Week Two: Whip It Up

For week two of whip it up I tried two recipes both with cheese as an ingredient, which was the suggestion for the week. I looked and looked for an main entree with cheese and couldn't find anything that I felt like eating. Don't get me wrong a lot of recipes sounded good, I just wasn't feeling it at the time. So I finally decided on Red Lobster Cheese Biscuits and Easy Cream Cheese Brownies.

RED LOBSTER CHEESE BISCUITS

2 cups buttermilk baking mix (I used Bisquick)

2/3 cup milk

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cup butter

1/4-1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions

1 Preheat oven to 450*.

2 Combine mix, milk and cheese with a wooden spoon until soft dough forms.

3 Beat vigorously 30 seconds.

4 Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

5 Bake 8-10 minutes until golden brown.

6 Combine butter and garlic powder; brush over warm biscuits before removing from cookie sheet.

7 Serve warm.

8 Makes 10 large biscuits.

INGREDIENTS

PRE-BAKING

POST-BAKING

I loved these biscuits, I think they were better the the real ones at Red Lobster, I'm not a big fan of Red Lobster any way. I would most defiantly make these biscuits again, I don't think I will have the choice not to as John loved them and I am sure he will be requesting them in the near future. They were prepared and cooked in under fifteen minutes. I did a about a quarter cup more cheese because I think extra cheese is almost always a good thing. Over all this was a very yummy, super easy recipe.

EASY CREAM CHEESE BROWNIES

Brownie

1 (20 ounce) package fudge brownie mix (13x9 size)

1/4 cup water (or what mix calls for)

1/3 cup oil (or what your mix calls for)

2 eggs (or what your mix calls for)

Topping

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1 Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.

2 Prepare the brownie mix according to package directions (water, oil, eggs).

3 Pour into a greased 13x9-inch baking pan.

4 Beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.

5 Add sugar and mix. Add vanilla and egg; mix until well-blended.

6 Place cheese mixture in dollops over the whole pan, leaving some brownie showing in between.

7 Cut or swirl through batter several times with a knife or fork for a marbled effect. It can be tricky to get a good marble effect so be careful not to over work it.

8 Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Cool; cut into squares. (These will also freeze well).

PLAIN BROWNIE MIX

CREAM CHEESE BROWNIE

THE FINISHED PRODUCT

(taken of the piece I brought to work for Jessica to try, via blackberry camera b/c I forgot last night)

I liked the idea that these were easy cream cheese brownies, meaning the brownie mix was from a box because I wanted something quick last night. I used ghirardelli brownie mix which I ended up not liking so much, it was too cake like and I like my brownies more on the chewy side. The recipe was super easy, but I don't think I would make them again, do to my preference for chewier brownies. John and Koen like them though.

Comments

[RA]

Wow, two recipes! I think these are both good fake-out recipes that look much fancier than the effort it takes to make them, which is always good to have up your sleeve.

[Jane]

Oohh.. The cheese biscuits were the first recipe I thought of for cheese week too... Yumm!! can't wait to try them!