Peanut Butter Cookies

I love peanut butter cookies, and I have this great recipe I love. I love them plain, but there's no better food combination than peanut butter and chocolate, so we like to dress them up a little, too. Here are two of our favorites that we like to make for FHE. I love getting the kids involved in the kitchen. They love making these and of course eating them, too!

Peanut Butter Cookies
1/2 c peanut butter
1/2 c butter
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1 egg
1-1/4 c flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

You know how to make cookies. Cream the butter and sugars. Add the egg. Sometimes I add vanilla, too. Mix the dry ingredients and mix them in with the wet. I love to add chocolate chips (I prefer milk chocolate) to make the best chocolate chip cookies EVER. This batch makes about 2-1/2 dozen tablespoon-size cookies.



Peanut Butter Kisses
I know everyone knows how to do this, but I thought it was worth mentioning anyway because it's so-o-o delicious. Unwrap kisses and press them into the cookies when they come out of the oven. Don't put them on the cooling rack first unless you want to poke a kiss-sized hole all the way through your cookie. With all the varieties of Hershey kisses available, you can easily find a taste combination you adore.


Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

For this one you need mini muffin tins and mini peanut butter cups. Roll a ball of dough about an inch in diameter. (I use the Pampered Chef small scoop to measure the dough, and the kids roll them into balls.) Place ball in mini muffin cup and press up the sides. Repeat until you run out of dough or muffin cups. Bake at 350 for approx. 10 minutes. As soon as they come out of the oven, press peanut butter cup into center of cookie. Carefully remove from muffin tins and cool.

Peasant Pasta

This recipe came from Rachael Ray "kid food" book. I'm always a little wary of supposed kid recipes made by people who don't actually have any kids and often wonder where they found kids who would touch their "kid-friendly" cuisine. I decided to give this one a try anyway, and it was surprisingly delicious. Honestly, it looks more like dog food than a delicious meal and it took the older kids raving about it to convince the younger kids to even try a bite, but when they finally tried it everyone loved it. We served it topped with Parmesan cheese with toasted french bread and a salad on the side.


Peasant Pasta
1 lb bulk Italian sweet sausage
1 can (28 oz) chunky-style crushed tomatoes
1/2 c frozen green peas
1/2 c heavy cream or half and half
1/2 lb penne rigate, cooked until al dente
Grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

In a large skillet over medium heat, brown sausage and drain fat. Wipe out skillet and return to heat. Add cooked sausage crumbles back to pan and add tomatoes. Bring to a bubble and cook for 5 minutes. Add peas and cook for 1 minute more. Stir in cream, to blush the color of the sauce. Simmer until pasta is ready to drain. Toss two-thirds of the sauce with pasta and transfer to serving bowl. Top with remaining sauce and serve with grated cheese and crusty bread.

Honestly, the flavor is a little plain. The sausage makes it, but the tomatoes and cream aren't exactly bursting with flavor. Like I said, my kids loved it, but for me I might use hot sausage and add some more flavor to the sauce -- even your favorite spaghetti sauce would be a delicious alternative. So try it, play around with it, and it will be a dish your family loves.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole and Good Potatoes

My kids absolutely LOVE this meal, and the adults enjoy it a lot, too. Chicken Cordon Bleu is a favorite dish in my house, but it's not a recipe I turn to when I need something quick and easy. This casserole, however, is awfully quick and easy, and delicious, too.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
Approx. 4 chicken breasts cut into large pieces
6 slices provolone or swiss cheese
1-1/2 c cubed ham
1 can cream soup (I use cream of chicken)
1 box of stuffing

Spray casserole dish. Layer chicken pieces on bottom followed by the ham and the cheese slices. Spread can of soup over the cheese. (If you wanted to freeze it, you would do so right now.) Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. In the meantime, make stuffing. Spread over casserole and bake another 15 minutes. As you can see in the picture, sometimes I cook the casserole for the entire 40 minutes and serve the stuffing on the side. I think the stuffing can be overpowering in the casserole, so Mrs. Cubbison's Corn Bread Stuffin' is another yummy option. For the cheese I usually use a shredded 3-cheese blend of provolone, mozzarella and cheddar, and I often used sliced deli ham instead of cubed. You can sprinkle parsley over the top.


I love potatoes just about any way they come, and this version is no exception. Onion soup mix makes this a simple and convenient way to dress up potatoes.

Good Potatoes
Cube enough potatoes to fill a cookie sheet in a single layer. Toss with 1/3 c oil and 1 package Lipton onion soup mix, crushed. Spread on cookie sheet and bake at 450 degrees for 40-60 minutes until golden and tender.

Pork Chop Spanish Rice

Last night we had a yummy dish that is one of my husband's favorites. In my rush to get it on the table and into tummies, I didn't take any pictures. I tried to see if I could dress up the leftovers today and take a decent picture, but the leftovers were devoured for lunch until there was almost nothing left. So the yummy-looking picture above was found here, and I have added that delicious-sounding recipe to my list of recipes to try. My dinner did include spanish rice with cheese on it, but it doesn't look exactly like that picture. We discovered this dish shortly after moving to Spanish Fork, and for some reason spanish rice and Spanish Fork always got mixed up in my head, so we ended up re-naming this dish Spanish Fork Chops. Whatever you decide to call it, it's delicious.

Spanish Fork Chops/Pork Chop Spanish Rice
4 pork chops
1 Tb oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp pepper
3/4 c rice
1/2 c chopped onions
1/2 c chopped red or green bell pepper
1 can (1 lb 4 oz) whole tomatoes
5 red or green bell pepper rings
1/2 c grated cheese

In a large Dutch oven, slowly brown chops in heated oil. Drain off excess oil. Sprinkle chops with salt, chili powder, and pepper. Add rice, onions and peppers. Pour in tomatoes with liquid, breaking tomaotes into pieces with a wooden spoon. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer 35-40 minutes or until rice and meat are tender. Sprinkle with cheese and serve. It looks great if you have white and yellow cheeses (like cheddar and monterrey jack).

Perfect, Creamy Fettuccine Alfredo

I must admit, I've never been a huge fan of fettuccine alfredo. Honestly, pasta is not really my thing, but this is delicious! The chicken is especially yummy and has become my latest favorite chicken recipe. You can find step-by-step instructions here complete with photos. Go ahead and make it for dinner -- you won't be sorry.

Perfect, Creamy Fettuccine Alfredo
1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tbsp steak seasoning
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp oil
1 lb linguine noodles
1 tbsp salt
1 scant cup chicken broth
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
2-3 cloves minced garlic
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
8 basil leaves, chiffonaded
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Layer chicken between wax paper and pound breasts to even thickness. In a small bowl, mix the egg, milk, lemon juice and garlic powder. Pour mixture into ziploc bag with chicken. Seal and refrigerate 2 to 4 hours. After marinating, whisk together flour, bread crumbs, salt, baking powder, and steak seasoning in a medium bowl. Remove chicken from milk mixture, shake off excess, and coat in flour mixture. Add 1 tbsp of salt to a large pot of water and bring to boil. Boil noodles according to package. Then, in a medium saucepan, heat chicken broth over medium high heat, bringing to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and stir in heavy cream, cornstarch, and garlic. Bring to a soft boil and stir for one minute. Reduce heat to low, add parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Let simmer for about 10 mins to melt cheese, let thicken, and incorporate flavors. Meanwhile, heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When butter just starts to turn brown, arrange chicken in skillet. Cook 4-5 mins each side until juices run clear and chicken is cooked through. While chicken is cooking, chop fresh herbs and stir into Alfredo sauce right before serving. Serve sauce over pasta and chicken.

Photo and recipe courtesy of Kevin and Amanda's recipes.

Freezer Pork Cubes

2.5 lbs pork boneless shoulder, cut into 1" cubes (or pork chops, or whatever is on sale)

1. 5 tsps salt

3/4 tsp dried thyme leaves

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/8 tsp pepper

1.5 c water

Directions:

Season pork with salt and pepper and brown in 12" skillet or 4 quart Dutch oven over medium heat, about 20 minutes. Add thyme, garlic powder, and onion powder. Stir in water and heat to boiling. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until pork is cooked through, 1-1 1/4 hours. (Watch the water level as it nears the hour mark - you don't want it to boil dry.)

Drain pork if necessary; arrange in single layer in ungreased jelly roll pan (or line pan with freezer paper). Freeze uncovered 30 minutes (this partial freezing prevents pork cubes from freezing together solidly).

Divide partially frozen pork among two 1 pt freezer containers. Cover, label and freeze. Use within 2 months.

Use in Sweet & Sour Pork.

Sweet and Sour Pork

{Photo courtesy of rasamalaysia.com)

I can't even tell you how much I love this recipe. It is delicious and the sweet and sour sauce is simple and good. I made this recipe in my advanced cooking class at BYU and it was one of the handful of recipes I added to my personal recipe rotation.

We prepared this recipe during the freezer portion of our class and it is meant to be used with another recipe, Freezer Pork Cubes. The pork cubes take some advance preparation, but once you have a batch on hand, it literally takes 20 minutes to go from freezer to dinner table.

Sweet and Sour Pork

1 container freezer pork cubes

2/3 c. water

1/4 c. sugar

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. white vinegar

2 Tb soy sauce

1 tsp brown bouquet sauce (I never use this, but I do occasionally splash in some worcestershire) 1 Tb instant chicken bouillon (or you could substitute the bouillon and water for chicken stock, but it may not have the same flavor)

2 Tb corn starch

2 Tb cold water

2 medium tomatoes, each cut into 6 wedges or cubed

1 medium green bell pepper, cut into 1" pieces (I've also added red bell pepper)

2 green onions, cut into 1" pieces (or smaller if you dislike onions outside of salsa)

1 can (8 oz) water chestnut slices

1 can (8.5 oz) pineapple chunks, drained

hot, cooked rice (I start the rice in my rice cooker and then make the sweet and sour pork. They finish at the same time. Voila!)

Directions:

Heat freezer pork cubes, 2/3 c water, sugars, vinegar, soy sauce, brown bouquet sauce, and bouillon to boiling in 3 quart sauce pan over medium heat. Cover, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until pork is hot, about 10 minutes.

Mix 2 Tb cornstarch and 2 Tb cold water; stir into pork mixture. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly; boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, green pepper, onion, pineapple and water chestnuts; stir occasionally until boiling or heated through.

Serve with rice. Don't forget the chopsticks!

Bacon Cheeseburger Chicken

One of these days I really ought to post something a little healthier, but not today. This dish is SO delicious. It's from one of my favorite recipe blogs, Kevin and Amanda's recipes. You can find her complete step-by-step tutorial complete with pictures here.

Bacon Cheeseburger Chicken

2 Tb oil

2 Tb butter

6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1/4 c teriyaki sauce

1/2 c Ranch dressing

1 c shredded Cheddar cheese

1/2 lb bacon (or bacon bits)

Preheat oven to 350. In a large skillet, heat oil and butter over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts and saute 4-5 minutes each side, until lightly browned. Place browned chicken breasts in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover with teriyaki sauce and dressing. Sprinkle with cheese and top with bacon bits. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

Notes: I have been known to forget to brown the chicken on occasion and it still turns out just fine. If you use bacon bits, make sure you get the ones that are real bacon.

Recipe and photo courtesy of Amanda Buttons of Kevin & Amanda's recipes.