TWD: Caramel Crunch Bars

These are good, very good. From the moment I saw this recipe I knew there was a good chance that I was going to like these, and I was right.

The are incredibly tasty. I thought the cookie crust was so good and the chocolate layer was the perfect compliment. I ended up using caramel bits on these as I had some in the pantry, and they added a great flavor.

I will definitely be making these again. They are a perfect dessert or snack to have around, as a little goes a long way.

Whitney of What's Left on the Table picked these. Check out her blog and the TWD bloggers to see what everyone thought of these.

Caramel Crunch Bars from Baking From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan, page 112-113.

A Quick Chicken and Dumpling

I feel I must admit this: I used to be a Jessica Simpson fan. There, I feel better now. When she first came out I ate up every song she put out. I Wanna Love You Forever? Screeched along at the top of my lungs. Where You Are? Voted for the video on TRL.... a lot.

But I outgrew my Jessica Simpson phase. You can only laugh along with stupid questions for so long, attempt to sing along to high, warbly notes so many times. So I was a little hesitant when I saw that this chicken and dumpling recipe was from her. Seriously? Ms. Is This Chicken or Fish was cooking on Ms. I Do So Many Shows I Have No Voice's show? Alrighty.

But yet it kept getting rave reviews and it did sound good, so I decided to give it a try.

And I'm so glad I did! This recipe is quick, super easy, and pretty economical. And the leftovers are incredible. I highly recommend this recipe to anyone after a tasty, comforting recipe for a cold night. I promise, it's good!

Jessica Simpson's Chicken and Dumplings

From: The Rachael Ray Show

3 Containers Crescent Rolls

1 Small Rotisserie Chicken, skin off and off the bone

1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup

1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 Cup Chicken Broth

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Roll out and separate the cans of rolls. Put a small amount of chicken in a crescent, roll up, press end into roll and place seam side down in 9 x 13 pan. Repeat until all chicken is used.

Cut up rest of rolls into strips and set aside.

Mix the 2 cans of soup and broth, pour evenly over the chicken and crescents.

Place strips over the mixture to make a crust.

Cook until top is brown and mixture is bubbly and tender, around 30 minutes.

Vegetable Soup

Growing up I never really liked vegetable soup, mainly because I didn't really like vegetables. But now that I'm older, and had really good vegetable soup a few times, I actually have started to like it. And even more surprisingly, I've even started to crave it. So when Doug mentioned that it sounded good to him too I decided that it was time I try my hand at this classic dish.

I found a recipe that sounded really good on Sweet Savory Southern and decided to run with it. The only changes I made to this recipe was to double it and add a half cup of water to get the consistency that I wanted. This was because I wanted a slightly thinner consistency, but you can add as much or as little as you want to hit your perfect consistency. Doubling this gave us the perfect amount for dinner and a few days of leftovers.

This soup is perfect for a nice cold day like the ones we've been having recently, so give it a try!

Vegetable Soup

Source: Sweet Savory Southern

1/2 large white onion, finely chopped

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

8 oz beef broth

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp sugar

1/2 cup water

2 1/2-3 cups mixed vegetables I used 2 small bags of frozen peas, carrots, corn, and green beans

Heat olive oil in a large pot. Add chopped onion and cook for about 5 min. Add beef broth and canned tomatoes. Next add the mixed vegetables. Add seasonings and stir to combine. Add water to achieve desired consistency. Cover and simmer on low for about 35-45 min, stirring occasionally.

These are the directions for a single batch (except for the note about the vegetables). I doubled this.

TWD: World Peace Cookies

So sorry for the lack of TWD posts, Doug and I decided that it would be fun to each spend a huge chunk of January being sick. It was so much fun, each of us taking turns either feeling horrible or trying to take care of the other one. But we're both better now and I'm really excited for this month's recipes.

I was really excited to try these cookies since they're chocolate (yum) and had some rave reviews online. I was really happy with how quickly the dough came together. When I went to cut them they crumbled a little bit but were easy to put back together. The cookies have a nice flavor but got hard very quickly, and I don't really like hard cookies so that bummed me out.

Overall these are a good cookie and I will probably try them again soon.
This recipe was picked by Jessica of cookbookhabit, make sure to check out her blog. And make sure to check out the other TWD bakers.

World Peace Cookies from Baking From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan, pages 138-139.

An Incredible Lasagna

In 2007 Doug and I decided that there weren't enough events in the month of December, so to spice things up I decided to graduate college and we decided to get married, hey we didn't want anyone to be bored! So I graduated the 15th, there was one week of nothing, then Christmas (which included Christmas with both of our parents, my grandparents, and Doug's mom's family), and the following Saturday (the 29th) we got married. While some thought that we were insane and were trying to cause problems other family members got in the spirit and jumped in to help.

Two of those who jumped in to help were Doug's aunt and cousin, Donna and Rachel respectively. They helped out by insisting on bringing the meal to the family gathering at Doug's parents house (this was on Thursday, our rehearsal dinner was Friday and the wedding was Saturday). Rachel made a great chicken lasagna from her husband's family and Aunt Donna made this incredible sausage lasagna. But they were nice enough to allow us to bring the bread.

This lasagna is so good, we actually had this on New Years Day this year, it was a great way to reminisce about what had happened just over a year ago. The great thing about this lasagna is that it is fancy enough to work for a special meal (like Christmas or New Years) but yet simple enough to enjoy any time. This recipe is also great because you can make it as mild or as spicy as you'd like, just by changing the sausage.

Give this recipe a try next time you're in the mood for lasagna, you won't regret it.

Italian Sausage Lasagna

Source: Aunt Donna

2# Italian Sausage (whatever spice level you want)
1 clove (or more) garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon basil
1 1/2 tsp salt
2-6 oz cans tomato paste
2-12 oz cans tomato sauce (can use some of the Italian spiced one or with added basil/garlic)

3 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
2 Tablespoons parsley
2 eggs beaten
1 tsp salt
1# sliced mozzarella cheese
Lasagna noodles - may use oven ready

Brown and drain meat. Add next FIVE ingredients and simmer 30 minutes, stir frequently. Combine remaining ingredients EXCEPT sliced mozzarella and noodles.

Now build....
First Layer - thin layer of meat/tomato sauce
Second Layer - single layer of noodles - (but you can overlap if you want)
Third Layer - ricotta mixture (use half)
Fourth Layer - mozzarella slices (use half)

Repeat layers (but save some meat/tomato for top)

Top with meat sauce and additional Romano (or Parmesan) cheese.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

It's Awards Season!

My friend Maci of My Yummy Goodness (check it out, it's awesome), being the doll that she is, sent me two awards recently. Thanks Maci!!

The Fabulous Blog Award

The Lemonade Award for having a refreshing blog

Here are the rules…

- Add the logo in your blog.

- Add a link to the person who gave you the award.

- Nominate other (refreshing…like lemonade and fabulous) blogs of your choice.

- Don’t forget to add links to those blogs in yours.

- Also leave a message for your nominees in their blogs, informing them about the award.

So here's who I'm sending these to:

Julie of Jewels in the Kitchen
TheMilkMansWife of Milk and Honey
HornedFroggy of My Baking Heart
ThatGirl of Paved With Good Intentions

These two aren't food blogs but I love them none the less
Jessica of Reading is Sexy
Jen of My Brain's Comfort Food

A Diner Meal

I love diners. They are so much fun to eat at, even though they are hard to find. There is a great 50s diner in Branson, Missouri, that I've been to with my parents, but that's kind of a long drive for a diner meal. Enter this alternative meal.

As soon as I saw this recipe on delish.com I knew I had to make them. First of all, I've heard some great things about Katie Lee Joel's recipes and, second, the picture looked incredible. These were incredibly easy to make, cheap to buy all the ingredients for, and so tasty. I will definitely be making them again. A great thing about these is that you can tweak the recipe for your tastes. You can add or subtract ingredients from the burger mixture and change up the toppings so they resemble your favorite burger. That is the sign of a great recipe to me.

These fries are also incredibly easy. We've made these a few times since we first ordered them as an appetizer at Outback Steakhouse when we were trying to use up a gift card. They are incredibly decadent and overkill but they are so good. You could also switch these up buy using different types of fries (even homemade fries would be awesome here) or a different mixture of cheese (I'm thinking Mexican Blend Cheese could be great here). They are also great because you can make as much or as little as you want by increasing the amounts. These would make a great item for a Superbowl party, a game night, or even just a lazy meal at home.

Cheese and Bacon Fries

Inspired by Outback Steakhouse Appetizer

Ingredients

1 Small Bag of Frozen French Fries Type of your choice (I used spicy)

2 Cups Shredded Cheese

1 Cup Crumbled Cooked Bacon

Bake fries as directed on bag (or for your homemade fries recipe). Remove from oven and sprinkle with cheese and bacon. Return to 350 degree oven for about 8-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Cheeseburgers

Adapted from: Katie Lee Joel as seen on delish.com

Ingredients:
1 Lb Ground Beef

1 Egg Beaten Lightly

1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder

1 Tsp Pepper

Butter

12 Slices Wheat Bread

12 Slices Cheese

Mix the ground beef, egg, garlic powder, and pepper together. Form into thin patties (mine made 6 patties) and cook in a heated skillet until done. When burgers are done remove from pan and allow to drain on paper towels.

Meanwhile butter one side of each piece of bread.

Wipe out the skillet and lay down brown, butter side down. Layer cheese, a patty, cheese and another piece of bread, butter size up.

Cook until the bread is toasted.