Ghostly Brownies

Happy Halloween! Here are some ghostly brownies I made. I found the idea for this in a little recipe booklet I had. Well, I suppose technically this is actually a cake, but the original recipe called for brownies. Both work well. Basically to make these, bake a round pan of brownies or cake. Then whip up a batch of meringue  Spread some of the meringue on the cake, then pipe the rest on top in the shapes of ghosts. Add some chocolate chips for the eyes of the ghosts. Then bake the meringue at 350◦F for 10-15 minutes, until lightly browned. The meringue can be placed on the warm cake as soon as it comes out of the oven, then baked again in the pan. Or the cake can be made ahead. Really, any cake or brownie base can be used for this, even a store-bought or frozen one. If the cake is made ahead of time, you have the option of taking the cake out of the pan and putting it on a baking sheet. I found this way it was easier to top and easier to serve, but this will not work well with a warm cake. Keep in mind that since the cake is baked twice, even a moist cake will become slightly dry, especially if it is baked on a baking sheet. There isn't really a way to avoid this, just make sure you have plenty of meringue on the cake. I thought the ghosts on top were a very cute idea, and they are easy to do. They don't look quite as neat as they did in this recipe, especially since one of the ghosts on the side is falling off, but it does make a nice spooky Halloween dessert!

Egg-tra Easy Breakfast

Here is a really simple, quick, and healthy breakfast idea. If you don't have time to cook scrambled eggs or hard-boiled eggs, try this technique. It is a simple microwave cooking method. It works for egg whites, egg yolks, and whole eggs, and can cook several eggs at once. Pictured here is just an egg white, which I used because I had a leftover egg white from a recipe I made, and I did not want to waste it, so I ate it for breakfast. This egg is similar to a scrambled egg. Here is how to make it:

1. Crack the egg(s) into a small, microwaveable-safe bowl.
2. Add salt pepper, milk, butter, cheese, chopped onion, parsley, or whatever else you'd like.
3. Cover the bowl with a piece of waxed paper, and microwave on high for 1 minute.
4. Remove from microwave and check the egg. If it is set, it is done. More eggs will take longer to cook. If the egg is not done, continue to microwave at 30 second intervals until it is desired doneness.
5. Carefully run a butter knife along the edge of the bowl to loosen the egg, then remove.

Now serve on toast, and add anything else you would like - ham, cheese, tomato, bacon, lettuce, or whatever! Here I just added a slice of tomato. This egg is good on toast, as a sandwich, in a wrap, with pancakes, as a simple omelet, or just a really quick side of protein with your meal. Keep this method in mind when you need to cook an egg fast!