Reeses Dream Pie

HUGE fan of Hershey's Reeses Peanut Butter Cups OR Reeses Pieces! :)  My mom introduced me to this recipe less than a year ago!  OH MY!  Get ready to brew your cup of coffee to go with it! :)

2/3 c peanut butter
1 c powdered sugar
1/4 c milk
1 t vanilla
1 8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 8 oz tub cool whip
Reeses Magic Shell Ice Cream Topping
1 premade cookie crust (Oreo)

Cream cream cheese, vanilla and milk until it's not lumpy. Add the peanut butter and powdered sugar and again stir. Fold in the tub of cool whip to the cream cheese mixture. Put this into your prepared Oreo crust. Top with Magic Shell and freeze for 2 hours. Take it out about 30 minutes before serving. You can also simply refridgerate for several hours before and keep the remainder (if there is any :)) in the fridge.

Roasted New Potatoes

 Wash potatoes well removing all dirt.

 Throw all ingredients in a bowl to coat.

 Single layer in a 9x13 pan.

Should be golden when through with baking.

1 1/2 lb golden or red new potatoes
1/4 c olive oil
3 cloves garlic
handful of rosemary, fresh
1/2 c parmesan cheese

Rinse and half new potatoes.  Throw them in a bowl.  Drizzle oil over them and add the garlic and rosemary.  Toss all of this together so everything gets well coated.  Put these into a 9x13 pan and sprinkle 1/4 c parmesan cheese over the top.  Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.  Every 10 minutes stir and recoat.  On the third time stirring (10 minutes baking time remaining) add the other 1/4 c parmesan cheese over the top and finish baking.  Serve immediately.  They cool quickly.

Italian Beef Sandwiches

An incredibly different sandwich, but OH SO GOOD!  This reminds me of the MIDWEST where my true roots are! :) 

2-3 lb beef roast (sirloin, top roast)
1 - 10 oz jar Pepperocinis (the WHOLE jar, juice and all)
2 beef boullion cubes
1 t garlic powder/salt
1 T Italian Seasoning (if you don't have Italian seasoning, use what you've got, oregano, basil, etc)
salt & pepper
1 pkg hoagie buns (sub type)

In your crockpot, cut your roast into smaller chunks.  Cover the roast with water, just to the top of the roast.  Cook on low for at least 5 hours.  I did mine overnight from midnight to 8AM.  Remove the chunks onto a plate and shred (the longer it cooks, the easier it is to shred) until all is shredded.  Pour the water out of the crockpot completely.  Add shredded beef back into the crockpot and add seasonings & peppers along with about 3-4 c beef broth (made from the beef boullion cubes listed above).  Let stew another 2 or so hours.  Drain as you put it onto your bread (we toast ours).

Lemon Snowflake Cookies

I seriously can't remember where I first tasted these yummy cookies, but they are AMAZING!  Soft, chewy, light and lemony!  If you like anything lemon (even lemonade), you'll want to try this recipe!  AND, they are SO SIMPLE!

1 box Lemon Cake Mix
1/3 c canola oil
1 t lemon extract
2 eggs
1/3 c powdered sugar

In a bowl, combine cake mix, oil, extract and eggs and mix together until everything is blended well. (NOTE: DO NOT ADD THE INGREDIENT AMOUNTS FROM CAKE MIX BOX, ADD THE ABOVE.)  Make small balls and dip each one into powdered sugar before putting on the pan.  Bake at 375 for 6-9 minutes.  They bake up QUICKLY, so be sure to watch closely starting at 6 minutes.  You want the bottoms to be light brown and the tops will crack apart, but not brown.

Honey Granola

So, many are "health conscious" at the beginning of the year always!  Thought I'd post my granola recipe that isn't too terrible.  Better choice than a donut! :)

This is all the ingredients mixed raw BEFORE the honey butter mixture.

 Honey butter mixture blending.

This is when the granola is coated with the Honey Butter mixture BEFORE it is baked. 

Completely baked and cooling.  You can see the color difference.

1 - 18 oz container old fashioned oats (6 c)
8 oz sliced almonds
1 c brown sugar (I prefer DARK brown sugar)
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 sticks butter
1/2 c honey

In a large bowl, toss together all ingredients except butter and honey.  In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. When the butter is completely melted, stir in honey. Stir continuouslly until the butter and honey blend together and are no longer separated.  Pour over oat mixture and toss until everything is well coated. Spread granola onto a parchment lined baking pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Stir right in the middle at 15 minutes.  Watch it closely as at the end it darkens quickly! The sugar will begin to caramelize. Cool completely on pan. Transfer to an airtight container or Ziploc bags.

My FAVORITE way to eat granola is over sliced fresh bananas and vanilla yogurt!  Mmm, mmm!

CHICKEN DEAL!!!!!!!

Hey guys! Just had to let my friends and family know about this great deal if you are in the Phoenix area! I am branching off of another ladies blog that I follow. Go read the post here.

Cents'Able Shoppin: Four More Days to Get your "Cluck" On! Buack!: "Buack! Buack Buack Buack! BUACK! Folks - have you ever heard of Zaycon Foods? They're a Spokane-based company that ..."

Au Gratin Potatoes

Heart attack waiting to happen, but the most delicious Au Gratin potatoes you will ever eat.  I have to be honest, this is a more recent favorite because growing up, I must've had a bad experience with the boxed kind and couldn't bring myself to eating them again!  NOT ANYMORE!  A dear friend of mine served these at a St Patricks'/birthday celebration and they've been a favorite ever since!  These are so amazing!  The key is cooking them long enough! 

6-8 RED potatoes, sliced thinly
1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (key ingredient!)
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 stick butter
salt
3 c Cheddar Cheese, shredded
1 c ham, ground

Peel and slice red potatoes. Cut the butter into thin slices and place randomly in and out of the potatoes.  Salt them well.  Cover the potatoes then with the liquids, cream and chicken broth and bake COVERED at 425 for 35 minutes.  Top with shredded cheddar cheese and ground ham and bake UNCOVERED for an additional 25 minutes. 

These go nice served with any beef or chicken meal.

Favor PLEASE! :) (until January 4, 2011)

So, I entered the Karo Cookie Exchange event and need your help! :)  I'd love to win the Grand Prize! :)  Who wouldn't? :)  I entered Chewy Caramels as a recipe on their Cookie Exchange.  I need to have the highest number of votes to win! :)  So, if you're on facebook, here's what you do!

1. Sign into your account.
2. Search for "KARO" and select the Karo syrup.
3. On their facebook group, click "like" at the very top.
4. Select then the "Cookie Exchange" tab up at the top.
5. Click then on "recipes."
6. At the top of the "recipes" page it will have a "most recent' or "most popular" link.  Click "most popular."
7. Find my recipe, right now I'm in 3rd, my name will be next to the recipe "Joanna Cowley Baltzly."
8. Click on the recipe "Chewy Caramels" and it will have a "vote" box on the left.
9. Click "vote" and you're done! :)

THANK YOU! :)

Potato Cream Cheese Soup

So, one of the hardest things about moving Southwest for me, outside leaving my sweet babies behind, is the Panera Potato Cream Cheese soup!  Anybody with me on LOVING their soup!?  NO MORE do I have to miss this soup.  I have FINALLY mastered this soup at home and I even get an entire HUGE batch for the price of my ONE bowl purchased at Panera!  Now, the next thing to work on mastering are their sourdough bread bowls! :)  I'll let you know when I get there! :)

Until then, here is the soup recipe.  ENJOY! :)

3 - 14.5 cans chicken broth
2 - 8 oz pkg cream cheese, cubed
1 package (30 ounces) frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed
1-1/2 c. fully cooked ham, cubed or ground
1/2 c onion, finely chopped
1 t garlic powder or salt
3/4 t dill weed

In your large kettle, bring your chicken broth to a boil. Add cream cheese; cook and stir until cheese is melted. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 18-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

TIP:  Best served in a sour dough bread bowl!!!

Beef Tenderloin

Raise your hand if you still have NO IDEA what to make for Christmas dinner! :)  We are only days away now from the big day.  I decided to do a stream of posts to help some of you out on what to cook and make for your families' Christmas meal!!! 

This would be your main course!  It's AMAZING! 
Shallots:
2 shallots, halved
1 1/2 T olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Sauce for beef:
3 cups beef broth
3/4 c port wine
1 1/2 t tomato paste
3 T butter
1 T flour

Beef:
2 lbs beef tenderloin roast, trimmed
1 t dried thyme
3 slices bacon, diced

Preheat your oven to 375.  In a pie pan, toss shallots with oil to coat.  Season with salt and pepper.  Roast until shallots are deep brown and very tender.  Usually takes about 30 minutes.  Take out and set aside.

In a large saucepan, combine the beef broth and port wine.  Bring to a boil and cook over high heat until the volume is reduced by half.  This also takes about 30 minutes.  Whisk in the tomato paste and set aside.

Pat your beef dry.  Sprinkle it with thyme, salt and papper. In a large roasting pan, set over medium heat on the stove.  Saute your bacon until golden.  Transfer the bacon (leaving the grease in the pan) onto a paper towel to absorb the grease.  Using the grease from the bacon still in pan, brown all sides of the beef tenderloin over medium high heat.  About 7 minutes total.  Transfer the entire roasting pan at this point into your oven and roast your beef unil a meat thermometer insterted into the middle is 135 degrees, about 35 minutes.  Immediately remove from the oven and place on a serving platter and put a piece of foil tented over the top and let sit.

While your beef is baking, in a blender, puree your shallots, beef broth mixture and bacon all together until smooth.

Place the roasting pan with the juices from the beef on the stove on high.  Add the broth mixture and bring to a boil.  Stir to scrape up any browned bits.  Transfer to a medium saucepan, and bring to simmer.  Mix 1 1/2 T butter and flour in small bowl to form a smooth paste; whisk into broth mixxture, and simmer until sauce thickens.  Whisk in remaining butter.

Slice beef in to 1/2 inch thick slices.  Spoon sauce over as wanted.