If you can believe it we have three new keeper recipes to post during these rocky times! Owen celebrated his birthday right after we all started staying home and we made a new dessert that he had picked out weeks before. It was VERY peanut-buttery and the kids loved it! I am a sucker for hot fudge, so when I saw that on the ingredient list I was happy. I enjoyed having it for a few nights as well. Liam has already asked if he can have this same dessert for his birthday next year!
We have been using everything we have on hand before we head out to the store. You should see the grocery list we've been working on as we run out of ingredients or think of things we'd like to have available. One day the older kids looked at what we had in the pantry and then found a new ground beef rice dish that matched up. We had to make a few alterations to the recipe to fit what we had in our home and in the end it was voted a keeper! In fact, we've already had it twice!
As for the flat bread, we used our pizza dough recipe as the base and turn it into flat bread. Yum! Everyone devoured it; it's a keeper for sure!
This week I think we'll make some cookies, and I am sure we will be trying out some new dishes as we get creative in the kitchen. Have you made anything new? Let me know!
Happy cooking (and keep up social distancing)!
New Recipes
Italian Beef & Rice Skillet
Peanut Butter Ice Box Dessert
Flat Bread
Saturday, March 28, 2020
Italian Beef & Rice Skillet
Ingredients
* 1 small onion, diced
* 1 lb ground beef
* 14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes or crushed tomatoes
* 3/4 cup uncooked white rice
* 2 cups beef broth
* 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
* 1/4 tsp poultry seasoning
* 1 tsp garlic salt
* 1 tsp oregano
* 1/2 tsp pepper
* mozzarella cheese or parmesan cheese, for serving (optional)
Directions
1. Brown the ground beef and onion in a large skillet. Drain the fat.
2. Add everything to the beef and rice except the cheese. Stir to combine and bring to a light boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 17-20 minutes (taste to see when your rice is finished cooking).
3. Serve, and pass with optional cheese if anyone wants to add it.
Notes
The kids were looking through the pantry and using the internet to see if we could make anything new. The recipe they found had some seasonings and ingredients we didn't have on hand, so we did some improvising. The kitchen smelled good while it was cooking, but to be honest I wasn't expecting much when I brought it over to the table. I was so surprised - Ryan and the kids loved it, and I thought it was pretty good. It was especially nice that it was a true one pot meal and didn't create too big of a mess in the kitchen. We've actually had it twice during these times already, once with diced tomatoes and once with crushed. The flavor was the same both ways, but we felt that when it had crushed tomatoes it was a little more soup like.
Peanut Butter Ice Box Cake
* 4 sleeves of graham crackers
* 1 bottle of hot fudge sauce (we used Smuckers, but any brand should work), heated in the microwave according the the bottle directions
* 1 cup whipping cream
* 10 oz of cream cheese (regular or Neufchatel)
* 1/4 cup peanut butter
* 1/4 cup powdered sugar
* 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
* Reese's cups (full size or miniature), chopped, about 1/2 - 1 cup (optional)
* 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
* 2 tbsp melted butter
* 2 tbsp sugar
* 1 container of Cool Whip
Directions
1. Lay graham crackers to cover the bottom a 9x13 pan (we used a Pyrex). Cut the graham crackers so you can cover the bottom as much as possible.
2. Pour half the bottle of fudge on the graham crackers, doing your best to smooth it all over the crackers. (I used a small offset spatula to help with this). Set aside.
3. Using a mixer (stand or hand), whip the whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese for 2 -3 minutes on medium high speed until light and fluffy. Add in the peanut butter and beat until combined. Add in powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until well combined. Add in the chopped candies and beat one last time.
5. Fold the whipped cream into the peanut butter cream cheese mix.
6. Spread half the peanut butter whipped cream mixture on top of the fudge layer.
7. Reheat the fudge. Lay graham crackers all over the cream layer to cover as much as possible. Pour the remaining fudge on the graham crackers and spread again. Set it aside to cool for 3-4 minutes.
8. Spread the remaining whipped cream mixture on the fudge, then a final layer of graham crackers.
9. Combine the butter, graham cracker crumbs and sugar in a small bowl until it is a sand like consistency.
10. Spread the container of Cool Whip on the top layer of graham crackers. Sprinkle the graham cracker crumbs on the top. Refrigerate for 6-8 hours.
11. Serve and enjoy! Keep leftovers in the fridge.
Notes
Owen LOVES peanuts and peanut butter. For his birthday this year he sent me a link to a peanut butter ice box cake. We altered it a little and the final dessert was a huge hit! It made a 9 x 13 pan and we would have definitely shared it with some friends and family, but given the circumstances we had to eat it ourselves over 4 nights. Must say that the kids did not complain about that! The picture above doesn't do it justice; it was much better looking in person. We can assure you, if you like peanut butter you will like this dessert! Liam thinks he wants to have it in January for his birthday!
Flat Bread
Use this recipe for pizza dough to make the flat bread.
Additional ingredients needed
* flour for dusting
* olive oil
* garlic salt
* Italian seasoning
* parmesan cheese
* corn meal
Directions
1. When you are ready to make the flat bread, heat up your oven to 500 F. If you have a pizza stone, place that in the oven to heat up at the same time. Try to heat the stone for about 45 minutes.
2. Tear off about 1/3 of the dough and place it on a lightly floured cutting board or pizza paddle. Roll it out using a rolling pin to make it into a rough circle.
3. Lightly brush on a little olive oil. Sprinkle on some Italian seasoning, garlic salt and parmesan cheese.
4. Open the oven door and pull out the rack with the pizza stone. Sprinkle on a little corn meal. Carefully move the flat bread onto the pizza stone.
5. Close the door and let the bread cook for about 5-8 minutes. Keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn. It is ready when it has some color and you think it looks good!
6. Cut it with a pizza cutter or large knife.
Additional ingredients needed
* flour for dusting
* olive oil
* garlic salt
* Italian seasoning
* parmesan cheese
* corn meal
Directions
1. When you are ready to make the flat bread, heat up your oven to 500 F. If you have a pizza stone, place that in the oven to heat up at the same time. Try to heat the stone for about 45 minutes.
2. Tear off about 1/3 of the dough and place it on a lightly floured cutting board or pizza paddle. Roll it out using a rolling pin to make it into a rough circle.
3. Lightly brush on a little olive oil. Sprinkle on some Italian seasoning, garlic salt and parmesan cheese.
4. Open the oven door and pull out the rack with the pizza stone. Sprinkle on a little corn meal. Carefully move the flat bread onto the pizza stone.
5. Close the door and let the bread cook for about 5-8 minutes. Keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn. It is ready when it has some color and you think it looks good!
6. Cut it with a pizza cutter or large knife.
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