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! 

Salisbury Steak Meatballs (Instant Pot, Stove Top, Slow Cooker)

I think everyone I know has an Instant Pot cooker. I finally broke down and bought one. Terrified to use it because of the "pressure cooker" side of it. I have nightmares, for some reason, of pressure cookers exploding. Now, I've never see it happen, but for some reason it terrifies me.

This ain't your grandma's pressure cooker. It's an all in one pot that does slow cooker stuff, pressure cooker stuff, and rice cooker. Got rid of the rice cooker and slow cooker!

THIS recipe is absolutely delicious and so dang easy. With the Instant Pot it was super easy and done quickly.

When I make this again, I'd not put in the 1/4 cup beef broth in the meatball mixture. It made the mixture a bit too wet for my liking. But putting tomato paste in the meatballs? Brilliant! Just brilliant.

And for the record, SkinnyTaste.com is one of my all time favorite blogs (and cookbook). If you've not checked it out, you should.

Salisbury Steak Meatballs

Photo from SkinnyTaste.com

Recipe from SkinnyTaste.com

2 tsp olive oil, divided

1/2 cup minced onions

1/2 lb 93% lean ground beef

1/2 lb 93% lean ground turkey

1/3 cup whole wheat seasoned breadcrumbs

1 large egg, beaten

2 tablespoons tomato paste, divided

kosher salt

pinch black pepper

1 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 tsp red wine vinegar

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, to taste

1/4 tsp mustard powder

5 oz sliced mushrooms

1 1/4 cup reduced sodium beef broth

chopped parsley for garnish (optional)

Finely chop 1 oz of the mushrooms into small pieces and set aside. Heat the Instant Pot (or a large nonstick pot on medium-high) on Sauté add 1 tsp oil and onions and cook until golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Divide onions in two.

In a large bowl, combine half of the sautéed onions with the ground beef, ground turkey, chopped mushroom, bread crumbs, egg, 1 tbsp tomato paste, 1/4 cup of the beef broth, 3/4 tsp salt and black pepper.

In a small bowl, blend flour and 1 cup broth until smooth. Mix in remaining onions, remaining 1 tbsp tomato paste, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and mustard powder.

Gently shape into 20 small meatballs.

Heat the Instant Pot (or non-stick pot) back on saute, add remaining teaspoon of oil and brown the meatballs about 2 minutes until no longer sticks, turn and brown an additional 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, 1/8 teaspoon salt and black pepper and pour the sauce over the meatballs, cover and cook on high pressure 10 minutes (20 minutes in a regular pot). Let the pressure release on it’s own. Garnish with parsley.

Slo

w Cooker Directions: Saute meatballs in a skillet, transfer to slow cooker with mushrooms, salt and pepper and pour sauce over. Cover and cook low 6 to 8 hours, until tender.

Carolina Peach Sangria

For book club this month I opted to try to bring summer into Seattle. I made this Peach Sangria. And let me tell you...

1. Super refreshing
2. SOOOO good
3. A little beyond delicious
4. Have a designated driver


Carolina Peach Sangria
Recipe from Southern Living

1 bottle rosé wine

3/4 cup vodka

1/2 cup peach nectar

6 tablespoons thawed frozen lemonade concentrate

2 tablespoons sugar

1 pound ripe peaches, peeled and sliced

1 (6-oz.) package fresh raspberries - I found frozen raspberries held up better in this drink

2 cups club soda, chilled

Preparation

1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a pitcher; stir until sugar is dissolved. Stir in peaches and raspberries. Cover and chill 8 hours.

2. Stir in chilled club soda just before serving.

*Peach-flavored vodka may be substituted. Omit peach nectar

Mediterranean Pork Shoulder

The local store had pork shoulder on sale for $1.99/lb...which is crazy cheap. So I picked me up one.

Now as a single person, a pork shoulder could feed me for the entire week, and some friends. But it freezes well and there are so many "other" recipes I can make after having pulled pork.

This recipe was easy and delicious. The ONLY thing I'd change is I wouldn't put the kalamata olives in from the beginning. They get kinda mushy. I would however, put the juice in. I think that flavor is fantastic.

I think I had closer to a 3.5 lb roast and I didn't change anything with the measurements. The pork gives off plenty of liquid.

Mediterranean Pork Shoulder
Recipe from emeals
Serves 4 (or more)

2 lb boneless pork shoulder roast
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup chicken broth
1 (14.5-oz) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
½ cup pitted kalamata olives
2 tsp dried oregano
4 cloves garlic, chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh basil

Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add pork. Cook 3 minutes per side or until browned.

Transfer to a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Add broth, tomatoes, olives, oregano and garlic. Cover and cook on LOW 7 to 8 hours or until very tender.

Shred pork with two forks, and toss in sauce to coat. Stir in basil. Divide into 4 servings.

30-Minute Filet Bourguignonne with Mashed Potatoes

I love me some Beef Bourguignonne...as in it's one of my favorite dishes. It does, normally, take a long time to make. This recipe is not only quick and easy, but delicious (despite me forgetting the tomato paste).

You won't be disappointed with this one. It was a recipe provided to me by my Cooking Light Menu plan. One serving is 512 calories. A little high for some, but so worth it.

30-Minute Filet Bourguignonne with Mashed Potatoes

Photo from Cooking Light

Recipe from Cooking Light
Serves 4

1 pound baking potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup frozen pearl onions
1 pound beef tenderloin, cut into 2-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
5 teaspoons butter, divided
1 bacon slice, finely chopped
1 (8-ounce) package mushrooms, quartered
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons no-salt-added tomato paste
1/2 cup earthy red wine
1 cup fat-free, lower-sodium beef broth
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons 2% reduced-fat milk
Fresh thyme sprigs (optional)

Place potato in a saucepan over high heat; cover with cool water. Bring to a boil; cook 10 minutes or until very tender. Drain. Return potato to pan; keep warm.

While potato cooks, place onions in a microwave-safe bowl; cover with a paper towel. Microwave at HIGH 4 minutes. Finely chop 1 (2-inch) cube of tenderloin, and set aside. Pat dry the remaining beef cubes with a paper towel; sprinkle evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Heat a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in pan; swirl to coat. Add seasoned beef cubes; sauté 3 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove beef from pan. Add finely chopped beef and bacon to pan; sauté 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms; sauté 5 minutes or until mushrooms brown, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, chopped thyme, and sugar; sauté for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add tomato paste; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add wine, and bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cook 2 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half.

Add onions and broth; bring to a boil. Cook for 1 minute. Combine 2 tablespoons water and flour in a bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Add flour mixture to pan; cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Return browned beef cubes to pan; cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated and cooked to medium-rare or desired degree of doneness.

Add the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, remaining 2 teaspoons butter, and milk to potatoes in saucepan; mash with a potato masher until desired consistency. Serve beef and sauce over potatoes; garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired.

Linguine with Mushrooms, Marsala and Mascarpone

I have been cooking some, but not as much as I used to. Work being crazy caused me to not want to do anything, let alone cook.

Finally my life is getting back to normal, at least as normal as it can.

Tonight I made this recipe. I modified it a bit...shocking, I know.

It was delicious though. So I'm sure if you follow the recipe it'll be just as tasty.

Linguine With Mushrooms, Marsala and Mascarpone
Recipe from Epicurious.com

Photo from Milk and Honey blog

1/4 c dried porcini mushrooms
1/4 cup marsala
1/4 cup water
1/2 c mascarpone
freshly grated nutmeg
ground pepper
2 tablespoons chopped parsley, plus extra to serve
1 package dried linguine
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 small garlic clove, peeled
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Put the porcini into to the smallest pan you have. Pour in the Marsala and the water, bring to boil over medium heat and then, just as it starts to boil, take it off the heat and leave for about 10 minutes. The mushrooms need to be submerged in the liquid so that they soften.

[Jenn Note: I'm not a fan of porcini mushrooms. Instead, I sauted sliced cremini mushrooms in butter and garlic. Following that, I deglazed with the marsala wine.  Followed by adding the mascarpone to the sauce, off heat.

Put the mascarpone into a small bowl, add a good amount of grated nutmeg and some ground pepper. Once the porcini have softened, strain them into the bowl, letting the soaking liquid mix with the mascarpone. Whisk to combine.

Chop the porcini and the parsley together on a chopping board.

Cook the pasta in boiling, salted water according to packet instructions.

In a large pan, warm the butter and add the grated garlic. Stir it together, then mix in the mushrooms and parsley and cook for a few minutes. Pour the mascarpone into the pan and cook for another minute. Remove it from the heat. Reserve a cup of the pasta cooking water. Drain the pasta and pour it into the pan with the mascarpone and toss to coat. Add a little of the reserved pasta cooking water if it looks a little dry.

Add the Parmesan, toss everything together and check the seasoning. Serve with more parsley and Parmesan.

Deconstructed Cabbage Rolls

For the March Sunday dinner I decided to do a "Bring your Favorite Irish Dish". Who knew there were so many options for Irish food?  I opted to make Deconstructed Cabbage Rolls - which, it turns out, are German, not Irish. Though no one really mentioned that to me.

This was a fantastic meal. It makes a ton and the leftovers were out of this world. For a girl who doesn't like leftovers that's a pretty amazing comment.

It's a super easy meal to make and would be great for a family meal. I should also mention, I left out the sauerkraut...gross.

Deconstructed Cabbage Rolls
http://www.afamilyfeast.com/deconstructed-stuffed-cabbage/

1 cup uncooked short-grain brown rice (or any rice of your choice)
1 ½ pounds green cabbage, cleaned, cored and cut into chunks
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 ounces raw bacon diced
1 cup chopped onion
2 large cloves garlic minced
2 tablespoons tart red wine such as merlot
1 pound lean ground beef (90/10)
½ pound ground pork
½ pound ground veal (if you can’t get ground veal, increase ground pork to one pound)
2 cups tomato juice (or for a more intense flavor, our daughter Courtney suggests using V-8)
¼ cup tomato paste
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon dry thyme
¼ teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup drained sauerkraut

Cook rice according to package directions. Try to time rice so that it finishes cooking as the preparation of the dish nears the end. If rice is cooked to soon, fluff and leave at room temperature to cool.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and blanch cabbage chunks for five minutes. Drain, cool and set aside.

In a large sauté pan over medium heat, place olive oil and bacon and cook until bacon is almost browned, about 4 minutes. Increase heat to medium high and add onions and sauté for three minutes. Add garlic and sauté for one more minute. Add red wine and deglaze the pan.

Move the cooked onion mixture to the edges of the pan and place all three meats into the center. Keep moving the meat around to brown and slowly work in onion mixture until the meat is fully browned.
Add tomato juice, tomato paste, vinegar, sugar, thyme, paprika, salt and pepper. Reduce to medium and simmer for five minutes.

Add in sauerkraut, cooked rice and cooked cabbage. Bring back up to heat and simmer for five more minutes.

Adjust seasoning and serve.

Hamburger Steaks with Sweet Onion and Mushrooms

I joined this new program a couple weeks ago called emeals.com. It sends me a week menu plan of healthy, high protein, low carb meals (you have options of the types of meals you want them to send).


I've made a couple of the meals and have really liked them. Tonight I made this meal...I'm a big fan of Salisbury steak and this recipe is essentially the same.  I cut too many onions though so it was a bit overwhelming - if it can be - with onions.




According to emeals the nutrition is:
314 calories
28 grams protein
6 grams carbs

Hamburger Steaks with Sweet Onion and Mushrooms
Recipe from emeals.com
Serves 4


1 pound 93% lean ground beef
2 tablespoons plus 2 1/4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
3/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
1/2 cup finely chopped sweet onion
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsalted beef stock
1 ounce Gruyère cheese, shredded (about 1/4 cup)


Combine beef, 2 1/4 teaspoons oil, Worcestershire, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a bowl; mix with hands. Divide into 4 portions, shaping each into a 4-inch patty.


Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan. Add patties to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side. Remove patties from pan. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion and mushrooms to pan; cook 6 minutes or until mushrooms brown. Sprinkle with flour, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper; cook 2 minutes. Add stock to pan; cook 1 minute or until thickened and slightly reduced, stirring frequently. Return patties to pan, and spoon onion mixture over patties. Sprinkle evenly with cheese. Cover; cook 3 minutes or until cheese melts.

Chicken and Vegetable Stir-Fry

Hello 2016!
Wow. It's hard to imagine it's 2016 and that I'm STILL trying to eat healthy.  Alas, here we go again.

I joined this online healthy recipe service called emeals.com. So far I've found that they offer quite a few healthy recipes focused to what your goals are. For example, if you're low calorie - they have recipes for that. If your low carb (like me) they have recipes for that.

So the start of the week is Sunday to me. I pulled down their recipes and decided what I was going to make this week.

Tonight is my first recipe, chicken and vegetable stir-fry. Super easy meal and quite tasty.  I, naturally, switched up the recipe slightly.

Chicken and Vegetable Stir-Fry
Recipe from emeals.com

Net carbs for 2 servings: Main dish (11 g), side dish (6g). 

Serves: 2
2 tsp seasame oil, divided for use
1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 lb green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 c sliced yellow onion
1 bell pepper, cut into strips (yah, I didn't add this)
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt (didn't use this either since the soy sauce has plenty)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Heat 1 tsp oil in large skillet over m edium-high heat. Add chicken; saute 4 minutes or until browned. Remove chicken from pan; add remaining 1 tsp oil to skillet.

Add green beans, onion and bell pepper; cook 2 minutes.

Stir together soy sauce, brown sugar, salt and crushed red pepper flakes; add to vegetables in skillet.

Return chicken to skillet; cook 1-2 minutes or until thoroughly heated and sauce is thickened.

Side note: if you don't like things spicy, cut back on the red pepper flakes. I put in the total amount and it about blew my lips off.

emeals.com also provides a side dish with each main dish. I especially love this. When trying to eat high protein I get tired of the same old veggies that I make (read:broccoli).

I sorta cheated and made a small bit of rice with this meal because I really like rice with stir fry. That said, the side dish went well with the chicken/green beans AND rice.

Side Dish:
1 oz bag fresh sugar snap peas (so turns out I bought snow peas instead...which I've decided I like better. Unfortunately, they aren't so great for roasting like this recipe calls for)
2 T soy sauce
1 T toasted sesame oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 F. Toss all ingredients in a small roasting pan. Roast 10 minutes or until tender.


Overall confession: I didn't actually use green beans in my meal. I bought snow peas instead of snap peas and figured they could double as green beans.