special brownies

So....what have I done for the past month?

I seriously have no idea. I've done my best as a "stay at home wife" while Chris goes to work all day, I sit around, play on the internet, watch TV, occasionally work out, and get dinner and the house all cleaned up before he comes home! It's a tough life, I gotta tell you.

We went on a few interviews, which I will not say much about in case anybody google searches me and finds this...not that they would...but you know. I've been to a couple community programs in Cincinatti, U of Louisville, and Wake Forest. I have a few more scheduled for January. The dinners have been delicious, and hotels have been pretty awesome as well. I think we're a little glad to be off the road for a couple weeks, though, because it was getting tiring.

I've been trying out plenty of new recipes but nothing too amazing...except for this soup. I had to make a few changes because I didn't have everything but it was pretty much perfect! My version is below. This soup is thick, sweet, and spicy and strangely reminded me of a curry (I think it would be awesome ladled over rice!).

Sweet Potato Peanut Soup!

• 2 large sweet potatoes
• 1 T canola oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 1 T chile powder
• 1 t cayenne pepper (or to taste)
  
• 2 t ginger
• 1 t ground allspice
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• Freshly ground pepper to taste

1) Cook and peel sweet potatoes (stick in microwave for about 9 minutes), mash one and dice the other
2) While the potatoes cook, heat the oil in a saucepan, add onion and cook until it begins to brown. Add the garlic, then add all the spices. I added a touch of water so it wasn't so thick and pasty.
3) Add the sweet potatoes and peanut butter and stir until PB melts. Enjoy!


Tonight, we ran to the grocery to grab a few things for dinner (This sweet potato-spinach-chickpea curry, actually - sensing a pattern?) when Chris and Patrick found these:



So I baked some brownies, topped it with some frosting, and there you have it. Now you know why I am about to weigh 400 pounds. At least dinner was healthy.

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
6 tablespoons cocoa, unsweetened
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
6 tablespoons cocoa, unsweetened
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

You know how to make brownies. Cream the butter and sugar, add the other liquids, then add all the powdered stuff (but blend all the powders together before pouring it in. I don't know if that really makes a difference or if it's just a ploy by dishwasher-makers to get you to use more dishes. I do it anyway.) Bake at 350 in a greased 13x9 pan for, oh, maybe 20 minutes. What do you do with all those 20 minutes (other than wash dishes?)?? Read on!

3 tablespoons butter, softened
½ teaspoon peppermint extract
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 tablespoons milk

Mix the butter and peppermint, then add part of the powders and part of the milk, alternating until you have frosting. Smear all over brownies and enjoy with a glass of ice cold milk.

Yeah, I know you want some.