Reese's Peanut Butter Bars

Reese's Peanut Butter Bars

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 cups powder sugar
1 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups peanut butter, melted
1 bag chocolate chips
1 bag butterscotch chips

1. Mix together cracker crumbs and powdered sugar.

2. In another bowl, mix together melted butter and peanut butter.

3. Stir together the dry ingredients with the wet, and spread in a 9 x 13 pan.

4. In another microwave safe bowl, mix together chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. Microwave until melted. Stir frequently.

5. Spread frosting on top of peanut butter bars.

6. Put in fridge until set.

Baked BBQ Ranch Potato Chip Chicken

Baked BBQ Ranch Potato Chip Chicken

1 2.5lb bag of Tyson Chicken Breast Strips
1 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 eggs
1 large bag of Lays BBQ Potato Chips, crushed
1/4 cup melted butter

1. Mix together flour, salt, and peper.

2. In another dish, whisk the eggs together.

3. Pour crushed chips into a third bowl creating a dipping station.
4. Dip chicken in flour, then egg, then chips.

5. Place chicken strips on baking sheet, and drizzle with butter.

6. Top with additional crushed chips.

7. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

8. Serve with ranch dressing for dipping!

Molten Chocolate Cakes

Molten Chocolate Cakes

4oz bittersweet chocolate (I used Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate.)
4oz milk chocolate (I just used a giant Hershey's bar.)
10 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 large eggs
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Butter muffin tin.

2. Coat buttered muffin tin with granulated sugar.

3. Melt chocolate and butter in microwave.

4. Add the flour and sugar to the chocolate mixture.

5. Stir in eggs and yolks until smooth.

6. Stir in vanilla.

7. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.

8. Bake at 425 for 8 to 10 minutes.

9. Center should look slightly jiggly.

10. Cool a few minutes and invert onto platter.

11. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream. (I also made a strawberry puree. . .it was fantastic!)

Baked Potato Fans

Dave has been working out in Colorado for the last week. He made it home this afternoon. . .safely. . .YAY! He's been working close to home for the last year, but before that he was working out in Colorado almost every other week. The kids had a hard time with him being gone, but we always planned a special dinner and dessert for his homecoming. We all looked forward to that. So when Dave called to tell me he was coming home tonight, our "special" dinner had to be planned. If you read yesterday's post, you know that the chicken we had was perfection on a plate, and these potatoes went well with it! Dave loved them. SO good with sour cream. They are simple to make. Literally two minutes to throw together then pop them in the oven and walk away for an hour. They'd be good with some shredded cheese on top too.

Baked Potato Fans

4 potatoes
3 to 5 garlic cloves, minced
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Sour Cream

1. Slice potatoes, very thinly, almost all the way through, but not quite.

2. Melt together butter, salt, pepper, olive oil, and garlic.

3. Drizzle over the top of the potatoes.

4. Bake at 400 degrees for just over an hour. Keep "basting" your potatoes as they bake to make sure that delicious garlic flavor is in every bite.

5. Serve with sour cream!

Toasted Almond Chicken

Oh. My. Gosh. This is the best chicken ever. Seriously. Ever, as in, from the beginning of time, when chicken was created and Adam and Eve cooked it. This is SO good! This was the first time I have ever made this. It's in the Southern Living At Home: Easy Weeknight Favorites cookbook. I've had this cookbook for about six years, and have passed this recipe by over and over. Today, however, I decided to make it. . . and I am so glad I did!

It was easy, it was fast, and it was insanely tasty. I'm not even a meat person usually either. I hate pork. Steak is OK if it's a good cut, and cooked properly, and chicken is chicken. This chicken, however, is soooooooo not "just chicken." It only has a few ingredients, and it's crazy how they all work together. I mean seriously, dijon mustard and orange? Who'd-a-thunk it? (I have to admit, at the grocery store, when I bought my Grey Poupon, I couldn't help but hope a limo would stop next to me at the stoplight and ask, "Pardon me, but do you have any Grey Poupon?" You know what I'm talking about. . .)

When you take that first bite, the chicken is juicy and tender, the sauce is creamy with a little bit of the mustard taste to it, and the orange flavor is like a little after taste surprise that leaves everyone asking, "Oooohhhh. . .what's in that?!!" My husband, like me, was hooked as soon as the first bite hit his tongue. The kids loved it too. We all agree the sauce is to die for. Oh, and as a special little bonus, the almonds give it a crunch and nutiness that is so addicting.

The best part about the almonds, is the smell in my house when I took them out of the oven after toasting them. I seriously stood there, stirring the sauce, and basking in the scent of the toasted almonds. If ever I thought it was absolutely important that you try one of my recipes, this is the one. Not kidding. Don't go to bed tonight without taking a bite. Seriously. No seriously. Serious.

Toasted Almond Chicken

6 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

3 Tbsp butter, divided

1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream

2 Tbsp. orange marmalade

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1/8 tsp red pepper

1 small pkg. sliced almonds, toasted

1. Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper.

2. Melt 1 ½ Tbsp butter in a large skillet over medium heat.

3. Add 3 of the chicken breasts and cook for two minutes on each side or until golden colored.

4. Remove chicken from heat and repeat with remaining three chicken breasts.

5. Reduce heat slightly and add whipping cream, marmalade, mustard, and red pepper.

6. Stir well.

7. Add chicken and almonds and cook for another eight to ten minutes or until chicken in done and sauce is slightly thickened.

Cookie Monster Cupcakes

I saw a picture of one of these cupcakes online and HAD to make them! Problem is, all of my kids are past the Sesame Street stage in life. So after I had seen these, my sister-in-law invited us to my Niece (Maddy) and Nephew's (Benny) birthday party. . . and guess what? It was a Princess/Sesame Street theme! I was so excited! I jumped at the opportunity to bake these adorable cupcakes! So here they are, Benny's 2nd Birthday Cupcakes!
Did I mention I take orders?!!!

Cookie Monster Cupcakes

24 cupcakes, baked and cooled
1/2 lb of white chocolate
mini brown M&M's or mini chocolate chips
1 pkg. of chocolate chip cookies (I used Chips Ahoy)
Blue Frosting

1. Melt white chocolate and let it cool slightly.

2. Put white chocolate in a small Ziploc bag, and cut off the very tiny corner. Pipe circles onto waxed paper or tinfoil, and fill with white chocolate.

3. Top each white chocolate pieces with a brown mini M&M. Let set until hardened.

4. Pipe blue frosting onto each cupcake. I used a star tip for mine.

5. Break cookies in half, and push a half cookie onto the cupcake for the mouth.

6. Place two white chocolate discs on the cupcake for they eyes.

7. Stand back and stare at one of the cutest cupcakes ever!

Taco Tot Casserole

Taco Tot Casserole

1 lb ground beef
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 can Super Sweet Green Giant Corn
1 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 bag of Tator Tots
salt and pepper
additional cheese

1. Brown ground beef in a skillet. Add in taco seasoning with 1/2 cup water. Mix until combined.

2. Pour beef mixture into the bottom of a 9" pie plate.
3. Top with corn.
4. Spread sour cream over corn.
5. Sprinkle with cheese.
6. Arrange tator tots over the top of the cheese.
7. Bake at 350 until tots are browned. ( I acually didn't bake too long, maybe 25 minutes, then I tossed it under the broiler to finish off the tots. Only took a minute or two.)

8. Serve with salsa, lettuce, additional sour cream and cheese.

Cream Cheese Wontons

Cream Cheese Wontons

1/2 pkg. wonton wrappers
1 8oz pkg. cream cheese
oil for frying

1. Place a tsp of cream cheese in the center of each wonton wrapper.

2. Brush edges of wrapper with water.

3. Fold the wonton wrapper in half forming a triangle. (Corner to corner.)

4. Fold the other two corners toward the center.

5. Fry in hot oil until browned and crispy. (I just use a frying pan with a little bit of oil.)

6. Drain on paper towel and serve.

Pork Teriyaki

Pork Teriyaki

1 15oz can of pineapple chunks
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
garlic
salt
pepper
Pork for Stir Fry (I usually buy the large pork loins at Sams Club, and cut it into 1" slices. For this recipe I use 4 to 5 slices of pork.)
1/2 cup carrots, slivered, partially cooked
2 cups sugar snap peas, partially cooked

1. In a large container, mix together pineapple, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, salt and pepper.

2. Cut pork into bite size pieces and add to the sauce mixture.

3. Let marinate in the fridge overnight or at leas for a few hours.

4. Pick out all the chunks of pork, and stir fry in the sauce.

5. During the last few minutes of frying, add the veggies you'd like and continue to fry a few more minutes until veggies are somewhat tender.

6. Serve with rice.

Baked Buttery Garlic Bread

Baked Buttery Garlic Bread

1 loaf of french bread
1/2 cup butter
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 Tbsp parmesan cheese

1. Cut loaf of bread into 1" slices, but don't cut all the way to the bottom of the loaf.
2. Mix together butter, garlic, and cheese.

3. Between each cut you made on your bread, spread the garlic butter mixture.
4. Take the leftover butter and spread it over the top of the loaf of bread.
5. Wrap in foil, and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

6. Unwrap, cool a few minutes, and tear apart slices.

Shortcut Banana Cake

Shortcut Banana Cake

1 white cake mix
1 cup water
1/3 cup oil
3 eggs
2 or 3 mashed ripe bananas

1. Mix together cake mix, water, and oil.

2. Add in eggs one at a time.

3. Stir in bananas, and mix until well incorporated.

4. Pour into a 9 x 13 (sprayed with baking spray) and bake at 350 for about 25 to 30 minutes.

5. Top with your favorite flavor frosting. . .we, of course, used chocolate.

NOTE: I made this recipe using 5 bananas. . .which was a bit much. It had a very dense texture. If you stick to 3 or less, you'll get a much lighter texture.

Meaty Lasagna

Meaty Lasagna

1 box of no cook lasagna noodles
3 jars of spaghetti sauce, (I used Classico tomato basil.)
1/2 lb hamburger (93% fat free)
1/2 lb italian sausage
1/4 lb prosciutto, chopped
1/4 lb pancetta, diced
1/4 lb genoa salami, chopped
Handful of mini pepperoni
1 large container of riccotta cheese
1 bag of mozzarella cheese
1 bag of parmesan cheese
4 eggs
salt
pepper

1. Spray 2 9 x 13 pans with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Layer each pan with 3 lasagna noodles.

3. In a large saute pan, cook ground beef and sausage until browned. Set aside.

4. In that same pan, saute the prosciutto, pancetta, genoa, and pepperoni until slightly crisp.

5. In a large bowl, mix the spaghetti sauces with the meats.

6. In another large bowl, mix together the riccotta, 1 cup of mozzerella cheese, 1 cup of parmesan cheese, and four eggs. Add in salt and pepper to taste.

7. Spread some of the riccotta mixture over the noodles.

8. Ladle some of the meat sauce over the cheese.

9. Continue to layer noodles, cheese, and sauce until both pans are full.

10. Top with additional shredded cheese.

11. Bake one pan at 350 for about 45 minutes to an hour, and freeze the other pan.

12. When lasagna comes out of the oven, wait about 15 minutes before cutting.

FOR FROZEN LASAGNA: Take out of freezer in the morning, thaw, and bake as usual!

Chicken Scampi

Chicken Scampi

1/4 cup butter
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil or garlic flavored oil
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced Juice of
1 lemon
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup chopped italian parsley
1 box pasta, cooked according to package directions

1. In a saute pan, whisk together butter, olive oil, garlic, and lemon.

2. Add in green onions and chicken.

3. Saute until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.

4. Add in parley and toss with pasta.

NOTE: You can sub shrimp for the chicken if you'd like. I love shrimp, so I made it both ways.

Eggs and Toast

Ok. . . Iknow. EVERYONE makes these, but in case you don't, here goes. I remember my mom making these easy eggs for breakfast when I was younger. I never ate them. Hated eggs. Boy how things change when you grow up. Now they are a favorite in our house. However, they are "custom made" here. Dave likes his yolks super runny, (which totally grosses me out.) I like them fairly solid, the girls like theirs yolk-less, and Justin likes his yolk and cheese free. That's right folks. . . cheese free as well. Who doesn't like cheese? It's such an odd thing to not like. So the toast in the picture. . . .was my breakfast.

Eggs and Toast

1 piece of bread, buttered on both sides
1 egg
1 piece of cheese
salt and pepper

1. Place bread on hot griddle and cook until slightly browned on one side.
2. Flip bread, and cook on the other side.
3. Cut a hole in the center of your toasted bread.
4. Crack an egg, and pour it into the hole of the bread. The yolk will snuggle down in there to cook. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
5. After cooking a few minutes, flip over and let the other side of the egg cook.
6. Once egg is cooked to desired doneness, top with a piece of cheese, and eat!

Chicken Wild Rice Soup

Cold day. . .Hot dinner. . . enough said.

Chicken Wild Rice Soup

1 cup wild rice

1 bag shredded carrots, chopped finely

1 bunch of chopped celery

1 chopped onion

4 minced cloves of garlic

4 cups chicken broth

2 cups cooked, diced, chicken

3/4 cup butter

3/4 cup flour

7 cups milk

4 chicken boullion cubes

salt and pepper

1. Cook first six ingredients and chicken in crock pot for 6 – 8 hours on low.

2. In a large pot, over medium heat, melt butter.

3. Add in the flour and whisk until it's pasty.

4. Slowly pour in the milk and continue mixing.

5. Add in the boullion cubes and continue cooking over medium heat and stirring until bubbly and thickened. This takes quite a while.

6. Add the milk mixture and chicken to the crockpot with the veggies.

7. Stir, and season with additional salt and pepper as needed. (As usual, we toss in a little Franks Red Hot.)

Popovers

These are A-Maz-Ing! I love popovers. My mom made them when I was a kid, a lot. They always turned out perfect. I started making them about 8 years ago, and maybe every other batch I made would turn out. The secret is simply having a hot oven, and room temperature ingredients. If you don't believe me, try it with cold ingredients. You'll be disappointed but at least now you know.
The best way to eat this is right out of the oven. They are piping hot! When you take them out of the pan, they are crisp on the outside. Open them up, and they are totally hollow, except for a few little pockets. . . which are great little nooks and crannies to fill with butter.

Popovers

4 eggs
2 cups milk
2 tbsp oil
2 cups flour
dash of salt

NOTE: ALL INGREDIENTS MUST BE ROOM TEMPERATURE!!!
(Your popovers will not "pop over" if the ingredients are cold. Instead, they will be more like muffins.)
1. Whisk together the eggs and milk.

2. Slowly drizzle in the oil.

3. Stir in flour, but do not overmix or the popovers will not turn out. (Your batter should be a bit lumpy.)

4. Add in a sprinkling of salt.

5. Spray a regular muffin tin (12 servings) with nonstick cooking spray.

6. Divide batter equally between all 12 spots. Batter will almost completely fill each spot.

7. Bake at 415 degrees for about 50 minutes. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN!
8. Popovers should be big, and when you open them, they will be hollow and delicious.

9. Douse them in butter, and enjoy!

Sweet Hot Chili

Before you read any further, you should know this: If you like your Chili "knock-your-socks-off-hot" then this recipe is not for you. I like a little heat to my chili, but a little sweet to it too. My kids all love this recipe. My husband does too, but he adds a little more heat to his bowl than I like. This recipe is a winter staple in our house. It's hearty, it's healthy, and it's piping hot on those cold winter nights.

Sweet Hot Chili

1 lb ground beef
1 ring of kielbasa sausage
1 chopped onion
1 chopped green pepper
1 chopped red pepper
1 bunch of celery, chopped
1 cup shredded carrots
1 can of dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 tsp chili powder
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 28oz can of tomato sauce
2 28oz cans of petite diced tomatoes
1 packet of mild chili seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 Tbsp sugar

1. In a large soup pan, saute ground beef until it's cooked through.

2. Meanwhile, dice up the kielbasa sausage.

3. When beef is browned, add to the pot, the sausage and cook until sausage is slightly browned.

4. Add in the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil.

5. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about an hour or until veggies are tender.

6. Add more salt, pepper, or sugar to taste.

NOTE: My husband likes to douse his with some Frank's Red Hot.

Twisted French Toast

This recipe is an original of my Dad's. . .that my husband revamped a little bit. As I've said before, on anything "breakfast" that I post, I tell you that I am not a "breakfast" person. I am however, a "breakfast-for-dinner" person. SO tonight for dinner, we had sausage, hashbrowns, and french toast. Dad's recipe, with Dave's twist. . .Hence the "Twisted" in the "French Toast." It's SO GOOD!

I think what makes this recipe insanely delicious is the fact that you butter both sides of the bread before dipping it in the egg mixture. Then it's cooked at a low temperature for a long time. It gives it a super crispy texture on the outside, and a soft pillowy center. Not the healthiest french toast you'll ever eat, but surely the tastiest.

Twisted French Toast

8 pieces of Texas Toast Bread
6 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup milk
4 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon (I never measure, just toss in what looks and smells delicious.)
1 Tbsp brown sugar (Dave's twist.)

1. Start but getting your griddle nice and toasty. I keep the temp at about 300 degrees.

2. Butter both sides of each piece of bread.

3. Whisk together milk, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, and sugar.

4. Dredge the bread into the egg mixture. Let the bread set in the egg for a few seconds to absorb a little of the egg.

5. Set on griddle and cook low and slow until the edges are crispy.

6. Turn, and continue cooking on the other side.

7. Serve with additional butter and syrup. . .or if you're like my kids. . . slather on the peanut butter too!

Mom's Homemade Chocolate Pudding

Today I picked up Justin from school and it was CRAZY snowy outside! Everywhere you look you see snow. I've been outside shoveling twice now, and in looking out the window, you'd never even know it. The ground is just mounded with big, clean, white, fluffy, piles of snow. I love it. Love it. Not a huge fan of the cold, but LOVE the snow. When we came inside, Justin was begging for hot cocoa, but I decided to make this instead. Same concept. . . only better. My mom made this a lot when we were kids. She still does make it. Once you've had homemade pudding, you'll never think of Jell-O the same.

Mom's Homemade Chocolate Pudding

2/3 cup sugar

3 Tbsp cocoa

¼ cup cornstarch

1/8 tsp salt

2 ¾ cup whole milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp butter

1. Mix together sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt in a saucepan. Add in milk.

2. Slowly bring to a boil stirring constantly. Let boil for one minute.

3. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla.

4. Pour into custard dishes or a large bowl. Serve warm or cool.

5. Refrigerate after pudding has cooled completely.

Note: To avoid a skin forming on top of the pudding, place a layer of plastic wrap on top of the pudding before letting it cool. The plastic wrap should be touching the entire surface.

Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 10oz bag of frozen corn
1 cup chicken broth
3 cups salsa (divided)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chopped cooked chicken (or cooked ground beef if you like. I added some leftover taco meat to mine.)
2 cups minute rice
1 can Campbells Cream of Chicken soup
2 cups sour cream
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese (divided)
1/2 cup milk

1. In a large pot, mix together onion, green pepper, chicken broth, corn, 2 cups of the salsa, and garlic.

2. Bring to a boil. Boil for about 5 minutes then turn down heat.

3. Add in the rice, and cover and let stand for about 5 more minutes.

4. Meanwhile, mix together, soup, sour cream, and milk.

5. Set aside 1/2 cup of soup mixture.

6. Mix together the remaining soup sauce, chicken, and rice mixture to make the enchilada filling.

7. Scoop 1/2 cup of the enchilada filling into the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in a 9 x 13 baking dish.

8. Continue until all the filling is gone. This will make a 9 x 13, plus a few extra. I usually take the extra, put them in a smaller dish, and freeze them. (From the freezer, just thaw, and bake as usual.)

9. Mix together the 1/2 cu of soup mixture with the 1/2 cup of milk. Pour over the top of the enchiladas. Top with remaining cheese and salsa.

10. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour.

Nancy's Corn Muffins with Honey Butter

This is hardly a recipe, however every time I make these muffins, everyone asks how I get my cornbread to not be so crumbly. Well. . . here's the secret. Yellow Cake. Got this one from my Aunt Nancy.

Nancy's Corn Muffins with Honey Butter

MUFFINS:
1 small box of Jiffy Corn Bread (plus ingredients to make as directed on box.)
1 small box of Jiffy Yellow Cake Mix (plus ingredients to make as directed on box.)
3 Tbsp honey

1. Prepare corn bread batter as directed on box.

2. Prepare cake batter as directed on box.

3. Mix the two batters together, and add in the honey.

4. Bake in muffin tins sprayed with nonstick baking spray.

5. Serve with Honey Butter.


HONEY BUTTER:
1/2 cup butter
Few Tbsp honey
Salt

1. Mix together butter, and honey.

2. Lightly sprinkle with salt.

3. Spread on warm Corn Muffins