Nutella Experiment

My kids and I have found a new love in making brownies. At this point we have made about six batches of different types of brownies. We have made peanut butter brownies,chewy chocolate brownies,nutella and chocolate brownies and some that haven't turned out so well so we won't mention those. Brownies are so versatile you can add just about anything and it will come out delicious. The latest and greatest was nutella and chocolate brownies with ghiradelli chips. They were delish but very rich. Here is what we did:

 Gabe had a great time making these his favorite part was adding the chips at the end. Here is our recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, melted
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup Baking Cocoa
  
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup chopped nuts or chips

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 350º F. Grease 13 x 9-inch baking pan.

COMBINE granulated sugar, butter and water in large bowl. Stir in eggs and vanilla extract. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in medium bowl; stir into sugar mixture. Stir in nuts. Spread into prepared baking pan. Add chocolate chips to the top.

BAKE for 18 to 25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out slightly sticky. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.

Kids Cookbooks

These are some of the cookbooks that my kids and I are bound to try and review. Gabe and I have not purchased a book quite yet, he has been very specific when it comes to this.

Betty Crocker kids cook!

Junior Cookbook

Sofrito shrimp and tilapia

I have made this dish before but I wanted to change it up a bit and add fish so it would be a bit richer. In case you are not familiar with Sofrito here is a description:
This aromatic cooking base combines the bold flavors of tomato, onion, green peppers, cilantro and garlic, saving you valuable prep time in the kitchen. A heaping spoonful of Sofrito added to soups and stews is a classic first-step ingredient to authentic Latino cooking. From the Goya.com site.

My recipe consisted of :
One jar of Sofrito cooking base
One whole onion diced
2 stalks of celery diced
1 pound of shrimp
3 filets of tilapia
2 cups of rice
Directions:
Start by sauteing the tilapia in butter until cooked through. Remove from pan, add the onion and celery to the drippings from the fish and saute. Add the entire jar of Sofrito sauce and simmer. After about ten minutes add the shrimp and fish back in simmer for ten minutes. The fish is very delicate and should break up in the sauce. You can serve this over rice. My kids loved this and it was so easy to make. My toddler even loved this and he is the pickiest eater I have ever met.

Red Linguine Clam Sauce with shrimp and Garlic buttered Bread

I made this for dinner tonight and forgot to take a picture sorry! I thought that my kids might not like it but it turns out they loved it and even had seconds. This is a very simple recipe you just have to time it right.
Ingredients:
1 pound of cooked shrimp
1 can of clams in juice
1 small diced onion
1 pound of linguine or angel hair pasta
1 can crushed tomatoes
parsley
3 or 4 cloves of garlic
2 or 3 pats of butter
pinch of sugar
Pillsbury Italian bread
Olive oil
2 tsp of tomato paste
Oregano
Directions;
Boil water for pasta. Thin pasta cooks rather fast so watch carefully. Saute garlic in olive oil for 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and drained clams, save the juice. Heat through and leave the lid on.
In a saucer begin sauteing the onions in butter or olive oil which ever you prefer. Begin adding the paste and reserved clam juice to the sauce. Next add your crushed tomatoes,parsley,sugar-taste first,salt and pepper. Let this simmer for about 7 minutes.Toss the clam and shrimp mixture in with the sauce and simmer for about 2 minutes. To make your garlic butter all you need to do is combine 1/4 butter with garlic diced well and a tsp of parsley, mash well. Don't forget to pop your bread in the oven prior to completing your meal.