Pecan Pie Bars

   It's fall and what a great time to start thinking about all those recipes we enjoy around the holidays.This one's a keeper!

1 can crescent rolls
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg, beaten

Open crescent rolls, unroll and press into the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of a 9X13 inch pan (sprayed with cooking spray), sealing all seams.

Bake in oven for 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, combine remaining ingredients, pour over partially baked crust.

Return to oven for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool completely for at least an hour. Cut into bars and serve.

This is an easy way to enjoy pecan pie taste, without the trouble or enormous amount of calores in a traditional pie. One little bar (ok, maybe two) will satisfy your craving, I promise!

S'Mores...changed up!

Sunday evening, after a busy week and weekend, we built a little fire and decided to make s'mores. I have seen lots of "new" ideas for creating s'mores out in blog-land and thought we might change ours up as well. 

We started with a Ritz cracker,

topped that with a Reese's Peanut-butter Cup,

topped that with a roasted marshmallow (very roasted!),

and finished it off with another Ritz cracker. 

It was yummy! 

Everyone liked the change, a little salty, little sweet WITH a peanut butter cup! 

Does it get any better? I think not! 

And hanging out with this kid is always a good way to end the weekend...

Fruit and Yogurt Parfait

This is an easy, quick way to have a healthy breakfast or late afternoon snack with minimal effort.

Here's what you need:

1 vanilla yogurt, individual serving size
1-2 tablespoons granola, I like Special K
2 tablespoons frozen strawberries w/ sugar, thawed
blueberries

Layer thawed strawberries, yogurt, granola and top with blueberries.

You can change up the fruit and/or yogurt flavors to make your people happy...

Easy, Peasy! 

French Puffs

Basically a muffin, rolled in butter, cinnamon and sugar! 

Easy to make and even easier to eat!

 Lets make a batch...

Muffins:

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup canola oil

1 egg

2 cups flour

1/3 cup sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Topping

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1/2 cup sugar 

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Heat oven to 400*

Grease bottoms of muffin pan or line with paper liners.

Beat milk, oil and egg.

Stir in flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and mix just until flour is moistened, batter will be a little lumpy.

Divide batter in muffin cups.

Bake 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.

While muffins are baking, melt 1/2 cup butter or margarine, and in a separate bowl mix cinnamon and sugar. Set aside.

Remove muffins from oven, and as soon as you are able to handle them, roll in butter then cinnamon and sugar mixture. 

Serve 'em up to hungry people!

Source: my trusty Betty Crocker cookbook!

Applesauce Bread

When Drew was home a of couple weekends ago, he took some pumpkin bread back to school that I had made ahead and popped in the freezer. He called a few days later to say how much he had enjoyed having a couple slices for breakfast. He likes  being able to have something in his room to eat and not go to the dining hall every morning. So, I decided to get back to baking and make a few loaves to send to him. He can keep them in the freezer until he is ready to cut into them. 

This is a new recipe and I think it turned out great. Wonderful with a cup of coffee, a tall glass of milk or in my case a Green Monster.

1/2 cup of canola oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup sweetened applesauce

Preheat oven to 350*

In a mixer bowl, mix the oil and sugar.

Add eggs and beat until well blended.

In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients.

Mix in half the dry mixture with the batter mixture, then add half the applesauce.

Repeat with the remaining dry ingredients and the last half of the applesauce, mixing well.

Pour into one regular size loaf pan, or two small loaf pans. If using a large pan bake for about an hour. For the smaller pans, about 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan.

Pepperoni Pizza Dip

You are going to love and hate me for this recipe...it is sooo good, just maybe not so good for you. But seriously everything in moderation is my motto and I'm sticking to it.  Make this when you are having lots of people over, or cut the recipe in half to help curb the temptation to sit down and eat the whole dish!

8oz shredded mozzarella
8oz shredded cheddar
1 cup mayonnaise, not low fat or fat free
1 ½ cups pepperoni, I always use Turkey pepperoni, chopped
½ cup onions, diced
½ cup green pepper,diced

1 can (6oz) chopped black olives, chopped

**optional ingredients: small jar of green olives, chopped, small can of chopped mushrooms, drained 

Chop pepperoni, and dice onion, and green pepper.

In a large bowl mix all ingredients.

Pour mixture into a 9X13 baking dish.

Bake at 350* for 25 - 30 minutes.

Serve hot with a substantial cracker or chips. We like Wheat Thins with this recipe.

Little Pigs in a Blanket

On a rainy, fall  Saturday, when you are suppose to travel to watch the local university football team play their #1 rival on an NFL field, and you make the decision NOT to, based on the potential of severe weather, Mom better make some good treats to eat while watching said game on a pretty fuzzy internet feed. Here's a sampling of what we ate...

Little Smokie Sausages
Refrigerated Pillsbury Crescent  Rolls

Unroll crescent rolls.

Using a pizza cutter, cut rolls into long thin strips. (about 4 per roll)

Wrap strips around sausages, leaving ends exposed.

Some times my strips were too long, I just cut it in half and made 2 out of those. 

Place on greased baking sheet.

Bake at 350* for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serve with ketchup, mustard, bbq, or your favorite dipping sauce...

Make these for the people in your house...

they are easy, 

taste great, 

take only 2 ingredients,

 kids love 'em, 

adults love 'em, 

and I know you will too!

Seriously though, these little babies with some mac and cheese and apple slices would make a perfect fall lunch or dinner!

Puppy Chow

Cleaning out the back of the pantry and came across 1/2 a box of Chex cereal.
Perfect for a batch of Puppy Chow for my guys. 

It's quick, easy and a real treat for kids and adults alike. 

Enjoy!

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
9 cups Chex cereal (I used Corn Chex)
3 cups powdered sugar

In a LARGE mixing bowl, measure out the cereal, set aside.

In a microwave safe bowl, melt butter, peanut butter and chocolate chips, about 1 minute.

Remove from microwave and stir till smooth, add vanilla.

Pour chocolate mixture over cereal and using a plastic spatula, gently stir to coat cereal. 

In a large brown paper grocery bag, add powdered sugar and  chocolate covered cereal.

Close top of bag and gently shake to distribute powdered sugar over all the cereal.

When covered, pour into a large resealable plastic, or glass, container. 

Puppies would probably like this, too! :)

MAKE SOMEONE HAPPY!

Just for fun today I was cleaning out the refigerator, (ok, it wasn't for fun, it really needed cleaned out), and I came across a partially used tube of chocolate chip cookie dough from a few days ago. Thinking that I needed to "use it or lose it" I turned on the oven, then looked over and saw a package of mini M&M's that I bought for a different dessert. Hmmm......here's what I ended up with:

Big and beautiful Chocolate Chip/M&M Cookies! J will love them when he comes home from football practice, but before he leaves for Knights of Our Lady and the bonfire tonight. I'm telling you the kid is rarely home. Last night it was 10:20pm before he ever got home from SCHOOL!!

A tall glass of milk and he will be HAPPY! 

All I did was roll the dough in large balls (1 1/12 inches), place them on a cookie sheet sprayed with nonstick spray, strategically place a few M&M's on each one, and bake them at 350* for 10-11 minutes. So easy, but a little more special that simply baking them straight out of the tube.

Banana Bread

A little early in the season for the baking mood to strike, but when you have overripe bananas, you either pitch them in the trash, or bake up some banana bread! I chose to bake and put it in the freezer to take to Caleb next time we see him. He likes it...a lot! It's easy to make and boy does it ever make your house smell good.

1/2 cup butter, at room temp
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
2-3 overripe bananas, smashed
2 cups flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar till well incorporated.

Mash your bananas.

Add eggs, banana and vanilla, continue to mix until mixture is creamy and well combined.

Add flour, one cup at a time, along with baking soda and salt, mixing as you go until all dry ingredients are mixed well.

Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray and transfer batter to pan. The batter will be very thick, take a knife and even it out, making sure to get in the corners.

Bake in a 350* for 1 hour or until done. Stick a knife in the center to check for done-ness. Pop back in oven for a few minutes if not completely done.

Slice it up warm for a real treat or cool completely and wrap it up  to share with someone you love!



Baking tip....

I really don't know if this serves the same purpose as sifting, but when a recipe calls for sifted flour, this is what I do....I grab my wire whisk and "whisk" the flour in the canister. It becomes much lighter and  is so much more simple than actually sifting, which I can  make a mess with! And it's kinda fun...okay, maybe I need to get out more!

Sweet and Salty Pretzel Bites

Small Pretzels
Hershey Kisses
M & M's (plain)

Preheat oven to 200*.

Lay out an single layer of pretzels on a foil lined pan.

Place one Hershey kiss on top of each pretzel.

Place pan in oven until kisses are softened. 3 to 5 minutes is all you need.

When chocolate is softened, remove pan from oven and top each kiss with a plain M & M. Press down slightly to embed the M & M into the kiss. 

Let cool completely, then store in an airtight container.

This is Jonah's specialty. He makes them every year for Thanksgiving, using orange, yellow and brown M&Ms (sometimes we use Reese's Pieces), then for Christmas using red and green M&Ms. We decided to make them for Easter this year and used every color in the bag. Jonah pointed out that the Easter colored M&Ms were more expensive and we didn't need that big of a bag! And right he was! You can mix these up with different kisses as well. We like the Hugs because of the stripes! 
He has been making them for several years so it's good for little hands as well.

Coffe Cake from Starbucks

Topping:
1 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Cake:
1 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup milk

Preheat oven to 325* Spray a 9 X 13 inch pan with non stick cooking spray.

Make topping by combining all topping ingredients. Mixture should have the consistency of moist sand.

In a large bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, mix well.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add this dry mixture to the moist mixture a little at a time. Add milk and mix well.

Spoon half the batter into a 9 X 13 inch pan, spread out evenly.

Sprinkle 1/2 the topping mix over.

Top with second half of batter and smooth out.

Sprinkle remaining topping mix over all. Be sure the topping mixture covers all the batter.

Bake 50 minutes or until the edges begin to brown. Cool on a rack.

This is actually one of Caleb's recipes. He is great at finding recipes on the internet from his favorite places. Starbucks has nothin' on my boy!

Pumpkin Bread

a great mid morning or after school snack...yummm!

2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 eggs, beaten
1 can pumpkin
1 cup canola oil
2/3 cup water
3 1/2 cups flour

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, soda and salt, stir until well blended.

Make a well in the center of flour mixture and add remaining ingredients; mix well. I find my large wire whisk works well to do the mixing. Pour batter into two greased (or sprayed)regular sized loaf pans, or 4 small loaf pans.

Bake in 350* oven for 1 hour for regular size and 40-45 minutes for the small pans. Check done-ness with a toothpick inserted in the middle. Bread is done when it comes out clean.

Everyone except Jonah likes this bread....he just hasn't come to appreciate a warm slice on a cool morning....I have hopes he will one day!

Tortilla Appetizers

These are so tasty and take only a little time to throw together. I like to make them earlier in the day or even the day before to let the flavors really mingle and get to know each other. Everyone in our family loves these and request them often!

1 package large tortillas
2 -8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened (it is fine to use low-fat)
1/3 cup mayonnaise, can substitute Miracle Whip(can use light)
2 tablespoons green onions, chopped
1/4 cup black olives, chopped
2 -2 1/2 oz package sliced, pressed, cooked ham

Combine cream cheese and mayo.

Spread a thin layer on each tortilla then sprinkle each with green onion and black olives.

Place 4 pieces of ham on each tortilla.

Roll up tortillas, wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

When ready to serve, cut each tortilla in 3/4 inch slices.

Makes about 64 appetizers.

Big Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup shortening
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon water
2 eggs
1 cup chocolate chips

Cream shortening, white sugar and brown sugar.

Add vanilla and water, mix in eggs.

Add flour, baking soda and salt. Mix well.

Spread in 2 greased round pizza pans. Smooth to within and inch of the edge of the pans. Sprinkle both with chocolate chips.

Bake 10-12 minutes at 375*.

This can be decorated with frosting for any occasion.

*You can add the chocolate chips to the cookie dough, but I find it is more difficult to spread, so I add them at the end.

I asked my sister-in-law Janice to share this recipe with me....I'm so glad she did. The boys ask for this often and it is easy to decorate it for a special occasion. It is especially good for a group of kids for a small birthday party. Thanks for sharing Janice!

S'more Clusters

6 Hershey bars broken in pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons oil
2 cups mini marshmallows
10 whole graham crackers broken in pieces

Melt chocolate bars and oil in large microwaveable bowl.

Stir in marshmallows and graham crackers until will combined.

Spoon in paper lined muffin cups, about 1/3 cup each.

Refrigerate for at least and hour before serving.

Cheerios Treats

3 Tablespoons butter
6 cups mini marshmallows
1/2 cup peanut butter
5 cups cheerios

Spray a 9X13 inch pan with non stick cooking spray.

Melt butter in a large microwave safe bowl.

Add marshmallows and return to microwave until marshmallow begin to puff up.

Remove and add peanut butter, stir to combine.

Add cheerios to marshmallow mixture and mix to combine well.

Pour into prepared pan, cool and cut into squares to serve.

*This can be made on the stove top by melting butter, marshmallows and peanut butter and pouring over cheerios to combine.

Poppy Seed Bread

2 1/4 cup sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I use canola)
3 eggs
3 tablespoons poppy seeds (in the baking aisle with the spices)
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons butter extract
3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk

Glaze:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon butter extrat

In a large mixing bowl, combine the first seven ingredients until blended.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt.

Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with milk just until moistened.

Spray 2 loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray.

Pour batter onto pans. Bake at 350* for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

In a small bowl, combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over warm loaves.

Cool 10 minutes until removing from pans to wire racks.

No Bake Granola Bars

2 1/2 cups rice crispies
2 cups uncooked quick oatmeal
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Spray a 9 X 13 inch pan with non stick spray.

Combine first 2 ingredients in a large bowl, set aside.

Bring brown sugar and corn syrup to a boil, stirring constantly, remove from heat.

Stir in peanut butter and vanilla.

Pour over dry ingredients and stir until well coated.

Let stand a few minutes to cool slightly.

Stir in mini chocolate chips and then press into a 9 X 13 inch pan. Cool on a rack, then cut into bars and serve with a tall glass of cold milk.