Peanut Butter Crumb Cake

I know it's shocking that I would post a peanut butter recipe, but we really liked this cake.  It is a little different in that it has a peanut butter crumb topping and chocolate chips on top.  I think next time I may even put some of the chocolate chips in the batter.  

• 2 & 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups light brown sugar
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 1 and 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350° and spray a 9″x 13″ baking pan with cooking spray.

Combine flour, brown sugar, peanut butter, and butter.  I used my kitchen aid but a handheld mixer would work too.  Remove 1 cup of the peanut butter mixture.  This will be your crumb topping.

Add the baking powder and baking soda to the peanut butter mixture. Next mix in the milk and vanilla. Add the eggs individually and mix well after each addition.

Pour the batter into the prepared 9"x 13" pan. Sprinkle the top with the reserved peanut butter mixture and chocolate chips. I alternated half the mixture and then half the chocolate chips.  Then the rest of the mixture and the chips on top.  Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  

Garbage Bread

Quickly become a favorite at our house and the possibilities are endless!!

Buffalo Chicken Garbage bread
2 boneless chicken breasts 1 tsp. olive oil 1 pizza dough  8 oz. of shredded mozzarella cheese (I used the one with a touch of cream cheese) 3 oz. of shredded cheddar cheese 1/2 cup of Franks Wing Sauce 1/3 cup of ranch or blue cheese dressing.  Spread all ingredients out and then roll up dough like a stromboli! Follow directions on pizza dough for baking.

Bar-b-que Chicken Garbage Bread (my personal fave)
2 bonesless chicken breasts, 1 tsp olive oil, 1 pizza dough, 1 package of any cheese, bar b que sauce, black beans, corn, purple onions (optional).  Spread all ingredients out and then roll up dough like a stromboli! Follow directions on pizza dough for baking 

Spring Style Cup of Dirt Dessert

I was in charge of the treat for the preschool Easter party today.  It's been a busy week and I wanted something easy and cute.  I decided to do a spring style cup of dirt dessert.  It's easy and yummy.  I've always used chocolate pudding and chocolate sandwich cookies, but I thought the vanilla was a nice change.  And add a peep on top for a color pop and you're done!  Best of all the kids really liked it.

2 large boxes of vanilla pudding, made according to directions (I made mine the night before so all I had to do in the morning was assemble.  I also used whole milk to make it more rich.)

1 large package of vanilla sandwich cookies, crumbled (I used two rows.)

1 package of gummy worms (I used two worms per cup.)

12 peeps (I used purple and blue chicks.)

12 clear 9 oz cups (be sure and get the clear ones so you can really see the layers and the worms.)

With each cup place 1/4 cup of pudding in the bottom.  Then stick the worms in and drape them over the side of the cup so they don't fall in.  Next, add a layer of cookie crumbs.  I think mine were about a 1/2 inch think.  Then add another 1/4 cup layer of pudding, and top it with another layer of crumbs.  Add the peep on top and push it down a little to keep it in place.  And you're done.  This recipe makes, you guessed it, 12 dirt cups.

Peanut Butter M&M cookies

We almost always have M&M's in our house.  My girls love their M&M's.  I found a recipe for Rolo Stuffed Peanut butter cookies but figured I should probably try and make my way through our current candy stash before I buy more.  So peanut butter M&M cookies it was.  I have a friend who makes these and stuffs the cookies with snickers.  Oh, the possibilities with peanut butter and chocolate are endless and delicious.  The peanut butter cookie recipe comes from Crazy for Crust, which she slightly adapted from a Crisco recipe.   

This recipe makes about 2 dozen cookies.  You'll need:

• ½ cup softened butter
• ¾ cup peanut butter 
• 1 ¼ cups firmly packed brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 egg
• 2 cups flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• 
  
• A heaping cup of M&M's, or about 24 Rolo candies or bite size snickers, your choice (unwrapped of course)

1. Preheat oven to 350°. 
2. Mix the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, milk, and vanilla  until just blended. 
3. Then add the egg and beat until incorporated.
4. Combine and whisk the baking soda and flour together in a medium bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just blended.
5. If using M&M's stir them in now and skip to step 5.  If you want to stuff the cookies create a dough ball (roughly the 2 tablespoons worth of dough). Place a candy in the center of each and roll so that the candy is in the center of the dough and does not show. 
6. Place the dough 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. You can make a crisscross patterns on each dough ball if you are stuffing the cookies.
7. Bake the cookies for about 8-9 minutes or just until set. Bottoms will be lightly browned and centers may look a little under baked. Cool the cookies on the sheet for about 2 minutes and then move the to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Baked Potato Soup

12 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
2/3 cup margarine
2/3 cup flour
7 cups milk
4 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 green onions, chopped
1 1/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper (I added less. Seemed like a lot to me)

Melt margarine in large pot. Whisk in flour until smooth. Gradually stir in milk, whisking constantly until thickened. Stir in potatoes and green onions. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Mix in cheese, sour cream, salt, pepper, and bacon. Allow cheese to melt.

I tried this soup today and everyone loved it, even my kids. It's very creamy and good. Plus it's easy to make with simple ingredients.

Sweet Barbacoa Pork

Stephen voted this top three things I've ever made! Woohoo! It was very, very good! I found it on www.skinnytaste.com and I'll be sure trying other recipes from there! We ate this over rice and black beans, with avocado on top!

Ingredients:

For the Marinade:

• 2.5 lbs pork loin roast, all fat trimmed
• salt and pepper
• garlic powder
• 6 oz Coke zero
• 1/4 cup brown sugar (unpacked)
• 1/4 cup water

Step 2

• 8 oz Coke zero
• 6 oz can sliced green chilies
• 8 oz tomato sauce
• 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp cumin
• 1/8 tsp chipotle chili powder (to taste)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup brown sugar (unpacked)

Directions:

Season pork with salt, pepper and garlic powder and place in the crock pot. Add 6 oz of coke and 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Marinate refrigerated for a few hours or overnight turning meat at least once while marinating.

Remove crock from refrigerator, add water, and cook on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily). Remove pork from crock pot and discard any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork with two forks.

Step two: In the crock pot, combine 8 oz coke, green chilies, tomato sauce, chipotle chile, garlic powder, cumin, chipotle chili powder and remaining brown sugar.

Put shredded pork back in the crock pot and combine with sauce. Adjust salt and pepper to taste, cover and cook on high 1-1/2 hours more.

Sweet Chex Mix

1 Box of Corn or Rice Chex
1 Box of Golden Grahams (or 1/2 of a bag)
4 C. Coconut
1 Bag of Sliced Almonds

2 C. Sugar
2 C. Karo
1 C. Butter
2 tsp. Vanilla

Boil sugar, karo and butter for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Pour over chex, grahams, coconut, and almonds. Mix well. Pour out on waxed paper and cool completely. Store in a loose fitting container. (an air tight lid will make it go soggy)