Disappearing Brownies

After this morning, I verified this recipe is a. blog material and b. lives up to its name. It is not necessarily your typical brownie. It does, however, disappear. It did from my office kitchen by 10:00...am. I got comments such as "this is the best brownie I've EVER had" and "it's ooey gooey goodness."

I owe a big thanks to Catherine and the Jones family for this recipe. In fact, I do believe her Mom wrote me this recipe awhile back. It wasn't until we were together this weekend that I ate a brownie and KNEW I must bake it for myself. And soon.

So last night that is what I did...

Disappearing Brownies

1/2 c. butterscotch pieces
1/4 c. butter
3/4 c. all purpose flour
1/3 c. brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 c. miniature marshmellows
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate pieces
1/4 chopped nuts (optional of course)

Grease a 9 inch square pan. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. (When doing this the first time I found out the hard way I had monkey bread juice in the bottom of the oven that would take some TLC.)

In a double broiler, over medium heat, melt butterscotch pieces with butter. Stir constantly and pay close attention. (Those that know me know I like to leave pots unattended...!)



Remove from heat and cool to luke warm. Add flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, egg and vanilla. Mix well.

Once cooled, fold in marshmellows, nuts, and chocolate pieces. If it is not cool, it will all create a gooey mess. This happened to me. It still tastes fabulous but the consistency is almost too gooey. I found the chocolate pieces I just love. I had never seen these before.



Spread the mixture in the pan....



Bake 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes...



Do not overbake. The center will be jiggly but becomes firm on cooling.



This blog took entirely too long to write. I blame a little distraction called....


(totally worth it!!!!!)

Monkey Bread

Monkey Bread

Non-stick cooking spray
4 packages refrigerated, butter-flavored biscuits
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 T maple syrup

This is, by far, the best recipe for Monkey Bread - in my opinion, of course. I am not sure where the recipe came from (probably mom or the internet) but it is impossible to mess up. There are some recipes with homemade dough but this particular one uses refrigerated dough. This recipe is so easy, that I woke up early before work in order to bring it to the baby shower on Friday. Monkey bread is always best when it is warm. Yuuuum.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. You will need an angle food cake pan or a bundt pan. I love bundt pans, myself! It looks beautiful on my new, white cake plate!

2. Take 1/2 c. sugar and 1 tsp of cinnamon and mix in a bowl. Break each biscuit into 3-4 pieces, roll into the bowl of sugar/cinnamon mix, and place into the pan. I actually like the biscuit pieces larger rather than smaller. They pull apart easier and it takes less time to roll them in the sugar/cinnamon mix. This is the longest step, really.

3. Melt 1/2 cup butter in the microwave. Stir in another cup sugar, tsp. cinnamon and a tablespoon of syrup. The original recipe calls for a teaspoon of syrup but I would rather have too much of this mixture than not enough.

4. Pour the mixture over the biscuit pieces in the bundt pan. Make sure to pour it through the cracks! I used 5 cans of smaller sizes biscuits and it worked fine EXCEPT for the overspill of the syrup in my oven. Darn, I forgot about that mess until now.

5. Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Let it sit for about 5 minutes before you remove the cake from the pan.

You are done! It should look like this.

Before:


After:

(Don't you just love these decorations for a baby shower at my office? The flowers are from a coworker's yard and they are put in baby bottles!)

Are you as curious as I am about WHY it is called Monkey Bread? I googled it. Like I do everything. To find out more: click here.

Blueberry Pound Cake

Happy 4th everyone! For the weekend at the lake (with my best friend's fam) I brought along something I have been dying to make since berries came in season....blueberry pound cake. It was a good excuse. The Downings seemed to enjoy it too. I normally have a rule; fruit and dessert do not mix. But on certain occasions I go against that rule. So, if you are like me, give this a try. It is goodness. PLUS, it is a piece of cake. Literally. (Sorry, I had to.)

Blueberry Pound Cake

1 box butter cake mix
1 pkg instant vanilla pudding
3 eggs
1/3 c. oil
8 oz cream cheese
2 cups blueberries



To start:

Let the cream cheese and eggs sit off to the side and become room temperature. Set the oven to preheat at 350 degrees.

Mix the cake mix and pudding mix. Gradually beat in eggs, oil and cream cheese. (The cream cheese is MUCH easier to beat in once you have it room temp.)

Grab the berries. Give them a good wash. Yes, there were two brands of berries and you KNOW which one I picked!



Mix the berries in with a spatula. I would not suggest using a beater. The blueberries burst and your cake turns out looking like a smurf.


Pour it in a bundt pan and bake 350 for an hour. (I actually reduced my heat to 325 since I had a dark pan and left it in about 10 minutes longer. I should have taken it out on time. It was a little brown in my oven...)



Enjoy! I forgot to take a finished picture. I was distracted by packing so you will have to look at the ones I snapped at the lake!




I like to sprinkle the top with confectioners sugar. Make sure you let it completely cool before you do so or it melts. I also learned if it becomes extra hot in the car from direct sun, the condensation will cause it to melt the sugar as well. :) Lesson learned!

Rotel Chicken Casserole!

Who doesn't have a 'go-to' dish...one you know is impossible to screw up and one you can never get sick of?! Mine is chicken rotel casserole. It just SOUNDS good, doesn't it? If we are friends and I have cooked for you, chances are you have eaten it. On many occasions. Well, here is how to make it. SO EASY. (Girls coming to potluck tomorrow night...this is what we are having!)

Ro-tel Chicken Casserole - from Mom (who knows where she got it)

4 chicken breasts
1 lb Velveta cheese (yes, I use the 2% and it works well)
10 oz of spaghetti
1/2 stick butter (lowfat margerine is what i prefer and you can go with less)
1 can Ro-tel tomatoes
1 can cream of chicken soup

Preheat the oven to 350.

Begin by boiling your chicken in plenty of water. I struggle with cooking tender chicken. Mine almost always turns to rubber. Does anyone have a secret in making it tender? I even bought is fresh today. The recipe calls for 4 chicken breasts. Sometimes I use the tenders. (Mom taught me those cook faster and she is correct. Less cutting as well.) I used about 3 fresh chicken breasts and cut off a LOT of it. (I am picky when cooking meat.) It says to cube it. I shred it. It is a texture thing...Place the chicken aside for now.



Add about 10 ounces of pasta noodles into the chicken broth from the chicken you just boiled. Spaghetti noodles work well. So does linguini. Today was spaghetti. (You can add lib on this. The recipe calls for 7 ounces but I almost always use more..especially if you are feeding a group or want to freeze some.)

I know, this isn't the good FOR you part but it is the GOOD part. Melt the cheese and butter in the microwave or a large saucepan. (You need to act fast on the next steps. Working with melted velveeta can be tough.)

Add soup, Ro-tel and chicken. I like the spicier Ro-tel when making it for myself. (You can't go too spicey if you ask me.) Any flavor will work. I also drain the Ro-tel. You don't have to drain it well but it has been "runny" before when I didn't. I used a soup can size today. A larger can may be added if you are a Ro-tel fan.



Drain spaghetti and mix well. Put in 9x11 casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Don't eat too much!!

Why this?

It all started with a convincing argument by a good college friend/now coworker. Honestly, it didn't take much. I had this blog on my mind for some time now. I don't 'do' fancy recipes. Southern food, casseroles, and desserts (especially consisting of chocolate) are my specialty. I often take these test runs to the kitchen at work or to the showers/events we have at the office. I've gotten some of my best recipes from there.

After a solid day debating a blog title (thanks AS and KKL) I confirmed I made the right choice tonight when my Jersey friend indeed confirmed that "they" (meaning jersey) call pecans PEE CANS. Hence the name of the title and how I say it, pecän. Who knows where this blog will take me. I hope not to abandon my true love for painting and the blog that comes with it. But I figure this is a great way to keep up with my recipe adventures and share some of my lessons and favorite recipes along the way!

I will leave you this classic movie clip. Thank you, KKL!