Chocolate chip bars !!

I had completely forgotten about this little gems. They are soooo easy to make unlike the chocolate chip cookies I prefer...which are fabulous but a lot more work.

I wanted some sweet treat to share with my brother on his recent visit. In our family, desserts are very important and not just after dinner. We would eat dessert after breakfast if our breakfasts did not already include sweet things like cinnamon rolls, scones with jam, waffles with syrup & whipped cream etc...
So I looked up these bars from a post seven years ago. Not only are they easy to make, they make a lot, freeze or ship beautifully and taste great !!

Chocolate Chip Bars

Ingredients:

1/2 cup melted butter
2 cups lightly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1) Preheat oven to 350 F.
2) Beat together the melted butter, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla.
3) Add the dry ingredients until mixed.
4) Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts.
5) Spread the batter which will be stiff, into a greased 9 by 13 inch pan.
6) Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Do not over bake.
7) Cool, cut and serve.

YUM !!

My lazy post.

I haven't been trying out a lot of new recipes lately, so this is my lazy post ;-)
I have been making modifications to some of my usual recipes, nothing new and brilliant but very tasty.

For instance, kale salads are very delicious with peeled and chopped pineapple guavas in them.
This is the time of year that pineapple guavas are falling on the ground. Since most people use them for landscaping rather than the fruit, you can often find them for free in your neighborhood. I have seen them at the farmer's market and in natural food grocery store as well.

The other day I wanted to stuff my delicata winter squash, I looked up my recipe for stuffed winter squash, it calls for cooked rice, I didn't have any. I wasn't in the mood to saute onions either, so I made it with the carrots, cabbage, bread crumbs, herbs and some grated cheddar cheese, simple but sooo good. I'll be getting more winter squash at the farmer's market tomorrow !!

I made these chocolate chip bars for a recent trip and while they disappeared rapidly, when I went to make them again as a gift I added 1 cup of rolled oats to the recipe. The oats gave them a great flavor and texture boost.

We love soup at our house and I have made my own soup stock, in fact, I noticed that I had lots of seafood stock in my freezer. Mostly I have been making green soups and the seafood stock isn't a very good match for that kind of soup.

It was time to make a fishy soup and use that great homemade stock. I love bouillabaisse , I had some frozen sea bass and salmon but didn't want to be bothered with the shrimp and shellfish. So I made the broth and didn't strain it and added the fish cut in chunks. It was an ocean delight !! If you don't have your own stock, clam juice would be a good substitute.