The. LAST. Brownie. Recipe. You will EVER need!

Let me tell you how I discovered this brownie recipe. Wade was out of town all week at a training class. So I got a chance to go and visit him, and I like to take him something yummy and homemade when I go.(I have that whole Italian food=love gene) He told some of the other guys in the class that I was going to bring something, so I wanted to make sure it was really good!

And then I saw this brownie recipe, which was super easy to make, but also REALLY tasty!

This would be ideal to bring for a potluck, a bake sale, or to eat huge squares with milk at 11:00 at night while watching the Late Show.....

Can you see what I mean?? Seriously, COME ON! Chocolate, more chocolate, and caramel.

.......I wish I didn't like food so much. (ok, not really)

Here's what you need (SIMPLE!!):

• 1 pkg. (18.25 oz.) chocolate cake mix
• 1 cup chopped nuts ( Optional- I didn't use them I don't like nuts in my brownies!)
• 1 cup Evaporated Milk (You need the bigger can, the smaller one isn't a full cup. This is NOT the same thing as sweetened condensed milk! Check the label!)
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted (mmmmmm....butter)
• 35 (10-oz. pkg.) caramels, unwrapped  (I used 2 pkgs of the Werther's Caramels because I had a coupon, but the cheapy store brand or the Kraft would be good)
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

So first, mix up the cake mix, the melted butter, and 2/3 cup of the evaporated milk, spread HALF OF IT into a 9x13 pan. The recipe said "ungreased pan" but that always seems sketchy to me, so I sprayed it with Pam. You can make your own choice. :) The batter is thick so it takes a minute to get it all spread around. Then, put that into the oven that's preheated to 350 for 15 minutes.

While that's baking, you're going to put the unwrapped caramels (ok, do they really think people are going to put the WRAPPED caramels into a pan to melt them??) (Well, maybe someone has.Like the whole hot coffee lawsuit. Lame. So anyhow, the unwrapped caramels, and the remaining 1/3 cup of evaporated milk go into a saucepan, stir them over low heat until melted.

So when the 15 minutes is up, take the pan out, and sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the baked brownie:

Then pour the melted caramel over that: (are you feeling the awesomeness of these brownies yet?!)

Then blob the rest of the batter over the top.

Then lick your fingers. Because that's how you roll.

Then, put that back into the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until it's set (which to me means minimal jiggle when you kind of move the pan) (Mine took 30 minutes) Then cool in the pan before cutting. (I did a little experiment, you know, purely in the interest of science, and cut into them before they were cool. It worked out just fine.)

(See??!!!)

I got this recipe from Zesty Cooks 

Wade and his buddies, by the way, LOVED them. Mission accomplished.

DINNER TONIGHT:
Grilled Tri Tip
Salad
Strawberries