Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Wednesday Brownies

.
This recipe came about as I was in a big hurry to get a dessert made before our church group came in just over an hour.  So of course when you are in a hurry mistakes happen.  But you just keep going, adjusting the mistakes.  

1 stick of butter
8 ounces of dark chocolate chips
1 cup sugar

1/2 cup flour
2 Tbls dark chocolate cocoa
2 eggs
2 Tbls brandy
1 tsp vanilla
a pinch of salt
as many chopped pecans as you'd like

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Put a piece of parchment paper into an 8 inch square pan, with the paper sticking up above the edges.

Put the butter chips and sugar into a microwave proof bowl, and process for about 1 1/2 minutes in the microwave.  Remove from the microwave and give it a vigorous stir with a wooden spoon.

Mix the flour, cocoa, and salt and stir into the mixture.
Stir in the eggs, one at a time.
Add the brandy and vanilla.
Finally, stir in the pecans.
Pour the batter into the pan, spread around to level.
Bake for about 30 minutes.

I cut this into 36 pieces, but that makes for 1 1/4 square pieces.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Russian Peas and Carrots


8 oz carrots, in 2 inch long julienned strips
1 1/2 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons sugar
water to barely cover the carrots
a pinch of salt

6 oz frozen peas in a microwavable dish
some water in the dish, not to cover

1 tbl flour
salt and pepper to taste


Put the carrots into a frying pan with a lid.
Add the next 4 ingredients and cover and cook on medium heat until the carrots are just au dent.
Meanwhile, put the peas in the microwave and heat about 2 minutes.
Strain the liquid off the carrots into a small saucepan.
Strain the liquid from the peas into a small dish to reserve and put the peas in with the carrots.
Heat the carrot liquid and stir in the flour, adding enough of the peas liquid to make a nice sauce.
Pour the sauce over the vegies, and keep warm until time to serve. Covering the pan will probably suffice.

I went to get a picture of this, from the left-overs, but I was too late. A daughter had put all the leftovers together in a dish, and the peas and carrots were at the bottom. I'll have to get a picture later.