Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

My mother loves peanut butter, I mean she can and will eat anything with peanut butter in, on or near it. Thank goodness none of my children have a peanut allergy or they would never be able to see their grandmother. Anyway I was looking through Martha Stewart's Cookie Cookbook and came across the Peanut Butter and Jelly bars and knew my mother would love them. I changed the recipe a little here and there to fit our tastes better. I admit it, I like Martha Stewart and really like to play around with her recipes. I cannot follow a recipe to the T and I have to make it the way I know will be good. Make these bars and you will forget just how cold it is. Hey what happened to Spring??? This is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek.

Needed:
1 cup of softened butter
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar-packed
2 eggs(I use free range)
1 t salt
1 1/2 t baking powder(I use Rumford's)
1 t vanilla
2 cups preserves of your choice(I used Griffin's, an Oklahoma company that makes the BEST store bought Strawberry Preserves I have ever eaten.)


Preheat oven to 350'. Meanwhile beat in your Kitchen Aid mixer your butter, eggs, both sugars, and vanilla until they are light and fluffy. Now, sift flour, salt, and baking powder together add a cup at a time to butter mixture until mixed well. Now place 1/2 of the mixture on a parchment lined 9x13 pan, smooth evenly. I used a large metal spoon to achieve this and it worked very well. Now pour your preserves over the layer, spread the preserves evenly and crumb the rest of the peanut mixture on top. Bake for 45 minutes. I covered mine at about 25 minutes due to fast browning. Martha says to bake for 45-60 minutes and to cover if it is getting too brown. My oven is right on temperature and the bars were starting to brown at 25 minutes, so be careful.

Twice Baked Potatoes

I bet you have heard of twice baked potatoes haven't you??? Well here is one more for your recipe books. This is a child friendly one too, all chowed down last night. We had these with homemade rotisserie chicken and a nice salad. Can't wait until our garden starts producing and I won't have to buy all of my salad items. I have some really good recipes for garden items that I will share, stay tuned. Well that's "What's Cookin" on Beaty's Creek, well last night anyway.

Needed:
7 large potatoes(They don't have to be bakers.)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup butter
2 cups sharp cheddar
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 minced garlic clove
Chives(chopped)

Bake your potatoes in a 425' oven for 1 hour or until fork tender and let cool. Once cooled cut as you would to add butter for a baked potato and scoop out potato into a bowl. Don't scrape too much, you will want to leave 1/8 inch of potato against the skin. Make sense? Now add to your scooped out potatoes the butter, sour cream, cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic. I mash this mixture like I would for mashed potatoes. Once mixed add back to your potato skins and place on a parchment lined pan, make sure you use parchment or you will have a messy clean up. Bake at 425' for 25 minutes or until bubbly. Top with chives and serve.

Pasta Salad

Feels like Spring today so I made pasta salad and plan to grill tonight! I love pasta salad with grilled food. This recipe is pretty simple but very good. Give this a try and you will make it again and again. Well, that is "What's Cookin" on Beaty's Creek today.

Needed:
1 English Cucumber-diced
1 container Cherry Tomatoes-slice in half
1 can black olives-drained and sliced in half
1 bunch green onions-sliced
1 pound pasta shape of your choice-boiled,drained and cooled
3 cups Paul Newman's Ranch Dressing
Salt and Pepper- to taste
2 T Lemon Pepper

Place cooled pasta in a large bowl and add all of the veggies and stir. Now add your seasoning and 2 cups of dressing, stir until well coated. Place in fridge for a couple of hours. Right before serving add remaining 1 cup of dressing to moisten it up. We like crushed Nacho Cheese Doritos on top of ours.

Real Whole Wheat Bread

I LOVE homemade whole wheat bread. I can eat it all day long with butter of course, have to make it a little bad don't I?? This bread takes a little work but is so worth it. It will give your Kitchen Aid a workout or your hands if you go that route. You will be so happy smelling this bread bake and eating it fresh from the oven though. The lady that gave me this recipe is a great vegetarian chef! I just love her meals. Her son use to have his lunch sandwiches made with this bread when we were young and I was always so jealous. Now I can make it and eat all I want. My MIL is making dinner tonight and she asked me to make the bread. She thinks I am making these hot rolls, bet she will be surprised! Take some time and make some GREAT homemade bread today and surprise your family! Well, that is What's Cookin tonight on Beaty's Creek.

Needed:

12 cups whole wheat flour
6 cups water
2 T yeast
1 cup of dates blended in food processor with 2 cups of the 6(above) cups of water
2 T Lecithin(available at most health food stores)
1/2 cup high gluten flour
2 t salt sifted in with flour

May need more or less flour depending on moisture of flour and humidity in your area. Mix date mixture, water, yeast, Lecithin, and salt in your Kitchen Aid, add flour cup by cup until all is added. I add the gluten a little at a time but you can add it all at once if you wish. Now, grease 3 loaf pans and break flour into 3 even pieces and form into loaves and place in loaf pans. Let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours. Bake at 350' for 45 minutes or until golden brown.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

I know you probably have a million recipes for meatballs but here is one more. We have been using ground turkey for low fat cooking and NO ONE can tell the difference. Give turkey a try and you will see with a little TLC it is just as good as beef. I like to have pasta and sauce only when I eat spaghetti but everyone else wants meatballs so of course I make them. What else do I have to do? hee hee

Needed:
2 pounds ground turkey
2 eggs-beaten
1 cup panko bread crumbs(use Panko, they do make a difference)
1/2 cup milk
1 T Italian Seasoning of your choice
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 T garlic powder
1/2 cup tomato sauce
Spaghetti-cooked
Paul Newman's Sockarooni Pasta Sauce

Place panko in a large bowl with milk, let the panko soak up the milk, once this happens add the rest of your ingredients and mix by HAND until mixed well. Form into balls, the size is up to you. We like ours about a 2 inch diameter, now place meatballs on a parchment lined baking pan with sides and bake at 450' for 30 minutes or until completely done and no longer appear pink in the middle. I always cut one and check when the 30 minutes are up. Serve with Paul Newman's Sockarooni Pasta Sauce and spaghetti. That is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek tonight.

Chocolate Sheet Cake

My MIL loves sheet cake, she says she can eat an entire cake by herself with some good coffee. This is something I think everyone likes, at least around here they do. I like to make this for potlucks because it is easy to transport. Give it a try and it will be one of your go to recipes.

Needed:

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup Crisco
1/4 cup cocoa
1 cup warm water
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs-beaten(I use free range)
1/2 cup milk
1 t vanilla


Place one of your oven racks in the middle of your oven and preheat oven to 350'. Place parchment paper on a 18x13 inch pan.

In a large sauce pan, over medium heat melt butter, shortening, and cocoa. Add the water, remove from heat and beat in the sugar.

In a large bowl or your Kitchen Aid mixing bowl beat your eggs until thick and light colored, now add the milk, and vanilla. Now add the cocoa mixture and stir gently. Now is the time to add the flour mixture(you will have sifted the flour, salt, and soda together). Mix until well incorporated and pour into your prepared pan. Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes. Let cool completely. Now you will ice your sheet cake.

Icing

Needed:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup cocoa
1/4 cup milk
1 t vanilla
1 box powder sugar

In a large saucepan over medium heat bring butter, cocoa, and milk to a boil, remove from heat add powder sugar and vanilla beat, in your Kitchen Aid until light and fluffy. Ice your sheet cake and EAT!!!

Creamy New England Clam Chowder Stacey's Way

It is a cold and snowy day on Beaty's Creek and I want some Clam Chowder. This is a recipe that I made up after making some that I did not care for. I top this with crispy bacon, I think it is a good addition to the chowder.

Needed:

5 pounds of golden Yukon potatoes-peeled and cut into 1 inch squares
3 carrots-peeled and sliced into 1/8 inch rounds
2 stalks of celery-stripped and chopped into 1/8 in slices
2 cans baby clams with juice
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 quart Milk
2 T Cornstarch
1 quart Water
2 sticks of butter

In a large soup pot melt butter and add celery and carrots, saute until slightly tender, now add about 1 quart of water. Add potatoes to water with salt and pepper, cook until potatoes are fork tender. Now add your clams with juice and milk, next add cornstarch to 1 cup of water and stir very well. We like ours a little thick so you may want to start with less cornstarch if you like a thinner chowder. Bring to a low boil to thicken a little. Serve with crackers and bacon. Yummy!! Well that is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek today.