Marshmallow Peanut Butter Crunch Brownie Bars

I was browsing all the brownie recipes over at Brown Eyed Baker and came across these brownie bars she named Marshmallow Crunch Brownie Bars.  The peanut butter makes these so good since chocolate and peanut butter are so perfect together.  I used a boxed brownie mix to make life easier, but you could also use your favorite homemade brownie recipe.  I also have a simple Nestle Toll House Chewy Brownie recipe posted.   

I made these brownie bars last night for my my two big girls to give to their friends at school as a holiday treat.  I did verify that none of their friends have nut allergies...you have to be very careful these days.  They smelled and looked so good that I just had to try one before they cooled down.  I needed to make sure they were "gift worthy", right?  I couldn't stop "uuuuuummmmm" ing.  They were finger licking good!  I also packed some up for my hubby's guys at work for their weekly treat.

Ingredients:

1 Box Duncan Hines Chewy Fudge Brownie Mix
3 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 bag (10.5 oz) miniature marshmallows
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
1 T unsalted butter
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies cereal

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9x13 cake pan with wax paper with a overhang on all sides.  This makes it easy to lift out the brownies before cutting into bars. 

Add brownie mix, eggs, oil, and semi-sweet chocolate chips to a bowl and mix well.  Pour into prepared cake pan.  Bake for 25-28 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean 1 inch from the outside edge.

Remove brownies from oven and immediately top with marshmallows.  Return to oven for 4 minutes. 

Meanwhile, in a medium sauce pan over low heat, add the milk chocolate chips, butter, and peanut butter.  Stir constantly until just melted.  Turn off the heat and stir in the Rice Krispies.  Spread mixture evenly over the marshmallows. 

Set the pan on a wire rack to cool to room temperature.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.  Lift brownies out of pan using wax paper overhang.  Cut into 1 inch bars.  Enjoy!

Spaghetti and Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

My hubby and I were eating lunch yesterday afternoon when he turned to me and asked, "What's for dinner?  Or are we ordering in again?"  I was like uh oh, I guess I need to figure out a nice dinner to make on his day off work.  He usually gets his dinner heated up when he gets home from work.  We enjoy when he's home to eat with us at the dinner table.  My hubby is a meat, potato, and pasta man.  I decided to throw together my own meat sauce and meatball recipe using what we had in the fridge and pantry.  I was a bit sad that we were out of fresh mushrooms, but my family didn't mind at all.

I used both lean ground beef and Italian sausage in the meat sauce and meatballs.  I used half in each and it made plenty of meatballs with leftovers.  These meatballs were so moist and tender.  They were the best I've ever made or tasted.  Spaghetti is one of those meals that is really good reheated the next day.  I just had some for lunch after taking some daytime pictures of our delicious dinner.   

Meat Sauce Ingredients:

2 Italian sausage links, casings removed
1/2 lb lean ground beef
1 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T Italian seasoning
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
3 - 15 oz cans tomato sauce
1 - 15 oz can diced tomatoes with juice

In a large stock pot, brown the sausage and ground beef.  Add the onions and cook until translucent.  Add the garlic and cook another minute.  Add the seasonings, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes.  Stir well and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes until the sauce has slightly thickened. 

While the sauce is simmering, you can make the meatballs. 

Meatball Ingredients:

3 Italian sausage links, casings removed
1/2 lb lean ground beef
1/4 cup yellow onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp Italian seasoning
Kosher salt
black pepper
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup milk
1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
grated parmesan
fresh small mozzarella balls (found in specialty cheese section by deli)

In a large bowl, put all the meatball ingredients except the mozzarella balls.  Use your hands to mix together.  Take a handful of the meat and put a mozzarella ball in the middle.  Form the meat around the mozzarella ball and place them on a baking sheet.

In a large skillet on medium high heat, add some olive oil.  Brown the meatballs on all sides in batches.  When the meat sauce is ready, add the browned meatballs.  Make sure the meatballs are pushed down into the sauce, cover, and let cook on low heat for about 15 minutes, or until completely cooked through.

Toss cooked pasta with meat sauce and serve sprinkled with grated parmesan.  Enjoy!

Cookies 'n Cream Cupcakes

My big 9 year old wanted to make some homemade cupcakes by herself.  I volunteered to be her little helper this time.  Madison's been helping and watching me more often lately when I bake.  She reads me the recipes and helps with the measuring and pouring.  She looked through a cupcake cookbook we have sitting in our kitchen.  Then I showed her some cupcake recipes that I had bookmarked from the different blogs and recipe sites I follow.  She picked out the Cookies and Cream cupcakes from Cooking With K. 

We didn't use the cream cheese frosting recipe.  Instead, we used the vanilla cream filling from this Homemade Oreo recipe for the frosting.  I decided to cut the recipe in half to make 12 cupcakes.  That was harder than I thought it would be!  Just in case you are ever in this predicament, here's a measurement chart to help you out.

Measurement Equivalents

1 tablespoon (tbsp) = 3 teaspoons (tsp)
1/16 cup (c) = 1 tablespoon
1/8 cup = 2 tablespoons
1/6 cup = 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons
1/4 cup = 4 tablespoons
1/3 cup = 5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon
3/8 cup = 6 tablespoons
1/2 cup = 8 tablespoons
2/3 cup = 10 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons
3/4 cup = 12 tablespoons
1 cup = 48 teaspoons
1 cup= 16 tablespoons

So let's get to the recipe and all the cute pictures I took of my big girl.

Cupcake Ingredients:

12 Oreo cookie halves, with cream filling attached (save other half for garnishing)
1 cup plus 2 T all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 T unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
10 Oreo cookies, cut into quarters

Vanilla Cream Frosting:

1/4 C (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 C Crisco shortening
3 C sifted powdered sugar
1-2 tsp vanilla extract

Garnish:
Remaining 12 Oreo cookie halves (without filling), crushed
6 Oreo cookies, cut in half

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Put 12 cupcake liners in a cupcake pan.  Place an Oreo half in the bottom of each with the cream filling side up. 

In a bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

In a large stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add the egg whites and mix well.  Add the vanilla extract and milk, and mix.  Add the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated.  Remove from the stand mixer.  Use a large spatula to fold in the quartered Oreos.

Pour the cupcake batter into the cupcake liners 3/4 of the way full.  Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

You can make the vanilla cream frosting while the cupcakes cool.  In a stand mixer, cream together the butter and shortening for 2 minutes.  Add the powdered sugar and vanilla.  Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes, or until a thick frosting has formed.

We used a plastic piping tube to swirl the frosting on the cupcakes.  You can also just spread it on in a nice thick layer.  Sprinkle with crushed Oreos and top each with an Oreo half.  Enjoy!

I'm so proud of my big girl!  These cupcake were FABULOUS and so pretty!

Fried Egg Sandwich Mexican Style

Here's a quick breakfast sandwich to help you get through all that Christmas shopping tomorrow morning.  It's simple and only dirties a small skillet and a plate. 

Ingredients:

1 egg
Flour tortilla
Mayonnaise
Slice of deli ham
Shredded cheese
Salsa
Cilantro

Fry up an egg in a non-stick skillet.  Spread a light layer of mayonnaise on a warm flour tortilla.  Layer on the ham, fried egg, shredded cheese, salsa, and cilantro.  Roll it on up and enjoy!   

Oven Baked Onion Rings 2 Ways

 I know that most of you are probably already busy baking up holiday treats to share, but we still need to put dinner on the table every night, right?  So I will continue to share our family meals and hopefully add in some holiday treats soon too.

I thought some oven baked onion rings would go perfect with our Roast French Dip Sandwiches we were having for dinner.  I wanted to try a couple of different coatings to see which ones my family preferred.  

I recently made Bobby Deen's very crispy Un-fried Chicken Strips using corn flakes as the coating.  I just knew I could use these for onion rings as well.  They were sweet and crunchy without all the grease and mess.  My girls enjoyed these onion rings the most.  One dipped them in ketchup, one dipped in ranch, and one dipped in ranch and ketchup. 

 The other onion rings were made using Ritz crackers as the coating.  They were salty with a little kick from cayenne pepper.  I dipped them in my Buttermilk Garlic Ranch Dip.  I found these onion rings at Georgia's The Comfort of Cooking.

Now, onto the recipes.  The recipes are slightly different, but the method is the same.

Sweet Corn Flake Onion Rings Ingredients: 
1 sweet yellow onion, cut into rings
1/2 cup flour
1 cup low-fat buttermilk (I used 2% milk and made my own)
1 egg white
1/4 tsp kosher salt
3 cups crushed Corn Flakes
cooking spray

Ritz Salty and Spicy Onion Rings Ingredients:
1 sweet yellow onion, cut into large rings
1/2 cup flour
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 egg white
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
3 cups Ritz crackers, crushed
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

In a large bowl, add the flour.  In another large bowl, add the buttermilk, egg white, and seasonings and whisk to combine.  Add the crushed coating to a gallon size zip lock bag. 

Dip each onion ring into the flour, then into the buttermilk, and add to the zip lock bag.  Work in small batches (I put about 5 onion rings in the bag at a time), then seal it and shake well to coat.  Place the coated onion rings on a non-stick baking sheet in a single layer.  Repeat for the rest of the onion rings. 

Spray the coated onion rings with cooking spray.  Bake for 20 minutes, or until crispy.  Enjoy! 

Slow Cooker Roast French Dip Sandwiches

My hubby and I love a good French Dip sandwich.  I decided to make them using a chuck roast, low simmered in a Crock Pot all day with mushrooms, onions, garlic, and all the same spices I use when I make Prime Rib.  The house smelled really good all afternoon, and I kept sneaking bites of the roast when it started to become nice and tender.

The au jus was very flavorful and the mushrooms were incredible after cooking in the roast juices all day.  I only put a handful of mushrooms since they were more for me to eat than to add flavor to the sandwiches.  See the whole mushrooms waiting for me in the au jus bowl?  I served these with some homemade oven baked onion rings 2 ways. 

Ingredients:

1 Chuck Roast
1 white onion, chopped into large chunks
4 cloves garlic, smashed
handful of whole white button mushrooms
1 T dried rosemary
2 tsp dried thyme
kosher salt
black pepper
2 cans beef broth
1 cube beef bouillon
2 T worchestershire
Hoagie buns

Toss half of the the onions and all of the garlic in the crock pot.  Add the chuck roast, the remaining onions, and then the mushrooms.  Add all the spices, beef broth, beef bouillon, and worchestershire.  Cover and let simmer on high for 6 hours.  You could also cook it on low for 10 hours. 

 When it easily pulls apart, remove the roast to a cutting board and shred.

This is the way we eat our French Dip sandwiches...Split and butter the hoagie buns and lightly toast in the oven.  Slather on some mayonnaise, add lots of shredded roast and top with provolone cheese slices.  Return the loaded up bottom half to the oven to melt the cheese.  Ladle the au jus into little bowls for dipping and dunking.  Enjoy!

Shrimp and Mushroom Penne Alfredo

I was a little late getting dinner started tonight, so I needed something quick.  Shrimp is always the protein I use for an easy, quick meal.

I tried to make this sauce lighter and not so rich, so I used both heavy cream and 2% milk with very little grated Parmesan.  I added garlic and lemon to add more flavor.  I made up this recipe so I hope these measurements are accurate enough if you want to try it out.  It was really good!

Ingredients:

1 T olive oil
8 oz button mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 T butter
1 T flour
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 cup 2% milk
1 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
 1 lb raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, tail removed (whatever size you like)
Penne pasta, cooked per instructions
2 T grated Parmesan
kosher salt
black pepper

In a large skillet over medium heat, add olive oil and mushrooms.  Cook mushrooms until tender, about 5-7 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook another minute.  Remove the mushroom mixture and set aside.  Add the butter to the skillet, then flour.  Stir constantly for 1 minute.  Add the heavy cream and milk.  Cook over medium low heat until thickened, about 5 minutes.  Add the lemon juice and shrimp.  Cook until shrimp are cooked through and pink.  Add the mushrooms and cooked penne pasta, toss to coat, and let cook in the sauce for a couple of minutes. 

Turn off the heat and add the grated Parmesan cheese.  Taste and season with salt and pepper.  Toss in some flat leaf parsley, if you like fresh herbs.  My kids don't, so I only added some to my bowl of pasta.  Enjoy!

Sausage and Cannellini Bean Chili

I was coming down with a cold after Thanksgiving week.  I needed a hot lunch to help me get through Saturday at home alone with my 3 kids.  We had been eating leftover ham and macaroni cheese for 2 days straight.  It was time for a warm and comforting one pot meal.  I looked in the pantry, and I looked in the fridge.  The only protein I had thawed out was some Jimmy Dean ground Italian sausage.  I bought an extra one when I was doing our Thanksgiving shopping because I saw Aaron McCargo from Big Daddy's Kitchen make these Gravy and sausage-stuffed stuffing that I wanted to try.  Maybe I will try them another time!

I decided to make a sausage and cannellini bean chili using a red sauce base instead of a chicken stock base.  I just used what I had on hand and that I know my kids will enjoy too.  So this is what I came up with.

Ingredients:

16 oz package ground Italian sausage
1 white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 button mushrooms, sliced (or more!)
29 oz can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes, with juice
2 - cans Bush's Cannellini beans (my favorite brand of beans), drained and rinsed
1 T chili powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp Mexican oregano
1/2 tsp ground cumin
dash cayenne pepper or pinch of red pepper flakes
kosher salt to taste
black pepper to taste
shredded cheese - for topping

In a large soup pot, brown sausage.  Add onions and mushrooms and cooked until onions are translucent.  Add garlic and cook another minute.  Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, Cannellini beans, and spices.  Stir well, bring to a boil, and lower heat to medium low.  Simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until sauce has reduced and thickened.  Serve up in big soup bowls and top with shredded cheese.  This is great with some corn bread or crackers on the side.  Enjoy!

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Tailgating Time - The Tiny Skillett

Thanksgiving 2010

Thanksgiving was a success!  Our family and friends joined us for a day full of fun, food, and Dallas Cowboys football. I love my family! Here's what we did...

The week before, my girls made some salt dough Christmas tree ornaments to give to our family and friends on Thanksgiving day. 

The menu was finalized, and only one item didn't make it to the table...the caramel apple pie.  We already had 3 desserts, which was plenty for 12 people.  

Thanksgiving Dinner 2010

Appetizers

Spinach Dip with Tortilla Chips

Chilled Shrimp with Cocktail Sauce

Cheese/Salami/Cracker Platter

Fruit Tray with Thanksgiving Fruit Dip

Dinner

Bill’s Famous Deep Fried Turkey

Honey Baked Spiral Ham

Country Dressing

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Turkey Gravy

Macaroni and Cheese

Green Bean Casserole

Vegetable & Tomato Tian

Sweet Potato Casserole

Cranberry Sauce

Dinner Rolls

Desserts

Caramel Apple Pie

Coconut Cream Pie

Maple Pecan Pie

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Caramel Sauce

Fresh Whipped Cream And/Or Vanilla Ice Cream

 

The night before Thanksgiving, my oldest daughter helped me make all this good stuff:

Cranberry Mandarin Orange Sauce

Coconut Cream Pie

Maple Pecan Pie

Pumpkin Cheesecake (topped with caramel sauce later)

The dinner rolls were also prepared and put in the fridge to rise overnight. 

The tables were set

The Thanksgiving wreath I made earlier that day was on the front door to welcome our family and friends

And it's finally time for some shut eye before finishing up in the morning! ZZZZZzzzzzZZZZZzzzzzz

I woke up bright and early to finish preparing the rest of the side dishes for our big dinner.  The ladies in the family set up all the appetizers on the kitchen table. 

My girls were hungry and thirsty...they dug right in

The girls patiently waited at the front door for our family to arrive

Family arrived...

Bill fried up our turkey

Just look at this big moist Turkey with crispy skin!

While the ladies helped me finish up the rest of the meal. 

The girls are ready to eat

The food's hot and ready...amazingly so!

Bill's Fried Turkey

Honey Glazed Ham

Country Dressing

Mom's Cheesy Green Bean Casserole

Sweet Potato Casserole

Vegetable and Tomato Tian

Garlic Mashed Potatoes & Turkey Gravy

Bill's Pea Salad

After the big Turkey dinner, we were all stuffed. It was time to relax and enjoy some family fun time. Our girls put on a concert for us. Our Taylor wants to be the next Taylor Swift...

and Jordyn will be her backup musician...

while Madison watches with pride...

 

I'm so thankful for my family! I love them all so much!