O'Henry Bars

A popular recipe around here (and very easy too):

1 cup Karo syrup
1 Cup sugar
1 cup peanuts, salted, unchopped
3 cups Rice Krispies
1 pkg. chocolate chips
1 pkg. butterscotch chips

Stir together Karo syrup and sugar.  Microwave for 2 minutes.  Add peanuts and peanut butter to the Karo mixture.  Microwave everything for 1 more minute.  Add 3 cups of Rice Krispies.  Spread into a greased 9x13 pan.

Combine chocolate chips (on bottom) and butterscotch chips in a bowl and microwave for 1-2 minutes.  Stir until smooth.  Spread over krispie mixture.  Cool in the refrigerator.  Cut into 1: squares.

Stuffed Peppers

Monday night was a big meal because we were anticipating company (however they didn't end up coming :(. . . they missed a great meal!) Here is what we had:

Stuffed Pepper Mmmmm. . . we love this recipe! I've never used the Hungarian peppers--I've always used Anaheim with great success. I follow the recipe quite closely. Although I was out of Basil so that was omitted this time with just as great results. (Just for my records: Greta was quite sick and needy this day but I needed to get the peppers done because Jerry and Carolyn were coming to dinner so I employed Chandler to put her in the stroller and walk around the block. That wasn't a lot of time and so unwittingly I used my index finger to pop out all if the seeds and membranes instead of using a knife like I normally do. . . .BAD idea. My finger was burning for close to 24 hours!)

I also made this Swiss Chard. It was quite good. Swiss chard is not my favorite vegetable but I (and a few others) had 2nds of this. I'll make this recipe again if I have more Swiss Chard.

Rice Pilaf--I just threw this together. I didn't think it was stellar, but Chandler loved it and requested this whole meal for his birthday. Here are the basics of what I did:

1/2 cup wild rice cooked for about 20 minutes in the microwave (it takes longer than regular rice to cook in my rice cooker so I have to give it a head start)

Add that to 1 1/2 cup uncooked rice and 2 cups of chicken broth and 1 cup of water. Also add to rice cooker, 1/2 tsp garlic, 1/2 tsp butter and some parsley flakes.

While cooking toast some almonds (I did about 1/3 cup but wished I had done quite a few more) in frying pan in a little butter. Remove. Saute 1 finely chopped carrot and 1/2 red onion (or more) and 1/2 tsp garlic. When rice is finished, add vegetables and almonds to rice. At this point it didn't taste quite right. I ended up adding about 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp. sugar. That seemed to do the trick, but it could definitely could use something else. I'll have to work on that next time.

Cut up cantaloupe.

For FHE treats we had Blackberry cobbler. We liked this.

Stuffed Tomatoes--Sunday

I had 8 tomatoes*(see note below) that I needed to do something with. Fresh salsa is about the only way my family will eat fresh tomatoes (except for a few of us) and since we've had fresh salsa so much in the last few weeks I really wanted to do something else with all of those tomatoes. They were quite ripe and needed to be used quickly. So I found this Stuffed Tomatoes recipe. I was really doubtful that most of my kids would eat it, but I shouldn't have been worried. It was quite well received. While it didn't instantly become a new favorite, everyone ate it quite well. I'll definitely make it again when I've got more tomatoes than I know what to do with. I followed the recipe fairly closely, however having the cheese throughout the stuffing would have been good. I'll mix a little in the stuffing next time as well as on top. I also added more bacon than called for because of my nervousness. Of course that made it better, but I think I could get away with less. The final thing I would change is to spray Pam on the bottom of the baking pan instead of covering with water. Stuffing and cheese fell out that would have been eaten had it not been sitting in a pool of water. We had rolls and corn on the cob with this.

For Sunday treats I made this Corn Chip Surprise. Mixed reviews. If you believe, as Tom does, that corn chips should be their own food group then this treat is for you. If you are like me and can completely live without corn chips, don't waste your time, money or calories!

*It probably seems weird that I would 'just have' certain fruits and vegetables on hand, but I order a Bountiful Basket every week and so my meals are planned around the fruits and vegetables that come in the basket.

Sausage and Bean Soup--Monday Night

A few years ago when Deals to Meals was just starting out I subscribed for the free two week period. I knew it wouldn't fit my schedule to try to shop the deals they searched out for me---I really joined for the recipes using food storage items that they promised! Unfortunately most were just regular recipes but I printed them all out and filed them away. Last week I was going through them and decided on a few to try. It is actually one that maybe considered a food storage recipe.

Slow-Cook Tuscan Sausage and Bean Soup

(It says it is originally from a Weight Watchers Cookbook)

12 pkg. kielbasa, cut into 1/4 " rounds

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1/2 medium bunch kale, chopped (abt. 4 cups)

3 cups chicken broth

1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 can great Northern beans, rinsed and drained

1 can Italian seasoned diced tomatoes

1/2 cup water

1 tsp dried basil

Place all ingredients in slow cook. Stir combine. Cover and cook on low until the vegetables are tender, 4-6 hours.

It was pretty good. If I make it again, I will add the kielbasa near the end of cooking. It seemed to lose flavor over the cooking time. I will also use a different bean than kidney---just personal preference. Tweaks I made: I added more vegetables more than called for--I like them and they made the soup go farther. I used about 6 carrots, 3 stalks of celery and 1 1/2 onion. I omitted one of the cups of chicken broth--I like less broth in soups, omitted the kale--didn't have any and forgot to add the basil. I also cut the kielbasa into small pieces (as well as the veggies); I like lots of flavors in one spoonful plus it reduces fighting over pieces of meat!

I also served fresh pineapple and French bread with this. Most left the table happy and satisfied.

FHE treat: fresh blackberry shakes (blackberries, ice cream, blend together)