When my initial Sunday afternoon plans fell through I had a moment of panic...oh my gosh an afternoon without an itinerary what the hell am I to do! For those of you who know me I live my life at a frantic warp speed pace of doing it all and trying desperately to do it well-work, family, friends, running, cooking, reading, shopping, drinking, yada, yada and the list goes on. So the thought of a quiet afternoon just didn't enter my mind as I ran through the phone book in my head of friends, acquaintances and people I didn't even know but however  could be my new best friend if I sat next to them at a bar (love ya Staci)....until I reminded myself to breath. What an amazingly new idea I could have an afternoon to relax, stay at home, stop and smell the roses and that was the option I chose...something to take me slightly out of my comfort zone.



So here I sit on a beautiful sunny So Cal Sunday afternoon. And as you may have guessed after completing the chores in my house the desire to cook slowly started to creep into my psyche. But alas I had promised myself I was not leaving the house and since I am not one of those delightful people who can conjure up a recipe by looking at random ingredients in my fridge I began my cookbook search for a recipe that I could create using the ingredients I had in the house. I came close to success with 2 recipes-Smore Cookies and Cinnamon Chip Scones however on both of those there was 1 key ingredient missing in my fridge. But alas I came across Hersheys Best Brownie Recipe...everyone loves brownies, I have the ingredients so I took it as a sign that brownies were going to be on my cooking repertoire for the afternoon.

(Mom do not read this part) Before I talk about the recipe does anyone else remember trying to drink vanilla extract due to the alcohol content in say your early high school years? Or was that just a white trash Eureka thing? While I was making my brownies a glimpse of a memory of a high school football game and sipping out of someones sports bottle and the taste of vanilla extract or oh wait maybe it was peppermint came wafting into the forefront of my mind....Anyone? No?



Seriously this was by far the easiest brownie recipe I have ever made...not like I make brownies all the time but if you like to cook with your kids this would be the perfect recipe to start their cooking prowess with. Melt a stick of butter and stir in the sugar and vanilla. I love the color of butter and sugar...that fresh light yellow color just makes me happy. Ok a little weird I know. In a separate bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. I have to say before this blog I would have cocoa powder that sat on my shelf for years...literally years...and now I easily go through 1-2 canisters of cocoa powder a month. Crazy!! Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and the brownies are ready to be baked. The recipe said you could add a 1/2 cup of chopped nuts as an option and since I was feeling pretty crazy and I had exactly a 1/2 cup of leftover pecans already chopped from a previous recipe I also threw those into the batter....I took the exact measurement as a sign that these brownies were meant to have pecans. Is it weird to think of brownies in terms of destiny? Yes it is a little weird.

And even better these brownies have frosting. I like brownies without frosting but adding frosting is like whipped cream on top of a pumpkin latte, a man in boxers and a button down shirt or an apple, winning a vacation...to a tropical destination and not Chico or Pauly D on Jersey Shore. Just saying. So the frosting is also easy to make...in a mixer bowl blend softened butter, cocoa, corn syrup, vanilla, powdered sugar and milk. Spread on the brownies once they are cool.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and if you are looking for a great Steak and Potato recipe....these fries are baked not fried...this is my recommendation. As you know I love when people cook for me so having this meal waiting for me last night made working Saturday way better...besides the fact that my Dispatchers made me laugh my ass off all day.

Cheers!!