Peanut Butter Bars with Salted Chocolate Ganache

Chocolate and peanut butter is one of my favorite combinations. Blueberry makes peanut butter balls every year for Christmas. This year she wasn't able to, so in their place I decided to make these for the annual Cookie Exchange Sunday Dinner.

Peanut Butter Bars with Salted Chocolate Ganache
Recipe courtesy of Nancy Fuller, FoodNetwork.com

Nonstick cooking spray, for baking dish

Photo from FoodNetwork.com

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup creamy peanut butter
Kosher salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
8 ounces semisweet baking chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon flaky sea salt, optional

Coat the bottom and sides of an 8-by-8-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, stir to combine the confectioners' sugar, graham cracker crumbs, peanut butter, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and melted butter. Press the mixture into the prepared baking dish and set aside.

Place the chocolate and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan until bubbles start to form around the edges. Pour the cream over the chocolate, let sit for 1 minute and then whisk until completely melted and smooth.

Pour the ganache over the peanut butter mixture and refrigerate until the chocolate is cooled and set, at least 45 minutes and up to overnight.

Sprinkle evenly with the flaky sea salt. Cut into squares to serve.

Slow Cooker Beef Barley Soup

I bought myself an Instant Pot this year. I have yet to use the pressure cooker side of it. Instead, I've been using the crockpot part of it. Fall/Winter is crock pot season to me. A soup even makes it better.

This is a "just ok" soup. Don't get me wrong, it was delicious. Its just not my favorite and with so many other recipes to make, I most likely won't make this again.

Slow Cooker Beef Barley Soup
Recipe from TipHero

Photo from Yourhomebasedmom.com

 1-½ to 2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, diced into 1-inch pieces
4 medium carrots, diced into ½-inch pieces
1 small onion, diced small
3 stalks celery, diced small
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 quarts beef broth, divided
1-½ teaspoons dried thyme
1 – 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
¾ cup barley, rinsed
Salt and pepper, to taste


Generously season the cubed beef with salt and pepper.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add about half of the oil. Working in batches, sear beef on all sides, using more oil as needed. Transfer the seared beef to a 6-quart slow cooker.

Return the skillet to the heat and add 1 cup of beef broth. Heat to a boil and scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, then add to slow cooker.

Add the potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme, diced tomatoes, barley and remaining beef broth to the slow cooker. Stir to combine.

Cover and cook on high for 4 hours.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve garnished with fresh parsley or thyme.

Hearty Beef Stew with Yukon Gold Potatoes

I'm a big fan of stew. Especially this time of year when the rain is pouring outside and it's dreary.  Stew is such a comfort food for me.

The recipe I've used my entire life is a modified version from my Grandma Spaid. Why try something new when that recipe is so darn good. And let's be honest here, stew isn't a hard dinner to make. Or maybe it's just me.

I saw this recipe on MyKitchenEscapades.com and knew I had to make it. Truthfully it was the photo that got my mouth watering.

Photo from MyKitchenEscapades.com

I mean, really? How could you not want to eat that? Such a gorgeous photo.

What made this stew different from my Grandma's is the cooking of the stew in the oven.

Now, I didn't plan well enough, AND didn't read all the instructions, so I did 1 1/2 hr in the oven, took it out of the oven, put in the carrots and potatoes and did another hour on the stove.

The outcome was the tenderest meat and veggies ever. I just couldn't believe how good it was.

So, if you're looking for a solid, good, full of flavor stew recipe, this is the one for you!

Note, read all the instructions. It takes 3 hours to cook this recipe, not 2 like I had read


Hearty Beef Stew with Yukon Gold Potatoes
Recipe from MyKitchenEscapades.com

3 1/2 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
3 Tb oil
2 onions, chopped
8 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 C balsamic vinegar
1/4 C red wine vinegar
1 Tb tomato paste
1/4 C flour
4 C beef broth
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp dried thyme
4 carrots, peeled and sliced thick
1 1/2 pounds yukon gold potatoes, peel and chopped

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and place the rack in the middle of the oven. Season the beef pieces well with the salt and pepper. In a large dutch oven pot, preheat 1 Tb of the oil over medium high heat. Once hot, brown 1/3 of the meat turning with tongs once a side has gotten golden brown, Don't rush this process or overcrowd the pan or you will steam your meat instead of browning it. That browning in the pan and on the meat gives you the great flavor. Once brown, remove to a large plate and repeat with the remaining two batches of meat with the remaining oil.

Add the onions, garlic and balsamic and red wine vinegar. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon to scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the tomato paste and cook for another minute before adding the beef with the juices on the plate. Sprinkle with flour and stir until the flour covers all the ingredients. Cook for one minute then add the beef broth, bay leaf, and thyme. Stir again, scraping anything off the bottom of the pan and bring to a boil. Cover the pot with a lid and transfer to the oven to braise for 2 hours.

Remove pot from the oven and add the carrots and potatoes. Cover and put back in the oven for another hour before removing it from the oven. Taste the broth and add any additional salt and pepper needed. If you have the time, this stew is even better on the second day!