I made a batch of birthday brownies today. The house smells so good. I have a friend who is an Oreo Cookie fanatic. He loves anything Oreo. He loves a good brownie too, so I think he will be pretty happy with these.

You can use your favorite brownie recipe as a base or you can use a boxed brownie. I would much prefer to make my own brownies but I have to admit that a good boxed brownie is pretty good. In this case, I used the Duncan Hines Fudge brownie mix as my base. These brownies are very rich by themselves, but when you add the Oreos……….WOW. Personally, I prefer my brownies simple and basic with nuts. But if you like Oreos and you like brownies, you will love this. Oh! and be adventurous. You don’t have to limit yourself to just the chocolate oreos. They have so many flavors now. I think the peanut butter oreos would be fabulous.

Oreo Cookie Brownies

1 boxed brownie mix (I used Duncan Hines in this recipe)
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup water or coffee
approx. 10 Oreo cookies, cut up (If you want to cut down on some of the sweetness, scrape off the white filling)

Heat oven to 350. Lightly spray the bottom of an 8×8 square baking dish.

In a bowl, mix the dry brownie mix, eggs, oil and water. Don’t get crazy with over mixing.
Spread the batter into the baking pan. Sprinkle the cookie pieces all over the top and gently poke some of them into the batter.

Bake for approx. 28 minutes, depending on your oven. I would check the brownies after 25 minutes. Stick a toothpick in the batter. They should not be real gooey, but you dont want to overbake them.

Allow to cool for about an hour. Yep, you gotta wait. Cut into squares.

I love dumplings. Love. This is one of  my favorite ways to eat them. They are juicy, moist and delicious. They take no time at all to boil. They are a bit of a pain in the ass to roll, but it’s worth it, trust me.

You can fill them with so many different things……shrimp, pork, ground beef, veggies. They are all good. My all time favorite is ground pork with green onion and kimchee. OH!!! They are just so good.

I ordered some spicy boiled dumplings  years ago at my favorite Chinese eatery. They were swimming in the spiciest sauce I have ever had. My tongue was on fire and I was sweating, but I just couldn’t stop eating them. This is my version of those dumplings. These aren’t quite as spicy, but still good. The are delicious served with a side of rice.

Spicy Asian Dumplings

1 package won ton wrappers
1/2 lb ground pork (or finely minced raw shrimp, chicken or cabbage)
2 green onions, minced
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 clove fresh garlic, minced finely
1 tsp soy sauce

Mix together the raw ground pork, ginger, green onion and soy sauce.
Lay out the won ton wrappers and place about a teaspoon of mixture onto each wrapper. Slightly wet the edges and fold over, pressing to seal the edges. Cover with a dish towel and set aside.

Boil a large pot of water while preparing the sauce.

Sauce: Mix together the following…..
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tsp grated ginger (I like more ginger)
2 tsp white vinegar
1/2 cup chili paste  (I use Sambal, as pictured above)
1/4 cup water
2 tsp vegetable oil

Once the water is boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer. Carefully place the dumplings one by one, into the boiling water. Don’t put too many in the pot at one tine. Dumplings will float to the top. Allow to cook about 2 minutes and then flip them all over and cook another 2 minutes. Remove one of them from the water and cut it in half to check if the pork is cooked. Carefully remove the dumplings one by one and place them in  a platter or shallow bowl.

Pour the sauce all over the top of the dumplings. Serve immediately. Serve with hot steamed rice.