Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares

1½ cups peanut butter

1 cup melted margarine

1 cup graham crackers, ground

1 box powdered sugar

1 cup chocolate chips

  

Mix peanut butter, butter, crackers and sugar.

Press into the bottom of 9 X 13 pan.

Melt chips and spread over mixture.

Thanks to Grandma for the recipe.

Crisp Almond Cookies

1½ cups butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsps. vanilla extract

2¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking power

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup finely chopped almonds

Cream together butter and sugars, until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Add in eggs and vanilla and beat again.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture to dough, one third at a time until all added. Stir in almonds.

Using a small cookie scoop, place dough on a parchment lined baking sheet three inches apart (these cookies spread.) Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 8-9 minutes. Until edges turn golden.

Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to racks to cool completely.

This recipe can be found here.

Turtle Bars

crust:

2 cups flour

1 cup brown sugar

¾ cup butter, softened

caramel:

1 cup butter

1½ cups brown sugar

3 Tbsp. corn syrup

plus:

2 cups of chopped pecans

2 cups of milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°.  Butter a 9X13 inch pan. (These squares tend to stick so butter it up good.)

Combine ¾ cup softened butter, 1 cup brown sugar and 2 cups flour: mix well. Pour the mixture into 9X13 pan and press down evenly to form the crust.

Sprinkle 2 cups chopped pecans over the top of the crust and press them in a bit. Set aside.

In a saucepan, bring 1 cup butter, 1½ cups brown sugar and 3 Tbsp. corn syrup to a boil and boil for one minute.

Pour over crust in pan and bake at 350 ° for 20 minutes.

Take out of the oven and sprinkle 2 cups of milk chocolate chips over the top. Let sit about 5 minutes and then spread softened chips to cover.

Allow ample cooling time before you enjoy!

This recipe can be found here.

Chicken Cacciatore

1 lb. chicken breasts, trimmed of fat and cut into bite-sized pieces

¼ c. white flour

1 tsp. Kosher salt

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

½ c. olive oil

1 onion, roughly chopped

5-6 cloves garlic, peeled and either crushed or halved

1 6-oz. can tomato paste

1 c. apple or white grape juice

1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar

1½ c. chicken broth

¼ tsp. thyme

¼ tsp. marjoram

½ tsp. salt

1 bay leaf

1 c. sliced mushrooms (or more if you love them. Mushrooms are divine in this dish!)

1 green bell pepper, chopped

Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot, add onions and garlic and stir frequently until onions are tender and garlic is fragrant. Remove with a slotted spoon (this is why you need to keep the onion and garlic pieces big), shake off excess oil (you don’t have to go crazy here, a little olive oil never killed anyone!), and transfer to your blender. Increase heat to medium-high.

In a large Ziploc bag, combine flour, 1 tsp. salt, and 1 tsp. black pepper. Add chicken pieces, seal bag, and shake to coat pieces with flour. Dump the entire bag into the hot pan and stir quickly to prevent pieces from sticking together. Sauté until chicken is golden. Remove chicken with slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Turn off the heat under the oil.

While chicken is draining, add juice, vinegar, chicken broth, tomato paste, thyme, and marjoram to the onions and garlic in the blender. Blend until smooth. Place chicken and bay leaf in your slow cooker and then pour the sauce over the chicken. Simmer for 90 minutes. When you have about 15 minutes to go, add the mushrooms and the chopped green pepper. Cook until mushrooms and pepper are tender. Remove bay leaf and serve over pasta.

This recipe can be found here.

Fudgy BonBons

1 cup chocolate chips

¼ cup margarine

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2 cups flour

½ cup finely chopped nuts

1 tsp vanilla

60 kisses, unwrapped

Melt chips and margarine in saucepan, stirring until melted and smooth.  Add milk; mix well.

In a bowl, combine flour, nuts, chocolate mix and vanilla. Mix well.  Let cool.

Shape 1 Tbsp dough around each kiss, covering completely.

Place 1 inch apart on cookie sheet.

Bake at 350° for 6 – 8 minutes.

Cookies will be soft and shiny.  DO NOT over bake.  Remove and cool.