Peanut Butter-Ganache Bars

Peanut Butter-Ganache Bars
Recipe from: http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2010/10/04/peanut-butter-bars-with-ganache-frosting/

These won 1st place in the SEP Soup du jour November 2011

Ingredients

Crust

1 box devils food cake mix

1/3 cup butter

1 egg

Filling

3/4 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups powdered sugar (about l lb)

2 tablespoons milk

3/4 cup honey-roasted peanuts, chopped, if desired

Ganache

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (6 oz)

1 cup milk chocolate chips (6 oz)

1/2 cup whipping cream

Step 1:

Heat oven to 350°F. In medium bowl, mix crust ingredients; press in bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch pan. Bake 12 minutes. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Step 2:

In large bowl, mix all filling ingredients except peanuts until smooth and well blended. Stir in peanuts. Spread and pat filling evenly over cooled crust.

Step 3:

In medium microwavable bowl, microwave ganache ingredients on High 1 minute. Stir with whisk; microwave about 30 seconds longer. Stir again until mixture is smooth. Spread ganache over filling. Let stand at room temperature until set and completely cooled, 2 to 3 hours. Cut into 4 rows by 3 rows.

Makes 12 bars

Marinated Tuna Steaks

Adapted from: Allrecipes.com

This is the 1st time we have ever cooked or had Tuna Steaks. These were AWESOME! We all love them. Will be having them again!!

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp parsley
  
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• Tuna steaks (we did 3 because that was what was in the package)
  

Directions

1. In a large non-reactive dish, mix together the soy sauce, olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. Place the tuna steaks in the marinade and turn to coat. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
2. Preheat grill for high heat.
3. Lightly oil grill grate. Cook the tuna steaks for 3 1/2 minutes, then turn and baste with the marinade. Cook for an additional 4 1/2 minutes, or to desired doneness. Discard any remaining marinade.

Stuffed Bread Sticks

Stuffed Bread Sticks

From: Cooking during Stolen Moments

• 1 t. yeast

• 1 t. sugar

• 3/4 c. warm water

• 1/4 c. olive oil

• 1/2 t. salt

• 1/2 t. Italian seasoning, optional

• 2-3 c. flour

• mozzarella string cheese sticks, cut in half

• slices of pepperoni

• 2 T. butter or margarine, melted

• Optional topping: 2 t. Parmesan cheese, 1/2 t. each garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt

1. Let yeast and sugar dissolve in warm water in a large mixing bowl for about 5 minutes. Add olive oil, 1/2 t. salt and optional 1/2 t. Italian seasoning. Slowly add the flour until completely combined and dough is no longer sticky. Knead for 5 minutes, place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise for 1 hour.

2. On a floured surface, roll dough into a rectangle. Cut into rectangles . At the edge of each square, place one piece of mozzarella and two pieces of pepperoni. Roll up and tuck in sides. Be sure to seal well to cut down on cheese melting out during the baking process. Place on a baking sheet. Repeat until done.

3. Drizzle or brush melted butter or margarine over each mini bread stick. If desired, combine the optional topping ingredients in a small bowl and sprinkle on top. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.

The kids and I enjoyed these for lunch today!!! Very good!

Sopapillas

Sopapillas
From: Tara Cooks

We made these the other day as a dessert for lunch. The kids LOVED them!

1 ¾ cup plain flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup milk
Hot vegetable oil for frying
1 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
Honey – optional

Mix dry ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. Add the milk and knead for 1 minute on floured surface. Let dough set for one hour. Roll dough into large rectangle 1/8” thickness. Use a pizza cutter to cut 2” wide strips of dough, then cut strips into 2” squares, then cut squares diagonally in half. Mix sugar and cinnamon in a shallow baking dish and set aside. Heat 4 cups vegetable oil in deep fryer. When oil reaches 375 degrees, drop dough triangles into hot oil. They should rise to the surface, and puff, then brown on the bottom very quickly. Use tongs to quickly turn sopapillas over. When dough is golden brown on both sides, remove from oil carefully, and place on paper towels. While sopapillas are still very warm, put them in the cinnamon and sugar mixture and spoon mixture over sopapillas to thoroughly coat them.

Brownie Chunk and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Brownie Chunk and Chocolate Chip Cookies

From: Picky Palate

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup chocolate chips

2 cups cubed prepared brownies

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment or silpat liner.

2. Place butter and sugars into the bowl of a stand or electric mixer, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, beating until well combined.

3. Place flour, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl, mixing to combine. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients along with chocolate chips and brownie chunks until just combined.

4. Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop dough onto prepared baking sheet about 1-inch apart. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes until cooked through. Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

Baked Sugar Doughnuts

Baked Sugar Doughnuts
From: Back of a Pillsbury biscuit package

1 can Pillsbury refrigerated country style biscuits (I used the cheap Aldi's brand)
3 TBS margarine, melted
1/3 cup sugar (I used all the sugar, and then I used a cinnamon sugar mixture and sprinkled on them when I ran out of the plain sugar)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Separate dough into 10 biscuits. Flatten eat to 2 1/2 inch round. ( I just rolled them out really flat, didn't measure the size). With a 1 inch round biscuit cutter, cut hole in center. Dip biscuits and centers into butter, then into sugar. Place on un-greased cookie sheet. Bake 12-14 minutes or until golden brown.

The kids and I enjoyed these. Not sure which I liked better, the plain sugar or the cinnamon/sugar mixture. They were both really good.

Sticky-Fingers Bars

Sticky-Fingers Bars
From: Smells Like Home

Greg really likes these. They are good chopped up stirred into vanilla ice cream!!!!

For the crust:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup salted peanuts, coarsely chopped
4 (2.07 oz) Snickers bars

For the filling:
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup Lyle’s Golden Corn Syrup or light corn syrup
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

1 cup smooth peanut butter (creamy or natural works)
1 cup salted peanuts, coarsely chopped
3 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

To make the crust:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving several inches hanging over the short ends of the pan. Grease the foil with butter or cooking spray.

Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl on medium speed about 1 minute, until creamy. Add the flour and peanuts and mix on medium-low speed just until incorporated. Press the dough evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Set aside to cool about 10 minutes. Decrease the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Cut the Snickers bars into 1/4-inch-thick pieces. Cover the top of the crust with an even layer of Snickers slices, leaving about 1/4-inch between slices.

To make the filling:
Whisk the eggs, sugar, syrup, butter, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl until combined. Pour the mixture over the crust and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until set (it should not wiggle when you remove the pan from the oven). Cool for 20-30 minutes.

Spread the peanut butter in an even layer on top of the filling. Add the chopped peanuts in an even layer. Melt the chocolate in a small bowl in a microwave on medium-high. Check every 30 seconds to ensure the chocolate does not burn. Stir until smooth. Use a spoon to drizzle the chocolate over the chopped peanuts.

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Grab the foil edges and lift the bars out of the pan and cut into bars.