Fudgy Peanut Butter Pie

This recipe comes from my Southern Living cook book. I found this recipe a few years back.... The picture in the cook book looked amazing. I LOVE ice cream and I'm a sucker for Reese's peanut butter cups, so WAAA LAA :) The ice cream cake looks really pretty and very easy. The frozen peanut butter on the crust tastes so good! I found Reese's ice cream topping that I drizzled on top too. This dessert is a perfect chocolate and peanut butter combo.

Ingredients

1 (1.75 quart) container moose tracks ice cream
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 ready made chocolate crumb piecrust
6 peanut butter cups candies, halved
1/2 cup chocolate-peanut butter shell coating

Steps

ALLOW container of ice cream to thaw 20-30 min to soften

SPREAD peanut butter over crust; freeze 10 min

SPREAD softened ice cream evenly over peanut butter in crust. Arrange peanut butter cup candy halves around pie crust. Drizzle chocolate-peanut butter shell coating over ice crema and freeze atleast two hours.

CUT feozen piw with a warm knife.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

OK, I was craving Pumpkin Ice Cream the other day.. I was at my parents house and this is what I came up with. I know it has nothing to do with Ice Cream but It does have the pumpkin flavor :) I loved these and whats not to love about warm chocolate chips smoothered inside a pumpkin flavored cookie. I got the recipe from allrecipes.com and it was the one with the highest rating! I wish I could take credit for the recipe, but I can't. What I can take credit for is the extra calories i WILL be giving you if you eat these :)


Ingredients

1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Steps

1.Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
2.Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts.
3.Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.

California Pizza Kitchen BBQ Pizza

I love California Pizza Kitchen, this is one of my favorite things to get there. This pizza brought back some fond memories. The smoked Gouda cheese added a nice flavor. I also just made two 10 inch pizzas, instead of four little ones. I added crispy bacon on top for some extra yummy flavor. Also, I took the picture BEFORE I added the cilantro.. I was just too excited :) The dough was yummy, I highly suggest using a pizza stone and letting it get really hot before putting the pizza on it. The leftovers were awesome to eat for lunch during the week!


Ingredients:

2 tablespoon honey
1 cup warm water
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
10 ounces chicken breast - boned and skinned
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons barbecue sauce (spicy sweet BBQ sauce works best)
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 cups Smoked Gouda cheese
1/4 small red onion - sliced into rings
2 tablespoons cilantro
2-3 pieces cooked bacon- add to pizza the last two minutes of cooking



Directions:

To make the dough

In a small bowl, dissolve the honey in the warm water. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and stir until it dissolves. Let the yeast mixture stand for 5 minutes, until a layer of foam forms on the surface. In a large bowl, combine the flour and the salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour the olive oil and the yeast mixture. Stir the flour into the wet ingredients, until all the flour is incorporated. If its too dry, add more water. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for 15 minutes, until it is smooth and elastic. Shape the dough into a ball and put in in a well-oiled bowl. Cover with a moist towel and let rise in a warm place until double in bulk (about 1 1/2 hours).

One hour before baking the pizzas, start preheating the oven with pizza stones inside at 500 degrees F.

For the Chicken

In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil on medium high heat. add chicken pieces. saute until cooked (6 minutes). Chill. Coat chicken with 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce. Set aside in the refrigerator.

For the Pizza

Punch the dough down, and divide into 4 equal portions. Roll out each portion into an 6-8 inch flat circle. Spread 1/4 cup barbecue sauce over the surface of the dough. Distribute 1/2 of the cheese over the sauce. Distribute 1/2 of the chicken over the cheese. Place half of the onion rings over the chicken pieces. Place the pizza in the oven (on top of pizza stones). Bake until crust is crispy and cheese is bubbling (8-10 minutes). Remove pizzas from the oven and sprinkle each with 1/2 of the cilantro.

Ben & Jerry's Heath Ice Cream

OK, sorry I didn't get a picture of the actually ice cream.. it actually went that FAST! So, this ice cream was so creamy. Once it was finished it did taste a lot like Ben & Jerry's BUT Brad and I are not big vanilla fans. So, I put in 1/2 cup peanut butter and 1/4 cup chocolate sauce to add some flavor. The chunks of heath were so good. You could always make the vanilla and add other candy bars, oreos, fruit, ect. to add more flavor. Be ready because it's super creamy and rich.. Thank you Ben and Jerry for giving us a reason to love ice cream so much!


Ingredients

4 Heath Bars
2 lg Eggs
3/4 c Sugar
2 c Heavy or whipping cream
1 c Whole wilk
2 ts Vanilla

Steps

1. Using a sharp knife, cut the candy bars into 1/2 to 1 inch chunks. You should have about 1 cup. Place the chucks in a bowl, cover and freeze. Whisk the egg in a mixing bowl until lihgt and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue to whisk until completely blended, about 1 minute more. Pour in the cream, milk, vanilla, and whisk to blend. Tranfer the mixture to ice cream maker and freeze following manufactorer's instructions. After the ice cream stiffens (about 2 minutes before it is done) add the candy, then continue freezing until the ice cream is ready. Makes generous 1 quart.

French Dip Sandwich

This sandwich is a great dinner idea on a cold day. The broth is flavorful and I loved the soy sauce in it. I like to toast the bread in the oven for a few minutes before adding the roast beef. This is also a great recipe if you have left over roast (like we did). Cut the roast in thin pieces make the broth and let the roast beef and broth simmer on low for 20 mins. Comes out really tender! My awesome husband made this dish for me on a cold day last week by candlelight :)


Ingredients

* 1 (4 pound) boneless beef roast
* 1/2 cup soy sauce
* 1 beef bouillon cube
* 1 bay leaf
* 3 whole black peppercorns
* 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
* 1 teaspoon dried thyme
* 1 teaspoon garlic powder
* 20 slices French bread

Directions

1. Remove and discard all visible fat from the roast. Place trimmed roast in a slow cooker.
2. In a medium bowl, combine soy sauce, bouillon, bay leaf, peppercorns, rosemary, thyme, and garlic powder. Pour mixture over roast, and add enough water to almost cover roast. Cover, and cook on Low heat for 10 to 12 hours, or until meat is very tender.
3. Remove meat from broth, reserving broth. Shred meat with a fork, and distribute on bread for sandwiches. Used reserved broth for dipping.

Gingerbread With Hot Carmel Sauce

I love seasonal breads and desserts for the holidays. This one makes the whole house smell yummy. I made a big mistake making this, I over cooked the caramel sauce and it became rock hard. I have had this dish with the caramel sauce done right and it was so delicious! So, be careful not to over cook the caramel sauce. The bread has a rich spice flavor and I like to serve it with whip cream, flavored with a hint of nutmeg.

Ingredients

1 C. Dark Molasses
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 c sugar
1 Stick butter, melted
2 c. flour
1 c. boiling water
2 eggs, separated
powdered sugar to garnish
whipped cream to garnish

Steps

In a large bowl mix molasses, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Add sugar, butter, flour, and boiling water. Stir in beaten egg yolks. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into batter. Pour into a greased ring mold or bundt pan. Bake 350 for 40 minutes. Cool. Turn gingerbread out onto a cake stand and sift powdered sugar over the to. Serve with hot caramel sauce and whip cream.

Caramel Sauce

1 c. brown sugar, firmly packed
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. melted butter
2 heaping T. flour
1 tsp. vanilla extract
dash salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 c. boiling water

In a medium sauce pan, combine sugars with melted butter and stir until sugars are dissolved. Add vanilla, salt, and nutmeg. Add boiling water. cook for 10-15 min, stirring sauce until thickened. DO NOT OVER COOK! Serve over gingerbread or pool underneath.

Raspberry Chocolate Cheesecake

This is a spin off of my mom's favorite cheesecake. It's easy and can be put together pretty fast. The recipe calls for a pre made chocolate crumb crust, I prefer an Oreo crust. The last few times I've made it I have just crushed Oreos and made my own crust. Both ways taste yummy. This cheesecake is simply good.

Ingredients

6 ounces of cream cheese
1 can (14 0z) sweetened condensed milk
3 T. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 Cup fresh or frozen Raspberries
1 chocolate crumb crust
2 ounces semi sweet baking chocolate
1/4 Cup whipping Cream
A few extra raspberries to throw on top of cheesecake

Steps

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice and vanilla until smooth. Add egg; beat on low speed just until combined. Arrange raspberries on bottom of pie crust. Place pie crust on a baking sheet. Slowly pour cheesecake mixture over fruit. Bake at 350 for 30-35 min or until center is almost set. Cool on wire rack.

Chocolate sauce on top:

In a small saucepan, combine chocolate and whipping cream. Cook and stir over low heat until thickened and smooth. Remove from heat. Top cheesecake with chocolate glaze; chill. Garnish with fresh raspberries if desired.

Classic White Bread

On our first cold day this Fall I had the urge to have soup and warm homemade bread. I tried a few recipes last year that I liked. I still would prefer a nice honey wheat bread. This white bread recipe seemed more fluffy and rose very well, hitting the glass of my bread machine :) I will experiment with a few more as the cold months roll around but for now this is my classic white bread go to recipe. Goes along great with any yummy soup or cinnamon butter.


Ingredients

* 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
* 2 tablespoons white sugar
* 1 (.25 ounce) package bread machine yeast
* 1/4 cup vegetable oil
* 3 cups bread flour
* 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Place the water, sugar and yeast in the pan of the bread machine. Let the yeast dissolve and foam for 10 minutes. Add the oil, flour and salt to the yeast. Select Basic or White Bread setting, and press Start.