School's in session.....

This past week, my youngest started her senior year of high school - What?????? When did she grow up? My husband says that our daughter and I are exactly alike - she's got a healthy dose of my stubborn side.  I say she is more like him as she is witty, sarcastic, sporty, and academically smart like him. She and I don't have much in common when it comes to school. My favorite classes were Foods 101, Home Economics and working in the cafeteria. Her favorites are Creative Writing, Lacrosse, and Orchestra. She even mentioned she enjoyed Physics once or twice - a class you could not pay me to understand or enjoy!  But the two of us do have one thing in common - we like to eat.  She's not much on the school cafeteria food, never thought it was worth the cost or the time waiting in line.  I, on the other hand. loved our cafeteria food.  Everything was scratch-made each morning. Nothing was brought in. I lived on pretty much the same thing for lunch every day. A hot ham and cheese pocket (remember, scratch-made), a chocolate milkshake and a peanut butter chew bar for dessert. Before you leave a comment about how unhealthy those choices are, remember, I was also a teenager.

I still remember the year I got to work in the cafeteria for extra school credits.  My job was to cut and bag those freshly baked peanut butter treats while they were still warm to ensure they stayed chewy. The only thing I could kick myself over is that I never got the recipe for them.

Thanks to the internet and Facebook reunion sites, I found out that I was not the only one in my school who loved those bars. One of the former students had gotten the recipe and posted  it.  Right off I noticed that some of the measurements were off (1/4 cup of Vanilla? I went with 1/4 Tsp.) so I made a couple of adjustments without ruining the integrity of the recipe.  After one bite, I was instantly transformed back to the halls of high school.

I'm not sure what memories will stand out the most for my daughter this year, but I'm fairly certain food, whether it be on campus or at home, will always give her good memories. I'm jus' sayin'!

Peanut Butter Chews adapted from the original cafeteria recipe of  John Muir Junior High School by a fellow alumni student Juaquina Thorpe Twidwell

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PEANUT BUTTER CHEWS
1/2 c.   white sugar

1/2 c.   brown sugar

1/4 t.    salt

1/2 t.    baking powder

3/4 c.   rolled oats

1/2 c.   flour (sifted)

3 T.      butter

1          egg

1/4 c.   peanut butter

1/4 tsp.   vanilla

1.     Mix dry ingredients together.

2.     Cream in butter and eggs.

3.     Add peanut butter, flour and vanilla.

4.     Mix just enough to blend all ingredients (do not over-mix).

5.     Put mixture in a parchment lined square 8x8 cake pan.  Press down with fingers to make level.  Make sure mixture is well into corners.

6.     Bake 375° for about 13 minutes or until golden in color.

7.     Chews will be quite soft when removed from oven but will firm up as they cool.

8.     Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

9.     Cut while still warm into squares.

Tricks To Make The Best Treats!

From the looks of the Christmas decorations in the stores one would think that Halloween and Thanksgiving are already over. Though this has always been one of my pet peeves about retail, I have found that I can also play this game. By starting my fall decorating on September 1st, I'm able to enjoy my favorite holidays far longer than most retailers might want me too. When it comes to getting a start on those holiday sweets, however, don't feel like you need to get that same early start. Consider one of the quick recipes below as a time-saving or last minute treat. Make one or two of these and then while your friends and family are satisfying their sweet tooths, you can take your sweet time planning the more elaborate holiday meals.

Lately, I have been addicted to www.pinterest.com. It's this amazing site that allows you to take all of your favorite images from the internet and categorize them into groups you will remember. It also allows you to share your favorite things with others. So when I was looking for some short-cut treats for Halloween, I was amazed at all the ideas already "pinned" on other people's walls. I'm glad I was able to save these because today, while I spent a whole day getting caught up on my wash, I decided to try out some of these quick treats for some upcoming get togethers. So instead of getting caught between the spooky ghosts of Halloween and the ghosts of Christmas past, try a few of these quick treats - they may just make you feel like your one step ahead of the retailers... I'm jus sayin'!

Homemade Butterfinger Bars
Recipe copied from In Katrina's Kitchen


Ingredients:
3 cups candy corn
1 cup peanut butter
Chocolate for dipping (I used Milk Chocolate Almond Bark for quick ease. You could use dark or even white almond bark if you like.)

Directions:

1. Melt candy corn in the microwave for about 60 seconds. Check and stir, returning to microwave in 15 second intervals until completely melted.


2. Add peanut butter and combine. Return to microwave if necessary to incorporate until creamy.


3. Pour into a greased 8x8 pan (or whatever pan you like to get the thickness you desire) and let cool about an hour.


4. Cut candy into desired shape and cover in melted chocolate.

To make traditional Butterfingers cut into rectangles and cover in milk chocolate.


Caramel Pretzel Bites
Recipe copied from The Busty Baker

One 14-ounce bag soft caramels
One 10-ounce bag pretzel nuggets
12 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 cups natural almonds, toasted and finely chopped (optional)
*I did not use almonds in the above picture and I sprinkled sea salt on the top after I dipped them in chocolate.

1. Unwrap the caramels, then using a rolling pin, roll out each one into a 1/8-inch thick oval. Wrap a rolled-out caramel around each pretzel nugget, pinching the ends to seal.


2. In a double boiler over simmering water, melt half of the chocolate, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Add the remaining chocolate, remove the top of the double boiler from the saucepan and stir until smooth.


3. Place the almonds, if using, in a shallow bowl. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. Using a fork, dip a caramel covered pretzel nugget in the chocolate to coat, tapping off any excess chocolate. Transfer the pretzel to the almonds and toss to coat; place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining pretzel nuggets, reheating chocolate as needed. Let stand until set, about 3 hours.

Pumpkin Spice Krispy Treats

3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 package Kraft Pumpkin Pie Spiced Marshmallows
6 cups Rice Krispies®

1. In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.


2. Add KELLOGG'S RICE KRISPIES cereal. Stir until well coated.


3. Using buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cool. Cut into 2-inch squares. Best if served the same day.

* Just to jazz them up a bit and make them look like the star of the bake sale I drizzled melted white almond bark on top of mine.


Thin Mint Brownies


Bake your favorite brownies (seriously, this could be your favorite box or your Grandma's passed-down recipe). Here is the quick-trick. As soon as the brownies (13x9 in pan) come out of the oven. Sprinkle one bag of Andes Mint Chips on top. Wait 10 seconds and then spread the melted chips to evenly coat the pan of brownies. Cool to set. You will have them all guessing at your next "Bunco" party how amazing you are that you took so much time to bake such a decadent brownie!

Tuesday Tasters

Since the fall of last year, I have had the unique opportunity to volunteer in my daughter's middle school office once a week. I originally had signed up to work in the library and not put myself in the position of having to answer all those questions from the parents - the same ones that I'm usually asking on the other end of the phone. But as luck - or fate - would have it, I was switched to the front office. In my initial conversations with my new friends, I quickly noticed that these lovely office ladies were very open to trying anything laden with sugar or butter. So I decided to make this a win-win and use the front office as my taste-testers (guinea pigs?) for new recipes I was compiling for my cookbook. And with that, the "Tuesday Tasters" were officially formed.

Now along with testing new recipes, I also had to work around some dietary issues, religious traditions (Lent) and personal preferences that the ladies had. Some weeks were a bit of a challenge but one thing I found out in all of this was that if you bring them sugary confections they will swoon, and by "swoon", I mean that it won't matter as much if I accidentally cut someone off on the phone while transferring a call... or sending visitors to the wrong part of the school... or constantly asking annoying questions (sorry Liz). It just means they will blissfully "bless my heart" with a smile on their lips and a fork in their hands. So next time you volunteer in your kid's school, just remember to bring a plate of something sweet. Think of it as "paying it forward" if your kid ever ends up in the principal's office... I'm jus' sayin'!


Linda's Lemon Berry Cheesecake


Linda (who I will truly miss) gave up chocolate one year for Lent and decided to never go back. (I know, very sad) but with that challenge in mind it pushed me to think more outside of the box for her. Chocolate is always easy and perfect on it's own but with that said, sweetness comes in many flavors. Since cheesecake is one of her favorite desserts I decided to mesh together a lemon bar and cheesecake to create a dessert that would send her off with lots of love.


Crust:
1-1/2 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
3 Tbsp. Sugar
1/3 cup Butter or Margarine, melted

Filling:
4 pkg. (8 oz. each) Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup Sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
4 Eggs

Lemon Curd
2/3 Cup of your favorite homemade lemon curd
Here is my favorite recipe courtesy of Patent and the Pantry.

Topping:
2 cups of berries (your choice) I used strawberries and blackberries because they were on sale.


HEAT oven to 325°F

MIX crumbs, 3 Tbsp. sugar and butter; press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan.

BEAT cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and vanilla with mixer until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Pour over crust.

BAKE 55 min. or until center is almost set. Loosen cake from rim of pan; cool before removing rim. Refrigerate 4 hours.

Right before serving, spread a nice layer of lemon curd on top of cheesecake and then pile berries on top of that. If you want a shiny look. melt 1/4 cup of apricot jam or grape jelly in the microwave until thin. With a pastry brush, carefully paint the tops of the berries to give it a beautiful sheen.

Tami's Salted Caramel Delites

Tami is a chocolate lover no doubt, but equally, she loves salted caramels. One day I brought in a container of freshly made salted caramels. She loved them so much she wondered if I could create a brownie combining her two favs. Hence this easy brownie recipe...

1 box of brownie mix (for 9x13 pan)
Follow directions except replace water with strong coffee.
Kraft Caramel Bits
1/2 caramel ice cream sauce
Kosher flake salt

Make brownies to instructions substituting the coffee for water. Spread in 13x9 pan or individual cupcake liners (24).
Sprinkle the caramel bits on top all over.
Bake per directions on box.
After slightly cooled, drizzle caramel sauce on top and sprinkle with kosher salt. Cool completely before cutting and serving.



This year has been an absolute treat (pun intended) working in the office with Liz, Patti, Tami, Linda, Susan and those sweet student runners. It has been my absolute pleasure feeding y'all and getting to know you. I can't thank you enough for testing all of these recipes!