Chocolate Peanut Butter Candy

Chocolate Peanut Butter Candy

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup butter, cubed

1/3 cup 2% milk

2 sleeves Keebler Town House crackers (about 80-90)

1 cup butterscotch chips

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup chopped pecans, optional

1. In a saucepan, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugars, butter and milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly: cook and stir 5 minutes longer.

2. Place a single layer of crackers in a greased 9 x 13" dish; top with half of crumb mixture. Repeat layers. Top with remaining crackers.

3. In a small saucepan, combine the butterscotch chips, chocolate chips, and peanut butter. Cook and stir until smooth. Pour over crackers. (Sprinkly with pecans, if desired.) Let stand until set.

Notes: They set faster if you throw them in the fridge for half an hour. They melt in your mouth like candy!

Recipe Origination: "Taste of Home"

Raspberry-Chocolate Cheesecake

Raspberry-Chocolate Cheesecake

Crust:

2 cups macaroon cookie crumbs

3 tbsp butter, melted

Filling:

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1 egg

1/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 cup milk chocolate chips

Topping:

3-4 tbsp seedless rapsberry jam

1-2 tbsp milk chocolate chips

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees F.

2. Crust: Combine cookie crumbs and butter. Press into bottom and 1" up the sides of a 9" springform pan. Wrap foil around bottom of pan. Bake at 325 degrees F for 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

3. Filling: In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, egg, sugar and lemon juice until smooth.

4. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of chocolate chips over the bottom of the cooled crust. Spread the cheese mixture evenly over the chips.

5. Topping: Heat raspberry jam gently, until just liquid enough to drizzle over the top. Sprinkle remaining 1-2 tbsp chocolate chips over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until filling is set.

6. Remove cheesecake to wire rack and cool completely. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours until completely chilled.

Notes: I followed the recipe exactly as is, and it was delightful :)

Recipe Origination: The only positive thing about waiting in the doctor's office is the opportunity to rip recipes from magazines; this one came from "Family Circle."

Apple Pizza

Apple Pizza

1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1 tsp cinnamon, divided
2 large apples, cored and sliced into thin pieces (Granny Smith or other tart varieties work well)
3 1/4 cups flour, divided
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp butter, softened

1. Mix 1/2 cup sugar with 1/2 tsp cinnamon with sliced apples. Set aside.
2. Cut together: 1 3/4 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup butter. (If you don't have a cutting tool, use two forks.) Press in to the bottom of standard jelly roll pan.
3. Spread apples over crust.
4. Cut together: 2 tbsp butter, 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Sprinkle over top of apples.
5. Bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees.

Notes: Make sure you really press the crust hard into the pan; otherwise, it won't form an actual crust but instead will crumble into pieces as you try to cut pieces.

Recipe Origination: This is from 7th grade cooking class!

Thai Peanut Dip

Thai Peanut Dip

1 cup smooth of chunky peanut butter

2 tbsp soy sauce

2-3 tbsp lime juice

2 tbsp peanut oil

2-3 tbsp honey

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

2-3 cloves garlic, pressed

1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce

Fresh cilantro, minced

1. Whisk peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice and oil in a mixing bowl until blended.

2. Add the honey, red papper flakes, garlic and hot pepper sauce, mixing well.

3. Spoon into a serving bowl and garnish with cilantro.

Notes: The dip goes great with veggies - bell peppers, carrots, celery - and pretzels. It also goes good with chicken or beef satays.

Recipe Origination: I got this one from Dom Geocaris. I believe it's originally a Pampered Chef recipe.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin

Grilled Pork Tenderloin

1 (1 lb) pork tenderloin
1 lime, zest finely grated
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 chipotle chili pepper in adobo sauce
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

1. Add the lime zest, lime juice, honey, salt and garlic powder to a lidded jar. Shake to mix. Pour half into a large resealable bag, adding the chipotle pepper. Refrigerate the remaining marinade still in the jar.

2. Add the pork tenderloin to the bag, move around to coat, remove air from the bag, then seal and refrigerate for 6-24 hours.

3. Remove tenderloin and reserved marinade from the fridge and let it warm to room temperature while the grill is warming up.

4. Warm up a charcoal grill (takes about 30 minutes), then oil the grill grate and put it at the lowest setting (closest to the charcoals).

5. Put the tenderloin on the grill, cooking for 12-15 minutes (or until internal temperature reaches 140 degrees), rotating every few minutes.

6. Remove the tenderloin and wrap in heavy duty aluminum foil. Pour the remaining marinade in the foil "boat" and keep it tightly wrapped for 10 minutes.

7. Cut into slices on a cutting board and garnish with cilantro.

Notes: We've tried this with a shorter marinating time and the full day. Both are delicious :)

Recipe Origination: It's an Alton Brown recipe with no tweaks. It didn't need any!

Tortilla de Patatas

Tortilla de Patatas

1 cup olive oil
4 large potatoes (peeled and cut into 1/8" slices)
1 large onion, thinly sliced
4 large eggs
1 tomato, sliced thin (optional)
1/2 red pepper, sliced thin (optional)

1. Heat the oil in a 9" skillet. Add potato and onion pieces one at a time so they don't stick. Cook slowly over low-medium heat until potatoes are tender, but not brown. (Do not fry them, and turn regularly to keep them from sticking.) Drain when cooked.

2. Beat eggs in a large bowl. Add potatoes to eggs, pressing them in so the eggs cover them completely. Let sit for 15 minutes.

3. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large skillet. Add the potato-egg mixture, spreading it quickly. Lower the heat to medium-heat and shake the pan to keep the mixture from sticking. Place tomato and red pepper slices on top, if desired.

4. When the potatoes start to brown, put a plate on top and clip to cook the other side, adding another tbsp of oil. When both sides are browned, it is done cooking. Salt and pepper to taste.

Notes: Make sure you shake the pan to keep it from sticking. If you go light on oil, it will stick and it won't taste as good. We like to eat it with bacon and oranges...for dinner :)

Recipe Origination: I'm not sure. I ate this every morning when my Dad and I were in Spain back in 2005. I found the recipe soon after that, and didn't try it out until recently.

Tomato Sauce

Tomato Sauce

10 medium to large tomatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
1 green pepper, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, finely chopped (if you don't like spicy, omit)
3-5 tbsp minced garlic (I probably used even more...we really like garlic)
1/8 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp basil
1/8 tsp rosemary
1/8 tsp pepper

1. Put tomatoes in a pot of boiling water and let sit for 1 minute. Immediately remove with a slotted spoon and place in an ice water bath.
2. Once cooled, peel skins, chop and remove seeds. Put in a food processor and process until smooth. (If you want chunkier sauce, leave 1-2 tomatoes chopped but not processed.)
3. Put olive oil, butter, green pepper, jalapeno and onion in a large pan or Dutch oven. Cook on medium-high heat until tender, about 3-5 minutes.
4. Reduce heat and add garlic, tomato puree, oregano, salt, basil, rosemary and pepper.
5. Simmer sauce for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally.

Notes: This makes enough pasta sauce for 3-4 servings. When you first let it simmer, it will seem really thin and odd looking. By the end of the simmer time, it will thicken and redden up. As of this posting, I've only made it once but it was delicious. Next time I'm going to try a variation with cheeses. It is fairly time consuming to get the tomatoes prepped, but it does result in a really fresh and vibrant tasting sauce. The seasoning amounts are completely estimated. I tried to low-ball the recipe amounts so add extra to taste if needed.

Recipe Origination: I looked at tons of recipes online and kind of combined what I liked from a bunch to get this one. The jalapeno was all me because we have so many in our garden I'm going to add them to everything we eat until they're gone :)