Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Ingredients:

3 bags of milk chocolate chips, divided
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 8-ounce package softened cream cheese
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar


Directions:
In a sauce pan melt half of the chocolate chips. When melted pour in a 9 x 13 pan lined with wax paper and smooth out. Put 9 x 13 in the fridge to harden. Then mix peanut butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar together. Take 9 x 13 out of the fridge when chocolate is hardened and put peanut butter mixture on top and smooth out. Put 9 x 13 back into fridge. Melt the remaining chocolate chips and put on top of the peanut butter layer, smoothing it out to cover it all. Put back in fridge until hardened and ready to eat. Enjoy!

Easy Cheesy Swiss Potato Pancake

I'll let the video explain this dish!



This dish is really good. Also, FYI, I had to cook it a little more on each side then the video said.

http://www.gourmetmomonthego.com/2010/08/food-adventure-passport.html
http://www.gourmetmomonthego.com/

Oreo Cheesecake

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup finely crushed Oreo cookies (or however much you like)
1 Oreo premade pie crust
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 TB vanilla
1 cup whipping cream, plus sugar to sweeten
Chocolate bar shavings, for garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually add sugar and vanilla. Blend well. Whip and sweeten cream; fold whipped cream and crushed oreos into cream cheese mixture. Spoon into crust and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Garnish with chocolate bar shavings.

Texas Salsa

Mix ingredients in the order listed below. Just add ingredients to your taste. Keep bag of corn chips open and available for you to test the mixture throughout the process and make sure it tastes OK. This recipe makes a lot, so make sure you invite friends over for some.

• 1 Regular Can of Black Beans (drained and rinsed)
• 1 small can of Corn – abt. half the size of Black Beans Can (drained
and rinsed)
• 3-4 Diced Roma Tomatoes (de-gut and only use outside part of tomato)
• Cilantro (a lot, keep tasting until you feel it has enough)
• Salt (just a little to add flavor)
• Salsa Verde (Herdez brand)
• White distilled Vinegar
• Limes to taste (3 or 4 juicy limes usually do the trick – I also use the
already squeezed lime juice – it tastes just as good and is a lot easier)
• 2-3 diced Avocados – More if you like Avocados

Refrigerate for a couple hours (about 4 hours) before serving with chips and enjoy!

Recipe by Emily Seamons with some changes by me.

Tropical Smoothie

1/2 of 16-ounce bag frozen tropical fruit medley (pineapple, mango, strawberries)
1 cup milk
1 cup orange juice
2-3 TB yogurt
1 banana

Creamy Potato Soup

INGREDIENTS:

12 medium potatoes
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup butter
2 cups cream
3 cups milk
1 TB salt
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
4 green onions, finely sliced
1 lb bacon, fried crisp, drained, and crumbled
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Peel and quarter potatoes and place in a large pot. Fill pot with water just to cover potatoes. Put on lid; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 30 minutes or until tender. Place chopped onions and butter in a microwave-safe bowl and heat on high power for 2 minutes; set aside. Remove potatoes from heat and drain. Add cream; stir together. Mash potatoes until mixture is smooth. Stir in milk, salt, and onion-butter mixture. Return pot to stove and simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Watch carefully to avoid scorching. Turn down heat if necessary. Pass cheese, green onions, and bacon for topping individual servings. Salt and pepper to taste. Makes about 12 cups.


Recipe from Celebrations by Julie Badges Jensen.

Salmon Cucumber Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
2 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded and cut into very thin slices
(we just peeled them and put them in a small food processor)
1 TB grated onion
1 TB chopped fresh dill weed (or 1 tsp dried)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Stir together sour cream and mayonnaise. Stir in cucumbers, onion, dill weed, salt and pepper. Refrigerate at least four hours before serving with cooked salmon.


Recipe from Celebrations by Julie Badges Jensen.

Polynesian Chicken Salad

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 (12 ounce) package wontons
1 head lettuce, shredded
2 cups cooked and cubed chicken
4 green onions, chopped
2 TB toasted sesame seeds
4 stalks celery, chopped
Polynesian salad dressing (see below)

DIRECTIONS:

Cut each wonton square into four strips. Fry according to package directions, set aside. In a bowl, combine lettuce, chicken, onions, sesame seeds, and celery. Just before serving, toss with desired amount of Polynesian salad dressing and top with fried wontons. Makes 8 to 10 servings.


SALAD DRESSING:

4 TB sugar
4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
4 TB vinegar
1 TB soy sauce
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 tsp sesame seed oil

Combine and mix well. Refrigerate for several hours before serving.

Mason and I love this salad. I think that it calls for a lot of wontons so Mason and I only made as many as we wanted and then we made some cream cheese wontons with the extras (instructions on the package) and then we still had some left over for later. I also added chopped red pepper to the salad. When pouring the salad dressing, add a little then let it sit for a few minutes to really test for the right amount. I poured a little, tossed it a bit, and it didn't seem to have enough, so I added more, but later when it sat for a few minutes it then had too much dressing.

Recipe from Celebrations by Julie Badges Jensen.

Sticky Chicken

INGREDIENTS:

Sauce:

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
1/4 cup pineapple or orange juice
1 TB ketchup
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 TB pepper

Chicken:

2 1/2 lb chick tenders
3 eggs beaten
cornstarch
garlic salt

DIRECTIONS:

Wash chicken and pat dry. Sprinkle with garlic salt. Shake or dip in cornstarch. Dip in beaten eggs. Brown in skillet with oil. Mix all sauce ingredients. Place chicken in a clean pan, pour sauce over and bake 60-80 minutes at 350 until sauce becomes sticky. Can also clean out frying pan and cook chicken with sauce (much faster this way).

Recipe by Sue Outsen.

Egg Drop Soup

INGREDIENTS:

1 TB cornstarch
3 TB water
1 TB oriental sesame oil
3 cup chicken broth
1 egg beaten
sliced scallions

DIRECTIONS:

Mix cornstarch, water, and sesame oil. Stir into boiling chicken broth. Cook until clear. Rapidly stir in beaten egg, stirring until strands are cooked. Sprinkle with scallions.

Recipe by Francine Taylor

Balsamic Chicken

Mason bought balsamic vinegar about a year ago. He is in love with the stuff. I personally do not like it. I'm not a big fan of vinegar, this one included. Anyways I told him that didn't know of too many recipes that included balsamic vinegar. The other night I needed something to cook and I came across the unopened balsamic vinegar in our pantry. I decided to finally use it and so I looked online for a recipe and found this.


Ingredients
      1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
   1/2 cup chicken broth
   2 tablespoons white sugar
   1 clove garlic, minced
   1 teaspoon dried Italian herb seasoning
   4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
   1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions
1. Whisk together the balsamic vinegar, chicken broth, sugar, garlic, and Italian seasoning in a bowl, place the chicken breasts in the marinade, and marinate for 10 minutes on each side.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade and reserve the marinade. Place the chicken in the heated pan and cook until they start to brown and are no longer pink inside, about 7 minutes per side. Pour the marinade into the skillet, and cook until it thickens slightly, turning the chicken breasts over once or twice, about 5 minutes.


http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Balsamic-Chicken/Detail.aspx?prop31=3


Both Mason and I loved the chicken. It was very flavorful and it wasn't too vinegary for me. I did make some changes, I prepare two marinates, one for the chicken that I let marinate in a ziplock bag for 2 hours instead of 20 minutes, and then another for when I was cooking the chicken. I also added chopped red onions to the pan at the end.

The chicken paired amazing well with Pasta Roni's Garlic and Olive Oil Vermicelli.

Au Gratin

So here I am craving funeral potatoes late at night. So here's what I plan to make.


INGREDIENTS:

1 bag frozen hash browns
2 cups Cheddar cheese
1 small minced onion (or you can use green onion)
1 can cream of celery
1 can cream of potato
1 container sour cream
1 minced green bell pepper
crushed cornflakes
butter
parsley




DIRECTIONS:
Mix hash browns, onion, cream of celery, cream of potato, sour cream, bell pepper, and parsley. Put mixture into dish. Put shredded cheese on top of mixture. Then top with dabs of butter and sprinkle the crushed cornflakes on top. Cook for 1 hour at 350.


Well I'll see how it turns out!


UPDATE:
It was so good, I LOVED it! Mason even liked it even though he said that he didn't like funeral potatoes. I asked Mason to grab a sour cream container that was 8 ounces. Well Mason quickly grabbed one and I thought it was too big. Sure enough it turned out to be 1 pound AND 8 ounces. Well as I was mixing the sour cream in, it really needed almost that much to be creamy, so I recommend using more than 8 ounces. I love sour cream so it was perfect.

Easy Swedish Meatballs

Ingredients

• frozen meatballs
• 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• parsley

Directions

1. Prepare frozen meatballs according to package.
2. Combine cooked meatballs, soup, milk and nutmeg in large skillet; heat to boiling, stirring occasionally.
3. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 15 minutes.
4. Stir in sour cream; cover and heat an additional 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Sprinkle with parsley. 
6. Serve over rice.
   

Mango Lassi

I have just decided that this is the very first recipe that I'm going to try the day that Mason and I get a blender. I LOVE Mangos! This smoothie recipe seems easy and perfect. I thinking that I probably won't put in the optional items since I don't knwo what cardamom is and I personally don't like whipped cream or pistachios.


INGREDIENTS:



1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1 cup chopped mango (peeled and stone removed)
1-2 tablespoons sugar, to taste
Whipped cream (optional, for garnish)
pinch of ground cardamom (optional)
2 T. ground pistachios (optional)



DIRECTIONS:


Put yogurt, milk, mango, and sugar in a blender and mix well, about 90 seconds. Pour into glasses and garnish with whipped cream, ground cardamom and pistachios (my kids don't like cardamom or pistachios so we just left them out & I know whipped cream isn't traditional, but who cares, it's good!). Makes about 2 cups.

Recipe is from Gourmet Mom on the Go.

Dilly Dip

I love this dip! It's so much better than the package dips.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill weed or 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 green onion, chopped
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Fresh, crisp vegetables

This recipes is from Celebrations by Julie Badger Jensen.

Harvest White Hot Chocolate

Drink Ingredients:

1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream
4 cups half-and-half (you can also substitute fat-free half and half and it’s good!)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg

Directions:
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine white chocolate chips, half and half, and heavy cream (or fat free half and half if you are cutting fat/calories). Stir often until white chocolate chips have completely melted.
Stir in vanilla extract, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir occasionally until heated through.
Pour into cups and top with frozen Harvest Whipped Cream (recipe below).

Harvest Frozen Whipped Cream Ingredients:

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 Tablespoon powdered sugar
1 cup candy corn, chopped (for Christmas time you can try candy canes)
zest from one orange (optional)
orange food coloring (optional)

Directions:
Put heavy cream and powdered sugar in a mixing bowl, beat on high speed for 2 minutes, until fluffy and firm. Add orange zest and a few drops orange food coloring (optional)


When frozen, you can remove them and keep in sealed container in freezer until ready to use. They will store for several weeks!

This white hot chocolate was super sugary and super fun!

Mason and I decided to use vanilla bean ice cream for the topping. You could also use cool whip.
 

I got this recipe from:
http://www.gourmetmomonthego.com/2009/09/harvest-white-hot-chocolate.html
 Check it out for pictures and more tips!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie

I got this recipe from Pioneer Woman. I changed it up a bit by adding Hershey's syrup at the bottom on the crust before putting in the peanut butter filling and I also added it on top. I also bought a pre-made crust instead of making one; they didn't have oreo so I had to settle for chocolate.


This pie was amazing! The Pioneer Woman says to cut in small slices because it is strong, but I didn't think that it was strong at all. I think that the chocolate syrup helped to make it not too peanut buttery.

Crust:
25 Oreos
4 tablespoons butter, melted

Crush the Oreos until they’re fine crumbs. Pour melted butter over the top and stir with a fork to combine. Press into pie pan and bake at 350 degrees for 5 to 7 minutes, or until set.
Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

Filling:

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 8-ounce package softened cream cheese
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 8-ounce package Cool Whip, thawed

Beat the peanut butter with the cream cheese until smooth. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add in the thawed Cool Whip and beat mixture until smooth, scraping the sides as needed.
Pour filling into crust, evening out the top with a knife or spatula. Chill for at least an hour before serving.


Here the link, if the other doesn't work:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/06/another-pie/

Banana Bread

This is the best banana bread recipe I have tried.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 cup white sugar 1 egg 5 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup margarine 1 cup mashed bananas 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1.	Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
2.	In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter or margarine. Beat the egg slightly, and mix into the creamed mixture with the bananas. Mix in sifted ingredients until just combined. Stir in milk and nuts. Spread batter into one greased and floured 9x5 inch loaf pan.
3.	Bake at 350 degrees until top is brown and cracks along the top.

Chicken Tortilla Chip Casserole

Ingredients:

1 c sour cream 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup 1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chilis (or salsa) 1 (14.5 ounce) package tortilla chips 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves 1 cup milk 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1.	In a large bowl, combine the chicken, soup, sour cream, tomatoes and green chilis and milk. Mix well until smooth. Layer a 9x13 inch baking dish with the part of the tortilla chips, then pour the soup mixture over.
2.	Sprinkle the remaining chips on top.
3.	Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.
4.	Remove from oven, top with the cheese and bake for 10 more minutes, or until cheese is bubbly.

Jiffy Cobbler

Ingredients:

1/2 c butter 1 c sugar dash of salt 2 tsp baking powder 1 c flour 1 c milk 1 large can peaches 1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1.	Melt butter in casserole and set aside.
2.	Put in another bowl 1/2 of sugar, and the flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix well.
3.	Add milk, mix with rest of dry ingredients.
4.	Pour batter over butter and put peaches or other fruit over batter.
5.	Sprinkle the rest of the sugar over top and sprinkle cinnamon.
6.	Cook at 425 in oven for 30 minutes.