Peanut Butter Pie

This pie is Aaron's favorite (because peanut butter, of course). I started making it years ago when we were first married, and today I'm making it once again for his 42nd birthday!

Ingredients

1 10 inch prepared graham cracker crust

1/2 jar of hot fudge, heated slightly

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened

1 1/4 c powdered sugar

1 8 oz package cool whip, thawed (4 oz more to top, optional)

Chopped Reeses peanut butter cups, optional    

Directions

For the crust: Pour 1/2 jar hot fudge into prepared graham cracker crust, and spread around the bottom of the pie.

For the filling: Beat the peanut butter with the cream cheese until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add in the thawed whipped topping and beat until smooth, scraping the sides as needed.

Pour the filling into the crust, evening out the top with a knife or spatula. Chill for at least an hour before serving. Garnish top of pie with more Cool Whip and chopped Reeses, if desired.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

BBQ Chicken pizza is something that's been around a while, but I've never been a huge fan. But with Pizza Night once a week, we're always trying something different. This pizza was a big [surprise] hit for us. It was delicious!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Ingredients:

• 1 boneless and skinless Chicken Breast
• 1/3 cup BBQ Sauce
• Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• Rotisserie Chicken, meat pulled off
• ½ of a Red Onion, sliced thinly
• ¼ cup Cilantro leaves, chopped
• ¼ cup shredded Parmesan Cheese (Optional) 
• Pizza Crust (recipe below)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven according to pizza crust directions. 
2. Spread/squeeze BBQ sauce over pizza crust to taste. We opted for not a lot.
3. Cover pizza with cheese to your liking.
4. Add shredded rotisserie chicken, then onion slices over cheese.
5. Bake according to pizza crust instructions.
6. After pizza is baked, pull out and add cilantro and parmesan to taste.

Pizza Crust (makes 2)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups warm (105-115 degrees) water
• 1 tablespoon instant or active dry yeast (active will take longer to rise)\
• 1 tablespoon. sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
• Olive oil/nonstick cooking spray
• Garlic salt
• cornmeal

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer (preferred), stir in water, sugar and yeast. Let sit 5-10 minutes or until the yeast is foamy and dissolved. Add olive oil, salt, and 1 ½ cups flour and mix until combined with your hook attachment (or with a wooden spoon if not using a mixer). Gradually mix in 2 more cups of flour until dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. If your dough is too wet, add 1 more tablespoon of flour at a time (up to 1/4 cup) until dough barely sticks to your fingers. Once dough has pulled away from the bowl, knead in mixer on medium-low speed or by hand for 5 minutes.
2. Shape the dough into a ball and place back into your large mixing bowl that has been coated lightly with olive oil or nonstick cooking spray. Turn dough over to coat all sides. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled in size, 1-2 hours.
3. Guestimating 15 minutes before your dough is ready, preheat your pizza stone or baking sheet in middle rack of your oven for 30-60 minutes at 475 degrees F.
4. After dough has doubled, remove from bowl and knead a couple times. Divide dough into two equal balls and cover with a towel for 15 minutes. You can freeze one of the balls at this point if desired.*
5. Carefully remove your pizza stone/baking pan and GENEROUSLY grease the entire surface with olive oil or with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle with cornmeal.
6. After dough has been resting 15 minutes, roll each dough ball out onto a lightly floured surface or parchment paper into a 12-inch round circle. Transfer pizza dough to your baking sheet or pizza stone then pinch edges to create a rimmed crust (if you have trouble transferring, you can place your entire piece of parchment paper on your stone/baking sheet and bake directly on your parchment paper). Lightly brush the top of the crust with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt. Using a fork, prick several holes in the crust.
7. Bake for 12 minutes at 475F degrees with favorite toppings then broil for 2 minutes or until cheese is golden.

Teriyaki Tacos

It's Taco Night here at the Powers' house, and tonight we had Chicken Teriyaki Tacos inspired by this recipe from Carlsbad Cravings. Aaron says this is one of his favorite tacos that we've ever made.

• INGREDIENTS
• 
  
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 12 tortillas (we prefer HEB's Mixla tortillas)

1 Recipe Chicken Marinade

1/2 cup Bragg's Liquid Aminos (or low sodium soy sauce)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 T. rice vinegar

Splash of pineapple juice (optional)

1 Recipe Grilled Pineapple Pear Salsa

Pineapple Lime Crema

• 1 5.3 oz. pineapple yogurt
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1/2 tablespoon lime juice (or more to taste)

DIRECTIONS

1. Chicken Marinade: Mix ingredients for marinade. Pound chicken to an even thickness and poke several times on each side with a fork. Add chicken to a large freezer bag or shallow dish and add Teriyaki Marinade; toss to evenly coat chicken. Marinate 30 minutes at room temperature or up to overnight in the refrigerator.
2. Grilled Pineapple Pear Salsa: Meanwhile prepare Salsa according to directions. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use. (I did not have time to skewer and grill everything, so I diced up the pears, pineapple, onion, and bell pepper and sautéed it. Then I let it cool before adding cilantro, lime juice, and seasonings.)
3. Pineapple Lime Crema: Meanwhile, whisk all of the Pineapple Lime Crema ingredients together in a small bowl. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
4. Chicken Grilling Directions: If chicken has been refrigerated, let sit at room temperature for 15-30 minutes (time permitting). Meanwhile, grease and preheat grill to medium heat, 375-450°F.
5. Grill chicken undisturbed for for 6-7 minutes per side, or until chicken is cooked through. (An inserted thermometer should read 155 degrees F.) Remove chicken from grill and let rest 5 minutes before slicing into thin strips.
6. Chicken Stovetop Directions: If chicken has been refrigerated, let sit at room temperature for 15-30 minutes (time permitting).
7. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Once very hot, add chicken and cook, undisturbed for 3-5 minutes, or until nicely browned (or blackened if you prefer) on one side. Turn chicken over, cover, and reduce heat to medium. Cook for approximately 5-7 more minutes (depending on thickness of chicken), or until chicken is cooked through.
8. Remove chicken and let rest 5 minutes before slicing into thin strips.
9. Assemble!

Gyros

Once a week, we've been doing "Something New" night where we try a new recipe or food we've never made before. This week it was Gyros. We weren't quite sure what to expect, but they were great! We got the recipe from Alton Brown. We cut this recipe in half for the four of us.

Ingredients

1 medium onion, finely chopped or shredded
2 pounds ground lamb
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried marjoram
1 tablespoon dried ground rosemary
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Tzatziki Sauce, recipe follows
Tzatziki Sauce:
16 ounces plain yogurt
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
Pinch kosher salt
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
5 to 6 mint leaves, finely minced

Gyros

1. Process the onion in a food processor for 10 to 15 seconds and turn out into the center of a tea towel. Gather up the ends of the towel and squeeze until almost all of the juice is removed. Discard juice.
2. Return the onion to the food processor and add the lamb, garlic, marjoram, rosemary, salt, and pepper and process until it is a fine paste, approximately 1 minute. Stop the processor as needed to scrape down sides of bowl.
3. To cook in the oven as a meatloaf, proceed as follows:
4. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
5. Place the mixture into a loaf pan, making sure to press into the sides of the pan. Place the loaf pan into a water bath and bake for 60 to 75 minutes or until the mixture reaches 165 to 170 degrees F. Remove from the oven and drain off any fat. Place the loaf pan on a cooling rack and place a brick wrapped in aluminum foil directly on the surface of the meat and allow to sit for 15 to 20 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees F. Slice and serve on pita bread with tzatziki sauce, chopped onion, tomatoes and feta cheese.

Tzatziki Sauce:

1. Place the yogurt in a tea towel, gather up the edges, suspend over a bowl, and drain for 2 hours in the refrigerator.
2. Place the chopped cucumber in a tea towel and squeeze to remove the liquid; discard liquid. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the drained yogurt, cucumber, salt, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and mint. Serve as a sauce for gyros. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.

Burger Night [Caprese Burger]

Caprese Burger

• 1.25 lb. Ground Beef (feeds 4)
• Salt & Pepper
• Fresh mozzarella
• 2 tomatoes
• 12 Basil leaves
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Green Onions (optional)
• 4 Buns

Preheat grill. Slice tomatoes and marinate in balsamic vinegar. (This can be done a couple of hours ahead of time if you like.) Season ground beef with salt & pepper. Grill burgers until nearly done and then add sliced mozzarella on top. Toast buns and assemble burgers, adding tomatoes, basil leaves, green onions, and some extra balsamic (also a small amount of mayo is an option). Eat up!

Crock Pot Ribs

With baseball practice, church, and miscellaneous events, life is busy these days. So any time I can throw something in the crock pot and not have to worry about it too much is a win. I've made these ribs from Mmm... is for Mommy a couple times, and tonight I'm making them again. Aaron and the kids are big ribs fans, and they all loved these. They're easy, and they have a nice glaze/crust on the outside and they're fall-right-off-the-bone tender.

INGREDIENTS

• 1.5 tbsp sweet paprika
• 1 tbsp light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• S&P to taste (about 1 tsp each is what I used)
• 2 lbs pork baby back ribs (leave the membrane on the ribs to help hold them together)
• 1 cup barbecue sauce

DIRECTIONS

In a small bowl, mix together paprika, brown sugar, cayenne and S&P.  Rub this mixture all over both sides of your ribs well.  Arrange ribs in the slow cooker by standing them up against the wall of the stoneware pot, thicker side down and meaty side against the pot. Pour barbecue sauce over the ribs, cover and cook for 6-8 hours on low (I did 7 hours and they were perfect).

Once the initial slow cooking is done, very carefully (as they are tennnnderrrrr) remove the ribs to a baking pan which you have lined with foil and put a rack on, bone side up and set aside. Skim any fat that has risen to the top and strain all of the remaining juices from the slow cooker through a mesh strainer into a small saucepan. Bring to boil and allow to simmer and reduce by about a third, approximately 15 minutes.  Put your oven’s broiler on to preheat and make sure that there is an oven rack about 10 inches below the broiler element.  Once the broiler is preheated, brush the ribs with sauce and broil for 3 or 4 minutes. Take them out and very carefully flip them over, brush with sauce and broil again, meat side up, for approximately 9 minutes, taking them out once or twice to baste with more sauce. Serve any remaining sauce on the side with the ribs.

Salsa Verde Burgers

In our house, Aaron is the king of burgers. He makes such amazing hamburgers. He makes all kinds, and they are all delicious. So you can imagine the anxiety I felt when I had planned on burgers for dinner one night, and then he didn't have enough time to grill them for me. I pulled up a recipe that I'd pinned on Pinterest from SkinnyTaste, and decided to make burgers myself. I was terrified.

I was completely shocked and flattered, however, when Aaron raved and asked if I would make more, and said it was one of his favorite burgers he'd ever had. What?! This man takes his burgers very seriously, so it was a huge honor coming from his mouth.

And now, for the recipe!

Salsa Verde Burgers 
Skinnytaste.com

Ingredients:

• cooking spray
• pinch kosher salt and pepper, to taste
• 4 (93% lean) beef patties, 4.75 oz each
• 1/2 cup salsa verde, homemade or store bought
• 4 slices Sargento reduced fat pepper jack cheese
• 4 (100 calorie) whole wheat potato buns
• 1/4 cup shredded red cabbage (or lettuce)
• 4 ounces sliced avocado (from 1 medium haas)

Directions: 

Heat a skillet or grill over high heat. When hot, spray with oil and add the patties. Season with salt and pepper and cook a few minutes on each side, to your desired liking. Add the cheese and cover; cook to melt, about 30 seconds.

Servings: 4 • Size: 1 burger with the works • Old Points: 8 • Weight Watcher Points+: 10 pt
Calories: 407 • Fat: 17.5 g • Carb: 25 g • Fiber: 8 g • Protein: 42 g • Sugar: 7 g
Sodium: 445 mg  • Cholest: 87 mg