Quick and Chewy Crescent Bars

Sunday Dessert

These bars are easy and delicious. The original recipe was on pillsbury.com, but I added chocolate chips to it. How can you go wrong with added chocolate?

1/2 cup flour

1 cup coconut

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup cold butter

1 can crescent rolls

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix the flour, coconut, sugar and pecans. Cut in the butter. (I used whole pecans and put everything in the food processor to chop them up then added the butter.) Unroll the crescent rolls into 2 rectangles. Place on a 15X10" pan; pressing together edges and covering the pan.
Pour the sweetened condensed milk over the rolls leaving 1/2" around the edges. Top with flour mix and press lightly Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Bake for 12-15 min in a 400* oven.

Cashew Chicken

I've been craving hamburgers during this pregnancy, but I know that all that red fatty meat isn't the best, so I looked around to find interesting chicken dishes. I love asian food and saw a recipe for Cashew Chicken on rasamalaysia.com and actually wanted to eat it so here is the recipe for you. This site has a lot of good asian recipes if you like that type of food.

10 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into small cubes

1/2 cup cashews

1 sm green pepper (I used red), cut into small square pieces

5 slices ginger

1/4 onion, cut into small square pieces

Marinade:

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp corn starch

1/2 tsp rice wine

Sauce:

1/2 Tbsp oyster sauce

3/4 tsp soy sauce

3 Tbsp water

3 dashes white pepper

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp rice wine

1/8 tsp sesame oil

salt to taste

Sprinkle the chicken with the baking soda and let rest for 15-20 min. Rinse chicken completely and pat dry. Mix corn starch and rice wine and rub over meat marinating for 15 min. Mix the sauce ingredients and set aside. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in wok and stir-fry the chicken till it turns white or is half done. Remove chicken. Heat another tablespoon oil and add the onion, pepper, and ginger. Stir-fry until you smell the peppery smell of the peppers. Add chicken back in and the cashews. Do a few quick stirs. Add in the sauce and stir continuously until the chicken is cooked and well coated with sauce. Season to taste and serve over rice.

Green Chili Pulled Beef Burrito

We have church later in the afternoons right now so my crock pot is getting a workout on Sundays. While looking for new things to make I came across this recipe from pillsbury.com. The original meat was pork, but I had a beef roast on hand and used it. The taste was excellent and one recipe we will keep around. Word of caution: I only used 1 Tbsp of the chipolte pepper and ended up with a mild spiciness that was perfect for the kids.

1-2 Tbsp chipolte chili pepper powder

1 Tbsp oil

1 tsp salt

2 1/2 pounds boneless roast (beef, pork or chicken breasts would work)

1 poblano chili

16 oz green salsa

12 - 8in tortilla shells

1 cup guacamole

1 cup sour cream

Mix the pepper powder, oil and salt. Rub over meat. Put meat in crock pot. Finely chop the pepper and put over the meat. Pour the salsa over the meat. Put on lid and cook for 8-10 hours on low. When done. Remove meat and shred. Put back in pot with liquid. Serve on tortillas using a slotted spoon or tongs. Garnish with guacamole and sour cream. Enjoy.

No picture because we ate it all too fast. :)

Brownies - YUMMM

Doesn't the title and the picture just say it all. I think I have found my favorite from scratch brownie recipe. I love fudgey brownies, not those cake like things that are so dry you need a gallon of milk to get them down. I ran across a recipe on my baking addiction tweaked it for me and the result was perfect in my opinion. I put it up for you to judge.

Mint Brownies

1 cup butter

4 squares semi-sweet baking chocolate (4oz total)

1 Tbsp peppermint syrup (like Torini)

3 eggs

1 cup flour

3/4 cup cocoa

2 cup brown sugar

1+ cup andes mints, broken into 3rds

In a saucepan melt the butter and chocolate. Remove from heat and stir in the brown sugar and peppermint syrup. When cool add the eggs one at a time stirring until glossy. Sift the flour and cocoa in the pan. Stir until just moist and then add the mints. Pour into a greased 9X13" pan and bake at 350*F for 23-27min.

Upside Down Sunshine Cake

Not an "Oh, I've got to have it!" dessert, but an okay dessert and so simple to make. When I asked Doug if it was a keeper, Ben piped up that it was. So, for Ben it is a keeper and I'll share it with you. There is also a peach variation that sounds yummy. This is from kraftfoods.com

1 pgk (2 layer size) yellow cake mix

1 3oz orange jello

12 pineapple slice drained (I needed just over one can)

12 Maraschino cherries

Cool whip topping

Heat oven ot 350*. Prepare cake mix as directed. Liberally spray a 9X13" pan with cooking spray. Spinkle the dry jello over bottom of pan. Top wwith pineapple and put a cherry in the middle of each pineapple. Pour batter over fruit. Bake 40-45 min until done. Cool 5 min. Loosen cake from sides of dish; invert onto platter. Gently remove pan and cool completly. Serve topped with cool whip.

Upside Down Peachy-Keen Cake

Omit cherries. Prepare recipe as directed using raspberry jello and substituting drained peach slices for the pineapple.

Decadence

The best fudge you will ever taste is pictured here. I've tried many fudge recipes and somehow they never seem "right." Either they are too grainy for me or don't set up or what have you. This recipe is fudge heaven and can be made into many variations.

Boil for 5 min:

2 Tbsp butter

1 1/2 cup sugar

2/3 cup evaporated milk

Remove from heat and add:

2 cup mini marshmallows

2 cup milk chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla

Pour into a greased 9" square cake pan and cool (the fridge is a good place to cool it because it doesn't take so long) Eat and Enjoy.

See how simple that was. Now for the variations.

To the main recipe you can leave out the vanilla and stir in any flavoring you like. I use a few drops of essential oils like orange, lemon, peppermint and even lavender. You can also swap out the chips for different flavors. White, mint, and butterscotch all work well. Haven't tried the peanut butter ones but will soon. The only ones I found that don't work are the semi-sweet and darker chips. Still working on modifications for those. To the white chips I've added color and different flavors to make a cream like flavor (ex. Orange cream).

Like I said fudge heaven.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Salad and Dressing

This salad is so good and fresh tasting. I got it from my brother-in-law who got it from a friend. Couldn't be easier. Yummmmmm!

Strawberry Spinach Salad

1 lb strawberries; washed, stemmed and sliced

1 - 9oz bag baby spinach

Dressing:

1/2 cup oil

1/4 white wine vinegar

2 Tbsp sesame seed

1 Tbsp poppy seeds

1/4 tsp paprika

1/3 cup sugar (originally called for 1/2 but I thought that a little much)

Toss the spinach and strawberries in a bowl. In another bowl or shaker cup mix the dressing ingredients. Now you can either pour the entire dressing over the salad or put the dressing on the table for individuals to put on their own salads. I did it individually because I don't like a drenched salad. Up to you. Enjopy! We added some toasted pecans and it was great.

This is linked up to eatathomecooks.com