Peanut Butter and Marshmallows - a great combination!!

Contrary to an old saying, I have recently been reminded that you CAN teach an old dog a new trick!
I grew up eating Peanut Butter and Marshmallow Crackers. Now, I make them often for my own kids! 
I’ll post a photo the next time I make them!

Peanut Butter Marshmallow Crackers

2 saltine crackers per treat
peanut butter
marshmallows

Turn on oven broiler.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper of foil.
Spread peanut butter on half of the saltine crackers, and place on cookie sheet.
Place 1 large or 4 mini marshmallows on top of peanut butter crackers.
Place pan under broiler.
Broil until marshmallows are lightly toasted.
Remove from oven and place a cracker on top of each treat. Press lightly to smush marshmallows, being careful not to get hot goo on your hands.
Cool slightly and enjoy!

Note: For a quicker and cooler version of this treat, spread one side of a cracker with peanut butter and the other side with marshmallow cream. Sandwich the two crackers together. And, wah-lah! It’s a quick and tasty treat without having to turn on your oven! We keep a jar of marshmallow cream next to the peanut butter in our pantry just for making these! This recipe is also great using Ritz and Graham crackers!

 Peanut Butter and Marshmallow Cream Sandwich

My friend, Wayne, recently shared some of his favorite homemade sandwiches on his blog.  It’s a great post! Be sure to read it! Just be forewarned that you will be very hungry and craving one of his yummy sandwich suggestions by the time you finish reading!

One of Wayne’s suggestions was a Peanut Butter and Marshmallow Cream Sandwich. It’s just like a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich, except you use marshmallow cream instead of jelly. When I read Wayne’s post, two questions immediately popped into my mind: Am I the only person who has never heard of this, and why in the world didn't I think of doing this myself?! Well, sharing is part of what friendship is all about! I am indebted to Wayne sharing this idea!

If time permitted, and especially in the winter months, my mom would "toast" our pbj sandwiches in a skillet on the stove top. I knew I wanted to toast Wayne’s marshmallow version the moment I read about it! So, rather than continuing to lament lost time with a food I knew I’d love without even trying it, I made myself one! When I checked my pantry, I had plenty of peanut butter and just enough marshmallow cream left in the bottom of the jar for one sandwich. So, I spread one slice of bread with peanut butter, and another with marshmallow cream. I put the sandwich together and brushed each side with a bit of butter I had melted in a small skillet. I put the sandwich into the same skillet and browned it on each side. As you can see, the finial result was warm and gooey! I used a fork to eat it! Oh, my!! this sandwich was very, very yummy! I have found a new weakness! Because we keep all the ingredients for this sandwich in my pantry, I have a feeling I will eat WAY too many of these from now on!! After all, I do have to make up for lost time!

A Twist on Tuna

Tuna made with ranch dressing and lemon pepper seasoning
New York Style Pretzel Flatz

Yesterday, when I was in Sam's, they were giving samples of tuna made with ranch dressing and lemon pepper seasoning, to taste. Needing a quick lunch for all us today and having several cans of tuna in the pantry, I gave this a try. Everyone liked it, except for M.C., who doesn't like tuna any way you fix it! Give this recipe a try for a little change in your tuna sandwiches!
I also picked up a bag of Pretzel Flatz, which were on sale at Wal-greens. The pretzel chips were really good. They only had the Everything variety. I look forward to trying the original, too! The ones we tried were crunchy, salty and low-fat! Everything you want them to be! Be sure to visit the Pretzel Flatz website. There's info on the chips and some really great sounding recipes, too!!

http://www.newyorkstyle.com/newyorkstylepretzelsnacks.php

Cheesy Crescent Dogs

We usually eat leftovers or some type of sandwich for lunch. My kids are old enough to fix their own lunches, but still usually ask what their choices are. I told them to have sandwiches today, because I want enough leftovers for a Leftover Buffet on Thursday night.

They happened upon a package of hot dogs in their sandwich meat drawer that we had overlooked for the last couple of weeks. We're not real big hot dog eaters, but I do occasionally buy a package or two if they are on sale. Ball Park Franks were on sale for $0.99 a few weeks back, and I had picked up a package. A quick check of the expiration date showed they were going out-of-date today!

We went ahead with our sandwiches for lunch, and I made an adjust to our supper plans. We will probably have the pizza tomorrow night, since I haven't bought the fish planned for Wednesday night yet. Having my ground meats and boiled chicken pre-cooked and in the freezer really helps me be able to change our meal plans on the spur of the moment.

I made Cheesy Crescent Dogs for supper. Since we each had two of these, I didn't make any sides. The kids really like these! They are kind of fun!!

Cheese strips


Hot dogs sliced lengthwise with cheese inserted in middle


Hot dogs wrapped in crescent dough


Cheesy Crescent Dogs

Cheesy Crescent Dogs

8 hot dogs
Block cheddar cheese cut into hot dog-length slices
crescent rolls (I used reduced fat)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Split each hot dog down the middle lengthwise, cutting almost all the way through.
Place a long thick cheese slice down the middle.
Separate the crescent dough into triangles.
Lay each hot dog lengthwise down a crescent roll. Wrap dough stretching it a bit to completely cover the hot dog.
Place crescent-covered dogs on a foil lined cookie sheet. (This will make for quick cleanup of any cheese the oozes out!)
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
Serve with ketchup and mustard, if you like.

Renee's Chicken Salad and White Cheddar Pimento and Cheese Quesadillas with Spicy Sour Cream Sauce and Pickled Jalapenos

"It is a true saying that a man must eat a
peck of salt with his friend before he knows him."
~ Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote

I don't know how close we're getting to having eaten our peck of salt together, but after more than twenty years of friendship and many dining experiences, Judy and I are surely getting close! We had our end-of-the-summer lunch last week. It was a bitter-sweet time of fellowship. We'd both been looking forward to it for a couple of weeks! Unfortunately, we know that once school starts back, we'll both be so busy, it will be months before we have the pleasure of another leisurely lunch together.

We ate at Café 212 in Tupelo, per George’s recommendation! Thank you, George!! We both loved it!! I had a White Cheddar Pimento Cheese Grill and Judy had one of their Chicken Salad choices. I believe they have two varieties of chicken salad. We will definitely go back to Café 212!! Check it out for yourself:

http://www.cafe212tupelo.com

Until you can get to Café 212, here are a couple of recipes for you to try at home!! They are both great!! As you can see in the photo, I had them for lunch today! I think this menu would be great for a light supper! It would also nice plate for a ladies' luncheon!

Renee's Chicken Salad and White Cheddar Pimento and Cheese Quesadillas
with Sour Cream Sauce and Pickled Jalapenos

White Cheddar Pimento and Cheese

This makes an excellent spread for sandwiches or crackers. I love to spread tortillas with pimento and cheese and grill them in a skillet. They serve this as an appetizer at Ajax with a nice little sour cream sauce and pickled jalapeños. It is wonderful!! I'll have to say that I am very pleased with my attempt to replicate it. The little condiment cups come in a package of 4 for $0.97 at Wal-mart.

2 cups shredded white cheddar cheese
1 (4 oz) jar diced pimientos, with juice
1/2 c mayonnaise
salt, white pepper and cayenne pepper, to taste

Combine the shredded cheese with the pimientos. Stir in the mayo. Add salt and white pepper. Stir until all ingredients are well-combined.

Spicy Sour Cream Sauce for Pimento and Cheese Quesadillas

Combine the following ingredients and serve with quesadillas:

1/2 cup sour cream*
1/2 teaspoon cumin
cayenne pepper, to taste
chili powder, sprinkle on as a garnish

*I used low-fat sour cream, which is less creamy the the full-fat version, so I thinned my sauce with just a bit of skim milk.


Renee’s Chicken Salad

Donna S. recently sent me this recipe, and I have been dying to try it. She got the recipe from her cousin, Renee S., another sweet Pontotoc friend! Donna said Renee served it in small purchased tart cups. You can also make these from scratch (recipe below), or serve it with crackers or on bread as a sandwich. I love all the options Chicken Salad affords us!! Donna added that it is very easy to make ahead and actually tastes better after a night in the fridge. It was hit for their tailgating in The Grove! I can certainly see why! It is yummy!! Lots of different tastes and textures!!

I love the convenience of canned chicken. I usually keep several cans on hand, especially during school months, but since I didn’t have any canned chicken in the pantry, I just used two cups of my frozen chicken from the freezer. If you have it on hand, I think you could use some sweet pickle relish in the place of the chopped up pickles, but I think you’d get a slightly different taste and texture. I really liked the pickles!

I don’t know why I started this, but for years, I’ve grated my eggs into salads - including chicken salad and potato salad. We grown accustom to this and really prefer it now. Give it a try sometimes and see what you think! For a slight change, I think a few chopped green onions would be good in this, too! Donna has offered to share more of her tailgating recipes with us!! I can't wait!! Thank you, Donna!!

2 cans white meat chicken, well separated with a fork
8 to 10 sweet midget pickles, chopped
1 red apple, peeled, cored & chopped
1/2 to 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 boiled eggs, chopped
8 oz. cream cheese, softened.
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1 cup chopped seedless grapes (optional)

Mix all the ingredients together. Add a little pickle juice if the salad seems too dry.


Mini-tart Cups

1 package refrigerated pie crust

Mini-muffin tins that has 24 cups, sprayed with cooking spray

Preheat oven to 425°F. Unroll prepared pie crust and lay flat on a cutting board.

Using a 3 inch diameter cookie cutter, cut circles from the pie crust. Each pie crust should yield 10 circles. Combine dough scraps, roll flat, and cut the remaining 4 circles. Place each pie crust circle into a mini-muffin cup. Press dough into bottom and up sides of each cup forming a tartlet.
Bake until edges become golden brown. Remove from the oven; cool for 10 minutes. Fill with desired filling.