¡Paella de España!

Ingredientes (Ingredients):

Bell peppers, onion, meat, and tomatoes

• Pollo (Chicken)
• La carne de cerdo (Pork)
• Cebolla (Onion)
• pimientos naranjas y rojos (Orange & Red Bell peppers)*
• tomates (Tomatoes - canned work well)
• salsa de tomate (Tomato sauce)
• arroz de Aborio (Aborio rice)
• camarónes (Shrimp)
• almejas (Clams)**
• de caldo de pollo (Chicken stock/broth)
• perejil italiano (Italian flat parsley)
• El aceite de oliva o de mesa de España (Spanish olive oil)
• condimento Paellero (Paellero seasoning)
• guisante (Peas)
• sal kosher (Kosher salt)
• Chorizo

+You probably noticed that this recipe doesn't have measurements...you just have to eye-ball-it. Based on how many people you want to serve, adjust your measurements. 

Keep stirring! Chorizo and tom. sauce added

*if you are not a fan of bell peppers, don't worry; they will be cooked so long, you won't even taste them! They are mostly for color :-)

**I thought the shrimp was better than the clams, so unless you have some really tasty clams, just double the shrimp... it'll save you money!

La Direcciónes (directions): 
Start out by heating the Spanish Olive Oil in a large skillet. When hot, add the onion and bell peppers. Add chicken and pork. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, and chorizo. Add rice. Add chicken broth. Keep adding broth as the rice soaks it up. (You don't want the rice crunchy.) Add parsley and Paellero seasoning. Add peas. Sprinkle with salt. Add seafood.
Stir, constantly. It will cook (from start to finish) for approx. 1 hour.

everything else gets added in

It is very good! I recommend you try and make it at home. It is very easy, and if you make a lot, it would be great as leftovers too... the flavors blend so nicely.

make sure your clams open up... enjoy!

We made this paella with Los Al's Spanish Honor Society...  it was a hit!
If you have any questions, feel free to post a question. 

Easy Raspberry Brownies

Amy, Scott, and I brought these over to an old friend when we went visiting at the Christian Home...
An easy, thoughtful, homemade treat :)

Ingredients:
1 box dark chocolate fudge brownie mix
water, vegetable oil, and eggs called for on brownie box
1 8oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. raspberry preserves
turtle chocolate topping

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Make and cool brownies as directed for a 13x9-inch pan.
2. In small bowl, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar and preserves on medium speed until smooth.
Spread over brownies. Refrigerate 15 minutes.
3. Drizzle turtle chocolate topping over brownies. Enjoy! (Refrigerate and store covered.)

brownies baking

raspberry topping

finished product!

Brie Bread Bowl

Ingredients:
1 sourdough bread bowl
1 Brie cheese round (pick a sourdough round that will fit the Brie)
4 granny smith apples

Directions:
Cut and clear out part of the bread round, to make a bowl. "Unskin" the Brie and place it in the bread bowl. Place bread bowl lid on top of Brie. Save extra bread from inside to dip in the Brie.Wrap bowl in foil. Bake for approximately 45 min at 375 degrees. Don't over bake. Check every 20 minutes to see if the Brie is melting, and make sure the bread doesn't burn. Cut the apples, to dip.

Enjoy! This is a great appetizer and serves well with wine (or so I'm told)!

Lemon Gooey Bars (aka: Lemon Gooey Butter Cake)

I made this dessert for a BBQ my parents had this week, and the recipe has already been sent out!

These are similar to the original lemon bar, that you are probably familiar with, but these gooey bars are sweeter and have a yummy bottom layer.

Enjoy!

Lemon Gooey Bars

For the Cake:
1 (18.25 oz.) box of lemon cake mix
1 egg
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, melted

For the Filling:
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened 
2 eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 (16 oz.) box confectioners' sugar
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, melted
1/4 c. lemon juice (or use 2 fresh lemons, zested and juiced) 

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan.

Using an electric mixer, combine cake mix, egg and butter. Mix well. Pat into the bottom of prepared pan and set aside. 

Still using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth; add eggs and vanilla. Dump in confectioners' sugar and lemon juice and beat well. 

Reduce speed of mixer and slowly pour in butter. Mix well. 

Pour filling onto cake mixture and spread evenly. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. "Don't be afraid to make a judgment call on the cooking time, because oven temperatures vary. You want the center to be a little gooey, so don't bake past that point!" ~Paula Deen

Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares. (Serves 24)

For a lovely presentation: sprinkle some powdered sugar on top, and garnish with a strawberries, blueberries, and/or raspberries

Outrageous Chocolate Brownie Cookies

Outrageous Chocolate Brownie Cookies

Ingredients:

• 8 oz semisweet chocolate chunks
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 package (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chunks

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat chopped chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl in 20-second increments, stirring between each, until almost melted; do not overheat. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla on high speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; beat in melted chocolate. Mix in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks.
3. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough 2 to 3 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are shiny and crackly yet soft in centers, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 10 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely (or serve warm with ice cream!)

Cook's Notes:

Don't worry if the batter seems thin. It should look like a brownie batter, so let it sit for 5 minutes and it should start to thicken up. But don't freak out if it isn't what your normal thick dough looks like :)

Do not over bake these cookies... they are meant to be soft and chewy.

This recipe is also a great cookie option for the Cookie-Stuffed Cookie Recipe

Makes 2 dozen

Cookie-Stuffed Cookies!

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Step #2 cont.

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Step #3

2 COOKIES IN 1. . . YUM!
I wish I could take credit for this idea, but Jen actually found it and sent me the recipe (from this website: Cookie-Stuffed Cookies: Serious Eats).
Their web site has much better pictures than I do, but hey! I do what I can :)

The Recipe:
1. Start out with a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough* (use your favorite kind--mine is the original Nestle Toll House--or an easy-to-whip- up bag from the bakery aisle.

2. By the tsp,* scoop out your cookie dough balls.

3. Use mini Oreos or mini Nutter Butters (or another favorite cookie***)
and put it on top of the dough ball.

4. Use another tsp of chocolate chip cookie dough and press it on top of cookie to cover Oreo or Nutter Butter

5. Bake for about 10-12 minutes. (You do not want to over bake these cookies, so it is always best to keep an eye on them, checking every 5 minutes.)

6. Let cookies cool on their pan for 5 minutes and then move to wire rack to finish cooling.

* You can also use chocolate cookies and stuff them with mini Nutter Butters! (my favorite)
**You can use normal size Oreos and Nutter Butters, but then you'll need to use Tbsp dough balls, and your cookies will be bigger.
*** If you have girl scout cookies, those will work too. Think of the best kind of dough-to-prepackaged cookie combination. (Like how chocolate goes great with peanut butter, sugar with cinnamon...)

Remember that when you make these cookies, you'll only get half the amount of cookies you'd normally make.

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Step #4

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Step #6

Finally got to put an apron on again... and it wasn't for work :)

Here's a twist to one of my favorite cookie recipes: 1952 City School Ranger Cookies.

I guess I would just call the cookies I made today: Ranger Cookies

Here's the recipe:

1 c. butter (room temp)

1 c. sugar

1 c. brown sugar

2 eggs

2 c. four

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 c. rolled oats

*2. c. corn flakes

*1/2 c. coconut

*1/2 c. chocolate chips

*1/2 c. chopped walnuts

---------------------------

the rest of the recipe here is my twist... I used these ingredients instead of the asterisked ones (*) above:

2 c. Berry Yogurt Crunch Cereal 

1/2 c. chocolate chips

1/4 c. white chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

Cream butter with sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Add oats, corn flakes, coconut, chocolate chips, and nuts. Stir until blended. 

Drop by Tbsps onto ungreased baking sheets. Flatten cookies with spatula. 

Bake for 10-13 minutes. Cookies should be slightly soft when taken out of oven.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies. 

The Ranger Cookies I made today were really good! I wanted to bake something and saw that we had 4 boxes of this Fiber Plus Berry Yogurt Crunch Cereal, so I thought... 1952 City School Ranger Cookies!! I really like the twist to this recipe because it has a fruity twist (like how cranberries taste in a cookie). But, I really like the original 1952 City School Ranger Cookies... I mean, it is awesome. All the different ingredients put together make an awesome cookie :) So that's why I included both recipes... you choose what kind of Ranger Cookies you want to make. Hey, your pantry may decide for you :) that's how it usually is for me!