S’more Brownies

Make sure you leave plenty of extra parchment around the edges - these can be difficult to de-pan!




Crust

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
Pinch of salt

Brownie

8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup packed light brown sugar
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
1 ½ tsp salt
4 large cold eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour

Topping

4 cups large marshmallows


Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat oven to 325 degrees F. Line an 8 by-8-inch square baking pan with parchment papper so it hangs over the edges by about 1 inch.

FOR THE CRUST: Lightly butter the parchment with some of the melted butter. Stir the rest of the butter together with the crumbs, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Press the crumb mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

FOR THE BROWNIE: Put the butter and chocolate in a medium microwave safe bowl. Melt in the microwave on 75 percent power for 2 minutes. Stir, and microwave again until completely melted, about 2 minutes more. Alternatively, put the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with 1 inch or so of water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl on the pan without touching the water. Stir occasionally until melted. Stir the light brown and granulated sugars, vanilla, and salt into the melted chocolate. Add the eggs and beat vigorously to make a thick and glossy batter. Add the flour and stir until just incorporated.

Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the top is crispy and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out mostly clean, with a few crumbs, about 40 to 45 minutes.

Remove from the oven and carefully position a rack about 6 inches from the broiler and preheat on low. Layer marshmallows across the top and toast under the broiler until golden, (keep an eye on it, it can go quick), about 2 minutes. Cool on a rack, gently removing the brownies from the pan using the parchment flaps. Carefully separate any marshmallow from the parchment and fold away. Cut into 12 (2-inch) squares.

Mexican Rice

2 medium tomatoes (about 12 oz), cored and quartered
1 medium onion, preferably white, peeled, trimmed of ends, and quartered
3 medium jalepeño peppers
2 cups long grain white rice
1/3 cup canola oil
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 Tbsp tomato paste
3 tsp kosher salt
½ cup minced cilantro leaves

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Process tomatoes and onion in food processor until smooth and thoroughly pureed, about 15 seconds, scraping down bowl if necessary. Transfer mixture to liquid measuring cup; you should have 2 cups (if necessary, spoon off excess so that volume equals 2 cups). Remove ribs and seeds from 2 jalapeños and discard; mince flesh and set aside. Mince remaining jalapeño, including ribs and seeds; set aside.

Place rice in large fine-mesh strainer and rinse under cold running water until water runs clear, about 1 ½ minutes. Shake rice vigorously in strainer to remove all excess water.

Heat oil in heavy-bottomed ovensafe 12-inch straight-sided sauté pan or Dutch oven with tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat, 1 to 2 minutes. Drop 3 or 4 grains rice in oil; if grains sizzle, oil is ready. Add rice and fry, stirring frequently, until rice is light golden and translucent, 6 to 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, add garlic and seeded minced jalapeños; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 ½ minutes. Stir in pureed tomatoes and onions, chicken broth, tomato paste, and salt; increase heat to medium-high and bring to boil. Cover pan and transfer to oven; bake until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, 30 to 35 minutes, stirring well after 15 minutes.

Stir in cilantro and reserved minced jalapeño with seeds to taste. Serve immediately, passing lime wedges separately.


from Cook's Illustrated

Honey-Cinnamon Frosting

1 ¼ cup confectioners' sugar
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 Tbsp honey
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat confectioners' sugar, unsalted butter, honey, and ground cinnamon until smooth, 4 to 5 minutes.

Banana Cupcakes

Top these with Honey-Cinnamon Frosting.


1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (7.5 oz)
¾ cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 ½ cups mashed bananas (about 4 ripe bananas)
2 large eggs
½ tsp vanilla extract


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Make a well in center of flour mixture. In well, mix together butter, mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla. Stir to incorporate flour mixture (do not overmix). Dividing evenly, spoon batter into muffin cups.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan; cool completely on a wire rack. Spread tops with frosting. Just before serving, peel and slice banana into rounds, and place one on each cupcake, if desired.

Blueberry Muffins

2 cups all purpose flour (10 ounces)
1 Tbsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 large egg
1 cup granulated sugar
4 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 ¼ cups sour cream
1 ½ cups frozen blueberries, preferably wild

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray standard muffin tin with nonstick vegetable cooking spray.

Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl until combined. Whisk egg in second medium bowl until well-combined and light-colored, about 20 seconds. Add sugar and whisk vigorously until thick and homogenous, about 30 seconds; add melted butter in 2 or 3 steps, whisking to combine after each addition. Add sour cream in 2 steps, whisking just to combine.

Add frozen berries to dry ingredients and gently toss to combine. Add sour cream mixture and fold with rubber spatula until batter comes together and berries are evenly distributed, 25 to 30 seconds (small spots of flour may remain and batter will be thick). Do not overmix.

Use ice cream scoop or large spoon to drop batter into greased muffin tin. Bake until light golden brown and toothpick or skewer inserted into center of muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating pan from front to back halfway through baking time. Invert muffins onto wire rack, stand muffins upright, and cool 5 minutes.

VARIATION: While muffins are cooling, mix ½ cup granulated sugar and ½ tsp ground cinnamon in small bowl and melt 4 Tbsp butter in small saucepan. After baked muffins have cooled five minutes, working one at a time, dip tops of muffins in melted butter and then cinnamon-sugar. Set muffins upright on wire rack; serve.

Quinoa Muffins

Instead of 2 cups of all-purpose flour, I used 1 cup of whole wheat and 1 cup of all-purpose.

1 cup quinoa, rinsed
¼ cup vegetable oil, such as safflower, plus more for pan
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
¾ cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup raisins
¾ cup whole milk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium saucepan, bring quinoa and 1 cup water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer; cover, and cook until water has been absorbed and quinoa is tender, 11 to 13 minutes.

Meanwhile, brush a standard 12-cup muffin pan with oil; dust with flour, tapping out excess. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, raisins, and 2 cups cooked quinoa; reserve any leftover quinoa for another use.

In a small bowl, whisk together oil, milk, egg, and vanilla. Add milk mixture to flour mixture, and stir just until combined; divide batter among prepared muffin cups.

Bake until toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool muffins in pan, 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container up to 5 days.


from Martha Stewart

Pork Tenderloin with Mustard Sauce

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 pork tenderloins (1 lb each)
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
¼ cup whole-grain mustard
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp reduced fat sour cream

Heat the oil in a large straight-sided skillet over high heat. Season the pork with salt and pepper. Cook until browned on all sides, 5-6 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover; cook, turning the pork occasionally, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the centers registers 150˚, 20-25 minutes. Transfer the pork to a plate (reserve the skillet with juices); cover with foil. Let rest 10 minutes.

To the skillet, add mustards, the sour cream, and any accumulated pork juices from the plate; whisk over medium heat until heated through (do not boil). Add water if the sauce is too thick. Slice the pork; serve with the pan sauce.

Martha’s Tomato Soup

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (28 oz) can whole tomatoes, undrained
3 cups chicken stock
2 teaspoons coarse salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring, until onions have softened, about 15 minutes.

Add tomatoes, chicken stock, salt, and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook until tomatoes, onions, and garlic are soft, 10 to 20 minutes.

Working in batches, transfer soup to the jar of a blender and puree until smooth. Return to saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook until soup is heated through. If soup seems too thick, stir in some extra stock to thin. Serve immediately.

Lemon Bundt Cake

I love, love, love this cake. I never thought that I liked lemon cake until I made one from scratch. The glaze is both sweet and tart and really makes the cake.


Cake

3 lemons, zest grated then juiced for 3 Tbsp juice
3 cups all-purpose flour (15 oz)
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp table salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
¾ cup low-fat buttermilk (preferably)
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
18 Tbsp unsalted butter (2 ¼ sticks), at room temperature
2 cups sugar (14 oz)

Glaze

2-3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp buttermilk
2 cups confectioners’ sugar (8 oz)

FOR THE CAKE: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 12-cup Bundt pan with nonstick baking spray with flour (alternatively, brush pan with mixture of 1 tablespoon flour and 1 tablespoon melted butter). Mince lemon zest to fine paste (you should have about 2 tablespoons). Combine zest and lemon juice in small bowl; set aside to soften, 10 to 15 minutes.

Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Combine lemon juice mixture, vanilla, and buttermilk in medium bowl. In small bowl, gently whisk eggs and yolk to combine. In standing mixer fitted with flat beater, cream butter and sugar at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes; scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula. Reduce to medium speed and add half of eggs, mixing until incorporated, about 15 seconds. Repeat with remaining eggs; scrape down bowl again. Reduce to low speed; add about one-third of flour mixture, followed by half of buttermilk mixture, mixing until just incorporated after each addition (about 5 seconds). Repeat using half of remaining flour mixture and all of remaining buttermilk mixture. Scrape bowl and add remaining flour mixture; mix at medium-low speed until batter is thoroughly combined, about 15 seconds. Remove bowl from mixer and fold batter once or twice with rubber spatula to incorporate any remaining flour. Scrape into prepared pan.

Bake until top is golden brown and wooden skewer or toothpick inserted into center comes out with no crumbs attached, 45 to 50 minutes.

FOR THE GLAZE: While cake is baking, whisk 2 tablespoons lemon juice, buttermilk, and confectioners' sugar until smooth, adding more lemon juice gradually as needed until glaze is thick but still pourable (mixture should leave faint trail across bottom of mixing bowl when drizzled from whisk). Cool cake in pan on wire rack set over baking sheet for 10 minutes, then invert cake directly onto rack. Pour half of glaze over warm cake and let cool for 1 hour; pour remaining glaze evenly over top of cake and continue to cool to room temperature, at least 2 hours. Cut into slices and serve.

Slow Cooker Pork Chops & Gravy

This recipe couldn't be any simpler. It's so easy to have all the ingredients on hand. Serve with rice, or (my favorite) roasted garlic mashed potatoes. I use 3 thick pork chops instead of 6 thinner pork chops. The gravy doesn't need to be exact, so use whatever you like.

1 Tbsp canola oil, divided
6 (6-ounce) bone-in center-cut loin pork chops, trimmed
1 (14 oz) can fat-free low-sodium chicken broth
1 ½ tsp dry mustard
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp garlic powder
½ cup all-purpose flour
Pepper

Heat 1 ½ tsp oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 3 chops, cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Place chops in slow cooker. Repeat with remaining chops.

Combine broth, mustard, salt, and garlic powder in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low 6 hours or until chops are tender. Remove from slow cooker, reserving cooking liquid. Keep chops warm. Increase heat to high.

Combine flour and 1 cup of cooking liquid, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Stir flour mixture into cooking liquid in slow cooker. Cook, uncovered, 10 minutes, or until thick, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with pepper.


from Cooking Light