Oatmeal Scotchies

by penji1

Bar cookie recipe #3 for today, this is another one that I’ve had for so long that I can’t remember where it originally came from.

Courtney ate one and said “tastes like Christmas”

me “Christmas?  does that mean they’re good?”

Courtney “of course!  Christmas is always good!”

🙂

3/4 cup butter, softened

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup flour (I used 1 1/2 today, maybe it’s the heat?)

1 teaspoon cinnamon (Christmas maybe?)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups oats

1/2 cup butterscotch chips (I used 1 whole cup)

Preheat oven to 350.  Cream butter, eggs and vanilla until smooth.  Add remaining ingredients except chips and mix well (here’s where you’ll be able to tell if you need more flour).  Stir in chips by hand.  Spread batter evenly in a greased 9 x 13″ pan.  Bake 20 – 25 minutes or until very lightly browned.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars

by penji1

Bar cookie recipe #2 for today, this is one of those recipes that I’ve had for so long that I can’t remember where it came from.

1 cup butter, softened

2 eggs, slightly beaten

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup creamy peanut butter

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 cups flour (I ended up using 2 1/2 cups this time)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.  Cream butter, eggs and vanilla until smooth.  Blend in peanut butter then add sugars, flour, soda and salt (here’s where you can tell if you need that additional 1/2 cup flour, my batter was still a little sticky so I added that little extra in) then stir in chips by hand.  Spread batter evenly in a lightly greased 9 x 13″ pan.  Bake 30 – 35 minutes or until lightly browned.

No Fuss Bar Cookies

by penji1

Lots of nice neighbors fed my kids while Bob and I were in Alaska so I wanted to thank them (thank you Teresa, LaRobyn, Mary Linda, Merrilee and Tom!) for doing something that they did not have to do (my kids are 18 and 21 so capable but not always willing to make food for themselves!) so I made some treats for them and also for my niece Heidi and my friend Lacee who are both on missions.  Missionaries need care packages!  So this will be the first of three recipes posted today for some bar cookies which are tasty and can be put in the mail and hopefully make it there in one piece and not arrive in crumbs!

These first treats are a lot like what my mom used to call Magic Cookie Bars but instead of making them in layers in the pan, you just mix all the ingredients up together and dump them in the pan, so simple!  This recipe comes from Food.com.

24 graham crackers squares

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup coconut

3/4 cup walnuts, chopped

1 can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a 9 x 13″ pan.  Make crumbs from the graham crackers in food processor (or place them in a large ziploc plastic bag and beat on them with a rolling pin) to make 2 cups crumbs.  Combine all ingredients.  Spread evenly in pan and bake 15 – 18 minutes.

Toffee Bars

by penji1

This recipe comes from “The Cookie and Biscuit Bible” by Catherine Atkinson which my friend Julie gave me for my birthday this year.  These are thick and yummy, make sure you have a glass of  milk ready to guzzle!

1 1/2 cups soft light brown sugar

2 cups butter (the recipe doesn’t specify that it be softened but I softened it in the microwave a bit)

2 egg yolks

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

4 cups flour

pinch of salt

8 oz milk chocolate, chopped (I used a whole bag of milk chocolate chips instead of just the 8 oz)

1 cup walnuts or pecans (I used walnuts)

1  Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease a 13 x 9 x 2″ pan.

2  Beat together sugar and butter until light and fluffy.  Beat in egg yolks and vanilla.  Stir in flour and salt.  (Dough will be thick)

3  Spread dough in pan.  Bake 25 – 30 minutes or until lightly browned.  The texture will be soft.

4  Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle chocolate on top of hot cookie base.  Let stand until the chocolate softens, then spread evenly over the top with a spatula or palette knife.  Sprinkle with chopped nuts.

Alaskan Giveaway!

by penji1

So I didn’t forget about you all while I was in Alaska, dear blog readers, so I picked up a few Alaskan touristy kitchen items to give away on my blog!  A set of Salad and Pasta Paws, 4 oz of Smoked Salmon and an Ulu knife can all be yours for doing one or both of the following:

1  Subscribe to the blog (if you are already subscribed, then you are already entered)

2  Since I just shared a few Alaskan dining experiences with you, why don’t you share some with me.  Comment on this post and tell me about a  unique or extra tasty or just fun dining experience you’ve had – what, where and when.  You can share up to 2 separate experiences.

So you can get up to 3 separate entries to this giveaway: 1 for subscribing and 2 additional for sharing 2 separate dining experiences.  I’ll pick a winner a week from today, next Saturday September 11 by the end of the day.

And as always, good luck! 

Lunch at Big Daddy’s in Fairbanks, Alaska

by penji1

Ok, last entry on the food we ate!  We ended our tour in Fairbanks, Alaska.  We rode the hotel trolley into downtown Fairbanks and asked the driver where a good place to eat lunch was and he directed us to a barbeque place called Big Daddy’s just around the corner.  Now granted we were starving and hadn’t eaten for awhile but this was seriously good barbeque!

I ordered the beef brisket sandwich

Bob ordered the pulled pork sandwich

We cut the sandwiches in half so we could try both.  They were heaven! 

So if you’re ever in Fairbanks, Alaska, give Big Daddy’s a try!

Breakfast at the Roadhouse in Talkeetna, Alaska

by penji1

We signed up for a sled dog excursion in Talkeetna and had to ride the shuttle from the hotel at 7am for the 1 hour trip in to town and then when we got there at 8am we found out that the excursion was cancelled because of an illness in the family so now we were stuck in Talkeetna until 10:30 am when the first shuttle returned to the hotel!  Talkeetna is itty bitty, I think the population is around 800 so we asked the Princess cruise lady what there was to do in Talkeetna at 8:00 in the morning and she said that we had to eat breakfast at the Roadhouse so we headed over to the Roadhouse.

I’ll be honest with you, the Roadhouse didn’t look very promising from the outside and the inside didn’t look too much better and it was family style dining so we had to sit at a table with some strange dude. 

Here’s a bit of history about The Roadhouse, it was built in 1914 and served miners, trappers, railroad builders, climbers and pioneers.  You can go on line and check it out at www.talkeetnaroadhouse.com if you’d like to take a look.

Having nothing better to do and no other place to go, we ordered breakfast.  Bob ordered sourdough pancakes (the sourdough starter they used for the pancakes has been going since 1902!) and I ordered the sampler – bacon, eggs, hash browns, toast.  Both meals also came with both juice and hot chocolate (or coffee).  Here’s what we got!

BEFORE:

Bob's pancakes were bigger than the plate they came on

seriously? that piece of toast alone would probably fill me up

 AFTER:

even Bob couldn't finish them!

honestly, I never had a chance at finishing this!

After that delicious breakfast, we were wishing that we could eat lunch there as well.  They had a refrigerated case full of what was for lunch that day – homemaid quiches, pasties, soups, chili; it all looked awesome.

So if you’re ever in Talkeetna, Alaska, make sure you eat at the Roadhouse!

Alaskan Cruise Pastry Extravaganza Buffet!

by penji1

(For those of you who subscribe to my blog, you might be getting this in an email twice, sorry about that!  I published this post and it got sent in emails and posted to Facebook but then never showed up on the blog itself so I’m republishing it to see if I can get it on the blog.)

You’ve probably noticed that the blog has been silent for the past 2 weeks and that is because Bob and I have been on a 12 day Alaskan Cruise/Tour in celebration of our 25th anniversary.  We had a great time and saw lots of scenery and wildlife and, as you might imagine, ate a ton of food so I thought I would devote a couple of blog entries to some of the highlights of what (and where) we ate on the crusie and tour.

This first one is devoted to the “Pastry Extravaganza Buffet” which took place on the last day of the cruise and which, as you might guess, was therefore my favorite day of the cruise.  It started at 11:00 with a half hour devoted to picture taking only and then the buffet opened at 11:30 for eating.  We went down and took some pictures and then ended up being1st in line for the buffet, best day ever!  So here are some pictures of the delights that were the Pastry Extravaganza Buffet, enjoy (I know I did)!

the beautiful and tasty buffet

my favorite - a cheesecake made to look like a wheel of cheese surrounded by little sugar mice

chocolate cake with a gold dude on top, reminded me of an Oscar

Coffee Toffee Cake - I had a piece of this

Tiramisu - and I had a piece of this

Heath Bar Cake - and a piece of this

Dark and White Mousse Cake - and this too!

my plate - I was very restrained, I only asked for 4 things!

My plate – I was very restrained, I only asked for 4 things!

Mexican Chicken Pot Pies in Crescent Bowls

by penji1

Mexican Chicken Pot Pies in Crescent Bowls

Another Pillsbury recipe.  I get a lot of my recipes by signing up for emails from Kraft, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, etc.  My crescent bowls did not turn out even remotely like theirs; they all looked deformed but they tasted good.  Even Courtney, who is my picky eater, had two of these for dinner tonight.

1 (8 oz) can Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations refrigerated flaky dough sheet

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 tablespoon flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 cup chicken broth

1 (6 oz) package refrigerated cooked Southwest flavor chicken breast strips, coarsely chopped (here again I used a can of Costco chicken)

1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

3 tablespoons canned chopped green chiles, drained

1 cup frozen corn (I used a can)

1/2 cup shredded cheddar jack with jalapeno peppers cheese blend (I used straight cheddar)

1/2 cup salsa

1  Heat oven to 375.  Place 4 6 oz custard cups upside down on cookie sheet with sides.  Spray cups with cooking spray.  (Yeah, I didn’t read the recipe before I started and so neglected to do this step which didn’t help with the appearance of my crescent cups in any way so don’t forget to spray the cups.  Also if you don’t have any oven safe custard cups, just ball up some aluminum foil and drape your crescent dough over those.)

2  Unroll dough on work surface, press into 12 x 8″ rectangle.  Cut into 4 squares.  Place 1 dough over each custard cup, stretching to fit bowl.

3  Bake 12 – 15 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool 5 minutes.  Remove custard cups.  Place on cooling rack.

4  Meanwhile, in saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Add onion and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender.  Add flour, salt and pepper and stir until well blended.  Gradually stir in broth, cook until bubbly and thickened.  Stir in chicken, beans, chiles and corn.  Simmer 5 minutes or until hot.

5  Spoon about 3/4 cup chicken mixture into each crescent bowl and top with cheese and salsa.

Tiny Honey Biscuits with Creme Fraiche and Berries

by penji1

Another treat for Book Group last night.   Also from Gale Gand’s “Just a Bite” cookbook.

biscuits:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest (I probably used 1 whole teaspoon)

1 cup chilled heavy cream

2 tablespoons honey

topping:

1 cup creme fraiche (I could not find this in the grocery store and didn’t have time to make my own which you can find the recipe for on line so I used Cool Whip)

1 1/2 cups ripe raspberries, blueberries or cut up strawberries

2 tablespoons honey

you’ll also need:

a small round cookie or biscuit cutter, 1 – 1 1/2″ in diameter (I used my 2″ round one)

Heat oven to 400.

For biscuits, mix flour, salt, baking powder and zest in a large bowl.  Whip the cream with the honey until stiff and gently mix into the dry ingredients just until the mixture is moistened and comes together.  Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead a few times to bring the dough together into a ball.

Reflour the work surface and flour a rolling pin.  Roll the dough out 1″ thick.  Use the cutter to cut out biscuits and transfer them to the cookie sheet.  Reroll the scraps and continue cutting until all the dough is used.  Bake until the biscuits are golden brown, about 15 minutes.  Let them cool on a wire rack.

When ready to serve, split the biscuits in half horizontally.  Place the bottom on serving plates.  On each, place a spoonful of creme fraiche and top with 1 raspberry, 1 blueberry and 1 piece of strawberry.  (Since mine were a little bigger, I topped with 2 pieces of strawberry and 2 blueberries as I didn’t buy any raspberries.)  Drizzle with honey.  Place top halves on biscuits.