Monster Bars

My mom always made monster cookies when I was little. Such remembered flavor  - peanut butter, oats, M&Ms...

A few years ago, I had these Monster Bars and loved them! All of the same flavors in bar form. Easy to make, updated with Mini M&Ms (minis are my fave!!!). It's the little things in life (pun intended).

Go forth and make these. They make a nice big pan so share with your friends (or don't. I'm not here to judge).

One word of caution: do not, I repeat DO NOT overbake these. Your life will not be right if you do. I bake mine for 8 minutes. EIGHT. That's not very long. But you want them BARELY cooked long enough to hold together.

Oh! And one more thing. You're reading the recipe correctly: there's no flour. They wouldn't be monster otherwise!

Monster Bars

1 stick butter, softened
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 T vanilla extract
3 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups quick-cook oats
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
10-12 oz. Bag mini M&Ms (reserve 1/2 cup for the top)

Beat the butter with sugars until combined. Add peanut butter, vanilla and mix. Add eggs and combine. Add remaining ingredients and combine. Spread into a 10x15 inch baking sheet lined with parchment and sprayed with baking spray. Press to spread the dough evenly. Sprinkle the remaining M&Ms on top. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 8 minutes. Allow the bars to cool completely before cutting (or eat them warm out of the pan. You won't be sorry.)

Apple Blue Cheese Salad

We just got home from the lake with Matthew's extended family. It was wonderful. Good, clean fun in the sun. Jet skis, boating, tubing, swimming, fireworks, cousins. All the things that make you eat a good dinner and sleep hard at night.

I made this salad at the lake. Adults and kids alike enjoyed it.

True to form, I like more "stuff" than actual lettuce in my salads. So this is choc full of the good stuff! Modify proportions as you see fit. 

Apple Blue Cheese Salad

3 apples, chopped (I like honeycrisp or granny smith apples for this salad)

1 cup Craisins 

1 cup blue cheese, crumbled (the stinkier, the better!)

1 cup roughly chopped pecans, toasted

1 bag bagel chips, broken in half (I like Stacy's brand)

6 oz. Spring mix

12 oz. Bottle Briana's poppyseed salad dressing (on the dressing aisle; there's also a good poppyseed dressing with the refrigerated dressings in the produce section)

Toss the ingredients together and with the dressing in a large bowl. Serve immediately. 

Salted Caramel Brownies

These brownies. They should be called killer brownies. Or amazing brownies. But I decided to be boring and just call them Caramel Brownies. Descriptive but not nearly enough pizzazz for these brownies. They are so so delicious!

So here's what you're going to do. It all starts with a cake mix. The traditional method uses German chocolate cake mix, which is good, but I took a right turn and use devil's food cake mix. And by the way, German chocolate is named after a MAN named German not the country named Germany. You're welcome.

And on that topic, they're CANADA geese. Not Canadian. Because they're named after a MAN named John Canada, not the country Canada.

But why am I talking about geese when we need to be talking about brownies. But since I'm talking about geese, it makes me think of ducks, and the ducks we raised this spring.

In case you're not aware, ducks grow FAST.

In other news, ducks can also be trained to lay on their back. Ask my 5-year-old for her training tips.

Back to brownies. Press in most of the brownie batter into a 9x13 dish. Bake it for 6 minutes. Let it cool. Pour over the cooled caramel. Sprinkle on the chocolate chips and the salt. Dot on the remaining brownie batter. Cook it for a few more minutes. Try to use self-control while the brownies cool. You must let them cool or you'll end up with a molten dish of salted caramel brownies.

Caramel Brownies

1 package devil's food cake mix
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted
2 T flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1 1/2 11 oz. packages Kraft caramel bits
1/2 cup evaporated milk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 tsp kosher salt

Stir together the cake mix, butter, flour, vanilla & evaporated milk. Spread 2/3 of the batter in a greased 9x13 baking dish. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 6 minutes. Take it out and let it cool.

Meanwhile, melt together in a medium saucepan the 1/2 cup evaporated milk and the caramel bits. Allow it to mostly cool.

When the brownie base is cool, pour over the melted (but mostly cool) caramel. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top. Sprinkle the kosher salt on top of that.

Cover the top with the remaining batter. It won't cover it completely; that's ok. Just spread it out with your hands and cover the top the best you can.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-11 minutes. Optional: sprinkle powdered sugar on top. Cool completely before cutting (otherwise it's just a molten mess!).

Mediterranean Tacos with Greek Chicken and Quick Tzatziki

Hi friends. I wrestled with what to call this recipe. Mediterranean chicken? Greek platter? Chicken Gyros?

But, since I like the idea of fusion food, I settled on Mediterranean Tacos. It's fun, don't you think?

Plus, I used naan bread instead of pita bread so it's really THREE fusions in one! I better stop now before I break the internet.

I need to disclose a few items first.

• I don't always love chicken breasts in the crockpot. Sometimes it can be tough and flavorless. NOT THESE. I assure you. This Greek chicken is a winner. 
• Eat this any way you please. Make a taco. Make a salad. Put all of the components on a plate and stir them up. Eat them all separately. However you do it, you will be glad you did.
• I used to make tzatziki many years ago. As in, before plain Greek yogurt in a big tub even existed. So I had to drain the yogurt to make tzatziki. Not anymore, people! It's so easy now because I just use the big tub of Greek yogurt. You want full-fat, trust me. And you want the brand Greek Gods yogurt. You really do.
• Matthew and I went to Greece. Before we had children. It was amazing. It was also a lifetime ago.

Greek Chicken

4-5 large chicken breasts (about 2 lbs - frozen or thawed, it doesn't matter)

Juice of 3 lemons

1 cup water

1 1/2 T dried oregano

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

5 cloves garlic, minced (or a big spoonful of jarred minced garlic)

2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Place all ingredients in crockpot, turn on high and cook for about 4 hours. You'll know it's done when the chicken shreds easily. Shred with 2 forks, mix it well with the juice and set it to warm until you're ready to eat.

All the Fixins'

Red onion, sliced very thin

Grape tomatoes, sliced in half

Thinly sliced cucumber

Kalamata Olives

Feta cheese

Hummus

Quick Tzatziki

24 oz. tub plain Greek Yogurt (you want full-fat) (I highly recommend Greek Gods brand)

1 English cucumber, peeled and grated into a bowl

2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 cup sour cream

Juice of 1 lemon

2 T white wine vinegar

2 T minced fresh dill

2 cloves garlic, grated

1 tsp pepper

Grate the cucumber into a bowl. Squeeze out the excess water. You don't need to squeeze it all to pieces but just get the majority of the water out. Stir in remaining ingredients. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight to allow the flavors to blend. Eat on your gyro or with pita chips. Or with carrots. Or with a spoon. It's that good.