Fudgy Oatmeal Bars

I took a big risk this past weekend and made a dessert that I have never heard of or sampled to bring to another couple's house to go with dinner. I thought that it would just be the four of us, but right around dessert time, two other people showed up. It made me pretty nervous to think that 5 people, two of which I had never met, were going to try this dessert with me for the first time. What if it didn't taste good? I was afraid they would all think that I was a bad cook. Thankfully, my fears were not realized and theses Fudgy Oatmeal Bars tasted delicious. They were exactly the combination of flavors I was searching for when I decided to find a new recipe (which, by the way, came from a cookbook compiled by my mother). Thank you Rallet Abram for contributing this lovely recipe to the Ponderosa Ward Cookbook of 2001.

Oatmeal layer:
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups regular or quick oats


Caramel layer:
20 Kraft or other brand soft caramels
1 tsp water

Chocolate layer:
2 Tbsp butter
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 pkg (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9x13x2" pan. In a large bowl combine brown sugar, 1 cup butter, 1 tsp vanilla, and eggs. Stir in flour, soda, 1/2 tsp salt. Stir in oats. Reserve 1/3 oat mixture and press remaining oats into pain.

Melt caramels over low heat with water. Spread over oat mixture

Over low heat, combine 2 Tbsp butter, condensed milk, and chocolate chips, stirring constantly until melted. Remove from heat and stir in 1 tsp vanilla and 1/2 tsp salt. Spread or drizzle over caramel.

Drop remaining oat mixture by spoonfuls over top. Should not completely cover caramel and chocolate mixture. Bake 20-25 minutes. Cool at least 20 minutes before cutting into approx 2x2" squares.

Taco Soup

There are many things that I ate growing up and, for some reason, thought that my mom was the only one in the whole world who knew how to make them. Taco soup is one of those things. I was shocked when I got to college and had many roommates who made the same soup that my mom did. It really is a great college food; it has very few ingredients (most come in a can), it only takes a few minutes to put together, and it also provides a variety of essential nutrients. This time I decided to make it in a crock pot (I didn't cook the ground beef first) and it tasted even better than normal. I also added an onion and green pepper.

1 lb ground beef
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can chili beans

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 can whole kernel corn

1/4 cup (or one package) taco seasoning

1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped

If you are making this soup over the stove, brown ground beef with onions; leave out this step for a slow cooker. Transfer to a large pot or slow cooker and then add taco seasoning. Without draining, add all other ingredients. Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes to an hour, or 6-8 hours in a crock pot. Serve with shredded cheese and tortilla chips.

Chocolate Marbled Blondies

This recipe came from an M&M cookbook that I have. I used chocolate chips rather than M&M's because I didn't have any. I don't regret it one bit. I used these amazing chocolate chips that are a little more expensive than the store brand that I usually buy, but I stocked up when they were on sale. They are Guittard brand. I have learned that sometimes the store brand is just as good as name brand, but sometimes the name brand or specialty brand is so much better that I just have to splurge once in a while. The other thing that made these bar cookies great was that "blondie" part of them isn't very sweet, but the chocolate makes up for it. It was the perfect combination.

"blondie"
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup chocolate chips (or M&M's)

"chocolate swirl"
4 oz cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 large egg yolk
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

"topping"
1/3 cup chocolate chips (or M&M's)

Preheat oven to 350º F. Lightly grease 9x9x2" baking pan; set aside. In large bowl cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy; beat in egg and vanilla. Then blend flour and baking soda into creamed mixture. Stir in 2/3 cup chocolate chips and set aside. Dough will be stiff

In a separate bowl beat together cream cheese, granulated sugar and egg yolk until smooth; stir in cocoa powder until well blended. Place chocolate mixture in six equal portions evenly onto bottom of prepared pan. Place "blondie" dough around chocolate mixture and swirl slightly with a fork. Pat down evenly on top. Sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips. Bake 25 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs. Cool before serving.

Crock Pot Chicken Korma

Anciently, Indian food was commonly made using a method called Dum Pukht. A Handi was the clay pot used for Dum Pukht style cooking, which is slow cooking meals over low heat for long periods of time. This style is emulated quite well by a modern Crock Pot. So now I have that figured out, I realize that I can make all of my Indian curries in the slow cooker and it will be much simpler.

1.5 lb chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
1-2 large potatoes, cut into chunks
1 tsp kosher salt
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (or 3 plum tomatoes, diced)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp fresh ginger
8 cardamom pods, crushed
2 sticks cinnamon
1 1/2 Tbsp ground coriander
2 tsp Garam Masala
1/2-1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 cups plain yogurt
1/2-3/4 cup cashews (optional)

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker except for yogurt and cashews. Cook on low for about 6 hours. Stir in yogurt and cashews. Add more salt to taste. Serve over rice or with naan bread. I also added about 1/4 cup coconut milk, because I like the flavor it adds. Another option is to add about 1/4 cup raisins.

Salsa Chicken

Right now I am taking an evening class so I am already gone by the time my husband gets home from work. I want to make sure that there is still good food for him to eat for dinner so I have been doing a lot more experimenting with Crock Pot cooking. That way I can eat before I leave, but it won't burn so that he can have a hot dinner whenever he is ready. I really enjoyed this dinner. I got the recipe from the Year of Slow Cooking blog that I follow. Because I decided to add a can of Cream of Mushroom soup it tasted a lot like Chicken Tortilla Soup, another dish that I make sometimes, but I have had something similar to this without the "Cream of..." soup and it was delicious. I think I'll make it without the soup next time. And maybe I'll add some green peppers too.

1-2 lb chicken
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup salsa

I cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces, but this recipe would also be good with chicken breasts or thighs. Basically all I did was put everything in the Crock Pot and leave it on low for about 6 hours.

Chicken Parmesan

This is a recipe that my mom made for us a lot when I was growing up. It is easy to make and tastes great. Most of my favorite dishes require a lot of spices and are fairly time consuming but one of the things I really like about my mom's recipes is that they generally require very little work and fairly few spices but still have a great flavor. This is definitely one of those dishes that I wouldn't hesitate to make for any dinner guest - even one who is very picky.

Boneless skinless chicken breasts
Italian bread crumbs
2 eggs, beaten
1 clove garlic, minced
Spaghetti sauce
Mozzarella cheese spices
Parmesan cheese
Olive oil

Dip chicken in eggs followed by bread crumbs then Parmesan cheese and brown in skillet of olive oil and garlic. Pour sauce in 9x13 pan to coat bottom. Place chicken breasts on top. Top chicken with a slice of mozzarella cheese. Add more sauce. Sprinkle top with Parmesan cheese and bake at 350 degrees for about 40-50 minutes.

Apologies

Due to some recent family events I haven't spent much time keeping up on my blog. I have been cooking a lot less over the past month. And when I do cook, I rarely take pictures. But I still have a few new recipes which I plan to post today and this weekend. So now I'm back. Stay tuned.