Peanut Butter Fudge

My husband had a cookbook when he went away to college called "Where's Mom Now That I Need Her?" This recipe was in that book. I've modified it very slightly over the years and it's always been a favorite around here. The original recipe may have even been called something else (Peanut Butter Cups?) and it called for a chocolate bar or chocolate chips to be spread over the top, but we leave the chocolate off. This is not a smooth fudge - there's definitely a texture from the graham cracker crumbs - but it tastes so good! 

4 whole graham crackers, crushed
½ c. butter or margarine
1 c. peanut butter
½ lb. powdered sugar (2 c.)
        Crush graham crackers and set aside. In a large saucepan, slowly melt butter over low heat (or melt in a glass bowl in the microwave). Remove from heat and stir in crushed graham crackers, peanut butter, and powdered sugar. (I use a fork to mash everything together as it gets pretty thick!) Mix thoroughly. Press into an 8-inch square pan. Let cool. Cut into small squares.

Saltine Cracker Toffee

Yum!

1 tube saltine crackers
1 c. butter (no substitutes)
1 c. packed brown sugar
¾ c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
        Preheat oven to 350°. Place saltine crackers in a single layer on a greased baking sheet (or line with parchment or a silicone baking mat). Set aside. 

        In a saucepan, melt butter and mix in brown sugar; bring to a boil, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Remove from burner and pour evenly over crackers. Bake for 7 minutes on middle rack of oven. 

        Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over hot topping. (This next part gets a little messy...) Once the chips have melted, swirl the chocolate over the topping with a spoon to give it a marbled look or spread chocolate evenly to make a thin coating. Refrigerate until chocolate is set, approximately 30 minutes. Break into chunks or separate the crackers.

Graham Cracker Toffee

I have loved these since I was a little girl. 

One sleeve graham crackers, broken into quarters
~1/2 c. slivered almonds
1 c. (2 sticks) butter
¾ c. sugar
        Preheat oven to 350°. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat. Fill baking sheet with graham crackers, evenly spread out. Sprinkle slivered almonds over top. In a small pan, combine butter and sugar. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Drizzle over graham crackers. Bake at 350° for 7 minutes.

Easy Cheesy Garlic Pizza Bread

This is one of Sadie's favorite lunches. It is so easy to make if you have about 10 minutes. We ate a LOT of this when the kids had online school during Covid. It is so satisfying. The recipe says "serve warm," but my kids have been known to eat the leftovers straight out of the refrigerator. :)

1 or 2 loaves Jimmy John’s day-old bread*

Butter or margarine

Garlic bread seasoning (Click here for the recipe)

Shredded cheddar cheese

Pepperoni

     Cut each loaf of bread in half lengthwise. Lightly butter each piece and sprinkle with garlic bread seasoning (substitute with garlic salt, if needed). Sprinkle with cheese and cover with a row of pepperoni slices. Place under broiler for 3-5 minutes, checking every couple of minutes, until the cheese is melted and starting to brown. Cut each piece into fourths. Serve warm.

*You can ask for "day-old" at Jimmy John's. At the location near us, which happens to be store #00001, it costs 50 cents a loaf and you can buy up to 4 loaves. Sometimes they sell out, but they seem to have it 90% of the time around here. If it's not available where you live, you can always use French bread or Italian bread loaves instead.

Garlic Bread Seasoning

We go through this stuff pretty quickly around here. I always have a container ready in my refrigerator for when we are craving Garlic Bread Pizza, which happens more often than you might think. The recipe is from Our Best Bites.

½ c. powdered Parmesan cheese

2 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. oregano

2 tsp. basil

2 tsp. marjoram

2 tsp. parsley

     Combine ingredients in a jar (preferably one with a sprinkle top) and shake well.

Sprinkle on top of breadsticks, or combine 1 ½ Tbsp. seasoning with ½ c. of softened real butter and spread on a loaf of French bread (cut in half lengthwise). Wrap in foil and bake at 375° until the butter is melted. Or broil open faced for a few minutes so that it gets brownish and crispy.

Dad's Biscuits

These started out as "Mom's biscuits," as in Jeff's mom, Carol Stowell. Jeff learned this recipe from his mom and has been making them for years. I thought it fitting to start calling them "Dad's biscuits" since Jeff is always the one who makes biscuits around here (with a lot of help from Sadie).

2 c. flour
3 Tbsp. sugar
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. cream of tartar (or angel cream)
4 tsp. baking powder
½ c. shortening
½ c. milk
        Sift together flour, sugar, salt, cream of tartar, and baking powder; cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add milk all at once, stirring only until dough follows a fork around the bowl. Turn out on a lightly floured surface. Knead gently for 30 seconds. Pat or roll to ½” thick. Cut with biscuit cutter or glass. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet in a very hot oven, 400° or 425° for 9-11 minutes. Watch them carefully so they don’t burn on the bottom. Makes about 12 medium biscuits.

Pizza Dough

This is the pizza dough recipe I used for years before I started using this one. For a softer, thicker crust, increase the amounts by 50% (or multiply each amount by 1.5). 

1 c. + 2 Tbsp. water
3 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. yeast
        Combine all ingredients, mix well and knead in mixer or by hand for a few minutes. Optional: add some Italian seasoning and garlic in with the dough. Grease pan well. Spread dough and top with whatever you like on your pizza. Bake at 425° for 10-15 minutes.

Breadsticks

These are definitely a favorite around here. My friend Marcia brought these to every church potluck. It was her signature dish and always a crowd favorite. Once Marcia moved away, she finally shared the recipe with me. I hope she doesn't mind that I'm posting it here. ;)

Make pizza dough or other bread recipe as directed. (I use this recipe.) Let sit for 5 minutes then stretch and roll to fit on a jelly roll pan edge to edge. (Use a silicone baking mat or sprinkle pan with cornmeal or spray with Pam.)

     Mix together:

¼ c. soft tub margarine

¼ c. parmesan cheese

¼ c. mayonnaise

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. parsley flakes

     Spread this mixture on the rolled-out dough. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top, if desired. Cut into sticks with the dull side of a butter knife or a pizza cutter. (Don’t use a pizza cutter if your dough is on a silicone baking mat.)

     Bake at 350° for 13-15 minutes until they are very light brown. Break apart and enjoy!

Easy Pizza Dough

This recipe from my friend, Paula, can be thrown together pretty quickly. I usually increase the amounts a little to make a crust big enough to cover our baking sheet. If I make 2.5x the recipe, I can make a pan of pizza and a pan of breadsticks. I've included the larger amounts below.

1 ¼ c. flour

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

    Combine in mixing bowl. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp. instant yeast over mixture.

Add 2 Tbsp. oil and 1 c. very warm water. Let sit for 1 minute without stirring then stir for 2 minutes. Add 1 ½ c. flour and stir. Dump onto floured surface and knead for 2 minutes, adding more flour as needed. (Depending on how lazy I’m feeling, sometimes I just knead it inside the bowl.) Dough should be soft, but not sticky (“When patted it will sound like a babies bottom”).
     Cover dough and let sit for 15 minutes while toppings are being prepared. Press dough onto a greased pan. Add toppings* and bake at 400° for 10-12 min.
     This dough works well for breadsticks, calzones, pizza rolls, and sloppy joe or BBQ buns. [*our preferred toppings are pretty basic, including Easy Kids Pizza Sauce, shredded cheese, pepperoni.]

1.25X the recipe:
1 ½ c. + 1 Tbsp. flour 
1 ¼ Tbsp. sugar 
1 ¼ tsp. salt 
1 ¼ Tbsp. instant yeast 
2 ½ Tbsp. oil 
1 ¼ c. water 
1 7/8 c. flour 

2.5X the recipe:
3 1/8 c. flour
2 ½ Tbsp. sugar
2 ½ tsp. salt
2 ½ Tbsp. instant yeast
5 Tbsp. oil
2 ½ c. water
3 ¾ c. flour

Easy Kids Pizza Sauce

I learned this recipe while watching "The Food Nanny" years ago and we've been making it ever since. It's so easy and inexpensive and it tastes great!

8 oz. tomato sauce
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. garlic salt
a good dash of pepper
a little bit of sugar
a little bit of salt
        Combine all & spread on pizza dough.