Saltine Toffee Bars

We all know what the Superbowl is really about.

And it has nothing to do with football.

The food, my friends. It's all about the food.

I ended up making the same three things that I made last year, because let's face it, there's some food that you should only eat once a year.

We partied (reverently) at Ryan and Jen's house with their good friends, Dallin and Amber. Which brings me to this amazing treat below. Amber made this and I couldn't stay away from it. There is something about chocolate, nuts, caramel and a little salt that when put all together, makes perfection. Thank you for sharing the recipe, Amber.

1 package Saltine crackers

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup butter

2 cups chocolate chips

chopped pecans

*Spray a cookie sheet and line with crackers. Melt butter and brown sugar together, then boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour over crackers and bake at 400 for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips. After 5 minutes, spread chocolate out evenly. Sprinkle with chopped pecans and let cool completely before cracking.

Baked Potato 101

Tonight, we had bake potatoes for dinner. When I was younger, we had baked potatoes a lot. My mom always wrapped them in foil, poked them with a fork and baked them in the oven. I rarely make baked potatoes, so I googled the directions for baking them and found a new method. New to me at least! This is probably routine for the rest of you. But I thought I'd share anyways.

1. Rinse potatoes under cool water and scrub with brush.
2. Pat dry.
3. Poke holes in potato with a fork. About 12 times.
4. Rub potatoes with olive oil.
5. Sprinkle with salt.
6. Place potatoes on middle oven rack.
7. Put baking sheet on lower oven rack to catch juices.
8. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

The olive oil and salt rub was definitely a nice touch! I am a fan of this new method.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars

One of my favorite things about going to Book Club is the food. Whoever is hosting that month, always makes yummy snacks and treats for us to munch on while we talk and talk and talk some more. This month it was my friend, Christi, who hosted and her food was all delish. I couldn't get enough of these bars and made them the next day so I could have more. Thanks for the recipe, Christi!

Bars:

3/4 cup softened butter

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup peanut butter

2 eggs

1/2 tsp. vanilla

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups oats

*Cream together the butter and sugars. Add peanut butter, eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add dry ingredients and mix until dough is firm. Grease a cookie sheet and spread mixture into pan. Bake at 325 for 15-20 minutes until golden.

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter

3 1/2 tsp. cocoa

6 Tbs. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

*Boil together, remove from heat and add powdered sugar until desired consistency. (I added a whole box). Spread on cooled bars when frosting cools.

Parmesan Chicken

I got this recipe out of the Lion House cookbook and made it on Sunday.

It was easy, filling and yummy.

I just realized that there is an almost identical recipe already on here from Bonnie, but hers is served over rice. So here is a slight variation from that one.

1 cup cornflakes, crushed up really good

3/4 cup shredded parmesan

1 1/2 ounces dry ranch dressing mix

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half and pounded thinner

1/2 cup parmesan

1 jar marinara or spaghetti sauce

angel hair pasta, cooked

*Combine crumbs, 3/4 cup parmesan and ranch mix. Coat both sides of chicken and place in a baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Spray tops of chicken to keep moist. Bake for 35 minutes, sprinkle with rest of parmesan and then bake 5 more minutes. Serve on angel hair, topped with sauce.

*My favorite jar sauce is the tomato/basil from Fresh and Easy.

Black Bottom Cupcakes

One night, a few months back, Holly brought me a plate of goodies from a get together she had been at with her friends. Some serious goodies. One of them being this cupcake. It had chocolate frosting on it, so it just looked like a chocolate cupcake. Holly hadn't tried one, yet. After she left my house, I took a bite of the cupcake. Oh my word. Cheesecake in the middle. I called Holly and asked her if she knew there was cheesecake in the chocolate cupcake. She did not. I told her we needed the recipe immediately. She said her friend Ali made them. I said call her right now.

(I took the picture before I frosted them so you could see the to-die-for center of the cupcake).

Cupcake:

1 1/2 c. sugar

2 3/4 c. flour

1 cup Nesquik

1 tsp. soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

*Beat ingredients together and then add One cup of hot water. Set aside and make cheesecake center:

8 oz. softened cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

6 oz. milk chocolate chips

*Mix together first three ingredients until smooth and then add chocolate chips.

*Fill cupcake liners 1/2 full with cake batter. Then drop a spoonful of cream cheese mixture in the middle of each. Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes. Once they are cool, frost with chocolate frosting.

Frosting:

1 cube butter, melted

2/3 cup cocoa

3 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla

Mexican Chicken Kiev

My husband was out of town interviewing for residency a few weeks ago when I got a text from him that read - "Ashley made Mexican Chicken Kiev for dinner. So good!" I responded with, "Get the recipe!" And that is how it happened. He was staying with some friends for a night and the Mrs. made this lovely dish for dinner. So thank you, Ashley, for this yummy recipe!

6 chicken breasts
3 slices of cheddar jack cheese, cut in half to make 6 smaller slices
1 can green chilies, divided into 6 portions
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 TB chili powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. pepper
6 TB butter, melted
Sauce (recipe below)

Pound chicken pieces to about 1/4 inch thickness or buy thinly sliced chicken breasts. Combine breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, chili powder, salt, cumin and pepper in a bowl. In a shallow bowl, melt butter. Dip chicken in melted butter then into bread crumb mixture. Then, place a slice of cheese and a portion of green chilies in middle of chicken. Roll up and tuck ends under. Place chicken in 9x13 pan and drizzle a little of melted butter. Cover and chill for 4 hours or overnight. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until done. Serve with sauce if desired.

Sauce

1 can tomato sauce
1/4 tsp. cumin
Dash of salt and pepper
Little bit of El Pato sauce

Heat on stove. Serve over chicken.

*Husband loved the sauce. I preferred the chicken with no sauce.

Carne Asada and Pico de Gallo

I was walking through the meat section of my Walmart neighborhood market, minding my own business, when I saw this beautiful package of already diced up carne asada meat. If you knew how much my husband loves carne asada burritos, you would know that I had no choice but to buy it. Then I scoured the internet for a recipe that looked delicious, but still somewhat easy, and this is what I found.

1 1/2 pounds diced up steak

1 whole lime, juiced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 whole onion, chopped

3 Tbs. fresh cilantro, chopped

3 Tbs. soy sauce

2 Tbs. worcestershire sauce

1/2 whole jalapeno, chopped and seeded

*Combine all ingredients in a big ziploc bag and let marinate overnight in refrigerator. Cook in a skillet on medium-high heat until meat is done. Serve as tacos or burritos with pico de gallo, avocado, and cheese.

Pico de Gallo:

roma tomatoes

cilantro

white onion

serrano pepper

garlic clove

1 Tbs. lemon juice

salt

*Dice up 4 or 5 tomatoes. Add the rest of the ingredients, chopped up, to your liking. I used about a half an onion, lots of cilantro, a tiny bit of serrano pepper, 2 garlic cloves and probably a 1/2 tsp. of salt. You can make it how you like it.