No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

I grew up in Virginia, but my family came down to Florida every year, in February, to visit my grandparents. Some years it was chilly, but usually it was hot and my grandparents refused to turn on the air conditioning because, "it's only February!" Even when it was 92. We used to poke fun of them for suffering through the heat, but then my husband, girls, and I moved to Florida. And now I flat out refuse to turn on the air conditioning until May. :) This past Saturday it was 88 outside, 86 in our house, but we all agreed it was still too early in the year for the air conditioning. (We ended up going to the beach to cool off, so I can't really complain.) Anyway, the season of heat is upon us and the very last thing I want to do is turn on the oven. But baking is what I do! It's my stress reliever! Luckily, there are many, many yummy desserts that can be made without using the oven at all. This No Bake Chocolate PB Bars recipe is one of my favorites. I'll be posting lots of slow cooker and stove top recipes for the next few months.

You will need:

2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup butter (2 Smart Balance sticks)
2 3/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips*



*One note on the chocolate--you definitely want to use the semi-sweet or dark and not milk. The bars are very sweet and milk chocolate would be overkill.

I make my own graham cracker crumbs, but you can buy them already smashed up in the baking section of any supermarket. I put two packages in a plastic bag, seal it up, and then use a rolling pin to crush the crackers. If you do it this way you'll have about a half cup of crumbs leftover, so 3 cups total from two packages of crackers.





Stir together the cracker crumbs, PB, and butter.



Add the sifted powdered sugar and combine thoroughly.





Press the mixture into a 9x13 pan, no need to grease it.



Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler. I just use a metal bowl on top of a small saucepan with one inch of water in the bottom. Turn the burner onto low heat and stir often.




After they have melted stir them a few times--the more you stir the shinier the chocolate will become. Then spread over the top of your PB crust.



Chill for about 10 minutes or until the chocolate sets. Then cut the bars into squares, any size you please. Don't let the chocolate get hard or it will crack when you try to cut it. 10-15 minutes tops.





Sooooo good. Sweet, chocolaty, and they don't heat up the house. They don't last long! Great to take to bake sales and pot lucks, too.



You can store these in the fridge, but let them sit out for a few minutes before eating.

Enjoy!!

This week we are having Mandarin Chicken Salad and Margarita Chicken on the grill.

After School Snack

My girls love this after school snack. It's quick, easy, incredibly tasty, relatively healthy, and doesn't ruin their appetites for supper. (We eat supper at 4:30 and the kids get home at 3, so I only make one of these and split it between the Goose and Tink.)

You will need:

2 100% whole wheat tortillas
1 banana
1 T butter
chocolate chips
cinnamon sugar

Melt the butter in a frying pan.



While it's melting, cut up the banana and place the pieces on top of one tortilla.




Smash each piece with a fork.



Place the banana-covered tortilla in the pan and sprinkle with chocolate chips. As many as you like! I used mini semi-sweet, but regular size would be great, too. You could also try butterscotch, white chocolate, or peanut butter chips.



Top with the second tortilla and cook until the bottom tortilla is crunchy and light brown. About 2 mins.



Flip over. I know it seems like this would be a hard step, but I just use a wide spatula and it flips over with ease. Just be quick.



Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the newly flipped side.



When the second side is crispy, remove to a plate and let cool for one minute.



I use a pizza cutter to cut the tortilla sandwich into fourths, two for each monkey.



Gooey, warm, delicious!! This recipe is reminiscent of Elvis' favorite sandwich, the fried peanut butter and banana. Actually, spreading PB on the tortillas would be fantastic.



Enjoy!

Creamed Spinach

I have a love affair with spinach. I love it raw in a salad or sandwich, I love it boiled, I love it with cheese, I love it in a lasagna, I just love it. Unfortunately, my family does not share my passion, so like okra (which I love more than spinach) I rarely eat it. And I won't lie to you, my family does not love creamed spinach. But I do! This recipe is so simple and sooooooo good.

You will need:

1 box frozen spinach
1 T butter
1 tsp garlic
3/4 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
squeeze of fresh lemon

Optional: pinch of cayenne pepper



Thaw your spinach and squeeze out the water.



In a medium-size saucepan, melt the butter and garlic. Cook over medium heat for one minute, but don't let the garlic color.



Add the spinach...



cream, lemon, salt, and pepper.



Cook over low heat, stirring often, until the spinach is soft and the cream has thickened. It should take about 15 minutes.





That's it! Your spinach is ready to eat.



I ended up eating it all by myself, but I'm not complaining. So tasty!! I served it with some honey baked ham.



Perfection. Enjoy!

A Monkey Makes Cookies

The monkeys have been learning to cook and bake this summer. Among other things, I taught the Goose to make her great-grandmother's spaghetti sauce and Tinker Bell to make her grandmother's meatloaf. I also let them experiment with box mixes. Now, you would be hard pressed to find a box mix of any kind in my kitchen before this summer, but it is a great way to get the girls starting baking. It's how I learned, after all. Tink makes the most amazing Chewy Bars from a Jiffy cake mix. (I'll have to post pictures of her making them!) The Goose has been making brownies from a box, but I found a recipe on another food blog, Life's Ambrosia, for making cookies out of a brownie mix. I was intrigued and the Goose said she would love to make them. What fun we had!! Okay, she was a little annoyed at me hanging over her shoulder taking pictures, but I'm that kind of mom. :)

You will need:
1 box fudge brownie mix
1 1/4 cup King Arthur flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 stick butter (Smart Balance), melted
2-4 T water
1 cup (or whole bag) of chocolate chunks



Put your brownie mix in a large bowl and add the brown sugar...



and the flour and mix together.



You need to add the eggs one at a time. Always break an egg into a small bowl before adding to your batters or mixes. This way you can check for shell or other anomalies. Our chickens lay perfect eggs, of course. :)







After the eggs, add the butter and start with just 2 T of water. I actually ended up needing to add 4.



At this point the batter is pretty stiff. You might have to help your monkey stir.



Now it's time for the chocolate chunks. The recipe calls for one cup, but Goose thought it would be more fun with the whole bag.



CAUTION: Monkeys have been known to steal chocolate! Keep your eyes on them at all times!!



Dang, I turned away for one second!

Stir in all the chocolate chunks that are left after the bowl is raided by monkeys.



Grease your cookie sheets with a bit of cooking spray. I use Smart Balance, of course.



Here's what I changed about Life's Ambrosia awesome recipe-- I lowered the oven temperature to 325 because I...well, I just never bake cookies at a higher temp. Probably doesn't make a hill of difference, but it's just what I do. We did not refrigerate the batter for two hours either. The starving monkeys were too impatient and I figured with the lower temp they would be chewy without chilling. And they were!

Goose put heaping soup spoons of dough on a standard size cookie sheet. She got 9 on each sheet. Press down on the cookies just a little bit. Don't flatten them, but just help them look more like cookies and less like balls. (hee hee)






Since I had the oven turned down a bit we had to bake them for 14 minutes instead of the recommended 8-10 at 350. Let them cook on the cookie sheets for two minutes so they will set. Then you won't be able to stop eating them!



Goose said, "the chunks melted and make the cookie creamy. The edges of the cookie are crisp like a cookie, but the middle is squishy and chewy like a brownie. And they smell like pure chocolate!"

Tink said, "heaven with a side of heaven."

So...a hit, I think! The cookies got that amazing brownie crust on top that is sooooo good. Try them today and head over to Life's Ambrosia and check our her great blog.

Surprise Mashed "Potatoes"

The girls and I were watching Food Network Challenge Sesame Street Cakes on tv the other night. The bakers got to meet the characters and even got to visit Sesame Street. (!!!) While one baker was interviewing Elmo about the cake she was making with his image Elmo said, "cake is a sometimes food." And so it has become in this household, sadly. (It didn't used to be this way.) Potatoes have joined cake, cupcakes, cookies, and brownies on the "sometimes" list. Oh, how we love potatoes in this family. Hash browns, mashed, sauteed, baked, in pot pies, in stews and soups, and (my personal favorite) sliced and layered with cheese, flour, and milk in my Pampered chef pan. I'm drooling! Steaks, roasts, everything just tastes better with a side of potatoes. So I had to find a substitute. I dug out my old South Beach Diet cookbook to find the recipe for Surprise Mashed "Potatoes." I've heard many, many good things about the recipe, but was always skeptical. But I was in the throws of major potato withdrawal, desperation fueled my every step. I tried it, I compared it to potatoes, and...I loved it. Really! A bit sweeter than regular mashed potatoes, but otherwise very little difference. Maybe a little less dense, but I wouldn't lie to you. This recipe is very good and will satisfy your potato cravings! Especially with a side of steak.

So here's what you will need:

1 bag frozen cauliflower (not thawed)
1 T butter
2T half and half (or milk)
garlic salt to taste (or regular salt)
pepper to taste
food processor (or blender)
*****************
optional:
rice cooker/vegetable steamer





I have a vegetable steamer so I will give you the directions using one, but if you don't have one, steam your cauliflower any way you like. Just make sure that the cauliflower is softer (more well done) than you would cook it if you were just going to eat it. Your fork should just slide right through with no resistance.

Assemble your steamer with full water on the bottom and the cauliflower in the tray/bowl with the holes. (It probably has a name, but I lost my booklet on my steamer a loooong time ago.) You don't need the rice bowl. Put the whole bag of frozen cauliflower in the steamer.



Set the timer for 30 minutes.



When it is ready, remove the cauliflower in its little tray and pour it into the food processor or blender. Do not add any of the water from the steamer. A note of caution: never try to open your steamer without hot pads or the Ove Glove on each hand. The very first time I used my steamer I steamed my fingers and had to go to the hospital and get a tetanus shot. To this day when it rains they cramp up... :) :)



Add your butter, milk or cream, salt, and pepper. I really like the little bit of flavor that garlic salt adds to these "potatoes."



Now pulse, pulse, pulse until it's all smooth.



Very creamy, super yummy.



Did I mention incredibly cheap?? Less than $2 for the bag of cauliflower and you probably already have the milk and butter on hand. This recipe will feed a family of four with a couple of second helpings. Your little kids may not be able to tell the difference at all. Slap a little fat free gravy on top and I bet they will lap it up. Big kids won't be fooled, my two weren't. But they did like it. Not as much as mashed potatoes, though.


*note: Sadly, Elmo's cake didn't win the Challenge.