Sauce Pan Brownies

When I was a girl I lived in West Texas. Within walking distance (wasn't everything back then?) was our grocery store, drug store, 5&10 store, and a bakery called the Snow White Bakery. I remember going in there and the smells were just amazing. They made the most awesome brownies. I've never really found a brownie that compared but these are fairly similar, except the ones from my past were frosted. These are so easy to make and turn out a really great brownie.

SAUCE PAN BROWNIES

2 sticks butter
4 1 ounce squares Baker's (unsweetened) chocolate
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
1 cup chopped pecans (toasted)

Melt butter and chocolate together in a sauce pan. In a separate bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder. Add melted ingredients and stir well. Add eggs one at a time. Beat thoroughly. Spread in a greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool. Cut into squares.

Butter Pecan Dump Cake

Dump cakes are those kind of recipes that have so many different types but usually just consist of some sort of fruit or pie filling 'dumped' into a pan, usually some pineapple added, then a cake mix and butter. This one is just a little different but is a very good variation.

BUTTER PECAN DUMP CAKE

1 (29 ounce ) can of sliced peaches with syrup (do not drain)
1 package of (dry) Butter Pecan cake mix
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
1-1/2 sticks butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pour peaches with juice into pan. Sprinkle dry cake mix over peaches. Spread coconut over cake mix and add pecans. Pour melted butter over all slowly and evenly. Bake in a preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand at least 15 minutes before serving. Great with ice cream.

Notes on Cooking

I was watching The View this week (well, I fast forward mostly as their talking over each other really is annoying sometimes). Anyway, they had the co-author of this book on the show, Lauren Costello. Just in the few tips she presented on the show, I am getting this book. When searching to order it I came upon the blog that they have which has even more tips. I think any cook would love this book as it really gives some great ideas. I love cookbooks, but this one has not one recipe in it, but it is filled with great tips that any cook would use.

Monkey Bread

Today at work we had a surprise breakfast celebration for a young man who is getting married and just bought his first home. I took Monkey Bread and also Banana Bread. Monkey bread is another one of those recipes that has been around for a long time and has a few variations. Pardon my retro Tupperware cake carrier plate, it's not the best picture.

MONKEY BREAD

4 cans refrigerated biscuits (not the flaky kind)
1 cup granulated sugar
2-3 teaspoons cinnamon (I used 2)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter (3/4 cup)
Chopped pecans (optional) You can use raisins if you like also.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-10 inch tube pan. Mix white sugar and cinnamon in a medium sized plastic bag. (I used a plastic container with a lid.) Cut the biscuits into 4 pieces. Place several quarters at a time in the sugar and cinnamon mixture and toss to coat. Arrange the pieces in the greased pan. Layer with pecans or raisins. Continue layering until all the biscuit pieces are coated and in the pan. In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the brown sugar until dissolved well. Pour over layered biscuits. Bake 35-40 minutes until brown. A good idea to put a cookie sheet under as this raises pretty high and you don't want a spillover. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate. Pull apart and enjoy!

I also wanted to use my new Nordicware loaf pan I got on eBay. I love Nordicware pans. I used my usual 'go to' banana bread as it makes a lot of batter. The picture doesn't do the sliced pieces justice -- this has a really nice crumb to it. This recipe made this large loaf and also a small 8 inch loaf. You can get the recipe from an earlier post Banana Bread.

Top Ramen Salad

This is a recipe that is seen at many potluck dinners (we call them covered dish dinners down this way, but I know that is a term that not used everywhere). When I looked on Wikipedia I saw many different variations of the term, some quite interesting. In any case, this recipe has as many variations as the occasions it is served. It's a good salad for a hot summer day.

TOP RAMEN SALAD

1 package coleslaw mix
5 green onion sliced thin (tops included)
1 cup sliced almonds
2 packages ramen noodles, broken up (I used oriental flavor and poured hot water over them to hydrate them)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds

Dressing:
1/2 cup oil (I used a little less than 1/2 -- not quite to the top)
1/3 cup granulated sugar + 2 tablespoons
1/4 cup vinegar (I used rice wine vinegar) + 2 tablespoons
1 packet flavoring mix from the noodles

Mix oil, sugar, vinegar, and flavoring packet. In large bowl, mix together coleslaw mix, onions, almonds, and broken ramen noodles. Add dressing and toss. Let stand for a few hours.