Brownie Peanut Butter Pie Squares

Peanut Butter Brownie Pie Squares

For the Brownies:

1/2 c vegetable oil
1 c white sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/3 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom of 13 x 9 pan. 

2. In a medium bowl, mix together oil, sugar and vanilla. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Add to egg mixture in three (3) parts until well blended. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan. 

3. Bake 10 to 12 min. Let cool in pan. Do not cut.

For the Peanut Butter Topping:
2 packages (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 c peanut butter
2 c powdered sugar
2 containers (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed (Or you can make your own, check it out)

In medium mixing bowl or stand mixer bowl beat cream cheese, peanut butter together on medium speed. Gradually add powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Fold in whipped topping. Spread mixture over cooled brownie. Drizzle with melted chocolate if desired. 

Refrigerate 1 hour before serving. Store in refrigerator. 

Just a note, I made my own cool whip and it worked perfectly. So much better than the chemical laden stuff from the store.

Water Pie

This may not sound very good but trust me, it is. This is a pie made back in the Great Depression when times were hard. Give this a try. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup flour
1 cup sugar
9 inches unbaked Deep pie shells
2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups cold water
Ground or freshly grated Nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Sprinkle flour and sugar into crust in alternating layers.
Add vanilla.
Carefully pour in water. Stir with fingers or back of a tablespoon. 
Sprinkle lightly with nutmeg.
Dot with butter.
Bake for 60 to 70 minutes til center is like custard and not runny.
Baking is is little tricky and I have to play around with it sometimes to make it work but don't give up. You can add a little corn starch (1 tsp.) to the flour and sugar mixture if you find it is difficult to make it set up. I have also switched out 1 cup of the water for 1 cup of cream and it is a lot like Sugar Cream Pie native to Indiana.

Vegetable & Three Cheese Stuffed Shells

24  jumbo shells (from a 12-oz box), cooked per package directions
3 cups marinara sauce
2 1/2 c. chopped fresh spinach
2 1/2 c. fresh broccoli, chopped very small 
3 Tbls chopped garlic
Olive oil
2 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
pepper, optional



Filling: 1 32 oz container part-skim ricotta
3 ounces Parmesan, grated (about 2/3 cup)
2 cups part-skim mozzarella, grated 
1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. Cook the pasta 8 to 10 minutes . Drain and rinse under cold water to cool.spread out on large board or baking sheet to cool. Separate if needed.
Spread 1 cup of the sauce onto the bottom of a large broiler-proof baking dish.
Roughly chop the spinach and place in a large bowl. Chop the broccoli and add it to the bowl. Heat a large skillet until hot, pour enough olive oil to lightly cover the bottom. Add the chopped garlic and stir about 20 seconds. Add the spinach and broccoli and stir about 1 minute. Turn off heat and continue to stir around for about another minutes until spinach is somewhat wilted.

In a large bowl add the ricotta, Parmesan, 1 cup of the mozzarella, and 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper. Add the spinach and broccoli mixture. Stir well. Stir in the beaten egg. 
Spoon the mixture into the shells (about 1/4 cup each) and place on top of the sauce. I use a regular sized ice cream scoop as it seems to be about the perfect amount. Pour remaining sauce lightly over the stuffed shells. 

Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and bake until the shells are heated through, 15 to 20 minutes. Bake an additional 5 to 8 minutes if needed for a lightly browned cheese. Serve with salad and garlic bread.

Curry Chicken Pasta Salad

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 Green Bell Pepper
1 Yellow Bell Pepper
1 large tomato
1 15 oz can Garbanzo Beans
1 box Bow Tie Pasta
Salt and pepper
Garlic Powder
Curry Powder
Vegetable oil

Dressing

1-1/2 cups olive oil 
7 Tbls. wine vinegar (apple cider vinegar works too)
2 cloves garlic crushed or 1 Tbls. garlic powder
3 tsp curry powder
1/8 tsp pepper
3 dashes red cayenne pepper powder
1 tsp basil

Add olive oil to medium sized mixing bowl. Add vinegar, garlic, curry, pepper, red pepper and basil. Whisk until well combined. Chill until ready to use. 

Cook bowtie pasta according to directions. Drain and chill.

Season chicken breasts with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and curry powder. Place seasoned chicken breasts in hot skillet with oil. Cook until juices run clear, about 8 min per side is what I do. While chicken is cooking rough chop peppers and tomato. Drain and rinse garbanzo beans. Add to large bowl. 

When chicken is finished cooking place on cutting board and let rest for 10 min. Slice and chop into about 1 inch
pieces. Let cool. Add all ingredients to large bowl and pour dressing over everything. Toss and serve or chill for later. 

Serve with dinner rolls.

Moist Healthy Banana Bread

I'm always looking for ways to "healthy up" my recipes. Here is my banana bread that is so delicious you won't want to stop eating it! My 11 year old daughter makes this by herself (with mom's watchful eye of course).

3 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. soda
2 1/2 c. mashed ripe bananas (about 8)
2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c. butter, melted & cooled (You can substitute vegetable oil)
1 c. chopped pecans
1/4 c. flax seeds

Stir together flour, salt and soda. Set aside. In another bowl, combine bananas and sugar. Add egg, vanilla and butter and blend. Chop pecans somewhat finely and add the flax seed to the chopped pecans. Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients. Mix until moistened. Pour into greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan. Bake at 325 degrees for about 55 to 60 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes then remove from pan to completely cool. Cool before slicing. Freezes well. 

Makes 2 loaves

Flour Tortilla

Have you ever had those strange flour tortillas from a bag? Well throw them out and try these great ones from scratch. They cost about $0.75 to make and taste so much better. Don't be afraid to try these.



Makes about eight to ten  6-inch tortillas

2 cups of white flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vegetable oil
3/4 cup warm water

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In another bowl combine the warm water and oil.
Add the water/oil mixture to the flour mixture, one tablespoon at a time and mix the dough with a fork. Once the water is mixed in, add another tablespoon of water and repeat the process until all the water is mixed into the dough.
The dough will be sticky.

Lightly flour a wooden cutting board and knead the dough. Knead the dough by pushing the dough with the heals and palms of both hands down onto the board. Fold the dough back onto itself, give a quarter turn and push again with the palms and heels of your hands. Keep repeating the process of pressing, folding and turning for about 4 or 5 minutes. Dust the counter or board with flour when the dough gets sticky.
If the dough sticks to the cutting board while kneading, scrape up the dough and dust the board with a little flour and continue kneading. Eventually the stickiness will go away and you will have a nice smooth dough.
Place the dough back into the bowl and cover it with a damp towel or damp paper towel. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes. Divide the dough into walnut sized balls (about 2 oz. each) by pinching off the dough with your thumb and fore finger. Form each ball into ball.Place the balls on the counter making sure they don't touch each other and cover with the damp cloth.

Let the dough rest again for 10 minutes.

Preheat a heavy skillet or cast iron pan on medium heat.

Lightly dust board or counter with flour. Take one of the balls of dough and flatten it out on the cutting board to a 4 inch circle. Rub flour on your rolling pin and begin to roll out the dough starting from the center out. Roll the tortilla until it is 6 or 7 inches in diameter and about 1/8 inch thick.

I have never been able to roll out a perfectly round shaped tortilla so I often form them more like an irregular shaped circle but it works fine.

Take your rolled out tortilla and place it on a preheated DRY skillet. Cook the tortilla for about 30 seconds. You will notice brown spots all over your tortilla. Flip it over and cook an additional 30 seconds.
Don't over cook it because this will make it crunchy and not soft and pliable.
Keep your tortillas warm by covering them in a towel on a plate or in a tortilla warmer.

If you have left overs you can put them in a freezer bag and store them in the fridge for a few days or freeze up to a month. When we make them we usually make a triple recipe and have some for Quesadilla's.

Hamburger Buns

These are so easy and delicious you will never want to eat those horrible hamburger buns from the store again. This recipe is very versatile as well. You can exchange 1 cup of bread flour for Whole Wheat flour and increase your protein and your fiber. You can shape into log shaped rolls for hot dog buns as well. Make those about 5 to 6 inches in length.

2 Tbls yeast
1 cup plus 2 Tbls warm water (110-115 degrees)
1/3 c vegetable oil
1/4 c sugar or honey
1 egg
1 tsp salt
3 to 3-1/2 c flour (I use bread flour)

Dissolve yeast in warm water (about 5 min). Add oil and sugar/honey. Let stand 5 minutes. Add egg, salt and flour to make a soft dough. 
Turn onto floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (3 to 5 min). Do not let rise. Divide into 12 pieces (about the size of a walnut – 2 oz).
Shape into a ball. Place on greased baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Cover and let rest 10 min. 

Bake 425 degrees 8 to 12 min. Remove to rack to cool or serve warm with dinner as a dinner roll. Slice in half for hamburger buns.