Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

For the local county fair I decided to invite a couple little friends over to enter in the Baking Buddies competition. We had a great time in the kitchen together and made some tasty brownies! It is so easy to make them from scratch and no need to use a mix but you could if you like and just do the steps for the topping.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

• 5 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips
• 2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped
• 1 stick butter
• 3 Tbs cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 c sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 c flour 

• 1/2 tsp salt

•  1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3 Tbs creamy peanut butter
• 3 Tbs Reeses Pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 9X9 glass baking dish and then line in one direction with foil and then oil again. In a small bowl combine both chocolates, butter and cocoa. Microwave for 1 minute a stir, then 30 seconds longer or until all melted together. Set aside. In a medium mixing bowl mix together the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. When well combined add the chocolate mixture and blend together. Mix together the flour, salt and baking powder then add to the other ingredients and stir until just combined. Spread evenly in your prepared pan. Dollop peanut butter a teaspoon at a time evenly across the top of the batter. With a butter knife draw your knife through the batter about 1 inch apart lengthwise and then crosswise to make a swirl. Sprinkle evenly with the Reese's and bake for 35 minutes until set but some crumbs still adhere to a toothpick. Let cool for an hour or two and then pull from pan by foil and cut.

Truffled Corn on the Cob

This is a great grilling recipe now that corn is starting to be in season. You don't have to use truffle items for this, I just have an affinity for them. You could use different grill seasonings and lime juice instead of the oil. Have fun with it and you can impart a lot of good flavor.

Truffled Corn on the Cob

• 4 ears sweet corn
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
  
• 1/2 tsp salt or truffle salt
• pepper to taste
• 1/4 tsp truffle oil

Shuck back ears of corn careful to leave them attached. Clean all of the silks out and then rinse. Dry thoroughly and set aside.

In a small bowl combine the remaining ingredients and mix to a smooth paste. Rub generously over the corn. Bring the husk back over the corn and cover back as much as possible. Place on a hot grill turning occasionally for 15-20 minutes.

Strawberry Banana Muffins

Strawberry Banana Muffins

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1 c sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 c flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
  
• 2 bananas, mashed
• 1/2 c sour cream or yogurt
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 c strawberries, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put liners in a standard muffin pan or jumbo like I used above. With a mixer beat the butter and sugar until creamed and then add the eggs one at a time until well combined. Combine the dry ingredients together in a small bowl and whisk until light and mixed well. Add slowly to the butter mixture and mix well. Add the banana, sour cream and vanilla until just mixed together. Fold in the strawberries. Divide amongst the muffin pan filled about 2/3 full. Bake 35 minutes or until toothpick has some crumbs clinging.
Great served warm!

Breakfast Burritos

So my lovely chickens are finally laying eggs! I have been really excited about it actually and above is a photo of my first carton of eggs. I decided I would make some lighter breakfast burritos with ingredients from my garden and fresh eggs! They turned out pretty yummy so I thought I would share. Sausage or bacon would be a good addition but I left them without, we did have breakfast sausage on the side though, can't be too vegetarian in my house:)
Enjoy!

Breakfast Burritos

• 4 flour tortillas


• 1 c grated cheddar cheese


• 1 Tbs butter
  


• 4 green onions, chopped


• 2 Tbs red bell pepper, chopped
  


• 2 Tbs cilantro, chopped


• 6 eggs, beaten to a froth
  


• Salt and pepper to taste

In a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat melt butter. Saute green onion and bell pepper until tender. Add the seasoned eggs and stir occasionally until cooked but not dry. Add the cilantro and stir till combine and remove from heat. Lay out your tortillas on a platter and divide cheese amongst them evenly. Place int he microwave for 30 seconds to melt the cheese. Divide your eggs between the tortillas and roll up burrito style. Serve with salsa, and sausage links on the side if you wish!

Strawberry Shortcake Trifle

Well for LaPine this year over the 4th I made this for dessert and it turned out well and could be expanded well for a crowd. It was also fairly light which is nice when it is really warm outside. This is versatile because you could use any fruit really. I also made it in 13X9 pans in a single layer and it worked great for picnic fair.

Strawberry Shortcake Trifle

• 1 loaf pound cake sliced, homemade or I used store bought frozen at LaPine
• 2 cups vanilla wafers
• 2 pints Strawberries, hulled and sliced
• 4 Tbs sugar, divided
  
• 1 pint heavy cream
• 1 large box of vanilla pudding, prepared and chilled to set

Combine your strawberries with 2 Tbs sugar and set aside. Whip the cream to soft peaks and add remaining sugar then whip to stiff peaks. In your trifle dish you will make 2 full single layers in the following order.

Pound cake, Strawberries, Pudding, Vanilla Wafers, Whipped Cream

Layer together and I garnished with more sliced strawberries and mint. Make sure you can refrigerate it for at least an hour before serving.

Strawberry Salad

Strawberry Salad

With the Strawberry season here I have been doing a lot with them! I will be posting a few different ones but this one is good for starters. An easy salad for a side with dinner or would be a great alternative for an ice cream topping.

• 1 pint Strawberries, cleaned and quartered



• 1 Tbs balsamic vinegar



• 1/4 tsp cracked black pepper



• 1 Tbs fresh mint, torn

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. It is delicious, simple and not your usual strawberry recipe!

Crayfish Fried Rice

I had a wild hair to catch some crayfish last week. I hadn't done it since I was a kid but I had caught them back then so why not now? I put the trap out and waited a couple days and I ended up catching 5 decent sized ones. Now I had to figure out what to make with them. I thought fried rice would be a good choice and it actually turned out really good. You could substitute shrimp or leave the meat out all together and it would still be tasty.

Crayfish Fried Rice

10-12 Crayfish, cooked and meat picked, roughly chopped (See Below)

2 Tbs canola oil
3 c cooked white rice, cooled
1 c chopped mushrooms
3 green onions, chopped
3 Tbs cilantro, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
1 Tbs soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Bring pot of water to boil, drop crayfish into boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove and drain in a colander and rinse with cold water to shock. Once cool enough to handle, pull off tails and claws and remove meat. Then chop large pieces roughly and set aside.

Heat a large skillet on medium high heat and add canola oil. Saute mushrooms for 1 minute then add green onions and cook until wilted. Stir in rice and let cook stirring occasionally for 2 minutes. Next add cilantro, soy sauce and egg and stir to incorporate. season with salt and pepper to taste. Once egg is set plate and garnish with more cilantro.

Blackened Salmon with Mango Salsa

Blackened Salmon with Mango Salsa

• Portioned Salmon fillets with skin on
• 1 tsp per portion olive oil
• 1-2 tsp per portion, Traeger Blackened Saskatchewan Seasoning

Heat grill to high heat or 400-450 degrees. Take a double layer of foil and fold up the edges to make a pan of sorts to hold in any juices. Place the salmon skin side down on the foil and drizzle with the olive oil. Sprinkle with the seasoning and rub into the fillet.

Place on the grill and cook for 12 minutes or until firm to the touch. While the salmon is cooking make the salsa that follows.

Mango Salsa

• 2 large mangoes, chopped
  
• 1/2 to 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
• 2 Tbs minced red bell pepper
• 2 tsp lime or lemon juice
• 1 tsp sugar or honey
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

In a bowl combine all ingredients and let set aside for about 10 minutes to let the flavors meld. Serve over the fish or can be used as a salsa with tortilla chips.

Lemon Poppy Seed Scones

Lemon Poppy Seed Scones

So I have been very absent lately! We moved and have limited Internet access among other things and just have not found time to blog lately but really want to get back into it. I thought this was a good opportunity to start it up again. I saw a recipe that inspired this in CountryLiving magazine. They really did turn out great and are not a dry scone which I love!

2 c flour
3 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs poppy seeds
1 tsp powdered lemon peel (from Penzey's)
(If you don't have this you can use 1 Tbs fresh zest)
1 Tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c butter, cold and cut into cubes
1/2 c milk
1/4 c lemon juice

In a large bowl combine the first 6 ingredients. Working with your hands combine the butter into the flour mixture until it is like coarse crumbs. Pour in the milk and stir until just combined then add the lemon juice to make a soft dough.
Turn out on a lightly floured surface and form into a disk where the dough is about 1 1/2 inch thick. Cut into eight wedges and transfer to a lined baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes. Let cool.
Make a glaze with about 1 c powdered sugar and 1 Tbs lemon juice. Alter the ration until you get the consistency you like for drizzling. Drizzle the glaze over the scones and let dry about an hour. Serve at room temp or warm. Fabulous!