Category Archives: recipes

S’more Bars

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I made these bars a few weeks ago when we were going to the Kilmartin’s to watch the Bears game.  I’d originally planned to make cookies but there were three king size Hershey Bars sitting on our counter that one of our neighbors gave the kids for Halloween. I’ve religiously pinned every s’mores recipe that comes across my feed on Pinterest so I knew there would be a recipe there that would satisfy my love of s’mores and use the Hershey bars in one fell swoop.

I used this recipe from Sugar Cooking as the base recipe for my s’more bars with a few minor adjustments.  My bars are extra marshmallowy and gooey due to extra marshmallow fluff and they definitely aren’t as beautiful as hers!

I really enjoyed these bars but I miss the roasted flavor of the marshmallow.  I’m one of those people who likes their marshmallows blackened, so obviously these s’mores didn’t provide the cancer-causing carcinogens I was craving from blacked sugar molecules.  However, the gooey factor is definitely there — and they are definitely ooey and messy.  Yum!

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S'more Bars
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Serves: 9
 
Ingredients
  • ½ cup butter, room temperature
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 2 king-sized milk chocolate bars
  • 2 (8 oz) containers marshmallow fluff
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with PAM. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix until well combined.
  2. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place chocolate bars over dough. Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff. Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff.
  3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned.

 

BLT Guacamole

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Within the last year, Mike has discovered the beauty of guacamole.  Before, he wouldn’t touch the stuff, now he can’t seem to get enough.  During his Monday cooking spree last week, he attempted a version of Rick Bayless’ guacamole from the “Fiesta at Rick’s” cookbook.

Mike and I are huge Top Chef fans (we’ll be cruising with Top Chef stars in April!) and discovered Rick Bayless when he was on Top Chef Masters.  When we went to Chicago a few weeks before my 30th birthday we ate at Frontera Grill and I received Rick’s cookbook from Mike for my birthday.  It’s one of those books we’ve looked at longingly for awhile but now we’re finally venturing to try some of the recipes.  Especially since we both seem to want to eat Mexican food every day!

This guacamole is delicious.  It’s spicy with a bit of kick without being overpowering and the bacon adds a smokey goodness that elevates guacamole to a whole new level.  This recipe is a keeper — and one we’ll be making again and again!

We did have to venture to the Mexican market for the chipotle chiles en adobo, which are essential for this recipe.  For those of you that are even more rural than we are, I did find them on Amazon.  One can would make several batches of guac.

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BLT Guacamole
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Serves: 6
 
Ingredients
  • 5 strips thick cut bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled
  • 3 large, ripe avocados
  • ½ medium white onion, finely chopped
  • 2 or 3 canned chipotle chiles en adobo, removed from canning sauce, stemmed, slit open, seeds removed and finely chopped
  • 1 large tomatoes cored and finely chopped
  • ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • salt
  • 1 to 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
Instructions
  1. Scoop the flesh from the avocados into a large bowl. Using a potato masher or large fork, mash the avocados. Add the onion, chiles, tomatoes, cilantro, and about ⅔ of the bacon. Gently stir to combine. Taste and season with salt and lime juice.
  2. Use plastic wrap to cover the surface of the guacamole until ready to serve. Sprinkle with remaining bacon and a bit of cilantro and enjoy!

 

Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars

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Mike made these phenomenal bars on Monday evening.  He was off work on Monday to celebrate Veteran’s Day but our kiddos still had school so while I was working on Monday morning he sprawled out on the bed in my office/guest room and flipped through Rick Bayless’s “Fiesta at Rick’s” cookbook while making a grocery list for us to tackle.  One of his finds was these little gems.

We had to make a few modifications to Rick’s recipe (we couldn’t find Mexican chocolate here in the rural Midwest — surprise surprise) but overall the recipe is the same as the one found in the cookbook.

Words can’t express how good these are.  They’ve been my biggest diet weakness this week.  On Tuesday morning, I met some friends for a 5:30 am workout and then came home and blew it all by eating one of these bars for breakfast with a cup of coffee.  Unfortunately, that seems to be how I roll.

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Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars
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Serves: 18
 
Ingredients
  • 2 cups pecan halves
  • 9 oz. bag pretzel rods
  • 4 sticks unsalted butter
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into pieces not larger than ¼ inch
  • 4 ounces finely chopped semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 3 Tbsp flour
  • 6 large eggs
  • 1½ cups dark brown sugar
  • 1½ cups dark corn syrup
  • 1 Tbsp good quality vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325. Toast the pecans on a rimmed baking sheet until noticeably darker and toasty smelling - about 10 minutes. Let the pecans cool, then coarsely chop into ¼ to ½ inch pieces. Scrape into a large bowl.
  2. Meanwhile, chop the pretzels into fine crumbs. In a saucepan melt 2 sticks of butter. Add butter to the food process along with the ½ cup of sugar. Pulse until everything is combined.
  3. Butter the bottoms and sides of two 8x8 inch baking pans. Cut a piece of parchment to fit the bottom of each pan. Butter the parchment. Divide the crumb mixture between the pans and pat into an even layer.
  4. To the pecans, add the two chocolates and the flour. Stir to combine and divide between the two pans. In a small saucepan, melt the remaining 2 sticks of butter. Using a mixer, combine the eggs, brown sugar, corn syrup, and vanilla and beat. Slowly add the melted butter, mixing until the batter looks smooth. Divide the batter between the two pans, pouring it evenly over the chocolate and pecans.
  5. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes until the center is almost firm. Let cool to room temperature and refrigerate for easy cutting. Use a knife to loosen the sides, then turn out. Cut into 2-inch squares.

 

These would be an outstanding alternative to traditional pecan pie for your upcoming Thanksgiving meal or for your holiday baking. Amazingly good!

Italian Herb Bread

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If you don’t have a bread machine but love fresh bread, you need to add one to your Christmas Wishlist.  Yes, it takes up a lot of room on my counter, but the smell of fresh baked bread with relatively little effort is completely worth it!

I received my bread machine for my birthday two years ago. At the time, I was still nursing my twin girls and didn’t have to worry about calorie or carb counting.  Now, I have to be a bit more aware of how much of this delicious bread I consume, but it’s still a staple recipe in our house.  I’ve made it dozens of times and it’s perfect to take with dinner to a friend post-surgery or to serve with spaghetti or lasagna on a chilly fall night.  Best of all, it’s quick and easy and requires relatively little prep, which is why it’s one of our favorites.

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Italian Herb Bread
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Serves: 8
 
Ingredients
  • 1¼ cups warm water
  • 2½ Tbsp. oil
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • 4 cups bread flour
  • 2 Tbsp. dried Italian Seasoning
  • 2¼ tsp. yeast or 1½ tsp quick rise yeast
Instructions
  1. Pour all ingredients in machine in the order listed above. Set to the basic setting for a large loaf. We prefer light crust. Bread machines make this recipe extremely easy!

This recipe receives Five Wooden Spoons from my family as they all love it. Especially slathered with butter.

Pancake Squares

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One of our new favorite breakfasts are these quick and easy pancake squares.  I originally found the idea on Pinterest and used the recipe from Big Red Kitchen.  After making them once, I quickly realized that I needed to make more to feed my growing kiddos (and if I wanted one for myself!) and adjusted the recipe with a few tweaks as well. Often, on school days, Bo would request pancakes and I’d try to steer him to something slightly less labor intensive.  It isn’t that making traditional pancakes is difficult – it isn’t – but it can be time consuming when trying to wrangle three kiddos out the door for school fully dressed and with well-packed lunches.  These square pancakes are the perfect compromise — all of the pancake flavor without having to spend 20 minutes at the stove.  I just mix up the ingredients, pour it in the pan, and while it bakes I can make the other breakfast components, finish packing lunches, and lay out their clothes for the day. Honestly, I think the taste of these pancakes is probably better than traditional pancakes.  They are fluffy and more cake-like — but with a pat of butter and warmed maple syrup, they are divine.  Bo agrees.  When I made them last week he ate four squares — and still wanted more!

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Pancake Squares
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Serves: 6
 
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups skim milk
  • 4 Tbsp melted butter
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 Tbsp honey
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 4 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl combine the milk, butter, eggs, honey, and vanilla. Mix well. Add salt and baking powder. Stir in flour until combined. Do not over stir. Spray 9 x 13 inch dish with baking PAM and then pour in the batter. Bake for 22-25 minutes. Cut into squares and serve with butter and syrup.

Updated to add – try these sprinkled with mini-chocolate chips before baking. Delish!

Crockpot Chicken Stock

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I’ve spent the afternoon making dinner to take to one of my friends who just had her fourth child.  The primary ingredient in many of the dishes that I made (and will hopefully be sharing with you soon) is this amazingly easy, cheap, and delicious crockpot chicken stock.

Mike and I just discovered the wonders of making our own chicken stock about a year ago.  We make large batches and freeze it so we always have homemade chicken stock on hand.  I think the flavor is much deeper than the canned broth — plus it’s significantly cheaper too.  Especially for days like today when I need mass quantities!  Today I used over 10 cups of chicken stock!

The main ingredient in our stock is the carcass of a rotisserie chicken.  Every couple of weeks Mike will pick one up on his way home from work for an easy dinner.  The kids love it plain and we enjoy making wraps with the shredded meat.  Once we’ve picked it clean (or as clean as we want — we aren’t big fans of the dark meat) I throw it in the crockpot with ingredients that we always seem to have on hand and let it simmer away for a day or so before straining and freezing.  Homemade chicken stock is the base for many of my recipes.

5.0 from 1 reviews
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Crockpot Chicken Stock
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Serves: 8
 
Ingredients
  • Rotisserie Chicken Carcass
  • 2-3 stalks celery, chopped
  • ½ onion, chopped
  • 8-10 baby carrots, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp minced garlic
  • 2 Tbsp. parsley, dried or fresh
  • 2 cubes chicken bouillon
  • 8-10 cups water
Instructions
  1. In a large crockpot, drizzle the oil and add the chopped celery, onion, carrots, and garlic. Let simmer a bit until the veggies are warm and then add the chicken carcass, water, and parsley. Simmer on low for 10-12 hours. Strain. Stock can be used immediately or frozen.

 

Chocolate Pudding

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I’ll admit to loving the Jell-O boxed pudding. Pudding pies and pudding cups made from the Cook-n-Serve Jell-O boxes was a staple in my mom’s dessert repertoire.  However, my chocolate pudding of choice as a child was my typical breakfast when accompanying my grandpa to the local coffeeshop – a huge slice of homemade chocolate pie.  Usually he let me order a Sprite with it as well.  When I’m missing Grandpa and desire the creamy comfort of pudding, these days I generally choose to forgo the box and make the homemade version.  It reminds me of that coffeeshop pie – especially when I add whipped cream on top.

This rich and creamy version has the smooth texture of Jell-O with significantly more flavor.  While it still has plenty of sugar, the milk and eggs make this pudding protein rich and significantly less chemically than it’s Cook-n-Serve counterpart.   And truly, it’s just as quick and easy.

Bo’s not a pudding fan (neither is Mike — I find them both strange) but the girls and I enjoy the creamy goodness of this chocolate pudding — sometimes even while it’s still warm.  Anna and I made this together and she eagerly helped me lick the saucepan.  Waiting for it to cool thoroughly is the most difficult aspect of this recipe!

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Chocolate Pudding
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Recipe type: Dessert
Prep time: 
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Total time: 
Serves: 6
 
Ingredients
  • ⅔ cup sugar
  • 3 Tbsp Cornstarch
  • 3 cups whole milk
  • yolks of 5 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 4 oz semisweet chocolate baking bar
Instructions
  1. Whisk sugar, cornstarch, milk and yolks in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla and chocolate. Stir until well combined. The filling can also be used as a pie filling.
  2. The leftover egg whites are great to use for Angel Food Cake.

***I often substitute skim milk for the whole milk because it’s what we have on hand. The picture above used skim milk and it’s still amazingly rich, creamy, and tasty!***

Buffalo Chicken Dip

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One of the current staples in our diet right now is this tangy Buffalo Chicken Dip.  I originally made it a little over three years ago after it was suggested to me as a use for shredded chicken on Facebook.  At the time, Mike wasn’t a fan.  He thought it was too spicy, so I didn’t make it again.

However, my friend Laura had the dip at her house several months ago when we were over for one of our dinner gatherings and Mike chowed down on the stuff.  I took that as my sign to make it again.  Apparently he only likes new foods if I am not the one to make them…  But that’s an entirely different issue.

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Buffalo Chicken Dip
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Recipe type: Dip
Cuisine: American
Prep time: 
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Serves: 4-5
 
Ingredients
  • 1 lb. shredded chicken
  • ¾ cup Buffalo sauce (I use Frank's Red Hot)
  • ½ cup Ranch dressing
  • 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
Instructions
  1. I pre-shred several pounds of chicken at one time by cooking a 5 lb. bag in a large crockpot and then giving it a spin in my Kitchen-Aide. I freeze in ½ pound baggies and just pull two out when I want to make this dip.
  2. In a small crockpot, place the chicken (if still frozen, let it thaw in the crockpot for a little while first before adding the other ingredients), Buffalo sauce, dressing, cheese, and cream cheese. Stir occasionally until heated through and well combined. Serve with chips and celery sticks.

Since then, I’ve made this dip at least once a month.  It’s great for lunch, delicious as a pre-dinner snack while the kiddos are eating their dinner (Mike and I usually eat after they are in bed), and best with lots of chips while watching Bears football.  This past Sunday, we watched football at the Kilmartin’s and enjoyed a variety of Buffalo Chicken dip inspired goodies.  My girls donned their new Bears attire, which proved to be good luck for da Bears as well!

Caramel Brownies

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These brownies are to die for  — ooey, gooey, and delicious!  These have become my go-to recipe when we are invited to a friend’s house for dinner.  They are always a hit — with kids and adults alike – and seem fancy but the recipe is actually very simple.

Tonight, we’re going to our friends, the Cetwinskis.  I hope that Jen doesn’t mind that I mangled the pan of brownies before bringing it over so I could take a picture of one.  And I did actually eat that bite that’s on the fork.  The caramel was still warm and extra mmm!

This recipe originated from Mike’s Aunt Cindy.  She made these for a family get together several years ago and they’ve been one of our favorites ever since!

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Caramel Brownies
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Recipe type: Dessert
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Total time: 
Serves: 12
 
Ingredients
  • 1 package German Chocolate Cake Mix
  • 1 12 oz. Bag of Semi-Sweet Morsels
  • 1 stick butter
  • ⅔ cup evaporated milk
  • 1 bag caramels
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter. Blend dry cake mix, butter and ⅓ cup of evaporated milk in a medium size bowl with a spatula. Take ¾ of the batter and press into a 9 ½ by 13 pan sprayed with Pam or greased. Bake 6 minutes. While baking, melt the caramels and the other ⅓ cup evaporated milk. When done baking, sprinkle morsels on top, then pour caramel mixture over the top. Drop bits of remaining batter on top of the caramel. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes. Devour! Great with vanilla ice cream.

 

Fresh Strawberry Pie

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Anna swollen eye strawberry patchAnna eye swollen strawberry Bo strawberries Clara picking

There is never a dull moment here at Casa de Weitl and our Memorial Day weekend has been no exception.  I left as the sun was rising on Saturday morning to pick up my mom and bring her to our house for a few days.  We stopped briefly in Tuscola and still made it back here before 1:30.  Seven hours of driving is a long haul – and lucky me, I get to do it again on Thursday!

We arrived to find Mike and the trio putting together the new twin beds for Anna and Clara’s room which turned out very cute.  Now we just have to finalize the rest of their room decor!  By the time the beds were put together, it was nearly dinner time, so we all headed to Delaney’s for a quick dinner.

Bo’s ear was swollen to five times it’s normal size on Saturday and not long after, Anna’s eye started swelling and was completely swollen shut by the time she woke up on Sunday (look closely at the photos above… and this is after two days of medication!).  I tried to take them to the Y care clinic but they wouldn’t see them since it was Anna’s eye.  We know that it was caused by some type of bite, but we aren’t 100% sure what kind.  We thought it was mosquitoes at first, but now we are leaning towards a possible spider bite?  Anyway –  Bo, Anna, and I spent Sunday morning at the ER and came away with three prescriptions for each of them and orders to liberally apply bug spray and limit sun exposure as much as possible.  Fun.  Clara stayed home with Grammie while Daddy worked in the yard during this debacle.

On Sunday evening, we enjoyed our typical pizza and movie routine with the kiddos watching Winnie the Pooh and the grown-ups watching I Don’t Know How She Does It after the trio was in bed.  The movies were fine, and our movie made me laugh several times, but there really wasn’t a lot of plot to it.  Sometimes that’s a good thing though…

Monday morning, we headed to a local strawberry patch to pick strawberries.  Unfortunately, by the time we arrived at 9:15, nearly all of the strawberries had been picked over.  We managed to pick about a quart of pinkie sized berries.  Just enough for strawberry pie!  That was probably long enough to have Bo and Anna in the sun anyway – but I had big plans for lots of strawberries.  Needless to say, we had to supplement with some store-bought berries for a few other recipes I’m planning this week.

Path to patch strawberry patchSlim pickins

In the midst of all of our normal routines, we are also in the process of potty-training the girls.  We’re one week in of constant, vigilant effort (we’d tried for a couple of hours before without much luck – this time I was serious about it!) and it’s going very well.  Anna’s only had one accident each of the last two days and Clara hasn’t had any since Saturday morning.  I probably just jinxed it – not to mention the eww factor of talking about potty training in a recipe post – but meh.  Such is my life.

Bo pie 2Strawberry pie Bo handBo pie

After lunch today (we had these baked Monte Cristos with raspberry jam – which I highly recommend) Bo and I made strawberry pie.  Bo was a big helper and mashed the strawberries for the sauce and arranged the whole strawberries in the pie.  Such tiny little strawberries!  We’ll be grilling out this evening and topping off our dinner with a slice of fresh strawberry pie.  Happy Memorial Day!

Strawberry pie 1

 

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Fresh Strawberry Pie
 
Ingredients
  • pie crust, baked
  • 1 quart of fresh strawberries
  • 1 cup sugar
  • ¾ cup water
  • ¼ cup strawberry Jell-O powder
  • 3 Tbsp cornstarch
Instructions
  1. Cut the stems off the strawberries and wash thoroughly. Mash about half of the strawberries and pour into a saucepan. Add sugar, water, Jell-O, and cornstarch. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly until boiling. Let boil for one minute and then remove from heat and allow to cool. Meanwhile, arrange the remaining strawberries in the pie crust. Once the sauce is cool to the touch, pour over the berries and refrigerate for several hours. Serve with whipped topping. Yum!

 

Each Monday, I’ll showcase a family and kid-friendly recipe to share with your family. Please let me know if you try one of my recipes! Enjoy!