Food goodness

These were Shannon's find, and delicious. Just make sure you don't overcook the brownies in the first step... apparently I can bake some fairly complicated things, but I can't manage to make out-of-the-box brownies without burning them. Oops. 19-1/2 oz. pkg. brownie mix 2 c. powdered sugar   1/2 c. plus 6 T butter, softened and divided 8 oz. creamy peanut butter 6 oz. (approximately) semi-sweet chocolate chips [I used the Ghiardelli dark chocolate baking chips, and I think they're the best] Prepare and bake brownie mix in a greased 13" x 9" pan, according to the directions. Let cool.  With a mixer, combine powdered sugar, 1/2 cup butter and peanut butter. Mix well and spread over cooled brownies. Chill for one hour.  Melt together chocolate chips and 6 T butter in a saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally. Spread over brownies. Let cool; cut into squares. Makes 2 to 3 dozen.

From: Alton Brown I totally flubbed something when I made this, but it was still good.  I doubled the recipe, but as I was making it I added 4 qts of stock instead of 2.  I didn't realize my mistake until the very end when I went to add the dairy and thought it already looked pretty thin, so I went back to the recipe and realized my mistake.  So..... I still added the correct amount of cream, and I just left out the buttermilk completely.  My soup may have been missing a bit of the tang the buttermilk would have provided, but it was still tasty and I went back for seconds.  Also, I used chicken stock instead of veggie because that's what I had on hand. 1 pound leeks, cleaned and dark green sections removed, approximately 4 to 5 medium 3 tablespoons unsalted butter Heavy pinch kosher salt, plus additional for seasoning 14 ounces, approximately 3 small, Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced small 1 quart vegetable broth ( I used chicken stock) 1 cup heav...

Duh, right? Cranberries, sugar, water, cook, done. But this year, I tried a slight variation on Pioneer Woman's cranberry sauce , and I liked it better than my usual. A little more tart and a little more cranberry-y, because the water is replaced with juice. 2 14-oz bags of cranberries 2 cup cranberry juice 1 cup real maple syrup 1 cup white sugar 1/4 cup orange juice (she says lemon juice or any citrus zest would also work) Wash the cranberries and put them into a large-is saucepan. Throw in all the other ingredients, stir them together, and turn on high until it comes to a boil. After a minute or two, turn the heat down to medium and wait for it to reduce. PW says this should happen in 10 minutes; it took me more like 20 or 25. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat and pour immediately into a bowl or jar. Let cool before covering and refrigerating until whenever you want to eat it.