Erin’s Easy Eats

Still working out a few details on the new appearance of the site.  Hope you like how it’s looking so far!

Although the title of these is fudge brownies, even following the “make it as fudgey as possible” instructions leaves me with something resembling mousse when it goes into the pan, and tasting a little bit like this amazing chocolate pound cake my grandmother used to make when it comes out.  (And, as a side note to my mother who will probably be VERY interested, I think I’ve found *the* recipe and I’ll be testing it soon.  I imagine you want to do a taste test, yes?)

Regardless of all of the issues with titling, these are, quite simply, my favorite brownies.  The middle is gooey and crumbly all at the same time, and the top gets a little bit (okay, a lot) flakey like icing that’s been sitting out for a bit.  They whip up quickly, and I love the satisfaction of making brownies from scratch instead of a mix.

• 5 oz. unsweened chocolate (baking chocolate)
• 1/2 lb. butter at room temperature (2 sticks)
• 1 3/4 c. sugar (brown or white is fine, I typically use white)
• 5 eggs (!!)
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 c. flour

Preheat oven to 350 and spray a 9×13 inch pan with cooking spray.  Melt the chocolate (I melt mine in the microwave – 30 seconds, stir, 30 seconds, stir, repeat until melted) and let stand while you prepare the rest of the batter so it cools a bit.

Beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Beat eggs in one at a time, beating for about a mnute after each egg.  Mix in vanilla.  Letting the mixer run on low (it helps to have a hand here if you’re not using a stand mixer) drizzle in the chocolate slowly.    Stir flour in until just incorporated.  Spread into pan and smooth top.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a knife/toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  (The top will start to crack before they’re cooked all the way through.)

Tags: baking, brownies, recipes, sweets

I whipped this up together quickly one night when I didn’t really feel like cooking.  Served with some creamy noodles (thanks, Lipton in a bag) and some green beans, it was easy and tasty.  To cook the beans, I just pushed the finished shrimp to the side and cooked the beans with some seasoned salt and some liquid from the shrimp.

• 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 1/2 tsp each marjoram, thyme, and oregano
• 1/4 c. white wine
• 3 Tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper

Put that all in a ziplock baggie and squish it around.  Let shrimp marinate for 30 minutes in the fridge, then cook in a non-stick skillet until cooked through (about 5 minutes on medium high heat.)

Tags: easy, fast, shrimp

Aaaand we’re back.  I’m working on a whole series of posts to make up for the almost-month I’ve been gone.  First up is another crock pot recipe, since those always seem to generate the most feedback.  This one is for crock pot lasagna, which has been one of my favorites since my mom got the recipe, well, a long time ago.  It does take a bit of prep work, and isn’t as easy as most crock pot meals that I like (which involve frozen things, things from a can, and walking away) but the taste is worth the effort and it’s still easier than regular lasagna.

• 10 lasagna noodles (I used whole wheat)
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 1 lb ground meat (turkey or beef)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp dried rosemary (I *really* like rosemary, so you could use less if you’re not as big of a fan)
• 1/4 tsp. each dried oregano and basil
• 2 c. hot water
• 2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 small container cottage cheese (I think it’s 10 oz?  I might be wrong.)

Whoa, that’s really red.

Boil noodles until not quite al dente.  They’ll spend about 2 extra hours cooking, so be gentle.  Brown meat with garlic and onion.  Combine cooked noodles, meat mixture, and remaining ingredients in crock pot and stir well.  Set to high for 2 hours.

Tags: crock pot, lasagna, pasta, turkey

I have not disappeared.  Work has caught up with me, and I just haven’t had time to work on this website.  But I have been cooking!

Coming up soon to make up for my lack of posting…

• My mother’s birthday cake – A buttermilk yellow cake with chocolate pastry cream made to resemble something very fun
• Moosewood’s cake brownies
• Quick marinated rosemary shrimp
• Chicken stuffed with goat cheese and sundried tomatoes
• Crock pot lasagna
• Thai chicken with basil

What we’re eating this week

• Turkey burgers on the grill – it’s beautiful tonight, so we’re taking advantage of the weather.  The first mosquitos of the season are taking advantage of any of my exposed skin, as well.
• Jerk chicken salad
• Tuna noodle casserole
• Chicken stir fry
• Kofta curry meatballs

This is another slightly adapted Cooking Light recipe.  I really enoyed it, and although my husband was dubious upon seeing that can of creamed corn in a bowl, he came around when it came out of the oven.  It was easy, flavorful, and tasted like the corn pudding that you get at Chevy’s.

• 1 c. Mexican blend cheese, divided
• 1/3 c. milk
• 2 eggs (or 1/3 c. egg substitute)
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
• 1 can creamed corn
• 1 (8 oz) box corn bread mix
• 2 c. cooked, shredded chicken
• 1 (4 oz.) can chopped chiles
• 1 (10 oz.) can enchilada sauce

Preheat oven to 400.  Combine 1/4 c. of cheese, milk, eggs, cumin, coriander, creamed corn, and bread mix in a small bow.  Spread into a 13×9 baking pan, and bake for 15 minutes.  Pierce liberally with a fork, and pour enchilada sauce over cornbread.  Top with chicken, and then cheese.  Continue baking another 15 minutes, and remove from oven.  Let stand at room temperature 5 minutes before eating.

Tags: bread, chicken, corn, mexican, recipes

Now, these will never top the wonderful confection that graced this site in my early days, but they literally took about 30 seconds to prepare and were done in 20 minutes.  This makes them fantastic in my book.

• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 Tbs melted butter
• 2 Tbs cinnamon

Unfold puff pastry, and spread melted butter over it.  Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.  Roll tightly, and cut into 9 pieces (a little more than an inch each.)  Place into a sprayed/greased 8×8 baking pan, and bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

Tags: breakfast, cinnamon rolls, fast, recipes, sweets

I don’t have much else to say other than the title.  I’m in love with my crock pot, and it remains my favorite way to be lazy with dinner.  This is really a “dump it in the pot” kind of meal, although I souped it up a bit in the end with some additional seasoning.  I served this with tortillas – we just ripped them into pieces and picked up blobs of chicken and sauce.  It was even better the next day!  Don’t let the pictures of the crock pot food deceive you – Crock Pot slop is always great.

• 1 1/2 lbs. frozen, boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 can corn, undrained
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 jar salsa

Put all of that in the crock pot and set on low for about 6-7 hours.  Then, shred chicken and add

• 1 Tbs cumin
• 1 Tbs Tabasco
• 1/2 tsp. oregano
• 1 block cream cheese, cut into squares

Let cook for another 30-60 minutes, stir, and serve.

Tags: chicken, crock pot, mexican

In addition to having a funny name, this was one of the easiest things I’ve made for dinner in a long time.  We had it with some Thai seasoned green beans from Trader Joe’s.  Next time, I might use garlic chile paste instead of the chopped chile.  I could have dealt with a much stronger helping of heat, and I think the garlic would be a good thing.  I always think garlic would be a good thing.

• 1 lb ground turkey (or beef or chicken)
• 2 tsp grated lime peel
• 1 tsp grated lemon peel
• 1/4 c. fresh lime juice (your zested lime plus a little more)
• 1 Tbs lemon juice (about half of your lemon)
• 1 Tbs fish sauce
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 1 long green chile, chopped
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1/2 c. chopped onion
• chopped cilantro

Combine everything except the onions, chile, cilantro, and turkey.  Whisk together.  In a nonstick skillet, cook onions, turkey, and chile together until browned and crumbly.  Pour sauce over and stir to coat.  Top with cilantro.  I served ours over jasmine rice.

Tags: fast, healthy, recipes, rice, thai

I know this is a little bit late for the Superbowl, but I thought I’d post it anyway since it was such a huge success here.  I’m not a fan of blue cheese, so I went with ranch, but you could easily change this to your liking.  I really threw it together as I went along.

In a small bowl, mix together:

• 1 block cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/4 c. sour cream
• 3 Tbs milk
• Packet of Ranch dressing mix

Put it in the refrigerator and let it hang out for a few hours.

Meanwhile, cook and shred 1 pound of chicken.  Toss with about 1/3 c. wing sauce.

Then, prebake your pizza crust.   I got mine from a can and just followed directions.   (I should have poked holes in mine before I baked it.)  Let it cool for a few minutes.  Spread a layer of your ranch mixture over top.  I only used about half of what I had made.  Spread chicken evenly over top (make sure you don’t have any papercuts, ugh,) and sprinkle with about a cup of colby jack.  Place under broiler for about 3 minutes, or until cheese melts.

Tags: buffalo wings, cheese, easy, pizza, recipes

This is actually called taco soup, but the husband requested the alternate title for giggles.  And there it is, honey!  Another crock pot dish from A Year of CrockPotting, this came together easily, and was really tasty.  We had it with a little bit of sour cream, and some baked corn chips for a relatively healthy meal.

Brown 1 lb ground meat (we used turkey.)  Place into bottom of crock pot.

On top, put

• 1 packet Ranch dressing mix
• 1 packet taco seasoning

Add:

• 2 cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cans corn
• 2 cans diced tomatoes with chiles

Cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4.

Tags: crockpot, healthy, recipes, soup