Peanut Butter and Chocolate Oatmeal Bars

What a mouthful! And ohhhhh what a delicious mouthful! The chocolate and peanut butter blended together is so yummy! I was trying to find an oats and either chocolate or butterscotch chips recipe, and stumbled on this one on Pinterest: Peanut Butter and Chocolate Oatmeal Bars. These were quite easy to make and full of flavor.

1 cup butter/margarine

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 cups flour

2 cups oats

1 tsp baking soda

8 ozs semisweet or unsweetened choc. (squares or chips - I used 12 ozs of chips)

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

In large bowl, combine and mix flour, oats and baking soda. In another large bowl, cream softened butter and brown sugar. 

Add flour mixture and combine well.

Measure three cups of oat mixture and press into greased 13X9 pan.

Melt chocolate carefully in microwave. Heat for 30-40 seconds, stir, then heat in 10 second increments until smooth. Add peanut butter and stir until mixed. Layer chocolate onto pressed layer. Sprinkle remaining oat mixture over top. Here is where I diverged... I used chips rather than squares, and rather than waste 4 oz, I sprinkled the remaining chips on the top layer. Bake in 350 degree preheated oven for 22-25 minutes.

Pizza

Edited June 1, 2015 - changed the ingredients up just a bit to make it more my own.

I. Love. Pizza. Friday night is usually our family pizza night - often Little Caesars, but sometimes Dominos or Papa Johns - but I decided to make pizza this Sunday night. And it was freakin' fantastic! We decided with the first bite that we were definitely going to do this again. The dough recipe is very easy, and within just a little over an hour we had a homemade pizza on our plates. I found this dough recipe through Pinterest, here is the original: Pizza Dough for Thin Crust Pizza.

2 1/4 tsp (or one 1/4 ounce package) active dry yeast
1/2-1 Tbsp sugar
1 cup warm water
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (may substitute whole wheat flour for 1/2 cup of the all-purpose)
1 cup bread flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
cornmeal, for sprinkling

In a large bowl, mix a little sugar into the warm water and sprinkle yeast on top. Allow to ferment for about 10 minutes or until it gets all foamy.

Add the flour, salt and olive oil. Mix well.

Knead for 6-8 minutes until you have a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (add a bit more flour if you need to). If using a stand mixer, let run for 5-6 minutes. Cover and let rise for 20-30 minutes. The longer you can let it rise, the better the pizza. I let mine rise for an hour or two when possible.

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Sprinkle both pizza pans with a little bit of cornmeal or brush or spray with some sectors virgin olive oil. Divide dough in half. Place each half on a pizza pan, and pat it with your fingers until it stretches over the whole pan trying to make it thicker around the edge. 

Top as desired. We decided to use some of the fresh herbs from my herb garden, and it was amazing! We used rosemary and sweet basil, but used them sparingly and have decided to use more the next time we make pizza. Dried herbs also work well if you don't have fresh. What might you use? Before putting in the oven, use a basting brush to lightly coat the edge of the pizza crust with olive oil. If desired, sprinkle a bit of garlic salt on it.

Bake at 6-9 minutes or until bubbly and hot. 

Dough can be frozen - form into a ball, rub olive oil over it and place in a freezer bag. When ready to use, take dough out of freezer and allow to thaw before using.

Spinach Pie

This is an absolutely amazing recipe. I mean really, how can it ever be wrong to combine cheese and bacon and spinach? It's reasonable if you're watching your calories (so long as you don't eat half of it in one sitting), and it reheats well for lunch leftovers. I got this recipe from my mom. It's one she's been making for more than 20 years. She clipped it out of a newspaper or magazine, and what I have it a copy of that, so unfortunately, I can't provide proper credit. I think it's probably a Philadelphia Cream Cheese recipe, but I'm not sure. I tweak mine just a little from the original, so I'll give you the straight recipe and then tell you what I did different.

1 9-inch pastry pie shell

1 pkg 8 oz cream cheese, cubed

1/2 cup milk (I use 2%)

1 pkg 10 oz frozen chopped spinach, cooked and drained

1 cup (4 oz) shredded natural Swiss cheese 

3 eggs, beaten

6 crisply cooked bacon slices, crumbled (I used 8-9 slices)

2 tsp chopped onions (I used about a 1/4-1/3 cup)

1/4 tsp salt

dash of pepper

Prick bottom and sides of pie crust. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Combine cream cheese and milk in saucepan, and stir over low heat until smooth.

In large bowl, beat eggs. Gradually add cream cheese mixture to eggs, and mix well until blended. 

Add remaining ingredients, and mix well. 

Pour into pastry shell. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until set. If your pie crust edge gets too well done too quickly, a trick you can use is to wrap the edge of the pie with aluminum foil for about 3/4 of the cook time. I left mine on for about 25-30 minutes before I removed it.

Divide the pie and enjoy!!!

The recipe calls for 8 servings, but frankly, that's just enough to tease you. I entered the recipe for the below calorie count for 6 servings.

Peanut Butter Kisses

This is one of my very, very, very, very favorite cookies. They are super easy to make, and, I mean really... chocolate and peanut butter? Can that EVER be a bad combination??? A few years ago before my divorce, these cookies were so coveted that arguments would break out whenever I made them... You ate... no, I didn't... the only solution I could come up with was to separate them straight off the pan. I would divide them into separate, labeled plastic bags - 10 for him, 10 for me, and four for the kid. And, yes, they are THAT good! Ready to learn how to make them? Are you sure? You might just be intimidated... not! lol

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

24 Hershey kisses

Put the brown sugar, peanut butter and egg in a bowl and mix together thoroughly. 

Spoon by the rounded spoonful onto baking tray (I have a larger tray and do six rows of four). Use all the dough and just spread it out among the cookies to make them as even as possible. Then it's time for the best part!

Press one Hershey Kiss into each ball of dough.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-12 minutes. Watch them closely, as soon as the tips of the Hershey Kisses begin to darken, pull the cookies out of the oven. NOTE: They will be very, very soft, so do not touch the cookies for at least 10-15 minutes or they will fall apart on you. They will get more firm and set as they cool. Enjoy this divine bite of heaven, and try not to eat them all... lol

Garlic Cheese Pull Apart Bread

More bread recipes!!! Only this time with garlic, Italian seasonings, and cheese. Hubba bubba!!!! This bread goes great with a good Italian meal, and although it takes a bit of prep time, it is very, very simple. Here is where you can find the original post: Garlic Cheese Pull Apart Bread.

16 frozen white dinner rolls (Rhodes brand)
½ cup butter, melted
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 tsp dry parsley flakes
1½ tsp garlic powder (I used about 2 tsps)
½ tsp salt
½ tsp Italian seasoning (I used a heaping teaspoon)
½ tsp onion powder (I didn't have this so I used minced onion)

Wrap rolls in plastic and allow to thaw at room temperature for 45 minutes. With clean scissors, cut each roll in half and place in a large bowl. Mix butter and seasoning together; pour over dough and mix well. Add 1/2 cup of parmesan and mix well ensuring each piece of dough is coated with butter mixture and parmesan. 

Line a springform pan (like you would use for a cheesecake) with aluminum foil (this will keep the butter from seeping out). Line the bottom of the foil-lined pan with the dough creating an even layer. Top with remaining 1/2 cup of parmesan. 

Cover and allow to rise for 1.5 to 2.5 hours. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Chocolate Muffins

Chocolate for breakfast??? Yes, please! I think I've died and gone to heaven!!! This is a recipe I found while searching for some muffin ideas a couple of weeks ago. Of course, I pinned this one and several others to my Pinterest page. Finally got around to trying it out this weekend. I made it for Monday treat at work. While they are indeed rather tasty, I think I will add just a bit more sugar next time. They are very chocolatey, but they were not very sweet, and I prefer them to be sweeter. This is where I found the original recipe: Chocolate Muffins. They were very easy to make, and I ended up with two full trays of mini muffins.

2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup cocoa powder
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
½ tsp salt

1¼ cups whole milk
2 large eggs, beaten
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus 1/3 cup additional chocolate chips for sprinkling

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl, and the wet ingredients in another.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and grease muffin pan or use liners. Pour wet ingredients into dry, and stir just until mixed (batter will be visibly lumpy). Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon immediately into muffin pan. Add chocolate chips to the tops of the muffins.

Bake for 18-20 minutes for regular muffins; 9-12 minutes for mini muffins. Check muffins for doneness by inserting a toothpick. When it comes out clean, they are done, but be aware that you may see some of the chocolate chips that are in the batter, so, check several.

French Baguettes

I think bread is one of the most amazing inventions ever. I could subsist off of bread alone. I guess that's why I've gotten so interested in making homemade bread lately. What I really, really, really want is a nice 6-quart stand mixer, but alas, I don't have one. I do however, have a hand mixer with a dough hook attachment, and I made excellent use of it in making these baguettes. I found the recipe on... can you guess? Yep, of course, I found it on Pinterest. Here's the original post: French Baguettes. The original has lots of great direction photos. However, the beauty of those baguettes make mine look downright dumpy. lol This is the second time I've tried the recipe, and while they don't look very pretty, they do indeed taste amazing.

3 1/2-4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 pack active dry yeast

1 Tbsp sugar

2 tsp salt

Put the flour, yeast, and water in a bowl, and mix well. If using a hand or stand mixer, knead dough for seven minutes. Add salt, and then knead dough for another seven minutes. Note, dough should remain elastic and not stick to bowl. I ended up adding about another cup of flour (a little bit at a time until it looked right, which means it didn't look wet anymore).

Sprinkle with flour, cover and let rise for an hour to an hour and a half. Turn out dough on a lightly floured surface.

Divide dough into thirds. One portion at a time, roll out dough to a rectangle, then fold into thirds. 

Roll dough like a sausage, until desired size is achieved. Pinch ends. 

Put on a lightly floured baking pan or baguette pan. Cover with a damp towel, making sure maximum contact with the loaves. Let rise for 30 minutes. Put a pan of water in the oven and preheat oven to 460 degrees. Score the tops of the loaves and lightly sprinkle with flour. 

Reduce heat to 430 degrees, spritz some water into the oven, and put in bread and bake for 20-25 minutes (with my crazy oven, I had to preheat to 450, reduce to 400, and then only cooked them for 18 minutes, so it's very important to know your own oven and to time less as you can always cook it longer). Pull them out and enjoy!

Chicken Parmesan

I love chicken parmesan. I had never tried it until well into adulthood. As a matter of fact, I believe it was after my father passed away. I remembered that he had liked it, so I decided to order it in a restaurant, probably Olive Garden. It was so tasty that I decided to find a recipe so that I could make it on my own at home. I found one online, and have tweaked it beyond recognition to make it all mine. I've been told by several people that this is the best chicken parmesan they have had. Add a Caesar salad, and some amazing bread, and you have a wonderful meal for sharing with friends and family. In fact, this is a favorite meal for my friends Josh and Ashlie. They joined my daughter and I for dinner Saturday night, and this is what I fixed... as well as French baguettes and Garlic Cheese Pull Apart Bread (both of which will also be blogs). Here is how I make mine:

Chicken breasts (I use the Walmart bagged chicken.  Usually five smaller breasts work best. That's about 1 1/2 pounds of chicken. More than that and you won't have enough sauce for all of the breasts.)

Spaghetti sauce of your choice (I'm very fond of Bertolli's Tomato and Basil for this recipe)

Italian breadcrumbs

Milk and eggs

Season all salt, Italian seasoning, garlic powder

Olive oil

First clean off your chicken. I cut off any fat scraps that are stuck to it and rinse off each piece. Beat with a mallet each piece to thin out. I wrapped mine in parchment paper to control spatter, and it worked great. Put a thin layer of olive oil in your skillet and put on med-high heat. Season each piece of chicken lightly on both sides with season all salt, Italian seasoning and garlic salt. One piece at a time, dredge chicken into egg mixture (I used three eggs and a splash of milk, less than a quarter of a cup), then cover completely on both sides with Italian seasoned bread crumbs. 

Fry chicken on both sides until the breadcrumbs turn a golden brown. 

After getting the chicken in the skillet to cook, pour about 1/5 to 1/4 of your spaghetti sauce into a foil-lined 9X13 pan. Be sure it is spread evenly. After chicken is cooked, spread pieces evenly in pan.

Preheat oven to 350-400 degrees. Pour remaining spaghetti sauce evenly over all pieces of chicken. Bake for about 15-20 mins.

Remove chicken from oven. Cover each piece liberally with shredded mozzarella. Cook until cheese is melted. Serve and enjoy!!!