Life

I had good intentions last night, I really did. I planned on sticking a Trader Joe's pork loin in the oven and making roasted potatoes and parmesan roasted asparagus. The key words in that sentence are, "I planned on..." My best friend and I met for lunch and a little shopping yesterday, so when I got home I was just a little tired. Then the hubby was working on his computer. Long story short - we ordered a pizza. Hmph. Oh well. Pizza has its place in the world! So, guess what's on the menu for tonight? That's right! Trader Joe's pork loin, roasted potatoes, and parmesan roasted asparagus. Yum!

Brownies!

Brownies...mmmm...brownies. I'm in love with this yummy sweet treat. In fact, I love them so much that, as a child, I often requested birthday brownies over a birthday cake. Why do I love them so much, you ask? I think it's the combination of the dense (Yes, I like brownies and cakes dense. None of this "light as a feather" business!) texture, rich chocolatey goodness, and crispy, crackly top. Since I got married, I've tried a few variations. I've used my mom's applesauce recipe (always yummy), I've tried doctored up boxed versions, and (drumroll, please) the recipe from Baked in New York. Of course, I can never leave well enough alone. I added my own touches to the recipe to suit my tastes. In other words, I added more chocolately goodness! Ready? Here we go!

This is my assistant, Grace. Cute, isn't she? She helps Mama in the kitchen...until she loses interest, that is.

Step one: break or chop the super dark chocolate into a glass bowl.

Step two: cut the butter into one inch by one inch cubes and add to the chocolate. Try your hardest not to steal any of the chocolate!

Step 3: Add the espresso powder. You won't really taste it, it just adds depth to the chocolate flavor. However, if you're a coffee lover like I am, you could always add more.

Step four: Create a double boiler. This just means that you put a bit of water into a saucepan and get it up to a boil. Then, set the glass bowl with the chocolate, butter, and espresso into the pan. The water should NOT touch the bottom of the glass bowl. This creates a gentle heat that melts the butter and chocolate without scorching it. Nice, huh?

Step 5: As the chocolate and butter mixture melts (keep an eye on it!), mix together all of the dry ingredients - dark cocoa powder, flour, and salt. Good job, Gracie!

Step six: Either butter or spray your 13x9 baking pan. I prefer to save a few calories (ha!) and use canola oil spray.

Step seven: Crack five room-temperature eggs into a bowl. Set aside.

Step eight: Gently stir the chocolate and butter mixture as it melts. Resist the urge to stick a straw in the bowl and drink it!

Step ten: Once everything is melted, add the sugars and gently mix them in. Try not to over mix!

The mixture will look kind of grainy. Go ahead and remove the pan from the heat and set it aside.

Step eleven: Mix into the dry mixture a bag of your choice of chocolate chips. I go for a high quality dark chocolate chip. I've heard that by mixing the chips into the dry ingredients you'll keep them from sinking to the bottom of the pan once they are mixed into the wet ingredients. Does it work? Sure!

Step twelve: Now that the melted chocolate mixture is a little cooler, mix in the eggs one at a time. Be sure they are room temperature otherwise you'll have yourselves some chocolate scrambled eggs! That doesn't sound too good.

Step thirteen: Combine the dry into the wet. I didn't get a picture of this step until I'd already combined everything. Oops! This is another step where you want to be sure not to overmix. The mixture should be just combined.

Step fourteen: Pour the mixture into the baking pan and put it into a pre-heated 350 degree oven. They'll bake for a minimum of 25 minutes to a maximum of 35 minutes. Don't open the oven to peek at the brownies before the 25 minute mark. You'll just let heat out of the oven and prolong the baking process. You wouldn't want to do that, would you?

Step fifteen: To check the doneness of your brownies, simply stick and knife or toothpick into the center of the brownie. If it comes out clean, they're finished! Mine actually came out with a little goo on it, but I determined it to be melted chocolate chip and not raw batter. I'll admit, I licked it off the butter knife before I put it in the sink. Go ahead and judge me. =)

Here is the finished product! You can see that they didn't go untouched for long. I didn't even get to take a picture of the first brownie before and entire row was already eaten!

Enjoy these brownies. They are oh-so yummy. If you'd like the recipe, feel free to comment here or message me with your email address. I'll send you the recipe!

Here We Go!

My family - the number one, most important part of my life!

Challenge one - blogging consistently.

I'd love to be one of those women who can do it all! You know the type...she feeds her children breakfast while she's making their lunches while she checks her appointments for the day while she styles her hair to perfection...all before she walks out the door in the morning! Yeah, that is SO not me!! I will go in spurts where I fit in one or two blogs every few days, then I'll suddenly not be able to find the time to blog for several months. So, my challenge one goal is to blog at least three times a week. Doable, no?

Challenge two - baking at least once a week.

Baking is one of those things that soothes me. I love it. I'm not saying I'm good at it though, so don't be mistaken! I love it, I do it (occasionally), but I'm not the best. My cakes and cupcakes usually turn out a little on the dry side. I do make a mean brownie though. Mmmmm...brownies. As for pastry crust, I have yet to try it because it terrifies me! I know, I know. What's the worst that could happen, right? Failure!!! I'm a perfectionist when it comes to baking and cooking, so I'm very hard on myself when things don't turn out perfectly. Hence the hesitation. Challenge two goal - just do it!!

Challenge three - maintaining sanity.

I'm trying to do it all and do it all well. This is no easy task as any adult can attest to! I'm a teacher. I think I'm pretty good, too. I love my job, I love my students, and they love me. Thus, I want to be the best teacher that I can possibly be. I'm a wife. I have an amazing husband who deserves a great wife. I'm pretty good in this area too, I think. There's always room for improvement though! I'm also a mother. My sweet hubby tells me that one of the things he loves the most about me is that I am the best mother he knows. He may be biased, but since our kids are our pride and joy, I think he'd tell me if I was failing in this area. Again, there is always room for improvement though! So, in order to maintain sanity, I'll be trying my hardest to continue to do well in all aspects of my life. Honestly, the one thing that really drives me nuts is when I fail. If I can be balanced, prioritized, and know when enough is enough, I think I'll remain sane...I hope! Challenge three goal - balance, balance, balance!

So, what will this blog become? My main idea for this blog is to use it as a way to incorporate more baking and cooking into my life. I love food and I love to write. If I write about food, I'm golden! Seriously, cooking and writing are two of those free therapy options for me. If I cook more, I'm happier (not to mention healthier). If I write more, I'm happier. It's a win-win, right? Thus, later today I'm baking brownies with my daughter. Since I know brownies are a strength of mine, I may as well start with an almost assured success. Once the brownies are baked, I'll blog about my experiences. Will it be enough to attract followers on this blog? Maybe not. However, if I'm happy with it, that's all that matters!