Fudgy Brownies

I am an admitted (not proudly) brownie snob, and I'll take a good brownie over any gourmet dessert. I know this isn't something to be proud of, but it's just the way it is. Take your cakes, cookies, tortes, puddings, or any other German amazing dessert...

Here it is, kids:

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the cocoa and baking soda. Add 1/3 cup vegetable oil and boiling water. Mix until well blended and thickened. Stir in the sugar, eggs, and remaining 1/3 cup oil. Finally, add the flour, vanilla and salt; mix just until all of the flour is absorbed. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool before cutting into squares.

Paula Deen's Creamy, Dreamy Hot Cocoa

Dreamy Creamy Hot Chocolate

Cook Time 10 min

• Yield:

  2 quarts

Ingredients

• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 6 1/2 cups hot water
• (Add up to 1 c sugar to taste, per reviwer's recommendation)
  
• Mini Marshmallows (optional)

Directions

In a large saucepan, combine sweetened condensed milk, cocoa, vanilla and salt; mix well. Over medium heat, slowly stir in water; heat through, stirring occasionally. DO NOT BOIL. Top with marshmallows, if desired.

Tip: Chocolate can be stored in the refrigerator up to 5 days. Mix well and reheat before serving.

Freeze and bake meals

Creamy Enchilada Bake
(Quick meal to have on hand to give to friends after having a baby.)
1 lb ground beef
1 can refried beans
1 onion
1 package taco seasoning
1 can cream of mushroom soup
8 oz sour cream
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
Tortillas (Deal Diva Tip: Buy the large packs from Costco to save money.)
Tomatoes – chopped

Brown ground beef and onions. Mix in beans. In a separate bowl, mix sour cream and soup. Spoon half of sour cream mixture on the bottom of a baking pan. Fill tortillas with beef mixture, roll up, and arrange in baking pan. Spoon remaining half of sour cream mixture over the tortillas. Cover with shredded cheese. Sprinkle tomatoes on top. Freeze. Bake at 350° for 25 - 30 minutes or until cheese melts and tortillas are golden brown.

Here’s another simple and tasty make-ahead recipe that freezes well and takes mere minutes to throw together.

Creamy Chicken Bake
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream

Mix soup & sour cream. Spread half in pan. Add chicken. Spread remaining half of mixture on chicken. Freeze. Bake @ 375° for 30 minutes.

Finally, here’s another hearty dish great for a cold, winter night:

Hamburger Hot Dish
1 lb Ground Beef
1 cup Elbow Macaroni
1 cup Frozen Corn
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
½ cup Sour Cream

Brown beef. Cook noodles. Drain. Mix all ingredients in a casserole dish. Freeze. Bake @ 375° for 30 minutes.

Crockpot recipe blog

Just got a new crockpot this week. Looking forward to 6.5 quarts of slow cooking goodness!

To honor low-key cooking, here is a blog where the author's goal was to use her crockpot 365 days in 2008. Every day. Yikes.

Let's hope she's hit a few success along the way, even if her pics make the food look disgusting. :P

Martha Stewart "Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies"

We'll see about that!

Here.