Girl Scout Samoa Bars

Holy Crap! These are so deeelicious!!  They came out exactly like the picture and taste just as good at the girl scout ones.  They are a little labor intensive and I ended up dipping them in chocolate the next day to make sure the coconut was completely cooled. I melted the chocolate in a bowl over a pot on the stove which is way easier then the microwave.  I do have to admit I only put 1/2cup butter in the recipe because I only left out 1 stick to soften then realized it was enough buuuut didn't feel like getting more butter. The recipe turned out just as good.! Oh and you definitely don't need 20oz of chocolate chips.. I used one bag which is 12oz and still had left over chocolate.  Also toast the coconut in a pan it goes way faster and then you don't have to keep checking the oven..  Otherwise... Score:9   yummmm



/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
3 cups shredded coconut
12-oz chewy caramels
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons milk
20 oz. chocolate chips
Make cookie base. Preheat oven to 350F. Cream together butter and sugar. Next beat in eggs and vanilla. Mix in flour and salt until just combined. The mixture will be pretty crumble. That’s okay! Press it into a baking dish (I used a jelly roll pan and pressed it into about half the pan, but you can probably just use a 9×13). Bake about 20-25 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Allow to cool.

Next make the topping. Start by toasting your coconut. Turn the oven on to 300F and lay coconut on a baking sheet. Turning occasionally toast about 10 minutes, once golden, remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Next melt the caramels in the microwave. First unwrap the caramels and put them in a large bowl with the milk, microwave about 3-4 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until evenly melted. Add the coconut to the melted caramel and stir to combine. Once combined, spread coconut/caramel topping onto shortbread base. This is easier if you spray your spatula with pam or grease it. Allow to cool completely (I refrigerated it a bit).

Cut the bars into the desired shape. Melt chocolate in the microwave (remember to stir every 30 seconds). Dip cookie base into chocolate, place on wax/parchment paper. Put the remaining melted chocolate in a ziploc bag and cut off a tip so you get a tiny piping bag. Pipe lines of chocolate on each one. Refrigerate a little bit so chocolate hardens then serve!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lemon Linguine with Basil Pesto Shrimp

This recipe was pretty good and very easy.. !  I did it so fast and was so excited I ended up spilling the sauce that I mixed all over the floor and had to start over! So in reality it took me longer then most people. I refused to defrost and touch the shrimp because it smelled! So recruit a friend I suggest if you like shrimp but don't like to cook it! (thanks chrissy ;) I topped the pasta with the remaining pesto but I wouldn't do it next time.  It was too much mixing of flavors and the pesto on the shrimp is just fine (I am a pesto lover tho)!  hmmmmm Score: 8.5




Ingredients:

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined – with or without the tails

1 batch Basil Pesto (recipe follows)

1 pound linguine, cooked al dente

1/2 to 2/3 cup olive oil

1/4 to 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (2-3 lemons)

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest

1 cup pasta cooking water

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Place shrimp in a non-metal bowl or zip lock bag and spoon in half of the pesto to coat. Mix well. Place shrimp in the fridge to marinate for about 30 minutes. Set aside the rest of the pesto for later. You can also put the shrimp on wooden skewers that have been thoroughly soaked in water.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet or grill pan. Add the shrimp and sauté just until it turns pink, about 1-2 minutes per side. Remove from pan and cover to keep warm. It will continue to cook for a minute after you remove it from the heat.

3. In a large serving bowl, whisk the 1/4 cup of the lemon juice and olive oil until partially emulsified. Add the Parmesan and continue whisking until creamy. Toss in the lemon zest and season with salt and pepper. Adjust the oil-to-lemon ratio by adding more lemon juice, a little at a time, until it is to your taste.

4. Add hot pasta to the bowl and toss until well-coated. The heat from the pasta will melt the cheese and help it stick to the linguine. Add some cooking water if the pasta seems dry.

5. Apportion the linguine onto dinner plates and top each with 4-6 shrimp. Ladle some remaining pesto onto each plate as well.

Serves 4.

Simply sinful Cinnamon Muffins

This recipe says simply but it took a lil while to make. Not too long just 3 different mixes.  I'm usually the dessert maker who likes to just throw everything in the bowl and mix so this was a tad challenging for me.  It came out exactly like the picture! Except I didn't read the caption under the picture saying you can add a glaze which I think would be a good idea because they were just tad dry but just a tad!  To make these better I would double the filling recipe because it would make them more moist. Oh and I didn't mix the dry ingredients separate.. screw that that's just another fn bowl to dirty...... The topping is amazing because it gives it a little bit of a crunchy cinnamon taste.mmmmmm... The Husband liked them but then complained he should of ate them with a glass of milk (he has to have milk with every dessert he eats or he won't eat it... no shitting you..)  Score: 8.............

These muffins feature a luscious center of moist, rich cinnamon filling. Add a confectioners' sugar glaze once they're cool, if you like, but they're really just as good with simply their streusel topping.

Topping
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup diced pecans
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
3 tablespoons soft butter

Filling
1/2 cup Baker's Cinnamon Filling mix*
3 to 4 tablespoons water

*Or substitute 3 tablespoons butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon for the Baker's Cinnamon Filling mix and water.

Batter
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
3/4 cup milk
2 large eggs
1 3/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 tablespoons Signature Secrets(r) Culinary Thickener or cornstarch
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup cinnamon chips or butterscotch chips

Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake papers, or grease it lightly.

Prepare the topping by mixing the ingredients together until crumbly. Set aside.

Prepare the filling by mixing the Baker's Cinnamon Filling with enough water to make filling with a soft, pudding-like consistency. Set it aside.

To make the batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, milk, and eggs. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, including the chips. Add the dry mixture to the liquid, stirring just until combined.

Divide half the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Dollop 2 teaspoons cinnamon filling onto each muffin, then top with the remaining batter. Sprinkle with topping, pressing it in lightly.

Bake the muffins for 20 to 25 minutes, or until they're golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and wait 5 minutes before transferring them from the pan to a rack to cool. Yield: 12 muffins.

So my husband "the king of eating sweets" is now claiming I'm making him a diabetic with all these desserts. So now I will be delivering some of these to my friends for their opinions.!

Crockpot Lemon Chicken

This recipe was good.  The flavor was great.  Even though it cooked in it's juices for 4 hours it still seemed a tad dry.  I added the juice of one lemon and zested a whole lemon.  I served it with rice pilaf and buttered corn mmmmmm.. Or maybe I was thinking a side of Pesto pasta. (can't over do the pasta over here because of my non italian husband! lol)  Maybe next time i'll tear the chicken apart and it won't be as dried out.  Score: 7.5  

Crockpot Lemon Chicken - Put cube of butter in bottom of crock pot. Lay chicken in pot. Sprinkle Italian dressing packet over chicken, drizzle with lemon juice, pop the lid on. Cook on High 4-5 hours, or Low 6-8 hours.

 I could have eaten the entire pan of these.!  They took 10mins to make and there was no baking involved.  Instead of Golden Grahms tho I used Store Brand Cinn Toast Crunch (Golden grahms were 4$ a box, no way was i spending that much on cereal) But the store bought actually tasted better then the Origianl general Mills brand! Whatever saves me money!.. I ended up melting the chocolate chips in the mix so before I put it in the fridge I sprinkeled the chips over the top and pressed them in.  I would definintly make these again and everyone loved em.. Score: 9   (the husband didn't rate them because he's still eating the stuffed oreo cookies I made)

Yield: 12 Bars

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Cook Time: 10 Minutes

Total Time: 25 Minutes

A twist on a campfire classic treat

Ingredients:

1 bag (10 oz) Mini Marshmallows
1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate chips + 1 for topping
1 box (12 0z) Golden Grahams Cereal
6 Tbsp Butter
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
Non-Stick Cooking Spray
Directions:
In a 9x9 inch baking pan, spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large non-stick pot over medium heat, melt butter. Add in marshmallows and stir together with butter until marshmallows have melted and become creamy. Stir in vanilla extract.
Fold in grahams cereal until all marshmallows and grahams are evenly mixed together. Mix in 1 cup of chocolate chips. Spread treats into sprayed baking pan. Press into pan and sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate chips on top of the treats, lightly press into top of treats to make sure they stick. Place into fridge for 10 minutes to cool.
Slice into bars and serve. Devour.

BBQ pulled Chicken

This recipe was delicious!  It was super easy.  I always use the Sweet Baby rays but instead of just pouring the sauce on and that was it I wanted a few other ingredients to make it a little more special. (of course I skipped the part of spraying the bottom of the crock pot and had to take the friggen chicken back out and pray it)..  It smelled great cooking and I just make sure I stirred it.  It definitely doesn't take 8 hours. I'd say i cooked it from 11:30-5 and right before I served it I topped it with a little more baby rays.  We used Those Potatoe roll slider buns.. ! Those are the best.  Score: 9.5
 

 

 

 Ingredients:

• 1-2 lb of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 18 oz. bottle of BBQ sauce (we used Sweet Baby Rays)
• 1 medium sweet onion, diced
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 tpepper
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• hamburger buns
• optional: slices of cheese
  Mix everything together and pour onto chicken

Spray crock pot with non-stick cooking spray.
Cook on LOW for 8 hours.
If you're home, give the chicken a stir every couple of hours to keep from burning.