Fudgy Brownies

This is from the Bridal BH&G recipe book. I really wanted brownies on Sunday so I just made them. Oh and decided to go for the chocolate-cream cheese frosting because, why not, right? The brownies were good, but the frosting was the best (in my opinion).

brownies
1/2 c. butter
3 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2/3 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
2. In medium saucepan, melt butter and unsweetened chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; cool.
3. Grease an 8"x 8" (or 9"x 9") pan, set aside.
4. Stir sugar into cooled chocolate mixture in saucepan. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating with spoon until just combined. Stir in the vanilla.
5. Add flour and baking soda to chocolate; stir until just combined.
6. Spread batter into the pan, bake for 30 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack; if desired, frost with Chocolate-Cream Cheese Frosting; cut into bars.

chocolate-cream cheese frosting
In a saucepan, melt 1 c. semisweet chocolate pieces over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; cool slightly. In a small bowl, stir together two 3-oz. packages softened cream cheese and 1/2 c. powdered sugar. Stir into melted chocolate until smooth.

Slow-Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup

My mom sent this recipe to me and I decided to try it. It looked simple enough, and since crockpot recipes are fabulous for days when we both work, I threw it together last week. We came home to the most delicious aroma and I immediately got to work on the chicken. I was nervous because I've never done anything with chicken and bones. But I managed to get 90% of everything in the big pot, we did spot a few tiny bones in our bowls, but removed them before we choked, you know. Anyways, I learned that I can 'debone' a chicken after it's cooked for several hours, and that my crockpot is just big enough to fit this entire recipe. Oh, and that we should have this when friends come over because we have 3 pieces of tupperware with our leftovers in it.

8 c. water
4 medium carrots, cut into 1/4" slices
4 medium stalks celery, cut into 1/4" slices
1 small onion, chopped
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. dried thmye
salt & pepper
1 whole chicken (about 3 1/2 lbs.)
3 c. egg noodles, uncoked

1. In a 4 1/2 - 6 qt. slow-cooker bowl, combine water, carrots, celery, onion, bay leaves, thyme, 4 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp pepper.
2. Place whole chicken on top of vegetables; cover with lid and cook on low setting for 8 - 10 hours or high for 4 - 5 hours.
3. Transfer chicken to cutting board. Discard bay leaves. Add noodles to slow-cooker bowl; cover with lid and cook (on low or high) 20 minutes.
4. While noodles cook, remove and discard skin, fat and bones from chicken; shred meat.
5. Skim fat from soup and discard, return chicken to soup and serve.

if pictures could emit scent...

Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce

A few weeks ago, I got a hankerin' for peanut sauce and chicken. And since we had two full jars of peanut butter (miscommunication on Zak's part, ha), I decided to find a recipe for peanut sauce. The recipe below turned out well, we ended up cooking the chicken on the stove instead of grilling it, which I thought was easier. As far as the sauce goes, I kept adding soy sauce, lime juice and red pepper flakes until it was what we wanted. Enjoy!

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 garlic clove, smashed
juice of 1 lime
1/2 c. peanut butter
more lime juice (I bought 2, and used some stuff in a bottle as well)
a few Tbl. soy sauce
1 - 2 pinches of red pepper flakes
1 tsp. brown sugar
chicken brother or water
salt and pepper

1. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces.
2. In a bowl, combine the juice from one line with a smashed clove of garlic, add to chicken and marinate for at least 5 minutes.
3. Whisk together peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, brown sugar and enough water/chicken broth to make a smooth sauce.
4. If you want to grill the chicken, set aside most of the sauce for dipping, and smear the rest on the chicken; thread chicken onto skewers and grill for 2 mins. on each side.
5. I chose to cook the chicken with a little butter on the stove until fully cooked, then served it over rice and drizzled with the peanut sauce.