Ultimate Rice Crispie Treats

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 package (10 oz., about 40) regular marshmallows
6 cups Rice Krispies®

1. In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.
2. Add Rice Krispies cereal. Stir until well coated.
3. Using buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. ****For this part of the recipe I like to line the pan with parchment paper before putting the rice crispies into the pan. Put enough in so that it lines the bottom and hangs over the sides a few inches. It makes it easier to lift out the treats and to cut them into even squares and the knife doesn't mess up your pan, especially if you are using a non-stick teflon type pan. Those tend to scratch when you cut inside of them.****

Okay that part is nothing new... same old recipe for Rice Crispie Treats and then this is where it starts to get exciting! Ready....

Additional Ingredients are:

Chocolate Chips, semi sweet or milk chocolate (I used some of both)
Mini Marshmallows
Mini Snickers or other candy bars, each piece cut up into 6 smaller pieces


Preheat the oven to about 300 degrees.

After the rice krispie treats are made you sprinkle them with chocolate chips and put the pan in the hot oven to let them get soft. After a few minutes the chocolate chips will be glossy and that means they are ready to spread. Pull the pan out of the oven and using a knife spread the chocolate chips into an even layer over the rice krispies.

Next sprinkle a layer of mini marshmallows over the melted chocolate. Put the pan back into the oven for a few minutes but watch it carefully. Marshmallows will start to puff and get soft, but you don't want them to brown. Pull out the pan and then sprinkle the cut up candy bar pieces onto the softened marshmallows. You can use one type of candy bar like mini snickers or milky way or twix or whatever your little heart desires..... OR.... you can use some of all of them. Allow them to cool (you can speed it up a bit by putting it in the refrigerator). When they have cooled, pick up the treats by grabbing the edges of the parchment paper and lift them out and place them onto a cutting board. Using a knife you can cut these ultimate treats into 2 inch squares or to whatever size makes your litte heart happy! Enjoy! They are yummy!

Watermelon Salad

6 cups watermelon, diced
4 oz. feta, crumbled
3/4 cup red onion, sliced thin
1/2 cup fresh basil, sliced thin
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Prepare watermelon, feta, red onion and basil. Combine all together and drizzle balsamic vinegar just prior to serving.

***This is a great summer salad... I made an alternative of this salad too. I liked the basil but didn't have some when I wanted to make the salad again. So instead I made it with some fresh spinach. I chopped up the spinach and added that instead of the fresh basil. Then I added some pine nuts and it was really good. I'm sure there are countless variations you could make on this salad.

Rocky Road Brownies

Boxed Brownie Mix (I like the Betty Crocker Fudge Brownie Mix... Mmmmmm!)
Mini Marshmallows
Chocolate Chips
Nuts, chopped (Pecans, Almonds, Walnuts, Peanuts... whatever you like best)

Prepare a boxed brownie mix according to the directions on the box. I like to make them in a 8x13 inch pan, but if you like a thicker brownie you can make them in a smaller pan. I recommend lining the pan with parchment paper with some hanging out over the edge and then lightly greasing the bottom of the parchment paper. Pour the brownie mix onto the parchment paper and then bake in the oven as directed on the box for a 8x13 inch pan... probably about 24-26 minutes.When the brownies are done, pull them out of the oven and sprinkle with the mini marshmallows. You can use as much as you want here... I like to make a nice layer of marshmallows across the top, approximately one marshmallow deep. Next sprinkle on the chocolate chips. Once again... you can add as much or as little as you want. Same goes with the nuts.... sprinkle evenly over the top. Put the brownies back into the oven for about 5 minutes. Watch them carefully. The marshmallows will puff up and the chocolate chips will get shiny. You don't want the marshmallows to get toasted, just puffy and soft holding together all of the chocolate and nuts! Yummy! Pull the brownies out of the oven and cool on the counter or in the refrigerator if you want to speed up the process (plus if they are refrigerated, they will cut easier later). Here comes the benefit of the parchment paper... After the brownies have cooled, you grab the edges of the parchment paper and you put it directly onto a cutting board. The pan is clean and won't get scratched if you have the non stick pan that will scratch if you use metal utensils in it... and they are easier to cut. You can get nicely conformed brownies! Now you can watch them disappear!

Fresh Corn Casserole

A great way to use up Fresh Corn on the Cob and it was really yummy.... I got the official recipe here at Pioneer Woman (a great website) and there are LOTS more pictures with indepth descriptions, so go check it out if you really want to try this.

Fresh Corn Casserole

8 fresh ears of corn, husked and cleaned off
2/3 cup Heavy Cream
3 T. Butter, softened
1/2 tsp -1 tsp Kosher Salt, start small and add enough to suit your taste
Fresh Ground Black Pepper, to taste

Begin by cutting off the corn from the cob into a large deep bowl with a knife. Remove as much of the corn from the cob as you can including the stuff that is deep inside, since this will release some of the creamy milk inside the cob. Next add the heavy cream... this is an approximate amount. You want to add enough to make it look creamy and consistent but not overly soupy. Add the butter, salt and then as much black pepper as suits your taste. Pour into a baking dish and cook in a 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes until heated through and the corn is still crunchy. Don't over cook since it can dry out the cream. Serve and enjoy! Yummy...

Here is what it looked like before I put it in the oven...


And... this is what our dinner looked like... Some yummy BBQ'd steak, salad and this new favorite corn casserole.

Tasty Tuesday

Need something cool, quick & yummy for summer entertaining??


May I suggest....

Layered Fiesta Taco Dip
Ingredients

1 pkg. Fiesta Ranch Dip Mix
(looks like the regular Hidden Valley Ranch dip mix, but it is Fiesta Ranch!)
16 oz. sour cream
1 bag lettuce
2 tomatoes, diced
1/2 diced red onion
1 bunch diced green onions
1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese or Mexican blend cheese


Directions Combine first 2 ingredients; refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Spread Fiesta Party Dip on a platter. Layer with lettuce, tomato, red onion, green onion and then the cheese. Serve with corn tortilla chips.

Let's make the most of summer. Let's start by making it EASY!
Enjoy!!


Picture to come shortly...

Strawberry Spinach Salad

This salad is seriously so simple and so super... If you like these ingredients you will LOVE this salad.

Spinach leaves, washed and dried
Strawberries, sliced
Red onions, sliced
Avocados, cut into chunks
6 ounces (3/4 cup) olive oil
4 ounces (1/2 cup) balsamic vinegar
2 T. sesame seeds, toasted (place on baking sheet in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes, watch carefully since they become toasted and then turn burnt very quickly)
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup white sugar
1 t. salt
freshly ground pepper, to taste

Mix up the dressing and then pour over the salad and toss just before you are ready to serve the salad.
Tips: Best to keep ingredients separate until ready to serve if you are taking it somewhere for a party or something, so that everything is as fresh as possible. Plus it doesn't hold very well to the next day... It works, but it is just not as good!

Apple Dip

This apple dip is fairly simple but doesn't come with specific measurements... kinda make it up as you go to suit your taste.

Ingredients:

Cool Whip

Caramel Ice Cream Topping First put as much cool whip as you want for dip... then drizzle in the caramel and gently mix them together. More caramel equals more flavor and less caramel will make it more fluffy. Put the dip into the refrigerator while you cut up your apples. Pick your favorite type of apple... this works well with any apple... fuji, granny smith, gala, red delicious, etc.

Put some water in a bowl and squeeze a little fresh lemon juice in it, or bottled lemon juice. (Don't use too much so the apples don't taste like lemon.) Cut your apples into slices and put them into the bowl of lemon water. The lemon water prevents the apples from turning brown. I used my Apple slicer/peeler/corer tool to cut up my apples. The kids enjoy eating the apple peel string that this creates, plus the slices are smaller and you get more dipping per apple...Another tool that works well is the Apple slicer/corer... it keeps the skin on and if you mix different colored apples it looks good...Let the apples sit for just a minute in the lemon water and then drain. Arrange apple slices on the plate around your bowl of caramel dip and serve.