Spring Cleaning Recipe for the Grout

7 cups water, 1/2 cup baking soda, 1/3 cup lemon juice and 1/4 cup vinegar - throw in a spray bottle and spray your floor, let it sit for a minute or two... then scrub.

FUDGE Brownies *No Bake*

Is it fudge or a brownie?  You taste and decide.

My opinion on these is that it's somewhere in between fudge and a brownie.  Creamy like fudge, but less dense.

What I like about these is that unlike fudge and some baked brownie recipes, these are not sickeningly sweet, despite the amount of sugar used.

If you wanted to cut down the sugar some, substitute the graham crumbs for saltines.  That would probably work and give a different turn on the texture.

The original recipe, which was from an ancient Bake-Off book from the late 1950s called for all butter, but these days I'm into subbing coconut oil for at least 1/2 the butter.  You can substitute all coconut oil if you wish and an unprocessed coconut oil would add a nice coconutty flavor!  They could probably be made entirely vegan with a soy/almond/coconut milk substitution, HOWEVER (and it's a big HOWEVER) it would have to mimic evaporated milk...most of the water content would have to be removed.  I'm not even sure if they sell such a thing...but if they do, it's probably a safe substitution.  If you choose to use any of the above in their normal state, the sugar/milk mixture will have to be boiled longer--to what is known as "soft-ball" stage, so you'd need a candy thermometer.  But do this at your own risk, because I'm not sure what your results will be.  They'll be TASTY but they may not set up.

• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup butter (I used 1/2 butter, 1/2 coconut oil)
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs

Spray or grease a 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 inch pan.  Set aside.

Place evaporated milk, sugar and butter in a large, deep saucepan.  Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. When mixture begins to boil, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Mixture will foam and rise...you need a DEEP saucepan as the volume will double when boiling...this is important!!!

Add the flour, chocolate chips, walnuts and graham cracker crumbs.  Stir until well combine.

Pour in prepared pan and let cool.  Pan may also be placed in the refrigerator to speed the cooling process (about 30 minutes in refrigerator).

Cut into 9 bars when cool.  Serves 9

No-Bake Brownies

No-Bake Brownies

Roasted Red Potatoes

 Quarter the potatoes long-wise. Toss in olive oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary. Arrange potatoes in muffin tin as shown. Add garlic clove in the middle of the potato quarters. Add half a teaspoon of olive oil on top of each garlic clove. Bake 375 Fahrenheit or 190 Celsius for 25 minutes!

Zucchini Brownies with 1 minute frosting

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 1/2 cups grated zucchini, undrained (about one large)
1 Minute Frosting
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease and flour a 9x13 pan.
3. Combine oil, sugar, egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder and baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and stir well. It will appear quite dry... TRUST the recipe. Gently stir in the zucchini and spread the mixture into your prepared pan.
4. Bake 25-30 minutes.
Frosting
5. While cake is cooling, combine butter, milk and sugar in a small pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Allow to boil vigorously for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips. Immediately pour over warm brownies. Let cool completely before cutting.

Notes:

These were super moist and delicious… and you’d never know there was a secret ingredient in there!

One thing you need to know about this recipe… when you get the flour/sugar combined… just before you add the zucchini the consistency will seem dry.. almost sandy.  TRUST the recipe.. just go with it! You’ll be glad you did!  Stir in the zucchini and your batter will moisten and be nice and thick and yummy.  Make sure you don’t squeeze or drain your zucchini and you’ll be just fine!

The 1 Minute Frosting is a recipe I’ve been using for years and it’s easy and yummy!  It works perfectly on any cake or brownie recipe that is contained in a pan!

Follow Spend With Pennies on Pinterest for more great recipes!

30 days of lunchbox recipes: No Repeats!

courtesy of http://www.peanutblossom.com/blog/2013/08/lunchbox-recipes.html/

Materials you need, links to sources included:

• Cute and easy lunch bag: Buy here
  UPDATED: The bag featured in my images is currently sold out but they do have 2 other cute styles available.
  You can find them both here and here.
• Plastic bento-style container: Buy here
  UPDATED: I’m told my original container suggestion is sold out. Though I have not tried them personally, a great friend recommended these as another alternative. You can buy them here.
• Ice pack
• Small cookie cutters: Buy here
• Toothpicks or skewers

Methods: I have 4 presentation methods I rotate depending on the ingredients and food.

1. Roll-ups: The Peanut’s favorite. Take the meat and/or cheese, lay it flat. Roll it up like a burrito. Slice it into chunks, hold in place with toothpicks.

2. Stackers: I call this the “make your own lunchables” method. Meat, cheese, crackers, and assorted toppings are presented for the kids to mix and match their own bites.

3. Nibble Plates: Also known as “What on earth do I have in the fridge?!” day! Random bits and pieces that have some seemingly cohesive theme are presented in their own containers to nibble on. Bits of leftover chicken, fruits, veggies, etc.

4. Cut-outs: There are a precious few sandwiches on this list. When they hit rotation, I use a larger cookie cutter to remove the crusts. My favorite is a scalloped heart shape that uses almost every ounce of food with little wasted edges.

30 Days of No Repeats!

1. Deli turkey + cheddar slices in roll-ups, pretzels, apple wedges

2. Turkey pepperoni + swiss cheese + butter crackers in stacks, red grapes, carrots

3. Deli ham + grilled corn guacamole + American cheese, rolled up in a tortilla and sliced into pinwheels, strawberries, carrots

4. Whole wheat pita wedges + cream cheese spread + raisins + ham roll-ups

5. Graham crackers + cookie butter sandwiches, strawberries, yogurt

6. Tortillas + cream cheese spiced with taco seasoning + rotisserie chicken rolled up and cut into pinwheels, cherry tomatoes

7. Pasta tossed with olive oil or salad dressing + pea pods + rotisserie chicken + grapes

8. Deli roast beef + cheddar in roll-ups, carrots, apple wedges

9. Jelly sandwich cut-out, cheese stick, banana

10. Nut-free homemade granola (that recipe has nuts but you can easily leave them out), yogurt, strawberries, Nilla wafers

11. Shredded cheese + rotisserie chicken microwaved into a tortilla quesadilla, salsa + tortilla chips

12. Deli ham + havarti + pear + rye toasts served as nibble plate

13. Bacon + tomato + shredded lettuce + cream cheese rolled into a tortilla pinwheel, berries

14. Asian marinated chicken bits leftover from dinner + pea pods + pasta noodles + grapes served as nibble platter

15. Breadsticks + marinara dip + mozzarella cheese stick cut into cubes + pepperoni slices served as a nibble platter

16. “Deconstructed chicken pot pie”: Rotisserie chicken + peas + carrots + butter crackers served as nibble platter, applesauce

17. Noodles tossed with pesto, parmesan cheese chunks, tomatoes

18. “The Toddler”: Goldfish crackers, raisins, cheese stick, apple cut into chunks

19. Honey soy chicken leftover from dinner, plain noodles (avoid the peanut butter that comes with the original recipe), carrots

20. Deli ham + cantaloupe + mozzarella cheese + tomatoes served as a nibble platter

21. Biscuit, split in half + pulled pork leftover from dinner + shredded cheddar cheese for a mini sandwich, watermelon chunks

22. English muffin + marinara sauce + shredded mozzarella for homemade pizza bites, grapes

23. Pumpkin bread + whipped cream cheese spread + raisins + plain ham rollups

24. Chicken pieces leftover from dinner + pita wedges + cherry tomatoes + tzatziki sauce served as dipping platter

25. Pancakes cut into strips + yogurt + berries + bacon served as dipping platter

26. Shrimp + cocktail sauce + pineapple chunks + bagel chips served as nibble plate

27. Banana zucchini bread + yogurt + raisins

28. Hawaiian bun + ham + american cheese for miniature sandwiches, apple slices, carrots

29. THINLY sliced cucumbers + cream cheese + white bread + sprinkle of dill for uncrusted cocktail sandwiches, grapes,

30. Leftover salmon chunks from dinner + blueberries + tomatoes + pita bread wedges served as nibble platter

How to bake the perfect cookie (learn what to tweak)

There is a science to cookie baking. Follow the recipe exactly and every once in awhile the perfect cookies will emerge from the oven. But I want to know how to get those excellent treats every time!

For example, if you want a crispy cookie with a soft center, use 1/4 teaspoon baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda. Want it more cakey? Use more baking soda to puff the cookies up.

Ooey-gooey: Add 2 cups flour (instead of 2 1/4).

A nice tan: Set the oven higher than 350 degrees (maybe 360). Caramelization, which gives cookies their nice brown tops, occurs above 356 degrees, says the Ted video.

Crispy with a soft center: Use 1/4 teaspoon baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda.

Chewy: Substitute bread flour for all-purpose flour.

Just like store-bought: Trade the butter for shortening. Arias notes that this ups the texture but reduces some flavor; her suggestion is to use half butter and half shortening.

Thick (and less crispy): Freeze the batter for 30 to 60 minutes before baking. This solidifies the butter, which will spread less while baking.

Cakey: Use more baking soda because, according to Nyberg, it “releases carbon dioxide when heated, which makes cookies puff up.”

Butterscotch flavored: Use 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar (instead of the same amount of combined granulated sugar and light brown sugar).

Uniformity: If looks count, add one ounce corn syrup and one ounce granulated sugar.

More. Just, more: Chilling the dough for at least 24 hours before baking deepens all the flavors, Arias found.

The best trick to have moist, fluffy cookies is to add a box of instant vanilla pudding to the flour mixture.

 the 3 rules for baking good cookies are:
1. UNDERBAKE2. UNDERBAKE3. UNDERBAKE

Note the longer you keep the cookie on the cookie tray once you take it out of the oven it will continue to brown and harden. Put cookies on cooling racks to cool down right away.

Bonus Tip: Use your nose, instructs the Ted Talk. That delicious cookie smell signifies cookie doneness as effectively as a timer.


In addition to under-baking, add a slice of bread to the container you store the cookies in. They will absorb the moisture from the bread and stay soft for days!  (That is largely based on how much brown sugar you've used. Brown sugar has properties that allow it to absorb moisture from the environment. An all white-sugar cookie will never soften from outside moisture.)

vintage cake

his Vintage Cake combines two layers of white cake, with a surprise brownie layer soaked in a decadent chocolate sauce. And the cream cheese frosting takes it right over the top!

Ingredients

• Amanda's white cake recipe OR 1 box white cake mix
• Amanda's Decadent Brownies OR 1 box brownie mix
• 2 squares (2 ounces) semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 7 ounces sweetened condensed milk (half of a 14-ounce can)
Cream Cheese Frosting:
• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups confectioner's sugar
• 1/4 cup milk

Instructions

1. Prepare white cake as directed on the box, and pour into two 9-inch round cake pans. Allow cakes to cool to room temperature.
2. Prepare brownies as directed, baking in a 9-inch round cake pan.
3. To make the chocolate sauce, place the chocolate, sweetened condensed milk and 1 tablespoon water in a small saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring until the chocolate is melted (about 5 minutes).
4. While the brownies are still warm, place the brownie layer on a cake stand. Slowly pour the chocolate sauce on top, letting it soak into the brownie. Allow the sauce to soak in for at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, make the cream cheese frosting (see below).
5. Place a white cake layer on top of the brownies and top with approximately 1/4 cup of the frosting using an offset spatula.
6. Add the second white cake layer and cover the cake in a layer of cream cheese frosting. Since I'm not a pro at decorating, I used Amanda's tip and just swooped my spatula through the frosting in a "C" shape.
7. Chill the cake until ready to serve.
To make the frosting:
8. Combine the cream cheese, butter and vanilla in a stand mixer and mix on medium speed until incorporated, about 1 or 2 minutes. Add the confectioner's sugar 1 cup at a time, until the frosting is light and creamy. For thicker/stiffer frosting, add more confectioner's sugar 1/4 cup at a time. If the frosting is too stiff, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time.

 White cake

The flavor is fantastic and the texture is truly perfection. One major adaptation I did was using 8-in cake pans.  The original recipe calls for 9-in and about 5 minutes less cooking time.  If you plan on using 9-in plans please do consult the original recipe.  The first time I made it I used 8-in cake pans with no time adaptation and was not as successful.

The Perfect White Cake

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups cake flour
• 1 cup milk at room temperature
• 6 large egg whites at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons almond extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened but still cool

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 8-inch cake pans.
2. Make sure milk and eggs are room temperature.
3. Pour milk (I used skim) , egg whites, and extracts into medium bowl and mix with fork until blended.
4. Mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed. Add butter, cut into cubes and continue beating on low for about 1-2 minutes.
5. Add all but 1/2 cup of milk mixture to flour mixture and beat at medium speed for 1 1/2 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup of milk mixture and beat for about 1 minute.
6. Pour batter evenly between two prepared cake pans.
7. Bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 27 to 30 minutes.
8. Allow cake to cool to room temperature.
9. Frost cakes with favorite frosting.
10. Just barely adapted from epicurious, taken from Cooks Illustrated.

Read more: http://iambaker.net/the-perfect-white-cake/#ixzz394hYQdHb

brownies

While I love a good fudgey brownie, this cakey brownie with a crispy crust and bits of semi-sweet chocolate is my newest obsession.

Decadent Homemade Brownies

Ingredients

• 1 cup granulate sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cake flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate (about 2 ounces) finely chopped

Heat oven to 350 degrees and prepare an 8-inch round cake pan.

In stand mixer, combine sugars, butter and vanilla and mix on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time until well blended.

Sift flours, cocoa and salt in medium bowl. Gradually add the flour mixture to butter mixture with mixer on low speed and blend until ingredients are fully combined. (no more than 1 minute)

Remove bowl from mixer and fold in finely chopped chocolate by hand using a spatula.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let brownies cool to room temperature in pan.

Read more: http://iambaker.net/decadent-homemade-brownies/#ixzz394i2PAbW