Categories
Main Dish

Be ready to fall for a casserole with autumn flavors

Fall casserole has squash, potatoes and spinach in addition to cheese and plenty of great herbs.
Fall casserole has squash, potatoes and spinach in addition to cheese and plenty of great herbs.

As the leaves began falling off the trees recently, I got the chance to spend some time with my now two-year-old niece.

She’s in love with being in the backyard, so we went outside for awhile, and she showed me the crunchy leaves laying in the grass.

She would carefully pick up each one she found, hold it where the two of us could both hear and then roll it in her hand, saying, “Crumple, crumple, crumple.”

Fall is my favorite time of year, especially when it comes to the squash and cinnamon and other warm flavors it immediately becomes in vogue to cook with.

In that vein, I found the perfect fall recipe by Andi Gleeson, which comes from the blog “The Weary Chef.” You can find the original at https://wearychef.com/fall-potluck-casserole-with-turkey-and-squash/. I changed up the spices and the amounts of some of the ingredients.

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Fall Casserole

Fall casserole has squash, potatoes and spinach in addition to cheese and plenty of great herbs.
Course Main Course
Keyword butternut squash, cheese, ground turkey, potatoes, spinach

Ingredients

  • 1.5 pounds butternut squash diced
  • 12 ounces frozen spinach thawed and drained
  • 1 1/2 rounded cup of frozen hashbrowns shredded or diced
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 small yellow onion diced
  • 1 pound ground turkey
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 6-8 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried sage
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1-1/2 cup milk I used skim
  • 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese divided

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  • Prepare a 9×13-inch baking pan by coating it in cooking spray and set it aside.
  • Cut up the vegetables and make sure you squeeze all of the excess moisture out of the spinach. Combine the squash, spinach, and hashbrowns in a large mixing bowl and set aside.
  • In a skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat and saute the onions until they’re soft. Add the ground turkey and salt and pepper and cook through, crumbling it as you go. Add the garlic, oregano, basil, sage and parsley and saute for another couple of minutes.
  • Sprinkle on the flour and stir. Let it cook for about a minute to get rid of the flour taste and then add the milk, stirring to bring up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
  • Let the mixture simmer, stirring often, until it thickens into a gravy-like consistency.
  • Remove the turkey mixture from the heat and add it and one-half cup of parmesan cheese to the mixing bowl. Stir to combine all the ingredients and dump it into the prepared pan.
  • Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
  • Remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes or until the squash can be pierced easily with a fork.
  • Spread the remaining cheese on the top and bake for about five more minutes to melt it, and then serve.

This was an amazing dinner, and as we were eating, we discussed how good it would be with a runny fried egg on top as well, which is how we ended up enjoying the leftovers the next morning for breakfast.

It would also be a great side dish on a Thanksgiving table, if you’re looking for something new.

And I’d especially recommend making this for dinner on a night when you can go outside and crumple leaves with a two year old.

It beats raking any day.

This piece first appeared in print on Nov. 7, 2019.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Dessert Snack

‘Hummus’ give a strange combination a try

Banana bread hummus is a surprising twist on the normally savory dip made with chickpeas.
Banana bread hummus is a surprising twist on the normally savory dip made with chickpeas.

When I’m searching for recipes, I sometimes stumble across ideas that seem so weird that I’m completely compelled to try them.

This week’s recipe is one of those: banana bread hummus.

I have made hummus quite a number of times, and it’s a favorite for us, especially when we’re setting up a snack table for guests.

Our normal recipe is a traditional one with tahini, olive oil and tons of garlic, served with carrots and pita bread, so the thought of a sweet hummus recipe threw me for a loop, but I also knew I had to give it a try if for no other reason to just say that I did.

So if you’re like me and enjoy trying weird, new ideas, this is the recipe for you.

This comes from the blog “Make the Best of Everything.” You can find the original post at https://makethebestofeverything.com/2015/09/banana-bread-hummus/. I added extra cinnamon and vanilla and left a hint in the recipe to sweeten the hummus up, if necessary.

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Banana Bread Hummus

Banana bread hummus is a surprising twist on the normally savory dip made with chickpeas.
Course Dessert, Snack
Keyword banana, chickpeas, cinnamon, hummus

Ingredients

  • 15.5- ounce can of chickpeas rinsed and drained
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil
  • 2 ripe bananas
  • 3/4 cup walnuts roughly chopped, plus more for topping
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Instructions

  • Combine all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until it’s smooth. If the mixture isn’t quite smooth enough, add a little more coconut oil to get it to the consistency you like.
  • Also, I’d recommend taste testing this, and if your bananas weren’t quite sweet enough, you might add a little powdered sugar or a sugar substitute to sweeten it to your liking (I wouldn’t recommend regular sugar, since that might make it taste a bit grainy).
  • Top with some more walnuts and serve with vanilla wafers or animal crackers for dipping.

Truth be told, I don’t think banana bread hummus is going to be on my regular rotation for snacks, but we enjoyed it at a game night with friends. Also, any time I can get ahold of a reason to eat more vanilla wafers, I’m in.

It was a bit tough to get past the idea of eating a sweet dip made with chickpeas, I thought.

It also would be a good snack for someone looking for a wheat-free, egg-free option to enjoy the flavors of banana bread, especially if you can find a good gluten-free cookie to go with it.

I won’t be ready to give up on the classic garlic-y hummus any time soon, but it’s fun to go outside of your comfort zone with ingredients and see what you can do.

Sometimes, the results can be surprising.

This piece first appeared in print on Oct. 31, 2019.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Appetizer Main Dish Side Dish

Mushrooms are easy ‘caprese’ for dinner

Caprese portabella mushrooms take the flavors of a caprese salad and presents them in a warm, pretty side dish.
Caprese portabella mushrooms take the flavors of a caprese salad and presents them in a warm, pretty side dish.

On our honeymoon, Joey and I visited a great Italian restaurant in New York City. It was the most expensive meal of our vacation, with us spending a generous gift from a family member that was earmarked for just that purpose.

The place wasn’t all that fancy to look at, but when your waiter is so quintessentially Italian that he’s singing along with the opera music playing in the background, you know you’re about to experience something authentic.

We ordered a bottle of wine, and our waiter suggested an appetizer of some fresh mozzarella that was flown in from Italy the day before, so we decided to go for it.

He plopped a plate in front of us with a giant mound of mozzarella, garnished with fresh basil and tomatoes—and we had no idea how to eat it.

This week, we again enjoyed that flavor combination with a slightly less intimidating side dish, and it was delicious. I will admit this is on the pricier end of recipes from what I normally suggest, but if you’re looking for something special—or you find a good sale—keep this one in your recipe box.

This recipe comes from the blog “Fat Girl Happy.” You can find it at https://www.fatgirlhappy.com/caprese-portabella-mushroom-recipe/. The only difference we made was leaving out the suggestion of balsamic vinegar, and I put amounts to the ingredients.

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Caprese Portabella Mushrooms

Caprese portabella mushrooms take the flavors of a caprese salad and presents them in a warm, pretty side dish.
Course Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine Italian
Keyword basil, caprese, mozzarella, mushrooms, portabella, tomatoes

Ingredients

  • 5-6 portabella mushroom caps about two-inches in diameter
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 8 ounces fresh whole-milk mozzarella
  • about 5 ounces grape tomatoes
  • about 1/2-ounce fresh basil leaves

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Line a rimmed sheet pan with aluminum foil for easy cleanup and lightly spray it with cooking spray.
  • Scoop out the insides of each mushroom cap and arrange them, with the insides facing up, on the cooking sheet.
  • Lightly drizzle the mushroom caps with olive oil and sprinkle with some salt and pepper.
  • Slice the mozzarella into equal slices—one slice for each mushroom cap—and place one slice into each.
  • Slice the grape tomatoes in half and place four to five halves on top of the cheese.
  • Bake for 15 minutes. (You may want to drain the sheet pan if there’s too much liquid on the pan, but we didn’t bother draining ours, and they were fine.)
  • Turn the broiler on high for one to three minutes or until the cheese starts to brown slightly.
  • Remove from the oven and top with the fresh basil and a little more olive oil and salt and pepper and serve while they’re nice and hot.

These were heavenly. We ate them as a side dish to some expertly prepared chicken breasts Joey made for us. It was a great dinner.

As for our Italian meal in New York, Joey and I discreetly glanced around at neighboring tables to see how we should dig into our mozzarella appetizer. Everyone else had opted to dive in with forks, so we did, too.

It was really good, although it was way more fresh cheese than the two of us could handle in one sitting, with entrees on the way as well.

That restaurant was one of the highlights of our trip, and we reminisced about it while we enjoyed our portabellas the other night. We’re no substitute for an Italian chef, but we certainly didn’t go hungry.

This piece first appeared in print on Oct. 24, 2019.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Main Dish Soup

Ring in winter with bell pepper soup

Italian sausage and pepper soup contains lots of fresh vegetable flavor along with deep Italian herbs and spices.
Italian sausage and pepper soup contains lots of fresh vegetable flavor along with deep Italian herbs and spices.

This past week, we went north to Iowa and Minnesota for a newspaper conference and to visit some friends.

One of my wonderful friends, who has inexplicably given up her Kansas roots for the big city of Minneapolis, assured us that Minnesota is generally pretty mild in October, so we were excited to experience some nice, fall weather.

But, as often happens, Mother Nature had other plans, as we endured rain—and eventually snow—and some cold winds while we visited. It was still a great trip, but when the northerners are bundling up and complaining, you know you hit a weather anomaly.

We still had a great visit, despite the cold, and upon coming home, it reminded me that soup season is most definitely just around the corner.

With that in mind, this week’s recipe comes from “Parade” magazine and is by Donna Elick. You can find their original post at https://parade.com/217706/donnaelick/30-minute-italian-sausage-and-pepper-soup/. I added extra tomato paste to use an entire can, put in extra garlic, and I got rid of the added olive oil, since I figured the sausage would have enough grease for the pan on its own. I also added some more herbs.

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Italian Sausage and Pepper Soup

Italian sausage and pepper soup contains lots of fresh vegetable flavor along with deep Italian herbs and spices.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword peppers, sausage, soup, spicy

Ingredients

  • 1 pound spicy Italian rope sausage casing removed
  • 1 small yellow onion diced
  • 4 bell peppers get a variety of colors, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 6-8 cloves garlic minced
  • 2, 14.5- ounce cans Italian style diced tomatoes
  • 6 ounces tomato paste
  • 8 cups chicken broth
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil roughly chopped, or 2 teaspoons dried basil
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley roughly chopped, or 2 teaspoons dried parsley
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano

Instructions

  • Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Saute the sausage in the pan, breaking it apart as it browns, and add the onions as well. Stirring regularly.
  • Once the sausage is cooked through, add the peppers and cook to your desired tenderness, continuing to stir often. Add the garlic and cook for an additional two minutes.
  • Add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste and broth, and scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen any cooked-on bits.
  • Bring the soup to a low boil. Add the salt and pepper, basil and parsley and allow to boil for about 10 to 15 minutes.
  • Serve with crusty bread.

The flavor of this soup was fantastic, and it was a really quick meal to make, too. It was a bit of a thin soup overall, though, so it would be a great side dish, or you should definitely serve it with some big, thick bread or rolls. Of course, it’s that same quality that makes it a good, lighter lunchtime option.

We didn’t end up ordering any soup while we were up north, opting instead for everything from a delicious Ecuadorian restaurant to coal-fired pizza and fresh fish and chips.

What we’ve learned about Minnesota over the years is you definitely can’t predict the weather, but you can count on some really good meals.

This piece first appeared in print on Oct. 17, 2019.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Main Dish

Your spaghetti may be the ‘bella’ the ball

Mushroom and garlic spaghetti is not too tough to make but looks nice on the plate and tastes even better.
Mushroom and garlic spaghetti is not too tough to make but looks nice on the plate and tastes even better.

I recently unpacked a few boxes of books that were stored away and uncovered some cookbooks I hadn’t looked through in awhile. 

They’re now all neatly in a row on my new bookshelf, so I suspect they will be getting some use in the coming weeks and months, but as I looked at each one before finding it a good spot on the shelf, I was reminded of how my mom taught me to choose whether or not I should purchase a cookbook.

The problem with cookbooks—and online recipes, for that matter—is that it’s impossible not to be pulled in by the cover image. It always looks delicious, and it always looks like something I would love to eat.

Instead of looking at the photos, though, Mom always says to open the cookbook to somewhere in the middle and look at the recipe on that page. If the steps require a bunch of specialty cookware or the ingredients list is super exotic, put the cookbook back on the shelf—you’ll never use it.

Despite that directive, I will often bookmark online recipes that look expensive or complicated as long as I think I can do enough substituting to make it happen. That was the case with this week’s recipe.

The recipe I tried came from the online magazine “Kitchn.” You can find it at https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-mushroom-and-garlic-spaghetti-dinner-243627. I added extra garlic and decided to introduce spinach into it. I also simplified the ingredients a bit. The original calls for cremini mushrooms, which tend to be more expensive, and I used parmesan instead of Pecorino Romano cheese, since that’s what was easily available in my local grocery store.

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Mushroom and Garlic Spaghetti

Mushroom and garlic spaghetti is not too tough to make but looks nice on the plate and tastes even better.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword garlic, mushrooms, pasta, spaghetti

Ingredients

  • 1 pound uncooked spaghetti
  • 3 tablespoons butter divided
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 pound fresh mushrooms sliced (I used baby bellas, but use what’s available)
  • 8 cloves minced garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese plus more for serving
  • 1 cup fresh spinach leaves loosely packed
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Cook the pasta to al dente according to the package instructions. When it is done, drain it but reserve about 3/4 cup of the cooking water for later.
  • While the pasta is cooking, heat one tablespoon of butter and the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the mushrooms and some salt and pepper. Saute, stirring regularly, for about five minutes until the mushrooms are browned to your liking.
  • Add the remaining butter, garlic and red pepper flakes and saute one more minute.
  • Add the pasta, cooking water, spinach and parmesan to the skillet and stir for about two minutes or until the cheese is melted and coats the pasta.
  • Serve immediately with more cheese on top.

You wouldn’t have to add the red pepper flakes if you’re not a fan of spice, but it was pretty mild overall, so don’t let them make you nervous.

We had some leftovers, too, and this reheated pretty well, although it was much better straight out of the pan.

And with using some less luxury ingredients, I was able to make this for dinner very economically. I’m sure a professional would tell me I lost out on some high-quality mushrooms and flavorful cheese, but we still had a great supper, and I’ll leave those ingredients to the pros when I’m ordering off a menu.

As it stands, it turns out my mom was right yet again. But, of course, that’s certainly no surprise to me.

This piece first appeared in print on Oct. 10, 2019.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Cookies Dessert

Here’s a dessert that’s perfect for crunch time

No-bake chocolate crunch bars are a perfect recipe for beginning cooks, those who are in a hurry, or anyone wanting a nice, sweet treat.
No-bake chocolate crunch bars are a perfect recipe for beginning cooks, those who are in a hurry, or anyone wanting a nice, sweet treat.

When we were kids, my mom would give my sister and I each a quarter a day for snacks at the Haven pool when we’d go swimming with our babysitter.

That quarter could get you some licorice or Now and Laters, but I would often hoard my coins for several sessions until I had enough to get a cold Twix from the pool’s freezer. It was always worth going a few days without a treat to bite into that icy candy bar.

I still like to toss candy into the fridge or freezer at home. I’m not sure what it is about a cold chocolate bar that’s so appealing, but I always love them.

That was part of what I liked about this week’s recipe, because these no-bake bars are chewy and crunchy and chilly right out of the fridge—a perfect combination.

This recipe comes from the blog “Barefeet in the Kitchen” by Mary Younkin. You can find the original at https://barefeetinthekitchen.com/no-bake-chocolate-cereal-bars-recipe/. Because this was such a simple recipe, my only change was swapping in crunchy peanut butter instead of creamy.

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No-Bake Chocolate Crunch Bars

No-bake chocolate crunch bars are a perfect recipe for beginning cooks, those who are in a hurry, or anyone wanting a nice, sweet treat.
Course Dessert
Keyword chocolate, crunchy, no bake, peanut butter

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 3/4 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter
  • 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 2 cups cornflakes

Instructions

  • Line a 8-by-3-inch bread pan or a 6-by-6-inch square pan with parchment or waxed paper (hang it over the sides to help remove the bars later) and set aside.
  • In a large, microwave-safe bowl, combine the sugar, honey and peanut butter and heat for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until everything is smooth. Add in the chocolate and stir until the chocolate is melted.
  • Dump the mixture into the prepared pan and press it down evenly.
  • Place the bars in the refrigerator for two or three hours to set up. Pull the bars out of the pan using the paper and transfer to a cutting board.
  • Cut into bars the size of your choosing and store in an airtight container in the fridge.

I’m not often as big of a fan of no-bake cookies as many people are, but these were a slam dunk. Using honey for part of the sweetener gave these a richness that I really liked, and the crunch of both the cornflakes and crunchy peanut butter was excellent.

It’s probably a good thing this recipe makes a smaller batch of bars, since we managed to eat all of them in pretty short order.

I would say you could get away with using a normal 8-by-8-inch pan, too, but part of these bars’ appeal is how nice and thick they are.

They were also a nice, cool treat out of the fridge for a few days, which I really appreciated on some warm evenings. And, as a bonus, I didn’t even have to put on a swimming suit to enjoy them.

This piece first appeared in print on Oct. 3, 2019.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Main Dish Soup

This soup is ‘dumpling’ you should try

Chicken and dumplings come together in about half an hour and make a delicious, hearty dinner.
Chicken and dumplings come together in about half an hour and make a delicious, hearty dinner.

As I was poking around our local grocery store’s clearance bin about a month ago, I stumbled on a box of “dumplings.” I was a bit confused, since they really just looked like really wide noodles, and it certainly didn’t fit my internal definition of what constitutes a dumpling.

But they were cheap.

So Joey and I tried “chicken and dumplings,” made with the recipe on the back of the box, which consisted of these noodles, canned chicken and a can of peas and carrots. It was fine.

But I wanted to give a more traditional dumpling a try, so I hunted for a recipe and found one that purported to create a delicious, homemade soup in only 30 minutes.

I have rarely made myself gasp with a kitchen creation, but let me tell you, I celebrated out loud when I pulled the lid off my soup and saw beautiful dumplings floating on the surface. This recipe was a complete slam dunk for me, and while the noodles we tried before were good, this recipe was the winner.

The blog “The Slow Roasted Italian” is quickly becoming one of my favorites, and this recipe came from there. It was created by Donna Elick. You can find the original post at https://www.theslowroasteditalian.com/2012/11/chicken-and-dumplings-in-30-minutes-2.html. I played around with her seasonings a bit in my version.

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Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken and dumplings come together in about half an hour and make a delicious, hearty dinner.
Course Main Course
Keyword chicken, dumplings

Ingredients

Soup Ingredients

  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 teaspoon sage
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 teaspoon basil
  • 2 teaspoons onion powder
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 cup flour
  • 3 cups milk I used skim
  • 2 cups fresh or frozen peas and diced carrots

Dumplings Ingredients

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 cup milk I used skim

Instructions

  • In a large pot with a lid, heat the chicken broth, water, butter and seasonings over medium. Cover the pot and let it come to a boil.
  • Cut the chicken into about one-inch pieces and add them to the pot and cover again.
  • In a large sealable container, combine the flour and milk. Seal and shake until the mixture is smooth. Add the flour mixture to the pot slowly, stirring as you do so. Add the vegetables to the pot as well and put the lid back on.
  • While the soup is cooking, combine all the dumpling ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
  • Stir the soup really well, scraping the bottom with your spoon to make sure the flour mixture isn’t sticking to the bottom.
  • Then, using a tablespoon-sized scoop (or eye-balling about that amount with a normal spoon), add scoops of the dumpling mixture to the soup. They’ll sink like rocks, but don’t worry, that’s what they’re supposed to do.
  • Once all the dumpling mixture is in the pot, cover it again and reduce heat to a low simmer. Let the soup cook for 10 minutes. It’s done when the soup coats the back of a spoon.
  • Remove from heat and serve.

Oh, boy, was this a hearty dinner for us. And we were able to freeze the leftovers for later, too, which has been a nice treat on busy evenings. 

I know there are a lot of complicated types of dumplings out there, but this recipe is not one of them, and you definitely get the “wow” factor with those beautiful balls of dough floating in the top of a creamy soup.

And I still haven’t found any evidence that the noodles I used technically counted as dumplings, but I guess now that I have a really good recipe, it won’t matter much—unless I find another really good sale.

This piece first appeared in print on Sept. 26, 2019.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Dessert

Brownies prove spices not ‘cinnamon’ous with fall

Mexican cinnamon brownies have a very simple spice mix of cinnamon, sugar and vanilla and are an addictive, easy dessert.
Mexican cinnamon brownies have a very simple spice mix of cinnamon, sugar and vanilla and are an addictive, easy dessert.

“It smells like fall in here,” Joey announced this weekend when he came home to the scent of fresh cinnamon brownies in our kitchen.

I forget that cinnamon normally evokes a cold weather feeling from people. I’ll eat it any time of year. Find me some cinnamon ice cream, and I’d be all in.

But I suppose the waning days of summer put me in the mindset to grab my big shaker of cinnamon out of the pantry to try a new recipe.

I wasn’t initially certain what made these Mexican cinnamon brownies rather than just cinnamon brownies, but the recipe’s author explains in his post that cinnamon is widely used in Mexican cooking and these brownies would be a good dessert to show up at a Cinco de Mayo party, and that explanation was good enough for me.

I found this recipe on the website “One How To.” The recipe is by Max D. Gray. You can find the original at https://food.onehowto.com/recipe/how-to-make-mexican-cinnamon-brownies-10574.html. I fixed up some of the directions to make them more clear and added extra cinnamon.

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Mexican Cinnamon Brownies

Mexican cinnamon brownies have a very simple spice mix of cinnamon, sugar and vanilla and are an addictive, easy dessert.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword brownies, cinnamon

Ingredients

  • 2 cups packed brown sugar
  • 1 cup butter softened
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • 2 2/3 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 340 degrees.
  • Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan and set aside (an easy trick is to use the empty butter wrappers from the recipe to grease it).
  • In a large mixing bowl, beat together the brown sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla.
  • Beat in the flour, baking powder and salt until the mixture is smooth and everything is completely incorporated.
  • Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan and then evenly sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon over the top (in full disclosure, I just used a spoon and sprinkled both until I felt satisfied I had good coverage, so I likely used a bit more cinnamon than is listed in the ingredients list).
  • Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Let the brownies cool for about 20 minutes and then slice into bars and store in an airtight container.

As Joey pointed out, these made the whole house smell amazing, so if you’re having an open house and want to use the trick where you bake something right before people come over, tuck this recipe away.

They were great warm, but right out of the oven, I thought the cinnamon didn’t come through as much as I would have liked. I was vindicated the next morning, after they sat in their airtight container over night, when the cinnamon flavor popped perfectly in each bite.

They’re also the perfect texture to carry around and eat—no plates or forks required.

So maybe I’m pushing into fall spices too quickly in the year, but I figure any desserts that are good fodder for a Cinco de Mayo party can’t possibly only belong to autumn.

Now to see if cinnamon ice cream really does exist.

This piece first appeared in print on Sept. 12, 2019.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Main Dish Soup

It’ll be tough to ‘leaf’ leftovers of basil sausage soup

Italian basil sausage soup has deep tomato and spice flavors and freezes easily for quick leftovers.
Italian basil sausage soup has deep tomato and spice flavors and freezes easily for quick leftovers.

I recently came across a photo of an adorable indoor herb garden and immediately became interested in having one myself.

I’m not much of a gardener, and I’m enough of a nerd that I love research, so I have spent more time than I’d like to admit over the past few weeks looking at which herbs are easiest to grow indoors and what kind of skill each one requires to keep alive.

Then I went shopping for the ingredients for this week’s recipe, and all my planning to really map out my herb choices went out the window when I realized that it was going to cost me an arm and a leg to purchase the two cups of fresh basil the recipe required.

I noticed, though, that my produce department had fresh basil plants for a much more economical price than the small packages of leaves in the refrigerator case, and I caved.

So now I have a basil plant, which graciously delivered lots of fragrant leaves on its first night at my house. I hope I can keep the poor thing alive.

This recipe comes from the website “The Slow Roasted Italian.” You can find the original post at https://www.theslowroasteditalian.com/2013/09/30-Minute-Hearty-Italian-Basil-Sausage-Soup-Recipe.html. I changed up the spices a bit in my version and simplified the directions some.

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Italian Basil Sausage Soup

Italian basil sausage soup has deep tomato and spice flavors and freezes easily for quick leftovers.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword basil, pasta, sausage, soup

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 pound mild Italian sausage
  • 3 carrots diced
  • 2 stalks celery diced
  • 8 cups chicken broth
  • 15- ounce can cannellini beans rinsed and drained
  • 14.5- ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes
  • 8- ounce can tomato sauce
  • 6- ounce can tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon dried basil
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons onion powder
  • black pepper to taste
  • 1/2 pound small pasta I used macaroni
  • 2 cups fresh basil chopped

Instructions

  • In a stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the sausage, carrots and celery. Stir regularly, breaking up the sausage as you go (You can also use rope sausage. Just remove the casing and slice it into half-inch rounds before adding it to the pot.)
  • Once the sausage is cooked through, add the chicken broth, beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste and spices.
  • Stir to combine and bring the mixture up to a boil.
  • Once the soup is boiling, add the pasta and cook for 10 minutes (or until the pasta is done to your liking), stirring regularly to keep the soup from sticking to the bottom.
  • Reduce heat and serve once the mixture is no longer boiling.

I have been in search of some good soups to toss in the freezer for the plethora of nights when Joey and I either need to have a quick dinner or pack something to eat at the office for a late night of work. This recipe definitely fits the bill, and it’s filling several containers in my freezer at the moment.

I poured a little water on my basil plant this morning, where it sits in front of my kitchen window. If all goes well, it will eventually be replanted into an adorable pot, along with some other choice herbs.

If not, I might just stick to dried basil from here on out.

You’d think that having a 10-year-old schnauzer and a one-year-old beta fish would make me feel confident that I can keep something alive, but to be fair, I did a lot of research before adding both of them to our family, too.

Wish me—and my new plant—luck. We’ll both need it.

This piece first appeared in print on Sept. 5, 2019.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Cookies Dessert

These cookies are a ‘cream’ come true

Boston cream pie cookie bites are creamy, delicious and slightly addictive.
Boston cream pie cookie bites are creamy, delicious and slightly addictive.

Early on in our marriage, Joey told me he loves Boston cream pie, and I kept that in the back of my mind for a long time as a recipe I should try to make for him.

But then I didn’t.

I think it’s probably because I often balk at making layer cakes, as though they’re somehow supremely more difficult than making one with a single layer.

But then I was gifted a mini muffin tin very recently, and I finally knew how I could give Joey a taste of Boston cream pie without making a large dessert.

I found a recipe for some Boston cream pie cookie bites not long ago on the blog “Practically Homemade.” You can find the post at https://practicallyhomemade.com/boston-cream-pie-cookie-bites/. The only thing I changed was a bit of the procedure, and I highly recommend using dark chocolate chips for the ganache rather than semi-sweet if you have it available.

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Boston Cream Pie Cookie Bites

Boston cream pie cookie bites are creamy, delicious and slightly addictive.
Course Dessert
Keyword boston cream pie, cake mix, chocolate, cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 box yellow cake mix
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 stick butter softened
  • 3.25- ounce instant vanilla pudding
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1/2 cup milk I used skim
  • 2 tablespoon chocolate chips I used dark chocolate
  • 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Spray the cups of a mini muffin tin with cooking spray and set it aside.
  • In a mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, eggs and butter until smooth.
  • Use a small scoop to evenly distribute the batter into all the cups (about a tablespoon or dough or so). Pat each cup down so that it has a smooth, flat top, and then bake for seven to eight minutes or until the edges are browned slightly.
  • Set the cookies aside to cool for about five minutes, and then use a tart shaper or a similarly shaped spoon handle to press down the middle of each cookie and create an indentation.
  • Let the cookies cool completely before going on to the next step, and remove them from the muffin tin.
  • For the filling, beat the pudding mix, cup of heavy cream and milk until the mixture forms stiff peaks.
  • Using the same scoop as before, evenly distribute the filling into all of the cups.
  • In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips and two tablespoons heavy cream and microwave 10 seconds at a time, stirring between each heating, until the mixture is smooth. Spoon a little of the ganache over each of the cookies, and then refrigerate them until the ganache is set.
  • Store the cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

These were a huge hit. So much so that when I took the last few cookies over to dinner at my sister and brother-in-law’s house, they announced I wasn’t allowed back without making them another batch (I think they were joking…). And then, when I returned home, Joey was a bit perturbed that his last few cookies ended up disappearing from the fridge.

I guess you can’t win them all.

I probably should still try making a real Boston cream pie, but I’m now obligated to make another batch of cookies for my sister and for Joey, so it still might be awhile before I get that recipe checked off my bucket list.

This piece first appeared in print on Aug. 29, 2019.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

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