Salted Caramel Brownies

These brownies. They should be called killer brownies. Or amazing brownies. But I decided to be boring and just call them Caramel Brownies. Descriptive but not nearly enough pizzazz for these brownies. They are so so delicious!

So here's what you're going to do. It all starts with a cake mix. The traditional method uses German chocolate cake mix, which is good, but I took a right turn and use devil's food cake mix. And by the way, German chocolate is named after a MAN named German not the country named Germany. You're welcome.

And on that topic, they're CANADA geese. Not Canadian. Because they're named after a MAN named John Canada, not the country Canada.

But why am I talking about geese when we need to be talking about brownies. But since I'm talking about geese, it makes me think of ducks, and the ducks we raised this spring.

In case you're not aware, ducks grow FAST.

In other news, ducks can also be trained to lay on their back. Ask my 5-year-old for her training tips.

Back to brownies. Press in most of the brownie batter into a 9x13 dish. Bake it for 6 minutes. Let it cool. Pour over the cooled caramel. Sprinkle on the chocolate chips and the salt. Dot on the remaining brownie batter. Cook it for a few more minutes. Try to use self-control while the brownies cool. You must let them cool or you'll end up with a molten dish of salted caramel brownies.

Caramel Brownies

1 package devil's food cake mix
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted
2 T flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1 1/2 11 oz. packages Kraft caramel bits
1/2 cup evaporated milk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 tsp kosher salt

Stir together the cake mix, butter, flour, vanilla & evaporated milk. Spread 2/3 of the batter in a greased 9x13 baking dish. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 6 minutes. Take it out and let it cool.

Meanwhile, melt together in a medium saucepan the 1/2 cup evaporated milk and the caramel bits. Allow it to mostly cool.

When the brownie base is cool, pour over the melted (but mostly cool) caramel. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top. Sprinkle the kosher salt on top of that.

Cover the top with the remaining batter. It won't cover it completely; that's ok. Just spread it out with your hands and cover the top the best you can.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-11 minutes. Optional: sprinkle powdered sugar on top. Cool completely before cutting (otherwise it's just a molten mess!).

Mediterranean Tacos with Greek Chicken and Quick Tzatziki

Hi friends. I wrestled with what to call this recipe. Mediterranean chicken? Greek platter? Chicken Gyros?

But, since I like the idea of fusion food, I settled on Mediterranean Tacos. It's fun, don't you think?

Plus, I used naan bread instead of pita bread so it's really THREE fusions in one! I better stop now before I break the internet.

I need to disclose a few items first.

• I don't always love chicken breasts in the crockpot. Sometimes it can be tough and flavorless. NOT THESE. I assure you. This Greek chicken is a winner. 
• Eat this any way you please. Make a taco. Make a salad. Put all of the components on a plate and stir them up. Eat them all separately. However you do it, you will be glad you did.
• I used to make tzatziki many years ago. As in, before plain Greek yogurt in a big tub even existed. So I had to drain the yogurt to make tzatziki. Not anymore, people! It's so easy now because I just use the big tub of Greek yogurt. You want full-fat, trust me. And you want the brand Greek Gods yogurt. You really do.
• Matthew and I went to Greece. Before we had children. It was amazing. It was also a lifetime ago.

Greek Chicken

4-5 large chicken breasts (about 2 lbs - frozen or thawed, it doesn't matter)

Juice of 3 lemons

1 cup water

1 1/2 T dried oregano

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

5 cloves garlic, minced (or a big spoonful of jarred minced garlic)

2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Place all ingredients in crockpot, turn on high and cook for about 4 hours. You'll know it's done when the chicken shreds easily. Shred with 2 forks, mix it well with the juice and set it to warm until you're ready to eat.

All the Fixins'

Red onion, sliced very thin

Grape tomatoes, sliced in half

Thinly sliced cucumber

Kalamata Olives

Feta cheese

Hummus

Quick Tzatziki

24 oz. tub plain Greek Yogurt (you want full-fat) (I highly recommend Greek Gods brand)

1 English cucumber, peeled and grated into a bowl

2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 cup sour cream

Juice of 1 lemon

2 T white wine vinegar

2 T minced fresh dill

2 cloves garlic, grated

1 tsp pepper

Grate the cucumber into a bowl. Squeeze out the excess water. You don't need to squeeze it all to pieces but just get the majority of the water out. Stir in remaining ingredients. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight to allow the flavors to blend. Eat on your gyro or with pita chips. Or with carrots. Or with a spoon. It's that good.

Paleo Chicken Tortilla Soup

Hi friends. I just rediscovered my blog. And I found this recipe! I have no idea when I wrote it, when I made or when I ate it. But it sounds good, doesn't it?

I also have no pictures of it. So use your imagination! Or just follow the recipe and see for yourself what it looks like when it's ladled up in a bowl.


Paleo Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 T olive oil
3 carrots, chopped small
3 stalks celery, chopped small
1 large sweet onion, chopped small
1 red bell pepper, chopped small
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken stock
10 oz. can Rotel tomatoes
15 oz. can chopped tomatoes
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 T chili powder
1 T cumin
2-3 cups chopped (or shredded) cooked chicken (optional)
1 bunch cilantro, minced
Juice of 1 lime
Topping: avocado slices

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium high heat and saute carrots, celery, onion and bell pepper until soft and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes or so. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add stock, tomatoes and seasonings (salt, pepper, chili powder & cumin). Stir well and simmer for 25-30 minutes. Add chicken (if using) and heat through. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro and lime. Top with avocado slices.

Hamburger Soup

This soup is in our monthly wintertime dinner rotation. It is so delicious! It is a twist on traditional vegetable soup. Very simple and very satisfying.

We always put cheese on top because we can.

Hamburger Soup

2 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
3 bell peppers, chopped (I use an assortment of red, orange & yellow)
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
One pound carrots, chopped
28 oz can diced tomatoes, not drained
4 cups beef stock (homemade chicken stock is good too)
small can tomato paste
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper

In a large pot over medium high heat, brown the beef with onions, peppers, celery and the carrots, crumbling the beef as it cooks. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook over low heat for about 45 minutes.

Chocolate Cake with Fudge Buttercream

It's my middlest middle baby's birthday today. He requested chocolate cake with chocolate icing. I made him this cake. It's so good, so easy and did I mention it's delicious? Moist chocolate cake topped with fudgy chocolate buttercream. You should make it, even if it's no one's birthday.

You'll be glad you did.

Chocolate Cake with Fudge Buttercream

1 cup canola oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 tap baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup hot water

Icing:
1.5 sticks butter, softened
6 T whole milk
1 tsp vanilla
6 T cocoa powder
5 cups powdered sugar

For the cake, combine the oil, buttermilk, eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Whisk together in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients, except hot water, and whisk until combined. Do not over mix. Pour in the hot water and mix until just combined. Pour into a greased 9 by 13 baking dish and bake on 350ﾟfor about 25 to 30 minutes until a toothpick or knife inserted in the middle comes out clean or with just a few crumbs sticking to it. Allow it to cool.

 For the icing, beat together the Butter, milk and vanilla. Add the cocoa and powdered sugar and whisk until smooth. Spread evenly over the cooled cake.

Cauliflower 'n Cheese (Keto)

Well, instead of Mac 'n Cheese, this is Cauliflower 'n Cheese. Matthew and my daddy especially loved it. (The rest of us enjoyed it too, but they were scraping the dish.)

It's simple to make, it only requires a small saucepan and a dish to bake it in. I'm a minimalist when it comes to dishes these days. My daily challenge is to only run my dishwasher ONCE a day. I'm not always successful. But tomorrow is a new day!

So all you do is mix the sauce together in a saucepan (just to get the cheese melty and the cream cheese to incorporate completely). Toss it together - in the baking dish - with the RAW cauliflower (I'm into eliminating cooking steps whenever possible, too), cover it with foil and bake. When the cauliflower is done, take the foil off, sprinkle a little more cheese on top and bake for a few more mins. That's it! Easy. Delicious. Keto. Yum.

Cauliflower 'n Cheese

7.5 oz. tub onion & chive cream cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar-jack blend cheese, divided
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 large head cauliflower, cut into small florets

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, mix together the cream cheese, 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese, half-and-half and salt & pepper. Stir until just combined (no need to cook it; we're just melting it here).

Spread the cauliflower in a 9x13 baking dish. Pour the cheese sauce on top and mix well. Cover tightly with foil and bake in a 400 degree oven for 35 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350, remove the foil, sprinkle the other half cup of cheese over the top and bake for another 15-20 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender when pierced with a fork and the cheese is bubbly.

Garlic Green Beans

I made these for dinner on Friday. I'm making them again for dinner tonight (it's Monday in case you wondered). They were delicious. My family loved them. My 4-year-old scarfed them down and asked for more.

Garlic Green Beans

1 lb. string beans (or any green beans will work)
1/4 cup water
2 T butter
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 T minced garlic

Place the water and green beans in a saucepan with a lid. Steam them until tender (but not falling apart), about 10 minutes or so. Drain. If needed, at this point you can set the green beans aside until you're ready to saute them right before you serve.

Add the butter to a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, green beans, salt & pepper. Stir around and saute until heated through. Serve immediately.

2017 Year in Review

Well, I just found this post. I wrote it a year ago and never posted it. It's now 2019. February already. Levi is 2 and sang me "Jesus Loves Me" today after he climbed onto the kitchen island and plopped down in the middle of it. I loved every word.

It's 2018. Did y'all get the memo? Life is marching on. I'm going to try to remember 2017 because it went super fast. Here goes.

Levi changed SO MUCH this year! He started 2017 as an itty bitty baby and ended the year walking, climbing, hollering mama and dada, and loving his brother and sisters more than I can even say. His hobby is making messes. He's had a lot of practice, does it every waking moment and is quite skilled at this hobby. He also loves to take the tops off of markers and pens (generally permanent ones) and scribble on anything he can reach. You know, normal 1-year-old behavior.

Mary Beth turned 9 and finished 3rd grade. Wow. She loves Little House on the Prairie and she and I have almost finished reading the entire series. It's taken us several years and has been so fun!

Anna Leigh finished first grade in May and brought home two chicks that her class hatched. They were so cute! And noisy. The kids loved them. They're about as messy as a 1-year-old.

The most exciting thing we did this summer was raise a baby deer. The kids named her Pippen (have you read the kids' story Kate & Pippen, a real story of a dog and a fawn? So cute.) and we got her when she was a week old. Oh my, she was darling. The kids adored her. And I'm pretty sure she loved all of us too...even Teddy! She was so fun.

We had a MASSIVE yield from our apple & pear trees! I made apple butter in the CrockPot (um, yum), pear butter, apple sauce, pear sauce, canned pears in syrup and a few other pear & apple things that I can't remember.

Oh! We made apple cider with my dad. Livin' off the land, I tell you. (Ha!) Yes, cider-making was a hit. Pick the apples, grind the apples into chunks, press the apples, drink the cider. Repeat. We can't wait to do that again.

Stephen turned 5 in August and he gave up his passie on his 5th birthday (not his choice, just so ya know). Judge me if you need to, I don't care. Because a 5-year-old sucking a pacifier is so cute! We decided that he was ready for preschool in January, so he just started preschool on Tuesdays & Thursdays. He loves it so much. And the girls love having him at school with him.

And Sarah Kate. She is so independent and bossy and sure of herself. She has a pretty good spot in the family with a big brother and a little brother. She LOVED Pippen this summer!

Spaghetti Squash Mexican Casserole

So last year, we grew spaghetti squash in our garden. It was a good decision. (Do you know how much spaghetti squash costs at the grocery???? Too much, I tell you. Too much.)

But! What to do with all of this squash? Sometimes I roast it, cut it in half (across, not long-ways like you normally see it - this way you get long strands of spaghetti, not short stubby pieces), and then, after I scrape it out of the skin, I spread it on a baking sheet, sprinkle it with salt, pepper, garlic powder & olive oil and broil it until it's starting to brown. Then spoon meat sauce over it. Delicious.

But other times, I make this Mexican casserole. We all love it. If we're doing a Whole30, I make it as is. If we're not, I sprinkle cheese on top toward the end of baking and then serve it with sour cream. Either way, I always serve it with a jar of pickled jalapenos. My kids skip those but love the casserole.

Spaghetti Squash Mexican Casserole
Adapted from My Heart Beets

1 lb ground beef
1 sweet onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp paprika
1 T cumin
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 T chili powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
15 oz can petite diced tomatoes
1 spaghetti squash, roasted until tender and seeds removed, strands separated from skin with a fork
1 egg, beaten
Optional: Mexican blend shredded cheese (sprinkle on top at the end of baking until just melted)
For serving: chopped cilantro, sour cream, lime wedges, pickled sliced jalapenos

In a large pot, brown the beef, onion, garlic and bell pepper. Stir and crumble until cooked through. If it seems greasy, drain the grease. Add the spices/seasonings and stir around to mix thoroughly. Stir in the tomatoes (juice and all) and the spaghetti squash strands. Stir in the egg, mix completely, and pour into a 9x13 casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees until hot and cooked through, about 45 minutes.

Greek Couscous Salad

I've made this salad a couple of times lately and it's just so good! I love Israeli couscous. The size and texture are nothing short of perfect. And this salad has pickled banana peppers in it - I've never added those to salad before and I LOVE it! AND it has a Cubanelle pepper, which I now love. (I'm pretty sure I've never used a Cubanelle before.) It's the light green pepper right with the other peppers and its flavor is less in-your-face than a green pepper.

This is the perfect summer salad. Fresh, tangy, colorful. Make it. You'll be glad you did.

Greek Couscous Salad
Inspired by Geoffrey Zakarian

1 cup uncooked Israeli Couscous
8 oz. baby arugula, thinly sliced/chopped
1/2 large red onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup kalamata olives (I leave them whole so my husband can pick them out; otherwise I would chop them finely)
1/2 cup chopped pickled banana peppers
1 T red wine vinegar
1 T extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 cubanelle pepper, chopped finely
about a cup of grape tomatoes, chopped into thirds
1 English cucumber, chopped finely
6 oz. feta cheese crumbles
1/2 tsp dried oregano

Cook the couscous in salted boiling water until it's cooked through. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool. Place in a large salad bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, except the feta, and toss to combine. Add the feta and stir gently as to not break it up too much. Serve immediately or chill first and then serve.