Eatmore Bars

A recipe I stumbled across that I had copied down from my Auntie Barb. And since Eatmore bars are my absolute fave, I had to add this to the "box".

Eatmore Bars

1/2 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup honey
1 cup chocolate chips
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup chopped peanuts

Combine the peanut butter and honey in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add chocolate chips and vanilla, stir until melted. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Press into an 8x8 pan and let cool. Cut into bars and serve.

Sesame Beef

This was easily the yummiest Chinese-style recipe I have ever made! Hands down, delicious! I served it over cooked spaghetti noodles which I think was the crowning glory. The sauce was so good on those noodles! This is definitely going into my "keeper" file.

Sesame Beef

4 TBSP. soy sauce
4 TBSP. white sugar
4 TBSP. vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp. dried minced onion
1 lb. round steak, sliced into strips
2 TBSP. sesame seeds 

Mix soy sauce, sugar, oil, garlic, and onions in a large bowl. Set aside. Cut steak into strips and add to bowl (can also mix all of this in a large gallon size ziploc baggie). Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or overnight. Cook in wok or frying pan until brown, about 5 minutes. Add sesame seeds and cook for additional 2 minutes.
**note** When I made this I heated some olive oil in a large saute pan and tossed in 2 bags of frozen stir fry veggies and a bag of frozen broccoli florets. After a few minutes of cooking them, I tossed in the marinated beef, sauce and all, cooking it until the beef was done. I served the beef/veggie mixture over cooked spaghetti noodles and it was insanely good! Also, I used 1 1/2 lbs. cubed beef/stew meat and tripled the sauce recipe to account for the extra beef/veggies additions and to make sure there was enough sauce to cover the noodles. It was the perfect amount for us.

Sister Riley's Sloppy Joes

A great recipe from my brother Mark, given to him by one of his mission companions, and it has been an easy favorite ever since.

Sister Riley's Sloppy Joes

3 lbs. ground beef
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup diced celery
1 (10 3/4 oz.) can tomato soup
3 TBSP. brown sugar
2 TBSP. vinegar
1 TBSP. Kitchen Bouquet
2 TBSP. Worcestershire sauce


Brown ground beef. Drain. Add the onion and celelry and cook for a few minutes until tender. Add the remaining ingredients, stir, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Serve on buns.

Peanut Butter Frosting

A totally scrumptious frosting that was perfectly creamy and just the right amount of peanut buttery goodness! (We loved it on chocolate cupcakes.) This makes a LOT of frosting, I managed to generously frost 4 dozen cupcakes with this one recipe, so it would make enough to easily frost a 2 layer 9-inch cake. Keep that in mind as you may need to cut it in half for frosting a 9x13 cake. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened/room temp.
1 cup creamy peanut butter
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup heavy cream***

In a large bowl, beat butter and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Slowly beat in 1/2 of the powdered sugar. Mix in the vanilla and 1/4 cup of the cream. Beat in the remaining powdered sugar. If needed, add a little more cream or milk until the frosting reaches desired spreading consistency.
***Instead of cream you can use regular milk or evaporated milk with the same delicious results.
Makes enough to frost one 2 layer 9-inch cake or 4 dozen cupcakes.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

This was a recipe I got from our Ward cookbook, with the only modification made to enlarge the amounts in order to fill my big casserole dish to feed the lot of us. Oh was it ever delicious! Everyone loved it and I can't wait to make it again.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

2 1/2 - 3 lbs. cubed frozen hash browns
salt & pepper to taste
2 (10 3/4 oz.) cans cream of chicken soup
1 3/4 - 2 cups sour cream (fat-free, lite or reg.)
3 cups cubed chicken, raw (can also use breasts or tenders)
8-12 oz. diced ham
12 Swiss cheese slices, processed or deli

Place the frozen hash browns into a greased 11x15-inch casserole dish. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper to taste. In a bowl whisk together the soups and sour cream. Pour evenly over top of the potatoes. Layer the chicken evenly over top. Sprinkle the ham over the chicken. Cover and bake @ 350* F for 1 1/2-2 hours. Uncover and place the cheese slices evenly over top. Bake again for another 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving to let it set up.

Cornbread / Corn Muffins

This is a my absolute favorite cornbread recipe, it's simple and so insanely good. It makes delicious cornbread or corn muffins, whichever way you decide to bake it, it will be delicious regardless. And don't forget the Honey Butter!

Cornbread / Corn Muffins

2 cups cornmeal

2 cups flour**

1/2 cup sugar

2 TBSP. baking powder

2 tsp. salt

2/3 cup oil

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 cups milk

 

Preheat the oven to 400* F.  Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan or 2 muffin tins (for 24 muffin cups total). In a large mixing bowl combine the first 5 ingredients and mix. Add the oil, eggs and milk and mix until smooth and well combined. Pour batter into prepared pan, or ladle batter into 24 greased muffin cups.

Bake @ 400* F for 20-25 minutes for the 9x13 pan, or 15-20 minutes for the muffins. It's done when the top springs back when lightly touched.

 

**High Altitude Adjustment** Add 4 TBSP. flour to the batter for 3500 ft. and above.

Butterfinger Dessert

The original recipe was to make an 8-inch pie, but I needed to feed quite a few people with the dessert, so I re-worked it and made it to fit into a 9x13-inch pan instead. This is a rich, creamy, delicious dessert, especially if you like Butterfinger bars:)

Butterfinger Dessert

10 whole graham crackers (about 1 package)
2 TBSP. sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
8-10 (2 1/8 oz.) Butterfinger candy bars, crushed**

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1 (12 oz.) tub Cool Whip, thawed

1 (8 oz.) tub Cool Whip, thawed

 

Place the graham crackers in a food preocessor and pulse until crumbs. Add the sugar and melted butter and pulse until well mixed. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom of a 9x13-inch pan. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until creamy with an electric mixer. Add 2/3 of the crushed Butterfinger mixture and mix well. Stir in the 12 oz. tub of Cool Whip until well mixed. Pour the mixture into the pan on top of the crumb crust, spreading evenly over top. Spread the 8 oz. tub of cool whip evenly over top of the Butterfinger mixture. Sprinkle the remaining 1/3 of the mixture over the top. Cover and chill for several hours to let it set. Cut into squares and serve.

 

**To crush the Butterfinger candy bars, place in a ziploc bag, seal and smash with a rolling pin until crumbly and no large chunks remain.

Peach Cream Cheese Dessert

This is a variation on another recipe I was given. I was limited to the ingredients in my pantry at the time so I had to improvise. It turned out delicious and well worth repeating:)

Peach Cream Cheese Dessert

1 (3 oz.) pkg. peach Jello
3/4 cup boiling water
3 ice cubes
20 large graham crackers (about 2 packages)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
2 (15 oz.) can peaches, drained, cubed
8 oz. frozen whipped topping, thawed

Pour Jello into a medium bowl. Stir in the boiling water until the Jello is dissolved. Add the ice cubes and stir until melted. Chill Jello just until thick but not set (about 35-45 minutes). Meanwhile, place the graham crackers into a food processor and process until it's all crumbs. Add the melted butter and 1/4 cup sugar. Pulse to mix really well. Press half of the crumb mixture into the bottom of a 9x13-inch pan. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl beat the cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, vanilla and lemon extract until creamy with a mixer. Add the partially set Jello to this mixture and mix until well blended. Add the peaches and stir. Fold in the whipped topping and mix until evenly distributed. Pour into pan with graham cracker crust. Spread evenly. Top with the remaining half of the graham cracker crumb mixture, spreading evenly over top. Cover and chill until set, preferably overnight. Cut into squares and serve.

Dijon Mustard Substitute

Because I NEVER seem to have Dijon mustard on hand when it calls for it in a recipe, I found this "recipe" online and it has been a total lifesaver. Or recipe saver, whatever:)

Dijon Mustard "Substitute"
 
1 TBSP. dry mustard
1 tsp. water
1 tsp. white wine vinegar
1 TBSP. mayonnaise
pinch sugar

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. Use as needed.
Makes: 2 Tablespoons.

***To make Chinese Mustard for dipping, drizzle a little sesame oil into the Dijon mustard & mix well.

Blueberry Peach Breakfast Pie

I stumbled across a pile of recipes I had copied off several years earlier and this one was among them. It sounded fun and I happened to have all of the ingredients, so we gave it a try. Oh my was it ever delicious! There wasn't a single bite left, every scrap of it was inhaled and exclaimed over, everyone loved it!

Blueberry Peach Breakfast Pie

1 TBSP. butter
6 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup cream (half & half or heavy cream)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
6 TBSP. flour
2 (15 oz.) cans sliced peaches, drained***
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375* F. Use 1 TB SP. butter to generously grease 2 (9-inch) pie plates.
Place eggs and sugar in blender. Cover and blend until well mixed and slightly frothy. Add cream, vanilla, and flour. Cover and blend until well mixed and smooth. Pour only enough batter into the bottom of each pie plate to just coat the bottom. Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and scatter the peaches and blueberries over the batter in each one. Pour the remaining batter evenly over the top of the fruit in both pie plates. Return them to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes more, until set. Remove from oven and let cool for 30 minutes or more before serving. Cut into wedges, dust with powdered sugar, and serve.
Makes 2 (9-inch) breakfast pies.

***This also works using fresh peaches, peeled and sliced.