Nanaimo Bars

We love these layered bar cookies! The original recipe was for an 11x7-inch pan, but I doubled it for a 15x10-inch pan. I'm glad I did--because we love these bars! The recipe below is already doubled and sized for the 15x10-inch pan.

Nanaimo Bars Ingredients Crust
1 cup (2 sticks) (8 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup (3.5 ounces) granulated sugar
2/3 cup (2 ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder, Dutch-process cocoa preferred
2 large eggs
2 cups (6 ounces) sweetened or unsweetened coconut
1 cup (4 ounces) chopped walnuts or pecans
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups (20 ounces) graham cracker crumbs
Filling
1 cup (2 sticks) (8 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt (omit if you use salted butter)
4 cups (1 pound) confectioners' sugar or glazing sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons (1.75 ounces) instant vanilla pudding mix
4 tablespoons milk
Icing
2 cups (12 ounces) chopped bittersweet chocolate (Belcolade bittersweet disks are good) or semisweet chocolate chips
4 tablespoons (1.5 ounces) shortening (or use 4 tablespoons unsalted butter or heavy cream--I used the shortening)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment paper & spray with Baker’s Joy) a 15 x 10-inch baking pan.

To make the crust: Place all of the crust ingredients in a mixing bowl, and beat at medium speed just until thoroughly combined. Press the mixture into the prepared pan, and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, and set it aside to cool.
To make the filling: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the softened butter, 2 cups of the sugar, and the vanilla, beating until smooth. In a small bowl, combine the instant vanilla pudding mix with the milk, stirring until thick and smooth. Add the pudding mix to the butter/sugar mixture, stirring to combine. Add the remaining sugar, and beat until the filling is smooth. Spread it over the cooled crust, cover, and refrigerate until chilled.

To make the icing: Combine the chocolate and shortening in a saucepan set over medium heat (or double-boiler) or microwave-safe bowl; stir until mixture is smooth. Spread the frosting onto the bars. Refrigerate until the chocolate is set.

Cut into small bars or rectangles to serve. The bars will be very stiff when cold, but will soften quickly at room temperature.

Yield: about 50 bars—depending on size cut

Chocolate Chip Caramel Bars

I got this recipe from Marcia, I think.  I don't know where she found it.  I made this for the first time last week when we were getting ready for our bake sale.  This is a keeper recipe for my familty; though I probably shouldn't make them very often.  Bryce said the only problem with these bars is that "They are so good."  I recommend cutting them small.  I cut big ones since I was selling them for 25 cents at the yard sale.  Bryn loved them but said, "They made my teeth hurt."  (Yes, she is weird in more ways than one.)

1 box of yellow cake mix
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 cup mini milk chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup Skor toffee chips (I used the Heath Toffee Bits)

32 caramels
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 stick of butter

Mix together the cake mix, vegetable oil and eggs. Then mix in different chips.  In a greased 13x9" pan, press half of the mixture.  Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.  While that is in the oven, melt in a sauce pan the caramels, sweetened condensed milk and butter.  When the crust is done baking for the first 10 minutes, pour sauce over the crust.  Then sprinkle over the top, in chunks, the rest of the cake/cookie mixture.  Bake for another 22-25 minutes. Let cool before serving.

Cheesecake Cookie Bars

Bryn and Paige love these bars.  Paige made them a couple days ago.  The recipe comes from a cookbook Paige got for Christmas one year called "All New Cookie Dough Fun."  They taste best after being refrigerated.  I also have to cook them longer than 35 minutes.  I've made these with home made cookie dough, too.  I just calculate the ounces and use my scale to measure what I need.

2 packages (18 oz each) refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease 13x9" pan.  Let both packages of cookie dough stand at room temperature about 15 minutes.  Reserve 3/4 of one package of dough (13 1/2 ounces).  Press remaining 1 1/2 packages of dough (22 1/2 ounces) evenly onto the bottom of prepared pan.  Combine softened cream cheese, sugar, and eggs in a large bowl; beat with electric mixer at high speed until well blended and smooth.  Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over cookie dough in pan.  Break reserved 3/4 package of cookie dough into small pieces; sprinkle evenly over cream cheese mixture.  Bake 35 minutes or until center is almost set.  Cool completely in pan on wire rack.  Cut into bars to serve.  Store leftovers covered in refrigerator.  Makes about 24 bars.

Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken

I found this recipe on my friend, Heidi's, blog.  We tried it the other day and I thought it was pretty tasty.  She said we could serve it with chips, on rice, or tortillas.  So, since I had all three, I put all three on the table.  Paige liked it with chips.  I made myself a little burrito type of thing by using a flour tortilla, with rice and the chicken as the filling.  Oh, I also didn't have pinto beans so I used my home-canned great northern whites.  I also used 4 chicken breast halves.  (I'm not sure if Heidi meant whole chicken breasts or chicken breast halves, but mine turned out just fine with what I used.)

1-15 oz can Pinto Beans

1- 4 oz can chopped green chilies

1 pkg. of taco seasoning

2-3 chicken breasts (depending on size)

1 pkg. cream cheese

Add beans and chilies with juice, chicken and seasoning in slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. An hour before it is done shred the chicken and add the cream cheese. Serve with hot tortilla chips, rice or on tortillas.

Bart's Mom's Salsa

Mom and Dad brought me some tomatoes and onions to make salsa. I looked all over for the recipe and couldn't find it. So I tried Teresa's salsa. Paige didn't like it very much and pleaded with me to please make my normal salsa. So I waited a couple days for Mom and Dad to get home from Utah so I could get the recipe. Now that I have it, I thought I'd post it here as another place to store the recipe. My family really likes this recipe for canned salsa.

6 quarts peeled and diced tomatoes
4 cups diced bell peppers
4 cups diced onions
5 to 6 diced jalapeno peppers (seeds removed from half of them)
2 teaspoon dry minced garlic
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
1 Tablespoon dry parsley flakes
1 Tablespoon dry oregano
6 Tablespoons plain salt
3 Tablespoons sugar
6 Tablespoons vinegar
2 cans (12 ounces each) tomato paste

I used my food processor to dice the peppers and onions. This time I also used it to dice the tomatoes. It turned it more soupy rather than chunky salsa, but my kids like fewer tomato chunks anyway. I kept the seeds in two of the jalapeno peppers and removed them from 3 of them. Combine all the ingredients in a big pot. (Mom's roasting pan is awesome for this.) Cook the mixture down until it is the thickness you want your salsa to be. Place salsa in clean, prepared pint jars. Wipe the rims and place lids and rings on the jars. Process in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes. Makes about 13 pints. (This time I made 15 pints with a little bowl left over plus all the salsa Paige kept stealing from the pot while it was cooking.)

Chicken and Rice

This is one of our favorite comfort foods.  It reminds me of mom's home cookin'!

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, each cut in half or thirds
2 cans cream of chicken soup
6 T. finely chopped onion
2 T. parsley
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. thyme (or a teaspoon or so of fresh thyme from the garden, if you have it!)
1 tsp. celery flakes
3 cups water
2 cups minute or instant rice, uncooked
paprika

Roll chicken pieces in flour and brown in oil in a large skillet.  In a large saucepan, mix together the soup, onion, parsley, salt, thyme, celery flakes, and water.  Bring to a boil.  In a 9x13 pan, sprinkle minute rice on bottom, pour sauce over the rice, and mix.  Place chicken pieces on top of the rice and sprinkle with paprika.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until chicken is cooked through and tender.

Note:  I actually like to use 2 or 3 pre-grilled chicken breasts, chopped in bite-size pieces and cook this recipe on the stove-top.  Once the sauce comes to boil, stir in rice and chopped chicken.  Turn down heat to low, and cover pot with lid.  It only takes about 10-15 minutes to cook this on the stove-top because the chicken is cooked before you start, so all you're doing is cooking the rice and heating everything through.  This is a great camping dinner to make in a Dutch oven on a Cache cooker.  We always serve this with green beans (home canned, of course!) and a fruit side dish.

Snickerdoodles

The delicious cookie recipe that my sister-in-law shared with us.

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

2 large eggs

2 1/3 cups flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Topping:

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/4 cup sugar

Adjust oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees.

Beat shortening and sugar in large mixing bowl. Add softened butter and beat just enough to mix. (over beating will soften the butter too much and makes the cookies flat) Beat in eggs, one at a time.

Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and slowly add into the sugar mixture until combined.

Roll dough into balls. then roll in the cinnamon and sugar mixture to coat. Place on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake 10-12 minutes ( until the edges are set and just beginning to brown but the centers are still soft and puffy)

Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool.