Fun Friday: Don't Ask, Don't Tell Brownies

Oh. My. Gosh. If you had told me this morning that it was possible to make whole wheat better-for-you brownies that were to die for, I would have thought you were smoking something. What makes a from-scratch brownie good is the melted butter and fudgy, fattening, yumminess, right?

Apparently, I was mistaken. It all started when I was trying to decide what I should make for our Fun Friday. Since I'm in the middle of a move, I'm trying to use up partially eaten stuff from my freezer. Enter one half-eaten bag of chocolate chips. And what did I want to do with them? I really wanted to make chocolate chip brownies. What to do, what to do...?

Although I have previously tried a Whole Wheat Brownie Mix, I wasn't thrilled with it. They tasted too much like low-fat brownies. And my tried and true homemade brownies use melted butter like most recipes do. I know from experience that if you add chocolate chips to warm batter they melt. (Shocking, but true!) So it was time for me to find a new recipe.

I went to Allrecipes and found a basic recipe to start from that used oil instead of melted butter (to see the original recipe, click here). Then I started tweaking it in true Candid Cook fashion, using up some sweet potato puree I had in my fridge in the process.

Here's the recipe I ended up with:

Don't Ask, Don't Tell Brownies

2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. baking cocoa
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
4 eggs
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
2/3 c. canola or olive oil
1 c. sweet potato puree
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder. Make a well in the center.

In order to keep from using a separate mixing bowl for your wet ingredients, add them in the following order: eggs. corn syrup, vanilla, and oil. Place them into the "well" as shown in the picture here with the eggs.

Mix together as much as you can. Batter will still be very thick.

Add sweet potato puree and mix until creamy.

Stir in chocolate chips and pour into 13x9 inch pan sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean.

Sweet Potato Puree

It all started when I began making my own baby food. Then I discovered a myriad of uses for things like sweet potato puree and butternut squash puree. I would add it to my Sunday Morning Pancakes, Stovetop Mac & Cheese, or anything else I thought I could sneak it into. Since I have and will post the occasional recipe that uses sweet potato puree, I thought it might be a good idea to tell you how to make it. It's the sort of thing you don't want to have to make while you're in the middle of preparing a recipe that calls for it, but if you make it ahead of time and store it in the fridge, it stays good for about a week or two.

Peel and chop a medium-large sweet potato into large chunks. Place in a microwave-safe bowl or container.

Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water. Cover and steam in the microwave for about 5 minutes. Remove and stir. Check tenderness with a fork. If the fork slides through the sweet potato easily, it is done. If not, return to the microwave and cook an additional 2-3 minutes until completely tender.

Pour the sweet potato chunks and water into a food processor or blender. Add another 2-3 Tbsp of water and puree.

If the mixture is too thick to mix thoroughly, add additional water a tablespoon at a time and continue blending/processing.

Kitchen Essentials: The Microwave Egg Cooker

What a crazy week! For those of you who know me personally, you know that my family is buying a new home and we are gearing up to move. For those who just admire me from afar... now you know. Either way, it means I haven't had a chance to do much creative cooking or photo-snapping this week. However, for some time I have wanted to post about some of my favorite "kitchen essentials" - you know, things that you didn't always know about but now you can't live without them! For me, this microwave egg cooker thingie (I don't even know its real name!) is just one of those things.

Several years ago a good friend of mine (Laresa) told me about it. To be honest, I really stink at making hard-boiled eggs. For some reason I can never get them quite right. Oh, sure, they taste just fine - but getting them out of the shells was like performing delicate surgery! Half of the egg white would come off with the egg shell. I was hopeless. Until now...

So what is this thing anyway? Basically, it looks like a giant plastic egg. The one I have holds 4 eggs, though I believe you can buy some that hold more.

How does it work? The bottom metal piece comes out of the plastic egg and you fill the bottom of the egg cooker with water up to a certain line. Then you place the metal piece back on, gently put on the eggs, and cook the whole thing on high in your microwave as directed - I do my 4 eggs for 10 minutes. Then I leave the eggs sitting in the egg cooker for another 10 minutes or so until it cools some. This also makes sure the eggs are cooked completely. And yes, I know it has metal in it, but trust me - it's microwave safe.

What's so great about it? I can put this in the microwave and forget about it. I don't have to babysit a pan of boiling water on the stove, and I always have four perfect hard-boiled eggs when I'm done. No cracking or leaking, the yolk is perfectly centered, and (joy of joys) the egg shell always comes off for me so easily!

Where do you get it? I got mine at Walmart for $6.95 about four years ago. I assume they still carry them, but if you can't find one at your local stores, use Google and it'll take you to plenty of choices. I've seen them on eBay and other online stores, too. Skip the $30 varieties and just go for the one that is less than $10. Not only is it inexpensive, it will change your life if you are a big fan of hard-boiled or deviled eggs like my family. Hooray for the microwave egg cooker!

Lime Grilled Chicken

Don't you just love grilled chicken? When we moved across country a year ago we left our inexpensive charcoal grill on the east coast. I have missed it all summer long. But now it's the end of the summer and all the grills are on sale! This afternoon my husband went to the store and came home with our first-ever gas grill. We're moving up in the world...

So to celebrate our new grill we had to cook on it tonight. I went online and found a recipe for lime grilled chicken on Allrecipes which I liked enough to change. The original recipe called for cayenne powder, but I chose to use jerk seasoning instead. And although jerk seasoning can be spicy if you're not careful, using it in a marinade like this keeps it completely mild and the end result is restaurant-quality grilled chicken.


Lime Grilled Chicken

1/2 c. lime juice
1/2 c. olive oil
2 tsp. Natures Seasons seasoning blend
1 tsp. Carribean jerk seasoning
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Combine olive oil, lime juice, Natures Seasons, and jerk seasoning in a small bowl or mixing cup.

Trim chicken breasts. If the chicken breasts are large, I like to slice them in half to reduce the cooking time as well as provide more surface area for the marinade to seep in.

Place chicken in a large Ziplock bag. Pour marinade in over the chicken and seal closed.

Let chicken marinate for at least 45 minutes to an hour before grilling.

Fresh Rhubarb Pie

It's so good to know that my cries for rhubarb did not go unheard! If you are fortunate enough to live in a state where rhubarb grows like weeds all over the place, you cannot understand my desperation. I lived in upstate NY until I was 10, and rhubarb grew in our garden every year. I picked it and ate it raw. Then I moved to South Carolina, and fresh rhubarb was impossible to get. The only time I was able to get my hands on some was when I or a family member would drive up to NY to visit family and bring some back to enjoy. Even now, I live in Oklahoma. I'm too far away from NY to drive for a visit and it's still too hot here for rhubarb to grow. I had given up all hopes of getting my hands on fresh rhubarb this summer.

Thankfully, I have a friend who spends her summers with her family in Alaska. She and her family flew back in this past week and what do you think she brought me? RHUBARB! A lot of rhubarb! And what do you think I did with it? As you can see, I baked pies!

And to celebrate, you're getting 2 recipes for the price of one: Rhubarb Pie and Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. If you are a die-hard rhubarb lover like myself, straight rhubarb pie is the only way to go. It is tart and tangy and just how I like it! But I should warn you - my sour sensors are not as sensitive as others' are. What I think is pleasantly tart has The Honey sucking his face because it's got a lot of kick. It might have something to do with all that rhubarb I ate out of the garden when I was little...

But if you're on a the timid side when it comes to tart or have never had rhubarb before, I recommend the Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. And since it is probably the more popular pie, we'll make this one first. And now to the recipes, courtesy of my Aunt Esther.


Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

2 pie crusts
2 cups fresh diced strawberries
3 cups fresh diced rhubarb
1/4 c. flour
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt

In a medium or large bowl, combine rhubarb and strawberries.

Combine flour, sugar, and salt and add to strawberries and rhubarb. Mix well.

Line a 9-inch pie pan with one crust. Pour filling mixture into pie crust.

See now, wasn't that easy?? Now to make the lattice top for this pie. Roll out the second crust. Cut into about 11 or 12 strips using a pizza cutter. If you've made your own crust like I do, then you won't be able to use the end strips so make sure you don't count those as one of the the 12.

Next, lay out six of the strips over the top of the pie. Be sure to use the longer strips for the middle and the shorter strips towards the edges. Then take one of the shorter strips and weave it in and out of the strips on top of the pie like you are weaving a basket.
To weave in the next strip, carefully fold back the strips that need to be on top of that strip of pie crust. Place the next strip down beside the first, and lay the cross-ways strips back down flat.
Repeat until the pie lattice is finished, and trim the excess crust off the edges.
Flute the edges of the pie. (For instructions, check out my pie crust tutorial.)

Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Bake pie at 450 for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 50-55 minutes. Remove and let cool.

And now for the rhubarb pie. I'll spare you all the pictures since they are about the same, only not as red.

Rhubarb Pie

4 c. rhubarb, diced
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp. grated lemon rind (optional)
1/2 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 3/4 c. sugar

In a medium or large mixing bowl, combine rhubarb, egg, lemon juice, and lemon rind. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Turn into prepared pie crust and prepare lattice crust as shown above. Bake on a covered cookie sheet at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350 and bake an additional 50-55 minutes.

Black Bean & Beef Tacos

The past couple of weeks I have had to revert back to some quick and easy standby meals for dinner. Although I'm home during the day, I've had to pick up my husband from work every day, which means that I have been gone from about 5-6pm: the hour I normally have to prepare dinner. Now I get home with a hungry husband and kids and have just a few minutes to get dinner on the table before they start to mutiny.

One benefit of mixing black beans with the ground beef for the filling is that you can use half the amount of ground beef that you normally would. This cuts down on the cost of the meal and improves the nutritional value at the same time. Bonus points for this one!

Make ahead tip: Cook the ground beef filling in advance and reheat it in the microwave just before dinner. Dinner can be ready within 15 minutes of walking in the door.


Black Bean & Beef Tacos (filling)

3/4 lb. ground beef
1 can black beans
1 pkg taco seasoning (or less)
1/2 c. water

In a medium skillet, brown ground beef.

Drain ground beef. After draining, I like to rinse the extra grease off the meat. (You do this by placing colander in the sink and spraying with HOT water.)

Place ground beef back in the pan. Rinse and drain black beans.

Add black beans to the pan and mix.

Sprinkle taco seasoning over the meat and beans. Add water and mix well.

Simmer over medium-high heat until the water cooks off and mixture is nice and thick.

Use like normal taco filling in either hard or soft tacos. Top with favorite toppings, such as shredded cheese, lettuce, tomato, diced avocado, sour cream and salsa.

Fun Fridays: Fresh Strawberry Milkshake

Probably my favorite thing about the summer is the fresh fruit - strawberries, peaches, watermelons, cherries... mmm, mmm, good! Strawberries are by far my most favorite fruit ever. So on this Fun Friday at the end of summer, we're having a strawberry celebration! I've been busy baking all day (you'll see those recipes soon!) but I wanted something quick, easy, and delicious for today's post.

Fresh Strawberry Milkshake

3 scoops vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt
1/2 c. milk
5-6 fresh strawberries

The one thing that can be frustrating about making milkshakes at home is getting the consistency just right while making sure everything is mixed like it's supposed to be. Let's face it: our blenders just can't compete with those doohickeys you find in ice cream shops the world over that blend the perfect milkshake. And yet, I just can't make myself shovel out the $50 to buy one of my own. So how do you solve this problem?

First you're going to get your blender out, and put in 2 scoops of your favorite vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt. Then you're going to add 4 of the strawberries (and yes, you do need to cut off the caps!) and the milk.

Next you're going to blend it until it is smooth. The mixture will be thinner than that of a milkshake, but you'll get everything blended really well. Once it's blended well, you'll another another large scoop of ice cream and one or two more strawberries. Blend for another 30 seconds or so to thicken up the mixture.

Pour into a glass and enjoy!

Avocado - Cucumber Salad

Sometimes I am just sick of lettuce. I can only eat about 2 to 3 salads a week before I've reached my limit. Sometimes less, to be honest. What's the point of lettuce, anyway? Sure, it adds some nice crunch to my sandwich, but for every meal? Not unless it's a Turkey Caesar Wrap. But that is why I love this avocado and cucumber salad. No lettuce, all flavor!

For those of you who think you don't like avocados, you may want to give them another shot with this. And if you aren't willing, you can do what I do for The Honey - I take out his serving before adding in the avocado. There are some things he just won't budge on, and avocados are on that list.

So, on to the salad. First let's gather the ingredients...


Avocado-Cucumber Salad

1 small bell pepper
1 large cucumber
1/4 c. Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette dressing (I use Kraft brand)
2 Tbsp. crumbled feta cheese
1 avocado

Seed and chop the bell pepper. Peel the cucumber, cut it lengthwise, and slice. Combine cucumber and pepper in a bowl.

Add dressing and crumbled feta and mix.

I always add my avocado last for 2 reasons: first, as already mentioned I must dish out The Honey's portion before I add the avocado. Second, a ripe avocado is soft and I'm afraid that if I stir it too much with the avocado chunks in it I'll end up with mashed avocado. So let's dice the avocado. Here's the easy way to do it without making a mess:

With the peel on, slice the avocado length-wise and pull apart.

Take a sharp knife and cut the avocado flesh into a grid. Do not try to cut through the skin.

Then take a large tablespoon and scoop the avocado out of the skin. Voila! Diced avocado!

Add to your salad, lightly toss to coat, and serve!

"Popcorn" Balls

Why in the world they say that kids love Kix cereal, I'll never know. I have three children, and none of them have ever loved Kix. Not even as babies. Handsome Man is at the age where Kix would be the perfect finger food to stick in the diaper bag for snacks on the go, so I picked up a box the other day to give it a shot. Failure. Again.

So now I have a whole box of Kix and no one who will eat them but me. Fortunately, at church Sunday we invited the missionaries over to dinner at 6:00. Unfortunately, we get out of church at 4:30 this year and I have very little prep time to throw a dessert together. So these peanut butter "popcorn" balls were invented. I had an easy dessert and used up the Kix all in one fell swoop. Because I was in such a hurry, I only got pictures of the finished product, but this was so easy I don't think you'll need much more than the recipe and a picture from me.

"Popcorn" Balls

3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. corn syrup
3/4 c. peanut butter
5 c. Kix cereal

In a small or medium saucepan combine sugar, corn syrup and peanut butter over medium or medium-low heat.

You must stir constantly or this stuff will burn on the bottom - trust me! I know this from experience. Don't judge me - I was in a hurry!

Bring to a simmer and remove from heat. Put the Kix cereal into a separate mixing bowl and pour the peanut butter mixture over top. Mix until well combined. Using your hands or a large spoon, shape the mixture into balls and place on wax paper. Let sit at room temperature until completely cooled.

Chicken Pot Pie

Now that you have a pie crust, you need something to do with it, right? Let me suggest a delicious twist to your everyday chicken pot pie! It was loved by myself, Handsome Man, and The Honey. It given an "okay" by Horse Lover (she picked out the carrots) and completely rejected by The Monkey. In my defense, she wouldn't even try a small bite, so her vote doesn't count as far as I'm concerned.

So what's the twist? First of all, I reject the idea of using "cream of whatever" condensed soup to make it. Sorry, that means it's not as quick and easy as some of you would like, but this still isn't all that hard. Second of all, you need fresh garlic, shredded Parmesan cheese (not grated!) and the asparagus stir-fry variety of frozen mixed veggies. Yum... asparagus and red peppers with chicken. Now that is my kind of chicken pot pie!

Chicken Pot Pie

1 Tbsp olive oil
1-2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 small cloves garlic
Salt/pepper to taste
2-3 heaping Tbsp flour
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. light sour cream
1/4 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
16 oz. asparagus stir-fry mixed veggies
2 pie crusts

In a large saucepan, heat oil. Dice raw chicken into bite-sized pieces and add to pan along with garlic and salt/pepper.

Saute until chicken is cooked through (no longer pink inside). Add flour and mix well.

Add milk to chicken and flour mixture, a little at a time.

After milk is stirred in, add sour cream.

Simmer the mixture together until it thickens. Add Parmesan cheese and continue cooking until it melts.

Add asparagus stir-fry mix (can still be frozen, it doesn't matter) to the pan.

Continue to simmer over medium heat until veggies are cooked to desired tenderness, about 5-10 minutes.

Place filling inside a prepared pie crust. Top with another pie crust and seal the edges. Cut slits in the top crust. (For instructions and pictures on how to do that, click here.)

Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes, or until pie crust is golden brown. Let sit 5-10 minutes before serving.