Peanut Butter Truffle Brownies

Do you like peanut butter?  Do you like chocolate?  Do you like peanut butter & chocolate together??  If you answered yes to all of these questions then these are the brownies for you!!  They are fabulous!!!  They remind me of tandy cakes except with a brownie bottom.  Oh, and they are super easy to make.  Try them, you won't be disappointed.  WARNING:  these little brownies are dangerously addicting.

1)  Brownie Base
Buy a box of brownie mix for a 13 x 9 pan.  Line your pan with parchment paper.  Follow the instructions on the box and let cool for one hour.

2) Peanut Butter Filling
Make the peanut butter filling by mixing the following until smooth.

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup butter or margarine (room temperature)
1 1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons milk

Spread this peanut butter filling over the brownies.

3) Chocolate Top Layer

1 1/4 cup chocolate chips (semi-sweet or milk chocolate)
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

Melt together in a microwave safe bowl at 50% power for 30 seconds.  Stir & repeat until smooth.  Spread on top of the peanut butter filling.

4)  Cool in refrigerator for 1 hour.

5)  Remove brownies from pan by lifting the parchment paper and place on a cutting board.  Cut into small squares & serve.

Makes 24-28 brownies.

Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker.com

Blackened Fish Tacos

I grew up Catholic...wore a uniform 1st - 8th grade, went to church on Sundays, said "Grace" before meals, and of course ate fish on Fridays during Lent (the 40 days before Easter - #fisheaters).  I love seafood so this never really seemed like a sacrifice to me to miss out on a day of eating meat.  Even more so over the years since I have been introduced to sushi and have done more and more cooking, a few Fridays dedicated to seafood recipes is perfectly fine by me.

Catholic or not, this Blackened Fish Taco recipe is fantastic and its great for any time of the year.  These refreshing tacos are spicy from the blackened seasoning but at the same time crunchy & tangy from the broccoli slaw and lime juice...the combination of flavors is so perfect it will make you think you are at a restaurant instead of home.

I will list a few links to some other meatless recipes I have posted in the past in case any of you are practicing no meat Fridays from now until Easter.

This makes 4 servings.  Enjoy!

SLAW
1/4 cup sliced green onions with tops
2 tablespoons snipped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon blackened fish seasoning (or Cajun seasoning)
2 cups broccoli slaw mix (found near coleslaw mix in the produce section)

FISH
1 pound fish fillets (any mild flavored fish will work such as flounder, tilapia, mahi)
1 tablespoon blackened fish seasoning (or Cajun seasoning)
1 avocado, seeded & sliced
8 corn tortillas (6-inch size)


1.  For slaw, in a bowl, combine green onions, cilantro, lime juice, oil, garlic, sugar and blackened seasoning; whisk until blended.  Add slaw mix, toss to coat.  Cover; refrigerate until ready to serve.

2.  Heat a grill pan or large skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes.  Coat fish with blackened seasoning.  Lightly spray pan with vegetable oil. Place fillets in pan; cook over medium heat 10-12 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork, carefully turning once.  Remove from heat.  Fish can then be broken into bite-sized pieces or cut into strips.

3.  Cut avocado in half lengthwise; remove seed and cut flesh away from skin.  Cut into slices.  To warm tortillas, place in microwave covered for one minute.  Top tortillas evenly with slaw mixture and fish.  Top with avocado slices.  Optional toppings: ranch dressing, pickled red onions*.

Adapted from Pampered Chef "It's Good for You" cookbook

*Pickled red onions are AMAZING not just on fish tacos but pretty much anything where you want a crunchy tangy flavor.  Plus they're beautiful so that's a bonus! Bon Appetit - Pickled Red Onions

OTHER KATH COOK's Meatless Recipes:
Broccoli Cheese Soup
Caribbean Tuna Cakes
Black Bean Soup
Crab Stuffed Portobellos
Caribbean Shrimp & Rice

Irish Cupcakes

I have been blog-happy this week!  In addition to the peanut butter balls and shamrock cookies I also made Irish Cupcakes.  Can you tell I'm excited for St. Patrick's Day?!?!?  These cupcakes are amazing!!!  The cake itself is made with Guinness beer, then filled with a whiskey ganache and finally topped with Bailey's Irish Cream frosting.  Oh my!!!  A little time consuming but well worth the effort.  They are absolutely delicious and there's plenty of leftover alcohol for celebrating this fine holiday.  Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!  

INGREDIENTS:

CUPCAKES
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup Guinness stout
¾ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons baking soda
¾ teaspoons salt
2 eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

GANACHE
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons Irish whiskey

FROSTING
2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 cups powdered sugar
6 tablespoons Bailey's Irish Cream

DIRECTIONS:

1. To Make the Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring the Guinness and butter to a simmer in a heavy, medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

2. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl to combine. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sour cream on medium speed until combined. Add the Guinness-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat just to combine. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture and beat briefly. Using a rubber spatula, fold the batter until completely combined. Divide the batter among the cupcake liners. Bake until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on a rack.

3. To Make the Whiskey Ganache Filling: Finely chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then, using a rubber spatula, stir it from the center outward until smooth. Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined. Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped.

4. To Fill the Cupcakes: Using a 1-inch round cookie cutter (or the bottom of a large decorating tip), cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes*, going about two-thirds of the way down. Transfer the ganache to a piping back with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.

5. To Make the Baileys Frosting: Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Reduce the speed to medium-low and gradually add the powdered sugar until all of it is incorporated. Add the Baileys, increase the speed to medium-high and whip for another 2 to 3 minutes, until it is light and fluffy.

6. Using your favorite decorating tip, or an offset spatula, frost the cupcakes and decorate with sprinkles, if desired. Store the cupcakes in an airtight container.

SOURCE: Brown Eyed Baker

*don't waste the cupcake centers ... make cake balls!

Cake Mix Cookies

I didn't just make peanut butter balls for St. Patrick's Day, I also made some shamrock cookies.  This cake mix cookie recipe is simple to make and the dough is easy to work with if you are making cut-out cookies.  There are so many different things you can do with this recipe...cut-out cookies with colored sugar, bake them plain & top with frosting, use food coloring in the dough for different color cookies, change the flavor of the cake mix, push the dough through a cookie press, add chocolate chips or candies, etc, etc.  enjoy!

1 package white cake mix
2 3/4 cups flour
1 pound (4 sticks) butter or margarine, divided

1.  Preheat oven to 350'F.  In a small bowl microwave 2 sticks of butter one minute or until melted.  Slice remaining butter into 1/2" pieces; add to melted butter, tossing to coat.  Allow butter to stand 3-5 minutes or until softened.

2.  Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine cake mix and flour; blend well.  Whisk butter until smooth and free of lumps.

3.  Pour butter all at once into dry ingredients, scraping butter from bowl.  Mix until dry ingredients are incorporated and dough is smooth.

4.  Form cookies as desired (see notes).

5.  Bake cookies 10-15 minutes or until a very light golden brown.  Cool on cooling rack.

makes 7-8 dozen cookies

Notes...
Flavor Variations - different flavored  cake mixes can be used to change the flavor of the cookies.

Forming Cookies - This cookie dough can be pressed through a cookie press OR you can add an additional 1/2 cup of flour and roll & cut out cookies OR you can stir in 1/2 - 1 cup of your favorite chocolte chips, candies or nuts and drop by tablespoonfuls on cookie sheet.

Decorating - You can add food coloring to the dough to make tinted cookies.  You can top them with colored sugar or sprinkles before baking.  You can frost them with icing after they're finished cooling.

Source: Pampered Chef - Celebrate! cookbook

Peanut Butter Balls

I made a batch of these with green sprinkles for St Patrick's Day. They're sooooo yummy!! I'm not sure if there will be any left by the 17th!  You could make them for any occasion by simply changing the sprinkle colors or leave off the sprinkles. The taste is very similar to homemade peanut butter eggs that the local churches sell around Easter time. If you like the combination of peanut butter and chocolate you will absolutely LOVE these!!

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
5 tablespoons butter or margarine at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 bag chocolate chips (semi sweet or milk chocolate)
sprinkles (optional)

Mix the first 4 ingredients in a large bowl until it forms a dough.  Roll dough into 1" balls and set on a wax paper-lined cookie sheet; chill 1 hour.  Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler or in the microwave (50% power, 20 sec increments) stir until completely melted.  Dip peanut butter balls in melted chocolate to coat.  Place in mini cupcake papers, top with sprinkles and chill until chocolate is set.  Makes about 40 peanut butter balls.

Here's what this same recipe looks like as peanut butter eggs

Recipe adapted from "Parents" magazine

Tuscan White Bean & Sausage Stew

I skipped over this recipe a few times because of the fact it had fennel listed as one of the ingredients.  Years ago, pre-foodie, I would order shrimp with pasta anytime I went out to dinner no matter the restaurant ... if one of the menu options was pasta with shrimp, that's what I ordered (reminds me of someone I know who always orders fettuccine alfredo).  I completely missed out on some great meals & experiencing different foods during my early 20's because of this shrimp pasta habit.  Anyways, there was this one time I ordered shrimp pasta and it tasted like someone put black liquorice in it and when I asked the waiter what the flavoring came from his response was "fennel" and so because of that ONE incident I have been ANTI-FENNEL ever since.

My tastes have changed dramatically over the years and although shrimp pasta is still near and dear to my heart I love to try new things. Looking through my recipe book I kept coming back to this White Bean & Sausage Stew recipe.  I was a little afraid about the fennel at first but thought I would give it a second chance and I'm so glad I did! It did smell a little bit like liquorice when I was chopping it but after it cooked down it did not taste anything like I remembered ... it was more or less similar to an onion.  I even used the leafy top for a garnish! Perhaps the fennel in my pasta all those years ago was undercooked?

This is a great winter recipe, very hearty & delicious!

1 lb hot Italian sausage
2 medium carrots
1 medium bulb fresh fennel
1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cups chicken broth
4 garlic cloves, pressed
2 cans (15 oz each) cannelloni beans
1 pkg (18g) fresh basil

1. Remove casings from sausage.  Cut in half lengthwise, then cut cross wise into 1/2 inch pieces.

2.  Place sausage into (4 qt) pot or casserole and cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally.

3.  As sausage cooks, peel carrots.  Chop carrots and fennel*; add to pot and cook an additional 3-5 minutes or until sausage is no longer pink and vegetables begin to brown.

4.  Stir tomatoes, broth and garlic into sausage mixture.  Drain and rinse beans using a small colander; add to pot.

5.  Simmer stew, uncovered, 10-12 minutes or until vegetables are tender.  As the stew simmers, chop basil.  Remove pot from heat; stir in basil.  Serve immediately.

Yield:  6 servings

*to chop fennel , remove stalks and root end! cut out core and chop into cubes.  The lacy fronds can be used as a garnish.  Diced onion can be substituted for the fennel if desired.

Source:  Pampered Chef, 29 Minutes to Dinner