PBC Brownies

These brownies were so much fun to make, I kept sampling everything before it was cooked. They have chocolate, peanut butter, and cheesecake in them. Hello? Could there be a better dessert combination? They are ideal to take to a barbecue or picnic because they are made in cupcake wrappers so everyone gets an individual serving. Inside each brownie is a peanut butter cheesecake. The center is the consistency of cheesecake not peanut butter. They are best if you make them the day you are going to eat them.

Serves: 18 cupcake brownies
Start-to-Finish: 1 hr + 10 min
Recipe By: Kraft Foods Magazine

Ingredients:

1 pkg brownie mix (you will need an additional eggs, water, and vegetable oil to prepare brownie mix according to package directions)
1 (8-oz) pkg cream cheese, softened (you can substitute light cream cheese)
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups Cool Whip, whipped cream topping
72 chocolate chips, optional for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Prepare brownie batter as directed on package.
3. Spoon half of the mix into 18 paper-lined muffin cups. (The other half will be used to cover the cheesecake centers.)
4. Beat cream cheese, sugar, egg, peanut butter and vanilla with mixer until blended.
5. Spoon 1 rounded Tbsp. into center of batter in each cup, pressing down into batter. (Don't be afraid to press it down into the batter; it has a tendency to creep up to the top when baking.)
6. Top with the remaining half of the brownie mix. (You may have to use a spatula or your finger to get a nice coverage. This was were all the taste testing began.)
7. Bake 30 min. or until centers are set.
8. Allow to cool before removing from muffin pan.
9. When ready to serve, top with whipped cream and chocolate chips or serve as is.

Sweet and Sour Pork Patties

This is a simple recipe that uses ground pork instead of diced pork. Asian seasoning can be found in most grocery stores' spice section and usually contains garlic salt, anise, black pepper, ginger, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper. I prefer to mix my own seasoning because I don't like anise and it allows me to control how hot the spice is (the amount of cayenne pepper). Anise tastes like black licorice, if you like black licorice, you will love the stuff. I have included a recipe mix below so you can make your own Asian blend.

Serves: 4
Start-to-Finish: 30 minutes
Recipe By: Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade

Ingredients:

1 1/4 lb ground pork
2 TBSP soy sauce
2 tsp Asian seasoning
1 tsp minced garlic
2 TBSP vegetable oil
1 (16-oz) can pineapple chicks, drained
1 onion, chopped
1 red pepper, sliced or 1 (6-oz) bag frozen red pepper strips
1 (11.5-oz) bottle sweet and sour sauce
steamed rice
sliced scallions (optional)

Directions:

1. Slice pepper, chop onion, mince garlic, and slice scallions.
2. In a large bowl, combine ground pork, soy sauce, Asian seasoning, and garlic.
3. Form pork mixture into 2-inch patties (wet your hands to prevent mixture from sticking).
4. In a large skillet heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat.
5. Add patties to hot oil and cook 3 minutes per side.
6. Meanwhile, start cooking rice.
7. Transfer to pork patties to a plate and keep warm.
8. Add drained pineapple chucks, chopped onion, and sliced pepper to the skillet.
9. Cook for 3 minutes until peppers are just tender.
10. Add sweet and sour sauce, bring to a boil.
11. Return patties to skillet and coat in sauce.
12. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
13. Serve over steamed rice and garnish with sliced scallions.




Asian Seasoning Blend

Serves: approx. 4 teaspoons
Recipe By: Amber Brunson

Ingredients:

2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp anise (I do not add the anise, but most Asian seasonings include it)
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne red pepper

Directions:

1. Mix spices together.
2. Store in an airtight container.

Key Lime Cheesecake

This delicious cheesecake recipe is a copycat recipe from the Cheesecake Factory. I love to find a good copycat so I can make my favorite restaurant foods at home. I have linked to a site that has copycat recipes for a lot of different restaurants. Give it a browse and see if some of your favorite dishes are available. This recipe takes some time to make because it cooks for a hour then cools for a hour but the actual prep time is very quick and none of the steps are difficult.

Serves: 8-10 servings
Start-to-Finish: 2 1/2 hours
Recipe By: Cheesecake Factory

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
5 TBSP melted butter
1 cup sugar
1 TBSP sugar
3 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup lime juice
3 eggs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. Make crust by combining the graham crackers with the butter and 1 TBSP sugar.
3. Stir so that all is coated with butter, but keep it crumbly.
4. Press the crumbs onto the bottom and about half way up the side of an 8-inch springform pan. (You don't want the crust to form all the way up the back of the cheesecake slices. I don't know why but that's how they do it.)
5. Bake the crust for 5 min and set aside until you are ready to fill.
6. In large mixing bowl, combine sugar, vanilla, and cream cheese and blend with electric mixer until smooth.
7. Add lime juice and eggs and continue to beat until smooth and creamy.
8. Pour the filling into the pan and bake for 60-70 min. (If you notice top of cake turning light brown, cheesecake is done.) Remove from oven and cool.
9. When cheesecake has cooled to room temperature, put it into the refrigerator for 45 min.
10. Once cheesecake has chilled, remove the pan sides and cut cake.

Chicken Stuffed Green Peppers

This is one of the best recipes in my arsenal; definitely in my top ten. It has wonderful flavor, sophisticated presentation, and loads of healthy vegetables. This recipe can easily be made into a vegetarian dish if you replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth and the shredded chicken with fresh chopped mushrooms. The flavor combination of the wild rice, thyme, and zucchini is fantastic! If you need a "wow" recipe that looks and tastes like it requires lots of culinary talent, this is your dish. It does take some time to put together (1 1/2 hours) but none of the steps are hard so plan ahead and enjoy.

Serves: 4 people
Start-to-finish: 1 hour 30 minutes
Recipe By: Shelley Armstrong

Ingredients:

4 large green peppers (you want them to be similar sizes)
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
2 TBSP butter
3 cups diced cooked chicken (I like to use a large can of cooked chicken or a precooked little rotisserie chicken)
2 cups chicken broth
1 (6-oz) pkg long grain brown and wild rice blend
1/3 cup sliced celery
1/4 cup finely chopped carrots
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 (14-oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup chopped zucchini
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Cut tops off peppers and remove seeds and insides.
2. In a large pot, cook peppers in boiling water for 3 min.
3. Drain and rinse in cold water.
4. Place upside down on paper towels; set aside.
5. In a large saucepan, saute the onion and garlic in butter until tender.
6. Add the chicken, broth, rice with contents of seasoning packet, celery, carrot, basil and thyme; bring to a boil.
7. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25 min or until the rice is almost tender.
8. Remove from the heat; stir in the tomatoes and zucchini.
9. Spoon rice mixture into the peppers; place in a greased 2-qt. baking dish. (You can spoon any remaining rice mixture around peppers.)
10. Cover and bake at 350° for 25 min.
11. Uncover and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese; bake 5 min longer.

Southern Sunday Chicken

Think southern fried chicken and gravy but with less fat. This is also a good meal to sneak extra vegetables into. I added celery, onions and carrots, but you could also put in peas or corn; whatever your little ones will eat. The gravy has a great way of "hiding" the veggies to make them easier to go down. The recipe suggests serving the chicken and gravy with steamed rice or noodles but I think it would be awesome to try it over a baked potato to keep with the whole southern feel of the dish.

Serves: 4
Start-to-Finish: 45 minutes
Recipe By:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
1/3 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp celery seed
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast
2 tsp butter
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped carrots
1 (14.5-oz) can chicken broth
3 TBSP flour
1 cup evaporated milk
salt for seasoning
Hot cooked noodles or rice

Directions:

1. In a large resealable bag, combine the first seven ingredients.
2. Cut chicken into pieces; place in the bag and shake to coat.
3. In a large nonstick skillet, melt butter.
4. Brown chicken on all sides; remove and keep warm. (About 10 minutes.)
5. Chopped onion, carrots, and celery.
6. Add onion, carrots, and celery to the pan; cook until tender.(About 5 minutes.)
7. Return chicken to the pan; add broth.
8. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
9. In a small bowl, whisk flour and evaporated milk until smooth.
10. Add to pan; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. (Watch carefully, it can get really thick. If it gets too thick for your liking add more chicken broth to thin it out.)
11. (Before serving, taste the sauce and season with salt. The gravy has great flavor but it is really mild so it needs salt to bring it out.)
12. Serve over hot cooked noodles or rice.