Puppy Chow

This is one of those recipes that has a THOUSAND different names but when it comes down to it the same ingredients! Regardless of what you call it though, it's good. And fast. And you usually have the ingredients on hand. And that, my friends, makes for an awesome recipe.

In the event that you live on Mars and you've not had Puppy Chow, stop everything you're doing and go make it now. I mean it. And then try not to eat the whole bowl. Trust me. You'll want some for breakfast.

INGREDIENTS:
9 cups Chex cereal (any flavor but we like rice cause it's GF). 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter (this recipe can be made gluten free by using all natural peanut butter)
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS: Into large bowl WITH LID, measure cereal; set aside. In 1-quart microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Add powdered sugar. Seal bowl; shake until well coated. Store in airtight container in refrigerator. Serve cold.

Note: I usually use the whole box of Chex and over measure all the additional ingredients to compensate. It just doesn't make sense to me to leave 2 cups of cereal behind when you could have 2 cups more of puppy chow!

New York Cheesecake

A cheescake, for my lovely sister-in-law's bridal shower!

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
5 (250 g) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup sour cream
4 eggs
1 (19 ounce) can cherry pie filling

DIRECTIONS:
Heat oven to 325 degrees F if using a silver 9 inch springform pan (or to 300 degrees F if using a dark nonstick 9-inch springform pan). Mix crumbs, cinnamon and butter; press firmly onto bottom of pan. Bake 10 minutes. After removing crust from the oven, spray remaining edges of pan with non-stick spray. Beat cream cheese, sugar, flour and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add sour cream; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. Pour over crust. Bake 1 hour 10 minutes or until center is almost set. Let cake cool before removing rim of pan (I like to refrigerate mine for a couple hours before I remove the the rim). Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Top with pie filling before serving. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.

In case you want to read up on more tips on baking cheesecake, check out one of my favorite baking site: Baking 911! I have to say though, after years of making them and using zillions of different methods to keep them from cracking, I have only ever had one cheesecake not crack on me. I'm not sure if it's the baker or the altitude or both, but this girl just keeps a can of pie filling on hand, just in case!

Raspberry-Balsamic Chicken Salad

One of my favorite summer recipes is this Raspberry-Balsamic Chicken Salad. Oddly, I came across it in a Weight Watchers cookbook a few years ago and it has stuck in our dinner line-up ever since! Although it is a bit on the "light" side, I've found that once paired with corn on the cob or fresh french bread, it can tide over even the heartiest of appetites. Well, except for my father-in-law, who had to make a run to Wendy's a couple hours after I had made it for him. You can't win em' all though!

INGREDIENTS:
1 tsp. vegetable oil or olive oil
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 1/2 tsp. minced fresh thyme
1/2 tsp. salt, divided
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2/3 cup raspberry preserves
4 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. black pepper
Fresh baby spinach or spring mix
Slivered almonds, optional

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; saute 5 minutes. Combine thyme and 1/4 teaspoon salt; sprinkle over chicken. Add chicken to pan; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Reduce heat to medium. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, preserves, vinegar, and pepper, stirring constantly until preserves melt. Place chicken breasts atop bed of greens. Spoon raspberry sauce over chicken, sprinkle with almonds and serve immediately. Yield: 4 servings.

Dani's Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

For the second time in a row now, my friend Dani has brought killer cookies to our park playdate. And I do mean killer. The first time, I didn't have to do much begging for the recipe because she sent us home with a few and also disclosed the fact that the recipe was on the back of a Craisin's package. The second time; however, I went home and thought about the cookies for an entire day before I finally caved and emailed her for the recipe. She willingly obliged and I am SO thankful. I am personally responsible for four missing cookies as of 8:29 this evening. Not good.

So I'm not really sure where to begin with this recipe. I don't normally enjoy shortbread cookies so it's hard for me to compare it to how a shortbread cookie should taste. I also don't normally enjoy crispy cookies and yet this cookie is crispy and I still found it to be delicious. It's also very buttery and the taste reminds me a lot of toffee! Can't go wrong with that, right?! I imagine this would be an extra special treat to pair with hot tea as well. Maybe use some mini chocolate chips and a fun cookie cutter and you're in business! As if all that wasn't enough to convince you to make these, maybe the fact that it uses 5 ingredients will. Try these cookies, you won't regret it.

INGREDIENTS:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup salted butter
1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Cream butter and sugar in mixer until fluffy. Gradually stir in dry ingredients, then stir in chocolate chips. I usually finish the dough up with my hands, it's pretty crumbly. Then you can either scoop the dough into walnut sized balls and place on an unprepared cookie sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart and then flatten them slightly. OR, you take the dough blob and flatten it out to about 1/4 of an inch and use a small round cookie cutter to make the cookies a little more uniform (they cook better and look prettier). Bake for between 20 and 30 minutes it really seems to vary depending on the oven. You'll notice the color of the dough change just slightly when they're done-they get a little bit golden instead of white. Then let cool for a few on the cookie sheet so they don't crumble apart on you.

Snicker Bars

These.are.wonderful. I kinda feel like I'm cheating when I make them since I don't have to make the cake or the caramel sauce from scratch.. but then I get over it and use that time to fold laundry, dust, play with my son..

INGREDIENTS:
1 package German chocolate cake mix
2/3 c. evaporated milk, divided
1 c. chopped nuts (I prefer pecans)
28 (9oz) caramels
3/4 c. melted butter
1 c. chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:
Combine cake mix, melted butter and 1/3 c. evaporated milk. Press half of the mixture into a greased and floured 9 x 13 pan. Bake 6 minutes at 350.
In a double boiler, dissolve caramels and 1/3 c. evaporated milk. (Today I was lazy and quit when this mixture was a bit lumpy.. they were still wonderful!)
Remove cake crust from oven. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and nuts, and then pour dissolved caramels over the top. Crumble the remaining cake mix on the top and return to oven for 15 minutes. DO NOT OVER BAKE!!
Cool and cut into squares.

An introduction & Absolutely Excellent Oatmeal Cookies.

Well, hello! I'm Susan Hayes. Sarah asked me to contribute to her food blog every now and again.. this is a bit intimidating since the girl is so darn good at everything. Her photos, her food, and not to mention those two little guys she has running around! But, hey, this isn't a competition. It's baking. And I love baking. So, I'll be stopping in to let you know when I run across something fabulous. If you'd like to know anything else about my little life, you can find me here. Happy baking!

Absolutely Excellent Oatmeal Cookies

I love these cookies. They have a "cakey" texture that sets them apart from my other cookie recipes. I could also call them "Kitchen Sink Cookies" because I will often throw whatever I have into the batter. I almost always replace the raisins with something else, like more chocolate chips. That's just how we do things around here. Disclaimer: This recipe makes a TON of cookies. I use an ice cream scooper to put the dough on the cookie sheets and I end up with about 70 cookies. If you don't want that many, just scoop the cookies on the baking sheet and place in the freezer, unbaked. Once frozen, pop the cookies in a freezer bag and take them out as needed! Still bake at 350, but it may take a few more minutes of baking time!

1 c. shortening (or butter)
2 c. brown sugar
3 eggs
1 c. sour milk*
1 t. vanilla
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
2 c. rolled oats
1 c. chopped nuts
1 c. raisins
1 c. semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 and grease cookie sheets.**
In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the sour milk and vanilla. Combine the next 5 ingredients (the flour through the cinnamon) and gradually stir into the creamed mixture. Finally, stir in the rolled oats and your choice of additions. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.
Bake for 15 minutes or until nice and brown. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.
*I put about 1 T. of vinegar OR lemon juice in the measuring cup then add milk to the 1 c. measure and let it sit for about 5 minutes. I asked my mother in law why sour milk and she said it acts as a leavening agent.
** I have never greased the cookies sheets, I use a silpat baking sheet, but I think parchment would work, too!

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

This should really be called chocolate cake, with a hint of banana. But since most of us probably would eat this for breakfast, let's stick with banana bread.

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups mashed bananas (about 3)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat oven to 350. Spray bottom of 8x4 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
2. Beat sugar, eggs, and oil in large bowl at medium speed until combined. Beat in banana and vanilla at low speed. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; beat into banana mixture at low speed just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
3 Spoon batter into pan. Bake 60-70 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely on wire rack.