In need of a quick and tasty dessert recipe? Check this one out!

Recession Mama Michele Ashamalla: I have a great new recipe I found online when I needed to bring a dessert to a party with a lot of kids. I had all the ingredients in my cupboard, and the recipe was super easy. Unlike many traditional brownies, these sliced beautifully, and the cleanup was a breeze. Also, instead of making an 8 x 8 tray, they baked in a 9 x 13 pan -- so you ended up with almost twice as much. I was going to run out and buy a dessert because I had been so busy that week, but instead, I used about $1 or $1.50 worth of ingredients I had and made the first dessert to vanish at the party. I used chocolate chips, and since I didn't have light brown sugar, I used 1 cup white and 1 cup dark brown sugar. The original recipe is below, and was submitted by Gretchen Grant on the website GretchenCooks.com. Thanks, Gretchen!

Big Hit Blondies (and they were!)

Ingredients:

½ cup butter, softened
2 cups light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 ½ cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips (or nuts)

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs.

Sift together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt.

Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet. Then add vanilla. Stir in chips, nuts, M&Ms, or whatever strikes your fancy. (But don't use those crispy M&M's -- they dissolve all to nothing in the oven, leaving nothing but funny-colored holes.)

Spread the batter evenly in a 9 x 13 pan.

Bake at 350° F for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

A former state deputy attorney general and current stay-at-home mom, Recession Mama Michele Ashamalla has three kids and ten years of experience stretching one salary to cover the necessities and more. She's all about saving money whenever you can, so you have it to spend on whatever you want!