Ultimate Gooey Brownies

Brownies are a girl's best friend.  Wait, maybe that's diamonds.  Well, brownies are definitely top three.  I know what you're thinking.  Based on the above picture, these don't look like a very good quality of brownie.  It didn't stay in a perfect square; it fell apart!  If you like super-hard fudgy brownies, this recipe isn't for you.  But if you like your brownies gooey and melt-in-your-mouth moist, try this recipe.  You will never make brownies from a box again.  The best part is that this recipe is so simple, most of the ingredients are things you keep in your pantry anyway.  With the exception, perhaps, of the chocolate chips.  Unless you are like my mother, then you keep chocolate chips on hand too.

What You Need

-1 1/2 Cup sugar
-3/4 Cup flour
-3/4 Cup cocoa powder
-3/4 Cup of butter, melted (That's 1 and 1/2 stick)
-3/4 Cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 eggs

What You Do

-Preheat oven to 350.  Spray a 8x8 baking pan.
-Combine all ingredients.  Mix by hand; do not beat.
-Bake about 20 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean or mostly clean.

The finished consistency will seem almost like they are not cooked through, but it will melt in your mouth.  Best if served warm.

Servings: 16
Approximate Cost: $3.50

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies With Cream Cheese Filling

Mom discovered this recipe on Pinterest.  It comes from a blog called Dreamy Desserts.  Here is a link to the original recipe.  When mom said she wanted to make them, I was thinking, "Why have pumpkin when you can have chocolate?" but figured it was something to do.  I have to say... These are absolutely amazing!  They would be welcome at anyone's Thanksgiving festivities, and I can guarantee you they will grace my table!

What You Need

Cookies

-1Tablespoon Cinnamon
-1 teaspoon Baking Soda
-1 teaspoon Baking Powder
-1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
-1/2 teaspoon Salt
-1/2 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
-1/4 teaspoon Ground Cloves

-1 cup Brown Sugar

-1 cup Sugar

-1 cup Vegetable Oil

-1 - 15 oz.Can of Pumpkin

-2 Large Eggs

-1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Filling

-1 8oz Package Cream Cheese, softened

-1 Stick Unsalted Butter, room temperature

-1 16oz Package Powdered Sugar (Or 2 Cups)

-1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

-1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

What You Do

Preheat oven to 350. Beat together brown sugar, white sugar, oil, and pumpkin.  Add eggs one at a time, beating in between.  Add Vanilla.  In a separate bowl, mix all dry ingredients.  Slowly incorporate dry ingredients, beating in between additions.

Using a pastry bag with a round tip, or a freezer back with the corner snipped, pipe cooking onto a parchment paper covered cookie sheet.  Start in the middle and spiral outward, making each cooking about 2 inches in diameter.  Bake for 11 minutes and cool on rack.

Meanwhile, beat together the cream cheese and butter.  Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon.  Beat until smooth.  After the cooking have cooled, cover the flat side of the cookie with frosting, then cover with another cookie, making a sandwich.

Enjoy them warm or chill overnight.

This recipe for me made 4 batches of 15 cookies, and a 5th batch of 16 cookies.  After being iced, that's 38 cookies.  The frosting recipe was exactly enough, quite literally.  Not too little and none left over.

-Servings: 38

-Approximate Cost: $8, assuming these spices are already in your pantry.

Super Easy Chili

First off, please excuse the quality of the above picture.  I took several when I made chili, but they all came out blurry.  This is an older picture I had on my phone, which looks much better than the recent ones.  Still trying to master my new camera!

On to the subject today, Super Easy Chili.  This is my own recipe.  Chili is one of my favorite meals during fall and winter.  To me, it is the ultimate comfort food.  There are lots of ways to eat chili, but I like mine with Mexican mix cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and Scoop Fritos!  For this recipe, use your favorite chili mix.  I use a kind call Bloemer's.  It is manufactured in Louisville, KY, which is not far from where I live, but I believe this particular type of chili start is not available in all parts of the country.  Look for it in the meat department, in the cooler next to the hamburger.  Here is what it looks like.

What You Need

-1lb Ground Chuck
-2 Cans of Chili ready diced tomatoes
-2 Cans of Chili ready beans
-Bloemer's Chili starter, or your favorite
-1 Cup water

What You Do

Brown your ground beef and drain the grease off of it.  Add your beans and tomatoes--Don't drain them first!  Add them liquid and all!  Add the cup of water and stir well.  If you like your chili super thick, you don't have to add the water, but I like a little gravy in mine.  Add your chili starter.  Now, if you are able to find Bloemer's, it will come out of this tub in a hard rock form.  The first time I saw this, I thought it was outdated, but that is the way it's supposed to look.  Cover your chili and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the chili starter has dissolved.

My lump of chili starter.  Serve your favorite way.  Try with Mexican cheese, sour cream, and Fritos, or sharp cheddar and cornbread.

Servings: 8
Approximate Cost: $9

Crock Pot Chicken & Gravy

I don't know about you guys, but I absolutely love meals that you can just throw in the crock pot and not worry about messing with for 6 hours!  It eases the stress of feeding the kids on a busy week night, especially if you don't like taking the easy way out and ordering fast food or a pizza.  Now, I'm a gravy kind of gal, and this recipe is simple yet SO delicious.  We discovered it from the blog Plain Chicken, and here is a link to the original recipe.  We changed it a little.

What You Need

-2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
-1 can of Cream of Chicken soup
-1 envelope of powdered Turkey Gravy mix (The original recipe calls for chicken gravy mix, but to me, turkey has more flavor)
-2 Cups steamed rice

Please note, we did double our recipe, but still only added ONE envelope of gravy mix, and it came out perfect.  So if you double, only double the chicken and soup.

What You Do

Add chicken to the bottom of the crock pot.  Mix soup and gravy mix and pour over the top.  Cook for 4-6 hours or until chicken is cooked through.  Shred the chicken with two forks and serve over rice.

Servings: 4
Approximate cost: $4

S'mores Croissants

First off, please forgive the quality of the above picture.  My camera wasn't cooperating.  Now, I saw this recipe on Pinterest and thought it was a neat idea.  The original pin came from a blog and can be found here.  I did them a little different, but they were good all the same!

What You Need

-1 roll of Crescent Rolls
-About 1 cup of chocolate chips (I used mini chocolate chips because I had an open bag but they were a pain to keep on the dough!)
-About 1 cup or 40 mini marshmallows
-1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
-1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

What You Do

 Start by spraying your cookie sheet with cooking spray.  Don't be like me and forget!  Preheat your oven to 375.  Unroll and separate the crescent rolls.  Add approximately 1/8th of a cup of chocolate chips for each triangle.  Push them down into the dough; it makes them stay in place when you roll the dough up.  Add about 5 mini marshmallows on each triangle.

Begin rolling each triangle, starting with the wide end.  I ended up having to tuck the corners of the wide end around also, to keep all of my annoying little escapee chips in.  In a saucer, mix the sugar and cinnamon.  Sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon mix on top of each s'mores roll.  Bake for 10 minutes or until the crescent rolls are golden brown.  Enjoy!

Servings: 8
Approximate Cost: $3

Cheesy Potato and Corn Chowder

This was a recipe I hadn't tried before, but it sounded good.  The original recipe is from allrecipes.com and can be found here.  I did change it up for our own taste.  I am a person who hates celery with a passion, and not a fan of fresh onion.  I will eat fresh onion, but to me, dried chopped onion and onion powder has more flavor.

What You Need

-2 Tablespoons of butter or margarine
-1 chopped onion or 1/8 cup dried chopped onion
-2 (14.5oz) chicken broth
-3 potatoes, peeled and chopped
-1 (15oz) can of whole kernel corn
-1 (4oz) can of chopped green chiles
-1 (2.5oz) package of country style gravy mix
-2 cups milk
-1 cup shredded Mexican cheese

What You Do

Add margarine to your pot and add your onion, be it fresh or dried.  Saute until lightly browned and cooked through.  Add two cans of chicken broth.  Bring to a boil and add your potatoes.  Turn to a low or medium low heat and let simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through and tender.

Should be smelling good by the time the potatoes are done!  Add the corn and chiles.  Return to boiling.  Meanwhile, in another bowl, combine the gravy mix and milk.  Stir into boiling chowder.  Add cheese and stir until it is melted.

Serve with corn bread or a sandwich.  I had a chicken breast and swiss sandwich with mine and it was absolutely delicious!

Servings: 8... plenty to take to lunch the next day!
Approximate cost: $8

Simplify Breakfast

Breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day, but by the time you buy your bacon or make sausage gravy, it's easy to spend a good amount of money.  However, everyone likes eggs for breakfast, right?  And eggs are cheap; the perfect food for the frugal cook.  When the grocery store has a good sale, you can get a dozen eggs for $1.  They are high in protein, and even if you are keeping an eye on your cholesterol, you can still eat the whites.

Also, instead of buying expensive bacon or sausage, especially since the price keeps sky-rocketing, try an alternative meat to go along with your eggs.  In the above picture, I have bologna, fried lightly before pouring in the eggs to scramble.  Add some shredded cheese and you have a tasty start to your day.

Next is a section I would like to call...

Food For Thought

Instead of making regular french toast with syrup, try mixing it up a little.  My favorite way to make french toast is to add peanut butter.  The heat melts it, and you can add syrup or honey if you want, but don't have to.  Peanut butter is also high in protein and is thick, so it fills you up.  Or omit the peanut butter and try some locally harvested honey.  Perhaps some fried apples, or cream cheese.  The possibilities are endless, and most importantly, it's cheap!

Kung Pao Chicken

This is a recipe my mom has made since I was a kid.  She started with a dry seasoning mix that is impossible to find anymore, but we have discovered a liquid sauce packet.  This is not a fancy recipe, but it is relatively inexpensive, but sure tastes good!  Please note, if you do not like spicy food, even a little bit, you won't like this dish!

What you need:

-Lee Kum Kee Panda Brand sauce for Kung Pao Chicken
-1lb. boneless skinless chicken breast
-1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil OR sesame oil
-4-6 green onions
-1/3 Cup unsalted peanuts
-2 Cups white rice
-(optional) Frozen egg rolls

What you do:

-Cut your chicken breast into 1 inch pieces.  Add the oil to a skillet or wok and heat to a medium-high temperature.  Add your chicken and cook until done.
-Cut your green onions into 1/2 inch pieces and add to the chicken.  Add peanuts to the skillet as well.  Meanwhile, prepare your rice according to its instructions.

-Stir fry chicken, onions, and peanuts for two minutes.  Add sauce packet.  Here is a picture of the package to help you locate it in your grocery store.

-Heat until the sauce begins to bubble, then remove from heat.  Serve over rice with a frozen egg roll.

Servings: 4
Approximate cost: $7