Fast forward a few years to when I met Ben. The first thing I ever learned about him was his allegiance to Ohio State. Good, I thought. He’ll like Buckeyes. How could he not?

You can imagine my dismay when I learned on our first date that he wasn’t a fan of peanut butter. Or ranch dressing, but that’s a matter for another time. I couldn’t imagine life without peanut butter, so I held my breath and asked the question, “how do you feel about Buckeyes?”

Fortunately, he answered correctly. Turns out the combination of peanut butter and chocolate works for Ben and makes peanut butter palatable. If it didn’t… well, let’s just say our third anniversary might not be happening soon.

Just kidding.

I never thought I would say this, being the diehard Buckeye fan that I am, as evidinced in the aforementioned early dating conversation… but as of this past fall, I have found an even better version of Buckeyes than the original.

Think a creamy peanut butter center, sandwiched between two crisp pretzels, topped off with a refreshing dunk in semi-sweet chocolate. Sound good? Meet Pretzel Buckeyes, my new love and yours. They have an absolutely addicting salty-sweet combination that can’t be beat!

And if your [human] love doesn’t like ‘em… well, more for you! These are reallyreallyreally good, but I don’t recommend ending relationships over them.

Pretzel Buckeyes [from Sweet Pea's Kitchen]
click to print

Ingredients:

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar + extra
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• Pretzels
• 12 ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

Like these Apple Streusel Cheesecake Bars.

Think about it. A layer of oatmeal cookie dough topped with luscious, creamy cheesecake filling. Sounds pretty awesome, huh? But that’s not all. Sitting above that layer of velvety richness are tender, cinnamon spiced apples and a simple streusel topping that is out of this world.

Can this get any better? Apple Streusel Cheesecake Bars are like three desserts in one: cookies, cheesecake, pie.

And did you catch what these babies are baked up in? Yes, that’s right–a 9×13″ pan. So can it get any easier? I think not. Score!

Don’t shy away based on the length of the recipe. Most ingredients can be found in your pantry, and once you break it down by layer, this dessert comes together in a snap. Much easier than scooping out individual cookies, fussing with a cheesecake’s water bath, or dealing with the tedious process of rolling out pie dough, I say!

And once try ‘em, I’m certain you’ll agree. Just be careful to not take too many test bites in the baking process… you might have a difficult time filling the pan otherwise. Ask me how I know. Sigh… Don’t worry, you’ll understand once you take your first bite. Enjoy!

Apple Streusel Cheesecake Bars [from Betty Crocker; cookie base from Betty Crocker's New Cookbook; apple filling adapted from Allrecipes.com]
click to print

Ingredients:

for the apple layer

• 3 1/3 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 6 cups thinly sliced apples [about 6 medium- I used a mix of Gala and Granny Smith]

for the cookie base

• 3 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup butter, softened

for the cheesecake layer

• 2 -8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 baking dish thoroughly with cooking spray or line bottoms and sides with parchment paper.

Begin by preparing the apple layer. In a large pot set over medium heat, stir together water, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, then add apples. Return to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 7-8 minutes, or until apples are tender. Set aside.

While apples are simmering, prepare cookie base. In a large bowl, stir together oats, flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and baking powder. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside 1 1/2 cups, and press rest of mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes.

Next, with a stand [or electric] mixer, beat together cream cheese, sugar, flour, vanilla, and egg.

Then assemble bars. Spread cheesecake filling over partially baked crust, then spoon apple filling over top. Sprinkle on reserved crumbs, then bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Refrigerate to chill before cutting, then store in the refrigerator.

Time: 60 minutes [20 minutes active].

Yield: 24 bars.

Notes: Bars best for presentation within 24 hours, but they last longer–the crumbs just start to get a bit soggy after a day or so.

Week of February 20

~~~

In Review: Week of February 13

• Tofu Bowls–this was one of those late-night dinners where there was no sunlight left to take a photo, and I didn’t really follow a recipe.
• Valentine’s Dinner–Mad Men style! Tom Collins, caramelized onion dip, steak in a pan with butter, scalloped potatoes, Caesar salad, and cheesecake parfaits. Just wanted to spend time with Ben that night, so no real pictures.
• Tortellini Soup–amazing. recipe to come.
• Lime-Soy Chicken–last night’s dinner; recipe repeat.
• homemade pizza–didn’t happen.

This isn’t just any old black bean soup. This is Black Bean Soup Like You Mean It.

And boy… do I mean it.

Thick–but not too pasty. Eww, pasty. Chunky–but with a good mix of broth and texture. Spicy–but not run gasping to the fridge for milk out of control spicy. Full of veggies like onion and tomatoes and even spinach [hello spinach... you hid from Ben until his bowl was gone and then when I told him about you he was unaware... like, completely]–but yes, not too full of veggies that you forget it’s black bean soup. The black beans are still there, and serve as the perfect backdrop to a rich, garlic-y flavor to contrast with the spice. Finish each bowl off with a squeeze of lime juice and you have yourself a wonderful winner of a soup that is absolutely perfect in every way.

Perfect. And not too perfect. Wait… is there even such a thing? If this is any indication, Ben and I polished off the entire pot of this in one night, during an episode of Mad Men. Normally we’re all about the leftovers here for lunches, but this time there was no chance of leftovers. Not a one. So I guess it’s imperfection is that there was not enough. Be forewarned–next time this is on our menu, it will be in double batch form. Cause this is slurp-worthy delicious!

Happy Friday!

Black Bean Soup Like You Mean It [from You Can Trust a Skinny Cook by Allison Fishman]
click to print

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 3 1/2 cups black beans, rinsed and drained [from scratch or from 2 - 15 1/2 ounce cans], divided
• 2 cups chicken broth, divided
• 2 cups baby spinach, tightly packed
• 10 ounce can diced tomatoes with green chilis
• cilantro, for serving
• lime wedges, for serving

Directions:

In a medium pot or dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 3-4 minutes or until soft, stirring frequently. Add garlic and cook for a minute more until fragrant. Stir in cumin and chili powder and cook for another 30 seconds. Meanwhile, stir in 2 1/2 cups of black beans and 1 cup chicken broth. In a food processor, puree remaining 1 cup black beans, 1 cup chicken broth, and spinach until smooth. Pour into the soup pot, then add tomatoes and stir well. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer, cooking for an additional 5 minutes. Serve garnished with cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice.

Time: 25 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings.

Avocado Egg Salad is like regular egg salad… but it’s not. It’s creamier and smoother thanks to the avocado [duh] but still has a bit of tang from the mayo. I want to try it with Greek yogurt instead of mayo, but I didn’t have any plain on hand at the time. Unlike other egg salads, this one doesn’t incorporate tons of herbs or spices, just a sprinkling of lemon pepper for a little kick. It was a delicious new take on egg salad that rocked my Monday lunch. Hope you love it too!

In the spirit of full disclaimer, I must admit that this is not truly a “10 Minute Lunch” because it takes longer than 10 minutes to hard boil the eggs. But… simply prepare them the night before, as you’re eating breakfast, or getting ready, then pop them in the fridge. When lunchtime comes around, you’ll be good to go!

Avocado Egg Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 slices wheat bread, or crackers for serving
• 2 hard boiled eggs
• 1/6 of an avocado
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise or plain Greek yogurt
• lemon pepper
• romaine lettuce

Non-directions:

• Toast bread lightly in toaster, if desired.
• Peel eggs and place them in a small bowl, then roughly chop them.
• Add avocado and mayonnaise, then mash well with a fork.
• Add a pinch of lemon pepper and stir to combine.
• Top one slice of bread with lettuce, and load the other slice with egg salad, put together and enjoy!

Time: 10 minutes or less, not including time to hard boil eggs.

Yield: 1 delicious lunch.

One of the latest in our world is this hearty, meaty, thick stew. Spicy Sausage, Chicken, and Bean Stew has tons of meatyness thanks to hot Italian sausage and flavorful chicken thighs [use boneless, skinless chicken thighs to make it easier and to cut down on the fat], but still plenty of healthy stuff like celery, carrots, tomatoes, and potatoes to make me happy, as well as a plethora of herbs to add depth of flavor. Though I made this dish with Ben in mind, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it too. Don’t worry about the spicy factor either–this is one dish that did not “spice me out!” If you want a spicier stew, I would up the cayenne pepper or add a little hot sauce. This stew makes a ton so be prepared for a few days of leftovers. It also freezes well!

Spicy Sausage, Chicken, and Bean Stew [adapted from Rachael Ray's just in time!]
click to print

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces ground hot Italian sausage
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into chunks
• freshly ground black pepper
• 4 celery ribs, diced
• 3 medium white potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-2 inch pieces
• 2 medium carrots, scrubbed and shredded
• 1/2 large red onion, diced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 15 ounces chicken broth
• 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
• 15 ounces cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• pinch cayenne pepper

Directions:

Heat a large stockpot over medium heat, add Italian sausage and begin to cook, crumbling into large pieces. When fat starts to render, after about 2 minutes, add chicken and stir to incorporate. Season to taste with black pepper. Cook the chicken on each side for about 2-3 minutes until it starts to brown. When chicken is fully cooked, add celery, potatoes, carrots, onion and bay leaf. Cook for another 7-8 minutes to soften the veggies. Then pour in the wine and stir to deglaze the pan. Lastly, stir in broth, tomatoes, beans, thyme, sage, parsley, and cayenne pepper. Cover and bring to a boil, then cook for 10-15 minutes, remove bay leaf and serve.

Time: 40 minutes.

Yield: 8 servings.

Week of February 13

~~~
I got to hang out with two of my good friends from college yesterday, and had the best time! It was so fun to catch up on each other’s lives. One of the girls mentioned that she likes seeing my menu plans but always wonders how things turn out if I don’t blog about it or link to the recipe. So, I thought I’d start updating my old menu plans with links and also recap new recipes from the week before. Hope that’s helpful!

In Review: Week of February 6

• Potato Rosemary Soup–definitely will make again. Recipe to come.
• Cincinnati Turkey Chili–pretty spicy, but Ben loved it. Recipe to come.
• Both soups made a ton of leftovers so we ate these all week long along with other semi-random meals like chili nachos and eggs. Since we had colds this week, neither of us was very hungry. It was a strange week.

Here’s the link. Have a great Thursday!

That sounded really cheesy. Sorry. I’m in library school, but I don’t have to sound like a PBS kids show, now do I?

Anyway.

A cookbook that caught my eye at the library one day was Allison Fishman‘s You Can Trust a Skinny Cook. I’m on my second renewal of this fantastic cookbook, and have tried several recipes so far. Everything has been great! But what I really love is that Allison’s food philosophy is so apparent throughout her book. This isn’t a diet cookbook like you might think from the title; it’s a balance cookbook. Allison is all about serving tasty, healthy, natural foods that aren’t “weird” or hard to find, but that are tasty to the point of “mmmm.” Works for me! I won’t get into more about Allison’s philosophy cause you should really check her cookbook out for yourself, especially if you’re an Ellie Krieger fan, but I did want to share one of my new favorite muffin recipes.

Sunrise Muffins. I wanted to make this recipe first thing after flipping through her cookbook, thanks to the uniqueness of the method: you put an entire orange, peel, pith, and fleshy-orange-goodness-all into a food processor or blender and churn away. This process lends not only amazing flavor to your breakfast, snack, dessert, or anytime creations, but natural food coloring as well! All the better, I think, since bright, colorful things make me happy.

And you all want me to be happy, right?

So try these muffins. I know I tell you to try everything, but this time… I really mean it. Best new recipe of 2012 in my book, right here. Enjoy!

Sunrise Muffins [from You Can Trust a Skinny Cook by Allison Fishman]
click to print

Ingredients:

• 1 navel orange, scrubbed and dried, cut into eights
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar [original calls for 3/4 cup, but 1/2 cup is plenty]
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners*. Add orange slices, orange juice, egg, and oil to a food processor [or blender], and pulse until smooth. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, then pour in orange mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in cranberries, then spoon into muffin cups. Fill each about 3/4 of the way full, and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Time: 35 minutes [10 minutes active].

Yield: *12 standard size muffins or 48 mini muffins [bake for 17-20 minutes].

Notes: I’ve also made these with 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips instead of the cranberries. Yes, that is a size difference but they were plenty chocolately for me.

If you’ve missed my other SRC posts, the premise is this: you’re assigned a different member’s blog every month. You visit their blog, choose any recipe you want, then make it and share it on your blog. It’s a fun way to find new blogs and be stretched to try new recipes, cooking styles, etc. Then, everyone posts about their assigned blog on the same day. It’s so fun–if you have a blog, definitely check it out and consider joining.

This month I was assigned Raina’s blog, Connor’s Cooking. Raina is a busy mom of four, but she still manages to find time to blog multiple times per week about the recipes her family loves. So impressive! Her kids seem like very adventurous eaters–I don’t know many kids who would eat Stuffed Pepper Soup or Cajun Shrimp Skewers. Everything on her blog sounded amazingly delicious and not all stereotypical kid food [though some kid food is excellent!]. After perusing her blog, I could hardly decide what to make–everything sounded so good. So, I left the choice up to Ben and he decided on Mexican Chicken Alfredo.

Best decision ever. Yes!

Think spicy chicken in a creamy Alfredo sauce tossed with tender noodles, salsa, and corn. What’s not to love? Plus, it was easy to mix everything up in a big skillet on the stove and pour into a casserole dish for baking. My kinda comfort food, for sure. I didn’t make a lot of changes to the original recipe, but did use homemade taco seasoning and homemade Alfredo sauce, both of which I highly recommend if you have time. If not–no worries. It was the weekend, and I was feeling ambitious. But don’t be afraid–the ambition part is more time-related than anything. The Alfredo sauce isn’t something to be intimidated about–it’s really quite simple, and lends itself well to Raina’s Mexican Chicken Alfredo miracle. This recipe is definitely a keeper! Thanks, Raina!

Mexican Chicken Alfredo [from Connor's Cooking, Alfredo sauce from Mel's Kitchen Cafe]
click to print

Ingredients:

• 16 ounces spiral pasta [I used rotini]
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 ounces cream cheese [regular or low-fat], softened and cut into 12 pieces
• 2 1/4 cups skim milk, divided
• 2 cups parmesan cheese, divided
• 1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes [original called for 2 pounds, but 1 was enough--2 wouldn't have fit in the pan]
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 tablespoons taco seasoning, divided [I made my own from Mel's Kitchen Cafe]
• 1 cup medium salsa
• 1 cup frozen corn

Directions:

Begin by bringing a large pot of salted water to boil and preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Next, begin on Alfredo sauce.

Melt butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes. Add cream cheese piece by piece, stirring until smooth between additions. Mixture may appear curdled, but keep stirring. After about 3 minutes, you’ll be rewarded with a smooth paste. Next, slowly add a total of 2 cups milk in 1/4 cup increments. Make sure the milk is fully incorporated before adding the next 1/4 cup. Then, stir in 1 cup parmesan cheese and 1 teaspoon pepper, mixing until cheese completely melts. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes to thicken, then cover and remove from heat.

By now, the pasta water should be boiling, so add pasta and cook according to package directions. While the pasta is cooking, begin on the chicken.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken, onion, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 2 tablespoons taco seasoning to the pan, stir, and cook until chicken is no longer pink. Then, pour in Alfredo sauce [if it's homemade, give it a good stir first] and bring to a boil. Add remaining 1/4 cup milk, remaining 1 cup parmesan cheese, remaining 2 tablespoons taco seasoning, salsa, and corn. Mix well, then pour into an ungreased 9×13 inch baking pan.

Drain pasta and fold into chicken mixture. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly. I baked mine uncovered but just noticed the original said to cover it. Works either way! Serve and enjoy.

Time: 60 minutes [30 minutes active].

Yield: 10-12 servings.

Notes: If not using homemade Alfredo sauce, substitute 30-32 ounces prepared Alfredo sauce. Original recipe also suggests dividing meal in half; baking one now and freezing one portion in a 8×8 inch pan for up to 3 months. To use frozen casserole: thaw in fridge overnight, then remove to counter top for 30 minutes prior to baking. Cover and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.

Click on over to check out other posts from today’s reveal of the SRC. Have a great day!