Sitting on recipes isn't that comfortable

I've been sitting on this recipe for a while - mostly because I didn't actually read it. I thought it would be more complicated. Even when I enlisted Andy's help to make it - I considered ordering take out. But... I had already defrosted a container of leftover cooked turkey from Thanksgiving and had the rest of the ingredients so let's go. It was a matter of literally dumping everything together, stirring and baking. The chicken/turkey was the only thing to precook, even the orzo went in dry. Andy was surprised - "that's it?" That's it! I had a naysayer... my usually naysayer who complained it was going to be "just like broccoli cheddar soup" which he proclaimed his love for on first taste... then further meals his disgust... Nope... not even a little like that soup... and thankfully my naysayer decided it was good and he really DID enjoy it. How about that. I'm not looking forward to his teen years when he gets even more mouthy about what I cook. I used to enjoy when he was smaller and loved everything, maybe I can keep him little... or somehow find that part of him that likes to try new things. This was delicious and easy and great for a cold night.

Dump & Bake Chicken Broccoli Orzo Casserole
1.5 cups chicken broth
1-10.5 oz can cream of chicken soup
1/2 tsp parsley flakes
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp rosemary
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup broccoli florets (fresh or frozen)
1 cup cooked, shredded chicken (I used rotisserie chicken)
1/2 box (8oz) uncooked orzo
1 cup mild cheddar cheese, freshly shredded

1. Preheat oven to 425. Grease an 8x10 (for 4 people… 9x13 for 8 people w/ double the ingredients) with cooking spray.
2. Add chicken broth, can of soup and all spices. Stir in broccoli, cooked chicken and uncooked orzo. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
3. Uncover and stir gently with a fork. Taste for pasta doneness (firm, but tender). If it still needs more time, cover and cook for another few minutes. Be sure not to overcook as the pasta can easily become mushy, if so.
4. Sprinkle cheese on top and bake uncovered for 5 minutes. Turn on the broiler for another 2 minutes to create a crispy, brown topping. Enjoy!

Manly Sprinkles Necessary

I picked sugar cookie bars thinking my non chocolate eating son would like these. "Sorry mom I don't like baked goods." UGH KID!! I was making these for a boys group event - and made the frosting orange per my baked good denier. These cookies rose amazingly well and settled down after. The frosting was on point - so good. Simple sprinkles for boys who probably wouldn't eat them if I had cute sprinkles on them... manly sprinkles were necessary here... If I had black and blue... I should have used those... many... or camouflage! Alas... rainbow nonpareils is what I had and used. Great reviews on these - very high ratio of frosting to bar but let's be honest - kids are all about the frosting so it worked. I cut these into 24 and could have cut them way smaller. Kids and adults enjoyed them - worth the expensive eggs and butter.

Sugar Cookie Bar
1 1/2 cups salted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
Frosting
3/4 cup salted butter, softened
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp clear vanilla extract
up to 1/4 cup heavy cream or milk
food coloring

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper or spray with non stick spray and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or with an electric hand mixer, cream together the butter and granulated sugar until light in color and fluffy in texture.
Scrape the sides of the bowl and add in the eggs and vanilla extract.
Once mixed thoroughly, add in the flour and baking powder.
Press into the bottom of the prepared pan.
Bake at 350° F for 15-20 minutes or until the cookies have puffed up, no longer look glossy in the center and the edges are just beginning to turn a golden color.
Allow the cookies to cool completely before frosting.
Once the cookies are cool, make the frosting by creaming the butter until smooth.
Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing until it is well incorporated before adding in more. You can add in a splash of heavy cream or milk to help bring the frosting together as needed. Repeat until all of the powdered sugar has been added.
Mix in the vanilla extract and food coloring. You thin the frosting by adding a little bit of milk or heavy cream, if needed.
Spread onto the cooled sugar cookie bars and top with sprinkles, if desired.

I had to look up ostentatiously...

And I quote "I don't know if I've ever had a more ostentatiously decadent brownie."
I think that says all you need to know about these brownies. They are THAT good.
I was making dessert for unknown number of people - which really was fun when it came to lunch too - rushing to run around and make more taco meat for said unknown number of people... anyway. These brownies are what we are talking about. Did you know partially melted butter could fluff up volumes by just keeping that beater going? Then add five eggs and even more fluff. This batter had more volume then most people’s hair. When I baked it - it was unlike any brownies I've ever seen, they were fluffy and rose higher than the pan - they did not look like the picture - but Ok... sure. They settled down, thankfully, and turned into the most amazing brownie. The frosting too - just perfect on top. I cut these into 24 but easily could have been 48. They are so rich and worth every single expensive egg.

Cosmic Brownies
1 1/2 cups salted butter, partially melted
1 3/4 cups brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
5 eggs
2 tbsp corn syrup
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup dutch processed cocoa powder
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda

Fudge Frosting and Toppings
1/2 cup salted butter, softened
3 oz cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup dutch processed cocoa powder
3 cups powdered sugar
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
milk, as needed to thin
candy coated chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350°. Prepare a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, cream together the partially melted butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar for a full 5 minutes at the highest speed. The mixture will be extremely light in color and very fluffy.
Add the eggs, corn syrup and vanilla. Mix again at the highest speed for an additional 5 minutes.
Add the flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, salt and soda to the bowl. Mix until everything is just combined. Fold the mixture by hand a few times to make sure that everything is mixed together.
Transfer the brownie batter to the prepared 9×13 pan. Spread the mixture until it is smooth and even.
Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes. The brownies will rise significantly, the edges will begin to crackle and you should be able to test the center of the brownies with a toothpick and a few moist crumbs should come up on the toothpick when they are ready to come out of the oven.
Immediately upon taking the brownies out of the oven, drop the pan onto a cutting board or your stovetop multiple times to let the excess air out of the center of the brownies. This will cause the brownies to deflate and give us that extra fudgey texture.
While the brownies start to cool, make the frosting.
Make the frosting by first creaming together the butter and cream cheese until smooth.
Scrape the sides of the bowl and add in the cocoa powder. Add a tsp or two of milk to help bring the mixture together.
Mix on the lowest setting, so we avoid adding extra air to the frosting.
Next, add in the powdered sugar, again, adding a little bit of milk, as needed, to bring the mixture together while mixing on the lowest setting.
Add in the vanilla and mix until combined. The frosting should be thick, creamy and dark in color.
Scoop dollops of the frosting onto the top of the brownies. The heat from the brownies will slightly melt the frosting making it easier to spread.
Spread the frosting onto the brownies to cover the center of the brownies.
Return the brownies to the warm (but off) oven for 3-5 minutes to melt the frosting onto the brownies (this will help get that silky smooth appearance on top of the frosting)
Immediately sprinkle the candy coated chocolate chips on top of the frosting.
Allow the brownies to cool completely in the pan before cutting.
Note: I actually like to freeze my brownies for about 30 minutes before cutting to make it easier to get the brownies out of the pan and easier to get clean cuts. Store at room temp or in the fridge in an air tight container.

I feel greasy... I feel hungry!

So.. Beef short ribs, we get them with our quarter cow and I'm not sold on them at all yet. I've made Korean Short ribs and they were...fine. This week I made this recipe and while an absolute pain in the butt, let's be real, crockpot recipes should not involve this much precooking and prep. Drop it in and be done already. These ribs had SO much fat on them and the bones are huge. What we thought would be a meal with leftovers turned out to be all of us still hungry, feeling greasy and toasting up some cinnamon swirl bread for dessert. Maybe you need a leaner cow, maybe you need to trim off the fat? I don't know. Andy said he liked the flavor - poor Nicholas got a pocket of seasoning that made his nose burn. I do think this recipe would work for a beef roast instead. Less fat and more meat. So not all bad... but short ribs? I don't know... not really our thing... at least not yet.

Slow Cooker Short Ribs

4 pounds bone-in beef short ribs (about 8 ribs)
1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 ½ teaspoons black pepper
¾ teaspoon onion powder
¾ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1-2 tablespoons avocado oil, more as needed
2 sweet onions, peeled and cut into 1 inch thick slices
6 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar or Worcestershire sauce
2 ½ cups beef broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 sprigs fresh thyme leaves, chopped
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped
2 bay leaves
5 large carrots, cut into 1 inch thick rounds
Optional herbs for garnish, parsley, rosemary, thyme

Pat short ribs dry with a paper towel.
Mix the cornstarch and seasonings together in a small bowl. Season the short ribs on all sides, massaging it in.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon oil and sear the short ribs on both sides until browned and a nice crust forms, about 5 minutes each side. Work in small batches and add additional oil for the next batch as needed. Transfer the seared meat into the slow cooker.
In the same skillet, sauté the onions and garlic until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
Add the balsamic vinegar or Worcestershire sauce and deglaze the pan by scraping up the browned bits stuck to the bottom.
Add the beef broth, tomato paste, fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, and bay leaves. Stir to combine and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, remove the skillet from the heat and transfer the contents into the slow cooker, pouring everything on top of the seared short ribs.
Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours, or until the meat is tender. You may also cook on HIGH for 4-6 hours, or until the meat is tender. Add the chopped carrots into the slow cooker during the last 1-2 hours of the cooking time, depending on how soft or tender you’d like them.
Garnish with fresh herbs and serve with mashed potatoes, rice, crusty bread, or vegetables if desired.

What Brown Sugar Cinnamon Poptart dreams are made of...

How do you feel about poptarts? What's the best flavor and if you didn't say Brown Sugar Cinnamon well, clearly you are wrong. I never toast my poptarts - I eat them right out of that silvery package. Also we rarely get them - it's usually when we are traveling and need an easy breakfast - then the poptarts appear. These cookies... are what cinnamon poptart dreams are made of. no toasting required - but just so good... and also really fun to make. You do need some cake flour to start. Cake flour is one of those things I normally have, but sometimes don't. The good thing is you can make your own - replace 2 tablespoons of flour with corn starch. In this recipe I had to do some major math to get it right since 3 3/4 of cake flour meant some interesting math.
I ended up scooping all my cinnamon centers and refrigerating them a bit to make the cookie forming easier. I took some dough and flattened it and made a well for my cinnamon center, then folded the dough around it and flattened it a bit. Got the hang of it pretty quick.
The icing makes the cookie... I did some drizzle and some spreading. Dipping the top would have worked too. We all started on these right away... a fun bake turned into really yummy cookies that we all keep munching on... certainly will be repeating this one soon.

Brown Sugar Pop Tart Cookies
1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar packed
2 eggs room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 3/4 cups cake flour
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Brown Sugar Filling
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened
3/4 cup light brown sugar packed
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 Tablespoon cake flour

Brown Sugar Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled
2 1/2 Tablespoon milk

Add the butter sugar, and brown sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer, or hand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes. Add the vanilla and eggs and beat for another 1-2 minutes, until light and fluffy.
Whisk the dry ingredients in a separate medium bowl until combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat on medium speed until combined, 1-2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed. Cover and chill the dough for one hour.
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Add the filling ingredients to a medium bowl and stir until smooth. Use a heaping teaspoon (about 2 teaspoons) to scoop the filling out and roll it into a ball and place it on the baking sheet.
Scoop the chilled dough out using 1/4 cup measuring cup (or a very large cookie scoop). Break the dough in half and create a well in the middle of one half. Place one ball of filling inside the well and press the other half on top of the filling and pinch the seems. Roll them into a ball to seal the filling inside.
Arrange the cookie dough balls on the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 11-13 minutes, until the tops are just set and the edges are lightly golden brown. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
While they cool, make the icing. Whisk together all of the icing ingredients until smooth. Place a piece of parchment paper under the cooling rack and spoon the icing on top of each cookie, letting it spread to the edges. Allow it to set for 15 minutes and enjoy.