastic bags or mason jars to store until ready to make.

At Baking Time Add:
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
1 teaspoon Vanilla
 
Bake @ 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes in an 8x8 or 9x9 pan OR use the Pampered Chef brownie pan and bake for 12-15 minutes, depends on your oven, remove when brownies are done!

Unique Berry and Peach Crisp

Recently I went to a local restaurant and commented to our waitress about how much I like berry crisps. She said the restaurant had an excellent one and she would know because her mom had the best recipe EVER. Sure enough the restaurant crisp was excellent and a couple of weeks later I received an e-mail from the waitress with her mother's recipe (see below). I can't wait to try it!

4 cups peaches peeled and sliced

4 cups blackberrys, marrionberries or whatever berries you like

juice from half a lemon

1 3/4 cup flour

1 1/2 cup old fashioned oats

2 1/4 cups brown sugar

1 tbls of cinnamon

2 1/4 tsp of nutmeg

1 cup butter softened

Preheat oven to 350. 

Place sliced peaches in 13 x 9inch pan. 

Layer berries over peaches-sprinkle lemon juice and 1/4 cup flour. 

Combine remaining mixture of flour, oats, spices and butter and spread over top of pan. 

Bake 35-40 minutes. 

*If you have to use canned berries drain really well. Hope you enjoy this recipe!!

Carrot Cake

Charity posted this recipe which I decided to post so I can try it later.... Here is her post with the recipe.

A friend brought over a few slices of carrot cake for us last night, complete with homemade cream cheese frosting. It was easily the best carrot cake I've ever personally had, so I badgered her into giving me the recipe.


Cream Cheese frosting:

1 package cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter plus 2 tablespoons, softened
(cream together)
1 tsp vanilla
1 box powdered sugar

Whip together until smooth and beautious! Light and fabulously yummy enough, this might just replace my buttercream frosting recipe as a frosting base. I can easily see adding cocoa to this for chocolate, or orange, or lemon, or....you get the picture.


Carrot cake:

* 3 eggs
* 3/4 cup buttermilk
* 3/4 cup vegetable oil
* 1 1/2 cups white sugar
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 2 cups shredded carrots
* 1 cup flaked coconut
* 1 cup chopped walnuts
* 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice
* 1 cup raisins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 9x13 pan.
2. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. Combine eggs, buttermilk, oil, sugar and vanilla. Mix well. Add flour mixture and mix well.
4.Combine shredded carrots, coconut, and pineapple. Optional: also add walnuts and raisins. (I don't.)
5. Add carrot mixture to batter and fold in well.
6. Pour into prepared pan, and bake for 1 hour. Check with toothpick.
7. Allow to cool before frosting.

My friend informs me that lately, she's taken to baking it for 45 minutes - still does the toothpick check, and comes out clean, but the cake itself is a bit denser, which she likes. I can't compare, as that denser version is all I've had, but to say it was very good indeed is an understatement.


I suppose you could do all of those things that people do to make recipes like this one a little more healthy - sub applesauce for the oil, and egg beaters for the eggs, use wheat flour - but I can't vouch for how fabulous or not the cake will then be!

Lemon Bars

This recipe is one that a co-worker Velma perfected. It took me 3-4 tries to get it right but I finally did. The recipe below reflects all of the changes to the original recipe she gave me. 

2 cups unbleached flour

1 cup butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

Dash salt

5 tbsp lemon juice (juice of 2 lemons)

2-4 heaping tsp lemon zest

1/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. (Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off.) Combine flour, butter and 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Mix thoroughly and loosely place (this is critical) into ungreased 13x9-inch pan. 

Bake 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix egg, sugar, salt and lemon juice. fold in 1/4 cup flour and baking powder. Pour onto hot crust.

Bake 25 minutes longer.

Cool; cut into squares and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Makes 2 dozen

Joanne's Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

EASY PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

1 CUP SUGAR
1 CUP CHUNKEY PEANUT BUTTER
1 EGG
½ C CHOC. CHIPS

MIX WELL, SPOON ONTO A DRY BAKING SHEET
YOU CAN PRESS USING THE BOTTOM OF A GLASS DIPPED IN SUGAR
BAKE AT 350 FOR 8 TO 10 MINUTES


I got this recipe from my co-worker Joanne. She bakeds some of these and gave them to my other co-worker Mike. When Mike was away from his desk today, I stole his bag of cookies. Don't worry about Mike, it looks like he got a couple cookies prior to the theft. Once I ate one of these I had to find out where they came from and get the recipe. I am putting it here so I don't forget it!

Charity's Ghirardelli Chocolate Fudge

I stole this recipe from my friend Charity's blog since I know that her entire family are incredible bakers. If she or her family say something is good, I can't wait to try it out.

San Francisco Fudge

• 2 1/4 C Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 C miniature marshmallows
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 C chopped walnuts (optional)

Melt everything in a pan together until rich and smooth, then pour it into whatever dish you want it to harden in.
Charity never adds the nuts, since she is allergic to walnuts, and her entire family has the same sensitivity. She says it is delicious!