No Bake Peanut Butter Cheerios Bars

I like these better than Rice Crispy treats!

No Bake Peanut Butter Cheerios Bars
1 cup sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup peanut butter
6 cups Cheerios cereal (I prefer the honey-nut variety)
2 cups chocolate chips

In a saucepan, mix sugar and corn syrup over medium-high heat. Continue to stir until the mixture comes to a boil and sugar is dissolved. Immediately remove from heat and stir in peanut butter until melted and mixed. Pour sauce over Cheerios and mix well. Press mixture into a 9x13 pan. Melt chocolate chips and spread on top of bars. Once cooled, cut with hot knife.

Macadamia Creamsicle Cookies

I had all the ingredients for these cookies and was going to make them for Christmas. But I never got around to it. I finally decided that macadamia nuts are too expensive to waste, so I made the cookies yesterday. Oh, my! They're to die for!

Macadamia Creamsicle Cookies

2½ cups all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
½ cup sugar
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange extract (I used 1/4 tsp. orange oil)
2 tablespoons orange zest
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup chopped dry-roasted macadamia nuts (I used about 3 oz.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and creamy. Beat in egg, vanilla, and orange extract until smooth. Gradually add flour mixture until combined. Stir in orange zest, white chocolate chips, and nuts. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Do not flatten cookies; it will make them dry. Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown around edges. Do not overcook! Cookies will be plump. Cool for several minutes on cookie sheets before transferring to rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container.

Note: my dough was SO thick that I couldn't even stir in the chips, zest, and nuts. I ended up adding 1 T. milk in order to stir in those ingredients. Maybe I should have measured the flour more carefully. I think these cookies would be incredible with lime or lemon also!

Adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything.

Sweet Tooth Fairy Copycat Cupcakes

Sunday I made a disaster of a mess inside my oven. I made a cake recipe from the internet that claimed to be the "best ever" vanilla cake. The blogger's description and how my cake turned out were exact opposites. She must blog and bake at sea level, and I have no idea how in the world she got her cake to turn out. My ended up all over my oven!

I just hate cooking failures! So I started researching cupcake recipes and remembered the delicious cupcakes I've had at the Sweet Tooth Fairy Bakery here in Utah. Both of the copycat recipes I tried turned out beautifully here at high altitudes! These recipes are adjusted slightly to make approximately 12 cupcakes. If you have extra batter, spray a mug with baking spray, put the leftover cake batter in the mug, and "bake" in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, depending on the wattage of your microwave and the size of leftover batter.

Double Vanilla Cupcakes
1 1/3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup sugar
6 T. butter, melted
2 egg whites
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup whole or 2% milk
2 tsp. vanilla

Mix dry ingredients in large mixing bowl. Mix wet ingredients in measuring cup and add all at once to the dry ingredients. Beat until mixed well. Place a scoop of batter in 12 paper-lined muffin cups. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20 minutes. Frost when cooled.

I think this vanilla cupcake recipe is a great basic recipe to play around with. What about adding coconut milk in place of the milk, along with folding in coconut into the batter and topping the cooled and frosted cupcakes with toasted coconut? That's just one idea. I'm sure you could come up with a zillion other great ideas! White chocolate. . . Raspberry Swirl. . . Pina Colada. . . Key Lime. . . Lemon. . . You get the idea!

Triple Chocolate Cupcakes
1 cup flour
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1/2 cup ready-to-eat chocolate pudding
1/3 cup butter, melted
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Combine dry ingredients in large mixing bowl. Mix wet ingredients in measuring cup and add all at once to the dry ingredients. Beat until mixed well. Fold in chocolate chips. Place a scoop of batter in 12 paper-lined muffin cups. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes. Frost when cooled. (I didn't have any ready-to-eat pudding, so I just added 1/2 cup buttermilk. Note that sour cream can be substituted with buttermilk or yogurt.) I had these with vanilla frosting, but they'd also be delicious with the white chocolate frosting, any chocolate frosting, German chocolate frosting, etc.

Vanilla Frosting
1 cup butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
4-5 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. coconut extract
1/8 tsp. almond extract
1/4 tsp. salt

Add butter to the bowl of your stand mixer. Mix on medium speed with whisk attachment until the butter is light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Add cream, extracts, salt, and 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar. Mix on low until combined and then increase speed to medium and whip for 3-5 minutes. The consistency of frosting is important if you're going to pile it high. It should be a medium consistency and should be sturdy enough to hold a spoon up. Keep adding powdered sugar until the frosting is the right consistency. Place frosting in a bag and pipe on the cooled cupcakes with tip 2A.

White Chocolate Frosting
8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup white chocolate chips, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/3 cup powdered sugar

Bear cream cheese and butter. Add chocolate and vanilla and beat. Add sugar gradually. Place frosting in a bag and pipe on the cooled cupcakes.

DIY Cleaning Products 101

Over the last few months of unemployment, we've attempted to live as inexpensively as possible. When we ran out of cleaning products we had purchased, I started to research DIY cleaning products, and I thought I'd share the ones I've tried and like.

The main ingredients are VERY inexpensive: baking soda, dish detergent, baking soda, and a few essential oils.

DIY Orange Degreaser
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 1/2 tsp. dish detergent
20 drops orange oil

Mix together. Place mixture in spray bottle. Spray on area that needs de-greased. Let sit for a minute or two. Use a sponge or cloth to wipe off. Little, if any, scrubbing is needed! I used this on the inside glass of my oven and on some spots on the inside of my oven that wouldn't come off, even after running the "cleaning" cycle of the oven. They came off!

DIY Oven Rack Cleaner
Place racks in tub. Spray or sprinkle with vinegar. Sprinkle liberally with baking soda. Let sit for 10 minutes. Fill tub with hot water to cover racks. Let sit for another 10 minutes. Now simply wipe the racks down to get all the gross grimy stuff off. No need to scrub!

Shower & Tub Cleaner
Use the Oven Rack Cleaner method above. It really works!

DIY Warm-Mist Humidifier Cleaner
When running the humidifier, add 4 or 5 drops of "breathe" mixture of essential oils. When the water is gone, simply shake out the sediments or use the spray nozzle at your kitchen sink. No scrubbing necessary! Plus, you get the benefit of kind of a vapor-rub effect from the humidifier!

Chocolate Crackle Cookies

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks butter)
• 2 tablespoons water
• 12 oz. package semi sweet chocolate chips
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• Rolos (if you so choose)
• Confectioners sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium sized bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a medium sauce pan combine brown sugar, butter and water. Heat on med until butter has melted. Add chocolate chips and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat and let stand at least 5 minutes. Beat eggs into the chocolate mixture. Gradually add in dry ingredients. Let the the dough stand for 10 minutes or until cool. Roll into 48 one-inch balls. Place 1 ball in each indentation of a mini-muffin pan. Bake 8 minutes. Remove from oven. Immediately press an un-wrapped Rolos candy, top side down, into each cookie. When cooled, sprinkle with Confectioners sugar and carefully remove each cookie from the pan. Enjoy!

Variation: use mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups rather than Rolos

Layered Doritos Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 (10 oz.) bag Doritos, Nacho Cheese flavor
• 2 T. dried chopped onion
• 1/4 tsp. granulated garlic
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 can beans of your choice (black, kidney, or pinto), drained
• 1 package low sodium taco seasoning
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 can cream of chicken or mushroom soup
• 2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar or Tex-Mex blend)

Optional toppings

• Lettuce
• Tomato
• Olives
• Sour Cream

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place salsa in a strainer to drain while preparing beef.
2. Cook ground beef with onion and garlic until no pink remains. Drain any fat, if necessary. Add drained beans, taco seasoning, and water. Stir until thickened and remove from heat.
3. In a large bowl, combine drained salsa, sour cream, soup, and 1 cup of cheese. Add in beef and stir well.
4. Slightly crush Doritos (not completely, you don't want crumbs). Layer Doritos in the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish . Top with ½ of the beef mixture. Repeat layers. Finally top with an additional layer of Doritos and remaining cheese.
5. Spray a piece of foil with cooking spray and cover casserole. Bake 30 minutes covered, remove foil and bake uncovered for an additional 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Top with lettuce, tomatoes and olives if desired.

Note: I used Valerie's Refried Beans Without the Refry (but not smashed) instead of canned beans. I also tripled the recipe and placed it in a huge foil pan from Sam's Club (one of those chafing dish pans). It will be perfect for our neighborhood party tonight!

Butternut Squash, Sausage, and Wild Rice Soup

This soup is sooo yummy! We've had it the way it is listed and it is delish, but today we made it without the half and half (cuz we didn't have any and forgot that ingredient) and substituted brown rice for the wild rice and it was still very good.

Courtesy of http://emerils.com/123438/butternut-squash-sausage-and-wild-rice-soup

INGREDIENTS

• One 1 1/2- to 2-pound butternut squash, cut in half, seeds and strings removed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 quarts Chicken Stock or
• canned low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions
• 1 cup wild rice
• 3/4 pound kielbasa or other smoked sausage, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 2 cups fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels (about 2 large fresh ears of corn)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat the oven to 400?F.
• Rub the cut sides of the squash halves with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Place on a baking sheet flesh side down and roast until tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Let the squash cool until easy to handle, then scoop the flesh from the skin with a large spoon. PurÈe the butternut flesh with 2 cups of the stock in a food processor or blender.
• Bring 4 cups of the stock and 1/2 cup of the chopped onions to a simmer in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the wild rice. Return to the simmer, cover, and cook until the rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook just until browned, about 4 minutes. Add the remaining 2 cups onions, the corn, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the onions are softened, about 4 minutes. Add the remaining 6 cups stock and the squash purÈe and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally and skimming any fat that rises to the surface.
• Stir in the rice and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the half-and-half and parsley.
• Serve hot ladled into bowls.