Brownie-Covered Oreos

Well, we finally did it. For those of you who were with us during Christmas might remember Dave and I drooling over the concept of brownie-covered Oreos. Like Matt's last post, this one might not really be considered a "recipe," but for a different reason....nothing here is homemade.

Ingredients:

1 package Oreos

1 box brownie mix (any brand)

Oil, water, eggs, etc- for brownie mix

Nonstick cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Prepare brownie batter according to package directions.

3. Dip Oreos into batter, letting excess fall back into the bowl.

4. Place each cookie into a separate well of a cupcake pan that has been generously sprayed with non-stick cooking spray (or use cupcake liners, see below)

5. Bake for 11-14 minutes, until brownies are cooked.

6. If cupcake liners were not used, run a plastic knife around the edge of each cookie immediately when taken out of the oven- this will help them come out later.

7. When cooled, remove from pan

Note: The pretty cookies above were used without liners, but no matter what I did, the bottoms became slightly scorched. Still tasty, but they had a hint of burn-y flavor, and were a little chewier at the bottom.

The cookies below are less attractive, but Dave and I thought they were more delicious when we used the cupcake liners. The texture was better overall.

PS. Those are the trays we all got in our Christmas stockings from Mom and Dad (Sills). Looks like an eye!!

Stuffed Peppers

Dad's famous "recipe". And I use quotes, because there was never really a written recipe, it was just a general idea that you had to feel your way through. Here's an attempt to quantify the ingredient amounts and put a step by step recipe together.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

4-5 colored bell peppers

1/2 to 1 full packet of chili powder

3/4 jar of ragu sauce (26 oz jar)

1 can sliced mushrooms

shredded mozzarella (optional)

1 box instant rice (only part of the box will be used)

2 1/2 cups water

ground red pepper or cayenne pepper to taste

Directions:

For the Peppers:

1. Half the peppers the long way and remove ribs

2. Put halved peppers onto a baking tray and into the oven at 350

3. After peppers seem baked well, but not burned, flip them and put them back in the oven

For the Filling:

1. Brown the ground beef in a large skillet

2. Drain the excess fat

3. Add chili powder, sauce, mushrooms, and water (add water incrementally and see what looks right)

4. Bring mixture to a slow boil on med/hi heat

5. Add ground red pepper / cayenne and rice (amount of rice is personal preference, make the mixture look the way you want it to be)

6. While cooking, add more ground red pepper / cayenne to desired level of hotness.

7. Cook until the rice is done and the sauce thickens up. If during the cooking process, it seems too watery, add more rice. If it seems like there is not enough liquid for the rice to fully cook, add more water.

8. Add the filling to the peppers

9. Bake filled peppers for 20 minutes

10. Just before peppers are done, add shredded mozzarella cheese and melt in the oven on the top rack or broiler (optional)

UPDATE- (this is Jen) I just added a pic from when Dave and I most recently made this. Thanks again for writing up the recipe, Matt/Melissa!