Peanut Butter Bars

Peanut Butter. Chocolate. Is there anything better? We got this recipe from one of Laura's neighbors after eating them at a reception. We begged and finally she caved. These are so rich and delicious, they should only be made for events like receptions and parties, but we won't tell anyone if you make them just because. 

Peanut Butter Bars

1 cup softened butter

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 cup peanut butter (chunky or smooth, we prefer chunky)

1 1/2 cup flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 cup oatmeal

Cream butter, sugars, and eggs. Add peanut butter and vanilla and combine. Mix in remaining ingredients until combined. Press into a greased cookie sheet. 

Bake for 350 degrees for 15-17 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. 

Frosting:

1 cup of peanut butter

1 pkg of milk chocolate chips

1 Tbsp. of butter

While the bars are still warm, microwave the cup of peanut butter for a few seconds to make it a little more runny. Frost the top of the bars. Let cool a bit. Melt chocolate chips and the butter until smooth. Pour the chocolate on top of the bars creating a top layer. Cool and eat! 

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Momma Stapley's Bread/Roll Recipe

My Mom is going to kill me. I am actually going to post her famous bread/roll recipe. This recipe is a "staple" for the Stapley family (Heh..get it). We always make these this every Thanksgiving, Christmas, 4th of July and many special Sunday dinners. My mom would make what seemed like hundreds of these and we would make leftover sandwiches for days afterward. I also love this dough for making our famous cinnamon rolls as well. I love this recipe, and I hope you do too.

Momma Stapley’s Bread Recipe

1 pkg. of Yeast

1/3 C. of water

1 Tbls. of Sugar

2 C. warm water

½ C. of milk

½ C. of sugar

1 tsp. salt

½ C. of shortening

6 C. of flour

Mix yeast with the warm water and sugar. Mix and let sit for 10 minutes. In a mixer, combine warm water, milk, sugar, and salt. Add the yeast and 2 cups of the flour. Melt the shortening and add to the mixer. Start the mixer. Continually add a cup of flour until the dough starts pulling away from the side of the bowl and forms a ball. Set the dough aside, cover, and let rise for 20 minutes. Cook according to what bread you want. For rolls we roll out the dough to about a half to inch think, then cut the rolls into rounds as if you were making biscuits. Flatten the rounds a bit, place a pad of butter in the middle and fold the round in half. Cook at 375F until golden brown. 

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Our Best Pizza Dough and Pizza Sauce...So Far

I have been on the hunt for a perfect pizza dough and sauce recipe for years. We like the Papa John's like crusts, where it is flaky and soft, but a little crunchy on the outside. We have done a lot of research and testing and this year I think we have found our favorite so far from this highly technical pizza making blog: http://www.pizzamaking.com/. The key to this recipe is weighing the ingredients rather than trusting measuring cups and spoons. So get out your kitchen scale and try this recipe.

Pizza Dough (makes 2 balls)

Flour (all purpose is okay but King Arthur All purpose Flower is the best to use due to it's higher gluten %):	708.88	g
Warm Water:	400.52	g
Instant Dry Yeast:	1	g
Salt:	12.4	g
Vegetable Oil:	51.74	g
Sugar:	34.02	g

In a stand mixer, mix the water, sugar, salt, oil, and dry yeast. Slowly add the flour until incorporated. mix until it begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. If it doesn't, add a little more flour until it does. Mix for 5-7 minutes with a dough hook to knead. Place in a well greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap, let rise for 60-90 minutes or until doubled in size. Pull out of bowl, divide into two, and roll into two tight dough balls.  Cover and place in the fridge overnight for a cold rise. (If you do not have time to do the overnight rise, just let them rise again in a warm place until the dough balls have doubled in size, about 40-60 minutes then form the pizzas. but if you have the time, definitely do the overnight cold rise)

Before cooking, pull out the cold dough and let rise one last time for 30-45 minutes. Pre-heat oven with pizza stone (very important!) to 500F degrees for at least a half hour. Roll or manipulate one dough ball into a 14" pizza round. Add toppings and cheese of your choice and slide onto the stone.  Cooking time usually takes about 12-15 minutes. Just watch it and pull it out when the crust is perfectly dark brown. Let rest for 10-15 minutes and cut and serve. 

Pizza Sauce

1 10 3/4-ounce can of tomato puree (Yes, find the can that says "Puree") 

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon oregano

1/8 teaspoon basil

1/8 teaspoon thyme

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Combine ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

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Ceasar Salad Dressing

Laura's Aunt Rhonda can cook. Every time we go to their house it's such a treat because the food is always good. One year she made a huge bowl of Cesar Salad and we begged for the recipe of the dressing. We were surprised how easy it is to make this dressing.

Easy Ceasar Salad Dressing

1 egg
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 cloves crushed garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup of canola oil (we've tried olive oil, which is traditional, but we liked the canola oil taste better, go figure)

Blend all ingredients, except the oil, in a blender at low speed. Once combined, slowly add the oil while blending to emulsify. Refrigerate for a few hours, overnight would be best. Makes about 1-1 1/2 cups of dressing. This usually holds pretty well in the fridge for a week or so in a tight container.

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Leila's Homemade Brownies

If you can't tell, a lot of these recipes come from our friends and family and we try to figure out ways to make them better. However, this brownie recipe we received from our sister-in-law, Leila, does not to be improved. It's perfect. This recipe create a yummy cake-like brownie that will make you eat the whole pan before your brain tells you to stop.

Leila's Homemade Brownies

1 Cup butter
2 Cups sugar
4 Eggs
1/2 Cup powder cocoa
2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 Cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Powder Sugar to dust after baking

Cream the butter and sugar together. Add all other wet ingedients and mix well. Add dry ingredients and mix until combined. Bake in a well greased 9x13 pan in a 350F degree oven for 30-35 minutes. Dust with powder sugar. Enjoy!

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Chocolate Waffle Cookies

Here is another great recipe from Laura's Mom. These are a hit for parties or just on a Friday night with the kids.

Chocolate Waffle Cookies

1/2 Cup margarine
2 eggs
1 Cup flour
3/4 Cup sugar
3-4 tablespoons of powder cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
Powder sugar to sprinkle on after cooked

Melt the margarine until fully melted. Mix the cocoa until filly mixed. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until incorporated. Cook on a Belgian waffle iron until slightly hard. Split waffle into four sections and sprinkle powder sugar over the cookies. Other things we have done is dipped them halfway into chocolate or drizzles chocolate over the cookies and let them cool.

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Turkey Sloppy Joes

I was raised on Manwhich. For 12 year-old me, it was great. So that is how I always though Sloppy Joes were supposed to be made, a bunch of hamburger and this mysterious sauce that came from a can. Fast forward to a few years ago when I begged Laura to let us make some good ol' Manwhich Sloppy Joes. She refused, but said let's try to make our own so we know what is actually going into the sauce. So we started researching recipes and found one that we love. Also at that time, we were on a ground turkey kick, so we used ground turkey for this recipe and it was awesome. Since then, we have tried to make it with beef, but we like it beset with the ground turkey.

Turkey Sloppy Joe Sandwiches

1 1/4 pound ground turkey

1 Tbsp oil

1 cup ketchup

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons yellow mustard

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-2 carrots, finely grated

Grated zucchini (optional)

Over medium heat, heat up 1 Tbsp of oil and cook the turkey until fully cooked. Drain any excess liquid and oil. stir in the rest of the ingredients until incorporated. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and cover. Let simmer for about 25-30 minutes. Serve on your favorite hamburger buns. 

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