Dessert and Dinner

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup peanut butter
¾ cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 2/3 cup quick cooking oats
1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, Grease or grease and line with parchment paper an 8½ x 13-inch baking pan.
1. Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
2. Cream the peanut butter and sugars together. Add the vanilla and eggs and beat until light and fluffy.
3. Add the flour mixture and then the buttermilk, beating after each addition. Add the oats and combine. Add the chocolate chips. Spread the batter in the pan.
4. Bake for 35 minutes or until done. Cool for about ten minutes in the pan. While still warm, cut the cake into bars. If you use parchment paper, when you are ready to cut the cake into bars, grab the edges of the paper and lift the cake from the pan and set it on a large cutting board to cut.

Personally, I prefer milk chocolate chips to semi-sweet, so that's what I used. They are delicious, hearty, and travel well! I think I took mine out of the oven a minute or two early - gooey-ish, soft, and yummy :) I will probably add coconut to this recipe the next time I make it.
Also, who else wishes buttermilk came in a smaller carton for when you only use a small amount and uses are few and far between? I used a buttermilk substitute: just under 1 c. milk with 1 T. white vinegar or lemon juice.

1. Place a Tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup.

2. Add enough milk to bring the liquid up to the one cup line.

3. Let stand for five minute. Then, use as much as your recipe calls for.

Brilliant! I'm a new fan :)

Chicken Pasta Primavera

6 oz uncooked spaghetti

1 can cream chicken soup

¾ c. water

1 T. lemon juice

1 ½ t. dried basil

¾ t. garlic powder

½ t. salt

¼ t. pepper

1 pkg. frozen California-blend vegetables, thawed

4 c. cubed cooked chicken breast

3 T. grated Parmesan cheese

1. Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine the soup, water, lemon juice, basil, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Stir in vegetables; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 3-5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

2. Stir in the chicken; heat through. Drain spaghetti; add to chicken mixture and toss to coat. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

3. Serve with a green salad.

Whoops - as I typed this, I realized I forgot both the basil and Parmesan cheese when I made it tonight! No worries, it was delicious anyway! A new favorite. I decided you can basically use any type of veggies and it probably tastes just as good. I hope to try it with a vegetable medley including water chestnuts - the crispy crunchy appeals to me :)

All that's missing from this post is a picture of the happy people eating both the chocolate chip peanut butter bars (while on a road trip...) and the chicken pasta primavera. Next time...