Club Cracker Toffee

You know when you have a "taste" for something and until you eat it, you won't be satisfied? Late yesterday afternoon, I wanted some saltine cracker toffee. After hunting through our pantry, I found just one partial "sleeve" of saltine crackers. Since I needed a "full" sleeve of crackers and the hubby likes soup and since neither of us were planning to go to the grocery store for at least a few days, I looked around on the Internet for a substitution. I saw a recipe using graham crackers, but that didn't seem quite right.  I knew I had bought some Kellogg's Club crackers at the Kroger when they were on sale recently and wondered if they would work. I have been making saltine cracker toffee around the holidays for almost a decade, but had never tried any cracker other than a saltine. Since I still had that "taste," I decided to give it a try.  Oh my, I actually think it's 100% better with the Club crackers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This recipe is super simple. The hardest part is waiting until the chocolate firms up, which is about three hours. Try it for yourself, it is delicious and addictive. I had to give some away to my fabulous neighbors across the street or else my family would eat it all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ingredients:

48 Kellogg's Club crackers

1 cup butter, unsalted

1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

12-ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

Sprinkles or nuts (if desired)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place a piece of aluminum foil on the bottom of a 11 x 17- inch jelly roll or cookie pan and spray the bottom with non-stick cooking spray. As long as it has a "lip" on the pan you're good. You don't want the mixture sloshing around in the oven and spilling over onto the bottom of the oven!! Line the Club crackers in rows (you should be able to fit 48 crackers on the pan). In a medium saucepan, put the butter and light brown sugar. Bring to a boil slowly, stirring constantly for three minutes. Spread the mixture evenly over all the crackers (be careful, it will very hot) and bake in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle the entire bag of chips evenly. Let it sit about two minutes for the chips to melt just a bit. With a small knife spread the melted chocolate evenly. If you want, you can add pecans or walnuts or sprinkles!! Let it cool completely for about three hours. Store covered at room temperature. 

No Bake Butterscotch and Peanut Butter Marshmallow Bars

A few weeks ago, Michigan had unseasonably hot and muggy weather. I felt like I was back in Maryland again!!! Today isn't too bad, but tomorrow it is supposed to be 90 and muggy. Ugh. I love "no bake" recipes. You basically let the fridge do all of the work for you! Yesterday, I was looking through the pantry and the kitchen cabinets and found a bag of mini marshmallows and a bag of butterscotch chips (both were getting ready to expire soon). I was scratching my head thinking of something to make and decided these marshmallow bars would be great!! Dominic and I whipped them up before we went to his drawing lesson yesterday and when we got back they were done. Oh my, so YUMMY! If you are invited to a 4th of July party, these bars are PERFECT!!!

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup creamy peanut butter (not natural)

11-ounce package butterscotch chips

10-ounce package mini marshmallows

Put foil in a 8 x 8 inch square pan and spray the pan with non-stick spray. Set aside. In a large saucepan, put the butter, peanut butter and butterscotch chips. On low to medium heat, stir constantly with a large spoon until completely melted. Remove from heat and add the mini marshmallows. Stir until all the marshmallows are covered with the melted butter/peanut butter/butterscotch chip mixture and then pour into the prepared pan. Put in fridge for a minimum of two hours. Cut into squares and serve!! Store covered in the fridge. 

Sour Cream Biscuits

 

If I were alone on a deserted island and only had biscuits to eat, I would be a happy gal!!! I can't remember a time that I haven't loved biscuits. Have you ever had Roy Rogers biscuits? Since I grew up on the East Coast,  I loved going there to eat and sometimes would go just to eat a pile of biscuits. YES, I love biscuits that much!!! Sadly, Michigan has NO Roy Rogers restaurants. Okay, enough with the trip down "memory lane!" Sunday mornings are the only time that the hubby, Dominic and I eat breakfast together. Typically, I make scrambled eggs with ham, sausage or bacon and we have English muffins, toast or a bagel as the "bread" item. I have literally been wanting to make these sour cream biscuits for weeks, I just hadn't had a chance. Well, I got up relatively early this morning and decided to make some! I had Dominic help me and before long we had biscuits baking in the oven. These biscuits are quick AND delicious. I love shortening in biscuits and chocolate chip cookies, they lend a "crunch" that you don't get with butter. We joke around with Dominic every Sunday morning, because seven days a week for breakfast he eats a Nature Valley Almond Butter Biscuit. I always ask him if he wants scrambled eggs and he always tells me no, but then when I'm dishing out the eggs, he comes in looking for his share! I always make extra for him. This morning, he ate his "usual" and then had scrambled eggs and THREE biscuits. I think he loves biscuits even more than I do, if that's possible!!!!

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups white flour + 1 tablespoon flour (reserved)

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

3 tablespoons shortening

1/3 cup milk

1/3 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In a large bowl, put 1 1/4 cups white flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Combine with large spoon until mixed and then with two knives, "cut" in the shortening until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add the milk and sour cream and mix with spoon until dough is just starting to come together. Sprinkle the reserved one tablespoon of white flour onto a counter/work surface and knead the dough about ten times and then roll out to about a length of 12 inches and a width of 9 inches. Using the rim of a glass/cup that is 3 1/2 inches round, press out 9 biscuits. Bake for 14 minutes or until the bottoms of the biscuits are starting to turn golden brown. Remove from oven and enjoy!

Sloppy Janes

 

Raise your hand if you have ever eaten a Manwich Sloppy Joe. You probably have at least once, right? I like to eat a Sloppy Joe with a fork and a knife! What about you? Since the Pandemic started, I have been making the same dinners, just because it's easier. Yesterday, before I even attempted to make the Sloppy Janes, I showed the hubby two recipes. I let him pick the one he preferred, based on the ingredients. The two recipes were kind of similar, but were definitely different. One ingredient that both recipes called for was Worcestershire sauce, which of course I didn't have in the house! I looked online for a substitution and believe it or not, you can use A1 Steak Sauce, which I DID have in the house. I started pulling different spices out of the kitchen cabinet. I used ancho chili powder, instead of regular chili powder, because I wanted to give it a little bit of a "kick," but not so overpowering that you need to drink a gallon of water! The main difference between a Sloppy Joe and a Sloppy Jane is that you use ground turkey instead of ground beef. After I got all of the ingredients assembled, I started making the Sloppy Janes. It took a little longer than I thought to put this together, I thought it would be like 5 or 10 minutes, it ended up being like closer to 40. It was definitely worth the time, because these are delicious!! The hubby made the comment after dinner that it's good to try new things once a while. We had potato salad as a side dish. It was almost like a summer time picnic meal, except, we have several inches of snow on the ground, LOL!

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 teaspoons regular or ancho chili powder

1 teaspoon ground paprika

8-ounce can tomato sauce, "no salt added"

1/2 cup ketchup

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce or A1 Steak Sauce

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey

In a medium-large skillet, heat the oil slowly. Add the onion, chili powder and paprika. Stir occasionally with a large spoon, until the onions become soft and tender (about 10 minutes). Next, add the tomato sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce or A1 Steak Sauce and cider vinegar. Simmer for about 10 minutes  (stirring occasionally) until the sauce starts to thicken. Put in the ground turkey, breaking the meat up with a large spoon, until it is cooked through (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat and put on hamburger buns. Makes about six hearty servings. Store covered in the fridge. 

 

Marshmallow Fudge

 

There is something about fudge and the holidays!! Well, ANY kind of candy and the holidays! LOL. My entire family thinks this fudge is great!! Hopefully, you will find some time to make this - it is a very simple recipe!!

Ingredients

12-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips

14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups miniature marshmallows

1 cup cinnamon graham crackers, crushed

Line an 8-inch square pan with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside. In a medium size saucepan, put the chocolate chips, condensed milk, vanilla extract and marshmallows. Stir over medium heat until smooth. Remove from heat and add the graham crackers. Combine well and then press into the pan. Refrigerate for a minimum of two hours. Store covered in the fridge for up to a week. 

Easy Apple Turnovers

 

Recently, I bought a five pound bag of Granny Smith apples and a can of biscuits because they both were on sale. So, what do you do if you have apples and biscuits?!?!?! You make apple turnovers!!! I had been looking for a chunk of time in both my schedule and Dominic's to make this together. He had an almost two hour break between his first and third class this morning,  so we made them then!!! Just as Dominic's third class started, I handed him a bowl with the apple turnover in it. I asked him if he wanted a bite and before I knew it, he had grabbed the bowl and ate the entire thing!! My husband came down to the kitchen late morning and I showed him the turnovers. He said, "they smell good!" I had to agree!!!!

Ingredients

1 can refrigerated biscuits (8 biscuits)

Two apples, any variety (peeled, cored and sliced) - approximately 1 1/2 cups apples

1/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon unsalted butter (melted)

Optional Glaze: 3 tablespoons powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon water

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper and press each biscuit into a 5-inch circle and set aside. In a small bowl, put the apples, light brown sugar and cinnamon. Stir with a small spoon until apples are completely covered with the light brown sugar and cinnamon. On the bottom half of each biscuit, divide the apple mixture evenly. Fold the dough over into a half moon shape. Crimp the edges with a fork to seal. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the turnovers start turning a golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Serve as is or make the glaze. In a small bowl, put three tablespoons of powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon of water and stir with a small spoon until smooth. Drizzle over the turnovers. Store covered at room temperature. *Dominic and I each ate one of these for a late morning snack. You could certainly serve for a dessert after dinner or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Actually, they are yummy no matter when you eat them!!

No-Bake Chocolate "Lasagna"

Dominic has always liked to be in the kitchen. When he was a toddler, we would fill up bowls of soapy water and he would play for hours in the double sink in our kitchen with a spoon. As he got older, he would "assist" me by pouring different ingredients into a bowl.

During this Pandemic, I have been making a concerted effort to give him more and more responsibility in the kitchen. We taught him several years ago about how the stove could be hot and step away when I put things in or out of the oven. It is a place that has become very comfortable for him.

This time of being home to stay safe has forced me to slow down and get back to baking and cooking more!! It has also been a time of  "experimenting" with new recipes. It's been a win-win for our family!!

Ingredients

14.3 ounce package Oreo cookies (do not remove the cream centers)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons milk
2 8-ounce containers whipped topping, like Cool Whip
2 3.9 ounce boxes instant chocolate pudding (unprepared)
2 3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips

In a food processor (or a Ziploc-type bag) put the entire package of Oreo cookies. Crush until the Oreos become fine crumbs. In a medium bowl, put the Oreo crumbs and the melted butter. Mix well with a large spoon and then press evenly into an ungreased 9 x 13-inch pan. Set aside. In a large bowl, put the cream cheese and beat by hand or with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the white sugar and the two tablespoons of milk and mix again until smooth. Fold in one of the 8-ounce containers of whipped topping and beat by hand or with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly on top of the Oreo cookie crust and put in the fridge for about ten minutes to set. In a large bowl, add the two 3.9 ounce boxes of instant chocolate pudding and add the 2 3/4 cups of milk. Beat by hand or with an electric mixer for about two minutes until it starts to get thick. Spread the pudding mixture evenly on top of the cream cheese mixture and put back in the fridge for about ten minutes. Once it's set, gently spread the other 8-ounce container of whipped topping evenly and then sprinkle with the mini chocolate chips. Put in the freezer for a minimum of three hours. Store covered in the freezer.