Cream Cheese Brownies

All I can really say about these brownies is YUM. We ate almost the whole thing in one night so be warned. There are a lot of steps but it's not a difficult recipe if you follow the instructions correctly. They turn out gooey so don't wait for them to seem fully cooked before you pull them out of the oven. Very easy to make this gluten-free because there's not a ton of flour in it in the first place.



Cream cheese layer

* 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
* 1 egg yolk
* 1 tsp vanilla
* 2 tbsp sugar

Brownie layer

* 5 tbsp butter
* 2 cups chocolate chips
* 2 eggs
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1/2 cup flour (gluten-free if needed - Bob's Red Mill)
* 1 tsp vanilla
* 1/2 tsp baking powder
* 1/4 tsp kosher salt


Directions:


1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
2. Lightly grease a square 8X8-inch pan.
Brownie layer:
3. Melt the butter and 1 cup of the chocolate together until smoothly melted.
4. Put aside and let come to room temperature.
Cream cheese layer:
5. Put the cream cheese in a mixer bowl and mix until it's smooth.
6. Add the rest of the cream cheese layer ingredients, beating well.
7. In a separate bowl from the cream cheese mixture, mix the eggs and the sugar.
8. Add the chocolate mixture and mix well until combined.
9. Add the flour, vanilla, baking powder, salt and the chocolate chips, mix well.
10. Pour half the chocolate mixture into the prepared pan.
11. Dollop the cream cheese mixture over that.
12. Add the remaining chocolate mixture.
13. Take a knife and gently draw it through the batter to swirl.
14. Careful not to swirl too much!
15. Bake in the oven about 30 minutes or until a fork almost comes out clean.
16. Let cool and enjoy!

Easy Black Bean Dip

This is a super easy recipe and I was surprised out good it turned out! You can opt for canned or fresh beans but I 100% suggest making them fresh. It is not that hard to cook beans people! I used to be a canned girl until I realized how much better they taste fresh. Just soak them all day and simmer for a few hours. I will probably share my bean cooking method in another post.
This bean dip is quite tangy and is good to serve with chips or add it to nachos!

A helpful tip - if you are using home-grown jalapenos like I did, do NOT touch the insides with your bare hands! I made this mistake and my hands were burning for 3 days. Please wear gloves =)


You will need:

Food processor
2 cups cooked black beans
1 yellow onion (chopped)
1/2 a bunch of cilantro
1 tbsp cumin
1 lime (juiced)
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 jalapenos (more if you like a little extra spice) - seeded
1 clove garlic (crushed)
1 medium tomato (chopped)
1/2 a small red onion (chopped)
Salt (to taste)

1. Fry onion with a little oil in a medium frying pan. Cook them on medium heat, stirring occasionally until caramelized.
2. Stir in the cooked beans and cumin and let simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Remove from heat.
4. In food processor, add cilantro, vinegar, lime juice, garlic and jalapenos.
5. Add bean mixture and process until smooth. Add salt to taste.
6. That's it! Top with tomatoes and onion.
7. Enjoy =)

Gluten-Free Chocolate Torte

Here is a recipe that is perfect for chocolate lovers like myself. It is sure to satisfy any chocolate craving. It's not too sweet but it is very rich! It is a torte that doesn't have any flour in it (the egg is what gives it the texture - which I might add, is very creamy and delicious) so it is perfect for those on a gluten-free diet.
I looooved it with a scoop of ice cream on top! Or it would be great with fresh whipped cream or berries.


Ingredients:

16 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup (1 cube) butter (or butter substitute)
5 large eggs, separated
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon almond extract (optional)
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 250 degrees and spray a formspring pan with cooking spray, then dust with cocoa powder.

2. In 2 qt saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate with butter until fully blended. Remove from heat.

3. In small bowl, combine egg yolks with vanilla and almond extract.

4. Mix egg yolk mixture to chocolate mixture until blended.

5. With a mixer at high speed, beat egg whites until soft peaks form.

6. Beat sugar into the egg whites until stiff peaks form.

7. Fold beaten egg whites into chocolate mixture 1/3 at a time.

8. Pour batter into pan and spread evenly.

9. Bake for 1 hour or until toothpick almost comes out clean.

10. Let cool and dust with powdered sugar. Slice into wedges.

Enjoy!

Review: Gardein Meat-Free BBQ Pulled Pork Shreds

Let me start of this review by saying I was very excited to try this brand of fake meat! I had heard many good things about it and even Oprah jumped on the veggie bandwagon there for a second because this brand was allegedly delicious. Allegedly.

To put it quite simply, I was repulsed. I made a delicious (looking) pulled pork sandwich on a sesame bun with lettuce and onion. The first bite was a bit disappointing to put it mildly, but I decided to keep eating it anyway. Well, that lasted about 2 more bites before I couldn't stomach it anymore. It has no flavor whatsoever except for that "fakeness" flavor that is almost always present in fake meats. I usually ignore that flavor for the sake of the other flavors present, but unfortunately there IS no other flavor in this meat. I was hopeful that drowning it in salt would at least help because I'm a salt fiend but it only made the problem worse. Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the texture. It was slimy and soft. 'Nuff said.

Wow, Oprah. I will never trust your taste in food again.

Gluten-Free Soft Molasses Cookies

These are kind of like ginger snaps but a much softer/chewier version. I found that they are better if cooked longer so that they are crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside! And taste even better the next day. I found an inspiration recipe on food.com and have tailored it to my liking and also to make it gluten-free.

Mmmm... tastes like fall!

7/8 cups butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup molasses
2 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1. Cream together butter, brown sugar, egg and molasses and mix well.
2. Fold in dry ingredients and stir.
3. Cover and chill till firm (1-2 hours).
4. Preheat oven to 350°.
5. Roll dough into small balls and roll in white sugar.
6. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet.
7. Bake at 350° for 9-11 minutes.
8. Leave on sheet one minute until set

Gluten Free Vegan Frozen Pizza

"Glutino" gluten free spinach and soy cheese pizza with brown rice crust


Doesn't sound that great, right? How can a pizza that doesn't have MEAT be good?! Let alone one that doesn't even have "normal" flour in the crust?! Woah, it has VEGAN cheese...scary, is that even legal?....And it's frozen?!?!?!

This was a dream come true for Marc when he found it in Whole Foods. He wasn't expecting much, but he was pleasantly surprised! Doesn't taste exactly like regular pizza, and sure as hell doesn't look like the picture on the box, but it's pretty darn tasty in it's own right. Now, if only Whole Foods could find a way to sell this dinky thing for less than $6! Either that, or make it a bit larger than 2 inches in diameter? Kthx.


☮♥♫ Audrey

FIRST POST!

It makes sense that the first post of my blog should be of the meal Marc and I make most often. It's DELICIOUS, inexpensive, and relatively easy to make.


Black Bean Veggie Tacos

My signature black beans: black beans, yellow onion, garlic, cilantro, cumin, diced green chili.
Corn tortillas: yellow corn tortillas fried in gee (clarified butter) and powdered japanese chili's.
Topped with cilantro, red onion, lime juice, and avocado!

☮♥♫ Audrey