The Best Mint Brownies on the Planet!

For those of us that went to BYU, I'm sure you'll remember the Fantastic mint brownies at the Creamery.  This is the official BYU mint brownie recipe (don't ask me how I got it.......ok it's posted on their website) and it is my new favorite dessert.  I'm a chocoholic and I ALWAYS keep brownie mix in the house in case of chocolate emergencies.  My poor husband is sick of brownies because of this, but when I found this lovely recipe, he didn't mind the brownie-baking so much.

BYU Mint Brownies

MAKES ONE 9-BY-13 PAN OF BROWNIES.
PREP AND COOK: 90 min. COOL: 1 hr.

Ingredients:

BROWNIES:
1 c. margarine
1/2 c. cocoa
2 Tbsp. honey
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. chopped walnuts
12 oz. chocolate icing (Use your own icing recipe or purchase some chocolate frosting. You can also search the Internet for chocolate icing recipes.)

MINT ICING
5 Tbsp. margarine
dash of salt
3 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
2 1/3 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. mint extract (Note: don't accidentally buy peppermint extract...it just isn't the same)
1-2 drops green food coloring

Method:
1. Melt margarine and mix in cocoa. Allow to cool. Add honey, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Add nuts. Pour batter into a greased 9-by-13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool.
2. Prepare mint icing: Soften margarine. Add salt, corn syrup, and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Add mint extract and food coloring. Mix. Add milk gradually until the consistency is a little thinner than cake frosting.
3. Spread mint icing over brownies. Place brownies in the freezer for a short time to stiffen the icing (Note: by short time they mean at least 30 minutes). Remove from the freezer and carefully add a layer of chocolate icing.


PS:  If you are lazy like me, you can just do a box mix and then follow the recipe for the icing. It turns out almost as good as the "from scratch" recipe.  Also, the corn syrup isn't super-important in the mint icing, so you can skip it if you want and just add a little extra milk if it's too stiff.

Double Chocolate Almond Cookies

I made this today for the ladies in my ward and it was a BIG hit! I even had left overs to give to some of the Primary kids as they walked out of the room.

* The dough is thick! You may even have to mix a little by hand at the end. The cookies do harden when cooled...and they are SO yummy!

I got the recipe from Ida Garten on Food Network.

Ingredients

• 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) salted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup firmly packed dark or light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup almonds, chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream the butter and sugars. Add the egg and vanilla and mix together. Add the flour mixture and continue mixing until just combined.

Add the chocolates and almonds and mix until combined. Using two tablespoons or a small ice cream scoop, drop the dough two inches apart on sheet pans lined with parchment. Bake for 15 minutes.

Cool the cookies on the cookie sheets. The cookies should be very soft when they are removed from the oven. They will firm up as they cool.

Tater Tot Casserole.

I like this recipe on cool days and with ketchup on the side :o) There are many ways to make this, but this is my way.

Ingredients:
1lb ground beef
minced dry onions (to taste)
salt & pepper (to taste)
1 bag tater tots
1 can cream of chicken soup + 1 can milk
cheese

Directions:
Flatten out ground beef in 9x13 pan. Sprinkle salt, pepper and minced dry onions over beef to your liking.
In separate bowl, mix cream of chicken + milk. Line tater tots in rows over beef, pour cream of chicken mixture over tater tots. Put in 375 degree oven for 1 hour.
About 10-15 min before the hour is up, pull the pan out and sprinkle cheese over it. Put back in oven for the remainder of the time, or until the cheese is melted to your liking.

Serve and Enjoy!

Ground Beef and Everything

Hi! I'm Crystal Farnsworth, Kira's mom. I hadn't cooked this recipe in probably 25 years, but I needed something good and hearty for the fire department dinner last month and it was a hit! It is easy, rib-sticking, very flavorable, good for a large group, and freezes really well.



2 lbs. lean ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 can mild Ortega chilis, chopped

2 fresh tomatos, chopped

1 can sliced mushrooms

1/2 lb. Mozarella cheese, grated

1/2 lb. cheddar cheese, grated

Brown and drain ground beef. Salt and pepper to taste. Add the rest of the ingredients. Cook until cheese is entirely melted, stirring often. Serve on French rolls or pita pocket bread.

Serves 16

Thanksgiving Cranberry Relish

From the Kitchen of Melody Armstrong:

1 pkg cranberries

1 cup sugar (or more, depending on how sweet you like the relish)

1 apple (peeled and cubed)

1 orange (peeled and cubed)

1 tsp cinnamon (this is just a rough estimate, add another 1/2 tsp if needed)

.

Put cranberries in pot. Fill with water to just cover the cranberries. Add the peeled and cubed apple and orange, sugar and cinnamon. While it's boiling a pink foam will form- just skim it off.

Cooking time: about 30 minutes or until the cranberries pop and it becomes thick.

Pour into a bowl, chill and serve.

Crock Pot Beef Stew

Hi!  I'm Kirsten, Kira's friend from...well, from pretty much forever.  She is a lovely person and has let me ride her coat-tails and contribute to her recipe blog.  Hopefully, she won't regret that decision :)

When I was pregnant with my son, I craved V8 like nothing else, which is weird because I usually can't stand the stuff.  As soon as I gave birth, the cravings for V8 disappeared and I found myself with several LARGE bottles of V8 to use.  I found this on a recipe website (Recipezaar, which is now food.com) when I was looking for something that would use it up.  It also used up a bunch of the stuff in my overly-crowded freezer.  So I couldn't resist trying it out.  It turned out really good!

 

Old-Fashioned Beef Stew for your Crock Pot

 

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 lb beef or pork stew meat, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 1 medium onion, cut into thin wedges
• 2 1/2 cups cubed potatoes
• 1 cup frozen cut green beans
• 1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
• 1 cup sliced carrot
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable juice cocktail
• 2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons snipped fresh marjoram, crushed or 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram, crushed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons snipped fresh oregano, crushed or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 bay leaf

Directions

1. Place flour in a plastic bag.
2. Add meat cubes, a few at a time, shaking to coat.
3. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven brown meat, half at a time, in hot oil.
4. Drain off fat.
5. In the bottom of a 3-1/2- or 4-quart electric crock pot layer onion, potatoes, green beans, corn, carrot, and meat.
6. Combine vegetable juice cocktail, bouillon granules, Worcestershire sauce, marjoram, oregano, pepper, and bay leaf.
7. Pour over meat and vegetables in crock pot.
8. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 10 to 12 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender.
9. Discard bay leaf.

Snickerdoodles!

I admit I totally stole this recipe off my coworker's blog (Thanks Jeannie). I'm looking forward to trying it out!

1 cup shortening

1 1/2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

2 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons white sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400

Mix the shortening and 1 1/2 cups of white sugar until smooth. Stir in the eggs one at a time, blending well after each. Combine the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt; stir into the batter until blended.

Roll the dough into balls the size of small walnuts. Roll in a mixture of the 2 tbsp sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly golden brown, but still soft.

Yum!

Dressing Chicken

This one is from Rich's Aunt Janet. I'm looking forward to trying it!

4 skinless chicken breasts
1 can whole cranberry sauce
1 package dry onion soup
1 cup dressing (french, russian, or catalina- she likes catalina, but plans to try russian)

Mix last 3 ingredients, pour over chicken.

Bake for 45-60 minutes at 350 degrees.