Warm Brownies Cold Night

The temperature keeps dropping here in the great white North and this means ski pants, extra sweaters, jammies, and warm brownies with ice cream. Ice cream? What the?
(Okay, now that I've finished writing, the temps have warmed to only -20 Celsius.)

Yes. That's right. Prairie dwellers still require the occasional ice cream or a slurpee or two, even in the dead of winter. Perhaps if our insides are cooled down, the outside temp doesn't feel as cold? Who knows? People around here tend to be extremely proud about being able to withstand the cold temperatures. Me on the other hand, I will bundle up to the point of no return. I walk to work. Even in -45 Celsius. Not happily. But I do. For some reason work just expects me to be there, no matter the temperature. Weird. I will confide this: sometimes my co-workers laugh at me. I don't mind though. Because I just say no when they come see me to borrow a sweater! FOOLS!

Anyhow, I do believe I mentioned brownies at some point. These particular brownies were of the gluten free variety. I bought a bag of coconut flour the other week and have used to coat chicken wings and to make brownies. The brownie recipe is right on the back of the bag.

Gluten free brownies

1/3 cup butter (I used coconut oil)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup chocolate chips
(I added a good handful of shredded coconut too!)

Pre heat oven to 350 F and line an 8 x 8 pan with parchment.

Melt butter or coconut oil and mix in cocoa powder until smooth. I did this in a glass measuring cup in the microwave. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Mix in the cocoa mixture.

Now add the coconut flour and mix until it is no longer lumpy. You will be surprised at how much the flour seems to expand and thicken the egg mixture!

Now add the chocolate chips and coconut, if using.

Pour into the parchment lined baking pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

Serve with vanilla ice cream and what ever sauces float your boat (or snowmobile).

I found some cherries in the freezer so I thawed those with a tablespoon or 2 of sugar to make a syrup....soooooooo delish!

Hello Hockey Cheesesteaks

Depite bitter cold temperatures Winnipeg seems to be breathing a sigh of relief now that hockey is back. This means our beloved Jets are back in action at the phone booth and the fans are louder than ever. We are not fortunate enough to have tickets to any of the games but we did watch the game this afternoon on the TV. What does any game day require? Some grub!

This is another idea I found via Pinterest (the biggest time suck EVER)! We are making an effort to eat less gluten. That's right. You heard me. You'll notice I didn't say I that we were cutting it out altogether. I just can't do that. It is too restrictive. I don't like feeling guilty every time I slip and have a little bit of bread or a gluten containing item. We are a sandwich loving house. The Boy isn't concerned about gluten, just Hubby and I are. The Boy hasn't changed a thing.

Today's snack/lunch was a Philly style cheesesteak stuffed pepper. All the Philly cheesesteak goodness, none of the bread. I found some sliced brisket in the freezer, dug out an onion, some mushrooms, and the provolone cheese. In a pinch you could use deli roast beef, or any sliced steak/roast beef you have on hand.

These were some pretty darn tasty treats to munch on while watching the First Jets game of the season, even if they did lose.

Here's how it all went down:

Gather up the following:

3 peppers
12 slices provolone cheese
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
10 or 12 mushrooms
Sliced cooked steak or roast beef (about a pound, or 454 grams)
1 tbsp oil for pan

Wash, stem, and clean out 6 peppers and cut then in half. Line each pepper with a slice of cheese.

Slice onion, mushrooms, and garlic. Sauté these until golden.

Add the beef to the pan and stir up until heated through. Divide the beefy mushroom goodness up between the 6 pepper halves. Cover each pile o' goodness with another slice of cheese.

Bake in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes until the cheese is melty and the pepper have softened slightly.

Enjoy!

Now these little gems got rave reviews and the ok to make them again! (I love it when that happens!) Today I only baked these babies for 20 minutes but I think they could have stayed in a little longer. The peppers were a little too crunchy for the taste and feel I was wanting.

Until next time, stay warm and eat well.