Brownies

Mix:
2 C. flour
2 C. sugar

Bring to rapid boil:
1 square margarine
4 T. Cocoa
1/2 C. Shortening
1 C. water

Pour boiled mixture over Sugar & Flour and Mix.

Add:
1/2 C. Buttermilk
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 tsp. Soda
2 eggs

Mix and pour into greased jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

FROSTING
Bring to rapid boil:
1 square Margarine
1/3 C. milk
2 T. Cocoa

Add: 1 box powdered sugar and 1 C. chopped nuts (walnuts are best). Stir until smooth and frost brownies.

Rice Krispy Treat Cake (Regular and Gluten-Free)

I made this cake when I hosted my friend Tamara's baby shower. She has celiac and so I had to find a cake that could be made gluten-free. (In fact, the whole shower was gluten-free!) This is what I found. I tried it as the original recipe says and then I made it gluten-free for the shower. It was a great success. The recipe comes from Martha Stewart Kids and can be found here. I just love how you can see the pretty chocolate layer in there. This one I gave as a treat to the activity days girls (my church calling) and they loved it!Rice Krispy Treat Cake (Regular)

Ingredients for Rice Krispy Treats:
16 cups crisp rice cereal
12 cups mini marshmallows
10 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

Directions for Rice Krispy Treats:
Melt 10 tablespoons unsalted butter over low heat in a large saucepan. Add 12 cups mini marshmallows; stir until melted, about 10 minutes.
Stir in 16 cups (a 13 1/2-ounce box) crisp rice cereal.

Ingredients for cake:
Vegetable-oil cooking spray
Rice Krispy Treats (recipe above)
Chocolate-Marshmallow Frosting (recipe below)

Directions for cake:
Coat two 8-by-2-inch round cake pans with cooking spray. Prepare crisp-rice mixture; before pouring into pan, reserve 2 tablespoons for patching cake, and set aside, covered. Divide remaining crisp-rice mixture among prepared cake pans. Press into pans with greased fingers to level. Let cool until set, at least 30 minutes.
Run a knife around edges of cakes to loosen; unmold onto parchment paper.
While frosting is still warm, pour onto center of 1 cake layer, and spread evenly to edges. Let stand 10 minutes. Place second cake layer on top; press down gently. Using reserved pieces of crisp-rice mixture, patch edges where frosting is visible.
Top with chocolate ganache ( I just got a recipe from allrecipes.com). Let cake stand until firm enough to slice, at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. After 2 hours, wrap cake in plastic wrap to prevent it from getting too hard to slice.

Chocolate-Marshmallow Frosting
Ingredients:
Makes enough to fill 1 crisp-rice cake
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 1/2 cups mini marshmallows (7 1/2 ounces)
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add marshmallows; cook, stirring, until just beginning to melt. Add chocolate and stir until smooth.
Rice Krispy Treat Cake (Gluten-Free)

Everything is the same for the rice krispy treats except you use Cocoa Pebbles as they are gluten-free.
Instead of chocolate ganache, I used white chocolate that I tinted pink with red food coloring. There is no such thing as white chocolate ganache.
And instead of the chocolate-marshmallow frosting I used white chocolate instead of regular in the recipe and tinted that pink as well. Other than that it is the same recipe
It really did turn out nice as the theme was pink and brown. It was a big hit at the shower and it would be a great cake to make with the kids. Be sure to check out the Martha Stewart version on her website for ideas about making it with your kids.

Garlic Bread Pasta Bake

½ cup butter, divided
20 thin French bread slices
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup grated parmesan
8oz. linguine, cooked & drained
½ cup sliced green onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 T. flour
½ tsp. pepper
2 ½ cups milk
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups mozzarella, divided
2 T. basil

Melt ¼ cup butter in small saucepan, add garlic; cook 3 minutes. Brush 9x13 dish with butter mixture. Line bottom and side of pan with bread. Brush bread with remaining butter mixture and place in preheated 400° oven for 10 minutes or until slightly browned. Melt remaining ¼ cup butter in sauce pan, stir in flour and seasonings. Gradually stir in milk; cook stirring constantly until thickened. Add parmesan. Stir some of the sauce into the eggs, and then stir back into the sauce. Set aside. Combine linguine, 1 ¼ cup mozzarella, onions and basil in large bowl. Pour sauce over linguine mixture; toss to coat. Pour into crust. Sprinkle with remaining ¾ cup mozzarella and bake at 350° for 25 minutes. Let stand 5 min & serve.

Easy Pasta Rosa

1 lb. Penne, cooked till al dente
1 T. olive oil
1 garlic clove
14 oz. chopped tomatoes
½ - 1 tsp. basil
¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
Add salt and pepper to taste
½ cup cream
1 cup mozzarella
1 cup cooked, chopped chicken, if desired)

In a saucepan heat 1 T. olive oil, sauté garlic for 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, basil, red pepper, and salt and pepper to pan. Add cream and mozzarella and cooked pasta, heat through.

Baked Chicken Lazagna Rolls

2 cups cottage cheese
1 ¼ cup mozzarella cheese
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 tsp. garlic powder
¼ cup fresh parsley (I use 1 T. dry parsley)
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
2 cups cooked chicken breasts, shredded
8 cooked lasagna noodles
1 ½ cup tomato sauce

Preheat oven to 375°. Mix first eight ingredients, reserving ¼ cup of mozzarella for baking, set aside. Lay a large piece of plastic wrap on counter top. Lay noodles flat atop wrap, top each noodle with a layer of cottage cheese mixture and ¼ cup chicken. Starting at one end, roll one noodle at a time. Fill bottom of baking dish with ½ cup tomato sauce. Lay rolls seam-side down, cover with remaining tomato sauce, and sprinkle with rest of mozzarella cheese. Bake for 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes.

Italian Chicken (crockpot)

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 8 oz. bottle Italian style salad dressing
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 cup of chicken broth
1 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
½ tsp. dried basil
½ tsp. dried thyme
salt & pepper to taste

In a slow cooker, combine chicken and Italian dressing. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours
Drain off all but ½ cup of juices and shred chicken meat. In a medium bowl, mix the soup, broth, cream cheese, basil, thyme, salt and pepper. Pour over chicken in the slow cooker and continue cooking on low for 1 hour.

Serve over rice or noodles.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread by Grandma Green

This is an amazing recipe by my mom's mom, Marjorie Rose McFarland Green. She is an amazing cook and is very generous with her recipes for which I am very grateful. I promise this recipe will not disappoint.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread by Grandma Green

Ingredients:
2 C. Zucchini, grated
3 large Eggs, well beaten
2 C. Sugar
1 C. Oil
3 C. Flour
1 t. Salt
1/2 t. Baking Powder
1 t. Baking Soda
2 t. Vanilla
2 t. Cinnamon
1 1/2 C Milk Chocolate Chips (optional)
1 C. Nuts (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325*. Spray loaf pans and line with parchment paper. Spray parchment paper as well.

2. Sift dry ingredients in a bowl. Beat eggs, sugar, oil and zucchini together. Add dry ingredients until just mixed. (DO NOT OVER MIX.) Dust nuts and chocoltae chips with flour and stir into mixture.

3. Bake regular loaves 1 hour, medium loaves 40 minutes, mini loaves 30 minutes UNTIL THEY SPRING BACK when pressed in the middle. (My oven takes a lot longer so just watch them the first time to see how long it takes.)

**To freeze for later, wrap in foil and then put into freezer bag to freeze. Thaw at room temperature or in the microwave.

This is the most recent picture I have of my Grandma Green taken on Christmas Day with her holding James. I just love him in stripes!