Peanut Butter Balls

Peanut Butter Balls

 

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions

In a large bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, butter & vanilla until smooth. Dump in the powdered sugar and stir until too stiff to stir with a fork... then comes the fun part.

 

Dig in with your (clean!) hands and stir & knead until a smooth stiff dough forms. Roll into small (teaspoon-full size) balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

 

Once you are done rolling all the dough, place the sheet in the fridge to chill and set for a few hours, until very firm.

 

In a small, deep bowl... microwave the chocolate chips and oil together in 30 second intervals - stirring well between each time - until smooth.

 

Using a fork, dip each ball into the chocolate, tap off the excess and set it back on the parchment; repeat. Again, once the pan is finished, place it back in the fridge to set completely for a few hours!

If you have excess chocolate, reheat it in the microwave for a few seconds and then scrape it into a ziploc bag. Cut off a tiny bit of the corner of the bag and drizzle the chocolate over the partially cooled chocolate balls.

 

*Alternately - and much more time-efficiently, especially great if you have littles running around! :

Instead of dipping the balls, place all of the melted chocolate in a ziploc bag and drizzle generously over the peanut butter balls. A little less chocolate to peanut butter ratio, but still great and much quicker & cleaner... and in my opinion cuter!!

Banana Bread

Super Moist Banana Bread

3 medium Bananas
3/4 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Oil
1 Egg
1 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 tablespoon Cinnamon (less if you’re not a fan of cinnamon)

• Preheat your oven to 350.
• Mash your bananas. (I generally use bananas that are almost brown so they are nice and soft. I place them in the mixer and they mash while I’m getting the rest of the ingredients together.)
• Add the egg, sugar and cooking oil to your bananas.
• Add the dry ingredients to your banana mixture and stir just until moistened.
• Spray the bottom and sides of a bread pan with cooking spray. Cook for 50-55 minutes, or until a cake tester (or toothpick) inserted in middle comes out clean.
• Allow pan to cool for 10 minutes on a cooling rack.
• To remove the bread from the pan, first run a butter knife around the edges of the bread (this will ensure that the bread isn’t stuck to the pan.) Turn the pan over onto your wire rack and your beautiful loaf of bread should come out clean as a whistle.
• Allow your bread to fully cool on your wire rack.

Fish Chowder

Hearty Halibut Chowder

• Prep
  35 m
• Cook
  40 m
• Ready In
  1 h 15 m            

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 (8 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, diced
• 2 large carrots, shredded

• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 pounds halibut, cut into 1-inch cubes (I used Pollock) 
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes, or to taste

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and garlic, and continue cooking until the potatoes have softened slightly, about 10 minutes.
2. Pour in the chicken stock, tomatoes, and carrots. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the milk and cream, season to taste with salt and pepper, then stir in the halibut. Continue simmering uncovered until the halibut is flaky and no longer translucent in the center, about 10 minutes. Gently stir in the Cheddar cheese and red pepper flakes until the cheese has melted. Serve immediately.

Chicken Parmesan

Authentic Chicken Parmesan

                                                                                                  

• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins
• Servings: 3-4

Ingredients

• 1 lb chicken breast ( 3-4 breasts)

Breading

• 1 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1 cup parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon thyme
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1 tablespoon basil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Dip mixture

• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk

Additional Ingredients

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 (16 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce ( more if needed, refer below)
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 16 ounces mozzarella cheese
• parsley ( for garnishment)
• 1 lb cooked pasta ( i.e. spaghetti)

Directions

1. Wash and pat-dry each chicken breasts.
2. Cut any visible fat from each chicken breast.
3. Pour olive oil (1/2 cup) into frying pan, and turn the heat up to medium-high.
4. Mix all of the following ingredients in a medium-large mixing bowl: Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, basil, salt, black pepper, oregano, thyme.
5. In another mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk until it is slightly foamy. More milk, approximately 1/4 cup, can be added to make the milk-egg mixture less thick.
6. Dip a chicken breast into the milk-egg mixture. Remove the chicken breast once it is well coated and allow the excess to drip off into the bowl for a second or two. Place the chicken breast into the breading mixture. Roll chicken around to thoroughly coat all sides of chicken.

Sunday Gravy

My Mama Iuliucci's "Don't Skip a Step" Spaghetti Sauce

                                                                                                  

• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Total Time: 3 hrs 15 mins
• Yield: 1 Large pot of sauce

Ingredients

• 2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
• 1 (28 ounce) cans tomato puree
• 1 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon parsley
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese or 1/2 cup romano cheese
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• Italian sausage or home-made meatballs
• 1 -2 spareribs (optional)
• leftover cooked chicken thighs or chicken leg (optional)
• pepperoni (optional)

Directions

1. Combine tomato products in large stock pot or dutch oven.
2. Add a 28 ounce can of water and stir.
3. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
4. Sprinkle with sugar, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, parsley and grated cheese and stir to combine.
5. In a frying pan, heat about 1/4" of vegetable oil and fry up your sausage or meatballs until cooked through.
6. Add the meat to the simmering sauce, along with any optional meats (recommended) mentioned in ingredients.
7. Now, this is an important, not to be left out, step: Add chopped onions and garlic to pan that meat was fried in.
8. Do not drain anything before adding onions and garlic-- there should be some drippings/oil left in the pan!

Meatballs

Authentic Italian Meatballs

                                                                                                 

• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 20 mins
• Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 2 slices american bread, soaked in a
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 eggs
• 4 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 hamburger buns with sesame seeds
• salt and pepper
• 2 cups tomato sauce, warmed ( I use my Fresh Tomato Sauce recipe, but canned works too!)

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix the ground beef, bread, onions, parsley, eggs, cheese, and garlic.
2. Add salt and pepper to taste; If the mixture is dry, add ½ cup of cold water and mix well. Form into about 12 meatballs.
3. Place the meatballs in a sauté pan with the olive oil and fry over medium to high heat until brown, about 10 to 15 minutes.