This is an ode to decadence and that magical combination of peanut butter and chocolate.  I got it from a cookbook I've had since before I was married and made it for the first time a few weeks ago.  Hi, my name is Lauren, and I'm a recipe hoarder.




So, anyway, the pie.  It's easy to make, and it's rich.  It's super tasty and decadent, and since it's a refrigerator pie, it's perfect for warmer weather.  No cooking/baking involved.  Yay!  It'd be dreamy with a glass of cold milk or with a nice cup of coffee.



Chocolate and Peanut Butter Mousse Pie
from Eagle Brand recipes

1 cup chocolate graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup honey roasted peanuts, finely chopped
6 Tb butter, softened
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, peanuts, and butter; press mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a pie plate.  Set aside

Pour 1/2 cup of the cream into a microwave safe bowl; microwave on high 2 minutes.  Stir in 1/2 cup of the condensed milk and all the chocolate chips until smooth.  Spoon mixture into the prepared crust and refrigerate 1 hour.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the remaining 1 cup cream until stiff peaks form; set aside.  In another mixing bowl, beat the remaining condensed milk, cream cheese, and peanut butter until smooth.  Fold in 1/3 of the whipped cream until incorporated and then gently fold in the rest.  Spoon this mixture over the chocolate filling.  Chill at least 2 hours.  Store covered in the refrigerator.


Notes

• Chocolate graham crackers were difficult for me to find, but I did find them.  You can of course substitute regular graham crackers or just buy a graham cracker crust.  I think the Oreo crust might put it over the top in terms of sweetness so I wouldn't recommend it, but if you do this, please let me know how it turns out!
• If you leave this pie out in a warm room for a while, it will get really loose and not keep its shape well.  This is definitely best eaten straight out of the fridge.  

Mac and cheese is so good, isn't it?  Creamy, cheesy, hearty.  Oh gosh, no wonder it's one of the top comfort foods out there.  Just telling you about this recipe makes me want some.

A few years ago a coworker started bringing crock pot mac and cheese to our staff potlucks and it was some of the best macaroni and cheese EVER.  I don't have her recipe, but it did cause me to start pinning slow cooker mac and cheese recipes like crazy and this past summer, I finally tried one of them out.  I've since made it again, and Drew thinks it's his favorite recipe yet.

It's creamy, cheesy, and smooth, and it's pretty hands-off.  If you need a lot of macaroni and cheese, this is your recipe.  Since it's made in a slow cooker, it's great for any time of the year, because the slow cooker doesn't heat up the kitchen like the stove or oven.  Love that!

Slow Cooker Macaroni and Cheese
from Trisha Yearwood via Food Network

Cooking spray
8 ounces elbow macaroni, cooked
One 12-ounce can evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup (1/2 stick ) of butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper
2 large eggs, beaten
Two 10-ounce bricks sharp Cheddar cheese, grated (about 5 cups)
Dash of paprika

In a large 4-quart slow cooker sprayed with cooking spray (or greased with butter), mix the macaroni, evaporated milk, milk, butter, salt, pepper, eggs and all but 1/2 cup of the grated cheese. Sprinkle the reserved cheese over the top of the mixture and then sprinkle with paprika. Cover and cook on low heat for 3 hours and 15 minutes. Turn off the slow cooker, stir the mixture and serve hot.

This is one of the recipes I remember my mom making a lot.  We didn't have it every week or anything, but we had it pretty often, and with good reason.  Everyone loves it, even those who don't usually like meatloaf.  For whatever reason there was a span of time I don't remember eating it at all- I'm sure it was partially because I was away at college or living on my own, but recently mom has broken the meatloaf out for some family dinners, and I am immediately transported to second grade, and that's a good thing.



Since rediscovering the meatloaf, I've made it for a family reunion and Drew has made it for the fire station.  This recipe is older than I am, and it's not going anywhere any time soon.

Meatloaf
from my mom's recipe collection

1.5 lbs. ground beef (85/15 is recommended, but any kind will do)
1 cup plain bread crumbs
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup milk
4 Tb (1/4 cup) ketchup
1 egg
Salt and pepper

Mix above ingredients and lightly press into a 9x13 baking dish.  Pour over the sauce (recipe to follow) and bake, uncovered, at 350 for 1 hour.

Sauce
4 Tb (1/4 c) apple cider vinegar
2 Tb (1 oz) Worcestershire Sauce
4 Tb (1/4 c) brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup

Combine sauce ingredients in a small sauce pan.  Heat until warm and pour over meatloaf.

Notes

• my mom recommends 85% lean ground beef and I won't question it.  I'd say if you choose to go leaner, you may want to cover the meatloaf for the first 20-30 minutes.
• You want to use ground beef that is in a square package, not the tube.  The tubes compress the meat too much.  

Every family, every cook has their simple favorites, the recipes that are go-to's for busy nights or times where you just aren't sure what to cook.  They are not fancy, and they're not what you would make for your audition for Master Chef, but they are what you make for your family on, say a Tuesday.  You often don't even need to pull out a cookbook or smart phone to make it- you know how it's done.  What are some of your recipes/dinner ideas like that?  Let me know in the comments :)

Thanks to going out of date sales, I've come into some ground beef lately.  I say that like some people talk about coming into money.

Weird name, delicious dish.  I promise!

Zucchini season is mostly over here, but it can still be found at farmer's markets and maybe other parts of the country.  Thanks to my mother in law, we had a couple zucchini plants that gave us enough for a couple different dishes.  Thanks, Barbara!



I had this recipe pinned for a couple years when we had zucchini coming out our ears, and you can only make so much zucchini bread before you feel like you're going to need the Biggest Loser Ranch, am I right?  So anyway, I pinned this recipe a while back but hadn't made it yet.  I've made several other zucchini recipes, but I like to try new recipes (hence the blog).



I can remember pinning this one and not being too sure about it.  Zucchini pizza casserole?  Sounds weird.  I like zucchini on pizza, so maybe it will work, but what if it's one of those attempts to be healthy that ends up with a dish that doesn't taste very good?  Oh, well, it's rated pretty highly on Taste Of Home's website so I'll give it a go.

You've just had a peek inside my mind.  I hope that doesn't deter you!


Anyway, I tried it and we liked it!  This casserole has a zucchini and cheese crust topped by a sauce that is like meat sauce for spaghetti.  The one way I'd like to improve this dish is to make the sauce taste more like pizza sauce than spaghetti sauce.  The next time I make this dish I may try to not cook the tomatoes before baking the casserole.  That crust, though.  It is delicious!  If you like the taste of cheese when it gets a little cooked and browned, you want to eat the entire crust without sharing.

So I recommend this recipe.  It's easy and tasty, and is probably a good one to take to a potluck or a friend who may need a meal.

Zucchini Pizza Casserole
from Taste of Home

4 cups shredded unpeeled zucchini
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 can (15 ounces) Italian tomato sauce
1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped

Preheat oven to 400°. Place zucchini in colander; sprinkle with salt. Let stand 10 minutes, then squeeze out moisture.

Combine zucchini with eggs, Parmesan and half of mozzarella and cheddar cheeses. Press into a greased 13x9-in. or 3-qt. baking dish. Bake 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cook beef and onion over medium heat, crumbling beef, until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add tomato sauce; spoon over zucchini mixture. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses; add red pepper. Bake until heated through, about 20 minutes longer.

Freeze option: Cool baked casserole; cover and freeze. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350°. Unwrap casserole; reheat on a lower oven rack until heated through and a thermometer inserted in center reads 165°. Yield: 8 servings.

Other Zucchini Recipes
Zucchini Ribbons With Almond Pesto
Zucchini Bread
Grilled Pizza
Ricotta Pasta with Zucchini and Corn
Italian Greens Soup (Ed Fretwell Soup)
Vegetarian Fajitas
Summer Squash Sauté
Ratatouille
Roasted Vegetable Minestrone

I know, it doesn't seem as practical or sane to make a cinnamon roll as it is to buy one of those nice tubes in the refrigerated section and bake them.  I'll tell you why.  One day I wanted a cinnamon roll, but being a new mother, I still haven't gotten a good hang on going to the store with my little guy.  He's only slightly more patient than his father when it comes to shopping, and then there's all that baby gear, like the diaper bag, the car seat, and either a carrier or stroller.  By the time you get loaded and unloaded, you've spent almost as much time going to the store as you would making these cinnamon rolls, and you wouldn't have nearly the quality.

Most of us home cooks have long known how valuable a slow cooker is.  How great is it to put a bunch of ingredients into the pot, turn it on, and hours later be rewarded with a great aroma and a (hopefully) tasty meal?

Now I'm going to share a revelation that most of you moms will laugh and roll your eyes at, but I had the impression that when I stayed at home with my baby, I'd have all this extra time to cook and clean.  I'll pause while you wipe the tears of laughter from your eyes.

All better and composed now?  Ok.  So anyway, I've now figured out how difficult it is to care of a baby and brush your teeth, let alone cook a meal, and I'm back to the time we decided to try to become champions of the slow cooker.  We still have a long way to go, but I've added another recipe to my fairly small repertoire- slow cooker honey sesame chicken.  If you like Asian inspired foods, then this one is right up your alley.  It's easy and light, with a sauce that works nicely over rice or with noodles.  I love, too, that it's made with ingredients found in your home and not ones that you'd need to visit the Asian market to find.  I made it for my sister and me to eat one evening, and we both agreed this recipe is a keeper.

I slightly changed some of the recipe, so I'll post what I did, and the recipe title is a link to the original.

Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken
adapted from Lindsay Weiss

1 1/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (thighs would be fine too)
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons diced onion
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon nut or seed oil (I used flax oil)
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 small package snow peas (not frozen, from the produce section)
Sesame seeds

Cut chicken into cubes or strips.  Season chicken with lightly with salt and pepper, put into crock pot. In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high 1 1/2 – 2 1/2 hours, or just until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from crock pot, leave sauce. Stir in corn starch until completely dissolved. Replace lid and cook sauce on high for ten more minutes or until slightly thickened. Cut chicken into bite size pieces, then return to pot and toss with sauce before serving. Stir in snow peas. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve over rice or noodles.

Notes

• The original recipe called for sesame oil, and the one time I bought it for a meal I didn't like it at all, though that may have been toasted sesame oil.  Anyway, I used flaxseed oil, because weirdly enough I did have some of that.  I imagine almost any seed or nut oil would work, and if all else fails, just leave it out.
• I used a small slow cooker (1 qt) and this cooked quickly.  I used chicken breasts, but next time will use thighs as the breats were just slightly tough.

I'm back!  In the time since my last post, we added to the family and are adjusting to life with Baby G.  What a wild ride!