Peanut Butter Mississippi Mud Bars

This recipe comes from Debbi Fields' Great American Desserts.  Lots of chocolate in an 8x8 pan.  Love it.

Ingredients:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup firmly-packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 large egg, room temp
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces white chocolate, coursely chopped and divided into two 4-ounce portions
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coursely chopped and divided into two 4-ounce portions
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans, toasted and divided into two 1/2 cup portions

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Butter the baking pan, line it with aluminum foil, and butter the foil.

Put the butter and sugar in a large bowl and blend until smooth using an electric mixer on medium speed.  Beat in the peanut butter until smooth.

Stir in the egg and vanilla together in a bowl and add to the peanut butter mixture until combined.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.  Add to the butter mixture and combine well.

Stir in 1 portion each of the white and semisweet chocolates and combine.  Add one portion of the pecans and mix until combined.

Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the center is soft but no longer runny.  Remove the pan from the oven and immediately sprinkle the remaining white and semisweet chocolates over the top.  Cover the pan with aluminum foil and set aside to let the chocolates melt.

When melted, swirl the chocolates together with the tip of a sharp knife to make a marbleized effect.  Sprinkle the remaining pecans over the top.  Let the bars cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.

To serve, cut into 2-inch and arrange on a serving plate.

Marshmallow Whip Cheesecake

I am always looking for something new and easy.  I also love cheesecake.  My family thought this was good and is a keeper.  It comes from the blog:

http://peacockcoffeehouse.blogspot.com/

Ingredients:

Graham Cracker Crust:
40 squares of graham crackers (crushed)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 butter or margarine (melted)

Filling:
10 1/2 ounce large marshmallows (abt 40)
3/4 cup milk
2 8oz pkgs cream cheese
12 oz cool whip

Instructions:

Mix graham cracker crust ingredients.  Press into bottom and sides of 9x13 greased pan.  Reserve 1/2 cup for top.

Melt marshmallows and milk over low heat.  Beat cream cheese, add marshmallow mixture.  Cool.  Fold in Cool Whip. Spread into crust and sprinkle with remaining graham cracker crust.  Refrigerate until set.

Cake Batter Pudding Cookies

In honor of National Homemade Cookie Day here is a good cookie.  This is a different cookie but it was hit with my family.  It comes from Nikki and her blog Chef in Training. Blog address: http://www.chef-in-training.com





Ingredients

3/4 cup Butter
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Sugar
1 (3.4 oz) package Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix (dry)
3/4 cup Yellow Cake Mix (dry)
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp Baking Soda
2 1/4 cups Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
Sprinkles

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Stir together flour, salt and baking soda.  Set aside.  In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars together.  Add in pudding and cake mix.  Beat until well blended.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Mix until smooth.  Slowly add flour mixture until it is all incorporated.  Add sprinkles.  Roll into 1" balls and place on greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole

This recipe comes from  Lisa at Cook Lisa Cook.  Blog address: http://cooklisacook.blogspot.ca  These were very good.  I made them for a get together we had with friends a couple of weeks ago and they were devoured.  I did not use all the hot sauce called for.  In fact I only used 2 Tablespoons.

Ingredients
 
2 lbs Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
8-10 Medium Potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (I left the skin on)
1/3 cup Olive Oil
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1 Tbs Ground Black Pepper
1 Tbs Paprika
2 Tbs Garlic Powder

Topping

2 cups Fiesta Cheese
1 cup Crumbled Bacon
1 cup Diced Green Onion

Instructions

Preheat oven to 500 degrees(this is not a typo, 500 is correct)  In a large mixing bowl, combine oil, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder and hot sauce.  Add cubed potatoes and stir to coat.  carefully scoop the potatoes into a spray coated 9x13 baking dish, leaving behind as much oil/sauce mixture as possible.  Bake potatoes for 45-50 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until cooked through and crispy and brown on the outside.  While the potatoes are cooking, add the cubed chicken to the bowl of left over oil/sauce mix.  Stir to coat.  Once the potatoes are fully cooked, remove from the oven and lower the oven temp to 400 degrees.  Top the cooked potatoes with the raw marinated chicken.  In a separate bowl mix cheese, bacon and onions and top the chicken with the cheese mix.  Return to the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the topping is bubbly and delicious.  Serve with extra hot sauce and ranch dressing.

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps

Most of the recipes on my blog are from family or are ones I find on the internet and post to my Pintrest site to try at a later date.  If I post them here I have tried them and my family says they are keepers.  I made these for dinner the other night when the kids were her.  Even my four year old grandson ate one.  The recipe comes from the following blog    http://www.melskitchencafe.com/

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup cooked rice, warm or at room temperature

1 cup cooked, shredded chicken (or other leftover meat, like shredded pork or beef)

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 green onion, finely sliced (white and green parts)

1/2 red or green pepper, diced

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

juice of 1 lime

1/2 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

2 cups shredded cheese (I use a combination of Monterey jack and sharp cheddar)

Sour cream (optional)

6 burrito-sized flour tortillas

DIRECTIONS:

Mix rice together with chili powder, cumin and garlic salt. Add remaining ingredients except for cheese and sour cream. Sprinkle cheese over tortillas, leaving 1/2-inch border around edges, then arrange chicken and rice mixture down the center of each tortilla. (Optional: I like to dollop little bits of sour cream over the cheese before arranging chicken and rice mixture down the center - it makes the wraps delightfully creamy.) Roll stuffed tortillas, leaving edges open and slightly flatten the wraps with the palm of your hand. Spray seam-side of the wrap lightly with cooking spray.

Heat a large non-stick skillet (or griddle) over medium heat for 1 minute. Arrange wraps, seam-side down, in pan or griddle and cook until golden brown and crisp, about 2-3 minutes per side. Cooking them seam-side down first helps seal the long edge so they don't fall apart. Transfer to a plate and repeat with remaining wraps. Serve warm.

Cool Whip Cookies

This recipe comes from the Cooking Blog Tasty Kitchen.  The links is:  http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/desserts/cool-whip-cookies/  They have some great recipes.  I made these the other day and everybody loves them.  I used a lemon cake mix.  They make a very soft cookie.

Ingredients:

1 package (18.5 oz. Box) Cake Mix

1 cup Cool Whip

1 Egg

1 cup Powdered Sugar

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all ingredients, except powdered sugar.  Roll a spoonful of dough in powdered sugar.   Place on cookie sheet and bake for 8 minutes.