Peanut Butter Crunch Cake

Winter has hit Kansas with a blast this weekend. Cold weather and snow make staying inside and baking the best activities. Even the Rancher who has to go out to check new baby calves doesn't mind the weather so much when the house smells warm and sweet with fresh baked goodies. 

A great snack cake or light dessert

Peanut Butter is favorite flavor at our house, good in many recipes or just on a cracker for a snack. We even enjoy the standard PBJ sandwiches on some days. Peanut butter was first patented as a process for making the creamy paste in 1884, developed as a health food for those who had dental problems and couldn't chew solid food well. Today's PB has made many changes from the paste made of boiled peanuts in those days. Did you know it was called "monkey butter" in WWII? Or that it is called pindakaas (peanut cheese) in the Netherlands because only products that contain butter can use that name? 

This recipe starts with a cake mix, so it's preparation is quick and easy. The original recipe calls for chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. Next time I make it I will use 1 cup peanut butter chips and omit the chocolate chips. I only had mini-chocolate chips and they didn't seem to add that much flavor (and looked like bits of something that shouldn't be there!)

Peanut Butter Crunch Cake

Ingredients:

1 yellow cake mix

1 cup peanut butter

½ cup brown sugar

1 cup water

3 eggs

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 cup peanut butter chips

½ cup chopped peanuts

Ready to go into the oven

Directions: 

Combine the cake mix, peanut butter, and brown sugar. Mix on low speed of electric mixer until crumbly. Set aside ½ cup of mixture. 

Add eggs, water, and oil to original mixture and mix on low speed until moistened. Mix on high speed for 2 minutes. Stir in ½ cup pb chips.

Pour mixture into greased 9 x 13 cake pan. Mix peanuts and ½ cup pb chips with reserved crumb mixture and sprinkle over top of batter. 

Bake for 40-45 minutes at 350 degrees. 

With the glaze (It was impossible to get a pic
before it was half gone!)

After I served the first servings, I thought it needed a glaze. 

For glaze combine: ⅓ cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon peanut butter, milk or half/half cream to make a thick glaze. Drizzle over cake top, if desired spread lightly with a knife. 

Hamburger Casserole

The recipe is called Harvest Hamburger Casserole, but its a long time until harvest and this hardy dish was warm and comforting on a winter day. I like casserole recipes for their convenience. Once you get the dish prepared you have meat, pasta or potatoes, and veggies all in one entree. Most recipes are a large enough quantity to last 2 - 3 meals at our house, so fewer times to cook!
Of course, I changed this from the original Taste of Home recipe which called for frozen corn and frozen lima beans - I used frozen mixed vegetables (what I had in the freezer).

Winter (or Harvest) Hamburger Casserole

Ingredients:

1 ½ pound lean ground beef

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups sliced peeled potatoes

⅓ cup all-purpose flour

3 - 3½ cups frozen vegetables

1 medium green pepper, julienned

1 ½ cups (6 oz) shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in onion, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce and salt. Transfer to a greased 3-qt. baking dish. 

Layer with potatoes, flour, vegetables and green pepper. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until bubbly. 

Bacon-Cheeseburger Chowder for Comfort Food

It always seems like February is the longest month! I'm tired of Winter, and we haven't had the bad, bad weather that so many are  having. Glad I don't live in the New England area. But this time of year  a good soup that is comforting and warm is always welcome.
This recipe is hardy, but not hard to put together. It combines many favorite flavors - beef, veggies, cheese.

Bacon-Cheeseburger Chowder

1 pound ground beef (or more)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 ½ cups milk

1 pound potatoes (about 2 -3 medium), peeled and chopped

1 ½ cups water

1 tablespoon reduced-sodium beef bouillon granules

12 oz process cheese (Velveeta), cubed (about 2 ¼ cups)

3 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

Directions:

In a 6-qt stockpot, cook beef, onion and pepper over medium heat for 6 - 8 minutes or until beef is no longer pink and onion is tender, breaking into crumbles; drain. Add garlic to beef mixture; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in flour  until blended. 

Gradually stir in milk. Add potatoes, water and bouillon; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. 

Add cheese; stir until melted. Sprinkle servings with bacon. 

Serves 6 - 8. 

Cherries for Presidents' Day

George Washington may or may not have chopped down a cherry tree when he was a child. We are now learning that the story we were told as young students to illustrate the importance of telling the truth ("I can not tell a lie, I chopped down the cherry tree"), may itself not be the truth!
But regardless, we have come to associate the First President with cherries. So it is appropriate to have a cherry dessert on Presidents' Day today.
This recipe I found on a friend's website -http://www.gloriagoodtaste.com. I met Gloria when assisting her during the National Festival of Breads contest in 2013. (I hope she makes the finalists selection again this year!). I was delighted to find a recipe different from what I usually do that I actually had the ingredients for and it is easy to prepare! Its a bonus to be a festive dessert without a lot of calories!

FROSTY CHERRY CHOCOLATE JUBILEE            

Frosty Cherry Layer
8 ounces frozen dark sweet seeded cherries
¼ cup Greek vanilla yogurt
1 Tablespoon Agave Nectar

Creamy Chocolate Layer
2 ounces dark chocolate chips
6 Tablespoons Greek vanilla yogurt, divided
1 to 2 Tablespoons toasted sliced almonds
2 frozen cherries, defrosted

Put cherries, ¼ cup yogurt, and Agave Nectar (see blog of August 24, 2014 for information and another recipe about Agave) in food processor; process until pureed.

Spoon in freezer safe container; place in freezer until chilled and ready to use. Stir once if storing for several hours. Do not scoop until ready to use.
Place chocolate chips in microwave safe cup; cook on high power 1 minute or until chocolate melts. Stir until smooth.
In a small bowl, combine ¼ cup vanilla yogurt with melted chocolate until pudding consistency. Spoon half of the chocolate mixture into each fancy 1 cup serving glass.

For serving: With an ice cream scooper, place scoops of frosty cherries on top of the chocolate layer. Garnish the top of each with about 1 Tablespoon vanilla yogurt. Sprinkle with sliced almonds. Garnish each with 1 dark sweet cherry (and mint leaves - that I didn't have!).

The recipe is to serve 2, but I made 3 servings of it as Daughter was here for lunch. There is still enough cherry/yogurt mixture to make a couple of small desserts tomorrow with more chocolate layer.

Gloria suggests this for a gourmet dinner for someone special, it would have been a good Valentine's Day dessert but made a soup lunch special too. The ingredients are all 'should eat' foods. Thanks for sharing, Gloria!