Death By Chocolate

Death by Chocolate

1 box (19.8 oz.) fudge brownie mix (prepare according to directions)
1/4-1/2 cup leftover black coffee + 1 tsp. sugar
3 pkg (3.5 oz each) instant chocolate mousse
8 Skor or Heath bars, crushed
1 container (12 oz) Cool Whip, thawed

Bake brownies according to package directions. Prick with a fork and pour sweetened coffee over them. Set aside. Prepare mousse according to package directions. Break candy bars. Using 1/2 of each layer in a large clear glass bowl (like a trifle bowl) in this order: brownies, mousse, candy, cool whip. Repeat with remaining 1/2 of all ingredients, ending with cool whip. Sprinkle with a few crumbs of candy bar if you like. Refrigerate until serving time.

Strawberry Lemonade (for a crowd)

One bag of organic lemons (about 10)

2 quarts of fresh strawberries

2 bottles of Sprite, chilled

Sugar to taste -- about 1.5-2 cups

crushed ice

Press the juice from all the lemons into a bowl with about 1.5 cups of granulated sugar.  Mix thoroughly--there will still be a little sugar that doesn't dissolve but it will once mixed in with the rest of the ingredients.  

Core the strawberries and blend in the blender with 1/4-1/2 cup sugar, depending on how tart the berries are, and enough filtered water for them to blend well--maybe 1/2 cup?  These can be refrigerated until you are ready to use them.

When you are ready to serve the punch, pour 1/2 of the strawberries and 1/2 of the lemon juice mixture into a large punch bowl.  Add one 2 liter bottle of Sprite and enough ice to fill the bowl--I used about 1/2 of a bag.

I have made this before with frozen strawberries and frozen lemonade, and while it was good, it was MUCH better with the fresh lemons and berries.  

Ornery's Banana Bread

This is not a gluten free recipe. It is an adaptation of a recipe my mom used to make.

1/2 cup coconut oil
1-1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or 1/2 and 1/2 blend w/ all-purpose unbleached)
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup sour milk (add 1 T. vinegar to milk to sour)
1 tsp. vanilla


Cream sugar and oil, add eggs and banana. Combine dry igredients and add to mixture alternately with milk and vanilla.  Bake at 350 degrees in greased and floured loaf pan (we love the Pampered Chef stoneware) for 45 - 60 minutes until done. Makes one large loaf or 12 muffins.

(adapted for RBTI by removing the nuts.  If you like nuts, and have no problems with them, add them at the end--about 1 cup)

Enchilada Casserole

Poor memory on my part necessitated a substitution in my usual enchilada casserole. We liked the results so well, we may not go back!

Easy Enchilada Casserole

1/2 recipe of Mango Salsa Chicken (I used 1 lb. boneless skinless thighs, and 1 whole boneless, skinless chicken breast-about one pound.)
1 package corn tortillas (12)
1/2 onion, chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup (I buy the organic kind that doesn't have MSG in it)
1 cup mild salsa
2 cups shredded mild cheddar (or pepper jack if you prefer more heat)

In medium sized bowl, mix soup and salsa until smooth. Spray or lightly oil 9X13 glass baking dish. Pour about 1/2 cup of soup mixture in bottom of dish and spread around to prevent sticking. Dip corn tortillas in remaining soup mixture, tearing to fit shape of the dish. Evenly distribute layers in this order: Sauce, dipped tortillas, chicken, dipped tortillas, 1/2 cheese, chicken, all of the chopped onions, dipped tortillas, chicken and remaining sauce. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top and bake in preheated (350 degrees F) oven for about 35 minutes.

Party Fare: Strawberry Lemonade

Today is a party for Ryan's birthday. For the beverages we are going to serve Iced tea and Strawberry Lemonade, which is one of our family's favorite punch type beverages.

Yesterday I made an ice ring with some of the lemonade and some fresh strawberry slices. This will go in the bottom of the punch bowl. All other ingredients should be chilled ahead of time so the ice ring doesn't melt too quickly.

Strawberry Lemonade
(Original recipe)

1 can frozen lemonade concentrate, mixed according to directions on the can
1 small container frozen sweetened strawberries, thawed and whirled in blender until smooth
1 two liter bottle of Sprite

Mix strawberries into lemonade, pour over ice ring in the bottom of a punch bowl. Slowly add Sprite and stir gently. Garnish with fresh lemon slices, if desired and available.

Altered Recipe: That nasty high fructose corn syrup lurks in almost everything these days, and while I couldn't avoid it in the Sprite, I thought I'd at least switch out the lemonade mix, so I bought Simply Lemonade, which is sweetened with regular sugar. It isn't a lot better, but I feel a little better about it! I also bought real strawberries and am using natural sweeteners (agave and turbinado sugar) on them instead of white processed sugar. If I had the time to experiment, I might look at what it would take to use club soda or some other carbonated beverage instead of the Sprite. Any ideas?

Refried Beans

FRIJOLES DE OLLA
(Pot Beans)

1 lb. dry beans, such as pinto or black turtle beans
2 tsp. minced garlic
salt to taste, at least 1 tsp

Run beans through your hands to pick out any small stones or trash. Wash twice in cold water and drain. Place beans and boiling water to cover by about 4" in a 3 qt crockpot. Turn heat to high and let simmer for 1 hour. Add the garlic then turn on low heat and cook for about 8 hrs, depending on temperature of crockpot. Simmer until skins of beans are soft, then add the salt and continue cooking until the beans are very soft and the broth soupy. Example: (I put mine on about 10 pm and at 7 am added the salt and cooked another 30 minutes.) Beans are better eaten the next day after they are cooked, when the flavor matures, so cook yours ahead.

FRIJOLES REFRITOS
(well-fried beans)

(This is how you re-fry after they are cooked, and I take the garlics out once they are cooked)

1/2 recipe of Frijoles de Olla
6 Tbsp. lard (or substitute vegetable oil)
1 Tbsp. finely chopped white onion

Heat the lard in a heavy 10" frying pan. Add the onion and fry over gentle heat until transparent, about 1 minute. Add a cupful of beans and their broth and mash down over fairly high heat. A wooden potato masher works best. As they begin to reduce, add some more and keep mashing until they have all been incorporated. Continue frying, scraping sides and bottom of pan to prevent sticking, until the mixture becomes a thick paste and you can see the bottom of the pan as you stir.
Shortening can be substituted for lard, but the taste won't be as good!

(This recipe is from Alejandra. I am going to experiment with them to see if I can make them tasty w/o the lard.)

Beef and Roasted Vegetables

Beef and Roasted Vegetables

1 cup baby carrots, washed
1 green pepper, seeded and sliced
1/2 to one whole onion, cut in chunks and separated
2 yellow squash, sliced about 1/4-1/2 inch thick
1.5 lbs. stew meat browned in 1 T olive oil (could use less or chicken or whatever, but it's what I had that needed to be used!)
8 oz. smallish mushrooms, washed and quartered
1/4 head of cabbage
Cooked Brown rice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brown meat in 1 T. olive oil on the stove until all sides are seared. Layer all the vegetables and meat in the order listed in a large baking bowl (I used my covered stoneware baker from Pampered chef). Season to taste (I didn't add any seasonings except some Italian seasoning and a little sea salt to the meat, but probably should have). Cover and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until all vegetables are cooked. While the vegetables are baking, cook brown rice in pure water, with sea salt and Mrs. Dash's garlic and herb seasoning mix. Rice and vegetable dish should be done at about the same time. Serve meat and veggies over rice.

This was originally going to be shish-ka-bobs--or parts of it were, but I just couldn't get excited about that tonight, so I thought I'd experiment a bit.