Photos via Smitten Kitchen

A girl brought this to small group last night and it was a total and complete hit.  Even I, the non-chocolate-lover, loved it.  I think it’s because Tracy used bittersweet chocolate instead of semi-sweet like the recipe called for.  Whatever the case, it was yum.  Super yum.  Super-duper yum.

Trav pretty much loves all things apple so, because I’m such a nice wife, I sacrificially saved a bite or two for him.  I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever seen such joy on the face of my husband as I did the moment he bit into the baked apple perfection.

He immediately said, “You HAVE to get the recipe for these.”

Luckily for him, Katie was sweet enough to have brought copies of the recipe with the bars that night.

I finally got around to making them week before last and they were a total and complete hit.

Tonight, Trav asked me if I am planning on making them for Christmas.

Um, yes, yes, I will.

Mostly because I love them every bit as much as he does, but he can just keep on thinking I’m doing it just for him.

They’re definitely not for those who fear butter.

Or sugar.

But, come on people, it’s Christmas-time.  Live a little.  Treat yourself.  You’ll be soooooo glad you did.

And just a side-note for Kristin F. – These are easy.  I promise.

Here’s the how-to.

Preheat oven to 350º

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine with a whisk:

4 Cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

2 Cups sugar

Add 3 sticks of butter (cut into small pieces) and blend with hands until the mixture is crumbly and the consistency of sand.

Spray a jelly-roll pan with Pam and sprinkle a thin layer of sugar on top.  Press two-thirds of the shortbread mixture into the pan.

Peel, core, and thinly slice 3-4 Granny Smith apples.  Layer apples (slightly overlapping) on top of the shortbread mixture.

Combine 1/3 – 1/2 Cup of sugar with 1 tsp. of cinnamon and sprinkle over apples.

Crumble the remaining shortbread mixture on top of apples.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, until edges of the shortbread are crispy.

Now, to make the Glaze:

Mix 1 Cup powdered sugar and 1 tsp. pure almond extract (the real stuff, not imitation) with just enough water to get a consistency that will drizzle easily.

Drizzle over warm apple bars and enjoy!

Jessie’s Pomegranate Champagne Punch

orange slices (to garnish)

1 c pomegranate seeds (optional)

2 c fresh orange juice, strained

1 quart pomegranate juice

2 c chilled limeade

lime slices (to garnish)

1 (750 ml) bottle pink champagne

Mix pomegranate juice, orange juice, and limeade together.  Pour in the champagne.  Float lime & orange slices on top.  Pour into ice-filled glasses, sprinkle with pomegranate seeds & serve.

Rachel’s Cream Puffs

Allow cream puffs to cool.  Then, slice off tops and fill with cream, and replace top.  Sprinkle with confectioners sugar.

If you would like chocolate sauce on top, melt 1/4 C. of butter and 1/2 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips together and drizzle over filled cream puffs.

Rachel’s Spinach Artichoke Dip

1 pkg. of frozen spinach, thawed and drained well

1 Can of quartered artichokes, chopped

8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

2/3 C. parmesan cheese

1/2 C. mayonnaise

1/2 C. Sour Cream

1 tsp. mustard

1 small red onion, diced

Cayenne pepper to taste.

Mix all ingredients together and bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until heated through.

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I made a big birthday dinner and it turned out pretty stinkin’ yummy, if I may say so myself.  Once again, Pioneer Woman came through with a FABULOUS recipe that Trav, Arle, and I all loved.  It definitely earned a place on our “Favorite Meals” list.  It’s called “Penne a la Betsy” but I think I’m going to re-name it “Penne a la Heaven.”  It was just that good.  It makes a load, so invite some friends over and impress them with your culinary prowess.

I wanted to make Trav a big yummy birthday cake and decided to go with my mother’s fabulous Java Angel Food Cake.  I actually just made up that name because I’m pretty sure it was name-less before now.  We’ve always just referred to it as, “You know, that one cake.  The angel food one with the coffee marshmallow icing and the toasted almonds on top?  Yeah, that one.”

Here’s the how-to:

Bake one boxed angel food cake according to directions (side-note:  I’m usually a from-scratch-kind-a-gal, but for some reason I never go there with angel food cake).

Let the cake cool, then cut into three layers with a serrated knife.

In a non-stick skillet, pour in 1-Cup of strong coffee and 1 large bag of jumbo marshmallows.  Cook on medium-low heat just until the marshmallows are completely melted.

Remove from heat and sit on the counter until completely cool and thick.  Mix in one container of Cool Whip until the coffee mixture is completely incorporated.

Toast one small bag of sliced almonds in a skillet over medium-low heat just until nice and golden brown.

Spread icing over the bottom layer of cake and sprinkle some almonds on top.  Do the same for the second layer.  Put the final layer on and spread the remaining icing all over the cake and sprinkle the remaining almonds on top.

Store in the fridge or serve immediately.  Make sure you slice the servings with a serrated knife or else you’ll destroy your masterpiece.

Bon appetit!

Even though we had already celebrated, I still wanted to do something special on our actual anniversary day.  I decided that the best thing to do would be to make one of Trav’s all-time favorite meals – Chicken Pesto Tortellini.  Lucky for me, this is one of the easiest meals in my repertoire. 

Ok, so maybe the pic doesn’t look all that appealing, but it really is yummy.  Even Arle loves it.  If you want to give it a go, here’s the how-to.

1-20 pkg. of cheese filled tortellini cooked according to directions on package (I like the Bertolli 3-cheese tortellini that’s found in the refrigerator aisle)

1-Rotisserie chicken, remove skin and bones then cut chicken into bite-sized pieces

Homemade Pesto:

2 cups fresh basil, packed

2 cloves of fresh garlic

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp. ground pepper

1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Optional:  1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

Put basil and garlic in a food processor.  Puree and slowly add olive oil.  Put into a bowl and stir in cheese, salt, pepper, and pine nuts. 

Place chicken into a large bowl.  Add the freshly cooked, hot pasta to the chicken.  Pour the pesto over the top and mix together.  Serve it up with a great salad and…VOILA!

What, you ask? 

Pioneer Woman’s BBQ Meatballs, that’s what. 

Good golly, Miss Molly, oh me, oh my, these things are delish.  Or, as Arle would say, they’re “nummylicious.” 

Travis totally wanted to make out with me the moment he walked in the door and smelled the yumminess wafting through the air.  He really got excited when he found out mashed potatoes were also on the menu.  Potatoes don’t get a lot of action around here, because carbs are NOT my friend, but I do cave every now and then for the sake of my spud-lovin’ husband. 

Anyway, the meatballs were a hit all around.  I loved them.  Trav loved them.  Arle loved them. 

I whipped them and the sauce up while Arle was down for her nap.  I put them in the fridge, but waited to pour the sauce over them until just before I threw ‘em in the oven last night.  Then I boiled and mashed the tators.  For our veggie, I blanched some fresh green beans, then sauteed them with some olive oil, butter, garlic, tarragon, salt and pepper. 

I was in the mood for comfort food and, believe me, I was definitely comforted with each and every bite. 

Clean, clean, I must. 

On days like this, I usually take the easy way out and give you a recipe to try out.  It’s been awhile since I’ve posted one, so here ya go.  One of the staple dishes at our house is Rachael Ray’s Ham & Spinach Hash.  I’m not a huge Rachael fan, but in the words of my dear sweet daughter, this dish is ”alicious!”  Translation = “delicious!”

This is a great dish to make for brunch or dinner.  It’s an easy one to substitute ingredients for, according to what you have on hand.  Any kind of potato or onion works.  Dried thyme is great in it.  I don’t put basil in when I don’t have the fresh stuff on hand. I rarely do the fried egg part, because Trav doesn’t really care for them all that much. 

Give it a try, it’s always a crowd pleaser in our house.  Even Arle goes to town on it.

I had a breakthrough last night, though. 

I purchased one of those fantastic rotisserie chickens at the grocery store yesterday.  I was going to make one of Giada’s (Food Network Giada, of course.  Yeah, we’re on a first name basis.) dishes that called for one of these chickens.  After I was finished removing all the meat, I was about to throw away the bones and skin when I remembered something I recently heard or read or maybe totally made up in this crazy head of mine…you can use the carcass (sounds sick, I know) from these chickens to make your own homemade chicken broth.  I’ve made homemade broth a bajillion times before, but always with a raw cut up chicken.  I was under the impression you had to have the meat in order to make broth.  Au contraire, mon frere!  Not so!  Evidently, broth is all about the bones. 

Of course, I called my mother first to make sure I wasn’t delusional.  She said you can absolutely do this, there just wouldn’t be as much fat in the broth.  Even better!  I always skim the fat off my broth anyway, so this seemed perfect. 

Into the stockpot, the bones and skin went.  Then I added the following that just happen to be in my kitchen, longing to be used before they went bad.

5 peeled carrots

6 celery stalks

1 onion, quartered

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 Tbs. sea salt

1 Tsp. pepper

I boiled it for just over an hour and it was delicious!  Now, I’ll have homemade broth in the freezer the next time I have a chicken noodle soup craving.  Maybe I’m the last woman on the face of earth to find out about this easy-breezy concoction, but I don’t care.  At this moment, I feel so domestic.  Never again will I allow one of these precious skeletons go to waste.  From my kitchen, to yours…Bon appetit!