PEANUT BUTTER CANDY (sort of like a Pay Day candy bar)

If you like Pay Day candy bars, you will love this recipe. It tastes very similar, but SO much fresher and better. This recipe makes a 9 x 13 pan of candy, which would be an excellent addition to your children's birthday party menu! They take just a few minutes to put together and then an hour or so in the fridge, to "set".

 4 cups honey roasted peanuts
(1) 10½ ounce bag miniature marshmallows
1/2 cup butter (melted)
(1) 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
(1) 10 ounce bag peanut butter chips
1/2 cup peanut butter

Line a 9 x 13 dish with foil and spray it with cooking spray (I spray my foil with cooking spray then blot it with a paper towel so it doesn't make the candy greasy). Set aside.

In a large (heavy bottomed) saucepan, mix the marshmallows and melted butter. Heat over medium-low heat until completely melted (you do not want the marshmallows to boil, but you want to see a little bubble now and then). Keep it at this temperature for about a minute.

Stir in the sweetened condensed milk, peanut butter chips and peanut butter. Stir until everything is melted and smooth.

Pour this mixture over the peanuts in the pan and spread out evenly. Sprinkle the other half of the peanuts over the hot mixture and press the nuts into the surface of the hot mixture (with your hand). Chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours or until firm. Cut into pieces and serve. Store covered in fridge. Makes 60 pieces of candy.

BREAD MACHINE CINNAMON ROLLS (and a Thank You)

Until I started digging through my old recipes for this blog, it never occurred to me how many recipes I have for hubby’s sweet tooth! It has been quite an eye opener. Here is yet another favorite. I tried to make cinnamon rolls out of bread dough for years with minimal success. They were always tasty while still warm, but got “tough” when they cooled off. The addition of egg, makes all the difference. This recipe is very good (warm or cold) and it’s made in a bread machine, so it is as easy as it gets.

¼ cup water
¼ cup butter, melted
(½) of a 3.4 ounce box instant vanilla pudding
1 cup warm milk
1 egg room temperature
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
4 cups bread flour
1 packet of yeast (I use 1 tablespoon)

FILLING
¼ cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
4 teaspoons cinnamon
¾ cup chopped pecans or walnuts

FROSTING
½ of an 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
¼ cup butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ teaspoons milk

BREAD MACHINE INSTRUCTIONS: In pan of machine, mix water, melted butter, pudding mix, warm milk, egg, 1 tablespoon sugar, salt, flour and yeast. Set machine on dough cycle and press start. When dough cycle has finished, turn dough out onto lightly floured counter and roll 17” x 10”. Spread with soft butter. Mix brown sugar, cinnamon & nuts and sprinkle over dough. Roll dough up (start with long side). Slice into 16 one inch pieces and place in 9x13 buttered pan. Let rise in warm place until double (about an hour). Bake in 350° PREHEATED oven for 15-20 minutes. Take out of pan and frost with cream cheese frosting.

NOTE: I don’t own a bread machine, so I do this the old fashioned way and it works great. I don’t cut 16 one inch pieces, John likes thicker rolls, so I cut about 8-10 of them.

FUDGESICLES (and some questions for you)

With warm weather approaching and kids already out of school, it is time for kid friendly recipes. These fudgesicles are not only tasty, but they are inexpensive to make using every day ingredients from your pantry. If you do not have Popsicle molds, just use 3 ounce waxed paper (bathroom) cups and popsicle sticks.

In heavy bottom, medium size saucepan, mix:
3 cups milk
¼ cup cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ cup corn syrup (light)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Bring to gentle boil on medium high and boil 1 minute (make sure you stir constantly). Remove from heat and add 1 cup of milk chocolate chips, stir to melt.

Pour into Popsicle molds (or 3 ounce waxed paper cups). Freeze overnight.
NOTE: About an hour or so after you put the paper cups into the freezer, insert a Popsicle stick in the center, and return to freezer.

TROPICAL FRUIT QUICK BREAD

This tropical quick bread was still too hot to cut when I photographed it, so I don’t have a photo of the inside of the bread, but trust me, it is excellent. To give you an idea of what it tastes like, it has bananas, pineapple, coconut, walnuts, vanilla & rum extract in it.

1¾ cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup butter flavored Crisco
¼ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed RIPE bananas
(1) 8 oz. crushed pineapple, well drained
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
2 eggs
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon rum extract
Cream the butter and sugar together, then add everything else and mix until smooth. Place in a greased 8½ x 4½ x 2½ loaf pan (the bigger loaf pan) and bake at 350 for one hour. Remove from pan and cool on rack.

NOTE: Some people in my family complain that coconut shreds get stuck in their teeth, so I run the coconut through the food processor just for a few seconds to make the shred a little finer.
NOTE: It is my cardinal rule that you never eat quick breads like this on the first day. Always wrap them tightly while hot and do not unwrap them until day two. If you do this, the flavors develop AND the bread will be much more moist.

FAMILY STYLE ITALIAN PENNE BAKE

When my children were little, I tried to “invent” recipes but I was not very good at it. One recipe that is embarrassing to admit was a combination of plain tomato sauce, ground beef and Italian seasonings (cooked for about 20 minutes) and then mixed into elbow macaroni; that was it…not even any cheese! It was horrid by today’s standards, but the kids always ate a lot of it and I did not know any better. Hey…that was 30+ years ago! I have learned a few cooking tricks since then.

Today’s family style penne bake is one of our favorites these days. It is rich, filling, very satisfying and leftovers reheat extremely well on day two. Served with a veggie, salad and dinner rolls, it is good enough for company. 1 pound extra lean ground beef
1 cup onion chopped
1 cup celery chopped
1 cup chopped carrot
1 to 2 cloves garlic minced
1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
1 12 ounce can tomato paste
4 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dry oregano
2 teaspoons dry sweet basil
½ teaspoon fennel seed
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 pound Barilla mini-penne pasta
1 pound Monterey Jack cheese (grated)
1 tablespoon butter

In large pan, sauté ground beef until no longer pink (drain well). Return meat to pan and add onion, celery, carrot and garlic; sauté until veggies start to wilt. Add tomato sauce and tomato paste, 4 cups of water, salt and pepper, oregano, basil, fennel seed and sugar. Mix well and SIMMER two hours (stirring occasionally). What you want is for the sauce to reduce to a nice thick consistency (do not add any extra water).
After sauce has cooked down, boil the mini-penne (using directions on penne box) and drain. Stir in a tablespoon of butter to coat pasta, then stir in sauce and half of the (grated) cheese into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish. Top with other half of cheese and bake at 350° for about 30 minutes or until bubbly and cheese has browned a little, like this:NOTE: Once you get this sauce to the simmering stage, you can put it in the crock pot and let it cook in there all day. If you do that…just prop the lid open just a little, so the sauce can reduce and thicken.

ALMOST SNICKERDOODLES

What is that saying…necessity is the mother of invention? Well, the other day, I set out to make Girlichef’s Snickerdoodle cookie recipe. I was almost finished with the dough, when hubby came into the kitchen and glanced at the recipe. He looked at me and said, “cinnamon, huh?” one of those semi-non-committal offerings that tells me (after 38 years of marriage) that he would rather I made his beloved peanut butter cookies. Now…what to do; I have the cookie batter 75% done, so there was no backing out. Solution? I put the cinnamon back in the pantry and added vanilla extract, butter extract and rolled them in plain sugar. The results were huge 4” sugar cookies that hubby is thoroughly enjoying. Whew!

So, here is Dar’s recipe with a couple of hubby approved changes:

2¼ cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1½ sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
¼ cup butter flavored Crisco
1½ cups white sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon butter extract
white sugar for rolling cookies

Preheat oven to 400° and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In stand mixer, cream butter and Crisco until light and creamy (about 1½ minutes). Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add eggs and extracts; continue to beat another 30 seconds. Mix all dry ingredients together and add to butter-egg mixture. Mix just until combined (about 20 seconds).

Roll dough into 1½” balls (a slightly heaping tablespoon full) and roll in plain white sugar. Place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet and flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar. Bake cookies for 9-11 minutes and immediately transfer to a baking rack to cool.
NOTE: These are big 4” cookies, so do not place them too close together on the cookie sheet (they spread). If you want smaller cookies, just make the dough balls smaller.
NOTE: If you want to frost these cookies, melt 1 tablespoon of butter and add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon almond extract, 2 teaspoons milk and 1½ cups of powdered sugar (whisk until smooth). You can add a little more milk if it is too thick or another spoon of powdered sugar if it is too thin.

VEGGIE RICE

When my carnivorous husband grills, I usually make this for myself instead . It is filling, healthy, spicy and delicious. Topped with cold avocado, sweet cherry tomatoes, a little cheddar, light sour cream and a piece of whole wheat garlic bread, it is my guiltless pleasure!

CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE

1 cup of chopped onion
1 clove of garlic minced
½ cup celery chopped
1/2 cup carrot chopped
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup raw rice
3 teaspoons chili powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 (15 oz) black beans
1 cup fresh corn
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes
1½ tomato cans of water
(1) 4 ounce Ortega mild green chilies

Sauté onion, garlic, celery, bell pepper in 1-tablespoon canola oil until onion is transparent. Stir in raw rice and let it sauté with veggies until it become opaque. Add the diced tomatoes, water, black beans, corn, carrot and flavorings. Cover the pan and lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes (do not raise the lid). After 20 minutes, rice should be cooked and veggies tender. Stir in mild green chilies. Mix well and serve with cold avocado, cherry tomatoes, cheddar cheese and light sour cream.

NOTE: This reheats very well and is even tastier on day two.
NOTE: I also like to eat this rolled up in a warmed tortilla.