No-Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Chewies

I remember eating these when I was younger...yum! Mami never made them...they call for 2 cups of sugar and tonz of butter...but I have no problems with that! ;-) I looked all over for the recipe and then found the best one (most commonly used).

2 c. sugar
1/2 c. milk
pinch of salt
1/2 c. cocoa (or 4 T.)

Bring the above items to a boil. Remove from heat and add:

1/2 c. Peanut Butter
1/2 c. Butter
3 c. Oats
1 t. Vanilla

Mix together and place spoonfulls on wax paper. They will set over 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

I personally have such a hard time with stir fries... I never like the sauce and can never cook the vegetables to perfection, but this one turned out amazingly. The kids loved it! They ate all their broccoli. It made me so happy!

2 Beef Bouillion cubes
1 cup hot water
2 tablespoons soy sauce (I found this too be a bit too much--I'll try 11/2 T next time)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons dry white wine or water
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 cups broccoli florets
2 medium carrots, sliced
3/4 cup thinly sliced onion
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
12 ounces boneless beef sirloin steak, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups (5 ounces) fresh bean sprouts, rinsed (I didn't use these)
4 green onions, sliced into 1-inch pieces
Hot cooked rice

DISSOLVE bouillon in water in small bowl. Stir in soy sauce, cornstarch, wine and pepper.
HEAT oil in large skillet over medium-high heat; add broccoli, carrots, onion and garlic. Cook, stirring constantly, for 4 to 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Push vegetables to the side. Add beef; cook, stirring constantly, for 3 to 4 minutes or until no longer pink. Add bouillon mixture, bean sprouts and green onions; stir together with vegetables and beef. Bring to a boil. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 to 2 minutes or until sauce is thickened. Serve over rice.

Country Peach Tart

1 single crust pie pastry (home-made or store bought)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 t all-purpose flour
1/4 t ground nutmeg

3 cups sliced, pelled peaches or nectarines (1 1/2 pounds)

1 T lemon juice

1 beaten egg

Powdered sugar

1. Line a baking sheet with foil; sprinkle lightly with flour. Roll pastry to 13 inch circle atop baking sheet.

2. Mix sugar, 4 t flour, and nutmeg. Stir in peaches and lemon juice. Mound peach mixture in center of crust, leaving a 2 inch border. Flord border up over peaches. Combine egg and 1 T water; brush on to the top and sides of the crust.

3. Bake at 375 oven for 40-45 minutes or till brust is golden. To prevent overbrowning, cover edge with foil the last 10-15 minutes of baking. Cool 30 minutes on baking sheet. Dust edges with powdered sugar.

NOTE: I used Dacia's peaches (yummy!). I also used a store bought crust and I didn't put the powdered sugar on. Also, very important, make sure you use a baking sheet with a lip or else put something underneath to catch the drips!

Stuffed Green Peppers

2 large green sweet peppers
dash salt
3/4 pound ground beef, pork, lamb, or bulk pork sausage
1/3 cup chopped onion (1 small)
1 7 1/2 ounce can tomatoes, cut up
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup long grain rice
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t dried basil or oregano, crushed
1/2 cup shredded American cheese

1. Halve sweet peppers lengthwise, removing stem ends, seeds, and membranes. Immerse peppers in boiling water for 3 minutes. Sprinkle insides with dash of salt. Invert on paper towels to drain well.
2. In a large skillet cook meat and onion till meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain off fat. Stir in undrained tomatoes, water, uncooked rice, Worcestershire sauce, basil or oregano, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 15-18 minutes or till rice is tender. Stir in 1/4 cup of the cheese.
3. Fill peppers with meat mixture. Place in 2 quart square baking dish along with any remaining meat mixture. Bake at 375 about 15 minutes or till heated through. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Let stand about 2 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

NOTE: I made this for dinner when Buggy and Topher came over. It is super yummy. I doubled the recipe, except the meat (I used a little over 1 pound) and I used 5 peppers instead of 4 and still had a little leftover meat mixture. I also used a monterey jack/cheddar blend and I more than doubled that (we like cheese!).

Cold Cucumber Soup with Dill

I know...my pictures of food aren't nearly as good as Dacia's, but the soup did turn out well. Although, if your name is Joe you probably won't like it!

2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and finely chopped

2 t salt

2 cups plain yogurt

1 T fresh dill

1 clove garlic, minced

2 T olive oil

Sprinkle salt on cucumbers. Set aside for 15 minutes. Rinse salt off and combine cucumbers (reserving a little) with yogurt, dill, garlic, and olive oil. Puree but leave a little bit chunky. Add salt to taste and chill for at least 1 hour. Garnish with reserved chopped cucumber.

NOTE: Alan said it reminded him more of a dip than a soup, but he still liked it and it's pretty refreshing after a very hot day.

Summer Berry Trifle

1 c. boiling water

1 pkg. (8 serving size) Strawberry JELL-O

Ice cubes

1/2 c. cold water

2 c. mixed berries

1 pkg (8 oz.) cream cheese

1 pkg (4 serving size) Cheesecake or Vanilla Instant Pudding
1 1/4 c. cold milk, divided

1 tub (8 oz.) Strawberry Cool Whip

1 pkg. (12 oz.) pound cake, cubed

Directions:

1. Stir boiling water into dry gelatin in large bowl at least 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Add enough ice to cold water to measure 1 cup. Add to gelatin; stir until ice is complete melted. Let stand for about 15 minutes or until thickened. (Spoon drawn through gelatin leaves definite impression.) Stir in berries. I just chopped up some strawberries and raspberries and stuck them in.

2. Place cream cheese in large bowl, beat with wire whisk until creamy. Gradually add 1/4 cup of th milk, beating until well blended. Add remaining 1 cup of milk and dry pudding mix; beat 2 minutes or until well blended. Gently stir in whipped topping. Set aside. I didn't want to buy strawberry cool whip, so I just added a T. of raspberry jam and about 1/4 c. of lemon juice to make it tart.

3. Place about half of the cake cubes in bottom of large serving bowl, cover with half of the pudding mixture. Top with layers of the gelatin mixture, remaining cake cubes and remaining pudding mixture. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

This was SOOO good and was courtesy of the Kraffoods.com site. Everyone thought it was yummy and it worked great in the little trifle dishes that I bought.

Zucchini Crescent Pie

I didn't take a picture (but I should have!). Dacia is a much better blogger than I am! This is the 2nd or 3rd time I've made this recipe and I tweaked it a bit this time and I liked it a lot better.

4 cups zucchini, thinly sliced (I had a HUGE zucchinie, so I cut it into fourths before thinly slicing)
1 cup onions, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup margarine or butter (I used about 1/3 cup)
1/2 cup chopped parsley or 2 T dried
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/4 t garlic powder (I used garlic from the fridge and just added a bit)
1/4 t basil
1/4 t oregano (I didn't measure any of the spices, I sprinkled a bunch of Italian Seasoning on and then some salt and pepper)
2 eggs, well beaten
8 oz grated mozzarella (didn't have this, so I subbed grated colby-jack)
1 can crescent rolls

Cook zucchini and onion in butter in a 10 inch skillet until tender (about 10 minutes). Stir in seasonings. Blend eggs and cheese, stir into vegetable mixture. Press crescents in 12x8 pan or 10 inch pie pan. Pour in vegetable mix. Bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes until knife in center comes out clean. You can cover crust edges with foil for last 10 minutes to keep from getting too brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

NOTE: If you are making this for Joe, be sure to add a hunk of meat on the side.

Anya and Aaron both loved this!!