Super Easy Toffee Bars

We are going to visit some friends tonight.
I want to make a yummy dessert to take with us.
My kids suggested I make these bars. 
I posted this recipe a while ago here on the blog, but I thought I would repost just in case you missed it. :) 

They are so good.

Make them at your own risk . . .

Here's what you do . . .
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Put a layer of saltine crackers on the parchment paper.
(I like to put them salted side down so you can taste the salt)

Melt two sticks of butter with one cup of brown sugar (dark or light)over medium heat.

As soon as it starts to boil, turn a timer on for three minutes.

Pour over saltines.

Put in 400 degree oven for 5 minutes.

Remove from oven and pour bag of chocolate chips on top. Let the chips sit and melt for about five minutes.

Spread and then put in refrigerator to cool and harden.

Break up into pieces.

Enjoy.  Try to eat just one.

Let me know how that goes. :)

SUPER EASY TOFFEE BARS

saltine crackers

1 cup butter

1 cup light or dark brown sugar
1 bag semisweet chocolate chips



1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F  

2.Line cookie sheet with saltine crackers in single layer.(I put parchment paper down first) 

3.In a saucepan combine the sugar and the butter. Bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes. Immediately pour over saltines and spread it over crackers completely.
4.Bake at 400 degrees F for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Let sit for 5 minutes. Spread melted chocolate. Cool completely and break into pieces.

Patriotic Jell-o

Since it is almost the Fourth of July, I thought it would be nice to re post this recipe.

* * *

I am not one to make JELL-O molds frequently, but on the Fourth of July . . . we just have to because we have this perfect USA mold!! (can't let it go to waste!!)

I got it free many, many years ago at a grocery store in Virginia. (it was one of those "buy 2 boxes of JELL-O, get the mold free" deal)

Even though you probably don't have a mold like this, I thought I would give you the recipe so you can make the layers in a different shape.

Layered Patriotic Jell-o

3 3/4 cups boiling water

1 pkg. (8-serving size) or 2 pkg.(4-serving size) any red flavor JELL-O

1 pkg. (8-serving size) or 2 pkg.(4-serving size) Berry Blue Flavor JELL-O

2 cups cold water

1 pkg. (4-serving size) Lemon JELL-O

1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened

Spray mold (or shallow dish) with no stick cooking spray.

Stir 1 1/2 cups boiling water into red and blue gelatin in separate bowls at least 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Stir 1 cup cold water into each bowl.

Pour red JELL-O into prepared mold. Refrigerate 1 hour or until set but not firm. Reserve blue JELL-O at room temperature.

Stir 3/4 cup boiling water into lemon JELL-O in bowl. Stir in ice cream with wire whisk until melted and smooth. Spoon over red JELL-O in mold. Refrigerate 30 minutes longer or until set but not firm. Refrigerate blue JELL-O (not in mold, just in bowl) 30 minutes or until slightly thickened.

Spoon blue JELL-O over lemon layer in mold. Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm. Unmold.

Wow!

Enjoy!!

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gluten-free cookies for my dad

I wanted to make my dad a special treat for Father's Day.
He only eats gluten-free food, so I made these peanut butter cookies.

I don't usually think gluten-free food is delicious, but these are delicious!!
I promise.

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups peanut butter (I used Trader Joe's Organic creamy)

2 cups white sugar (I used 1 cup white and 1 cup brown)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 eggs, beaten

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans (optional ~ I used walnuts and they tasted great!)

1/2 cup coconut (optional, but highly recommended!)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheet. (I highly recommend using parchment paper instead)
2. Combine sugar with baking soda and salt. (dry ingredients)
3. Beat eggs with vanilla.
4. Combine peanut butter, egg mixture, and dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Mix in coconut and nuts. (mix by hand, not a mixer)
5. Roll into balls (not too big).  The dough will seem very gooey, that's OK. Put some sugar in a bowl and roll the balls in the sugar.
6. Put balls on cookie sheet and press down with a fork to make a criss cross pattern.  (After this step, I also sprinkled the cookies with a little more sugar ..  . can never have enough sugar, right?)
7. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before placing on cookie rack.

Enjoy!!
Happy Father's Day, Dad!!

easy treats

pretzels + Hershey kisses + m&m's = yum

(just a side note here: this is what happens when you take pictures at night with a flash . . .looks very orange)

Just put about 15 pretzels on a plate.

Put a kiss on each pretzel.

Pop in the microwave for about 25 - 30 seconds until chocolate is melty, but not too melted. (make sense?)

Place an m&m on each kiss.

Put in refrigerator to cool.

Repeat for as many platefuls as you need. :)

Enjoy!

**try different kinds of kisses if you are adventurous ..  . I like to use the caramel ones (but it is kind of messy if you leave them in the microwave too long.)

spring strawberry salad

I'm dreaming of spring and all things springy.
I made this spring salad for friends last night and the recipe was requested, so I wanted to share it with all of you:

strawberry salad recipe

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon minced onion
• 10 ounces fresh spinach
• 1 quart (or more!!) strawberries - cleaned, hulled and sliced
• 1/4 cup almonds, walnuts, or pecans - chopped
• feta cheese

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and onion. Cover, and chill for one hour.
2. Put spinach in a large bowl and pour dressing over salad (just enough to coat the spinach . . . you will have a LOT of dressing left over), add the strawberries, nuts, and cheese. Toss. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Throw some grilled chicken in there and you have a meal!! :)
Enjoy!!



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How I Avoided Cooking on Mother's Day

We had company over for Mother's Day and I was determined not be in the kitchen cooking.
So I made a couple of dishes the night before.
They were delicious and it was so much fun to just pop them in the oven and enjoy.


I made The Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Baked French Toast.
I love The Pioneer Woman, by the way.
You can find the recipe here.
(I put a cup of frozen blueberries in before the topping and I highly recommend doing that . . . I also substituted half and half where it called for heavy whipping cream and skim milk where it called for whole milk)

source

I also made a breakfast casserole that I love.

I didn't take a picture of it, but here is the recipe.

Mom's Egg Casserole

1 pound ground sausage, cooked and drained

12 slices firm white bread (I just tore up a loaf of crusty sourdough)

12 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

12 oz. Swiss cheese, shredded

8 - 10 large eggs, beaten

3 1/2 cups half & half (I used 2 cups milk and 1 1/2 cups half & half)

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon minced scallions

1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

2 Tablespoons Worchestershire sauce

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon dry mustard

Butter a 9x13 pan.

Brown the sausage and drain.

Tear up bread into chunks.

Layer half of the bread, sausage, and cheeses in the pan.

Repeat with second layer.

Combine all the other ingredients and pour over layers.

Refrigerate overnight.

Bake at 325 degrees for one hour or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Top should be lightly browned.

I served steamed asparagus and a fruit salad with the casseroles.

enjoy!!

my happy baker

Sweet Caroline needed to make something for her class's bake sale.
They were raising money for a child in the Dominican Republic.

She decided to make frosted brownies with sprinkles.

Who doesn't like brownies?

Or frosting?

Or sprinkles?

Delicious!!

Whenever we make frosting, we use this recipe:

Vanilla Butter Frosting

3 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup softened butter

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

milk (just keep adding a little bit at a time until you get the consistency you desire)

Starbucks style pumpkin cream cheese muffins

In the Fall, Sweet Caroline loves to get these at Starbucks.
They are pumpkin cream cheese muffins.
They are delicious.
They are $3.00.
(for one!)

source

So . . . today when I opened up our pantry and saw 6 cans of pumpkin puree, I knew what I should do with them. (it sure feels like Fall around here, so why not use up the pumpkin now?)

Six. (why did I have six cans of pumpkin??)

Here is my very-much-cheaper version of the Starbucks pumpkin cream cheese muffin.

I'm glad I tried this recipe . . . it has just the right amount of spices.
I put plain cream cheese in the middle, but you can add brown sugar, an egg, and vanilla to make it more like a frosting. (my boys did not like the cream cheese center, the rest of us loved it)

I think I actually like them better than the Starbucks version!

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves 
• 4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 pinch cardamom (optional . . . I didn't use)
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 eggs 
• 2 cups sugar 
• 2 cups pumpkin
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 8 ounces cream cheese (add 1 egg, 3 T. brown sugar & 1 tsp. vanilla if you would like . . . I didn't)
• chopped pumpkin seeds or walnuts or pecans  (optional . . . I used chopped walnuts)
• cinnamon/sugar (to sprinkle on top)

Preheat oven to 350.

Put the entire brick of cream cheese on a piece of wax paper or parchment paper and shape it into a long log.

Put it in the freezer while you mix and fill the pans, up to an hour.

Mix all ingredients together (except cream cheese and nuts).

Fill muffin tins (greased or paper cups).

Cut log of cream cheese up into discs.

Put cream cheese disc in the middle of muffin, pressing down.

Sprinkle with chopped nuts and cinnamon/sugar.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from the muffin part (not the cream cheese).

**next time I will use applesauce instead of the oil to reduce the amount of fat .  . I'll let you know how that works out

**also . . . my dad is gluten-free now, so I was excited to see this option:

GLUTEN FREE option:
Keep everything the same, except instead of the flour. . .
2 1/2 cups Bob's gf all purpose flour mix
1/2 cup almond flour
2 1/4 tsp. xanthan gum



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meal for a new mother

When I had my babies, I was not really connected in any church or school groups so I didn't have many people making me dinners.

When I had my third baby, two people brought dinner to me and it meant the world to me.

I felt loved.
I felt cared for.
I will never forget those two dinners or the people who made them for me.

So now I try to take new moms dinners as often as I can. 
I hope they feel as blessed as I did.

Today, I took one to a friend who had a sweet baby girl.

This is what I made:

ValSoCal's Chicken Cordon Bleu Penne
(recipe here)**note: I added another half jar of alfredo sauce and decreased the bread crumbs to 1/4 cup (I used Italian bread crumbs mixed with melted butter)

Cut Up Fruit
(doesn't it look great?? It's all from Aldi and it was cheap!)

Toffee Bars for dessert
(recipe here)

I wanted to carry it over in something cute so I found this bag at the Dollar Tree.

I ironed the baby's sweet name on the bag.

(I will make a whole post about this ironing on process because it was a big fail, not only once, but twice.  I went back to the Dollar Tree two times!  Anyway . . . I have got it down to a science now.)


I added a hair accessory for sweet Mirabelle. (can you get over that name??)

It was a blessing to me to be able to serve my friend in this way.

flowers and a muffin recipe

I just love fresh flowers.
At our old house, I planted many colorful flowerbeds and I loved always having a bouquet in my kitchen.
I haven't had the time (or the money) to make new beds in our new yard yet.
So I am glad good ole Aldi sells pretty bouquets for only $3.99.
I just got this one last weekend and I am loving it.

I made these muffins yesterday for our "Monday Muffins".
I want to share the recipe with you.

Quaker's Best Oatmeal Muffins

Ingredients:

topping~
⅓ cup Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons margarine or butter, chilled and cut into pieces

muffins~
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
⅓ cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup skim milk
¼ cup canola oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
{I added one cup of frozen blueberries.}

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Line twelve medium muffin cups with paper baking cups or spray bottoms only with cooking spray.

2. For streusel topping, in small bowl, combine oats, flour and sugar; mix well. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives until mixture is crumbly. Set aside.

3. For muffins, in large bowl, combine flour, oats, sugar and baking powder; mix well. In small bowl, combine milk, oil, egg and vanilla; blend well. Add to dry ingredients all at once; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. (Do not over-mix.)

4. Fill muffin cups almost full. Sprinkle with reserved streusel, patting gently.

5. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool muffins in pan on wire rack 5 minutes. Remove from pan. Serve warm.

~ I found this recipe here.

Enjoy!!

Roasted Corn, Black Bean, and Mango Salad

I found this recipe on MyRecipes.com.
It is awesome as a side, as a salsa, or served over greens as a salad.
I highly recommend it!!
I never thought I was a mango lover, but it tastes so delicious in this recipe . . . so fresh!!
(this recipe makes a TON . . . so you may want to make half a recipe or be prepared to have lots of leftovers, which is not a bad thing!)

source

Roasted Corn, Black Bean, and Mango Salad

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 cups fresh corn kernels (about 6 ears)

** or you could take the easier route and buy Trader Joe's already roasted corn!!  just a thought**

2 cups diced peeled ripe mango (about 2 pounds)

1 cup chopped red onion

1 cup chopped red bell pepper

1/3 cup fresh lime juice

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 drained canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce, chopped

2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained

Preparation:

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds. Stir in corn; cook 8 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Place corn mixture in a large bowl. Add mango and remaining ingredients; stir well.

Enjoy!!

Super Easy Toffee Bars

This recipe is so easy and you will be amazed at how good it is!
I was first introduced to it by my friend, Julie, at Joy's Hope.  I tweaked it a little (added a stick of butter).  She calls it "toffee crack" because it is so addicting. 
Make it at your own risk . . .

Here's what you do . . .
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Put a layer of saltine crackers on the parchment paper.
(I like to put them salted side down so you can taste the salt)

Melt two sticks of butter with one cup of brown sugar (dark or light)over medium heat.

As soon as it starts to boil, turn a timer on for three minutes.

Pour over saltines.

Put in 400 degree oven for 5 minutes.

Remove from oven and pour bag of chocolate chips on top. Let the chips sit and melt for about five minutes.

Spread and then put in refrigerator to cool and harden.

Break up into pieces.

Enjoy.  Try to eat just one.

Let me know how that goes. :)

SUPER EASY TOFFEE BARS

saltine crackers

1 cup butter

1 cup light or dark brown sugar
1 bag semisweet chocolate chips



1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F  

2.Line cookie sheet with saltine crackers in single layer.(I put parchment paper down first) 

3.In a saucepan combine the sugar and the butter. Bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes. Immediately pour over saltines and spread it over crackers completely.
4.Bake at 400 degrees F for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Let sit for 5 minutes. Spread melted chocolate. Cool completely and break into pieces.