Chunky Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

The title alone is all you need to know. It's perfection.

Chunky Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

2 cups chunky peanut butter

1/2 cup butter

1 lb powdered sugar

2-3 cups of rice krispies

2 bags of milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips

Melt PB & butter together in microwave. Stir in powdered sugar. Reheat if necessary before you add the rice krispies. It makes it so much easier to stir them in when it is hot. Roll into 1/2 balls and place on cookie sheet. Freeze for 10-15 minutes or however long it takes you to sweep or vacuum your home. Melt chocolate chips in microwave (though be careful not to burn them because you get chunky chocolate). Dip PB balls in chocolate and chill. I like them best when they are cold, plus they don't melt all over everything. I usually just keep them in the fridge.

Amish Bread

This was the first bread recipe that I learned to cook. It deserves much attention. It was given to me by Miss Glenna Mae, one of my YW leaders back when. Her direct quote was, "This is the easiest recipe and you can't mess it up." Weeeell, I have messed it up before and I've tried variations.

And I think I've made it into perfection.

Amish Bread

2 ½ cups milk (or water, but milk makes it much more moist)

5 Tbs sugar or honey)

3 Tbs butter

1 Tbs salt

… mix and heat in microwave until slightly hot to the touch.

add ...

2 pkgs (or 4 ½ tsp) of rapid rise yeast

Then pour into your mixer and add...

flour

You want the dough to be soft almost sticky. The less dry it is the less hard the loaf will be after cooking. Mix in blender just until mixed and then hand knead it a little bit. Do not over knead. Grease bowl and dump it in. Put in oven with no light to help the dough rise.

Let rise 8 minutes and punch it down. Repeat this 4 times total. Ooooor, just forget about it like I do and punch it down in an hour and again when you remember.

Divide the dough in two pieces. Roll into a log and bend it like an arch. For decorative purposes, cut ½ inch deep along top of bread. Brush egg yolk and 1 tsp milk over bread.

Place in oven and THEN turn it on to 360 degrees. When your oven tells you it has reached that temperature, then set your timer for 20 minutes.

Artichoke Dip

If you don't like Artichokes, leave now. This is perfection. I could have eaten this all night at the baby shower, but I was hosting, so I had to soooome mingling. Thank you Kyndra for bringing this one to the party.

Ingredients.

2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
salt and pepper to taste
2 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 can artichoke bottoms, drained and chopped
1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

350 degrees
Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.

In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, Romano cheese, garlic, basil, garlic salt, salt and pepper. Gently stir in artichoke hearts and spinach.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake in the preheated oven 25 minutes, until bubbly and lightly browned.

Chicken Verde Stew and Hominy

I was sick the other day. My friend said that if she lived closer she would make me this stew for me. So since I was feeling better that day I went to the grocery store and bought it all and made it. Tasty.

Ingredients

• 2 Anaheim chiles
• 1 1/2 pounds tomatillos
• 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 cups chicken broth
  
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped carrot
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  
• 1 (29-ounce) can hominy, rinsed and drained
• 6 tablespoons sour cream

Preparation

1. Preheat broiler.

2. Halve, stem, and seed chiles. Place chiles, skin side up, on a foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray; broil for 5 minutes or until charred. Let stand for 15 minutes. Peel and discard skins. Arrange tomatillos on prepared baking sheet, and broil 14 minutes or until blackened, turning once. Combine the chiles, tomatillos, 1/4 cup cilantro, cumin, and oregano in a blender. Add 1 cup broth; process until smooth.

3. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons olive oil; swirl to coat. Add onion, carrot, celery, and bell pepper; sauté for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour; sauté for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic; sauté for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Place onion mixture in a large bowl.

4. Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Add 2 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add half of chicken; sauté 3 minutes. Add browned chicken to onion mixture. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken and 2 teaspoons oil. Combine remaining 1 cup broth, tomatillo mixture, onion mixture, and hominy in pan over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Ladle 1 2/3 cups stew into each of 6 bowls, and top each with 1 tablespoon sour cream. Garnish with cilantro, if desired.

Kale and Cashews

Okay so I forgot to change my Organic Delivery Box that comes from Farm Fresh To You. So this week I was given two bunches of Kale. I had to cook at least one bunch. So I did tonight. This was the most eclectic dinner I think I've ever made. I just had a lot of foods that I needed to use. So I baked my 7 tiny new potatoes, baked 3 small spicy sweet potatoes, thawed out my tamales from Christmas, and sauteed Kale. None of that blends together at all. But I had to use them or lose them.

This recipe for Kale won for the night. I had three helpings and my husband had two. I just looked at about half a dozen recipes and made my own. I'll make it again b/c it's very simple.

Ingredients
1/4 -ish of toasted cashews
1 onion diced
1 bunch kale
1-2 tbs lemon juice
red pepper flakes

Toast the cashews in the pan until you can start to smell them. A little brown is okay. Remove them and set them aside.

Saute the onion for about 10 minutes. Add the kale. Chop it up good. It's easier for the kids to get down when the bites aren't that intimidating. Saute for about 10-15 min more.

Add the lemon juice and red pepper flakes and viola!

Summer Broccoli Salad

The famous. Yes I'm sure everyone has a variation on it. But this one works for me. I haven't made it in years and I forgot how good it is.

3 heads of broccoli cut into bite-sized pieces
3 green onions chopped
1 lb bacon cooked and crumbled
3 hard-boiled eggs
red onion
slivered almonds
craisins

Sauce
1 cup mayo
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tbs vinegar or 1/4 tsp lemon juice

Mix all together and chill before serving.

Belgian Endive stuffed with Apples, Goat Cheese & Walnuts

This was part of the Teacher Luncheon we hosted last week. Tasty. I could eat this often.

Ingredients

4-8 firm heads of Belgian Endive
2 Apples cored
4 oz plain Chevre log crumbled (goat cheese)
3 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs Orange Zest
1 Tbs fresh Orange Juice
2 Green Onions, finely sliced, included tops
1/2 cup Walnuts toasted and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 tsp Sea Salt
Black Pepper

Balsamic Dressing for drizzling

Rinse and dry endives. Trip the bottom (root end) to separate leaves. Set aside. Toss diced apples, goat cheese and olive oil and orange juice. Add green onions, nuts, cranberries, salt and pepper. Stir gently.

Place a small spoonful on the endive leaf. I've forgotten every time I've made this to drizzle the balsamic vinegar on top. And I've loved it that way. One day I'll drizzle it on top and love it that way too.

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

YUM! Last week I helped host a lunch for the teachers at our school. We made this soup from The famed Barefoot Contessa. YUM! I added a few changes like eliminating water and adding much cream. I tried the original way which was still good. But Oooooh I like it my way muuuuch better.

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

Ingredients

2 Tbs unsalted butter
2 Tbs olive oil
4 cups chopped yellow onions (about 3)
2-4 Tbs curry
5 pounds butternut squash (2 large)
1 1/2 pounds sweet apples (4 apples)
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2ish cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups of apple juice or cider

Warm the butter, olive oil, onions, and curry powder in a large stockpot uncovered over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the onions are tender. Stir occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pot.

Peel the squash, cut in half, and remove the seeds. Cut the squash into chunks. Peel, quarter, and core the apples. Cut into chunks.

Add the squash, apples, salt, pepper to the pot. Cover, and cook over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes, until the squash and apples are very soft. Blend it all together in my favorite VitaMix.

Pour the soup back into the pot. Add the apple cider or juice and enough cream to make the soup the consistency you like; it should be slightly sweet and quite thick. Check the salt and pepper and serve hot.

Dreamy Cream Orange Cranberry Scones

So I have to help cook a breakfast for the teacher's next week. I am SOOO making these. I just made them tonight. I modified Smitten Kitchen's take on it and just couldn't resist adding an Orange Glaze.

These are perfect.

Dreamy Cream Scones
America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons chilled, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped into smaller bits
1 cup heavy cream (oh yeah baby)

1. Turn on the oven to 425°F.

2. Mix flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in large bowl.

3. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. I like forks or using the food processor but just for a few seconds. Stir in cranberries.

4. Stir in cream.

5. Knead dough by hand just until it comes together into a rough, sticky ball. Form scones by pressing the dough into a 3/4-inch thick circle. Cut pieces with a biscuit cutter. Press remaining scraps back into another piece.

6. Place rounds on ungreased baking sheet and bake until scone tops are baaaarely light brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

Orange Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

Orange Juice

Orange Zest (about 2 teaspoons)

Mix all together. Add just enough Orange Juice to get it to a liquid consistency.