"I Have a Test Coming Up But I Don't Want to Study" Pie

A couple weeks ago, with yet another exam on the horizon, it occurred to me to - GASP - take some time for myself! So I rented a movie - The Waitress, which I had been wanting to watch for some time but never had the guts to ask if the MCV Library could get movies from the the other campus...And because I know myself, I also knew that I'd have to make a pie before I watched the movie because I'd be drooling after the credits and that would lead to a monstrous craving which is never a good thing to let fester, right?

I

So yum yum - apple pie. Here's the recipe:

For the Topping:

Just make a simple crumble topping with a few tablespoons of softened butter, 1/2 cup flour, 1 cup rolled oats, some almond extract, and a sprinkling of nutmeg and cinnamon. Set aside.

Cut and chop/slice the apples. I like to do both for a little difference in texture. Then toss them in a little lemon juice, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Set aside.

Now, here's my little secret. I like gooey filling on my apple pie so I borrowed the following set of directions from my recipe for strawberry-rhubarb cobbler. I figured if it made a tasty concoction for the cake, then I could tweak it and use it for my pie. In a saucepan, warm up about a cup of water. In a bowl mix 1/3 cup white sugar and 2 or 3 Tbs cornstarch until they are thoroughly incorporated. Add the apples to the water and cook until they are slightly softened. Add the sugar mixture and a couple teaspoons brown sugar and some vanilla. Watch as a delicious filling forms right in from of your eyes!

Pour into a pie shell, cover with the topping, and bake in a 350 degree oven for about a 1/2 hour.

Shout out to Roslyn for peeling the apples in her own special-amazing way. I'm glad we finally got to make something together :)

Camarones Enchilados

What you need:

• 1-2 pounds shrimp, cooked or uncooked, peeled and de-veined
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves
• ½ cup fresh parsley or parsley flakes
• 28 oz. can of tomato sauce
• 1 jar of pimientos
• ½ cup ketchup
• ½ cup cooking sherry
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp ground black pepper

What to Do:

Sauté the onion, green pepper and garlic in the olive oil. Add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer for about 20-25 minutes in low heat. Then add the shrimp and cook until they are pink and slightly curled.

Serve over rice!

Tips from the Chef:

• Use a big pan because this makes A LOT of food :)

• I have been told that every time you make this, it looks a little different, which I would agree with because instead of measuring everything, it is so much easier to just dump and taste. I eliminated the W. sauce, for instance, and everything turned out just fine.

• This dish is a Cuban one, so thanks to my lovely for introducing me to the flavors!

• Peppers are usually really expensive - luckily this dish asks for green pepper which is usually cheaper than red or yellow. But still, if you see peppers on sale, you can buy them, chop them, and store them in the freezer in a way similar to how you freeze berries: chop the green pepper and layer it on a cookie sheet. Place this in the freezer and let harden. Transfer to a Ziploc and store flat in the freezer.

Ricotta-less Lasagna

A lovely person recently told me my posts have been lacking "substance" so here's a lengthy post with step-by-step directions on how to make a hearty lasagna on a dime. I don't really like ricotta in my lasagna - I LOOOOVE ricotta in general. For tangential reasons, may I suggest topping some with a little raspberry jam or maple syrup and eating it as a lovely snack?

Anyway, in Italy I learned to make lasagna layering bechemel and tomato sauce, so here's my version of that procedure using ingredients I happened to have on hand. The results were amazing and I am quite proud of my handy work :)

What You Need:

1 box Barilla lasagna sheet noodles - not the one with ruffly edges, the flat ones

2 jars pasta sauce -I used vodka sauce and a garlic/olive oil sauce

5 cloves minced garlic

1 large can black olives, sliced

pepper, salt, garlic powder to taste

Make the Sauce (s):

Heat the sauces and add the garlic and spices. You can add some oregano if you want, too, but sometimes that overpowers the dish.

I had some leftover Gorgonzola bechemel sauce, so I decided to us that for my lasagna, but if you don't have any, just whip up a batch. See any one of my Mac and Cheese posts for a recipe.

Layer the Lasagna:

Start with a nice covering of sauce a the bottom of a Pyrex dish

Put on a layer of noddles

Cover noodles with more sauce and a sprinkling of mozzarella cheese

More noodles

Sauce, then I added some cooked and drained spinach and the bechemel

Noodles

Sauce and mozzarella cheese

Continue this procedure until you are done with the noodles

Add one final layer of sauce and a healthy covering of mozzarella and pecorino if you have some

Cover the whole thing with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes in a 350 degree oven

Uncover it and bake an additional 10 minutes so the cheese browns

If you want, you can poke through with a knife to make sure the noodles are totally cooked, but the great thing about using these noodles is no pre-boiling!!!! The spinach is a great addition if you don't have meat, like me. But you could add some ground turkey or chicken or beef to the pasta sauce and nix the spinach - I wouldn't do both because then one of them will be jealous of the other. Another thing: I really like is how this lasagna falls when you slice it - in my opinion, food should not be so stiff that it stands on its own. No thanks.

And there you have it, a delicious, healthy meal to last you a week. I actually froze a few pieces for a rainy day. But this is also a great thing to make and feed a few good friends.

30 Minute Dinner Party

I absolutely loooove having friends over for dinner. But I have to admit, when a fellow foodie is on the guest list, I do feel the need to make something a little extra tasty. People say you should never try a new recipe at a dinner party, and normally I'd agree, if the recipe is really involved and uses ingredients you aren't familiar with. But as I learned Monday, sometime recipes you've never made before turn out to be the ones you add to your Easy Entertaining pocketbook.

Chicken with Alfredo and Vegetable Pasta (I know, not a very creative name - send me new suggestions)

For the Chicken

1 mixed bag of chicken: breast, thighs, legs - I take off most of the fat

salt, pepper, garlic powder

olive oil

Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and arrange the chicken on it. Cover evenly with oil, then spice both sides, rubbing everything into the skin and little crevices.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until the juices run clear.

Take out of the over and cover with another sheet of aluminium foil and let rest 10 minutes before serving.

For the Pasta

Make the Veggies:

1 bell pepper, sliced thinly and cut into 1 inch pieces

1/2 large onion, chopped

3 scallions chopped, plus another chopped finely and set aside for garnish

3 cloves garlic, chopped

salt, pepper

8-10 slices sundried tomatoes, cut into strips

In a saute pan, brown the onion and garlic. Add the bell pepper and when this is soft, add the scallions and cook until the scallions are just soft enough to mellow out their onion-y flavor (you don't want them turning brown). Then, add the sundried tomatoes and at the very end, a few more pieces of fresh scallion.

Make the Sauce:

1/2 cup pecorino cheese, grated

3 Tbs cream cheese

4 Tbs flour

3 Tbs butter

1 c milk

salt, pepper, garlic powder

Make a rue by melting the butter then adding the flour and cooking the two with a whisk for about 20 seconds. This takes away any gritty flavor of the flour. Over medium-high heat, add the milk and whisk like your life depends on it. This won't thicken up immediately, but it will so be patient. Add the cream cheese, spices, and pecorino and watch as it all comes together. Turn off the heat, cover with a lid, and let sit till your pasta has cooked.

Make the Compote:

1 package baby tomatoes, sliced into quarters

2 Tbs good olive oil

salt, pepper

1 Tbs balsamic vinegar

Throw in 4 leaves of basil, chopped, if you have any

Mix all together and let sit until ready to serve

Make the Pasta:

I use about 3/4 package of spaghetti pasta

Cook it and reserve a little pasta water in case everything is too thick when you're combining the parts.

Finish it up:

Add the veggies to the pasta, then mix in the Alfredo and toss to coat. I drizzle in a little olive oil in addition to the pasta water because it is a little thick as-in. Put on a plate and garnish with the reserved scallions and a sprinkling of red pepper flakes. After guests have served themselves, have them put a little of the Tomato Compote over their pasta - it gives an amazing bite to the dish.

Tips from the Chef:

• Whenever you are using olive oil, know these things: a fruity, flavorful olive oil is good for anything you will taste directly (for instance, salad leaves) while an extra virgin olive oil is useful for sauteing.
• I like using red of yellow bell pepper for cooking, I just think the flavor is sweeter and less harsh than the green variety
• Pair this dish with a wonderful red or white wine
• There is no shame in accepting help. I grew up with a Persian mother who refused to let anyone (excluding family members) bring a dish with them when they came over. I think there's no problem with letting people be a part of the meal, especially if they have a special dish they want to share. Another plus is that by participating in the meal, people are more likely to feel more comfortable eating YOUR meal. Our guest, Kelly, brought an amazing salad and kindly shared the recipe with me, so look forward to seeing that in the near future!

Pasta Party!

The best way to eat food is to share what you make with friends. Today two of my dearest friends came over for a casual dinner of pasta, Chilean wine, and rum balls.

In my opinion, everyone needs a fool-proof pasta recipe they can tweak and change according to what's on hand. Here's mine:

What you need:

1 box whole wheat pasta

4 peddadew peppers

7-8 slices of sun-dried tomatoes, chopped coarsely

3 large green olives, sliced

4 large black olives, sliced

2-3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 Tbs capers

juice of 1/2 half lemon

3 inches pepperoni, in thick julienned pieces

salt, pepper, garlic powder, red pepper flakes

2 Tbs fruity, salad olive oil

1/3 c baby tomatoes

Dijon mustard

3 oz Havarti cheese, cubed

(if I had time, I would have also added 1/2 a sauteed onion)

What To Do

Cook the pasta in the way described in a previous post (boiling, salted water with a splash of olive oil) and cook until al dente.

In the meantime, heat some oil in a saute pan and add 2 cloves of garlic. Add all the other ingredients, lastly being the salt and pepper.

Add this mixture to the pasta, then mix in the olive oil and about 1/3 cup sliced, fresh cherry tomatoes. You could add some cut basil here, too.

Finally, add the cubed Havarti. Havarti is a fast melting cheese, so this will probably start melding into the pasta quickly. Squeeze in the mustard (1 or 2 squirts), lemon, add the red pepper flakes, and taste for seasoning.

Finally, dust with a cover of pecorino cheese.

Tips from the Chef

Adding the following things can really make a pasta dish pop:

fresh herbs (basil, for example)

lemon juice and lemon zest

Dijon mustard

red pepper flakes

feta or goat cheese

Luckily, the other little ingredients really pack a punch and I just love them in any dish.

Thanks to my amazing friends who came over to spend a Sunday evening together.

I will miss you so much next year!

A History of Cheesecake

My earliest memories of cheesecake go back to before my youngest aunt was married. It was well known in our family that whenever we had a get-together, she could make her famous cheesecake - and nothing else ;) But over the years, my Aunt actually became a very good cook, and a health nut to boot, so it's been a while since I've sampled one of her full-fat wonders. Auntie, if you read this, can you make one of those cheesecakes again? I miss them.

Without my aunt to guide me in the cheesecake-making process, I watched my mother as she embraced the revelation of the 90s - use ricotta! This is how I created my current recipe for cheesecake, using a compilation of mom's recipe, a friend's suggestion, and my own noggin' - let me know what you think :)

Just so y'all know, this was not a planned baking shindig. Three days ago cream cheese was on sale so we bought 2 packages. One week ago, my mom brought over 5 limes. A week ago, my friends and I had a baking night, and we had a couple tablespoons of butter left over. Couple with a little ricotta, some eggs, and a few other things that are always around the apartment, and you have a refreshing July 4th dessert sure to please anyone!

I had the idea to make a key lime cheesecake because, basically, I was too lazy to make a custard for a key lime pie. And because I had all the above schtuff. Here's what you do - couldn't be easier.

Gather Your Tasties:

• 2 packages 1/3 fat cream cheese
• 1/3 c cornstarch
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup lime juice, or 3 limes juiced
• zest of 2 limes
• 8 oz ricotta cheese
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups Nilla wafers
• 3 Tbs butter
• Tad cinnamon

Make the Crust

• Melt the butter
• Crush the wafers
• Mix the two, then add a dash of cinnamon

Press this mixture into the bottom of a cheesecake pan. I usually just do a bottom crust and don't press the crumbs up the side of the pan. My mom taught me this - partially because it cuts down on calories, partially because my mom doesn't particularly like crust. I, for one, LOVE crust - so I put it up the sides.

Bake this at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes until it's a golden brown color. Let this cool while you make the filling.

Make the Tasty Filling

The crucial step here is that the cream cheese be room temperature when you mix this, otherwise you get those dreaded chunks of cream cheese speckled throughout the mixture. I have come to terms with my personal downfall of impatience, so I just shove the cream cheese in the microwave and nuke it. 30 seconds usually does the trick.

• Mix the cream cheese and ricotta, then the sugar
• Add the vanilla and eggs
• Add the cornstarch
• Pour in the lime juice and zest

Pour the filling into the crust and set on a baking sheet so if there IS a crack in your crust, the filling doesn't ooze out onto the floor of your oven. Bake this at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Turn off the oven and crack the oven door - let the cheesecake stand in the open-doored oven for another hour before setting it in the fridge overnight.

Tips from the Chef

Use 1/3 fat cream cheese. This is kinda crucial because you aren't going to miss the fat if you aren't looking for it. However, if you use the NONfat cream cheese, just don't bother making this recipe because this particular type of cream cheese is narsty! Like, almost sour tasting. Please, please, don't use it.

A lot of people say that if your cheesecake cracks on top, it's a sign you did something wrong. To avoide this, you can use a bain-marie and more like steam/bake the cheesecake. But I like the cracks - it proves you made something from scratch. And it gives you an excuse to do the following:

Sour Cream Topping

Mix 1/3 cup to 1 cup sour cream with about 3-4 Tbs milk, 1 Tbs lime juice, and 1 Tbs confx sugar and pour over the top of your crackly-topped cheesecake.

But for my cheesecake, I arranged lime slices over the top, sprinkled them with a little sugar, and set a torch to them to caramelize. Then I piped whipped cream around the outside.

Enjoy all :)

~Sheila

Dinner and a Movie (or Two)

When you think Saturday night, you wouldn't think "staying in" would be at the top of the list of uber fun things to do. But let me tell you, this Saturday night was one of the best I've ever had.

Three of my most favorite people came over for a night of cooking, laughing, and romantic comedies. We started by watching the USA play Ghana in the World Cup (something we might all like to forget), then we made jam thumbprint cookies, took a visit to the local Blockbuster (one of the most eventful ones I've ever had), and finally made a simple yet yummy dinner with biscuit dough. Where was the bf, you wonder? In the next room killing zombies with a friend. My girlfriends and I got a kick out of hearing their strategic attack calls during lulls in the movie :)

Below you will find the recipe for the biscuits and cookies.

Jam Thumbprint cookies:

For these I used a recipe by Ina Garten found here

• The great thing about these cookies is that there isn't any egg - meaning you can eat the dough!!! My friend and I, as the designated "pickers" of the bunch, took advantage of this convenience quite a few times :)
• I like using raspberry jam, but any jam you like is fine
• Note that the cookies don't spread in the oven, so you can place them pretty close together.
• Also, I refrigerated the cookies after forming them so they REALLY wouldn't spread all over the place.

Sausage Biscuit things:

Thanks to a friend's friend, I was introduced to this recipe which is going to be a staple at any party I host in the future. The great thing is, you can cut the biscuit dough in half and use mini muffin tins and then fill with different mixtures - for example: ham, cream cheese, and scallions or sauteed onion and goat cheese with sundried tomatoes.

• You just take store bought biscuits and press them into a cup form and then into a muffin tin
• Brown about 1 package of free sausage - along with a sprinkling of pepper and salt. Drain and put this in a bowl and let cool somewhat.
• Add 1 package of 1/3 fat cream cheese and mix together
• Press 1 spoonful of this mixture into the biscuit dough (which is easy since we already formed a bowl-shape)
• Put in a 350 degree oven for 12 minutes
• At 12 minutes, take them out of the oven and press the filling down (the biscuits have baked somewhat at this point and pushed the sausage mixture up - the idea here is to keep the filling from oozing over)
• Bake another 10 minutes until golden brown

Tips from the Cook:

1. When hosting a baking party, it's a good idea to pick your recipes beforehand - easy ones that involve lots of hands, so everyone has a job to do and feels included - even if one of these jobs is taste-tester :)
2. Divy up the ingredients before as well - this way one person doesn't have to buy everything and figure out pay-backs, etc. when friends are over. Also, it's kind of awkward to ask for money when you're all having a good time together!
3. Pair with a good movie - we watched Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and The Proposal - and some great conversation and you have a fun, relaxing, tasty evening. The last thing we decided before heading our separate ways was that baking night will be a monthly event for sure!

Restaurant Week and Random Updates

These lovely images were taken from here and here

Hello all!

Don't think I've forgotten you - I just have been actively stopping myself from baking because although my taste buds get happy, my waistline does not.

Tuesday I made a delish pasta salad but alas, forgot to take pictures! So I will just have to tell you it was tasty and you'll have to believe me.

from: http://www.infogirl.org/img/sept05/main_street_restaurants.jpg

I want you all to know that in Ann Arbor, for only a couple more days, is this awesome event called "Restaurant Week" where top restaurants open their doors with a pre-fixed price and semi-fixed menu. Typically, there are 3 options per course and they serve 2 or 3 courses, so this really is a deal. My boyfriend and I went out for a combined graduation/congratulations lunch at an amazing restaurant called The Real Seafood Company. Our first course was the soup course: I had gazpacho and he had New England Clam Chowder. For our entree we were served shrimp in an anise-spiked cream sauce and BBQ salmon. And for dessert we had their take on a strawberry cream puff: puff pastry triangles layers with homemade strawberry whipped cream and drizzled with a strawberry reduction sauce...yum yum yum! Three courses, plus their amazing, buttery bread cost $12/person. On average, we leave there having spent $40 or $50/person (the food is THAT good). So needless to say, we were both happy - especially my bf because he paid...thank you, honey!

Yesterday I tried this really awesome pub called Conor O'Neill's which had an added course of a selection of beers to taste. For this excursion, I went with my good friend and owner of the Patticake blog. We had their take on spinach/artichoke dip (which was tasty and o-so-cheddary), grilled Turkey Reubens, and strawberry rhubarb crumble for dessert.

Check out http://annarborrestaurantweek.com/ for a list of participating restaurants and their menus. Let me know how it goes if you visit one :)

Finally, look out for an amazing post Saturday evening (but most likely Sunday morning) because this weekend some girls are coming over for another BAKING DAY!!!! On the menu we have sausage biscuit things (yes, that's their formal name) and shortbread thumbprint cookies with raspberry jam. Get psyched!

Love,
Sheila

Weekend Lasagna

It's been a while since my boyfriend and I have had a free evening to spend together. As two recent grads, we don't have the luxury of eating at expensive restaurants once a month for a date night. But we can dine lavishly at home, which can be more fun because we get to take part in the food-making process.

After surveying our supply of food items - the wheels in my head turning all the while - I realized we had enough to make a delicious lasagna-ish dinner! Vodka sauce, lasagna noodles, ground beef, mozzarella cheese. However, we were sans onion, which I put into everything - but we were both tired and decided we could make it work with plain sauce; no specialized add-ins. As we began cooking however, my boyfriend looked at me and said, "This just isn't going to work. We don't have any garlic - I can't handle that." So we popped the frozen ground beef in the microwave to defrost and ran to the store to grab a couple Vidalia onions and a head of garlic.

We arrived home, stocked with supplies, and started on the lasagna. My mom, bless her heart, hardly ever made lasagna when I was growing up because we mainly ate curries and rice - not pasta. But thanks to my experience in Italy, I properly learned to make some key Italian dishes. Lasagna was one of them.

So first we chopped and sauteed half a Videlia onion - known for it's sweet flavor, this onion is perfect for something like a lasagna which, due to the tomato sauce, can be quite acidic. After the onion has turned opaque, I added 3 large cloves of minced garlic and let the onions/garlic continue sauteing until the onions were a golden color.

We moved this into a bowl and sauteed the beef next. We kept the beef in larger chunks because I think it makes for a nice texture. I personally, like to know exactly what I am eating. We seasoned the meat with the following: please note that I don't exactly measure when I cook - the way I gauge how much I'm using is how many turns around the pan I sprinkle the ingredients. So you can change any of these amounts to suit your own tastes.

1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder (these 3 things consist of the Holy Trinity of my mom's cooking and she passed it along to me)
1/4 tsp nutmeg (this is a secret ingredient that brings out a lot of flavor)

So while my boyfriend was working on the meat, I started on the sauce. I emptied a container of Classico Vodka Sauce into a saucepan - LOVE vodka sauce, by the way - along with some leftover Prego Original that we had in the fridge, 1/2 tsp oregano, more garlic powder, and a tad salt. The vodka sauce is a little creamy so it also cuts the acidity of the tomatoes. Any jarred sauce needs to be spiced up a little, in my opinion - I don't like pouring something directly from the box into the frying pan - it makes me nervous... I then added the onion mixture and the ground beef and let this simmer over medium-low heat for about 10-15 minutes. We did a little preliminary clean-up during this time just so there wouldn't be as much to do later.

The lasagna noodles I have come to absolutely adore are the ones in the box which you don't have to cook beforehand. They are more square shaped - I forgot to take a picture so I apologize for that. I believe Barilla makes them - but they aren't long like the "regular" lasagna noodles. Using this kind is tastier, easier, and faster. Perfect.

We started by layering some of the meat mixture on the bottom of a Pyrex dish. Because we weren't cooking the noodles beforehand we needed to be sure they were covered with liquid so they could cook through. We layered: noodles, sauce, cheese, noodles, sauce, cheese, noodles, sauce, and cheese. So you'll have about 3 layers total. For the last sauce layer, I mixed in some leftover vodka sauce with shrimp that my friend had made for me a couple nights before. This ended up giving a great twist to the recipe because it was homemade, had shrimp, and was spicier than the other sauce. But you can use all the same kind if you want - I just wanted to show you that you can really throw anything in this and it won't be a disaster :) Notice I did not use ricotta cheese!!! I only layered a little mozzarella between the layers. For the very top layer I mixed mozzarella and picorino because it has a little more edge and bite to it - pecorino is a sheep's milk Italian cheese, similar to parmigiano reggiano. When I was in Italy, they didn't do a ricotta layer - them made a bechemel sauce. But this works just fine and I personally don't like my lasgana to be so stiff it's like a cake.


Here is the final product before it went into a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes. I first covered it with aluminium foil so the cheese wouldn't burn. After the 35 minutes was up, I took off the foil and stuck a knife in the middle: it went through, so I knew the noodles were cooked. Then I put it back in the oven for 7 minutes so it would turn a little golden on top.

We ate this with Trader Joe's Garlic Bread, but honestly it is fine just as is.

And there you have it - date night lasagna!

Baking Parties - A Great Way to Reconnect

Dear Readers:

Think of the hardest time in your life - maybe it was last year, maybe 6 years ago, maybe you're going through something now. This past year was MY hardest, by far, but I learned that sometimes you have to put yourself out there in order to learn who cares about you most. Lucky for me, there were a lot of those people and I am so lucky I shared with them. Life may not be perfect but if you surround yourself with happy people who care about you and who you care about, it's so much easier to see yourself pulling through and being alright.

For all my friends, you know who you are: I am so grateful to have you in my life.

Today, three such friends arrived at my apartment and we had a baking day. Baking does not necessarily mean sweets (although we dabbled in that department as well). We made some delicious pizzas and then pleased our sweet tooth with the most AMAZING brownie concoction which has ever graced my kitchen. This is really the most simple recipe ever but is guaranteed to make you friends wherever you may go.

Oooooo-ey Gooey Candy-bar Brownies

What you need:

• 1 box brownie mix - we used Betty Crocker with Fudge (usually I advocate from-scratch recipes, but in the case of brownies, I truly believe boxed mixes yield the most fudgy product, and I like me some fudgy brownies)
• 1 package mini Heath bars
• 1/3 cup Ghirardelli 60% cacao chips
• 3 Tbs heavy cream

What you do:

1) prepare the mix using the hints below
2) butter an 8x8 cake pan (if you want, you can wax paper it as well)
3) set oven to 350 degrees
4) layer 1/2 the brownie mixture in the pan
5) cover with the Heath bars
6) cover with the other 1/2 of brownie mix
7)bake for 35-40 minutes
8) let cool then cover with the chocolate ganache

For the ganache (this is the to-die-for part)
1) warm the chocolate and cream in the microwave, checking often to be sure it doesn't over heat
2) mix vigorously and watch as it thickens up
3) spread over the brownies

Tips from the Cook:
~ You can try this recipe with different candy bars - if you find one that you like, write to me, please :)
~Chocolate can separate if you heat it too much, so stir it often; even if you think the chips haven't melted, give them a stir to get the ball rolling
~Whenever I am making a boxed mix, or anything that calls for water (for example, oatmeal or cake mix), I substitute milk; this makes the recipe so much more decadent and rich. Try it - it really works!!!!