brownie | Just About Baked

German Chocolate Pie

December 7, 2014
Mir
Pie Day, Pies
12 Comments

I thought I was done with pie. I really did, I promise! But that was before Friendsgiving happened.

Since this is the time of year that people usually count their blessings and express thanks, I have to think about the amazing teachers I work with. I don’t write about my job much here, but as many of you know, I’m a full-time, National Board certified high school English teacher. It’s a very intense job and my days are anything but relaxing, especially since my downtime is nonexistent with three small kids at home. But man, do I love it.

Peanut Butter Berry Brownie Pizza

Ever heard the expression “Waste not, want not?”

Of course you have. But have you ever really thought about it? What does it mean? If I don’t waste the half-eaten banana my kid left on the floor by hurling it immediately into the garbage, then…I’ll eat it? And I won’t be hungry?

I mean, I’ve done that. Eaten scraps my family leaves around. But I gotta tell you, I still want. Food. Of my own. That wasn’t left on the floor. Or in a doll’s bed.

While I do admit (and yes, I’m ashamed) to being pretty wasteful in some aspects of my life, I am very good about using what I have in the kitchen. Last week I made these S’more Brownie Cupcakes and I had brownie batter left over. So what better to do than take the batter, put it in a tart pan, bake it up and make a brownie pizza?

S’more Brownie Cupcakes

June 23, 2014
Mir
Bars n' Brownies, Cupcakes and Cheesecakes
11 Comments

Camp starts next week. Thanks be to all the powers above. I’m totally destroyed.

Listen, I love being a mom. But part-time mommyhood is kind of my thing. I need to be elsewhere during the day to fully appreciate all of the stuff my kids pull, like covering the walls in sidewalk chalk or leaving raisins all over the house like animal droppings. I wish I were strong enough to handle them 24/7, but I’m just not.

Summer is a great wake-up call for me about my job and why I love it. I get to be an at-home mom for two months while not teaching, and then I can fully appreciate being with my kids all day. But man, is it ever the most exhausting job in the world. That’s why we need cupcakes!

Cinnamon S’more Brownies

Every other morning when it’s still dark and everyone is asleep, I do my strength training workout. You see, I used to be just a cardio girl. I’d move and move and move and it was nice, but I didn’t see the results I wanted. I kept my weight where I wanted it to be, but I wanted muscles. Like Madonna. Totally doable, right?

Well, I’m getting there! About six months ago I discovered Physique 57. They have studios in big coastal cities and in places where really rich people live, like the Hamptons or Dubai. But they haven’t hit the DC area yet, so I sweat it out to the DVD collection and their online streaming. And it’s kind of addictive, mainly because I have muscles in places I never thought about before, and I really like that.

Anyway, I was working my abs to utter exhaustion the other morning when a recipe lightbulb went off in my head, apropos of absolutely nothing. I love it when that happens. It’s so random and so appreciated, like someone you don’t know about exists somewhere in your brain just to give you fun ideas. I love that someone!