Pin Made Creations: Blonde Brownie Goodness

We've had a sweet tooth lately at Casa Vallejo.  This time I made a batch of Blonde Brownies with chocolate chips for the Hubby, who is so good to me and loves a warm chocolate chip cookie!  These brownies turned out nice and gooey since I used a whole bag of chips.

This recipe I have had since the dark ages; I was in my early 20s when a group of single gals at work were collecting and trading recipes. We wanted to be ready  for the day when we would get married and cook everything we would put in our mouths by scratch.  While cooking by scratch didn't quite happen when I was that young, I did get some great go-to dessert recipes like this one.  Thanks goes to Vicki Milsap --  it'still a hit and it's going on Pinterest!

Blonde Brownies

2 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup melted margarine
dash salt
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
2-3/4 cup all purpose flour
2-1/2 tsp baking powder
chocolate chips  (I used a 12 oz bag)

Melt margarine and cream it with the brown sugar.  Add salt, vanilla and eggs and mix.  Add flour and baking powder and mix.  Add chocolate chips.  Bake brownies in a 9 x 13 pan (sprayed with nonstick cooking spray) at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes but no longer.

Card Making Process: Essential Cards with Authentique

The last time I was able to make a stop at Archivers, I found this great 6" x 6" paper pad by Authentique called the "Essentials Collection."  It's a good buy because there are sample papers from four different lines from Authentique:  Journey, Blissful, Uncommon and Splendid.

From this selection, I challenged myself to coordinate several patterned papers and to use colors that I don't normally choose:

The first card was just that; I used some Blissful to make the yellow and black card.  I rarely use black for the card base, and yellow never seems to be on my scrapping radar, so this was a good stretch.  The ribbon keeps it a little feminine, since I used flowered paper:

The second card was using blues from Journey and creating a card with patterned paper that already had a preprinted sentiment.  I added some of my own little daisies to add more dimension, in addition to the paper strips and button at the top:  

I hope that gives you some new ideas and a little encouragement to try something new.  My next project is to tackle scraplifting some of the awesome cards on Pinterest!  

Pin Made Creations: Microwave Apple Crunch

Last evening, everyone was craving something sweet. Well, my teenager had the craving, and I am always game for sweets!

Time to create my own Pin for Pinterest!  Based on what I had on hand in my pantry, I devised this quickie recipe for Microwave Apple Crunch that was a hit with the teenager and everyone else.  It resulted in delicious soft apples and raisins in a creamy carmel-like sauce.  Adding a little whipped cream didn't hurt either!  Perfect for the beginning of autumn.  Delish!

"Casa Vallejo" Microwave Apple Crunch

6 apples (I used 3 Granny Smith and 3 Red Delicious apples I had on hand)
1 Tbl lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar
2 pads of butter or margarine
1 Tbl all purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon (I used a little more 'cause I love it!)
1/2 tsp nutmeg (or less or none, depending on your taste)
dash of salt
small handful of raisins
granola of choice.

Peel, core and slice apples.  Put in a microwaveable bowl and sprinkle the lemon juice on the apples; mix well.  Add the rest of the ingredients except the granola.  Mix well.  Microwave on high for 3 minutes.  Mix well again.  Microwave another minute to 1-1/2 minutes, depending on how soft you want the apples.

Serve immediately into bowls, add your favorite granola (I used a Cascadian Farms brand that had almonds)  and some whipped cream or vanilla ice cream if you wish!  Serves 4-6.

Enjoy!