Easy No Bake Cereal Bars

I thought I would try this recipe since they seemed similar to Rice Krispie bars, and I love me some Rice Krispies bars! While I was wrong in my guess of their taste and texture - it didn't turn out to be a bad guess! If you like peanut butter and chocolate, I think you will be very happy with these easy and fairly quick cereal bars. You will need:

1 cup light corn syrup (FYI, in case you don't know where this is, try the syrup aisle. I had to ask a very nice lady in Wal-Mart if she'd ever used corn syrup and knew where I might find it)

1 cup sugar

1 1/4 cups creamy peanut butter

6 cups Cheerios

1 bag (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips (about 2 cups)

Lightly butter a 13x9 in pan. In a large saucepot or Dutch oven (at least 4-5 quarts), heat corn syrup and sugar to boiling over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Cook until sugar is dissolved; remove from heat. Add 1 cup of the peanut butter; stir until smooth. Add cereal; mix well. Immediately press into buttered pan.

In 2-quart saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate chips and remaining 1/4 cup peanut butter, stirring constantly. Spread evenly over bars. Refrigerate about 30 minutes or cool completely at room temperature until chocolate is set. Cut into 9 rows by 4 rows.

Mediterranean Pasta with Crab

This recipe was another experiment for me - I don't really like spinach and the original recipe called for shrimp, which I don't at all. So I decided I would substitute crab meat for the shrimp. I also added a smidge of minced garlic. It was a very tasty dish, although I think using canned crab meat gave it a little bit of a fishy taste, which was hard for me to like since I hate fish. Fresh crab meat might make a difference, I don't know. I've never cooked with fresh crab. Recipe is as follows:

2 1/2 cups farfalle (bowtie pasta) uncooked

1 can (6 oz) lump crab meat

1 package (4 oz) crumbled Feta cheese

3 cups lightly packed fresh spinach (about 3 oz) stems removed

1 medium red bell pepper, chopped (1 Cup)

1 tsp dried basil leaves

1/2 tsp salt

1 can (2 1/4 oz) sliced ripe black olives, drained

2 Tbsp olive oil.

Heat oven to 350. Spray 13x9 in glass baking dish with cooking spray.

In saucepan or Dutch oven, cook pasta as directed on package adding crab during last 2 minutes of cook time. Cook until pasta is tender. Drain, return to saucepan.

Stir 1/2 cup of the cheese and remaining ingredients except oil into cooked pasta and crab. Pour into baking dish, spread evenly.

Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until hot. sprinkle with oil; toss. Top with remaining cheese.

I also added about 1/2 tsp of minced garlic for a little additional flavor. The original recipe calls for 1 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and tail shells removed in case you want to make it that way.

Garlic Mozzarella Chicken Sausage with Garden Tortellini Alfredo

Ok well the title of this definitely makes it seem a lot harder that it is. Tonight I used two chicken sausages (garlic and mozzarella infused) and sliced those on a bias. Then I browned them in a skillet over medium heat. Meanwhile I cooked a package of tri-colored cheese filled tortellini in a large saucepot. I also heated some alfredo sauce from a jar (didn't make my own this time - way too tired tonight) and steamed some broccoli. As you can see, I also had some salad and a piece of garlic toast. It was really wasn't a massive effort but it was very tasty. The sausages came from Sam's, not somewhere I usually do a lot of shopping but I had tried these once before and thought they were good, even though I don't usually like sausage. This dish would also have been good with the broccoli tossed with the tortellini, sausage and alfredo or even substituting some spinach or roasted bell peppers in there as well.

Pork Tostadas - An experiment in leftovers!

Ok, so the other night I baked a pork tenderloin (Tyson's Lemon Garlic flavored) and didn't really care for it, but still had quite a bit of it leftover, so I thought well what can I do with this? I was in the mood for Mexican (and really, when am I not? lol) plus I had made the corn salsa a couple of days ago. I chopped up the pork and put it in a skillet with white onion, a little oil and liquid smoke (mesquite flavor). Sauteed that up until the onions were translucent and the pork started to actually fry a little. Meanwhile, in another small skillet, I fried some corn tortillas in vegetable oil till they were crispy. Set those on a papertowel covered plate, so that some of the extra oil drains off. For my toppings, I just used some canned refried beans, shredded lettuce, sour cream, cilantro, corn salsa (of course!) black olives and guacamole. It was really, really good. The pork didn't have exactly the flavor I had expected, but once you mixed it all up together, it had a good flavor. It was a very tasty, filling dinner and a great way to use up some leftovers!

Corn Salsa!!!

Well if you've ever been around my house during the summer, you've probably had my tasty tasty corn salsa! This beyond easy recipe is always a hit and you can seriously use it on anything! I've used it on salads, soups, baked potatoes as well as just as a dip for chips. You need:

1 1/2 lb tomatoes, chopped (I use the Roma tomatoes, they have a little better flavor and texture for this)

1 can corn, drained

1/2 cup finely chopped red onion

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 jalepeno pepper, chopped

1/4 cup zesty Italian dressing

Combine all ingredients except dressing in large bowl. Add dressing, mix lightly and refrigerate for at least an hour. Serve!

The Blog is Back Baby!

Well now that I have officially gotten moved and unpacked - I'm back in the kitchen! :) I've been itching to try to something new for awhile and now that I'm settled, let the new dishes begin!!! Tonight I made Tomato Bacon Pasta which was a new recipe, along with my lemon garlic green beans (see earlier posts for the info on those). I also included a salad but it was a very basic romaine, cherry tomato, a sprinkling on cheese and crouton salad. I love these croutons that I found though - Rothbury Farms' Texas Toast Cheese Garlic Croutons. They have a nice garlicky bite that I just love. So the recipe for dinner tonight is as follows -

4 slices bacon, cut into one inch pieces

1 medium onion, finely chopped (1/2 cup)

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with roasted garlic and onion, undrained

1 3/4 cups chicken broth

3 cups uncooked bowtie pasta (farfalle)

1/8 tsp pepper

In a 12-inch skillet, cook bacon over medium-high heat 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently, until browned. Reduce heat to medium. Add onion; cook 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently until tender.

Stir in tomatoes, broth, uncooked pasta and pepper. Heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to medium; cook uncovered 10 -12 minutes, sitrring occasionally, until pasta is tender and mixture is as thick as you like.

**Note- the texture of the pasta will be a bit firmer, because it is cooked in the tomato liquid along with the other ingredients.

So what did I think? I LOVED IT. I literally was tempted to lick my plate. The flavor on this was amazing - hearty and tomatoey.. MMM. The one thing I would change on the flavor would be adding some minced garlic along with the onion to jazz it up a bit. Texture was nice - I do think the 10-12 minutes was not long enough for the pasta to cook, I would have preferred it to be a little more done. I sprinkled with parmesan cheese and really enjoyed this. It made enough for 4 servings I think. Try it for yourself and enjoy!!!