Yummyliciousness and More Blog Awards....Updated!

Let's pretend for a moment that you have left-over Dulce-de-Leche and a box of brownie mix sitting in your pantry.  What would you do?  If you ask me, I would forget about the box of brownie mix and just pull out a spoon and eat the Dulce-de-Leche right out of the bowl.  But I wanted to share the yummyliciousness of the Dulce-de-Leche with the family.  I also wanted to bake something up that was yummylicious.  It was at that moment that I came across Annies Eats and inspiration struck me down.  Hence the creation of Dulce-de-Leche Brownies was born!


Dulce-de-Leche Brownies

1 box of brownie mix (or use recipe below)
Dulce-de-Leche (recipe found here: Dream a Little Dream)
1 1/2 cups pecans (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9x13 pan with Pam.  Prepare brownie mix according to directions.  Pour half of you brownie mix into the pan and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, maintaining the oven temperature, and let cool for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, add the chopped pecans (if using) to a medium skillet over medium heat.  Toast, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and light golden brown.  Remove from the heat and set aside.

If you are using left-over Dulce-de-Leche that has been in your refrigerator we need to get it to a syrupy consistency.  Pop it into your microwave for 20 seconds and stir, repeat.  You should have the consistency you need now (syrupy and easy to pour).  Sprinkle some of your pecans (reserving some for the top) on to the baked brownie and pour your Dulce-de-Leche over the top.  Pour the remaining brownie batter over the caramel layer, taking care to pour and spread it evenly otherwise it will be difficult to spread evenly over the caramel layer.  Top with your reserved pecans and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before slicing and serving.

If you're feeling like an over-achiever go ahead and bake your brownies from scratch.  Show-off!

Mmm-mmm Better Brownies

Yields 16 servings

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x9 inch baking pan.

In a medium bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, and vanilla. Beat in eggs. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; gradually stir into the egg mixture until well blended. Stir in walnuts, if desired. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the brownie begins to pull away from edges of pan. Let cool on a wire rack before cutting into squares. 

Source: Allrecipes.com

One more thing before I go!  I would like to send a huge thank you to Sawsan from Chef in Disguise for bestowing on to me the Verstaile Blogger Award!  Sawsan is an Orthodontist by day and Chef by night.  My hubby has dubbed her a super-hero when I told him about her and her yummylicious blog!  Seriously, I would eat dinner at her house every night if she allowed me to.  On second thought, that may be a little weird.  I'll just go with making every recipe on her blog. 

I pass The Versatile Blogger award on to my friend Rahdika over at Cooking Bytes.  I have personally been to her house a few times for dinner and trust me, she is an amazing cook!  I am going over to her house tonight for a foodie dinner party with our foodie friends.  She is so amazing in the kitchen!

Next, sweet girl from The Addicted Baker has passed back to me the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award and again the SEVEN (count them) seven blog awards I just received the other day.  Yes, I am a bit humbled!  Addicted Baker is in high-school but she bakes like nobody's business!  She works hard on improving her blog everyday and it makes me so proud of her!  Seriously, check out her Smore Cookie post!  All of that baking while watching Sex and the City to boot!  This girl has it going on!

So here I am listing 7 things about myself.  This is going a little far don't ya think?  I mean, I am running out of material here.  This may get embarrassing!

1. We do not have cable/satellite.  We stream all of our shows through Netflix or Play-on.  Why?  Because we don't watch enough TV to justify spending $80 - $100 a month.  I have to admit though, right now I am jonsin for some HGTV in a bad way!
2. I am a geek.  Yes, I will admit to the world that I. Am. A. Geek!  I can lose hours of my day playing video games.  
3. I play DnD twice a month.  Told you I was a geek!  I also said this was going to get embarrassing, didn't I?  My characters name is Andraste.  Her race is Eladrin and her class is a Thief.  We just started this campaign so she is still level one and I am still flushing her out and getting to know her.  Our first campaign lasted about 6 years and I terribly miss Tristessa who was a bad ass with the bow!  Oh God, I need to stop receiving these awards!
4. I am a bit very OCD when it comes to my house being clean.  The proof is held in this blog post.  On any given day you walk into my house, it looks like that most of the time.  Unless I am organizing a closet or my storage room which I do often because I can't stand being unorganized or messes.  My hubby is the same way so we work well together.  My bible is Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Handbook: The Essential Guide to Caring for Everything in Your Home.  I have to admit there are times that I don't even want to have guests over because they may be messy.  Oh God, I need therapy!
5. I love music and I love to sing along but I am horrible at the getting the lyrics right.  My hubby is constantly laughing at me when I sing around the house.  We play Rock Band often and I am always amazed at the actual lyrics of the song.
6. I need my eyebrows waxed.
7. My mom calls me at least 5 times a day!

Please go and check out Chef in Disguise and The Addicted Baker.  They are mouth-watering and totally inspiring!

Update:  Now to pass on the blog awards to 15 other well deserving foodie bloggers!  There are so many to choose from.  This is no small task!

Elise's Kitchen 
Martinis at Six 
Kitchen Groovy 
Notes of a Foodie
In the Land of Spice 
Kneady Sweetie 
Life on Food 
Tasty Trials 
The Learning Curve 
A Family that Eats Together 
Your Cup of Cake 
Koko Cooks 
Everythings Herbed 
Scarletta Bakes 
Bread and Milk and Blackberries  

~ Enjoy!