Crispy Potato Roast

 

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen

 

 

Ingredients

• 4 pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes
• 1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 8 sprigs fresh thyme

 
Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Thinly slice the potatoes in a food processor, using the thickest blade disk (you could also use a mandolin or slice these by hand – but a food processor does the work in minutes).
2. Pour 1 tablespoon of canola oil, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and ½ teaspoon of kosher salt into an 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Roll the oil around to coat the bottom of the dish. Arrange the potatoes in the dish, forming about three rows of sliced potatoes. Tuck the thinly sliced onions in between the potato slices, distributing them evenly across the dish. Whisk together the remaining oil, salt, and pepper and drizzle over the top of the potatoes.
3. Bake for 1 hour, or until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from the oven and arrange the thyme sprigs on top of the potatoes. Bake for an additional 25 minutes, or until the top is brown and crispy. Remove the thyme sprigs from the potatoes and serve. Serves 8.

Publix – August 23, 2012

     This week J.T. and I did our weekly grocery store run on Thursday evening. I have been battling the stomach bug since Monday and was finally feeling better. Since we missed our weekly date at Zoe's, we went to go eat and then head to the store – two of my favorite things.

     I told J.T. that I didn't feel as though our money stretched as far this week. Some weeks it is harder to continue to purchase organic products. I finally bought my first pound of organic butter, which is a big expense for someone on a $50 food budget. Although I cannot eat butter, I normally make some sort of dessert for Sunday lunch or as a treat for J.T. Luckily, I had a coupon and was able to get a pound of organic butter for $4.59. Yes, I paid almost $5.00 for butter. Due to my puny appetite, there were a few items that I normally purchase, which I did not need to buy this week. This helped allow extra room for expensive items (the aforementioned butter) that I do not frequently purchase. I am still learning to be creative in planning our meals. Items that were once cheap – eggs, ground beef, chicken – have become more of a luxury item on our grocery list. I have learned to make all these "luxury items" stretch. For example, we will eat blueberry pancakes with eggs or sausage – but not both. We only need one protein with each meal and for us this has been enough. We also eat beans as a main dish once a week – normally on meatless Monday. A few weeks ago I made a crock-pot full of pinto beans, which was simply seasoned with various herbs and spices. I served the pintos with cornbread muffins and chow chow. We were both practically licking our bowls by the end of the meal because it was so tasty. 

     Although it can be frustrating at times to pay more for organic food, it has all been worth it. It is comforting to know how our food is grown and that we are reducing the amount of antibiotics, hormones, and pesticides that enter our bodies. This week at Publix we spent $44.75 on groceries and $14.27 on toiletry items. 


 

• Dairy
  • 1 gallon Publix Greenwise Organic Milk @ $5.19
  • 1 lb. Organic Valley unsalted butter @ $5.59
    • $1.00/1 manufacturer coupon - $4.59
• Grocery
  • 1 lb. Rico Chickpeas @ $1.99
  • 2 lbs. Publix Brown Rice @ $1.89
  • 4 lb. bag Dixie Crystals Sugar @ $4.59
    • $4.00/1 manufacturer coupon - $0.59
  • (1) can Publix Greenwise Organic tomato paste @ $0.75
    • FREE due to incorrect pricing
  • (1) Chock Full O'Nuts Coffee @ $3.00
    • $1.00/1 manufacturer coupon - $2.00
  • (1) Lipton Iced tea bags (24 count) @ $1.35
    • $0.80/1 manufacturer coupon - $0.55
  • (2) Hellmann's Olive Oil Mayonnaise @ $5.87
    • (2) $1.00/1 manufacturer coupons & $1/2 Target coupon - $2.87 or $1.44 each
  • (2) Mott's applesauce pouches @ 2/$4.00
    • (2) $1.00/1 manufacturer coupons - $2.00 or $1.00 each
• Meat
  • 1.08 lbs. Publix Greenwise Organic Ground Chuck @ $5.93
  • 1 ¼ lbs. Jennie O Ground Turkey @ $5.99
• Frozen
  • (1) Pictsweet Family size frozen Brussels (24 oz.) @ $2.50
  • (1) Cascadian Farm Organic boxed spinach @ $2.69
    • $0.75/1 manufacturer coupon - $1.94
• Produce
  • Organic bananas @ $0.99/lb. - $1.86
  • 1 head green cabbage @ $0.69/lb. - $1.41
  • 1 lb. Publix Greenwise Organic Carrots @ $1.29/lb.
  • Yellow onions @ $1.19/lb. - $2.28
  • 1 garlic bulb - $0.27
• Other
  • (2) Colgate Total toothpaste @ $6.00
    • (2) $1.00/1 manufacturer coupon & (2) $1.00/1 Publix & Target coupon - $2.00 or $1.00 each
  • (1) Advil (24 count) @ $2.99
    • (1) $1.00/1 manufacturer coupon & (1) $1.00/1 target coupon - $0.99
  • (2) Softsoap hand soap @ $1 each - $2.00 or $1.00 each
  • (1) Kleenex Cottonelle TP (12-roll) @ $6.49
    • $1.00/1 manufacturer coupon - $5.49
  • (1) All Small & Mighty 32 oz. Laundry detergent @ $3.50
    • $1.00/1 manufacturer coupon & $1/1 Target coupon - $1.50
  • (1) Lysol Neutra Air Sanitizing Spray @ $1.70
    • $1.00/1 manufacturer coupon - $0.70
      
  
   
  $5.00 off $25.00 purchase Save-A-Lot competitor coupon
  
   
  Total before coupons         $86.57
  Less: coupons used            (27.55)
  Total with Tax                   $59.02
  
   

Easy Shrimp Paella

 

Recipe adapted from Barefoot Contessa At Home

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 cups Vidalia onions, chopped (about 1 large onion)
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped into ½ inch strips
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups brown rice
• 5 ½ cups water
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 4 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for seasoning the roasted shrimp
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 1 pound raw white shrimp, roasted (recipe follows)
• 1 pound turkey kielbasa, sliced ¼ to ½ inch thick
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley

 
Directions

1. For the shrimp, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Peel and devein the shrimp. Place the shrimp on a large sheet pan and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Roast for exactly 5 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the sheet pan and refrigerate.
2. For the paella, increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees. In a medium-sized sauce pan, bring the water to a boil over high heat. Add the rice. Once the water begins to boil, cover, reduce the heat, and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions, the bell peppers, and cook for 10 minutes. During the last minute of cooking, toss in the garlic, red pepper flakes, kosher salt, and pepper.
3. Add the slightly cooked rice with water from the sauce pan to the Dutch oven. Bring the mixture to a boil and cover. Place in the oven and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, uncover, and stir the rice up from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Return the paella to the oven, uncovered, and cook for an additional 15 minutes, or until the rice is fully cooked.
4. Transfer the paella back to the stove top and pour in the white wine. Cook for 1 minute over medium heat. Lastly, off the heat and stir the roasted shrimp, kielbasa, frozen peas, and parsley. Cover again and steam for 10 minutes. Serves 6 large portions.

Publix – August 18, 2012

     We are back to the normal routine around the Spann household. J.T. started back to work last Friday and I have started back to working and studying. This means our weekly grocery trip will once again take place on Saturday morning. J.T. and I are different than most people when it comes to our sleeping schedule. Both of us are early to bed and early to rise. We normally go to Publix first thing in the morning, around 7:30 AM (sans make-up and shower for me and just shower for J.T. – hopefully you will never run into us that early). I have started working on a list of grocery shopping tips that I have learned over the past few months. These are a few rules that I stick to in order to help save money. Listed below are the first five:

1. Always check your receipt before you leave the store. This week two of my items rang up incorrectly. Publix will give you one item for free of the product that rang up incorrect. I received a free organic bell pepper (priced at $1.99) and a free box of turkey sausages (priced at $2.50). Nothing stinks more than getting home from the store and realizing you overpaid for something.
2. Buy dried beans. You will pay around $2 dollars for a 1 lb. bag of beans that yields about 5 cans of beans. You would pay $5 for 5 cans of beans. I cook mine in the slow cooker with water – no presoaking - bag them into 1 can portions, and freeze (1 can equals about 1 ¾ cups cooked beans). When I need a can of beans, I pull out a bag from the freezer and defrost - quick and easy.
3. Only grocery shop once a week. I used to be someone who frequented the grocery store almost every day. As many of you know, I love to cook. I would constantly be out of something that I needed for a recipe, so I would run to the store. This became very annoying and I wasted more gas and money by making frequent trips. I would always pick up "something extra" in addition to the one item I needed. Always know what you are going to eat for the week and that you have ALL the ingredients that you need. This will save valuable time and money.
4. Pay no more than $1.50 for a box of cereal. J.T. loves cereal and eats a bowl every morning for breakfast. We both often times eat it for a bedtime snack; therefore, we go through a lot. I buy cereal with coupons only. This week Chex cereal was "buy one get one free" at $3.69 for 2 boxes. I combined this offer with a "$1.00/2 manufacturer coupon and paid only a $1.35 a box. This is a huge savings over the $3.69 each box is normally priced. Also, when you can get a good price, stock-up!
5. Buy organic bone-in, skin-on chicken. Publix has a store-brand line of Greenwise Organic chicken. Yes, this chicken can be pricy but they put it on sale frequently. J.T. and I both love dark meat chicken, so I often purchase bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. However, I take advantage of buying whole chickens when they are on sale. I cut up the chicken myself and de-bone and skin the white meat breasts. I pay $1.99/lb. for a whole chicken verse paying $4.99/lb. for boneless skinless chicken breasts. Cutting up chicken takes practice! The first time I attempted to cut up a whole chicken there was chicken skin and bones flying everywhere! I recommend using kitchen shears to break through the bones. It makes the process a lot easier.

The total amount spent at Publix this week was $49.10. Of this amount $43.88 was spent out of our grocery budget and $5.22 was spent from our toiletry budget.

 

• Dairy
  • (1) Publix Greenwise Organic Milk @ $5.99
• Grocery
  • (1) Publix Greenwise Organic Oats @ $1.99
  • (2) General Mills Chex cereal (BOGO)@ $3.69
    • $1/2 manufacturer coupon - $2.69 or $1.35 each
  • 1 lb. Publix lentils @ $1.45
  • (1) Green Giant (4-pack) canned vegetables (BOGO) @ $2.50
  • (1) 16 oz. Pompeian Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil (BOGO)@$3.33
    • $1/1 manufacturer coupon - $2.33
  • (2) Pepperidge Farm Jingos! Crackers (BOGO) @ $2.99
    • (2) $1/1 manufacturer coupons - $0.99 or $0.50 each
  • (1) Chips A'hoy cookies (BOGO) @ $1.70
    • $1/1 Publix coupon - $0.70
  • (4) V8 V-fusion energy juice (6-pack) @ $12.00
    • (4)$1/1 manufacturer coupons & (4)$1.25/1 Publix coupons - $3.00 or $0.75 each
• Meat
  • 1 lb. Medium white shrimp @ $6.99/lb. - $7.13
  • Butterball Turkey sausage @ $2.50
    • $0.55/1 manufacturer coupon - $1.95
  • (2) Jones Turkey Sausage Links @ 2/$5.00
    • (1) $2/2 manufacturer coupon & 1 for FREE because of incorrect pricing - $0.50 or $0.25 each
• Frozen
  • (4) Green Giant Valley fresh steamers @ $5.18
    • (4)$1/1 manufacturer coupons - $1.18 or $0.30 each
• Produce
  • 2 ¼ lbs. Organic bananas @ $0.99/lb. - $2.22
  • Organic girl greens @ $2.99
    • $2/1 manufacturer coupon - $0.99
  • (2) Mangoes @ $1 each - $2.00
  • 1 organic bell pepper @ $1.99
    • FREE due to incorrect pricing - $0.00
  • 3 sweet onions @ $0.99/lb. - $1.87
  • 1 garlic bulb - $0.39
• Other
  • (2) Scotch-Brite (3-pack) sponges @ 2/$4.00
    • $0.75/2 manufacturer coupon - $3.25 or $1.63 each
  • (2) Gillette Senor 3 razors @ 20% off - $4.79
    • (1) BOGO free coupon - $2.40 each
  
   
  $5.00 off $25.00 purchase Save-A-Lot competitor coupon
  
   
  Total before coupons         $82.19
  Less: coupons used            (33.09)
   
  Total with Tax                  $49.10

Sautéed Cabbage

Recipe adapted from Barefoot Contessa Parties!

 

Ingredients

• 1 small head green cabbage (about 2 ½ pounds), thinly sliced, including outer green leaves
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper

 
Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high. Add the cabbage, kosher salt, and pepper. Sauté for 15 minutes. Off the heat and cover the pot with a tight fitting lid. Let the cabbage steam for 10 minutes. Serves 6.

Publix – August 10, 2012

     This week was the closest I have ever come to almost going over my budget! I made it though, with 11 cents to spare. While I am pretty decent at using coupons effectively for our groceries, I am trying to improve my use of coupons for our toiletry items. Back in the day I would bounce into CVS and get whatever I needed, whether it was on sale or not, and regardless of whether or not I had a coupon. Those were the days when money grew on trees and I was financially dependent upon my parents. Even during my internship in Atlanta, when I paid for all my expenses, it never occurred to me to wait for a sale to purchase my toiletry items. I simply bought it when I needed it. Now I am slowly learning to buy things when they are on sale. Currently J.T. and I have $100 a month set aside for toiletry items (I labeled this category "hygiene items" in my OCD budget spreadsheet). This $100 includes both of our haircuts as well. While J.T. gets his haircut once a month I only need one every 7 or 8 weeks.

     Another budget category we have is for our beloved, spoiled rotten, dog Otis (pictured below, pardon the way I am dressed). Otis has a budget of $100 a month. This budget includes food, treats, flea medicine, heartworm pills, vet visits, etc. Most months we do not get anywhere close to spending $100, but we have this amount allotted for the months that his medicines must be purchased or a visit to the vet is needed. After J.T. and I got married we switched Otis to Rachael Ray Nutrish Dog food. While Otis was eating Publix brand dog food, I felt that he should be eating something that was minimally processed and better for him. If you follow my cooking blog, you may have noticed that 95% of my cookware is Rachael Ray (I am a BIG fan). I had known for a while that she had a line of dog food and treats, but wasn't sure how much more of an expense it would be. We have been really lucky so far, and I have been able to purchase all our dog food with coupons. I have also not paid more than a dollar for a bag of his treats. While Otis' favorite doggie treats are Rachael Ray, I have been able to get about 4 boxes of other brand dog treats free by combining sales and coupons.

The total spent at Publix this week was $63.93. Of this amount, $49.89 came from our grocery budget, $12.96 was spent from our toiletry budget, and $1.08 was spent out of Otis' budget.

• Dairy
  • (2) Organic Valley Milk @ 2/$7.00
    • $1.50/2 manufacturer coupon - $5.50 or $2.75 each
  • (2) Almond Breeze almond milk @ 2/$5.00
    • (2) $1.00/1 manufacturer coupon - $3.00 or $1.50 each
  • (1) Publix Greenwise Organic Eggs - $3.99
• Grocery
  • (1) Publix Greenwise Organic Oats @ $1.99
  • 1 lb. Publix navy beans @ $1.79
  • 1 lb. Publix black-eyed peas @ $1.59
  • (4) Cheerios Cereal (BOGO) @ $8.78
    • (4) $1/1 manufacturer coupons - $4.78 or $1.20 each
  • (4) Libby Canned green beans (BOGO) @ $2.38 or $0.60 each
  • (4) Pringles Super Stack @ $5.34
    • $1/4 manufacturer coupon - $4.34 or $1.09 each
• Meat
  • 2 ¼ lbs. boneless pork chops @ $3.99/lb. - $8.78
  • (1) Jennie-O Lean Turkey Kielbasa @ $1.99
    • $1/1 manufacturer coupon - $0.99
• Produce
  • 2.19 lbs. Organic Bananas @ $0.99/lb. - $2.17
  • (1) Organic Girl Baby Spinach & Arugula @ $3.99
    • $2/1 manufacturer coupon - $1.99
  • 1 lb. Publix Greenwise Organic Carrots @ $1.29
  • 1.33 lbs. Yellow onions @ $1.19/lb. - $1.58
  • 1 bunch scallions @ $0.60 each
  • 1 head green cabbage @ $0.59/lb. - $1.52
• Other
  • (1) Rachael Ray Just 6 Dog Treats - $2.99
    • $1.50/1 manufacturer coupon & $0.50/1 Publix coupon - $0.99
  • (1) Colgate toothpaste (on clearance) @ $2.05
    • $1/1 manufacturer coupon - $1.05
  • (1) 7^th Generation Shower cleaner (on clearance) @ $0.99
  • (1) Scott wipe refills @ $1.99
    • $1/1 manufacturer coupon - $0.99
  • (2) Venus Disposable Razors @ 20% off - $14.38
    • 1 BOGO Free manufacturer coupon - $7.19 or $3.60 each
  • (1) Garnier Fructis Shampoo @ $2.99
    • $1/1 manufacturer coupon & $1/1 target coupon - $0.99
  • (1) Garnier Fructis Conditioner @ $2.99
    • $1/1 manufacturer coupon & $1/1 target coupon - $0.99
  • (2) Kiss My Face Olive Oil Bar soap @ $5.98
    • (2) $3/1 manufacturer coupon – FREE + $0.02 overage
    
     
  $5.00 off $25.00 purchase Save-A-Lot competitor coupon
  
   
  Total before coupons        $101.62
  Less: coupons used             (37.69)
  Total with Tax                   $63.93

Crunchy Corn Muffins

 

Recipe very loosely adapted from Bon Appétit, Y'all

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup brown rice flour
• 1 cup stone-ground cornmeal
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ½ cup almond milk
• ¼ cup canola oil
• 2/3 cup mayonnaise
• 2 eggs

 
Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and grease a 12 – cup muffin tin.
2. In a large bowl stir together the brown rice flour, cornmeal, baking powder, kosher salt, baking soda, and cayenne pepper. In a small bowl whisk together the milk, canola oil, mayonnaise, and eggs.
3. Form a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined (the batter should still be lumpy). Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin. Bake for 15 minutes. Yields 12 muffins.

Publix – August 3, 2012

     Many avid couponers seem to spend hours clipping coupons, running all over town, and doing whatever it takes to save the most money.  I will be the first to admit that I am a nerd and enjoy looking at various couponing websites.  Every Friday the two coupon websites that I most frequently utilize have a post titled "Friday Finals."  Bloggers then can post a link to a picture of what they bought for the week and how much they spent and saved (similar to what I am doing).  Sometimes the pictures of what they bought are hilarious. Who needs ten frozen pizzas and fifty bottles of shampoo?  My other question is how they got fifty coupons for the same product.  I know you can buy coupons in bulk online, but the whole premise behind coupons is that they are free. 


     Some of you may be asking "what about the money you spend on ink to print coupons and to purchase the Sunday paper."  J.T. buys the Sunday paper for us each week.  We normally buy this with spare change that is collected throughout the week.  He gets to read the paper and I get the coupon inserts, so it works out great on both ends.  Many coupon websites recommend that you buy two papers each week; however, I believe one is enough.  Honestly, 90% of my coupons are internet printables.  Which leads us to the ink/printing issue - I have a laser ink jet printer which my father graciously gave to me while I was in college.  I have to pay to replace the ink cartridge maybe twice a year, closer to once.  I also print on both sides of a sheet of paper to cut down on my paper costs.  Plus, the last time I bought paper Office Depot practically paid me to take the paper out of the store, because I had a coupon.  You must take advantage of coupons in all areas of life!


     The second point I would like to discuss is the amount of time I spend couponing.  I use southernsavers.com and iheartpublix.com to print coupons and receive weekly ad match-ups.  These two websites have done the majority of the work for you.  When they post the ad, I go in and print the coupon or pull the coupon from my "stash."  I spend more time crunching numbers to make sure we are within our budget than clipping coupons.  My family refers to me as the budget Nazi.  I am a stickler about keeping things on track financially.  "Wants" and "needs" are something that too many people tend to confuse, but that topic is for another post.  We spent $45.27 on groceries this week at Publix and $3.05 on hygiene items – right on budget!

• Dairy
  • Publix Greenwise Organic Milk @ $5.99
  • Silk Almond Milk @ $3.49
    • $1/1 manufacturer coupon - $2.49
• Grocery
  • (1) Publix Greenwise Organic Oats @ $1.99
  • (2) Lance Snack Crackers (BOGO) @ $2.95
    • (2) $0.55/1 manufacturer coupons – $1.85 or $0.93 each
  • (2) Blue Diamond Natural almonds (BOGO) @ $4.19
    • $1.50/1 manufacturer coupon - $2.69 or $1.35 each
  • (2) Mott's (6-pack) applesauce @ $3.33
    • $1.10/2 manufacturer coupon – $2.23 or $1.12 each
  • (1) Mott's Snack & Go @ $2.79
    • FREE w/ purchase of 2 Mott's (6-pack) applesauce
  • (1) bag Alabama King Cornmeal @ $1.75
  • 1 lb. Pinto beans @ $1.79
  • 2 lbs. Publix brown rice @ $1.89
• Meat
  • 3 lbs. Publix Greenwise Organic chicken thighs @ $2.29/lb. - $6.82
• Frozen
  • (4) Bird's eye frozen vegetables @ $3.98 or roughly $1 each
  • Publix Greenwise Organic ice cream @ $3.50
• Produce
  • 2 lbs. Organic Bananas @ $0.99/lb. - $2.21
  • 1.17 lbs. yellow onions @ $1.19/lb. - $1.39
  • 1 garlic bulb @ $0.30
  • 3 Mangoes @ $1 each - $3.00
• Other
  • (1) Mitchum Women's deodorant @ $1.79
    • $1/1 manufacturer coupon - $0.79
  • (1) Listerine mouthwash (500mL) @ $3.00
    • $0.55/1 manufacturer coupon & $1/1 Publix coupon - $1.45
  • (2) Ziploc galloon slider freezer bags @ $4.00
    • $1/2 manufacturer coupon & $1/2 Publix coupon - $2.00 or $1.00 each
  • (2) Papermate (10 count) black pens @ 2/$1.00
    • (2) $1/1 Target coupons - FREE + $1.00 overage
  • (2) Kiss My Face Olive Oil Bar soap @ $5.98
    • (2) $3/1 manufacturer coupons – FREE + $0.02 overage
  
   
  $5.00 off $25.00 purchase Save-A-Lot competitor coupon
  
   
  Total before coupons        $72.36
  Less: coupons used           (24.04)
  Total with Tax                 $48.32
  
   

Double-Chocolate Brownies

 

Recipe loosely adapted from Family Circle Magazine

 

 

  Ingredients

• ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter
• ¾ cup cocoa powder
• 4 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided

 
Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 10-inch square pan.
2. Melt the butter in a double boiler over low heat. Stir in the cocoa powder and oil. Pour mixture into a large bowl and let cool for about 5 minutes. Stir the sugar, flour, eggs, and vanilla (the mixture will be very thick). Stir in 1 cup of the chocolate chips.
3. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle the top with the remaining chocolate chips. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool completely before cutting. Yields 16 brownies.