Brittany's PantryCrispy Bars
Brittany wrote this on 25 January 2011
cereal, marshmallows, peanut butter
In between ripping down walls, removing sofits, cutting holes in our kitchen ceiling, rewiring said kitchen, and cleaning up the mess that all of that creates, I made rice crispy bars. An opened bag of mini-marshmallows used to top the previously mentioned hot chocolate and an overabundance of rice crispy cereal (sale+coupon=4 boxes) led me to whip up a batch. I had to make them on the stove because our microwave has been retired to the ‘discard’ heap in our screen porch, right next to the drawer that falls out of the wall, the cabinet that gives me splinters every time I reach for a glass, and the wallpaper that was painted red, but underneath is country blue hearts and chickens. So what if my toes were dusty from drywall! Who cares that my kitchen sink is now filled with old nails and splintered wood! No matter that I have to lift a sheet of plastic and duck to my knees just to pass through my doorways! “I am making rice crispy bars!” I shouted to my unfinished home. “And they make me happy!”
So I vacuumed off the top of the stove and got to it. Now, I know what you are thinking. Rice crispy bars? Everyone knows how to make them. True. But one day this summer my desperation for rice crispy bars, particularly extra chewy rice crispy bars, led to a particular combination of marshmallow goodness. My husband yelling across the house that he likes peanut butter in his prompted the second version of this recipe. I must have made a half dozen batches in a few weeks time and we shared very few of them. At some point in time, I stopped adjusting the amount of marshmallows and peanut butter and I realized that I was just making them the same every time. Our family had found our ultimate rice crispy bar. Simple. Classic. The perfect childhood dessert. Hmmm. Maybe its time to ‘test’ cheesecake recipes…
Crispy Bars
1-16 oz bag marshmallows(note: this is the big bag, not the regular size)
4 T (half stick) of butter
1/3 c peanut butter
1-12 oz box crispy rice cereal
Melt the first three ingredients in a large microwave safe bowl. Alternatively, use a large pot over med low heat on the stove. Once the mixture is smooth, add the cereal and stir quickly but carefully until all ingredients are evenly distributed. Press into a sprayed, 9X13 pan. Cut into bars.
Midnight Crunchies
Brittany wrote this on 21 January 2011 cereal, cherries, chocolate, cranberries
What do you do with leftover cornflakes? Make dessert! No, I didn’t make haystacks (sorry Megan) but went in a different direction. Remember haystacks? Cornflakes, butterscotch chips, and peanut butter all spooned into little blobs? Quite yummy. But when you have a pile of various kinds of chocolate, all opened, you either need to make a big batch of brownies, or these cornflake things I made up. I am sure there are about a dozen different versions of this recipe using all different variations of cereals. Cornflakes, rice crispies, and I have even seen a version with pretzels. But this is what I had to use up in the pantry so this is how I made it. Just about the tastiest use of leftovers ever!
Midnight Crunchies
Feel free to change the name. I just made it up about 5 seconds ago.
12 oz of dark chocolate, finely chopped, or 1 bag of dark or semisweet chocolate chips
3 c cornflakes
1 c dried cherries or cranberries (I used 1/2 c of each)
In a medium sized, heat safe bowl, melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30 sec intervals, stirring between each. Stop before the chocolate is completely melted and stir it vigorously until smooth. Add in the rest of the ingredients and gently fold together until combined and evenly coated. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto wax paper or parchment paper. Let set for 30 minutes until cool and firm.
Chicken Salad
Brittany wrote this on 20 January 2011 capers, chicken, gluten-free, mayo, parmesan cheese, sour cream
My soon to be famous chicken salad. At least, I think so.
Chicken salad, I assume, is a staple in most homes, gracing the lunch boxes and sack lunches of American children everywhere. I make it quite regularly in my own home, but I can’t recall eating it even once when I was a child. Tuna salad? Yes. I still mix canned tuna with a spoonful of mayo and slap it on bread. Yummmm. Although my taste has developed into something more sophisticated and I add fresh spinach and sliced tomatoes now. But chicken salad? Never. A recent conversation with my Mom revealed the answers to the mystery. She ate it all the time when she was a kid, but never made it for her own family because chicken salad for 8 people got to be kinda expensive. She confessed that now that is just her and my Dad at home, they eat it all the time! I was like, WHAT?!
The first time I had chicken salad was when I was in high school and I was eating lunch at a friends house. And to be honest, I wasn’t sure what the fuss was all about. Kinda tasteless, it was just shredded chicken and mayo with some chunks of celery in it. Blegh! Well, no more people! Shake off the boring chicken salad of your youth and embrace flavor! Step out of the mold and make something sassy! That is what I did! I just started mixing different flavors together and about a zillion batches later-voila! Now, this is what I throw together when, like the other night, I have leftover rotisserie chicken that needs to be eaten. In fact, in the summer, when those roasted chickens from the deli go on sale, I buy one just to make this chicken salad.
Be creative when you eat this! When tomatoes are in season, slice off the top, scoop out the inside and fill it with this salad. Wow! So good! Pile it on top of spring mix, fill a croissant, or (our favorite) add grapes and wrap it up in a whole grain tortilla. Sometimes for lunch, I just put the bowl in the middle of the table and we scoop up bites with whole grain crackers. And if you really want to, go ahead and add diced celery. I won’t look.
Chicken Salad
I always make this on the fly, no measuring or specific amounts. Feel free to improvise too.
3-4 c cooked chicken, shredded or chunked
1/2 c light sour cream
1/2 c canola mayo
(equal parts is what you are going for-add more or less mayo and sr cream depending on if you like your salad super creamy or more dry)
1/4 c grated parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 T capers, drained
Grapes, halved, optional
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper.
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