Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars

Tried this out on Sunday afternoon for a treat, and we loved it.

They were even better the next day!

1 3/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup oats
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 c. chocolate chips (I used 1 c. milk, 1/2 c. semi-sweet, and 1/2 c. white because I like that combo)

Preheat oven to 375. Whisk together dry ingredients and set aside. Beat butter, sugars, egg and vanilla till fluffy and add dry ingredients. Stir in chocolate chips. Press into a greased 9×13 inch pan and bake for 18-20 minutes until light golden brown.

Fajitas

Quote from "Our Best Bites" recipe site:
"The secret really is in the marinade. And my little trick is to reserve just a little of it to drizzle on at the very end for an extra punch of flavor. You can use your choice of meat; boneless chicken breasts work great, as do chicken thighs or tenders. Flank steak is also awesome. We often do both chicken and steak. Grab whatever colors of peppers and onions you have around and grill them up."

So I did just what she said, I made the marinade, reserved a little, and grilled up the chicken and veggies. MMMMMMMMMMMMMM. Make sure you buy the LIQUID SMOKE. It wouldn't be the same without it!!! Since I sliced up all my veggies and meat ahead of time, I used our grill basket to cook them on the BBQ grill. Perfection.....Delicious......You should buy one if you don't have one! See this link for pictures!

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, chicken thighs, or steak (I pre-sliced mine before adding to the marinade)
2-3 bell peppers, stem and membranes removed and peppers quartered
1 large onion (any color/variety) sliced into 1/2″ slices
Marinade:
1/4 C fresh lime juice
1/3 C water
2 T vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced
3 t vinegar
2 t soy sauce
1-2 t liquid smoke
1 t salt
1/2 t chili powder, or chipotle chili powder
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1/4 t ground black pepper
1/4 t onion powder
*If you’re not familiar with liquid smoke, you can find it near the bbq sauces. Don’t make this without it! It’s definitely one of the key components. It makes things yummy and smoky and super flavorful. And if you’re wondering, it actually is real smoke in liquid form. Interesting, eh?

Place meat in a zip-top bag or shallow dish. Place vegetables in another. In a medium bowl, combine all marinade ingredients and whisk well. Reserve 3-4 Tablespoons of marinade for later use. With remaining marinade, add a splash to the vegetables (enough for a light coating) and the remaining to the meat. Marinate for 4-6 hours and up to overnight.

Preheat bbq grill (my preference), indoor grill pan, or large skillet. If you’re using a grill, place everything on at the same time. If using a skillet, slice peppers and onions first. Cook chicken for a few minutes on each side until cooked through and remove from pan. Cover with foil to keep warm. Add vegetables and cook until crisp tender.

Remove vegetables from cooking surface and slice. Slice meat. Toss with reserved marinade and serve along side any or all of the following:

Flour Tortillas
Black Beans/Pinto Beans
Lime-Cilantro Rice
Pico de Gallo
Salsa
Diced avocado
Guacamole
Sour Cream

Creamy Tortellini Spinach Bake

There's not much to say other than we LOVED this! I found this recipe at Our Best Bites here, called Tortellini Spinach Bake in Creamy Lemon Sauce. I followed it exactly. Loved it extremely.

I've copied the recipe below. My only note is to keep in mind that this bakes in a 8x8 dish, so double it if you have a large family.

Tortellini Spinach Bake in Creamy Lemon Sauce
Recipe by Our Best Bites

12 oz bag Barilla Cheese & Spinach Tortelini (find them in the dry pasta aisle)
4 oz bacon or pancetta, (about 4 strips bacon)*
3 cloves garlic, pressed in garlic press or finely minced
2 Tbs flour
2 C milk
¾ tsp kosher salt
⅛ tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp dry basil
¼ tsp red pepper flakes (1/2 tsp or more if you like spicy)
1 medium lemon
2 C loosely packed fresh spinach, roughly chopped
¾ C grated mozzarella cheese, divided
¾ C grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill a large stock pot with water and bring to a boil. Add tortellini and cook according to package instructions.

Place bacon in a medium sized skillet on the stove-top at medium-high heat. Cook until crisp. Remove bacon from pan with slotted spoon and set on paper towels to drain. Reserve two tablespoons bacon drippings in pan and discard the rest. Add garlic to pan and cook until fragrant and tender, about 1 minute. Add flour to pan and stir with a whisk for about 1 minute. Slowly add milk and continue to stir with whisk until smooth. Add salt, pepper, basil, and red pepper flakes and bring sauce to a simmer.

While sauce is heating, use a microplane grater or a fine-holed cheese grater to zest lemon. Then cut lemon in half and remove juice. Add 2 teaspoons zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice to sauce. Continue to stir until thickened, 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Drain tortellini and place back in stock pot. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the cooked bacon and add the rest to the pasta mixture. Add spinach, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Add sauce and gently stir to combine. Place pasta mixture in an 8×8 or 9×9 baking dish and top with remaining 1/4 cup mozarella and 1/4 cup parmesan and also crumbled bacon.

Cover pan with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, until cheese on top is melted and pasta is bubbly throughout. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes before serving.

* For a vegetarian meal, omit bacon.

Serves 4-6

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

Update from Stacie:

Carrie made these last week and posted the recipe, and I had bookmarked the recipe several months ago. I don't know what took me so long to try them! I just made these tonight and had to add that we LOVED them. One of the best things I've ever made for the family, in fact.

Here's the rest of the post from Carrie:

I found this recipe (and borrowed her picture, I forgot to take one before we snarfed them all down!) on Our Best Bites. Click HERE for the link to their page, with more pictures, etc. of the recipe. Let me just say, these are super easy, and even more super good! I changed a couple things, mostly to use what I had on hand. See their site for the original recipe. They really are so good! For me, this made 7 Taquitos on regular sized flour tortillas.

1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C salsa (I used my homemade regular salsa. Original recipe calls for a green salsa)
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 t cumin *(I used Mrs. Dash "Table Blend" seasonings in place of all individual seasons listed)
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t granulated garlic, or garlic powder
3 T chopped cilantro *I omit, I hate cilantro!
2 T sliced green onions
2 C shredded cooked chicken
1 C grated cheese, mozzarella, pepper-jack, or your favorite. I used mozzarella.

small flour tortillas *I love the fresh, uncooked ones. (and actually, corn ones are good as well)
kosher salt
cooking spray

Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it’s soft and easy to stir. Add salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.

You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

Cook your tortillas on the stove top and set aside. If using pre-cooked tortillas, work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or are coming unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.

Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges. Then roll it up as tight as you can.

Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

Dip them in salsa, sour cream, or guacamole! Yumm-O!

Butter Cornmeal Crescent Rolls

I realize that not a lot of people love to make rolls from scratch and don't enjoy playing around with new recipes at that. On the other hand, there aren't a lot of things I love more than homemade bread in any shape or size, so I tried out some new rolls posted at Mel's Kitchen Cafe. I'm going to post my picture and then link you directly to her recipe, because I made no changes and you might as well go directly to the source. I will say that if you enjoy making rolls and want to give these a shot, you won't be disappointed. Despite the fact that there's cornmeal in these, they are surprisingly light and buttery with just a hint of texture. They were delicious. I'll be making these again.

Buttery Cornmeal Crescent Rolls from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Biscuits

I wanted to make some biscuits to go with soup a few weeks ago, and I tried out a recipe I'd heard was good. These biscuits turned out awesome! I highly recommend these.

3 tablespoons melted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the surface
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Sift two cups flour, the baking powder, salt and (if using) sugar into a large bowl. Fold in 1 1/4 cups cream. If the dough is not soft or easily handled, fold in the remaining 1/4 cup cream, little by little.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface, mound it into a ball and, using your hands, gently press it to a thickness of about 3/4 inch. It does not need to be completely smooth across the top. Cut into rounds, 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Gather dough scraps and continue to make rounds. Place the biscuits on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the tops with the butter. Bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

*Makes 10-12

Red Velvet Cookies

I made these for Jenna a few weeks ago because I know how much she loves red velvet cookies. They turned out really good! The recipe is just for the cookie, but I added a cream cheese frosting because there's a bakery in SLC that does that, and Jenna and I both love their cookies.

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon red food coloring

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375.

Cream butter and sugars together until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and combine until smooth. Beat in red food coloring. Stir in cocoa, flour, baking soda and salt until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Bake for 10-12 minutes.