Rocky Road Brownies

This recipe may be one that many of you have made over and over again but I had never made them before and had never tasted them either. So, when my third oldest daughter and son-in-law moved into the house next door-yes, next door! :) to us-I thought everyone should have something nice and gooey to eat after their long day of working their back muscles. I made some chicken jambalaya with rice (a rather forgettable recipe I'm sorry to say) and these Rocky Road brownies (very memorable!). If I had known how easy and delicious these things were, I'd have been making them long ago.

Rocky Road Brownies

Start with your favorite brownie recipe, either from scratch or from a box in a 13-inch by 9-inch pan. Bake as directed.

As soon as the brownies come out of the oven, sprinkle the top with 2 cups of mini marshmallows.

Place 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips or chocolate chunks and 1/4 cup of milk in a small saucepan. Cook on low heat until the chocolate is completely melted, stirring frequently. (You can also do this in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until melted). Drizzle the chocolate sauce over the marshmallows. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup walnut pieces. Cool completely.

Enjoy!!

*To make cutting the brownies easier, spray your knife with cooking spray. I've also heard that using a plastic knife works great, too.

I'm linking up with The Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap this week.

Homemade Tomato Soup

This is a repost of a recipe I have over at my other blog. As I am transferring my cooking-related posts over to this blog, I am revisiting some recipes that were so good and that I haven't made in awhile. This is one of them. It is super delicious and I will be making it again soon.

I found a new recipe for tomato soup and since I had all the ingredients in the cupboard, I decided to try it; plus it was so easy! It's a Food Network recipe by chef Michael Chiarrello, who does some great Italian dishes from his Northern California home.

Homemade Tomato Soup

1 (14-oz.) can chopped tomatoes

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 stalk celery, diced

1 small carrot, diced

1 yellow onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup chicken broth

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves (I used dried)

1/2 cup heavy cream, optional (I used whole milk)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Strain the chopped canned tomatoes, reserving the juices, and spread onto a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper, to taste, drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil and roast until carmelized, about 15 minutes. This is what they look like when they come out of the oven. Don't skip this step! It makes all the difference in the taste of the soup.




Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat remaining olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the celery, carrot, onion, and garlic, cook until softened, about 10 minutes (make sure the vegetables are fairly soft). Add the roasted chopped canned tomatoes, reserved tomato juices, chicken broth, bay leaf and butter (I added the dried basil at this point). Simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Add basil and cream (or milk), if using. Puree with a hand held immersion blender until smooth (you could also use a blender or a food processor.)

This soup only makes 4 servings (barely!) so I would double this recipe next time. You can freeze whatever you have left, too.

I'm linking up with Friday Potluck.