Knock You Naked Brownies

**These were good, but they weren't what I was looking for so I probably won't make them again. Especially since I have a couple other recipes that I would like to try out. But since none of you are looking for something specific you may just love this recipe.**

Ingredients
■1 box (18.5 Ounce) German Chocolate Cake Mix (I Used Duncan Hines)
■1 cup Finely Chopped Pecans
■⅓ cups Evaporated Milk
■½ cups Evaporated Milk (additional)
■½ cups Butter, Melted
■60 whole Caramels, Unwrapped
■⅓ cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
■¼ cups Powdered Sugar
Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together cake mix, chopped pecans, 1/3 cup evaporated milk, and melted butter. Stir together until totally combined. Mixture will be very thick.

Press half the mixture into a well-greased 9 x 9 inch square baking pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and set aside.

In a double boiler (or a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of boiling water) melt caramels with additional 1/2 cup evaporated milk. When melted and combined, pour over brownie base. Sprinkle chocolate chips as evenly as you can over the caramel.

Turn out remaining brownie dough on work surface. Use your hands to press it into a large square a little smaller than the pan. Use a spatula to remove it from the surface, then set it on top of the caramel and chocolate chips.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from pan and allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for several hours. When ready to serve, generously sift powdered sugar over the surface of the brownies. Cut into either nine or twelve helpings, and carefully remove from the pan.

*Adapted from the standard/classic “Knock You Naked Brownies” recipe. These brownies don’t really knock you naked…but almost.

New York Cheesecake

Pretty tasty cheesecake. Good texture. Rich, but not too rich. Very flexible recipe. Next time I'll try an Oreo crust and strawberries on top. Yummm. Also might add more vanilla. Make sure it's not too close to the top of the oven or the rack above it, because it will puff up quite a bit. Ended up sinking in the middle when it cooled, but I had zero complaints.

Ingredients

2 cups finely crushed graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup melted butter

5 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened

1 3/4 cups sugar

2 tbsp flour

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

5 eggs

2 egg yolks

1/3 cup whipping cream

1 tsp finely shredded lemon zest (I used lemon juice cause it's what I had)


Directions

1) Combine cracker crumbs with melted butter until well combined.

2) Press the mixture into the bottom and 2 1/2 inches up the sides of a 9 x 3 inch springform pan.

3) In large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, flour, and vanilla. Beat til fluffy(ish).

4) Add eggs, and yolks, beating on low until just combined.

5) Stir in whipping cream and lemon peel.

6) Pour into the springform pan.

7) Place springform pan into shallow baking pan in the oven.

8) Bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours, or until center appears nearly set when shaken. (Mine was pretty wobbly when I took it out and it turned out just fine.)

9) Cool 15 mins, then release outer ring.

10) Cool completely, then chill 4- 24 hours. (Mine was still slightly warm when I put it in the fridge, and it didn't make a bit of difference.)

(My version of) Enchiladas

So, I doubt that these enchiladas are traditional by any means, but I think they are pretty dang tasty. As a matter of fact, I like them better than almost any restaurant enchiladas. The worcestershire sauce gives the filling a nice flavor. I like to either put a rump roast in the slow cooker, or if I'm short on time, get a whole roasted chicken from the grocery store. Either chicken or beef both work fine, but I have two enchilada rules I must put out there. Number one: tortillas must be corn. Seriously. Flour tortillas get soggy and gross. No one wants that. Number two: meat must be shredded. It's so worth it. Ground beef just doesn't hold a candle to a shredded roast. A little prior planning is so worth it. That is all. Now for the recipe.

Ingredients

2.5 (ish) lbs shredded chicken or beef

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 tsp fresh minced garlic

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (name brand tastes best)

8 oz can of tomato sauce

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp oregano

2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp black pepper

4 cups shredded cheese

enchilada sauce

black olives

12 (ish) corn tortillas

oil (optional)


1) Combine shredded meat, garlic, onion, and all seasonings including Worcestershire.

2) Heat tortillas, either in a frying pan with warm oil, or a microwave. Warm tortillas are much easier to roll without breaking.

3) Put some enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan and coat your first tortilla with it.

4) Put the shredded meat into the center of the tortilla, sprinkle with cheese, and roll into a tube. Position seam side down in pan.

5) Continue filling the tortillas, adding more enchilada sauce as needed and packing them fairly tightly together.

6) Cover with the remaining enchilada sauce, then cheese, and dot with olives as desired.

7) Bake at 350 degrees for around 25-30 mins.


P.S. -- The 30 mins is sufficient to cook the onion, as long as you don't have huge chunks. No worries about getting a mouth full of uncooked onion here. :-)

Granola Bars Galore

So I've decided that I want to make our own granola bars and I have to find the best recipes to have existed for them or at least ones we believe to be oh so yummy :) So far I have tried three, the first was alright, the second one better, but I preferred the third one. If you try them out let me know!

This one I got from our friend Sonja in Michigan. I lined my pan with wax paper (which worked awesomely!) and I pulled them out of the pan when they were cooled with it and used a pizza cutter to cut them into bars and it worked perfectly. With this recipe as well as the rest make sure you press it down nice and firm so it will all stick together and won't crumble.

4 tbsp butter

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ cup honey

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

2 cups oatmeal

1 cup rice krispies cereal

Optional items:

½ cup raisins, chocolate chips, or mini m&m’s

¼ cup pecans (or any other favorite nut)

¼ cup coconut

2 tbsp flax

2 tbsp almond butter ( in place of butter )

Combine butter, sugar and honey in a small sauce pan. Combine all other ingredients in a large bowl and mix. Heat the butter mixture until boiling. Boil for 2 minutes, then remove from heat and stir in vanilla and cinnamon. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix until evenly coated. If you are using chocolate chips, add them now and stir them in. That way they won’t melt.

Spray a bar pan and press the granola into the pan. Cool in the fridge for about 30 min. and then slice into bars. You can also press them into muffin pans. They make cute, individual servings this way.

This one is called the Easy Granola Bar and I got it Allrecipes.com which is a favorite site of mine. This really is super easy and for the extra 3 1/2 cups of stuff you can add whatever you please. In ours I used blueberries, chocolate, and almonds. I added wheat germ and flax seed to all three recipes as well to give it a bit more of a healthy kick to them. These ones were the hubby's favorite but it may have been because of the blueberries. With this recipe I lined the pan in parchment paper so I could just lift them out when they cooled completely and I also used the pizza cutter on them.

Ingredients

• 3 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, sweetened condensed milk, butter, coconut, almonds, chocolate chips and cranberries with your hands until well blended. Press flat into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, depending on how crunchy you want them. Lightly browned just around the edges will give you moist, chewy bars. Let cool for 5 minutes, cut into squares then let cool completely before serving.

These are the bars I liked. I think it was the peanut butter that made them taste so good to me. I used a reduced fat peanut butter, honey, added nuts (almonds and peanuts) and craisins to the mix. This recipe is called No-Bake Rice Krispies Peanut Butter Granola Bars and I this recipe is from food.com another good site with lots of different recipes. This recipe I again used waxed paper and the pizza cutter to cut out bars. With these as well as the other two recipes I wrapped each bar individually in case we wanted to toss them in a lunch pail, bag or purse if we happen to be on the go that day.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies (for a firmer bar increase up to 2 cups)
• 1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup dark corn syrup or 1/2 cup light corn syrup or 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat peanut butter (or can use regular peanut butter)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup dark raisin (or can use either 1/2 cup chopped nuts or 1/2 cup seeds or 1/2 cup coconut)
• 1/3 cup mini chocolate chip (to prevent melting refrigerate or freeze the chocolate chips before mixing in)

Directions:

Prep Time: 15 mins

Total Time: 22 mins

1. lightly grease 11 x 7-inch, can use a 13 x 9-inch baking dish but you will have a thinner bar.
2. In a large bowl combine Rice Krispies cereal, oats and raisins.
3. In a saucepan stir the corn syrup or honey and brown sugar until just at a boil.
4. Immediately remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter and vanilla until well combined.
5. Pour over the dry ingredients in the bowl; mix to combine.
6. Mix in mini chocolate chips (if using) work fast the mixture hardens quickly.
7. Transfer the mixture into prepared baking dish, then using slightly wet hands push evenly down into the pan.
8. While the mixture is still soft, for easier slicing take a sharp knife and slice into desired size bars.
9. Chill until firm.

White Chicken Enchiladas

So if you haven't seem a theme with the last few recipes I've posted I'm kind of obsessed with the great Pioneer Woman. She has some freaking amazing recipes (granted not all of them, but definitely quite a few!) and I just can't help myself I planned our last menu and grocery trip around her. This is definitely one of the recipes I'm glad I found! I've never really had a white sauce on my enchiladas. My mom usually made a red or green sauce and so does everyone else I know for that matter so I was so interested in trying these. I ended up making them for Cinco de Mayo and OMGoodness were they yummy! You seriously need to try these tonight if possible! they make a whole 9 x 13 pan and I had enough meat for about 14 tortillas so it can feed a few people we had them for dinner that night and then lunch the next day. Even Nathan LOVED these and he ate two alone in one sitting!

Ingredients

• 2-½ cups Cooked, Shredded Chicken
• 2 cups Reserved Broth From Chicken
• 3 Tablespoons Canola Oil
• 12 whole Corn Tortillas
• 1 whole Large Onion, Diced
• 3 whole 4 Oz Cans Whole Green Chilies, Diced
• 1 whole Jalapeno, Seeded And Finely Diced
• 1 teaspoon Paprika
• ½ cups Heavy Cream
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 2 Tablespoons Flour
• 1 cup Sour Cream
• 2-½ cups Monterey Jack Cheese, Grated
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• Picante Sauce (optional)
• Cilantro, Chopped

Preparation Instructions

Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Fry tortillas for no longer than 20 seconds, just to soften (do not allow to become crisp.) Place tortillas on a large towel or stack of paper towels to drain.
Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in separate skillet over medium heat. Add onions and jalapenos and saute for 1 minute, just to start the cooking process. Add chicken, half of the green chilies, and 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Stir together. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth and stir. Add cream and stir, allowing mixture to bubble and get hot. Turn off heat and set aside.
In a separate large skillet, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together and cook over medium heat for one minute. Pour in 1 1/2 cups chicken broth. Whisk together and cook for another minute or two. Stir in the other half of the chilies. Reduce heat, then stir in sour cream. Add 1 1/2 cups grated cheese and stir to melt. Add 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.
To assemble, spoon chicken mixture on top of tortillas, one by one. Top with plenty of cheese and roll up. Place seam side down in a 9 x 13 casserole dish.
Pour cheese mixture all over the top of the tortillas. Top with extra cheese if you’d like, then bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Sprinkle generously with chopped cilantro.
Serve with picante sauce, if desired.

Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork

This is yet another recipe from the famous Pioneer Woman. This is yummy. It is a smoky, spicy, just very slightly sweet in flavor and to be honest the hubby thought I was cooking red beans and rice when he walked in the door. And come to think of it the next day flavor was very similar which is odd. We made burritos, I followed the recipe and didn't change a thing. Although it was yummy I doubt I make it again but just had to share with all of you :)

Ingredients

• 1 whole Large Onion
• 1 whole Pork Shoulder ("pork Butt") - 5 To 7 Pounds
• Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 1 can (11 Ounce) Chipotle Peppers In Adobo Sauce
• 2 cans Dr. Pepper
• 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Peel the onion and cut it into wedges. Lay them in the bottom of a large dutch oven.
Generously salt and pepper the pork roast, then set it on top of the onions in the pan.
Pour the can of chipotle peppers over the pork (include the sauce.) Pour in both cans of Dr Pepper. Add brown sugar to the juice and stir in.
Place lid tightly on pot, then set pot in the oven. Cook for at least six hours, turning roast two or three times during the cooking process. Check meat after six hours; it should be absolutely falling apart (use two forks to test.) If it’s not falling apart, return to the oven for another hour.
Remove meat from pot and place on a cutting board or other work surface. Use two forks to shred meat, discarding large pieces of fat. Strain as much of the fat off the top of the cooking liquid as you can and discard it. Return the shredded meat to the cooking liquid, and keep warm until ready to serve. (You can also refrigerate the meat and liquid separately, then remove hardened fat once it’s cold. Then heat up the liquid on the stovetop and return the meat to the liquid to warm up.
Serve on warm flour tortillas. Top with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, grated cheese, avocado slices, salsa, and whatever else you’d like.