Cold Brew Coffee

Stacy loves her cold brew in the morning, and for a while we'd just buy whatever the grocery store had. Then I discovered this easy recipe and now it's pretty much all we do.--Mark

Ingredients  

2/3 cups coffee grounds

1 quart of water

Directions

Put the coffee grounds in a quart sized container. Mason jars work well for this. Fill the jar to the top. Shake well. Let stand for 10 to 12 hours.

Filter coffee. Pour into larger bottle and add water.

Notes

We use the iced coffee bottles you can buy at the store to contain our coffee. These are just about perfect for diluted the filtered coffee.

Slow Cooker Indian Butter Chicken

We love Indian food and it really is easier to make than one would think. This slow cooker recipe makes it even easier and it tastes fantastic.--Mark

Ingredients  

1 cup basmati rice 

½ cup chicken stock 

1 6-ounce can tomato paste 

2 teaspoons yellow curry powder 

1 teaspoon garam masala 

1 teaspoon ground turmeric 

1 teaspoon kosher salt 

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks

½ sweet onion, diced 

3 cloves garlic, minced 

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger 

½ cup heavy cream 

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice 

1 ½ teaspoons light brown sugar

Directions

In a large saucepan of 2 cups water, cook rice according to package instructions; set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together chicken stock, tomato paste, curry powder, garam masala, turmeric, salt and pepper. 

Place chicken, onion, garlic and ginger into a 4-qt slow cooker. Stir in chicken stock mixture. Cover and cook on low heat for 4 hours. 

Stir in heavy cream, lime juice and brown sugar; season with salt and pepper, to taste. 

Serve immediately with rice.

Two-Ingredient Flourless Brownies

Stacy was looking for a low-carb brownie recipe and came across this one. I was skeptical, but they actually turned out great! They're sort of dense, like a protein bar and so delicious! --Mark

Ingredients

4 large eggs

10 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8 x 8 inch baking pan with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (you can also do this with a hand mixer), add eggs. Using the wire whisk attachment, beat eggs until frothy. Increase mixing speed to highest setting and continue to beat eggs for about 8 minutes. You want to beat the eggs until they change color (they will become a very pale eggshell yellow), the egg mixture becomes more than triple in volume and the egg mixture becomes very thick. To check if your mixture is ready, lift up your beater and watch the egg mixture that drizzles down from your beater back into the bowl. It should sit on the surface of your mixture for several seconds and not immediately sink in.

While your eggs are beating (if you are using a hand mixer you can do this after), melt your chocolate. You can do this in the microwave or on the stove. If using microwave, melt at 30 second intervals (this should take around 2 minutes total), stirring in between, until chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Let chocolate cool slightly so it's no longer too hot to touch. You don't want the chocolate to cool completely because then it won't be melted anymore. 

Add in 1/3 of the egg mixture. Fold in the egg mixture using a spatula until egg is completely incorporated. Repeat with another 1/3 and then remaining 1/3. Towards the end, your chocolate may start getting a little stiff. That is okay. Break up any chocolate clumps using your spatula. 

Pour batter into prepared pan. 

Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. The surface of the brownies should also be firm. Let brownies cool before cutting and serving.

Notes

https://kirbiecravings.com/2-ingredient-flourless-brownies/

Pumpkin Spice Coffee Cake

 I was looking for a unique fall breakfast and stumbled upon this one. Wow! So good! It got rave reviews from everyone so this is a definite keeper. --Mark

Ingredients

For the streusel:

1/2 cup (100 grams) light brown sugar
1/4 cup (32 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (60 grams) finely chopped pecans
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons (43 grams) unsalted butter, melted

For the cake:
2 cups (254 grams) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup (100 grams) light brown sugar
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
1 cup (244 grams) pumpkin puree
1/2 cup (100 grams) vegetable oil
4 ounces (113 grams) sour cream, at room temperature
2 large eggs, beaten

For the glaze:
1/2 cup (63 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray the bottom of an 8-inch square pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Make the streusel:

In a small bowl, combine all of the streusel ingredients with a fork until crumbly.

Make the cake:

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. In a small bowl, stir together the pumpkin puree, oil, sour cream, and eggs. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, then pour in the wet ingredients. Gently stir until just combined.

Spoon half of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with half of the streusel. Spread the remaining batter over the streusel. Sprinkle with the remaining streusel.

Bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Glass and ceramic pans will take longer to bake than metal. Cool for 15 minutes.

Make the topping:

In a small bowl combine the sugar and maple syrup until a thick, pourable icing forms. Drizzle over the warm cake. Cut into squares and serve. Store leftovers, covered, at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Notes

Instead of individual spices, I just substituted pumpkin pie spice and it turned out great.

Edible Cookie Dough

Max found this recipe and has made it so many times already. This stuff is seriously addictive and without the risk of salmonella and listeria it's safe to eat as much as you want. --Mark

Ingredients

1 cup (200g) brown sugar, packed

½ cup (1 stick or 113g) butter, room temperature

¼ cup (61g) milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon salt

1½ cups (187.5g) all-purpose flour

1 cup (168g) milk chocolate chips

Directions

If preferred, bake the flour ahead of time. Place it on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake it for 10 minutes at 350°F.

In a large bowl, combine brown sugar and butter. Beat with a hand mixer until creamy.

Add in milk, vanilla, and salt. Blend until combined.

Add flour and mix until combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Store edible cookie dough in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Freeze for up to a month.

Notes

You can microwave the flour for 50 to 60 seconds instead of baking it in the oven.

To make it chocolate based just substitute a 1/3 cup of the flour with baking cocoa instead.

To Die For Blueberry Muffins

There are a million ways to make blueberry muffins and I was looking for a new one to try. These did the trick. They were moist and oh so delicious. --Mark

Ingredients

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour 

¾ cup white sugar

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

⅓ cup vegetable oil

1 egg 

⅓ cup milk, or more as needed

1 cup fresh blueberries

½ cup white sugar

⅓ cup all-purpose flour 

¼ cup butter, cubed

1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.

Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and add enough milk to reach the 1-cup mark. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.

To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

Oreo Truffles

I decided to make these for our anniversary one year. They were easy to make, even if it was a bit messy. And they tasted fantastic! --Mark

Ingredients

36 regular Oreos, plus 3 crushed for topping

1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, softened

16 oz vanilla or chocolate candy melts, or melted white chocolate, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate

Directions

Line an 18 by 13-inch baking sheet with wax paper or parchment paper.

Place 36 Oreos in a food processor (entire cookie, don't remove cream filling) and pulse too fine crumbs.

Add cream cheese and pulse in bursts until well combined.

Scoop mixture out about 1 Tbsp at a time and form into 1 inch balls then align on prepared cookie sheet. 

Place truffles in freezer for 15 minutes. Meanwhile crush remaining 3 Oreos.

Melt almond bark or chocolate according to directions on package. 

Remove truffles from freezer and dip in melted chocolate and use a spoon to pour some chocolate over the top then lift and allow excess chocolate to run off. 

Return to baking sheet, immediately sprinkle tops with crushed Oreos if desired, then allow chocolate to set. 

Store in an airtight container in refrigerator.