Jon's Peanut Butter Goodies

Our friends Jon and Angel came to visit and Jon brought these... I wouldn't let Jared touch them!

2 C. Graham cracker crumbs
2 C. creamy peanut butter
2 C. powder sugar
1/2 C. butter, melted.
1.5-2lbs chocolate

Blend all ingredients (except chocolate) until paste-like. Roll into balls and chill until hardened. Dip into melted chocolate.

Honey Glazed Chicken

Another new one we had tonight combined these two recipe instructions from here and here.  We all liked it.

Honey Glazed Chicken


1/2 cup flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 cup butter

4 chicken breasts (I used the 5oz. frozen chicken breasts from Sams Club and cut into chicken tenders)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix flour, salt and cayenne pepper together in a large ziploc bag. Drop chicken in bag and shake to coat. Melt butter and place in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Place flour coated chicken in baking dish and turn to coat both sides with butter. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

Honey Glaze Sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp curry powder

1/4 cup butter, melted (I actually forgot this and it was still good- but with butter sounds pretty yummy!)

Melt in a sauce pan until sugar dissolves. Pour over chicken pieces. Bake for an additional 30-45 minutes. Serve over rice.

Parmesan Ranch Chicken and Ranch Chicken Pizza

Here are two new recipes I tried this week.  Of course they are easy, but we liked them!  I found them both on this website: http://karaskitchencreations.blogspot.com/

Parmesan Ranch Chicken
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup crushed corn flakes

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1 Tbsp dry ranch dressing mix

2-3 Tbsp melted butter

Rinse chicken breasts and set aside. Combine corn flakes, cheese, and dressing mix in a shallow container. Dip chicken in butter, then in crumb mixture. Place on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes or till juices run clear. (Well, I baked mine a lot longer, but they were frozen to begin with, and I had party potatoes in the oven at the same time)
 
And this one:
 
Chicken Ranch Pizza
1 recipe for pizza crust (I used pillsbury)

2-3 chicken breasts

1/2-3/4 cup Ranch dressing

2 cups mozzarella cheese

1 1/2 cups chopped Roma tomatoes

1/4-1/3 cup green onions

1-2 cups cheddar cheese


Cook and shred chicken. Spread dressing over crust. Sprinkle mozzarella, then tomato, green onions, and chicken. Top with cheddar cheese. Bake until crust is lightly browned and cheese is melted (maybe like 15 min). 

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I made this the other night, and it was so easy!

3 uncooked chicken breasts
3 (14.5 ounce) cans of tomatoes with liquid (I use the ones with green chilies mixed in)
10 ounce can enchilada sauce
2 cloves minced garlic
15 ounce can chicken broth
15 ounce can corn, undrained
10 ounce can cream of chicken soup concentrate
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 bay leaf

Place all ingredients in crock pot and cook on low for 10 hours. You can also cook on high for 6 hours or some combination, just make sure the chicken breasts are cooked and can be shredded easily with a fork. You can add extra liquid if the soup is too thick and adjust the spices to your liking. The enchilada sauce tends to make it pretty tangy. Serve over tortilla chips and cheese! :)

Fancy Banana Cream Pie

This past New Year's Eve we went to the neighborhood party. I was in charge of a dessert. While I love to cook I can leave baking to a bakery any day so it was a challenge to think of what I wanted to make.

My mother has been raving about a Banana Cream Pie dessert at Chesters lately so I decided I would try to create a fancy martini glass version that I could serve up individually (because really what is more ugly than a gloppy scoop of banana cream pie at a fancy party?!)

So here's what I came up with (Cassi - this may seem like an intimidating amount of steps but they are all simple and SOOOO worth it!):

For the Filling:

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3 large egg yolks
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk sugar, cornstarch, and salt in heavy medium saucepan to blend. Gradually whisk in whipping cream and whole milk, then egg yolks. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add vanilla bean. Whisk over medium-high heat until custard thickens and boils, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk in unsalted butter and vanilla extract. Discard vanilla bean. Transfer custard to large bowl; cool completely, whisking occasionally, about 1 hour.

For the Crumble:

3 cups walnuts (about 12 ounces)
1 cup whole almonds
1/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled

Preheat oven to 350°F. Finely chop all nuts with sugar in processor. Add butter and blend until well combined. Spread the mixture on a cookie sheet and cook until lightly browned

For the Chocolate Sauce (this is so good on icecream too!):
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons coffee-flavored liqueur (recommended: Kahlua) this can also be coffee if you don't want the alcohol or nothing at all for a basic chocolate fudge sauce

Place the chocolate in a mixing bowl.

Combine the milk and cream in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove from stove and pour hot milk over chocolate. Allow mixture to sit for 1 minute. Whisk until smooth. Add coffee liqueur and whisk to combine.


Caramel Sauce (also GREAT on icecream!):
2 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup whole milk

Place all of the ingredients into a large microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 2 minutes then take it out and stir. Continue to microwave for 1 minute at a time until the sugar has dissolved and the sauce reaches your desired consistency(may take awhile).

ASSEMBLY:

Chop up a few bananas

Take your martini glass and spoon some of the crumble into the bottom, top with a scoop of filling some of each (warmed) sauce and some bananas. Repeat each layer one more time for a fantastic parfait!! (Sorry no pictures... we ate them all)

Grown Up Mac and Cheese

I made this tonight after Brandon's mom made it for him and it was delicious. I cooked the bacon in a microwave and didn't use bread crumbs...

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 4 ounces thick-sliced bacon
• Vegetable oil
• Kosher salt
• 2 cups elbow macaroni or cavatappi
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated
• 3 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated
• 2 ounces blue cheese, such as Roquefort, crumbled
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Pinch nutmeg
• 2 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped basil leaves

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place a baking rack on a sheet pan and arrange the bacon in 1 layer on the baking rack. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the bacon is crisp. Remove the pan carefully from the oven - there will be hot grease in the pan! Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels and crumble when it is cool enough to handle.

Drizzle oil into a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the macaroni and cook according to the directions on the package, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain well.

Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan, but don't boil it. Melt the butter in a medium pot and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. While whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or 2 more, until thickened and smooth. Off the heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, blue cheese, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add the cooked macaroni and crumbled bacon and stir well. Pour into 2 individual size gratin dishes.

Place the bread slices in a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until you have coarse crumbs. Add the basil and pulse to combine. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the top of the pasta. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top.

Neiman Marcus Cookies

Neiman Marcus Cookie Recipe

(Recipe may be halved):
2 cups butter
4 cups flour
2 tsp. soda
2 cups sugar
5 cups blended oatmeal**
24 oz. chocolate chips
2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 8 oz. Hershey Bar (grated)
4 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups chopped nuts (your choice)

** Measure oatmeal and blend in a blender to a fine powder. Cream the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla; mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda. Add chocolate chips, Hershey Bar and nuts. Roll into balls and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Makes 112 cookies.