Apple Peanut Butter Cookies

adapted from Taste of Home

I am not a peanut butter lover; however, these tasted like Autumn to me.  The apple added flavor and softness.  Perfect for a September treat!

15 ServingsPrep: 20 min. Bake: 10 min./batch

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I even used whole wheat)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup grated peeled apple

Directions

• In a large bowl, cream the butter, peanut butter and sugars until
• light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the dry
• ingredients; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in
• apple.
• Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking
• sheets. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
• Cool for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks. Yield: about 2-1/2
• dozen.

Nutritional Facts: 1 serving (2 each) equals 216 calories, 11 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 14 mg cholesterol, 170 mg sodium,

Mom & Sons Beef Vegetable Soup

Adapted from Paula Dean's Lady and Sons Beef Vegetable Soup at the Food Network.com

Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (if using chuck roast)
2 1/2 to 3 pounds beef short ribs or 2 1/2 to 3 pounds boneless chuck roast*
4 quarts cold water
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
2 tablespoons beef bouillon granules
1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon seasoned salt, plus extra for seasoning
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning
2 bay leaves
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 cup sliced green beans, fresh or canned
1 cup frozen black-eyed peas
1 cup corn kernels, fresh or canned
1 cup diced potatoes
1/2 cup uncooked elbow macaroni
Chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions
If using chuck roast, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place the roast in the skillet and cook until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Remove the roast from the skillet and cut it into 1 1/2 to 2-inch cubes; discard the fat. Place the beef cubes in a large stockpot. (If using short ribs, you can put them right in the pot with no preparation).

Add the water, tomatoes, onions, dried parsley, beef bouillon, dried Italian seasoning,seasoned salt, Worcestershire sauce, celery salt, garlic powder, black pepper and bay leaves. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover the pot; reduce the heat so that the liquid simmers, and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the meat is very tender. If using short ribs, remove them from the pot and cut the meat from the bones, discard the bones and fat, and return the meat to the pot. Add the remaining vegetables and the macaroni and return the soup to a boil, stirring to distribute the ingredients. Reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes. Just before serving, season with salt and pepper and add fresh chopped parsley. To remove excess fat from the surface of the soup, swirl a lettuce leaf around the surface—it will pick up a lot of the fat.

*The chuck roast will yield more meat, but the bones from the short ribs give the soup an incredible flavor.
**I actually used left-over steak (yes, we had leftovers because we limited the boys to only 2 pieces) and equivalent amounts of the "Better than Boullion" paste, which I L.O.V.E.-love! I loved making this with potatoes, corn, and carrots, from the garden.  Instead of black-eyed peas, I used 1 cup of dried ABC soup from the cannery.  It was closer to a stew than a soup, so I had to add water near the end since it had cooked down. Also, who has fresh parsley leaves just laying around?  Not I.  That was definitely skipped.  But with homemade whole wheat french bread, this was a delicious Monday meal.  Mmmm!

Zucchini Ranch Meatloaf

adapted from Nashville Nosher on allrecipes.com

Ingredients
 1 lb ground turkey
1 lb ground beef
1 c shredded zucchini
1/2 c diced onions
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1 egg
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 c shredded cheddar cheese
1 c plain bread crumbs
1 (1 oz) package ranch dressing mix (I used 3 T)
1/4 c ketchup
1/4 c steak sauce

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
2. Mix the ground beef, ground turkey, zucchini, onions, green bell pepper, egg, Worcestershire sauce, Cheddar cheese, bread crumbs, and ranch dressing mix until well combined. Form the mixture into a loaf in the middle of the prepared baking dish.
3. Stir together the ketchup and steak sauce in a small bowl. Pour the sauce over the top of the meatloaf. Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, about 1 hour. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies

slightly adapted from Betty Crocker

Ingredients

Filling

4 oz cream cheese, softened (from 8 oz package)

1 egg 

               3 

tablespoons sugar

1/4

teaspoon vanilla

Brownies

1

box (1 lb 2.4 oz) Betty Crocker™ Original Supreme Premium brownie mix

Water, vegetable oil and egg called for on brownie mix box

1/3

cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

• 1Heat oven to 350ºF (325ºF for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom only of 9-inch square pan with shortening or cooking spray. In small bowl, beat filling ingredients with electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Set aside.
• 2Make brownie batter as directed on box. Spread 3/4 of brownie batter in pan. Spoon filling by tablespoonfuls evenly onto brownie batter. Spoon remaining brownie batter over filling. Cut through mixture with knife several times for marbled design. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.
• 3Bake 40 to 44 minutes or until toothpick inserted in brownie 1 inch from side of pan comes out almost clean. Cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours. For 16 brownies, cut into 4 rows by 4 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.

Peachy King recipes!

My husband can't resist the roadside fruit stands and he bought a half box of peaches.  Then within 5 days, my order of 2 boxes of peaches and 1 box of pears came in.  Eeek!  So I've been trying tons of new recipes and here are a few...
 From Sally's Baking Addiction.

Peach Streusel Muffins

This is my favorite peach muffin recipe! Buttery, tender, and moist, these peachy muffins are heavy on the crumb topping and sweet vanilla glaze.

yield: 12 STANDARD SIZE MUFFINS

 

prep time: 25 MINUTES

 

total time: 55 MINUTES

Ingredients:

CRUMB TOPPING

• 1/3 cup (67g) light or dark brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon (15g) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup (60g) unsalted butter, melted
• 2/3 cup (84g) all-purpose flour

MUFFINS

• 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup (100g) light or dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature preferred
• 1/2 cup (120g) yogurt*
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 and 3/4 cups (220g) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon allspice  **(I didn't have any so I omitted this and it was still delicious!)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 Tablespoons (45ml) milk (any kind)
• 1 and 1/2 cups peeled, chopped peaches (3 peaches)*

Best Peach Cobbler You've Ever Had

from rachelschultz.com

1 box yellow cake mix 
1/3 cup butter, softened
2  eggs, separated
30 ounces canned peaches, drained (or 4 fresh peaches, peeled and pitted--yeah, I did 8)
8 ounces cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Vanilla ice cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, butter, and 1 egg. Mix ingredients until crumbly. Separate 1/2 cup of crumble for topping. Spray a 9×13 glass dish with cooking spray. Press remaining crumble into base of dish. Bake for 10 minutes. While crust bakes, slice peaches into small, 1 inch pieces. Beat together cream cheese, sugar, 1 egg, and vanilla until creamy.

Layer peaches on top of baked crust. Spread cream cheese mixture on top of peaches.

Top with reserved crumbs and bake for 30 minutes. Allow to cool for 30 additional minutes and serve with vanilla ice cream.

Homemade Peach Frozen Yogurt

adapted from Mels Kitchen Cafe

INGREDIENTS

• 16 ounces frozen peaches (about 4 cups)
• 1/3 cup honey or agave nectar
• 3/4 cup plain greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

1. In the bowl of a 7- or 8 cup food processor (I used my ninja bowl), add the peaches, agave nectar or honey, yogurt and lemon juice.
2. Process until the frozen yogurt is smooth and thick, about 5-6 minutes.
3. Serve immediately if you don't mind really soft frozen yogurt, otherwise, scrape the mixture into a tupperware-type container and freeze for 20 minutes (or up to a month if well-covered).

Vanilla Pear Coffee Cake

We tried this on a Monday morning, and it was requested for Saturday AGAIN.
This recipe came from: One Hundred Dollars A Month and it's delicious.

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients {slightly adapted from Jane}

1/2 cup butter
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
3 cups canned pears, drained and chopped (used 2 cans)
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 tbsp. butter, room temperature or coconut oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper {or butter and flour your pan} and set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed to low, and add egg and vanilla. When combined, alternate adding reserved flour mixture and milk to the mixer, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Remove from mixer.  Gently fold in pears. Pour batter into prepared pan. To make streusel topping, mix cinnamon, salt, brown sugar and flour together; cut in butter using a pastry blender or fork until fine crumbs are formed. Using hands, squeeze together most of the mixture to form large clumps. Sprinkle topping generously over batter.

Bake for about 60 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool 10 minutes before removing sides of pan. Let cool 15 minutes before serving, but only if the hungry mouths can wait that long.  We couldn't and it was just fine. :) I also cooked it at 375 for about 45 minutes, so if you don't have a full hour, a few changes in temperature and time are fine.

Soft and Gooey S'mores Bars

recipe from Avery Cooks

These are good--even if overcooked a bit when someone can't hear the timer beep while the family is watching a show together. (Wink! Wink!)

SOFT AND GOOEY SMORES BARS

No campfire required for these gooey, rich bars that are loaded with texture and flavor. The combination of chocolate, graham crackers, and marshmallows, all suspended in a buttery, brown-sugar based dough, is just magical. They're ready from start to finish in 30 minutes and are fast and easy that you may never both with regular smores again.

Yield: one 9x13 pan, 18-24 generous squares

Prep Time: 8 minutes

Cook Time: about 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), melted
2 large eggs
1 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
10 full-size graham crackers, roughly chopped (about 4 cups)

2 heaping cups mini marshmallows
1 bag semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
2. In a large, microwave-safe bowl melt the butter, about 1 minute on high power.
3. Wait momentarily before adding the egg so you don't scramble it. Add the egg, brown sugar, vanilla, and whisk until smooth.
4. Add the flour and stir until just combined, don't overmix.
5. Add the graham crackers and any crumbs on cutting board, marshmallows, chocolate chips and fold to incorporate.
6. Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula.
7. Bake for about 20 to 22 minutes, or until bars have firmed up in the center and edges will be set. Some marshmallows may have developed a hint of golden color. Allow bars to cool in pan for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving. Bars will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.