Huckleberry Bars

I love Huckleberries!!!!  I can't get them here but I have jars of homemade jam from family.  I have found yet another fabulous resource for new recipies.....

  Just Get Off Your Butt and Bake!!

Wow!! So many recipies with so many beautiful pictures!!

Their recipie for Magic Rasberry Cookie Bars sounded just too good!!

I substituted the Huckleberry Jam for the Rasberry.  I also added chocolate chips to the top because everything tastes better with chocolate!!

The recipe: 

2 Cups Graham Cracker Crumbs

1/4 Cup Sugar

1/2 cup margarine or butter, Melted

1 can (14 oz.) sweetened Condensed Milk

1 1/4 cups Raspberry jam or Preserves

 

1 1/3 cups flaked coconut  ( didn't use )

Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in small bowl.  Press into the bottom of a 13x9 in pan. pour 12/ of the milk over crust.  Top with nuts, then spoon Jam over the whole thing.  Top with remaining milk.  This is where I omitted the coconut flakes and sprinkled chocolate chips on top.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 min.  Take a butter knife to the edges of the pan when it comes out of the oven.  Let cool completely before cutting.  So Yummy!!

No Bake Energy Bites

I find so many recipies online....  These little yummy balls of enery came to me as a link from a website I like on facebook.  If you have the time you really should check out
 The 5 dollar Dinner mom.  She featured this recipie from another new favorite blog of mine Smashed Peas and Carrots.  Her recipie for No Bake Energy Bites  sparked my interest right way. 

Ha Ha, I literally made them within an hour of seeing the recipie.  You can vary the recipe in so many ways....

I didn't have shredded coconut so I substituted crushed Wheaties cereal.
I don't ever have ground flax seed so I just omited it.
I only had regular sized chocolate chips so i just ran a knife through them.
You could add other nuts, or dried fruit also.

Seriously folks, who doesn't have peanut butter, honey, oats, and vanilla in their cupboard??

The recipe:

1 cup Oats

1/2 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)

1/3 cup honey

1 cup coconut flakes ( substitued 1 cup crushed Wheaties cereal )

1/2 cup ground flaxseed ( I omited this )

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla

 

 

Mix oats, peanut butter, honey and vanilla together.  ad your mix ins......

 

Chill in refrigerator for about an hour.  Roll into little balls. 

 

 HEAVEN!!!

 

 

Store in refrigerator for about a week.  Yeah right!  Like they will last that long......

 

 

Buffalo Chicken Hot Dip

Need a recipe for the big game??  This one is really easy.  It's actually a crockpot recipe.  You could also bake it in a casserole or do it in a pot on the stove.

2 8oz pkgs of cream cheese
1 cup Hot wing sauce
1 cup bleu cheese dressing
1 cup crumbled bleu cheese
4 cups cooked chopped chicken (about 3 breasts)

Place everything in the crockpot and turn it on.  Stir occaisionally as the cream cheese melts
or
Place in a casserole dish and bake at 350 till hot and bubbly
or
Place everything in pot on the stove heat on low stirring occasionally

Serve hot with your favorite crackers.... Mine are Ritz!!

I found this recipe at www.crockpotgirls.com 

Turtle Bars

Omg!! These are soo good!!

Again, I love getting all sorts of recipies in my email inbox.  I subscribe to so many cooking newsletters and websites. This one came from one of my new favorite sites www.justgetoffyourbuttandbake.com

Of course as soon as I read the recipie for Turtle Bars I had to make lthem right away.  As usual I didn't really check the cupboard before starting so I made a few adjustments.

The Recipe:
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cup quick oatmeal ( I used regular rolled oats)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter melted
1 pkg 8 oz chocolate chips
1 jar 12 oz caramel syrup  ( I used caramel and butterscotch together)
1 cup chopped pecans, or almonds...  Don't chop too much (like i did)  You want bigger pieces of nuts in them.

Directions.....
 Combine first 6 ingredients untill well blended.  Love my mixer!!!  spread 1/2 into a 9x13 greased or parchment lined glass baking dish.  Press well.  Bake at 350 for10 minutes.  Spread chocolate chips and nuts over crust. drizzel carmel syrup over the top.  sprinkle remaining crumb mixture over the top.   Bake 15 minutes or till golden brown.  Let cool before cutting.

Mini Gingerbread Banana Muffins

I had a gingerbread mix in the cupboard from some deal I found somewhere.....  Not really wanting to make gingerbread I went to the Betty Crocker website and found this recipe.  I love having fresh muffins to snack on.  They make a great breakfast on the go or a good after school snack.  They also are very "freezer friendly".

You'll need

1 Betty Crocker gingerbread mix
2 mashed bananas
2 eggs
3/4 cup quick oats
3/4 cup water

Pre-heat oven to 350.  Mix everything together and spoon 2/3's full into mini muffin tins.  Bake for about 12 minutes.  Makes 48 mini muffins.

Have you every searched for recipies that use "mixes" for starters?  

Chocolate Covered Banana Bites

These are just FANTASTIC!!  So simple to make.  I'd suggest making them when the kids aren't around...  They are a great late night or after school snack.

You'll need:

2 bananas
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1 big spoonful of peanut butter (crunchy or creamy)

Slice the bananas thick

Melt chocolate chips and peanut butter in microwave for about1 minute, stir till smoothe. dip bananas in chocoate mixture (toothpicks help) and place on wax paper.  Flash freeze for about 1 hour then place in large ziplock bag or freezer container.  Double or tripple the recipe....Yes they go that fast!

Proscuito Basil Chicken

This recipe came from my email box.  I get a weekly email from Rachael Ray's show with her recipies......     Like always when I find a recipe that sounds good my menu planning goes right out the window and I have to make it now.  The recipe calls for Sage but I didn't have any so I used Basil leaves from our plant. I didn't have Marsala so I used Merlot....

The original recipe is called Chicken Samboltica

You'll need:

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
Procuitto
Basil leaves (or Sage)
toothpicks
flour for dredging
Olive oil
Garlic
Baby Portabella Mushrooms
Angel hair pasta
1 cup Merlot (or Marsala)
1 cup chicken broth (optional in my opinion)


Cut your chicken breasts in half and pound til 1/4 in thick. (I fed a family of 5 with 3 breasts). salt and pepper each side. Lay procuitto on top of breast. top with basil leaf and secure with toothpick. Heat a couple of tablespoons of oliv oil in skilled (med high).  dredge chicken (both sides) in flour and place in skillet.  You will need to do this in batches.  turn when brown, remove to plate and cover with foil when both sides are brown. 

When second batch goes in, drop pasta into boiling water and cook al dente. Strain pasta and set aside, reserve 1 cup of starchy water.  

When chicken is done keep warm under foil on a plate. Reduce heat on stove to med.  Add Sliced mushrooms (as many as you want, the more the better) and garlic (I used 4 cloves minced) to skillet.
Cook for a few minutes then add the wine.  Once reduced a bit ad chicken broth. loosten all the brown bits from the pan with a wooden spoon. Ladel some sauce over the chicken on a serving plate. Toss pasta into the sauce, ad some starchy water if needed. Serve alongside the chicken.

This got a thumbs up from everyone in the family!

Both dishes by themselves are fantastic!!  I'll definately be making this one again.