Peanut Butter Bars

 So the other day I had about ten extra kids at my house and they all wanted a treat.  I needed something that fed a small army.  I found this delicious recipe.

Ingredients (for the cookie):

• 3/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 teas. vanilla
• 3/4 teas. baking soda
• 1/2 teas. salt
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1 1/2 cup rolled oats

Ingredients (for the topping):

• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 5 tbsp. butter
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and peanut butter.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Add soda and salt and mix until well blended.  Add flour slowly, making sure incorporated, but do not over mix.  Stir in oatmeal by hand.  Spray a 15x10 jelly roll pan with nonstick cooking spray.  Spread mixture in pan (I wet my hand slightly and press the mixture in evenly).  Cook at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.  

Remove from oven and immediately drop peanut butter (from the topping list) by teaspoonfuls evenly around the top.  Allow to melt and spread smooth with a spatula.  Allow to cool thoroughly.

In a small saucepan, bring sugar, evaporated milk, and butter to a full boil for 45 seconds.  Remove from heat and add milk chocolate chips.  Whisk until chocolate sauce is smooth.  Poor evenly over bars and allow to set before cutting and serving.  

Lone Star Fish Taco's

• My favorite thing to eat is Lone Star Taqueria's Fish Taco's. My friends and I always eat there after skiing. Beings that we ski a lot we end up eating there quite often. The amazing snow that Utah is getting made it so I ate there three times last week.

When my family decided to make fish taco's for our Sunday dinner I figured that trying to replicate Lone Star's was a must. I've made fish taco's a bunch but never quite like this.

They are healthy and delicious!

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons ground dried New Mexico or California chilies
• 3 tablespoons salad oil
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• About 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 whole cloves
• 1 dried bay leaf, broken into pieces
• 1 pound boned, skinned firm-flesh fish such as halibut, mahimahi, or rock fish (see notes)

Preparation:

• 1. In a large bowl, mix ground dried chilies, oil, pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, garlic powder, cayenne, cumin, cloves, and bay leaf.
• 2. Rinse fish and pat dry. Add to bowl and turn to coat with marinade; cover and chill at least 1 hour or up to 1 day, mixing several times.
• 3. Lift fish from marinade and arrange pieces in a single layer in a 9- by 13-inch pan. Discard marinade.
• 4. Broil fish 4 to 5 inches from heat until opaque but still moist-looking in center of thickest part (cut to test), about 5 minutes for 1/2-inch-thick pieces. With a slotted spatula, transfer fish to towels to blot oil, then set on a platter. Cut fish along the grain into 1/2-inch slices, and season to taste with salt.
• Lone Star Cilantro Jalapeño Mayonnaise: In a blender or food processor, combine 1 3/4 cups mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons water, 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar, 1 rinsed and stemmed fresh jalapeño chili (remove seeds for more heat), 1 peeled garlic clove, 1/2 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Whirl until smooth. Add salt to taste.
• Makes about 2 1/4 cups.
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• • I cooked the fish on a grill to simplify things, it turned out much spicier than Lone Star's because of some spices I improvised on, but still so delicious. The fish held together way better as well!

Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I gave my first attempt today at making vegan cookies. I've made healthier cookies plenty of times but never vegan. I was inspired by some really delicious vegan cupcakes I've had recently. 

The result was delicious, and very unique. These cookies are a different flare to them than most you are used to. I would definitely recommend trying these even if you don't care about them being vegan.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups toasted walnuts
2 cups oats
3/4 cup white Kamut flour (I used wheat pastry flour)
1/2 cup Sucanat (I used brown sugar)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup pure maple syrup
2 tbsp almond milk
3.5 tbsp coconut oil
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup raisins

I used brown sugar and wheat pastry flour since they are both easier to come by.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F

Place walnuts on baking sheet. Toast walnuts in oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden in color. What carefully so they don't burn. When done, remove and let cool for a few minutes. Dump Walnuts into food processor and process until finely ground, no more.

In medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda, 1 cup oats, cinnamon, and brown sugar or sucanat. Add dry ingredients to food processor and process for 20-30 seconds. 

In small bowl add coconut oil and microwave to soften. In same bowl stir in maple syrup, almond mild, and vanilla.

Mix both bowls together.

Add remaining 1 cup of oats stirring by hand, and fold in 2/3 cup of raisins. Make small balls of dough and flatten with hand.

Bake for 10 minutes at 350 F. Makes 16 large cookies.

I also used dark chocolate chips on half the batch instead of raisins because who doesn't love chocolate chips.

Thanks ohsheglows.com for this delicious and unique recipe.