Peanut Butter Bars

Chocolate and Peanut Butter, how I love thee~

(Let me count the ways...)

Set aside some time to throw this recipe together TODAY.

You won't be sorry.

Peanut Butter Bars

mix the following well:

3/4 cups butter

3/4 cups sugar

3/4 cusps brown sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cups peanut butter

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 Tblsn vanilla

Stir in

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

Spread on 12x17 jelly roll pan.

Bake at 325 for approximately 10 minutes

(peanut butter fingers will be barely brown)

Remove from the oven and quickly sprinkle 12 oz. chocolate chips over the top

As they melt, spread evenly

Cool. (chocolate will harden)

Spread with peanut butter topping:

1 cup powdered sugar

3/4 cups peanut butter

2-4 Tblspn canned milk (enough to make a spreadable topping)

Cut into bars and ENJOY!

~Ou La La~

Lunch, Sweet Lunch.

In the spirit of 5-a-day, I'm trying VERY hard to eat my fruits and veggies.

I was very glad to be the brainchild of this happy salad.

You can fix it the way YOU like, but here's what I did:

One plate-ful of shredded romain lettuce

One carrot, peeled and shredded

One can solid white tuna (I won't accept anything less--tastes too much like cat

food), drained and separated

Newman's Own Balsamic vinagrette, sprinkled like rain from heaven over the top.

Simple, healthy and DELISH.

xo
Ou-La-La

GRANOLA

(this  is a picture of my breakfast this morning)

It's NOT for dinner.
But one of my favorite foods in the world.
I make this on a regular basis.

12 cups whole oats

1 12oz bag coconut

1 16oz bag of sliced almonds

1 8oz bag of chopped pecans

1 bag Bob's Red Mills Fiber cereal - optional

(it looks like sawdust but you can't taste it)

2 cups oil

2 cups honey

Heat slightly the honey and oil.  Mix all dry ingredients into a large bowl.  Add the honey/oil mixture until all combined.  Spread out on a greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 300 for 30 minutes or so.  The brown-er the granola, the more crunchier it will be...your choice.  If you want to add dried fruits, add them after baking.  This stuff is AWE-SOME!  And that's the truth.

Bon Bon

Avocado Chutney

1 can blackeyed peas - rinsed and drained

1 can sweet corn - drained

1 green onion - thinly sliced

5 roma tomatoes - diced

4 avocados - cut up, not mashed

chopped cilantro - as much as you want

1 pkg dry Italian dressing mix.

*Mix all together and serve with tortilla chips*

My mom said this is DELISH!

XOXO, Sister Scrumptious.

APPLESAUCE

Ingredients
* 6 cups apples - peeled, cored and chopped
* 3/4 cup water
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
* 1/2 cup white sugar
Directions
In a 2 quart saucepan over medium heat, combine apples, water, cinnamon, and cloves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in sugar, and simmer 5 more minutes.


(i've made this with dinner a lot lately.scrumptious)
XOXO, Truly

I've had ENOUGH!

If I have to open this page one more time and look at sickly-yellow banana muffins, I'm going to quit blogging all together. 
PEOPLE!  Contribute! 
This has been the week of soup and bread.  Lots of both. 
Last night we had Pioneer Woman's Cauliflower Soup. 
Mmmmm.... it really did make me tingle all over.  One of my kids, upon smelling the amazing aroma wafting up from the pot, insisted that we were having stuffing for dinner.  Sadly, he was fooled.  He would have been much happier with stuffing.  BUT.  The rest of us devoured this yummy stuff.

Here's my only somewhat yellow-tinted picture of the half-way point.

FRESH minced parsley being added to the mix.

Go back and look at Pioneer Woman's pictures.

Her's make you actually WANT to make the soup.

Okay.  So now the REAL reason I'm posting today.  THAT bread.  A French Baguette.  Fresh from the oven.  And SO good I almost forgot to take a picture before the last baguette had been cut in to and was almost gone.  See the teeth marks in the buttered piece?  It was at that point that I resisted the urge to break the surface, and put down the pleasure to snap an only minutely yellow picture of this delicious stuff.
HERE is how you make it (EASY!)

BEST French Baguettes EVER
(Picky Stuffing-Boy said it tasted like restaurant bread)

3 cups lukewarm water


8 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
[note: I used 1 cup wheat plus 7 cups white flour, and it turned out great]

1 tablespoon table salt

2 tablespoons instant yeast
 
Mix water and yeast.  Let sit for two minutes.
Add flour and salt.  Mix until dough is soft, and divide into four pieces.
Form into four small rectangular loaves.
Place onto greased pan (I sprinkle corn meal under the loaves)
Let rise until double--about 30-40 mintues
lightly (so as not to compress dough) slice loaves 3-4 times on the diagonal
spritz heavily or brush loaves with water (or egg white/water wash)
Bake at 450 for 26-28 minutes.
 
SO good warm!  The crust is VERY "crusty" and the inside soft and delicious.
(Be careful cutting it!  I cut myself)
If you store the loaves in plastic, the crust softens up for the next time you cut it.

Banana Breakfast Muffins

(pardon the yellow hue to my photo)
I'm NOT a banana fan. So when I have bananas turning the corner to yuck street, I usually throw them in a baggie and put them in the freezer for smoothies. This morning, however, I made muffins. And I was short on time. So I grabbed me a yellow cake mix, and when they were done, I wondered WHY? it took me so long to think of this?!

These babies are moist and delicious, and not so heavy (one of the reasons I don't make banana breads so often).

Gather:
one box classic yellow cake mix (I used Pillsbury)
1/2 cup applesauce
over-ripe bananas (I used five (!) small ones)
three eggs
1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Peel bananas and throw in the kitchen-aid mixer.
Add applesauce, eggs and water.
Pour in cake mix, and mix until there are no lumps.
Pour by 1/3 cup measures into paper-lined muffin tins.
Sprinkle 1 TBSP streudel topping over batter in tins. (see below)

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Tops should look slightly browned.

Streudel topping:
1/2 stick margerine or butter
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar

cut butter into dry ingredients until mixed together.

It's Meat and 'Taters.

It isn't so pretty, but MAN! does it taste good and fill the belly.

I like to call this MAN FOOD.

Hunting and Gathering:

-Red potatoes. Enough to feed your brood.

-Smoked sausage (or kielbasa) One package should do it.

-Some oil (your preference) and salt and peppa.

Meal prep:

Wash and cube potatoes. Skins on.

Cut sausage into bite-sized pieces.

Liberally sprinkle some oil onto a cookie sheet to prevent sticking.

Dump meat and potatoes onto pan. Spread uniformly.

Bake at 325 F for about 50-60 minutes.

Turn once, about half way through baking.

Salt and Pepper to taste.

You'll know they're done when the potatoes are soft and slightly browned, and your kitchen smells like man-food.

We like this with a green salad or an alternate choice of applesauce.

Open Face (Insert) Sandwiches

It's what was for dinner last night.

And I didn't take pictures.

And I didn't even plan on posting this.

But Bon-bon's pushy.

Collect:

~Enough French (or Italian) bread for your crew.

~Cold cuts you like (we favor turkey breast, but roast beef is divine)

~Cheese (our favorites are swiss and provolone)

~onions (thinly sliced)

~red peppers (thinly sliced)

~sliced olives (opt.--it's all optional, actually. this is design-your-own-meal)

Mix:

1 cup sour cream

1/8 cup taco seasoning

SLICE bread lengthwise in halves

SPREAD sour cream mix (or your spread of choice) on open slices of bread

COVER with meat, onions, peppers, or whatever your heart desires and layer the cheese on last.

Put open sandwiches on cookie sheets and into the oven, under the BROILer until cheese is melted and bread slightly browns on the edges.

EAT warm, accompanied by slices of fresh pineapple. (That's how we do it)

the end.

Homemade Mac-n-Cheese

(this was Kaleb's birthday dinner request)

1/4 stick butter

1/4 c flour

2 c half and half

(or milk if you want less fat)

salt and pepper

16oz sharp cheddar cheese

(or whatever cheese you like)

12 oz. noodles

Cook noodles until done. Melt butter in sauce pan over medium heat, add salt and pepper. Add in flour until a soft paste forms. Slowly whisk in the milk. Mix until the white sauce is slightly starting to thicken. Add in the cheese. Turn off the heat and mix until cheese is melted. Put the noodles into a 11x9 glass baking dish and pour cheese mixture over the noodles. Slightly mix the cheese with the noodles. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375 for 30 minutes or so. If you like a crunchy top, you can add buttered crackers or breadcrumbs or take the foil off the last 10 minutes and let the top brown.

It's YUMMY and it's WHAT'S FOR DINNER!!! :)
Bon Bon