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Cafeteria Food-Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars

August 30, 2010 By

I went to a teeny weeny public school in rural Missouri. I went to the same school K-12 and had 21 kids in my graduating class (crazy, eh?) So every single day of my school career K-12 I ate lunch in the same cafeteria. I was a bit of a picky eater, but, this may come as no surprise…but I LOVED desserts. One of my favorites? Peanut butter chocolate squares. Last fall, my mom sent me the recipe for them, and this weekend, I FINALLY made them.  They were so simple, and just as yummy as I remember!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars

Servings: 24 Squares

* 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, divided
* 2 cups creamy peanut butter
* 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
* 3 cups powdered (confectioner’s) sugar
* 2 cups (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Melt 1/2 cup (1 stick) of the butter in medium saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter, confectioner’s sugar, and graham cracker crumbs. This will make a stiff dough.

Spread dough in a lightly greased 9- by 13-inch dish. Press down evenly.

Melt remaining 1/2 cup butter over low heat. Add chocolate chips and keep heat very low. When chocolate is soft, stir gently. Continue heating until lumps are all melted. Stir, and then spread this mixture over the peanut butter layer.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes, then cut into squares. Store in the refrigerator.

De-lish!

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Boozy Berries

July 12, 2010 By

I am a HORRIBLE blogger!  It’s been THREE days since I last posted!  I bet you thought I fell off the side of a cliff or something, right? Were you calling the authorities because you’d thought I’d gone missing? I bet you were. But no need to worry! I’m just fine! All safe and sound. Just taking a few days of much needed R & R after hosting guests for months on end (my life’s so rough, you know).  I had a great weekend though, a little Bethenny Getting Married? Saturday morning, a massage Saturday afternoon, fondue with the hubby Saturday evening (made at home!), and a hike with the hubby and Paul the Dog on Sunday. Oh, and lots of sleep. :) What a weekend!

And now that I’m all nice and rested, it’s back to life in the real world. Well, until my Aunt Di and two cousins Charlie and Annie Kate come visit on Friday, then it’s off to Disneyland!!!

But tonight, the spouses of officers in my hubby’s squadron had a Officer Spouses Club meeting. It was nice to touch base with the ladies…I hadn’t seen many of them in months! It is such a great group, and I was so happy to have an evening to spend with them. For the occasion, I needed a really quick, but fabulous dessert. So I made what I call “Boozy Berries”.

These are AWESOME, and they take only 5 minutes to make. First, get the whipped cream going (remember…just dump one pint of whipping cream in your Kitchen Aid with the whisk attachment and let it go!). Cut up 1 carton of strawberries and mix with a carton of blackberries and a carton of raspberries. Cut up 8 or so mint leaves into tiny slices and mix with berries. Sprinkle with a little sugar (okay, a lot of sugar) and a little Grand Mariner (2 teaspoons or so).  At this point, your whipped cream should be looking pretty whipped creamy. Sprinkle with a little sugar (okay, a lot MORE sugar if you’re like me ;) ). And TA DA! you’re done!  Serve the berries with a generous scoop of whipped cream.

So there you have it, another delicious 5 minute dessert brought to you by This American Wife! See you back here tomorrow!!!

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Sweet Tarts!

June 23, 2010 By

No…not those kind…this kind!

This rustic tart is my new favorite dessert to make.  It’s soooo easy! All you need is a refrigerated pie crust, cornstarch, sugar, egg, and whatever fruit you have in your fruit bowl (I used strawberries and a nectarine).

Start by laying out the piecrust on a cooking sheet and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Next, chop up the fruit into bite-sized pieces, and stir with a tablespoon of cornstarch and two tablespoons of sugar.

Pour the fruit mixture into the pie crust and begin folding the pie crust edges around the fruit.

Finish folding until all the pie crust is folded around the edge. Brush with egg and sprinkle with a bit of sugar.

Bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. It should come out like this:

Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream! Enjoy!!!

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Death by Brown Betty…

May 17, 2010 By

So usually my idea of a fabulous dessert is something like this:

or this…

But, I recently tried Pioneer Woman’s Apple Brown Betty (recipe here), and it’s now my go-to fast and easy dessert…and boy is it yummy!  I made it tonight because we had company coming over and I wanted something impressive and deliciouso, Oh, and because I had about two minutes to make dessert!  I love it because it consists of apples, sandwich bread, butter, and brown sugar–things I almost always have on hand.

And this is what you end up with (Pioneer Woman’s photo, not mine):

I know, I know, it’s not chocolate, but it is SO good. Try it. Seriously. Now. You could even pretend it’s breakfast!

I served it with a little homemade whipped cream.  If you’re still buying Cool Whip, stop now. Homemade whipped cream is the easiest thing to make EVER….dump whipping cream and a bit of sugar in your Kitchen Aid  mixer with the whisk attachment on high for 60 seconds or so, until it looks like Cool Whip. Your guests will be so impressed!

P.S. If you do make this, close your eyes when you add the butter…then the calories won’t count!

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