Grasshopper Brownies

Brownies:
2 boxes brownie mix

Mint Frosting:
4 cups powdered sugar
1 cup soft butter
2 Tbsp. water
1 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
4 drops green food coloring

Chocolate Topping:
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup butter

1) To make the Brownies follow the recipe for "cake-like" brownies. Or if their isn't one, add 3 more eggs. Pour into a large, greased cookie sheet, bake and let cool completely

2) To make the mint frosting, combine powdered sugar, butter, water, peppermint extract and food coloring. Mix. Spread over cooled brownies and refrigerate until hard on top.

3) To make chocolate topping microwave chocolate chips and butter for 2 minutes. Stir until all chocolate chips are melted and the mixture is smooth. Add 1-2 tsp. peppermint extract. As soon as this mixture thickens and is no longer hot, spread over mint topping on brownies. Put back into the refrigerator until hard.

4) Enjoy! This batch feeds a lot by the way.

Corn Chowder

Corn Chowder

From Kim Warren's Family Comfort Favorites Cookbook

Ingredients:

4 pieces Thick-cut Bacon,

cut into 1/2” pieces

4 ears of Corn, husked*

1 large Carrot finely diced

1 Shallot or small Yellow Onion finely diced

2 cloves Garlic minced

Leaves from 3 large sprigs of Fresh Thyme

(about 1 tsp.)

6 cups Chicken Broth

1/3 cup Wild Rice, uncooked

1/2 cup Heavy Cream

2 Tbsp. Flour

Kosher Salt

Freshly ground White Pepper

*The corn can be grilled or in a pinch you

can use frozen corn kernels and roast

them in the oven.

Kim’s easy steps

1 Place ears of corn on a cookie sheet or shallow dish

and roast in a 375 degree oven for 25 to 30

minutes, turning once half way through cooking time.

You’ll want the corn to get some brown color on it.

Let cool enough to work with, then cut the kernels

off the cob.

2 In the meantime, in a heavy bottomed dutch oven

or stock pot, heat 1 to 2 Tbsp. of vegetable oil over

medium to medium high heat and add bacon

pieces. Cook the bacon, stirring often until nice and

brown. With a slotted spoon, remove bacon, leaving

the pan drippings behind. Then remove all but 2

Tbsp. of drippings and add carrot, shallot, and garlic;

let them sauté over medium heat until they sweat,

but don’t brown the vegetables.

3 Add the chicken broth and scrape the sides and

bottom of the pan to get the brown bits off. Bring

the chicken broth to a low boil and add the corn,

rice, thyme leaves and bacon. Add salt (if needed)

and pepper to taste. Let simmer for 20 minutes or

until wild rice is tender.

4 Whisk cream and flour together, then whisk into

the soup. Bring to a simmer and let lightly bubble

for 5 minutes or so until it thickens slightly. warmed

through.

5 Serve.

Poppy Seed Cake with Almond Glaze

From Kim Warren's Family Comfort Favorites Cookbook

For the cake

1 Yellow Cake mix

1 small package French Vanilla Instant Pudding mix

(vanilla instant pudding is fine, too)

1 cup Sour Sream

1/2 cup Water

4 Eggs

1/2 cup Vegetable Oil

2 Tbsp. Poppy Seeds

2 Tbsp. pure Almond Extract

For the glaze

2 cups sifted powdered sugar

2 Tbsp milk

1 - 2 tsp almond extract

Kim’s easy steps

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

1 Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat on

medium speed for 3 minutes.

2 Liberally spray a bundt pan with pan release or cooking

spray and set aside.

3 Scrape down sides of bowl and combine with a spoon and

pour batter in prepared cake pan.

4 Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes, until a cake tester

or toothpick comes out clean. Remove to cooling rack and

let rest for 15 minutes. Then remove cake onto serving

plate and let cool completely.

5 Whisk powdered sugar and milk together well until smooth

and of pouring consistency. Add 1 tsp almond extract and

mix well.

6 If glaze is too thick, thin using small amounts of milk until

correct consistency is achieved. Taste and add more almond

extract if needed for flavor.

7 Glaze cake by slowly pouring glaze over the middle of the

cake and letting the glaze drip down the sides of the cake.