I saw Ina making these treats (recipe here) on a recent episode of her show and was very intrigued. They looked like little pecan pie squares, in a portable form. They were easy to make and were VERY tasty. You must have a very large pan to bake them in (I used a half-sheet pan,) and they make a TON of squares. I found them to be so rich that Ina’s suggested serving size was too large, so I cut them smaller and was able to get over twice as many servings out of the pan. I gave some away to friends who were taking Girl to their lakehouse over Labor Day weekend (a snack for the road trip,) and some to my parents. Hubby, Boy and I ate some over a period of a couple of days and I still have quite a few of them in my freezer. So, I guess I wouldn’t plan on making these again unless it was for an “occasion,” because the recipe makes SO many that one family wouldn’t be able to eat them all (at least not without hurting themselves!) before they got totally sick of them. They are delicious, though, and would be the perfect thing to bring to a family reunion, potluck, bake sale, etc…where you know that you’ll need to feed a crowd.
Instead of dipping one side of each square in chocolate, I just lightly drizzled melted chocolate over the whole pan. Mmmmm…rave reviews from all that we shared them with.
Category: Snacks
Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
I was looking for something to make for the kids to eat after school to give them energy before heading off to after-school extra-curricular activities (it seems like the kids are always STARVING when I pick them up from school!) These (recipe here) cookies from Cooking Light magazine were easy, yummy, healthy, and made with things that everyone already has on hand.
To Die For Blueberry Muffins
We recently had our niece and two nephews over to spend the night with Boy and Girl. I asked the kids what they would like for breakfast in the morning and niece suggested blueberry muffins. She sweetly said that she was sure that any I would make would be fabulous. Ruh-roh! That’s when I realized that I really didn’t have a “go to” blueberry muffin recipe…so I went searching. When I found this one on AllRecipes, I hoped the muffins would live up to their name. Luckily for me (and all 5 of the little morning cousins!,) they did. They were wonderful! I used frozen blueberries, because I had them on hand and the muffins were fine; just toss them in directly out of the bag – no need to even thaw them.
This photo doesn’t really do them justice, but they were VERY tasty and the crumbly topping was divine. Be sure to have a glass of cold milk or juice (or hot cup of coffee) ready to go with them!
Croque Monsier sandwich
There are many different recipes for making “Croque Monsieur” sandwiches (literally “Mister Crunchy”, ranging from a simple toasted ham and cheese sandwich (such as this one), to sandwiches requiring a special shell-shaped press, to sandwiches topped with Mornay sauce and broiled. Croque Monsieur sandwiches are a favorite mid-mountain treat for us on our annual family ski trip, so I thought it would be fun to make them at home, too.
This version is very simple (you don’t even need a recipe, really), kid-friendly and VERY delicious. I used wheat bread, instead of white, because that’s just what we always keep around.
Eileen’s Ham & Swiss Rolls
These rolls are SO delicious. They are great for a party and people will ask for the recipe EVERY time. These come from my BFF, Eileen. I have no idea where she got the recipe, and she’s been making them so long, she probably doesn’t remember, either. They are sweet, tangy, rich and buttery, chewy and warm. My mouth is watering, just thinking about them. They can be tightly wrapped in foil and plastic wrap and frozen until you need them for a special occasion. I decided to make them this week because I had a lot of slider hamburger buns dinner rolls left over from my brother and sis-in-law’s baby shower and we hadn’t made these rolls in a long time.
I was going to freeze all six packages (I made a double batch), but Hubby looked so pitifully sad and asked “couldn’t we just bake one package, for lunch?,” that I, of course, had to do that. He LOVES these things. Be sure to have lots of napkins on hand when you eat them!
Eileen’s Ham & Swiss Rolls
3 packages dinner rolls or sweet Hawaiian rolls
3/4 lb. sliced swiss cheese
1 lb. sliced good-quality smoked ham
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp poppy seeds
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Slice the rolls (keeping them intact/attached to each other, if possible) horizontally. Place the bottom half of rolls on a large sheet of aluminum foil. Set the tops of the rolls (cut side up) next to the bottoms.
Heat butter, Worcestershire, mustard, brown sugar and poppy seeds in small saucepan over medium heat until butter is melted. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until sauce reaches a gentle boil. Boil, stirring, for a few more moments until sauce has slightly thickened. Remove the pan from heat and set aside to cool for a few moments.
Using a pastry or basting brush, brush a light coating of the sauce onto both the tops and bottoms of rolls (brush the cut sides.). You should only use about 1/2 of the sauce (I forgot to brush the tops when I made mine, but that’s OK.)
Lay the sliced ham evenly over all of the roll bottoms and then top with the sliced cheese, then place the rolls tops back on.
Brush the remaining sauce over the top and sides of all of the rolls.
Wrap the aluminum foil snugly around the rolls to seal. Bake, wrapped in the foil, at 350 degrees until the rolls are warmed through and the cheese has melted (about 20 minutes) or you may wrap in an additional layer of plastic wrap and refrigerate (for up to 2 days) or freeze (for up to 2 months) until you’re ready to bake them. Be sure to remove the plastic wrap before baking.
After baking, unwrap the rolls and use a long, serrated bread-type knife to cut the rolls apart (use the line between rolls as a guide to slice through the ham.)
Roasted Banana Bars with Browned Butter-Pecan Frosting
This recipe is from January 2009 Cooking Light magazine. These were absolutely delicious. They were a little more labor-intensive than I’m used to for a simple snack cake recipe, but I think that you might be able to skip the banana roasting step, if you’re in a real hurry. I haven’t tested that theory, but the banana flavor didn’t seem much different to me than regular banana bread or other non-roasted recipes. These were VERY good, though. I shared some with someone that is doing some work around our house at the moment and she emailed later that afternoon, insisting that I share the recipe with her. These would be great for any kind of potluck or food “gift” for a teacher, someone that’s had a new baby/illness or when it’s your turn to bring snacks for soccer, girl scouts, etc. Yum.
Chilaquiles
Chilaquiles with beans and avocado, topped with a fried egg
Sorry for the over-exposed photo. Click the “Simply Recipes” link all the way down at the bottom of this page for a more picturesque version of chilaquiles.
Chilaquiles
Makes 4 smallish servings or 2 very large ones
8 leftover (stale is actually better!) corn tortillas, each cut into 6 wedges
about 1 cup cooking oil
1/4 cup queso fresco, crumbled
4 eggs (or 1 egg per person that you’re planning to serve)
butter for frying the eggs
1 avocado, sliced, optional
1 1/2 to 2 cups of leftover red chile enchilada sauce (we LOVE the sauce in this recipe)
1 can beans, optional
(pinto, black or refried – any kind is fine, but these are yummy)
Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the tortillas, in batches if necessary, until browned and crispy. Remove from oil and set aside to drain on paper towels.
Pour the oil out of the skillet. Heat the enchilada sauce over medium heat in the (now empty) skillet until warm.
In a separate skillet, fry the eggs in butter to your desired level of doneness.
While the eggs are cooking, toss in the fried tortilla wedges into the sauce and gently fold until they are lightly coated in sauce.
Portion the chilaquiles out onto serving plates (or bowls) and garnish with cheese and avocado. Place a fried egg (or two, if you’re making two servings) on top of each portion. Serve with beans alongside.
You can adapt this recipe to just about anything that you like. Feel free to incorporate cilantro, sour cream, onions, different kinds of cheese, etc. Chilaquiles are wonderful for breakfast, but are also great anytime of day or as a snack after a late night out.
Here are two other great recipes for chilaquiles variations:
Chilaquiles from Simply Recipes
Chilaquiles from Gourmet Sleuth
Amish Friendship Snack Cake
A friend recently gave me some Amish Friendship Bread starter*. I had some a long time ago, but it got tossed in one of our many moves. I was excited about the possibility of getting some sourdough going again, but I didn’t care for the cloyingly sweet recipe version that calls for instant pudding mix (ewww!) and decided to look for alternatives.
I adapted a less-sweet, lower-fat version that I found online into this tasty snack. It has a nice, yeasty, cinnamon-y flavor, without being too sweet. It would be nice for breakfast, too
Amish Friendship Snack Cake
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon or (cinnamon spice blend)
1 cup Amish Friendship starter
1/3 cup applesauce
1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla or 1 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1/2 tsp McCormick Vanilla Butter & Nut extract)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour a 13 X 9 inch baking pan (or spray with nonstick spray.)
In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a smaller mixing bowl, stir together the starter, applesauce, oil, eggs and vanilla.
Pour the liquid ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and gently stir until just combined. Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. The cake will just barely be beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan and the top of the cake will be firm and evenly browned.
Allow the cake to cool completely before cutting into pieces for serving.
Great after-school snack with some fruit and a glass of milk!
*If you’re not familiar with Amish Friendship Bread starter, it’s a version of sourdough (to be honest, I’m not sure what, if anything, distinguishes it from “regular” sourdough.) The sourdough can be used to make a variety of baked goods and is ready to use every 10 days. The sourdough starter needs to be “fed” during the 10 day period prior to use (my version recommends that this be done on Day 6) by stirring in a mixture of sugar, flour and milk. Each time that you use the starter, it will grow and multiply, providing extra starter that you can pass along to your friends (with, in my experience, mixed receptions.)
Alton Brown’s “Orange Delicious”
We made this tasty drink from Alton Brown’s “Orange Delicious” recipe. It is “inspired by” Orange Julius. Click here for the recipe. I used Cara Cara oranges to make ours. Yummy.
Grilled Peanut Butter and Banana Split Sandwich
Grilled Peanut Butter and Banana Split Sandwich, a.k.a. “Dinner for a Boy who’s had a long, busy week and whose sister is away at a dance, so he’s getting his parents’ undivided attention and getting spoiled a little.” I ran across this recipe (here) on Cooking Light’s website. It looked interesting, but I probably wouldn’t … Continue reading “Grilled Peanut Butter and Banana Split Sandwich”
Grilled Peanut Butter and Banana Split Sandwich, a.k.a. “Dinner for a Boy who’s had a long, busy week and whose sister is away at a dance, so he’s getting his parents’ undivided attention and getting spoiled a little.”
I ran across this recipe (here) on Cooking Light’s website. It looked interesting, but I probably wouldn’t have tried to make it if the reviews didn’t look so good (just a little “weird”). I made this for Boy tonight, because he’s had a very busy week. Hubby and I will likely eat later and polish off leftovers and Girl is away at a school dance, so I wanted to serve something easy and fun for Boy, who is already is full-on relax mode, wearing his pajama pants and ready for some Mario Kart!
Boy really liked the sandwich and finished the whole thing before he even touched the accompanying chips (highly unusual). I didn’t taste it, but if you’re thinking of making this, you should read the website reviews. It sounds like it really (for an adult) can be more of a dessert or sweet snack, rather than a real “meal” type of sandwich. It definitely interesting, though, and can be made out of things that most folks usually have around the house (at least in strawberry season – I just happened to see some beautiful early-season ones at the store the other day.)