Lazy Day Cookie Bars

I was craving something sweet today, but had absolutely no ambition to bake anything. Then I remembered that a while back I had seen a recipe for super easy cookie bars that virtually take no effort at all. I knew it was perfect for the mood that I was in, so I got right to it.

These are probably one of the easiest bars I have ever made. It took me a matter of a couple minutes to throw the ingredients together and the oven did the rest. Here's the recipe for these fool proof, Lazy Day Cookie Bars!

Ingredients:
*1 box yellow cake mix
*2 large eggs
*5 tablespoons melted butter
*1-2 cups mini M&Ms (can use whatever you want, choc chips, nuts, whatever you have on hand)

Directions:
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease 8x8 pan with cooking spray.
*Dump cake mix in mixing bowl.
*Add eggs and mix together on low.
*Add melted butter and contiue to mix until the three ingredients are incorporated together.
*Stir in mini M&Ms.
*Scoop mix into greased pan and flatten out evenly.
*Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

I baked mine for 25 minutes and after allowing them to cool and cutting into them, I realized they could have been baked for a smidge longer. I checked mine with a toothpick and it came out clean, but they were a tad doughy yet. Just and FYI :)

Happy Lazy Day Baking!!

Raspberry Pie Bars



I give you Raspberry Pie Bars. I have to admit, I did not come up with this recipe on my own. The original recipe was called Blueberry Pie Bars, and they were a-maz-ing! I tweaked the recipe a bit to make it easier for me and just because I thought they were better this way. This time around I wanted to try a fruit other than blueberries since I already knew those rocked. I chose raspberries because I thought they would work much in the same way as the blueberries, but would make the bars a bit sweeter. So, keep in mind that if you don't like raspberries but you do like blueberries, just swap the two ingredients. These bars are so good! The raspberries add a tartness that the blueberries didn't. I would also like to try this recipe with cherries and peaches, but I'll save that for another day :)

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/8 tsp salt

3/4 cup butter (softened)

Filling:

2 large eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup sour cream (can be lite)

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp almond extract

12 oz frozen raspberries

Directions:

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8 pan with cooking spray and set aside.

*For the crust, add flour, sugar, and salt to mixing bowl and mix together briefly.

*Cut butter into tablespoons and add to mixer. If butter is chilled, after cutting, microwave for 15 seconds to soften. Mix together until butter is cut down and incorporated well with the flour mixture, about a minute. Crust should be crumbly.

*Set 1 1/2 cups of the crust mixture aside for the topping. Press the remainder into the bottom of the greased 8x8 pan.

*For the filling, whisk the eggs using mixer and whisk attachment.

*Add sugar, sour cream, flour, and almond extract.

*Remove bowl from mixer and gently fold in raspberries.

*Pour filling over crust, then sprinkle reserved crust evenly over the top of the filling.

*Bake between 1 hour-1 hour 15 minutes. Allow them to cool for about an hour so they can fully set up before digging in.

Cooking times may vary depending on your oven. You may want to start checking them after 45 minutes or so just to get a feel for where they are at. When the bars are golden brown and no longer jiggle in the middle, they are done.



Creamy Garlic Baked Potato Soup

My husband has been bothering me for literally months to make him potato soup. I, of course, kept saying that I'd eventually get around to doing it. Well, today was the day that seemed like the right time to get creative in the kitchen. I did not follow a recipe for this version of potato soup; I simply threw some of my favorite ingredients together and what I came up with was very, very YUMMY! I give you Creamy Garlic Baked Potato Soup.

Ingredients:
*7 medium potatoes
*9 slices thick cut bacon
*2 tbl butter
*3 garlic cloves (use less if you aren't a huge garlic fan, 2 cloves will work)
*3 tbl flour
*5 cups milk (I used 2%)
*24 oz velveeta cheese (3/4 a box)
*1/3 cup sour cream
*4 tsp cream flavored soup base (optional)
*Parsley
*1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Directions:
*Scrub potatoes and wrap in tin foil. Bake in 425 degree oven for about an hour. After baked, unwrap tin foil and set aside to cool. It helps to cut them in half also.
*Fry bacon in pan and let drain on a paper towel.
*Cut up cheese in 1 inch cubes and set aside.
*Melt butter in large pot on medium heat. Grate garlic cloves into the butter and cook for about a minute. *Turn heat down to medium low after that.
*Add 1 tbl flour and 1/4 cup milk to butter and garlic and whisk together.
*Slowly add in velveeta cheese and the remaining 4 1/4 cups of milk. I alternate, allowing time to melt the cheese and heat the milk. Be sure not to burn the cheese or milk by heating slowly and stirring periodically.
*When the cheese is melted, whisk in the cream flavored soup base and additional 2 tbl flour. It may be lumpy for awhile, but will eventually break down.
*Whisk in the sour cream to the mixture.
*Cut up the potatoes into chunks. I like to leave the skins on some of my potatoes, but remove from at least half of them because the skins make it harder to cut them. It's okay if some of the potatoes fall apart. Once you have them cut up, add them to the soup (which should be creamy by this point, but not real thick) and carefully stir.
*Cut up bacon into small piece. I use scissors because thick cut bacon is harder to crumble. Add this to the soup as well. Save some aside if you want to use as a garnish.
*Add some parsley just for looks basically.
*Allow the soup to cook on low for a good 20 minutes so the flavors can come together.
*When serving, add some cheddar cheese to the top and some bacon pieces.

Soup is chunkier than it looks, but it is hard to get a great picture.

Now, you can also add onion to your soup, but since neither my husband nor I care for them, I skipped putting them in the recipe. If I did like them I would use them as follows: Chop up red onion into small pieces. Add to melted butter in beginning of process and cook down with the grated garlic. I would also use chives as a garnish and for color.

Hope you like my soup and give it a try next time there's cold weather!