3 Ingredient Cake Mix Cookies

My husband just took the baby on a run to the store -- their first-ever outing without me. Which means that I have the house to myself for the first time since the baby was born... Eight months ago today... and with this time, I'm, um, blogging... ?

Instead of pondering the many things that are probably very wrong with this scenario, I'll do what I set out to do, which is to share with you the easiest cookie recipe in the whole world ever. It's true.

Oh crap! They're back already! (I guess I should have paid less attention to the Food Network and more to the task at hand! Curse you, Rachael Ray!) But to drive home my point, in the short time that my husband was gone, I would have had ample time to whip up a batch of these cookies from start to finish.

It goes like this:

Preheat the oven to 375º, and grab a box of cake mix. Any flavor you like/have around from that case-lot sale/moment of weakness in the baking aisle. (I happened to have Red Velvet, because I needed to fill my yearly red food dye requirements in one sitting.) Dump the mix into a bowl/the bowl of your mixer.

Add to that 2 eggs and 1/3 c. canola or vegetable oil. Mix until thoroughly combined.

Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and scoop cookies onto them using a 1" scoop, or roll the dough into 1" balls. Take your little hand and flatten each one slightly. Now, put the baking sheets in your preheated oven and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the tops look kind of dry and crackly.

Let cool on sheets for a minute or two before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Yum!

These make great sandwich cookies, too, if you happen to also have a container of store-bought frosting, or a hankering to make some from scratch.



PS: Let's throw a little party to commemorate my 100th post! Hooray face!

{Vegetarian} Smoky Crock Pot Pumpkin Chili

I'll be honest in admitting that we don't watch the Superbowl in our house. (In fact, I had to Google to find out what teams were playing. But I am unashamed.) I don't even care for the ads. But everyone likes football food, particularly chili.

There's something about chili that warms your heart. It's so hearty and filling and wholesome; this recipe, particularly!

On top of being vegetarian (vegan, if you skip the cheese and sour cream, but I'm sorry I can't do that, Dave) it's chock full of smoky flavor. That's the smoked paprika working, so don't substitute regular paprika or you'll miss out big time. (I got a big, but not too big, bottle of it for about $3.50 at Costco.) The pumpkin flavor isn't pronounced, but it's there, and the texture of it adds to the meaty feel of the chili -- I didn't miss the meat at all, and that's saying something.

The slow cooker is a natural choice for casual gatherings because it allows you to have hot food available at any given moment without having to babysit the stove. But you could just as easily do this on the stovetop, if you like.

So, here's my Superbowl offering. I hope you love it as much as we did!

We're not Giants fans, but I did happen to have this New York mug hanging around, so I thought I'd use it. Don't let that deter you if you're a Patriots fan. We're like Switzerland up in here.

Smoky Crock Pot Pumpkin Chili
adapted from The Ordinary Vegetarian and (never home)maker

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 c. total)
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 Tbsp. smoked paprika
3 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. rubbed sage
1/8 - 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 c. vegetable broth/stock
2 c. pumpkin puree
1, 15 oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1, 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1, 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes (or whole tomatoes that you crush yourself)
1 c. frozen corn, or 1, 15 oz. can of corn, drained and rinsed
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:
In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and sautee until softened and translucent.  Drop in tomato paste and stir around for a minute to liven it up. Add garlic and spices, stirring and cooking to heat them up, then stir in broth/stock. Transfer this mixture to crock pot and add remaining ingredients. Let cook on low for 6 hours or so. Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, and sliced scallions (or whatever fixings you like best).

Easy Baked Brown Rice

Perhaps you've already read my post about Life-Changing Baked Rice, and if you have, you'll know that I have struggled to make good rice (with or without a rice maker, thank you very much).

That method is truly the best ever. Seriously, I've never had bad rice since. But it's only good for white rice. (We like jasmine rice, in particular.)

If you're looking to make the switch over to brown rice as part of your healthy goals this year, here's another simple, fool-proof method

Happy rice to you, my friends!


Baked Brown Rice
via Alton Brown

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. brown rice
2 1/2 c. water or stock
1 Tbsp. butter or oil
1 tsp. kosher salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375º. In a small saucepan, bring water and butter to a boil. Meanwhile, measure your rice into an 8"x8" glass baking dish. Pour in boiling liquid, stir a bit, and cover quickly with aluminum foil. Bake in preheated oven for one hour. When done, fluff with a fork and serve! Easy peasy!

Makes about 4 c. cooked rice.



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