No Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Oatmeal Bars

I don't know what my hankering for peanut butter and chocolate is all about lately, but I have to make half recipes so I don't keep a crazy amount of sweets around waiting to be eaten. I found this recipe on Joy Food Sunshine, and it's amazing! It has all the flavors of a classic no bake cookie. It's dense, rich, and perfect with a cup of coffee. This half recipe makes 8 hearty bars.

No Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Oatmeal Bars

Oat Layer:

85 grams butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

Chocolate Layer:

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter (natural unsweetened works great)

In a medium saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar, and salt over low heat. Once the butter is melted, stir to make sure the sugar dissolves. Allow this to bubble for about 30 seconds before you add the vanilla and oats. Stir to combine and allow to cook for about 2 minutes on low heat.

Using a double boiler or microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips and peanut butter together.

Prepare a loaf pan by lining it with parchment or foil. Add half of the cooked oat mixture into the bottom of the pan. Press it down firmly to create a bottom crust. Pour the melted chocolate/peanut butter mixture over the oat layer. Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture over the top and gently press it down into the chocolate.

Chill the bars for about 2 hours in the fridge. Take them out for about 10 minutes before you cut them apart into 8 squares.

Note: Truth be told, I took the super easy route and used leftover frosting from the Peanut Butter Sheet Cake combined with unsweetened peanut butter to make the chocolate layer--because you can't waste chocolate! It tasted awesome!

One Pot Goulash

I love dishes that can be prepared in one pot. This one comes together really easily and tastes great!

Easy One Pot Goulash

One Pot Goulash

500 g ground beef, pork, or chicken

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups water

1 can tomato puree (standard can--not the big one)

1 can tomatoes*

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

1 Tablespoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

250g uncooked pasta (macaroni or spirals)

1 cup cheese, shredded

In a large pot, brown meat over medium heat, breaking it into small pieces. Stir in onions and garlic and cook until translucent. Add water, tomato puree, tomatoes, soy sauce, oregano, basil, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Stir together just to mix. Bring up to a boil. Turn heat to low, cover with lid, and cook 20 minutes**, stirring occasionally to prevent burning on the bottom. Add in pasta, cover, and cook on low until pasta is soft. Remove from heat, throw away the bay leaf, sprinkle with cheese, and stir everything together.

Notes:

* With canned tomatoes, I just stick scissors into the can to quickly chop them a bit smaller, nothing fancy. Cans with large tomatoes are the easiest to find and cheapest so this is an easy workaround. 

** If you are in a hurry, you can just dump your pasta in here and cook for 25 minutes. The only difference in the final dish is the richness of the sauce. If you have really hungry people, just fast track it!

Chicken Burrito Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing

We've been eating tons of salads at our house lately, and this was a super easy variation. I would suggest cooking up a large batch of beans and freezing them in smaller containers or just draining and rinsing canned beans. We have one cheese hater in the family so we keep that on the side.

Chicken Burrito Salad

500g chicken breast

Salt and pepper, to taste

2 cups cooked rajma beans

1 can corn, drained (or ~2 cups from frozen)

lettuce, roughly chopped

3-4 medium tomatoes, chopped

Grated cheese, optional

Cut chicken breasts in half (parallel to cutting board) to create thin cutlets. These will cook faster. Generously season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper or whatever seasoning you like. Grill or saute chicken and set aside.

Layer salad bowl with lettuce, tomatoes, corn, and beans. Add cheese if desired. Cut cooked chicken into smaller pieces and lay over the top of the salad.

Cilantro Lime Salad Dressing from Fifteen Spatulas

1 large bunch fresh cilantro/coriander, cleaned

1/2 cup plain yogurt, thick (like ND's brand)

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 Tablespoons lime juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

6 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 chili, seeds removed, optional (I did not use this)

Put all the ingredients except the olive oil into a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Drizzle in olive oil and blend until smooth. Adjust the tastes with a little more salt or honey as desired to balance the tanginess.

Peanut Butter Sheet Cake with Chocolate Frosting

This weekend I really wanted something with peanut butter and chocolate. All the peanut butter pies I saw required ingredients I don't have such as cream cheese. Peanut butter cake with peanut butter frosting seems a bit much. Making a pie crust for a peanut butter dessert sounds like a lot of work. The result of my exploration is this awesome cake that combines two recipes, Peanut Butter Texas Sheet Cake from Mel's Kitchen Cafe and One-Minute Easy Chocolate Frosting from Spend with Pennies. I scaled down the sheet cake recipe to fit a quarter sheet pan (9x13) in a smaller oven. A jelly roll pan works best so the cake doesn't climb over the edges.

What's the best part of this? The cake is thin so you can eat a big piece, but it's a small pan so you get it out of your house quickly! Win-win!

Gooey, buttery peanut butter cake

What happens when you don't sift!

Peanut Butter Sheet Cake with Chocolate Frosting

Cake:

1 cup sugar

1 cup maida (flour)

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup plain yogurt (thick like sour cream)

1/3 cup peanut butter (if you use natural peanut butter, you'll need more sweetener)

125 g butter

1/2  cup water

Frosting:

1/3 cup milk

75 g butter

1 cup chocolate chips or chopped baking chocolate

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted if you want yours to be pretty

Preheat oven to 205 C (400 F). In a medium bowl, combine sugar and flour. In a larger bowl, combine egg, baking soda, and yogurt, mixing well and allowing to rest. In a small saucepan, combine peanut butter, butter, and water. Bring to a rolling boil for about 30 seconds, stirring to combine evenly. Remove from heat. Add the flour and sugar to the peanut butter mixture. Allow the mixture to cool a few minutes. While you wait, grease the sheet pan. Once slightly cooled, pour the peanut butter mixture into the yogurt mixture and stir until it looks uniform. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for ~20 minutes. A toothpick inserted inside should come out clean and the cake should be pulling away from the sides of the pan.

While the cake cools, prepare the frosting. You could do this on the stove top, but I took the lazy microwave route. In a microwaveable bowl, combine the milk, butter, chocolate chips, and vanilla. Melt everything together. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and silky. This creates a frosting that cracks on top of the cake.

Pour the frosting over the top of the cake while the cake is still a bit warm and smooth it out. Allow it to cool completely before eating it along with a tall glass of milk! If you're really adventurous, you could poke small holes with a toothpick before pouring the frosting over.

Note: You will have extra frosting left over for another awesome dessert. Just pop it into an airtight container in the fridge.