Homemade Twix Bars

Can you say YUM?! I did. Really pretty easy & totally delicious! My kids have been begging for me to make these for weeks, but I knew if I made them I'd need a sample so I waited a while. Worth the wait. Tastes like a PB Twix to me! Makes a whole 9x13 pan full.

homemade twix bars:

2 sleeves of Club crackers
1 C. butter
2 C. graham cracker crumbs
1 C. brown sugar
1/2 C. milk
1/3 C. sugar

2/3 C. creamy peanut butter
1/2 C. butterscotch chips
1/2 C. chocolate chips

1. Line 9x13 pan with foil overlapping ends of pan.

2. Line bottom of pan with a single layerof club crackers.

3. In large pan melt butter then add graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, sugar & milk. Bring to a boil & boil for 5 minutes stirring constantly.

4. Pour 1/2 of this sugar mixture on top of crackers in pan.

5. Make another single layer of crackers, then second half of sugar mixture on top of them. Then add one more layer of crackers.6. In a pan melt butterscotch chips, chocolate chips & peanut butter stirring constantly. Once melted, pour over top of crackers.

7. Place in fridge for atleast 1 hour, easier to cut the longer they've been in the fridge. Pull foil out of pan by overlapping ends & cut into pieces.

Lasagna

I've had this lasagna recipe for years & whenever I make it, it gets rave reviews! I got it from the wife of a guy Scott used to work with who I can't even remember their names...it was one of those "you have to go over & fake conversation" over dinner, but her lasagna was really good so I asked for her recipe & we've been enjoying it ever since!

lasagna:

sauce: bring to a simmer.

1 lb. ground beef, browned & drained

3 1/2 C. Prego

1 1/2 C. water

olives (optional)

cheese mixture: mix together in a separate bowl.

2 C. cottage cheese

3 C. mozzarella cheese

1/2 C. Parmesan cheese

2 eggs

1/4 C. chopped parsley

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

uncooked lasagna noodles

1. In a 9x13 pan pour about 1 C. sauce in the bottom of the pan, 3-4 noodles, more sauce, then 1/2 the cheese mixture, 3-4 more noodles, more sauce, other 1/2 of cheese mixture, noodles, rest of the sauce then sprinkle with a little mozzarella cheese.

2. Cover with foil & bake 350 degrees for 60 minutes. Uncover & bake an additional 10 minutes.

3. Lasagna is more runny the first day, the second day (when you are thrilled you are eating leftovers) the noodles soak up a lot of the juices & we like it better the 2nd day because it's a little more set.

Garlic Bread Spread

Great addition to the lasagna recipe above! This recipe comes from Steph. Remember that bread she made at bunco that we all ate 3 slices of a while back? This is it!

garlic bread spread:

1 stick of butter softened

chopped green onion

2-3 cloves of minced garlic

1/2 C. parmasen cheese

1 C. cheddar cheese

1/2 C. mayo-added last

1. Mix all ingredients adding mayo last.

2. Spread onto french bread loaf cut in half lengthwise.

3. Place in oven until top of bread is browning & bubbly.

Teriyaki Chicken

Guest Chef time............
This week my youngest sister Heather has graced us with her presence & brought along a fantastic recipe for Teriyaki Chicken! Heather lives in Utah with her ever funny husband Jared & cute as a button 1 year old (Monday) daughter Livee & works as a dental hygienist a couple of days a week. SO glad to have her guest chef-ing!

Sorry for taking so long to finally make a decent meal :) here it is. Easiest meal ever!

teriyaki chicken:

Chicken breasts (i cut mine in half)
Teriyaki sauce (i use a 30 minute marinade)
Pineapple slices
Muenster cheese

1. Marinate chicken in teriyaki sauce for 30-60 minutes.
2. Put chicken & marinade into pan & bake 350 degrees for 45 minutes uncovered.

3. Remove from oven & place one pineapple slice, then one slice of muenster cheese on top of each piece of chicken. Put back in oven until cheese melts.
4. Serve with rice and veggies & extra teriyaki sauce. I always use extra pineapple-it is sooo good. This is our FAVORITE chicken! Enjoy!

Your Guest Chef,
Heather

Peanut Butter Cookies

If you're a peanut butter lover like me, these are dangerous. Now that you've been warned, throw caution to the wind, pull out your mixer & whip these puppies up!

peanut butter cookies:

1 C. sugar
1 C. brown sugar
1 C. butter flavored shortening
1 C. creamy peanut butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2-2 1/2 C. flour
1/2 bag peanut butter chips (optional)

1. Mix & drop in balls onto cookie sheet.
2. Make waffle pattern on top of cookies with fork.
3. Bake 375 degrees for 9-11 minutes or until lightly browned.

Waldorf Chicken Salad

I LOVE the Waldorf Chicken Salad at California Pizza Kitchen, don't you? Well, I had it a couple weeks back and wanted another one the next day. Only problem, Scott's not a huge fan of CPK so he didn't want to go there every chance we got. Soooooo, he suggested I just buy the stuff and make it myself. I thought there was no way it'd compare, but it DOES & I think this tastes pretty close to the original! I've eaten it for lunch every day this week & my sister and her husband were here this week and they even had it with me a couple of days as well! The only thing I omitted was the Gorgonzola cheese on top. So if you like it, add it to this recipe.

waldorf chicken salad:

spring mix lettuce
Granny Smith apple
red seedless grapes
candied walnuts
grilled chicken breast
balsamic vinaigrette dressing

*You decide how much of each ingredient you want in your salad, so play with it, you can always add more.

(I bought the big Spring Lettuce Mix from Costco for about $4, the grilled chicken breasts strips in a 2 pack at Costco for $10, the only place I was able to find to candied walnuts was at Walmart in their baking aisle for about $2.50 & I bought the balsamic vinaigrette dressing at Sprouts)

1. In a large bowl, combine as much lettuce that you want into the bowl, cut 1/4-1/2 of your Granny Smith apple into chunks & sprinkle in bowl put the rest of the apple into a ziploc for next time, cut as many of the chicken strips as you want into chunks & sprinkle in bowl, cut red grapes in half & add to bowl, sprinkle walnuts in to bowl, pour dressing over top (a little goes a long way) & then using a spatula stir your salad in the large bowl until the dressing coats all of your lettuce and ingredients. (If you like Gorgonzola cheese you can sprinkle that on top as well).
2. Transfer your salad to another bowl and enjoy!
And if you're feeling like making the "official" CPK balsamic dressing, Steph donated the recipe for us to try! I'm salivating already.....

official CPK dressing:

1/2 C. balsamic vinegar
2 TB. dijon mustard
1 TB. minced garlic
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt

*Whisk, then slowly add 1& 1/4 cup + 2 TB. olive oil.

Shredded Roast Sandwiches

We've made these a million times. Still a family favorite! Sometimes we put the meat on hamburger buns tonight we put it on french rolls & melted swiss cheese on them. Scott loves to put thousand island salad dressing on them & the kids and I like ketchup on them. Always good. Give em a try, you won't be disappointed!

shredded roast sandwiches:

3 lb. (approx) beef chuck pot roast
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
3 bay leaves
1 onion sliced
1/3 C. vinegar

1. Combine all ingredients in crock pot, then add roast. Cover, cook on low 8-10 hours or high 6-8 hours flipping over half way through.

2. Remove chunks of roast & shred in a bowl (removing fat as you can), add juices & onions to bowl, stir. Put meat on buns, melt cheese on top add whatever else you'd like.