Day 282: Caramel Cashew Brownies

We're headed out to cut firewood, so just a quick post today!  I found this recipe in a Taste of Home magazine. 

Caramel Cashew Brownies
10" dutch oven

18 caramels
1/3 cup butter or margarine
2 Tbs. milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped salted cashews

In a 10" dutch oven over about 6 coals, cook and stir the caramels, butter and milk until the caramels are melted and the mixture is smooth.  Remove from heat and stir in the sugar.  Combine the eggs and vanilla and stir into the caramel mixture.  Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir into caramel mixture until blended.  Fold in the cashews.  Pour into a well greased dutch oven.  Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Use 1 ring on top and 1 ring on the bottom.  Cool completely before cutting.  Serves 9.

The Finished Product

The Review

Oooh!  These were good!  I absolutely love cashews, so I take any chance to bake with them.  These can hardly be called brownies because they are so chewy and gooey.  These only lasted about 10 minutes.  I purposely over cook mine because my hubby loves the crunchy edges, so if they're cooked for the proper time they will be even more gooey.  These are delicious!  One warning though--be sure to use Crisco to grease the pan, and don't be shy about it.  These are pretty sticky.  Grade A.

Day 281: Skillet Chicken with Mexican Rice

I found this recipe at Mel's Kitchen Cafe.  I really love skillet meals, especially with how crazy life has been the past few weeks.  These kind of meals are quick, easy and yummy.  I'm so glad I had my dutch oven to cook this in.  There is no way my skillet would have held everything since I had to double the recipe to feed my crew.  Thank heaven for my dutch ovens or I never would have tried this recipe.

Skillet Chicken with Mexican Rice
10" dutch oven

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1 1/2 to 2 pounds)
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 poblano peppers, cored, seeded, and chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 (10 oz.) cans green enchilada sauce (I recommend mild for those who don’t want much heat)
1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup chopped fresh spinach leaves

Gently pat the chicken dry and season lightly with salt and pepper. In your dutch oven, heat the oil over a full spread of coals until it is rippling and hot. Brown the chicken on each side for 1-2 minutes until it is golden but not cooked all the way through. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.

In the same dutch oven, add the onion and poblano peppers and cook for 3-4 minutes, until the vegetables are softened, stirring occasionally. Stir in the garlic and cumin and cook for 30 seconds. Add the enchilada sauce, rice and water, stirring to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil and set the chicken breasts in the simmering rice mixture, nestling them in a bit. Cover the skillet, and transfer about 1/4 of the coals to the lid.  Simmer gently for about 15-20 minutes, until the rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed and the chicken is cooked through, stirring every five minutes or so to ensure the rice isn’t sticking to the bottom.

Stir in the cilantro and spinach and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4.

The Finished Product

The Review

I really liked this.  I also really liked that I could do the whole thing in one pot!  My hubby and I and our older kids really liked the peppers and spinach, but my kids weren't super thrilled with it.  I had a hard time getting them to even try it.  I think it has something to do with the fact that it was green.  It takes years to overcome the hatred of all things green!  I would make this really often if my kids would eat it!  Grade B.

Day 280: Super Simple Brownies

With everyone that's been sick the last few days we decided to have our favorite chicken noodle soup for dinner last night.  But for those of us that aren't under the weather, I made these brownies!  These are so easy, fudgy and delish!

Super Simple Brownies
10" dutch oven

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup flour
chopped nuts, chocolate chips, M&M's or any other extras you want to add

Melt the butter in your dutch oven over about 6 coals.  Remove from heat and pour into a bowl.  Add the sugar and stir until well mixed.  Add eggs, beating until well combined.  Stir in vanilla, flour, salt and any mix-ins until just combined.  Pour into a greased dutch oven (just use the same one you melted the butter in) and bake at 350° for 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Use 1 ring on top and 1 ring on the bottom.

The Finished Product

My camera and blogger aren't communicating very well lately.  I think they need couples counseling!  :)  As soon as they are speaking again, I'll post the pic.

The Review

These are really yummy and fudgy, just the way I like them.  There is nothing fancy about them, just chocolaty goodness.  This isn't my "go to" recipe, but its a good one.  Grade A-.

Day 279: Vegetable Noodle Casserole

What a day yesterday was!  My 2 year old daughter, Boey, had a 103° fever all day and my 14 year old son, Wyatt, came home from school with a broken arm!  I swear he'll have broken every bone in his body before he leaves home.  Anyway, by the time dinner rolled around I really didn't care what we ate, as long as it filled the empty spot!  So I opened up a cookbook and made the first thing I found that I had all the ingredients for.  This comes from a taste of home cookbook.  It can be served as a side dish, but I added a little canned chicken and made it a meal.

Vegetable Noodle Casserole
12" dutch oven

1 (10 3/4 oz.) can cream of chicken soup
1 (10 3/4 oz.) can cream of broccoli soup
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
3 cloves minced garlic
2 Tbs. dried parsley flakes
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1 (16 oz.) pkg. wide egg noodles, cooked and drained
1 (16 oz.) pkg. frozen broccoli, cauliflower and carrot blend, thawed
2 cups frozen corn, thawed

In a bowl, combine soups, milk 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, garlic, parsley,pepper and salt; mix well.  Add the noodles and vegetables and mix until well combined.  Pour into a greased dutch oven and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese.  Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until heated through. Use 1 1/2 rings on top and 1 ring on the bottom. Serves 12.

The Finished Product

With the days getting shorter, I'm losing what little natural light I have in my kitchen.  This really is better than it looks.  Sorry about the bad pic.

The Review

Okay, so this wont win any awards, but it was all right.  I was so frazzled by dinner last night I really didn't care!  :)  I did add some canned chicken to make it a little more hearty.  It wasn't my favorite meal, but my kids really liked it.  They all had seconds, which surprised me.  I even got a few "thank yous" out of it!  That has to count for something!  We decided this gets a B.

Day 278: Deer Camp Stew

Okay, so this recipe didn't start out as deer camp stew.  Its humble beginnings were as a skillet stew from Betty Crocker.  But I think poor Betty would find my version almost unrecognizable.  This recipe is so very easy.  It also comes together very quickly.  Its just the sort of thing a man who doesn't cook much would be able to make in the mountains on the deer hunt (which is going on right now around here, by the way).  The original recipe was more skillet meal than stew and it wasn't very interesting.  So I changed things up a bit.  As its written in only feeds 4, but its a cinch to double or triple.

Skillet Ground Beef Stew

12" dutch oven
1 lb ground deer or elk (I used elk, but you could also use ground beef)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 package (8 oz) sliced fresh mushrooms (about 3 cups  I hate mushrooms so I left these out)
2 1/4 cups beef-flavored broth
1/3 cup plus 3 Tbs. heavy whipping cream
4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 lb unpeeled Yukon Gold or red potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (3 medium)
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced (1 cup)
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 cup frozen peas

In 12"dutch oven, cook meat and onion over a full spread of coals, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly cooked; drain if necessary. Stir in salt, pepper and flour. Add mushrooms; cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
In a bowl, mix broth, whipping cream and mustard with wire whisk. Add to beef mixture. Stir in potatoes and carrots.  Bring to a boil, then move about 1/4 of the coals to the lid and allow the stew to simmer for 15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and sauce is slightly thickened. Add the peas and allow to cook a few more minutes or until they are heated through.  If the sauce is too thin at the end of the cooking process, cook uncovered another few minutes until the liquid reduces and is slightly thickened. Sprinkle with parsley. I found it needed a bit more salt and pepper, so be sure to have a shaker there so you can add more if you need to.  Serves 4-5.

The Finished Product

The Review

I was really surprised by how good this was.  My kids had seconds, and even my hubby (my pickiest eater) had 2 bowls.  Its also a very simple recipe that just about anyone can make.  Add some dutch oven biscuits and some peach cobbler for dessert and you've got yourself a meal.  Deer camp food never tasted so good!  For a weeknight meal we gave this a B, but for a camping meal it gets an A.