Brown Sugar Muffins

You can go from zero to muffins in 25 minutes with this recipe. It's easy to whip up a batch of these before school, and my kids love them more than any other muffins I make. Every recipe I get from Cori is a keeper!

I love my muffin/cupcake stand . . . and Miss Mollie
loves brown sugar muffins the most.

My kids love it when I display muffins on the cupcake
stand--it makes breakfast seem special.

Buttermilk Baking Powder Biscuits

These biscuits are part of my husband's favorite breakfast (along with sausage and eggs). I always make them on Father's Day, Allen's birthday, and whenever I am about to make a large purchase.

I joke, I kid.

I replace the "buttermilk" (milk+vinegar) with kefir (Click here for my What is Kefir? post) for pretty much any recipe on this site that calls for buttermilk, because I always have kefir, and it tastes just as good and costs next to nothing when you brew it yourself.

These are extra yummy and flaky when I bake them in my deep-dish pizza stone.

Sourdough version:

I just make the biscuit dough like normal, then mix in my sourdough discard (it was a whole cup for the ones below--it adds a great sourdough flavor, but they still rise as fluffy as ever because I don't omit the baking powder.

Cori's Frosted Brownies

These have been favorites of mine since I was a teenager. And they are ridiculously fast and easy to make.

My best friend Cori always whipped these up when she needed a quick dessert, and it was my favorite thing to have at her house (she is waaaaaaaaaaaaay older than I am).  Now I whip it up for my company and kids' friends when I need a dessert quickly, deliciously, and chocolate-ly satisfying.

My almost-five-year-old, Mollie
{She likes the brownies more when I add sprinkles}

You know how sometimes food tastes better in your memory than it does when you try it again years later?  This is not like that.  I can't believe the only chocolate ingredient is cocoa powder--these are so rich and satisfying.  If someone tells you you can't make brownies as good as "from a box," . . . RUN.  That is patently FALSE, and these brownies are the proof.

Plus, why not put frosting on your brownie?  Live a little.

These brownies will have a perfect, light brown crust when
they are  finished baking. Let the pan cool before frosting.

Perfect dessert for a neighbor gift or thank-you!
Include the recipe and write a note on the back.

If you think this is good, you should check out Cori's other contributions.  Two of my all-time favorite dinners are from Cori: Oven-Fried Chicken Monterey and Chicken Parmesan Magnifico.

Barbecued Dry-Rubbed Chicken

Another recipe from Cook's Country (best cooking magazine that exists). The first time I made this for my husband, he thought he'd died and gone to heaven. I am not a fan of fried or barbecued chicken (it's so hard to cook it just right: not over- or under-done), and my poor hubby with his Southern upbringing longs for the food of his youth.

Enter this recipe: if you follow it to the letter, you can't go wrong.  It'll be perfect every time.

Make sure you chill the meat for at
least a half hour and let the rub really
season the chicken.

You don't have to use chicken legs--I just
do because they're my kids' favorites and
they're CHEAP.

*My only word of caution is to make sure your grill is very clean before you start--there's enough oil in the chicken skin to cause flare-ups that can blacken each piece, you don't want to add to that problem by having a full grease pan or greasy grates.  Kohl's always has the best online sales and coupon codes--check out this sweet grill set for Father's Day!

Be sure to coat the chicken with your rub
under the skin--I cook with the skin on,
but then most of us discard the skin
when it's time to eat.

Absolutely Fabulous Banana Cake

Got black bananas? This recipe is your new best friend. If you don't like almond flavoring, you can use vanilla instead for the frosting--but I think the almond is what makes this cake so good.  I have made it with three bananas before, but two is totally sufficient.

*(Oh, and if you don't have buttermilk or kefir (Click here for my What is Kefir? post), add a scant tsp of vinegar to 2/3 cup milk)

Kolachke: Glazed Polish Pastry

Five ingredients and some frosting, and you've got the most delicious, flaky pastry you've ever had. These kolachkes (pronounced KOH*lawch*kuh) are a cinch to whip up and look really pretty after they've baked.

*Variation: make a slight indent with your thumb in the center of each "cookie" before you let them rise. After they've baked, fill the indent with a teaspoon of your favorite jam, a slice of strawberry, or a chunk of apple pie filling before drizzling glaze over the top.

Economic Recession Chicken

In the spirit of looking on the bright side about the Economy-with-a-capital-E, here's a recipe I've come up with to help those pinched pennies stretch even further.


I've taken to adding the words "Economic Recession" to every area of my life in which I am trying to save money or cut corners. It makes both Allen and I laugh, and I think that's a good thing.

Here's the cost break-down of this delicious dish:

1. chicken thighs: 12-pack at Winco................... $4.50
   (Six at a time = $2.25 per meal)
2. lemon: .......................................................... $.50
3. Mrs. Dash: (2.5 ounce jar) ............................. $3.50
   (About one-fourth of the jar = $.88)
   

Grand Total: ........................................................... $3.63
Add some homemade bread and your favorite frozen vegetables, and you're looking at feeding your family of six for around $6 at the most.

Of course, you might make this easy, yummy, cost-efficient, in-your-face-Economic-Recession meal, then set the table lovingly and call everyone in to dinner, only to have your (extremely picky) four-year-old announce, "I am so, so disappointed . . . of this dinner."

This coming from a kid who won't eat frosting.

Here's a picture of the assembly, in case my directions seem unclear. It's one of our (Brigham excepted) new favorite meals!