7 Layer Cookie Bar

Ingredients for 9x13 baker:

• 2 cups crushed honey graham crackers (=12 full crackers)
• 1/2 cup salted butter, melted (=1 full stick)
• 2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup peanut butter chips 
• 2 cups chopped reeces peanut butter cups
• 2 cups mini marshmallows
• 1 cup salted peanuts
• 1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk 

Preheat oven to 350*. Spray a 9x13 Baker with nonstick cooking spray. 

Ground up crackers in a food processor. Melt butter and stir in to crushed crackers and press firmly into 9x13 baker, creating an even crust that somewhat sweeps the sides. Mixture will be a little crumbly.

Layer in the order listed in ingredients (chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, chopped reeces cups, marshmallows and peanuts. ) Drizzle full can of condensed milk over the top.

Bake uncovered 18 minutes then pull out of oven and cover lightly with foil. Be careful not to burn yourself. Return to oven and bake 18 more minutes. Cool down at room temperature for 30 minutes and cut into squares but do not lift them out of baker yet. Cover and cool more in fridge for 30 minutes. This will make them much easier to fet out and set better. 

Basil Marinated Shrimp

Oh my these shrimp.. A combination of every flavor I love. You can pan sear or bake these but we like to put them on skewers and grill them.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 Tb evoo
• 1/4 cup butter, melted 
• 1/4 cup lemon juice 
• 3 Tb dijon mustard 
• 1/2 cup minced fresh basil or 1/4 cup dried but fresh is always better
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3 lb fresh deveined and peeled large shrimp
• Bamboo skewers, soaked in water

In a large bowl stir together evoo and melted butter. Stir in lemon juice, mustard, basil and garlic and season with salt and pepper.  Add shrimp and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour. Skewer if you plan on grilling them, make sure you presoak in water so they don't char!

Oreo Truffles

These truffles are delicious!  I was out of town once and my husband needed them for a work event and was able to make them himself.  My husband really only grills and makes breakfast so this must be a pretty fool proof recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 (16 oz) package oreo cookies 
• 1 (8 oz) package softened cream cheese
• 2 (8 oz) packages semi sweet baking chocolate, melted

Crush 36 oreos in a food processor.  Transfer to large bowl. Add cream cheese, mix well. Roll into 42 balls, about 1 inch in diameter.  

Dip in melted chocolate and place on a wax sheet. Put sprinkles on or drizzle white chocolate over milk chocolate,  whatever you fancy. Refrigerate until firm. Usually takes an hour.

Jeanette's Cheesecake

This is an extremely old recipe created by an old polish neighbor of my grandparents. It has always been the cheesecake recipe my mom has used and I have used. You can serve it plain or make a strawberry glaze. Pictured below is with strawberry glaze which I have included the recipe for.

Ingredients for Crust:

• 14 full honey graham crackers
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1 Tb white sugar 
• 1/4 lb melted butter 

Use food processor and crush crackers. Mix cinnamon, sugar and melted butter and press firmly into a 9x13 baker.

Ingredients for Layer #1:

• 2 eggs
• 2 packages cream cheese
• 3/4 c white sugar 
• 1 Tb sour cream 
• 1 t vanilla 

Mix well, pour over crust. Bake at 350* for 25 minutes. Cool 15 minutes and then spread on layer #2.

Ingredients for Layer #2:

• 1 pint sour cream
• 2 Tb white sugar 
• 1 t vanilla 

Mix well, drop topping spoonful by spoonful and spread slowly on top of first layer and bake at 425* for 8 minutes. Cool and refrigerate.

Strawberry Glaze Ingredients:

• 2 pints chopped strawberries
• 2/3 c white sugar
• 2 t vanilla

Combine all ingredients in saucepan and cook over medium heat until sauce consistency is achieved. If still too chunky transfer to blender. 

Maple Salmon Marinade

Maple syrup plus salmon sounds bizarre but it actually goes great together! 

Ingredients:

• 1/4 c maple syrup
• 2 Tb soy sauce
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/8 t pepper

Combine ingredients in a gallon bag. Add 2 salmon fillets. Marinate in fridge for 30 minutes. Grill or bake and serve. 

Feta Cheese & Sun-Dried Tomato Spread

The fresh basil really makes this great. Do not substitute for dried. Serve with wheat thins or ritz crackers. 

Ingredients:

• 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (4 oz) package crumbled feta cheese 
• 2 Tb finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes (found in a jar sometimes in international aisle)
• 2 Tb chopped fresh basil

Mix all ingredients until well blended and chill.

Casey's Pizza Sauce

This is another recipe I started in high school and finally feel like I perfected it.  Like my lasagna sauce recipe, you do not need to simmer this for 3 years over the stove top. Make it in advance and pop it in the fridge overnight.  This recipe makes probably 4 pizzas worth. I freeze the sauce and thaw out a couple nights before I plan on making pizzas 2, 3 and 4. Unfortunately I do not yet have a picture of the sauce by itself but plenty of finished pizzas! 

Ingredients:

• 1 t salt
• 1 t sugar 
• 2 t oregano 
• 2 t basil 
• 2 t garlic powder 
• 1/2 t black pepper
• 1 t lemon juice 
• 2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce 
• 2 (6 oz) cans tomato paste 

Combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Taste to make sure there's enough garlic and spice. Cover and refrigerate overnight. After you make your first pizza, freeze remaining sauce until you want to make more pizzas with it :) we will usually heat sauce in microwave for 30 seconds before topping pizza dough. Just because. And enjoy!