Magic Cookie Bars

Originally called the unimaginative "Oatmeal Chocolate Bars," these have been renamed by Mr. Brady, who says that these bar cookies will be the death of him--they're that good. I think we almost unanimously prefer less of the chocolate mixture, so really, we should double the cookie mixture (keeping the chocolate the same) and use two cookie sheets. Also, as good as they are right out of the oven (vanilla ice cream on top????), they are best when completely cool.

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a cookie sheet with Pam.

1 cup shortening (I mess around with this, sometimes using less than 1 cup butter or "I Can't Believe..." but have always found shortening does make the best consistency bar)
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups flour (I sometimes do some whole wheat for more umph)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. soda
2 1/2 cup oats

Combine shortening and eggs and sugars. Mix dry ingredients separately and then combine. Yada yada. Spread evenly on cookie sheet, leaving out about 1 cup to sprinkle/drop on top.

Melt in a saucepan:
12 oz. chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 TB butter
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla (add after everything is smooth)

Spread chocolate topping over bars. Bake at 350 for 20 min.

Macaroni and Cheese

My kids call this "the white kind" and don't even like the boxed kind anymore. (I used whole wheat flour in this batch.)



Cook according to package:
2 cups uncooked elbow noodles

Melt 1/4 cup butter in a 3 qt. saucepan. Add and whisk:
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp ground mustard
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

When bubbly and mixed, add:
2 cups milk

When hot but not to boiling, take off heat and add:
2 cups grated Cheddar cheese

Combine hot (drained) cooked noodles with cheese sauce. The original recipe says to bake after this at 350, but my kids like it better not baked.

Mummy Dogs

I used this roll recipe, sliced the hot dogs in half lengthwise (better hot dog to bread ratio in my opinion), rolled out the dough after the first rise, and used a pizza cutter to slice the mummy wrappings on either side of the hot dog before wrapping it up (sorry no picture of that). Baked them at 350 for about 16 min. Mustard eyes. I like to mix ketchup with mustard for a dipping sauce.

White Chocolate Caramel Pears

My friend Bookette makes yummy white chocolate caramel pears and apples. I say skip the apples and just make the pears. I'm not even a fan of white chocolate, but these are so good. Here's her recipe.

Pumpkin Bread

This is one of my earliest experiences of asking people for recipes. My mom's visiting teacher made this yummy bread for her when I was a teenager.

1 1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 2/3 cup flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves (I like less)

Mix well:
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 cup pumpkin

Combine 2 mixtures. Place in greased loaf pan. Bake 1 1/2 hours at 325 degrees. (3 mini-loaves take about 35-40 min).

I'm coming to grips with the idea that my oven might be a little off. I always have to take things out sooner than recipes say to. I need to test this bread after 75 min. in my oven.

Tin Foil Dinner Simplified

I want to add more photos to my recipes, but I'm not a photographer by any means and I'm not sure these pictures even look appetizing (especially since we were in the middle of eating it when I thought to take the picture :). But even Lincoln liked this very simple dish, so it's a keeper for us. I like it better than hamburgers and French fries (same ingredients, basically).

Simply chop up carrots, onions and potatoes and spread raw lean ground beef over the top (about 3 handfuls for a 13x9 dish). Salt and pepper the whole thing (adding any other seasonings you want--even an onion soup packet?), cover with foil and cook at 375 for an hour or less (until veggies are desired tenderness). Serve with ketchup.


(I mixed my diced onions with the raw meat and also added a touch of beef broth to the meat mixture in this photo. The result had more liquid than needed, so I don't think any extra liquid is required.)

Mom's Grilled Chicken Marinade

Nothing says a summer bbq feast better than this chicken with mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, salad and watermelon (oh, and maybe strawberry shortcake for dessert).

I often only need half this amount:
12 oz. water
3 TB lemon juice
3 TB brown sugar
1 tsp. garlic
1 cup oil
1 cup soy sauce