Smore's Cookie Bars

I got such a kick out of this video, I had to share!




Ingredients:

1 stick of butter (room temp.)
½ cup white sugar
¼ brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 & 1/3 cups of flour
¾ cup crushed graham crackers
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 (7.5 oz) jar of fluff
2 4oz Hershey’s Bars

Preheat oven to 350.

In mixer, cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg. In a separate bowl mix flour, graham cracker, baking powder, and salt. Add mixture to wet ingredients in mixing bowl.

Spray 8x8 baking pan with cooking spray. Place half of the cookie mixture in the bottom of pan. Spread evenly. Lay Hershey’s bars side by side on top of the cookie mixture. Smear a whole jar of marshmallow Fluff over top. Take the second half of the cookie mix and flatten the pieces in your hand; lay over fluff.

Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 until top browns. LET COOL before cutting.

NOTES: Don't try to use chocolate chips or wafers in place of the choc bars. It makes it impossible to spread the fluff without pulling all the pieces up. Eat this dessert pretty quickly - we found that after a day the marshmellow fluff gets really chewy and a bit hard. Solution: warm in bowl & serve with ice cream.

Crockpot Chocolate Cake

Oh my stars, this cake is sooooooo delicious and super easy! Make it tonight with vanilla ice cream!

Chocolate Crockpot Cake

1 package chocolate cake mix

1 container of sour cream (8 oz)

1 cup chocolate morsels

1 cup water

4 eggs

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 package instant chocolate pudding mix

Spray crock pot with nonstick cooking spray. Mix cake mix, sour cream, chocolate morsels, water, egss, oil and pudding mix in a bowl by hand. Pour into crock pot. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours. Makes about 12 servings.

From--http://blog.cjanerun.com/

Crockpot Carnitas

I just discovered Mama Pea's blog a few weeks ago and as a family that usually eats vegetarian and fish (the mister has a high cholesterol so for the most part, we gave up meat this year), her recipes really appeal to us http://peasandthankyou.com. Oh, and she is really funny too!

I made this on Sunday evening and the house smelled delicious. I have to admit that this was my first time cooking with Seitan (a wheat protein) so I was slightly nervous but both Nathan and I LOVED this dish. I only made half a recipe for the two of us but if you want leftovers go for the whole deal--we definitely will next time around! Carnivores, I promise, you will enjoy it!

http://peasandthankyou.com/recipage/?recipe_id=6003917&prev_term=seitan%20carnitas

Summer Salsa

Just whipped up this peach/mango salsa yesterday and thought I would share! It would be good with any meat, or as a dip for chips. We ate it with a grilled flank steak (marinated in lime juice, soy sauce, and garlic) and rice (cooked with onions, garlic, yellow pepper, peas, and chicken stock). It was a tasty summer meal that didn't take too much effort. (Of course, it would be good with other fruits if you had them like pineapple or papaya, and you could use mint instead of cilantro, and you could add onion or jalapeno if you wanted a spicier version! But I thought mine was really perfect.)

Peach & Mango Salsa

Peel and cut into little bits:

• 2 peaches
• 1 mango
• 2 kiwis

Mix with:

• Juice of 1 lime
• Cilantro (about 1/4 a cup)

Foodie Mini Reunion!

Yesterday S & M drove out to State College to have dinner with M & C. It is the first visit since we all moved to Pennsylvania this spring, and it was wonderful see both of them and to catch up! I am only disappointed because I kept trying to remember to take a picture of the four of us, but ultimately forgot :( I wanted to have a photo to share with everyone!

Our cookout-style dinner was made with local produce from MCE's hometown of State College and included Memphis style baked beans in honor of Z&A and spicy pickles made by Co and Ch last summer. By using food to remember our fellow foodies who couldn't be with us, it kept you all in our hearts. Miss you all!!!

Cheater, Cheater, Lentil Eater

I want to participate in the challenge, but I have to admit that I have never cooked with lentils in my life. Coincidentally, I watched Chuck's Day Off last night and salivated over this Veggie Shepherds Pie.

http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/chuck-hughes/vegetarian-shepherds-pie-recipe/index.html

Let me know how it turns out!

Lentil Vegetable Soup

    I make big batches of this soup (and Barefoot Contessa's lentil soup with sausage) every winter and we LOVE it! Great with parmesan cheese and crusty bread. I know this isn't the best recipe for summer but it is my favorite. We are also trying to eat more dry beans as they are very healthy, economical and vegetarian (we are trying to make a go of not eating meat at all).

Ingredients

• 1 pound French green lentils
• 4 cups chopped yellow onions (3 large onions)
• 4 cups chopped leeks, white part only (2 leeks)
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
• 1/4 cup good olive oil, plus additional for drizzling on top
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3 cups medium-diced celery (8 stalks)
• 3 cups medium-diced carrots (4 to 6 carrots)
• 3 quarts chicken stock
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons red wine or red wine vinegar
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

In a large bowl, cover the lentils with boiling water and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Drain.

In a large stockpot on medium heat, saute the onions, leeks, and garlic with the olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme, and cumin for 20 minutes, until the vegetables are translucent and very tender. Add the celery and carrots and saute for 10 more minutes. Add the chicken stock, tomato paste, and lentils. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour, until the lentils are cooked through. Check the seasonings. Add the red wine and serve hot, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with grated Parmesan.

The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, 1999