Everything But The... Brownies

Okay, so I must say that these are the most RIDICULOUS brownies I have ever made and tasted!!!! I take back ever saying that brownies from a box were disappointing, especially after making theses babies. I was searching around for some yummy brownies and when I came across these I couldn't resist. These brownies incorporate EVERYTHING in the recipe that I want in a dessert- brownies, chocolate, ice cream, hot fudge and, yes there's more, Oreos! Hence the reason why I like to call them Everything But The... Brownies.

I had my son help me make these and he thought I was the coolest mom because I let him add the chocolate chips, hot fudge and, this part made him REALLY excited, ice cream to the batter. Once we whipped up the batter I layered the first half of the mixture in the pan and had him layer on the Oreo cookies. Then we took the rest of the brownie mixture, covered the Oreos and popped them into the oven. We had them for dessert that night and topped them off with a scoop of ice cream (as if they needed more!). Seriously, can it get any better than this? I just look at it this way, I'm doing my gym a favor for making and eating these because I, and my behind, are just giving them more business:)! So not looking forward to my workout...

Ingredients:

1 pkg brownie mix (I used the family size)

2 eggs

1/2 c oil

1 1/2 c chocolate chips

1 heaping 1/2 c ice cream (whatever flavor you have on hand)

1/4 c hot fudge topping

Oreo cookies

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously spray a 9x13 foil lined baking dish with cooking spray. Combine brownie mix, eggs and oil in a bowl. Then add chocolate chips, ice cream and hot fudge to the batter and mix. Pour half of the brownie mixture into the pan, layer with Oreos, then top with remaining batter. Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Glorious Mashed Potatoes

The title and picture says it all! By far, this is my absolute favorite mashed potato recipe TO DATE (and I eat A LOT of potatoes)! The best part is that there is no need for gravy...they are THAT good! Mmmmm! I served this glorious side dish during our Sunday dinner of roasted garlic chicken, green garden salad, french bread, and warm peanut butter jumbo cookies with milk for dessert. Yumm-o!!!

INGREDIENTS

8-10 potatoes, peeled (Idaho spuds are my fav)
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 white onion, diced
4 cups chicken broth/stalk

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter
1/2 cup milk (may need up to 1 cup)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (I used 1/2 cup)
parsley
salt
pepper
garlic powder or garlic salt

DIRECTIONS

Place potatoes, carrot, celery, onion, and chicken broth in a large pot. Fill the pot with enough water to barely cover all the potatoes. Boil for about 30 minutes (I have also done it where I boil just the potatoes for 20 minutes and then the last 10 minutes I add the vegetables....this gives it more texture).
Drain the water leaving just a little bit in the pot.
Mash it all with a potato masher.
Add the butter, milk, soup, cheese. Mix and add more milk (a little at a time) until desired consititency. Spinkle in parsley, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to your liking. Serve! :)

Caramel Brownies

It's been a HECK of a long time since I have been able to post some recipes. Having a baby really throws things off a bit, especially when they are a preemie and have to be in the hospital for 4 months, but I am hoping I will be able to post more often now that our sweet little baby is home and things are starting to settle down a bit.

Now before I begin, can I just say how AMAZING these brownies are!?! A couple of weekends ago I tried making the old brownies from a box and I was TOTALLY disappointed!!!! Is it me, or are they really not as good as they used to be? Anyways, even though you still have to use boxed cake mix for these brownies they are SUPER good. They are currently one of my new favorite desserts to make lately. They are so chocolaty, rich and I just love the whole chocolate and caramel combo. If you are in need of a chocolate fix.... these will do the trick!

Ingredients:

1 (12oz) pkg chocolate chips

1 German chocolate cake mix

1/2 c butter, softened

2/3 c evaporated milk, divided

50 caramels, unwrapped and ready to go

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix together cake mix, butter and 1/3 c evaporated milk. Press 1/2 of the cake mixture into a 9x13 dish. Bake 6 minutes (make sure you do not over bake).

Meanwhile, melt caramels with 1/3 c evaporated milk in a saucepan over low heat. Remove dough from oven and sprinkle the partially baked dough with 1/2 of the chocolate chips. Then pour melted caramel mixture over chocolate chips. Press the remaining dough on top of the caramel layer and bake for about 25 minutes.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with the remaining chocolate chips. Allow to sit for 2 minutes, until melted, then spread evenly over the brownies. Cool completely before cutting.

Side Note: (I really like my brownies soft and on the gooier side. If you are like me, depending on the way your oven cooks, you make want to reduce the baking time from anywhere between 20-23 minutes or so.)