Caramel Brownie Torte...a.k.a. HEAVEN

We had such a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday!  Almost all of my hubby's family came over for a special Mother's Day dinner.  They are always so much fun to be with!

Since I'm doing everything as simple as possible these days, I wanted to try something new for one of the desserts.  Something easy.  It also had to be super chocolate-y to be approved by my oldest brother-in-law.

So I went with a Caramel Brownie Torte.

Hello my friend.  You were absolutely delicious.

Another brother-in-law asked what exactly this creation was called.  I told him it was called a Caramel Brownie Torte.  He replied, "You should just call it Heaven."

He's right, folks.  It's pretty much Heaven.

Here's what you'll need:

2 boxes of brownie mix

1 (13 oz.) jar of Nutella

1 (16 oz.) jar of Mrs. Richardson's Butterscotch Caramel sauce (ice cream topping)

Chopped pecans

Prepared brownie mixes as directed on the box.  Pour into 2  9-inch round cake pans (so that's one box of prepared brownie mix into one pan and the other box of prepared brownie mix into the other pan - oh yeah).  

Bake until brownies are completely baked.  (I over baked mine and had to cut off the well-done edges; no big deal.)  Allow to cool.

When ready to assemble, place one brownie round on to a cake stand or platter.  Spread all of the Nutella onto the top of the brownie.  Sprinkle with however many chopped pecans you'd like.  Top that with half the jar of caramel sauce.

Place the other brownie round on top and pour the remaining caramel sauce over the brownie and sprinkle with more chopped pecans.

And...you're done.

Heaven is ready and waiting.

Please try to refrain from licking the screen.

F.Y.I.

I just wanted to let you all know that I've added a "Freezer Meals" label to the right.  There are several recipes that I have here on my food blog that are freezer worthy and I've included instructions on how to freeze then serve them.

I'll be adding to is as I use more of my freezer meals and find good recipes.

I hope this is helpful!

Cranberry Chicken

As I've mentioned earlier, in preparation for our new baby's arrival, I made lots of freezer meals.  They've been so wonderful to just pull out of the freezer the night before, let it thaw in the fridge until I need it the next day.  Then I just warm the food up, get a few sides ready quickly, and PRESTO...dinner's ready.  

It's been a real lifesaver with the new baby, lots of homework, five days of baseball practices and games, scouts, dance and recitals, and so on.

These would be super useful even if I didn't have a new baby.  I have many, many days where I'm so busy, I can't spend a lot of time on dinner.

Today's recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbooks that is made up solely of freezer meal recipes.  It's called "Dinner is Ready" by Deanna Buxton.

At first I was a little worried that my kids would freak out about the cranberries in this dish, but they didn't even notice the few cranberries that hadn't cooked down.  Everyone actually loved this dish!

Try out this super simple freezer meal.  You'll love having something handy on day you're busier than a bee!

Here's what you'll need:

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips

1 (16 oz.) can whole berry cranberry sauce

1 C. creamy French dressing

1 envelope onion soup mix, dry

Place chicken in a greased 9x13-inch baking dish and season with salt and pepper well.

In a bowl, combine the cranberry sauce, French dressing, and onion soup mix.

Pour over chicken.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.  Place in a gallon freezer bag.  Label and freeze.

To serve: Thaw.  Heat until hot throughout.  Serve with rice.

When I used this freezer meal, I thawed this and dumped everything in the gallon freezer bag into a crockpot.  Then I just turned it on High and let it heat through in that for a few hours.

You can assemble this recipe and freeze it before baking it.  In that case, thaw and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Super simple!

Cheesy Potatoes

Cheesy potatoes are very popular around here.  They have several different names - Potato Casserole and Funeral Potatoes to name a few.  Call them whatever you want, just know that these are VERY good!

I made these for our Easter dinner.  My baby was so new at that point that I needed menu options that were quick and easy to put together.  These potatoes were perfect!  In fact, I assembled the ingredients and placed them in the pan the day before.  Then on Easter, all I had to do was bake them.

LOVED that!!

Try these out sometime.  Sometime soon!  Your family will thank you.  At least, mine did.

Here's what you'll need:

2 lb. bag frozen hashbrowns, shredded or cubed

1 Tbsp. dried, chopped onion OR 1/3 C. onion, chopped

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 C. sour cream

2-4 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted (opt.)

3 C. grated cheese, divided

In a large bowl, combine the hashbrowns, onion, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, melted butter, and 2 cups of cheese.

Place in a greased 9x13-inch baking pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour.  Remove from the oven and top with remaining 1 cup of cheese.

Bake for another 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

Another way you can make this is to omit the last cup of cheese and before placing in the oven, top the potato mixture with 1 1/3 cups cornflakes that have been crushed and mixed with another 2 Tbsp. melted butter or margarine.  Then bake as directed.