Crunchy Peanut Butter Snack Mix

Sweet! With just a touch of salt.

Pb snack mix recipe

I like all cereals, namely those aimed at the 3-10 age group, so this recipe immediately appealed to me. And who doesn't like peanut butter? I made this to take to my brother's birthday party  tomorrow. Our family pretty much inhales anything with peanut butter, so I think it will go over well.

Bottom line: I have to take this to someone else's house, soon, or I will eat the entire thing. I realize it doesn't look super appetizing, but it melts in your mouth! I added 1 tablespoon of butter to the white bark, so I had 3 total. I also added 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. They melted a bit when I stirred in the white bark, but just enough to be gooey, not completely liquified. Nate said this "tastes like chex mix's sexy older sister." I'm not really sure what that means, but it can't be anything but a ringing endorsement!

Garlic Cheesy Pull Apart Bread

Kind of a big deal. This is awesome!

Garlic cheesy bread recipe

Don't be afraid of recipes with yeast! They can be intimidating, but once you experiment a bit, it becomes fun. And very rewarding (for your taste buds).
I don't have a dough hook for my mixer, I just used the whisk attachment. It worked like a charm. I used all purpose flour, not bread flour, because it's what I had on hand. It all worked out.

I let my initial dough rise in a slightly warmed oven for one hour. I turned the oven on for ten minutes, preheated it to the lowest temp, then shut it off about 15 minutes before I started the bread.
These twists end up doubling in size. If you don't want to twist them, no worries!

These look good, don't they? They were. I made my own garlic butter by adding garlic powder, basil, and parsley to a stick of melted butter. You will use the whole stick. I used mozzarella cheese in these loaves. So, so good.








Bottom line: Go make this bread! Even if you've never made bread, this is a super simple recipe to follow. I would recommend broiling the loaves for about 3 minutes before taking out of the oven. Use whatever cheese you like; I plan on using Asiago next time...and there will definitely be a next time!

Ranch Chicken Enchiladas

Mixing a packet of dry ranch seasoning and taco seasoning gives a wonderful taste to shredded chicken!

Ranch Chicken Enchiladas recipe

I used a rotisserie chicken for this, and it tasted great. I simmered the chicken in one can of broth along with the two spice packets for about 1.5 hours. The chicken was unbelievably tender, and it soaked up all of the broth. Yum.

Once the broth was all soaked up, I assembled the enchiladas. The ranch and salsa mix is quite good. I topped the chicken with cheddar, but I may use Colby-Jack next time for an extra kick.








Bottom line: These were very good, and so easy to make. The enchiladas went together in about 10 minutes. I was able to do some other baking/cooking while the chicken was simmering. Even Nate liked these, and he's not a fan of Mexican food that doesn't come in a Taco Bell wrapper. The best part is that you can add what you like and make it your own! Rice and beans would be good, so would a can of Rotel or corn. Mix it up!

Homemade Twix Bars

Mmmm...cookie, caramel, and chocolate!

Homemade Twix bar recipe

In this recipe, you make a delicious shortbread, yummy caramel filling, and cover it in chocolate. The shortbread is very crumbly, so it will be a pain to get it in the pan and press it down. I ended up baking mine for about 40 minutes.

The caramel filling is foolproof and delicious! I added an extra Tablespoon of cream so it would be a bit more gooey.




It was good up to this point. But only melting chocolate chips for the topping? They didn't get spreadable, but thick. So I added about 3 tablespoons of butter and it got a bit creamier. But it still wasn't what I wanted. I was expecting a ganache-type topping. More fudge and gooey, not so blah.

Bottom line: Meh. The caramel was definitely the best part of this dessert. The shortbread was okay, but it was dry. The chocolate layer needs removed and reworked! I plan on making this again after I find a ganache recipe for the top and a softer shortbread for the bottom, and I will report back!

Spinach and Feta Pie

Pie for dinner! Actually, this would make a great lunch, too.

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/03/easy-crust-less-spinach-and-feta-pie.html

I am a huge skinnytaste fan. This woman has fantastic recipes that are healthy, but don't taste like health food. I highly recommend you browse Her blog.

I also recommend you try this pie, which is really a quiche. It's so yummy!

Bottom line: This is a solid A. No part of this tastes like diet food. With all the feta and the fluffy egg throughout, you will be coming back for guilt-free seconds.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Pizza + wings = deliciousness. Who doesn't like wings? If you answered 'me,' then don't continue reading this post.
http://doitandhow.com/2013/04/03/buffalo-chicken-pizza-strips/

So the "recipe" I found on Pinterest turned out to just be a list of ingredients. Um...what?! Well I already had the ingredients, so I improvised the instructions. I rolled the dough out into a greased jelly roll pan and preheated the oven to 425. I then added the mozzarella and chicken (I used rotisserie) and drizzled with a bit more sauce.

I then topped the pizza with cheddar and baked this baby for 15 minutes. It could have used a few more minutes, but I like a doughy crust.

Bottom line: Yum! Nate said he could eat this again and again, and I agree. We dipped our pizza squares in ranch, but you could easily drizzle ranch over this before baking. This would also be great with some bacon bits sprinkled throughout. What a great snack! It beats chips and dip and could easily be served for dinner, too. 

Biscuits and Gravy

This is not a review, folks, this is one of my own. Actually, it is my Grandma's. She gave me my first gravy lesson at age 18 and I haven't looked back! Here's what you need:
-1 pound pork sausage (any flavor you like)
- 7-9 Tablespoons flour
- 2.5-4 cups milk

Start by frying your sausage. You want greasy sausage, so I wouldn't recommend low fat. If you want a low fat meal, don't make this.

Once your meat is cooked through, tilt the pan so that all the grease accumulates on one side. Add the flour bit by bit to the grease. I add enough until a paste is formed. Once you have the paste, add 1 cup of milk. Cook this on medium heat just until thickened. Add the milk about 1 cup at a time and cook until thickened.

Apple Snickerdoodle Bars

Snickerdoodle cookies and apple pie all rolled into one!

http://www.shakentogetherlife.com/2013/07/apple-pie-snickerdoodle-cookie-bars.html

A 3 ingredient baked treat?! Yes! This was a super easy treat to put together. And it was pretty tasty.

Bottom line: I grade this a solid B. It was good, but it didn't have that homemade taste to it. I'd rather have a crust than pre-packaged cookie dough. I would also rather have my apple pie filling than canned. All that aside, it still tasted good. Just not great.

Homemade Coffee Syrup

I love lattes. A lot. I cannot drink one without some kind of flavoring. Vanilla, caramel, pumpkin, etc. I do not like shelling out $7.00 for a bottle of flavored syrup. I researched homemade syrups but most required whole vanilla beans or other semi-pricey ingredients. I wanted to save a bit of money, so I came up with a very easy, cheap recipe. While I don't think I can replicate all of the flavors available by Torani, I can get my favorites for about $6.50 less than I normally pay. The recipe base is just simple syrup (1 cup water and 1 cup sugar). Heat long enough to dissolve all the sugar. It doesn't need to boil, but you do need to stir it often. When the sugar has dissolved, move pan off heat for 10-15 mins. Now the fun part: add your flavor! I just made peppermint syrup, and I added 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract. You can add vanilla, rum, maple, coconut, or any other extract you want. It is so easy!

Mashed Potato Bake

Have I mentioned how much I enjoy carbs?

http://what2cook.net/2013/09/08/baked-potato-casserole/

Without a doubt, these were the creamiest mashed potatoes I have ever eaten. Not the most flavorful, even after boiling my potatoes in chicken broth ( which I always do and highly recommend).

Bottom line: I was left wanting more...taste. Don't get me wrong, the texture was wonderful. The cheese and bacon were great in this dish. But it was bland. Quite bland. Nate suggested adding some ranch seasoning. If I did that, I would use buttermilk instead of evaporated milk as the liquid. Why I didn't add a couple tablespoons of butter is beyond me. I was temporarily insane. I don't think that I would make this again. I need more flavor!

Tortellini Casserole

Cheesy carb overload. In a good way.

http://www.keyingredient.com/recipes/526808068/tortellini-bake/

I really like pasta. Add cheese filling to that pasta, and I really, really like it! I'm also a big fan of mixing marinara and Alfredo sauces together.

Bottom line: I would make this again. I might change it up a bit by using different sauces and cheeses, but it was good this way as well. I try to make at least one meatless meal a week, and it's sometimes difficult to find a really filling one. This one fit the bill. I didn't use as much Parmesan as the recipe called for-I only used about 1/4 cup. I skipped the broiling and just baked this for 20 mins. Easy as pie. Actually, much easier.

7-up Biscuits

Also known as the best biscuits EVER!!

http://janellescookbook.blogspot.com/2010/10/7-up-biscuits.html

I'm not kidding, these melted in my mouth. They were so good. Like, I cannot stop thinking about them. I'm a bit irritated I just found out about them. They are baked in melted butter, people! Just look past the fact that one of the ingredients is 7-up.

The dough was exceptionally gooey. As in, almost soupy. I thought something had gone terribly awry. I was later proven wrong.

They look very unformed sitting in the glorious pan of butter, don't they? I had a hard time cutting them because they were so gooey. Press on, folks, you will be rewarded.

I wish this picture could convey how wonderful these biscuits taste.

Bottom line: These were an A+++++! Go make these right now. I'm not planning on ever looking for another biscuit recipe.

Italian Pot Roast

Perfect for a cold day! Actually, I had other things to cook and wanted something that required very little fuss.

http://www.crisco.com/Recipes/Details.aspx?recipeID=3072&crlt.pid=camp.JK3pakXODHs3

This recipe was simple and super quick. I used the stovetop method as some idiot (me) broke my crock pot a few weeks ago.

After everything was in the pot, I was off to do my baking!






Bottom line: It wasn't as tender as I'd hoped. Nate assured me it was great, but I will be looking for a different roast recipe. I ended up adding a can of beef broth because there just wasn't enough sauce. I also added about 2 T of flour with the broth, to keep it thick. It smelled great, but it was a tad too tough for my liking.

Soft Pretzel Bites with Cheese Sauce

I love soft pretzels. And cheese sauce...that's a no-brainer.

http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/homemade-soft-pretzel-bites/

I really enjoyed making these. Working with yeast can be very intimidating, but not with these babies.

I kind of freaked out about boiling these in baking soda water. Sounds weird, tastes good. Really good.







Bottom line: The pretzels were great! Chewy, salty, kinda gooey (in a good way). The recipe assumes you know that when you roll out the dough, you don't need a floured surface. You don't, as the oil from the rising dough bowl is sufficient. I took both batches out after 13 minutes, and they probably only needed 11.  Now for the cheese sauce: it was gross. Grainy, actually...and gross. Nothing beats the processed creaminess of Velveeta. I've never had much luck melting cheddar for any kind of sauce, but I gave it a try. Next time, it's Velveeta or a can of nacho cheese sauce. Do yourself a favor and don't make this sauce. But do try the pretzels!

Sugar Donut Muffins

What's a donut muffin? It's a muffin that tastes like a donut! And it's yummy.

http://stylishcuisine.com/?p=1242

These were very simple to put together. I was a bit nervous about the low sugar content, as I was afraid they would be too bland.

They baked up absolutely perfect. And the dipping in butter and sugar part was quite fun.

White Cheese Dip

Cheese, please!

http://www.recklessabandoncook.com/2011/02/superbowl-series-white-queso-dip.html

This 5 ingredient wonder was super easy to put together. Took about 3 minutes, then the agony of waiting for the oven to preheat. And it was agony, because I could hardly wait for this cheesy conglomeration to get in my belly.

And get in my belly it did!

Bottom line: this was a hit! I made it for a family card playing session, and it got devoured. I didn't intentionally change a thing, but I could only find a 6 ounce bag of shredded Parmesan cheese, and I didn't want to buy two. My Dad lamented the fact that this was meatless, but then proceeded to eat half the dish, so I'm going to assume he still liked it. It would be great with sausage or bacon added, but I like this version. I can definitely say that I will make this again!