Chcolate Coconut Bars

Oh yumm- I can't wait to try these either....I really need to find someone to give all these goodies away to, so i don't eat them all...

Chocolate Coconut "Snow Storm in April" bars

{recipe and pic from} Dozen Flours

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup white chocolate chips (If you don't like or have any white chocolate chips, just increase the semisweet chocolate chips by 1/4 cup)

Optional Topping

1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut or other nut of your choosing

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9x9 baking pan with parchment paper, leaving extra so it hangs up and over the edges of the pan. Spray the paper with some Pam or butter lightly.

2. Combine milk and graham cracker crumbs and mix together until well combined. I used my stand mixer on medium speed for about a minute, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl once.

3. Add coconut and mix until well combined. Scrape bowl.

4. Add both chocolate chips and mix on low speed just until they are well combined.

5. Pour into prepared pan and spread until even (batter will be very thick). Bake for 30 minutes. Be careful not to over bake them.

6. If you want to add the topping, when bars are done, remove pan from the oven and scatter the chocolate chips over the top, if desired. Let it sit for about a minute, until the chocolate is melted and spread the chocolate around the surface until the top of the bars evenly covered. While the chocolate is still warm, sprinkle coconut over the top. Let the bars cool completely and then put in the fridge until you're ready to cut them.

7. To cut them, use the parchment paper to pick them up and out of the pan. (Note: If you don't have any parchment, you can just grease the pan and hope for the best. These can be a little tricky to get out of the pan without the aid of the paper.) Using a very sharp knife, cut bars into the desired length. Store in an air tight container.

Halloween Treat "Hand" bags

I got this super fun idea from creativeholidgiftideas.blogspot.com..I think it originates on Family Fun's website. This would be so fun for a Halloween party at school or home. I'm definitely going to try it.

Here is what you need:

clear, plastic food handlers gloves (I found mine at the Dollar Store)

Candy Corn

Popcorn

Twist ties

Take the candy corn and put one in the finger of each glove. Then fill up each glove with the cooled popcorn, and really stuff it in there.Then twist the hand closed with your twist tie. You are done! The kids loved them and they are sort of spooky too! I will warn you, that it took me about an hour to fill about 15 bags, the popcorn was kind of hard to stuff into the fingers

Niecea's Fried Rice

1-2 chicken breasts, cut into pieces and marinated in soy sauce
4 scrambled eggs
1/2 onion, chopped
3/4 c. frozen peas
1/2 c. butter
1-2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 c. white rice, cooked
Cook marinated chicken in a little bit of olive oil. Add onions and saute until clear. Add frozen peas. Cook until soft. Add cooked rice. In another pan, scramble 4 eggs & chop. Add to mixture. Melt 1/2 c. butter, add crushed garlic to butter, stir and add to rice. Mix all together well. (You can substitute butter for chicken broth, but the butter is better tasting.)
From: Nicea on Good Things Utah

Mmmm...Cookie Dough and Cheesecake

I just came across this recipe on My Kitchen Cafe and I am dying to try it....if someone beats me to it...let me know how it is.....(come on Sara..try it). It orginally came out of a cookbook called The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook and I am thinking of buying it, b/c it is sounds yummy on Dozen Flours Blog.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Barsby Elinor Klivans (author) & Kirsten Strecker (photographer)

Crust

1 & 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2/3 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter a 9″-square baking pan. Line pan with parchment paper, leaving enough to extend over the sides. Butter the parchment paper.Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter until crumbs are moistened. Stir in chocolate chips. Press crust mixture into bottom of pan. Bake for 6 minutes. Set pan on wire rack to cool.

Cookie Dough

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Using an electric mixer, mix butter, brown sugar, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract at medium speed until smooth. Decrease mixer speed to low and add flour. Mix just until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips. Set aside.

Filling

10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar just until smooth. Add egg and vanilla extract, beating just until blended. Pour batter into baked crust. Drop cookie dough by teaspoonfuls over the top of the filling.

Bake about 30-35 minutes, or until set. Transfer to wire rack.

For chocolate topping, melt 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips in a double boiler or in the microwave. (Tip: put the chocolate chips into a zipper bag and heat on 50% power for a few minutes. Cut the corner off the bag and squeeze the bag to make drizzling less messy). Use a teaspoon to drizzle chocolate over top of bars. Cool bars in pan completely, about an hour. (Stick the bars in the freezer for 5 minutes to set quickly if you're in a hurry).Using the edges of the parchment paper, remove bars from pan. Cut into bars (clean the knife after each cut) and serve.

Yield: I was able to get 20 1"x 1" bars from my 9" pan

Tortilla Soup

Fall is the perfect time of year to make all kinds of yummy soups. My SIL reminded me of this yummy one that i made last year. I thought I got this recipe off of Just Made This blog, but I couldn't find it on there today when I went to link it....so if someone else claims this let me know and I will give you the credit! Enjoy!

Tortilla Soup
4-6 T. Vegetable oil
1 medium spanish onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (26 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes
2 T. Cumin
1 T. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
3 bay leaves
2 cans chicken broth
2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded
1 can black beans
1/2 cup frozen corn

Garnishes:
Sour cream
avocado, diced
cilantro
corn tortilla strips (I just used crushed chips)

In heavy pot, on medium tomed. high heat, heat oil. Add onion and let sweat 5 or so minutes. Add garlic and stir until you can start to snmell the garlic, a few seconds or so. Add the tomatoes and seasonings. Bring to boil. Add the broth and reduce heat to simmer. Ten minutes later add the beans, corn & chicken. Simmer another 20 minutes. Serve with garnishes.

"KNEADERS" Pumpkin Choc. Chip Cookies

Oh man! These are SOOOO good! I saw these on Good Things Utah. Everything that Kneaders makes on the show looks so yummy and I have yet to make it to one of their actual stores! I think they are only in Utah County??? Anywho...these turned out so yummy, so I thought I would share the recipe!
CHECK OUT ALL THE YUMMY DEETS HERE!

pumpkin chocolate chip muffins

pumpkin chocolate chip muffins

{recipe & pic from}becky higgins

1 c. flour

1 c. sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 eggs, beaten

1 c. ground pumpkin (canned)

1/2 c. cooking oil

1/3 c. chocolate chips

Mix together. Fill muffin cups and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.