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Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pretzel Stacks

April 30, 2009 By Kate 5 Comments

I just realized that this is the second chocolate-peanut butter combination I’ve made this week. I promise next week will be all about vegetables and fruits and healthy things…maybe.

This is a super simple, no-brainer kind of recipe. I wanted to make a quick snack for the kids and I was craving those chow mein noodle “haystacks” that are such a popular holiday treat. Unfortunately, we didn’t have any in our pantry. So I thought maybe chocolate covered pretzels would be fun. I decided to combine the two and the result was wonderfully salty, sweet and easy! Next time I make these, I think I’m going to try adding lots of other stuff like peanuts and raisins.

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Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pretzel Stacks

  • 1 1/2 c. chocolate chips
  • 1 c. peanut butter, creamy or chunky
  • 3 c. pretzel sticks, broken into halves

1. In a medium saucepan, melt chocolate chips and peanut butter together over low heat. Remove from heat and stir in pretzels. Drop by the spoonful onto waxed paper or greased tin foil and let harden before eating.

That’s it! Sometimes simplicity is the best way to go.

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Ground Beef “Wellington”

April 29, 2009 By Kate 17 Comments

I love this meal! It might sound a bit labor-intensive, but it really is extremely easy to put together. The presentation is spectacular and so is the taste.

My inspiration for this dish is the old-school Beef Wellington. I left out the pate or prosciutto that you’d find in the traditional. Then I added some spinach to the mushroom duxelle to boost the color a bit. For the beef, I went frugal and used ground beef. And I topped that all with my homemade crescent roll dough instead of expensive and somewhat finicky puff pastry. So for probably less than half the cost, this is a great option that looks just as elegant. Great for entertaining!

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Ground Beef “Wellington”

  • 1/2 batch crescent roll dough
  • 1 1/2 lb. ground beef
  • 1 t. each of salt, pepper, garlic powder and Italian seasoning
  • 1 T. butter or olive oil
  • 1 lb. white mushrooms, sliced
  • 1/2 onion, sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 1 c. frozen or 2 c. fresh spinach
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1/2 t. dried rosemary
  • 1 T. red wine vinegar, optional
  • 1 egg, beaten

1. Prepare crescent roll dough and let rise. Place ground beef in a large bowl and add salt, pepper, garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Incorporate into the meat with your hands. Shape meat into a log, about 12 inches long. Refrigerate.

2. Heat butter or olive oil in a skillet. Add mushrooms, onions and garlic and cook until mushrooms begin browning, about 5-7 minutes. Stir in spinach, seasonings and optional red wine vinegar. Cook until spinach is wilted. Let simmer until all of the liquid in the pan evaporates. Transfer to a bowl and mince with kitchen scissors, or pile on a cutting board and run a knife through the mixture until minced, or place in a food processor and process just until minced.

3. Roll out crescent roll dough about 15 inches square. Spread duxelle mixture over the crescent roll dough to within an inch of the edges. Place meat in the center and roll up tightly, being sure to pinch together all seams of the dough. Cut off any excess dough on the ends.

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4. Place on a cookie sheet, brush with beaten egg and bake at 350 degrees, for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. You will need to tent with foil after about 25 minutes so that the dough does not get too brown. Remove from oven and let sit at least 20 minutes before cutting.p4295085

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Even a more involved meal like this is stolen moments friendly. I prepared the meat and the duxelle in the morning, and then I did the dough and assembly a little after that. Two hours before dinnertime, I pulled the baking pan out of the oven, brushed on the beaten egg and put it in the oven.

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Creamy Peanut Butter Pie w/ Chocolate Chip Cookie Crust

April 28, 2009 By Kate 20 Comments

There was a half batch of chocolate chip cookie dough calling to me from the freezer on Sunday. I wanted to make something good for dessert; something that really constituted as Dessert with a capital D and not just cookies. So I started wondering if I could use the cookie dough as a pie crust. I figured it was worth a shot.p4264873

And that was definitely the right call. Man, did this pie turn out great! It’s a little rich and a lot delicious. It tastes better if it’s allowed to refrigerate at least 6 hours first though, so you might want to keep that in mind.

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Creamy Peanut Butter Pie w/ Chocolate Chip Cookie Crust

  • 1/2 batch of your favorite chocolate chip cookie dough (about enough to make 2 – 2 1/2 dozen cookies)
  • 1 8oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
  • 1 c. peanut butter
  • 1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
  • 1 t. vanilla
  • 2 T. milk, plus more if needed
  • 1/2 c. chocolate chips, melted (optional)

1. Grease a pie plate and sprinkle bottom and sides with granulated sugar or flour. Press cookie dough into pie plate. Bake at 375 degress for 15 – 20 minutes, until browned and fully cooked. Immediately after removing from oven, gently press the center of the pie crust down with a spoon to help it flatten. These makes it more like a pie crust and less like bar cookies.

2. While pie crust is baking, beat together the cream cheese and peanut butter until creamy. Add powdered sugar and mix about 2 minutes. Stir in vanilla and milk. The consistency should be thinner than frosting but thicker than pudding.

3. Once pie crust is completely cooled, pour in filling. If desired, melt chocolate chips and pour or drizzle over pie. Or decorate any other way you’d like. Now that I think about it, I bet cut up peanut butter cups would be great on top!

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I am excited to announce that Stolen Moments Menu Planning is now live! Menus planned and fully personalized for the entire month are currently just $7.95/month.

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