cookies & cream brownies.

The last time I was at the store, I grabbed a package of Oreos and I'm so glad I did because I pinned this amazing brownie recipe a few weeks back. I hadn't made an Oreo dessert in forever either so I knew it was time.

It's a quick, easy recipe to begin with and could be made even easier if you only had time to use a box mix. 

Ahh... don't Oreos make everything better? 

~

cookies & cream brownies 

from what's gaby cooking

ingredients

• 10 tablespoons butter, room temp.
• 1 1/4 cups white granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (I used salted butter so I omitted salt)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 15 Oreo cookies, crushed and divided

instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x9 baking pan with parchment OR line with tin foil and spray with non-stick baking spray.
2. In a large saucepan over medium high heat, melt the butter. OR microwave butter until melted. 
3. Once the butter has melted, add the white sugar and cocoa powder. Stir to combine and remove from the heat if using stovetop.
4. Add the salt, vanilla and eggs, whisking until fully incorporated.
5. Add in the flour and half of the crushed oreo cookies and stir until just combined.
6. Scoop the batter into the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle the remaining oreo cookies on top.
7. Place the pan into the oven and bake for about 25-30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let the brownies cool for at least 2 hours. You can also stick them in the fridge for a bit to help cool quickly.
8. Remove the brownies from the pan by lifting the parchment or tin foil out. Place the brownies on the counter, slice and serve.

fudgy double chocolate zucchini cookies.

I love soft, fudgy, chocolatey cookies! I was so excited to find this one that includes zucchini. Zucchini makes cookies like these super moist and soft. Since we still have zucchini coming out of our ears so I had to bake up something delicious with it. They have been so large that they don't work very well for sauteing but they are perfect for baked goods. 

Oh and the zucchini in these cookies make them totally healthy ;)

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fudgy double chocolate zucchini cookies 

from an oregon cottage

5 tbsp butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg (or 1/3 cup yogurt)
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt (I omitted)
1/2 c. shredded zucchini (squeeze extra water out of zucchini with paper towel or clean dish cloth)
1/2 cup chocolate chips 

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees and line a large cookie sheet with parchment.
2. Melt butter in microwave just until melted. Let cool about 5 minutes in the fridge (so it doesn't cook the egg and melt the chocolate chips). Stir in both sugars and cocoa powder until combined. Add egg (or yogurt) and vanilla.
3. Mix in flour, soda, and salt until smooth and then add the zucchini and chocolate chips, stirring until combined.
4. Using a medium cookie scoop, drop onto prepared cookie sheet and bake for 8 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely.
5. Store in an airtight container or freeze for longer storage.

creamy parmesan roast beef pasta.

This is a super easy dinner recipe reminiscent of beef stroganoff- just without the mushrooms. I get so tired of cooking chicken or browning and draining ground beef. Since the beef came from the deli, no meat-cooking was required! Win! 

This dinner pairs perfectly with a green salad or a dish of fresh green beans. Let me know if you try it- I hope you enjoy it!

~

creamy parmesan roast beef pasta 

from back for seconds blog

Ingredients

• 10oz small pasta, i.e. shells or bowtie
• 1 lb deli roast beef, chopped
• 1 Medium onion, chopped
• 3/4 cups grated parmesan cheese
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 3 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 1/2 cup beef stock

Directions

1. Boil a large pot of salted water. Cook pasta as directed on box. Drain and set aside.
2. In a large pot (enough to hold 4+ cups of liquid and other solid ingredients), saute onions and roast beef until onions are soft and beef is heated through. Take out onions and beef and place in separate plate or bowl.
3. In the same large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour until thick paste is formed. Keep stirring for about 1-2 minutes.
4. Slowly add in milk and other seasonings. Whisk until smooth for several minutes. 
5. Stir in beef stock and continue cooking and stirring until sauce bubbles and thickens. 
6. Add parmesan cheese and let sauce sit for a few more minutes to thicken more.
7. Add pasta, beef, and onions to creamy parmesan mixture. Stir to coat.

healthy chocolate peanut butter shake

Here's a healthy shake recipe to get your chocolate peanut butter fix any time of day! It has 17 grams of protein (7g from peanut butter and 10g from greek yogurt) so it can easily be a meal replacement shake. I had it for breakfast and it was one of the best decisions of my day ;)

~

healthy chocolate peanut butter shake from mama miss

Ingredients

1 sliced, frozen banana 

1-2 Tbsp cocoa powder

2 Tbsp peanut butter

~1/2 cup vanilla almond milk (any milk would do though)

~1/2 cup vanilla greek yogurt

Directions

1. Blend all ingredients in blender or food processor. Add more milk for a more sipp-able consistency.

banana zucchini bars.

If you grow zucchini in your garden, you might have zucchini growing out of your ears like we do. If so, here is a perfect & easy dessert recipe to use some of that zucchini (and also those spotty, overripe bananas!). Not to mention these bars are super moist and delicious. The original recipe calls for all zucchini so you could easily do all zucchini or all bananas.

~

banana zucchini bars from jam hands

Ingredients:

1 Cup Zucchini, grated

1 Cup Banana, mashed3/4 Cups Butter, softened
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 3/4 Cups Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1 1/2 Cup Chocolate Chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. 
2. Cream butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
3. Add dry ingredients.
4. Add zucchini, mashed banana, and chocolate chips.
5. Grease a 9×13 inch pan and pour the batter in. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

layered peanut butter s'more bars

Happy Belated National S'mores Day! 

Sorry I wasn't able to post this recipe yesterday on the actual holiday but let's be honest, s'more desserts are good any day of the year. This is a drool worthy recipe loaded and layered with all your essential s'more ingredients AND peanut butter. 

I changed up the recipe a bit because I had to use the ingredients I had on hand but it worked out perfectly. I also doubled the recipe and used a 9x13 pan which was an easy fix. 

Thanks pinch of yum for this stellar recipe that I, too, will still be thinking about next week (long after they are already gone!) :)

layered peanut butter s'more bars from pinch of yum

ingredients:

• ½ cup butter, softened
• ¼ cup packed brown sugar
• ½ cup white granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1¼ cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt (I omitted) 
• 6 graham crackers, crushed into fine crumbs
• 2 Giant milk chocolate bars, 7 ounces each (I used part semi sweet chocolate chips and part Hershey Kisses instead)
• 1 jar marshmallow cream, 7 ounces  (I used mini marshmallows instead, just enough to cover the chocolate)
• ½ cup peanut butter

directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper.
2. Beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix well. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the graham cracker crumbs.
3. Press ⅔ of the dough into the bottom of the baking dish. Press the chocolate on top of the dough. They should make an even layer in an 8x8 pan. Melt the peanut butter for about 30 seconds in the microwave and drizzle it over the chocolate.
4. Spread the marshmallows over the chocolate and peanut butter.
5. Spoon (or flatten out with your hands) the remaining ⅓ dough onto the marshmallows. It's ok if the marshmallows aren't completely covered up.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on top. Let cool for ease of serving.

peanut butter granola.

Oh my goodness. I found another granola recipe that is to-die-for! It's simple to make and takes just a few minutes to mix up.  This particular recipe is full of delicious peanut butter flavor and tastes delicious in yogurt, with milk, and of course on its own!

~

peanut butter granola from eat live run

Ingredients:

1/4 cup oil (I used part canola, part coconut)

1/3 cup sweetener (I used part honey, part pure maple syrup)

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/2 tsp salt (optional)

1 tsp cinnamon

4 cups old fashioned oats 

1/4 cup flaxseeds

1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts (I left out)

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F
2. Microwave (or melt on stove 3-5 minutes) oil, sweetener, peanut butter, optional salt and cinnamon.
3. While cooking, mix together the oats, flax, peanuts and sunflower seeds. 
4. Pour hot mixture over the oats and toss well to coat. 
5. Spread out granola onto lined sheet trays (I used parchment) and bake for 40-45 minutes, stirring occasionally and turning tray midway through.
6. Let granola cool completely for that perfect crunch!