Chocolate  Brownies – Your gonna love these

2 tablespoons water

¾ cup brown sugar
1/2 cup salted butter
1 package of chocolate chunks (11.5 ounce)  divided into ½. Separate in 2 bowls
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
¾ cup all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup of toasted pecans
Powdered sugar for garnishing

Place the first 3 ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Stir until ingredients are completely incorporated.  Remove saucepan from heat and stir in 1 cup of the chocolate chinks until well incorporated.  Let this mixture cool down before adding eggs about 10 minutes and adding eggs one at a time.  Stir in vanilla

Add the flour and salt to the mixture.  Stir in remaining chocolate chinks and pecans.

Combine the flour mixture with the chocolate mixture.  Spread into a 9” into a square pan which has been lined with foil and sprayed with a non stick coating..

Bake at 325 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.  With a strainer sprinkle with the powdered sugar for garnish and add a mint sprig.  Enjoy and just have some fun!

Italy

I am so thankful for all of you which have logged on.  But, there is always a but, I have not been graced by Italy.  I would be so delighted if Italy would come on over and have some fun!

Come on Italy, someone from Italy log on, we are going to have some fun!

Raisin Rice Pilaf

My apologies for not connecting with you on my food blog sooner.   Life as we know it, just raises by incredibly fast.  I am back so please enjoy! 

My immediate family has enjoyed potatoes and pasta as side dishes with our meals.  My son in law grew up eating rice as a side dish with his family. In dedication to my son in law, I hope you like raisins, enjoy and have fun!

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoon olive oil
½ cup chopped yellow onion
¼ cup of toasted pecans
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup Uncle Bens Long Grain Rice
2 ½ cup of water
1 teaspoon Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 tablespoon dried parsley

Melt in a large saucepan that has a fitted lid the butter and olive oil over medium heat.   Add the chopped onion and sauté until tender.  Add the Lawry’s Seasoned Salt, Garlic, parsley, raisins and pecans until well incorporated and heated through approximately 4 to 5 minutes.

Add the water and bring the saucepan to a boil, turn down the heat on the stove to low, cover the saucepan with a tight fitted lid and cook for 20 minutes until rice is tender and the water is absorbed.

Delicious served with pork and your favorite vegetables!  Do not forget the wine and always just have fun! 

As I stated last night I will have multiple delights created in order for you to enjoy a cool refreshing dessert for these long Texas Hot Summers!  Enjoy and Let’s Have Some Fun!

Chocolate Cherry Pudding Delight

1 Duncan Hines Swiss Cake Mix
1 ¼ cup buttermilk
½ cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat a 350 degree oven.  Prepare a 9” X 13“ rectangular pan which has been greased and lightly floured.  Set aside while you prepare the cake mix.

Place the cake mix, eggs, milk, oil and extracts in a mixing bowl.  Beat with electric mixer for 30 seconds until ingredients are moistened.  Then beat the cake mix at medium speed for 2 minutes.  Do not beat longer, beating longer will add too much air to the batter have bubbles and a course texture of a baked cake.  Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes.  Do not over bake.  Test with a toothpick if the cake mix leaves just a few crumbs on the toothpick, take the cake out of the oven.  Once the toothpick comes out completely clean from cake you have baked too long.

Let the cake cool for 15 minutes. 

While cake is cooling mix the following in a large bowl with a wire whisk;

Pudding

1 box (3.4 ounce each) of Jell-o Brand French Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
1 box (3.4 ounce) of Jello- Brand Chocolate Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
3 cups of cold milk
2 teaspoons of vanilla

Poke holes over the cake with the handle of a wooden spoon.  Pour pudding over cake which is still warm from the oven but has cooled for 15 minutes. 

Open 1 can of Comstock Cheery Pie Filling and spoon over the chocolate pudding

Cover the entire dessert with cool whip.  You can use either an 8 ounce carton or a 16 ounce carton of cool whip.  You determine how much cool whip you and your family will enjoy.  You could also whip fresh heavy cream and use instead of the cool whip.  Again you decide what you prefer, cool whip or fresh whipped cream. 

Best if refrigerated overnight to acquire a well chilled dessert!  Garnish with Chocolate shaved or grated over the whipped cream

Enjoy, you are going to have some fun!

Hot Texas summer days, makes a person think if cool and refreshing.  I have an idea of a cool refreshing dessert chilled from the refrigerator.   If you enjoy, lemons, strawberries, with cake, pudding and cool whip, this dessert shall be a palette pleaser and comfort the heart and soul during your hot summer days.

I plan to post as many varieties that I can create.  Enjoy my family and friends, you are going to have some fun!

 

Lemon, Pudding and Strawberry Delight

1 box Duncan Hines Lemon Supreme Cake Mix
3 large eggs
1 1/3 cup whole milk
1/3 cup of vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat a 350 degree oven.  Prepare a 9” X 13“ rectangular pan which has been greased and lightly floured.  Set aside while you prepare the cake mix.

Place the cake mix, eggs, milk, oil and extract in a mixing bowl.  Beat with electric mixer for 30 seconds until ingredients are moistened.  Then beat the cake mix at medium speed for 2 minutes.  Do not beat longer, beating longer will add too much air to the batter have bubbles and a course texture of a baked cake.  Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes.  Do not over bake.  Test with a toothpick if the cake mix leaves just a few crumbs on the toothpick, take the cake out of the oven.  Once the toothpick comes out completely clean from cake you have baked too long.

Let the cake cool for 15 minutes. 

While cake is cooling mix the following in a large bowl with a wire whisk;

Pudding

2 boxes (3.4 ounce each) of Jell-o Brand French Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling

3 cups of cold milk
2 teaspoons of vanilla
Lemon test from 1 lemon

Poke holes over the cake with the handle of a wooden spoon.  Pour pudding over cake which is still warm from the oven but has cooled for 15 minutes. 

Wash and slice 1 quart of fresh strawberries.  Place strawberries evenly over the top of the pudding.

Cover the entire dessert with cool whip.  You can use either an 8 ounce carton or a 16 ounce carton of cool whip.  You determine how much cool whip you and your family will enjoy.  You could also whip fresh heavy cream and use instead of the cool whip.  Again you decide what you prefer, cool whip or fresh whipped cream. 

Best if refrigerated overnight to acquire a well chilled dessert!

Enjoy, you are going to have some fun!

Whiskey or Bourbon Frozen Iceez

2 cups of whiskey or bourbon – The better quality results in a better Iceez

12 ounces  frozen orange concentrate
6 ounces frozen lemonade concentrate
2 cups of strong brewed decaffeinated tea

7 cups of water

1 cup of granulated sugar
Bring the water to a boil add the sugar and sit until dissolved.  Remove from heat and let cool.

Mix the above ingredients until well blended.  Place in a rectangular plastic container that has a tight fitting lid.  Fill 2/3 high and place in a freezer for 24 hours. 

For garnish, sliced lemon and orange with maraschino cherry, to each serving.

Once frozen take an ice cream scoop and scoop a well rounded ball of Iceez and place in a cocktail glass, pour Sprite or 7 Up over the Iceez and enjoy!  Garnish with a sliced lemon and orange and a maraschino cherry.   And guess what you are going to have fun!  My request, please drink responsibly.  These Iceez have a high content of alcohol and they will get away on you.

Iceez is wonderful to indulge with our hot summer evenings which are here until October.  Make a special indulgence for the weekends,  grilling outside and enjoying your time with your partner and friends.  Again no drinking and driving!

Round Steak Wrapped in Foil     

This is a delicious recipe which my momma made for us growing up at home.  In my day living at home as a young girl, momma made 3 meals a day.  We did not have all the fast food way of eating, as of today.  Our meals were made from scratch and we did not know, another way to have our meals.  My grandparents raised cattle, chickens, and had a plentiful garden, and they shared with the family.  Our freezer was always full of meat and vegetables.  Thankfully momma was a good cook as was her mother.  When momma started to work outside of the home, she always made sure we had our meals each day.   Today, my momma is 77 years old and she still makes 3 meals a day.  This was an easy recipe which momma used often. 

2 pounds of round steak, fat trimmed

1 whole onion sliced thinly
Flour for dredging
Extra wide foil
1 lemon
1 small can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon of Lawry’s seasoned salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
2 teaspoons sugar

 I prefer rinsing the round steak before dredging, patting dry with paper towels.  Season the meat with the salt, black pepper and granulated garlic.  Dredge the meat in the flour.  Take a large side cookie tray and place a generous piece of foil on the cookie sheet.   Place the meat on the foil, place onions on the meat, then pour the tomato sauce which sugar has been added to the tomato sauce.  Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice and pour over the meat and tomato sauce, and then slice the remaining lemons over the round steak.  Make sure the foil has wrapped the round steak until all ends are closed and secure.

Bake in a preheated oven 350 degrees for 1 hour and 30 minutes. 

Momma served the round steak with mashed potatoes and we had corn, green beans, and a salad to go with it.  Back in the day wine was not offered at dinner, just sweet tea, but today, I would advise to have some fun, open that bottle of wine and enjoy!  Let’s Have some Fun!