Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
one bag of chocolate chips (feel free to use bittersweet or semisweet)
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
3 tbsp. graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup powdered sugar
a pinch of salt
mini muffin liners (this makes 16-20 cups depending on how generous you are)
Ready? It's time to play with chocolate, and I'm super excited. First thing, melt the chocolate. You can do it in a bowl over a pot of simmering water, or just do my favorite technique - pop it in the microwave. Heat it for 30 seconds at a time, and stir after each nuke. Once it's melted, you're good.
Next, grab a pastry brush or a clean paintbrush that's really tiny. Put a smallish spoonful of chocolate into each muffin liner, and use the brush to "paint" the chocolate up the sides and into those little ridges. No need for it to be incredibly even. The more rustic, the cuter the cup in my opinion. If you have a mini muffin pan, put the liners in it to cool. If not, just put them in a regular tin or just on a plate. You want the liners to keep their shape. Pop it in the freezer for 15 minutes to set up.

While they freeze, make the peanut butter filling. Mix together the rest of the ingredients. No need to pull out the mixer; a spoon works great.

Pull the chocolate cups out of the freezer, and use two spoons (or a spoon and your kids' cute little fingers) to put a little dollop of the mixture into each cup.

Now put another little dollop of melted chocolate on top. If you need to nuke the chocolate again so it's spreadable, go for it. Spread it around a bit with the back of a spoon, and put the cups back in the freezer to set up. Like any other kind of chocolate candy, these keep just fine at room temperature, but the chocolate stays a bit more stable in the fridge. If you're planning on saving these for holiday gifts (or just to keep yourself from eating them all at once), storing them in the freezer works great, too.

Scrambled Egg Nests

SCRAMBLED EGG NESTS



Ingredients
1 (3 1/2-cup) bag frozen shredded potatoes, defrosted (I USED 1 CARTON OF DEHYDRATE HASHBROWNS)
1/3 cup vegetable oil or butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
6 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup finely diced onions
1/3 cup finely diced bell peppers
3/4 cup diced cooked breakfast sausage Shredded Cheddar
Chopped parsley for garnish (optional)

Instructions
Heat the oven to 400°.
In a large bowl, toss together the potatoes, 1/4 cup of the oil or butter, salt, and pepper.
Spoon about 1/3 cup of the potato mixture into each cup of a 12-serving muffin tin.
Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of each cup, then bake until golden brown, about 30 to 35 minutes.
Remove the nests from the oven and allow them to cool.
Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs and milk.
Heat a large nonstick saute pan over medium-high heat.
Add the remaining oil or butter to the pan and heat.
Add the onions and peppers to the pan and saute until both are soft and the onions are slightly golden, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the sausage and cook until heated through.
Add the egg mixture and stir until the eggs have set and small curds have formed. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Remove the potato nests from the muffin tin and place them on an ovenproof platter or cookie sheet.
Fill each cup with some of the egg mixture, top with a sprinkling of the cheese, and place the nests in a 375° oven until the cheese is melted, about 2 to 3 minutes.
If you like, garnish each nest with a little parsley.
Serve warm.

ENJOY! WE DID THIS MORNING!

Golden Stew!

GOLDEN STEW

4 carrots (cut into 1" pieces)
1 1/2 cups peeled & diced potatoes
3 celery stalks, chopped
2 medium cut-up onions
1 pkg frozen peas (1 lb)
2 cups cubed ham
1 can cream of celery soup
1 (8 oz) jar Cheez Whiz or
Velveeta processed cheese

In large saucepan combine carrots, potatoes, onions and celery covered with water.
Cook, covered til veggies are tender or about 10 minutes. (I always do the carrots
first because they take the longest to cook.) Add peas and ham - cook for 5 more
minutes. Stir in soup and cheese and heat through. For more volume add more water.
This is good served in a good bread bowl and you can eat the bowl and all!

Vanessa gave me this!