Chunky Pecan Pie Bars



My sister made these the other day and sent me some updated photos from the ones that were taken back in 2009. She wanted me to post them and tell you how to make my traditional winter treat. They're not really mine anyway. I got them from an old magazine. They are actually one of Nestle Toll House's recipes. But, I guess I do make them a little different so, you could say they are my version of these Chunky Pecan Pie Bars.

 

 

The Crust:

1/2 cup Flour

1/2 cup softened butter

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

(I found that you need to spray the pan if you are using glass or a metal)

Mix ingredients, press into pan and bake in a pre-heated oven set at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

 

Filling:

3 large eggs (slightly beaten)

3/4 cup of corn syrup

3/4 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons of melted butter

1 Tablespoon Vanilla

1 package of Chocolate Chunks

1 1/2 cup of Pecans (chopped)

Mix all ingredients together and pour onto of crust.

 

 

 

Bake again @ 350 degrees for 20-35 minutes or until golden brown. Wait until they cool to cut (otherwise, they will be too gooey).

April's Author of the Month- Angie L.

Angie L.
Alaska
Saltbox Author since 2009

Read Her Bio Click Here

Favorite Foods:

My favorite food is fillet minon or anything seafood like scallops, salmon, and crab. I do not however, like exotic seafood like octopus or squid.


Favorite Restaurant:
Sullivans


Inspiration to Cook:

I don't really like to cook, but I cook when I need to. I am more of a dinning out kinda gal. If I had my meals delivered or had a personal chef, that would be ideal ;)

Feelings about New Foods:

I always try new things! I am always curious about new foods, restaurants and places that would satisfy my curiosity.


At the Table:

I mostly cook for my family, but I like to attend dinner parties and if I was the host of one, I would definitely have it catered.

Here at Saltbox House Cooking Exchange, we have been inspired by Angie's enthusiasm for dining out and chose her for this month's author of the month because of her passion for finding great foods. Even if you love to try new foods, cooking these foods may not be a joy to do at home especially when your favorite foods my be time consuming to prepare. Angie is one of our authors that may prefer take out more than making her meals at home, but one thing she does prides herself on and that is making the meal about the family. To view all of Angie's current posts such as delicious recipes, cooking creations, and other food topics see link list below:

Blackberry Sourcream Tarts

*Favorite

Broccoli Salad

Manicotti

Broccoli Braid

White Enchiladas

Stuffed Mushrooms

Chunky Pecan Pie Bars

Cafe Rio's Pork Barbacoa 

* Most Popular Post

Hey- Bio

Blackberry Sour Cream Tarts

photo by Madeline L.

These are a very tempting tart that I can only make on special occasions so that I won't eat the whole batch. It is not my recipe, it was given to my by my friend Kristin.

Blackberry Sour Cream Tarts
by Kristin Reed

Ingredients:
1 bag frozen blackberries
1 box of ready-made pie crust
1 cup of sour cream
1 egg
4 Tablespoons of flour
1 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla

Directions:

• Lay out pie crust and cut into sizes you want for your tarts. I use a small Mason lid. Place cut out dough into tart pan slots (or a mini cupcake pan) and press to form a cup shape.
• Place one blackberry into the center of the dough cup. 
• Mix sour cream, egg, flour, sugar and vanilla together and pour over blueberry almost filling the top of the tart.
• Bake in a pre-heated oven set @ 350 degrees for 8 mintues. 

Topping Ingredients:
1/4 cup of butter
1/3 cup of flour
1/3 cup of brown sugar
1 tespoon of cinnamon

* Mix together into a crumbled mixture with a fork or food processor. Not too long or it will go mushy.

Sprinkle topping over tarts and place back in the oven set @ 400 degress for an additional 8 minutes.



photo by Madeline L.

Broccoli Salad

Photo by Madeline L.

I was asked to start the next food challenge for May. It is the Salsa Salad challenge. We wanted to challenge everyone to make a fresh salad or salsa this month as a recognition to the gardening season. I am sharing my broccoli salad that is a favorite in my family. This is actually a picture of Madeline's version (she adds fresh spinach and Crasins to hers) but they are pretty much the same.

Broccoli Salad

Ingredients for Salad:

Fresh Broccoli Florets (About 3 crowns of Broccoli)

Sunflower Seeds- 1 cup

Bacon (cooked and crumbled)- 1/2 of a package or 2-3 strips

Green Onions- 1/2 cup chopped

For Dressing:

Mayo- 1 cup

Vinegar- 2 Tablespoons

Sugar- up to 1/2 cup

Dried Onions- 2 Tablespoons (Optional)

Other Optional Ingredients:

Spinach

Craisins

Directions:

Mix Dressing and pour over salad, mix it all together.

*

Enjoy!

Click Here for More Information

* Advertisement- SBHCE may be compensated for purchases made

Easy Manicotti

Photo by Madeline L.

Ingredients:

Ricotta Cheese- 2 cups

Mozarella Cheese- 2 cups

Parmasan Cheese- 1/2 cup

Egg- 1

Green Onions (diced)- 1/4 cup

Parsley- 1 Tablespoon

Salt- 1/2 teaspoon

Manicotti Noodles (1 box = 14)

Marinara Sauce

Extra Mozarella and Parmasan cheese for top

Directions:

Cook Noodles for 6 minutes in boiling water. Remove and cool with cold water. 

Mix Ricotta, Mozarella, Parmasan, Egg, Onions, and Parsley together and pipe into Manicotti Noodles. In a baking pan, spread a little Marinara sauce on the bottom and place filled Noodles in a row. Top with remaining Marinara Sauce and some extra cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.  

(If you cover with tin foil you won't have to worry about the exposed noodles drying up) 

Broccoli Braid

Photos by Madeline L.

I was asked to announce the next challenge for this blog and that was the Bakery Challenge. This month celebrates National Baking Week and we invite every to join us as we bake some of our favorite dishes. This recipe, I've been making for years. It was adapted from the Pampered Chef but, I have made a few changes to it so now everyone calls it Angie's Broccoli Braid.

The dough is basically 2 cans of buttered cresent rolls that are rolled out onto your baking sheet or in this case a baking stone. Remember to grease the baking sheet (not the stone).

Mix Together:

3 Chicken Breasts (boiled and cubed)

1 cup of defrosted Broccoli (chopped)

1/4 cup or Sour Cream

1/4 Cup of Mayo

1/2 Green Pepper (chopped)

1 cup of Chedder and/or Jack cheese

Salt and Pepper as desired

Layout Mixture onto your rolled out dough. Slit equal strips on each side like shown.

(Don't slice too long or you won't have enough dough to support the bottom). Take each strip and cross over making a braid. (Try to remember not to form sections will a lot of dough or you will get doughy results) If you need to toss excess dough, it is better.

Brush an egg white (unbeaten) all over any exposed dough. This will make your pretty glazed look after baking (As you can see, I did not brush as much egg white so mine could have been better). 

Bake in a pre-heated oven set @ 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

White Enchiladas

Photo Taken by Madeline L.

Ingredients:

Corn or Flour Tortillas

Cooked Chiken (I boil it and shred it)
1/2 small onion minced or dried
1 small can of green chiles (optional)
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup

1 cup of Sour Cream

1 8oz pack of Creem Cheese

Any white cheese

Directions:

Mix shredded chicken with onions, and cream cheese (and green chiles) in one bowl

In another bowl, mix Soup and Sour cream

Fill each shell with chiken mix and roll up.

Place each one in a row into a baking pan until filled.

Pour Sourcream/soup mix all over enchiladas and top with shredded cheese.

Bake in a pre-heated oven set at 350 for 30-min.

Stuffed Mushrooms



Photos by Madeline L.

These are super simple to make and you can change them up any way you want. I make them all the time that they make the perfect snack.

Mix together:

1 softened package of cream cheese

some minced onions

and some shredded Italian cheeses

You can add what you'd like from there.

Cut the stems out of your mushrooms (you can cut up the stems and put them back into the cheese mix too). I like to pack my cheese mixture into the mushrooms like this picture shows. Then, I top it with some more Italian cheese.

Put your mushrooms into a pre-heated oven set at 350 degrees for like 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

*

Madeline made these and sent me the pictures. She added some Paprika and Chives to give these mushrooms a little color. She also used a different mushroom that I ususally do but, I'm sure any small mushroom that you can stuff would be good.

Hey!

I am Angie, Madelines sister. I love to cook and am very excited about sharing some recipes with all of you. We currently live in Alaska and eat fish on a regular basis. I am always looking for something new for my 3 children and my husband.

Cafe Rio's Pork Barbacoa Salad

Some people would argue that Cafe Rio is not real Mexican food. Well, I think it comes very close to the idea of it all. It was started in St. George, UT and has been a growing sensation. This recipe is simply an imitation and it does not replace the original genius. This post is specifically for the Pork Barbacoa and the salad process. Since everything is the same for most of the salads, we like to change it up and make the Fire Grilled Chicken and Fire Grilled Steak salads by simply grilling and seasoning (with dry Cholua) chicken and/or Carne Asada steak and cutting into strips. This is another fast and easy way to have a good Cafe Rio salad if you chose not to do pork that day.

*

There are a lot of imitation Cafe Rio pork recipes out there. To me, they seem to be a whole day process and can also be intense with directions. This pork recipe was given to me by sister that she has been making for years now. She has not only cut the time in half but the process in general. The best part is, when I compare it to the all day processed pork, it tastes as good if not better.

Thank You Angie Lopez!

Place (defrosted) boneless pork roast into slow cooker and fill with water until only the top it showing. Cover with lid and slow Cook pork roast on high for approximately 3 hours.

To check if it is ready to shred, stab with fork and twist to see if pork will fall apart. Pork can still be a little pink. Drain water.

Shred your pork (You may have more water to drain as you go). If you find that it is difficult but the pork is done, I have thrown large chunks in my food processor and it shreds it just right
(as shown here).

Set slow cooker on low (warm) and add the following ingredients:

12-16 oz of Coke
1-2 bottles of Taco Sauce
1 cup of brown sugar
1-2 Tablespoons of Cumin

*The ranges on these measurements suggest that I add a little more depending on how it tastes.
*
Mix and keep on warm until ready to eat.
This will be Layer # 2.


Layer # 1 - The Tortilla.
*
Pre-heat Broiler.
Homemade Tortillas are best or get the kind that you can cook on a skillet.

After they are cooked, sprinkle with cheese and set in individual foil cake pans or on a cookie sheet. The broiler will melt and cook them very fast. So have your other ingredients ready!


Layer #3-Special Rice
Click here to get this recipe


Layer # 4 -Brazilian Black Beans
Click here for this Recipe
*
Top layers with Hearts of Romaine Lettuce


Don't forget the special dressing
Click here for recipe


Additional toppings consist of tortilla strips, cheese, pico de gallo, and cilantro. A side of guacamole and a lime wedge can be a great addition too.


*
What is your favorite Cafe Rio Dish?