Recipe Roundup 2- Chocolate Bark

I have a favorite dessert that is my go to recipe for parties and potlucks.  At my house we just call it Chocolate Bark, but it is also known as toffee or heath bars.  One of friends has lovingly named them after me in her recipe book:)  It is super easy and DELICIOUS!  I have seen it made a variety of ways, but this way is my personal favorite. 

yummy chocolate bark!!

Ingredients:
1 sleeve club crackers
1 stick butter
1/2 cup brown sugar (I use light)
1/8 tsp baking soda
1 16 oz. bag of milk chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Spread out club crackers on a standard size cookie sheet, leaving about 1/4-1/2 inch empty on the edges.  I break crackers smaller to fill in spaces if there is not enough room for an entire cracker.
3. On the stovetop in a medium saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar together over medium heat.  Once the butter is really melting, I start stirring frequently.  The butter and sugar should start to look creamy and will be a light brown color. 
4. At this point, add in the baking soda and stir.  The mixture will get frothy. (**Don't leave the sugar mixture on the stove long after this point or it will start to burn)
5. Pour mixture over the crackers and spread evenly with a spatula.  Bake for 7 minutes or until crackers are golden.
6. Take crackers out of the oven.  Immediately pour the entire bag of chocolate chips over the hot bubbly crackers (I try to evenly disperse over the crackers as I dump them out). Wait about 30 seconds-1 minute for the chocolate to start to melt and then begin spreading the chocolate evenly over the crackers.
7. Refrigerate tray for 4 hours or freeze for 45 minutes.  Break apart into bite size pieces and enjoy! (If waiting to serve, keep refrigerated.  The crackers begin to thaw and become sticky:)
Happy Eating!!

Recipe Roundup Part 1

We had our wonderful church home group over last night for a cookout and to celebrate one of our friends giving his heart to Christ (PTL!)

(**On a side note, he is a super funny guy.  His name is Saulo and when he was telling us that he had accepted Christ, he said maybe his name shall now be Paulo.  We were cracking up- too funny! Maybe his spiritual gift is humor? He also said that our BBQ should be a "saulo"bration....)

 Anyways, we were having almost 20 people over so to cut down on the cost of food, I decided to make homemade salsa and a dessert from 'scratch'.  They both seemed to be a big hit so I thought I would share them here too!

Restaurant Style Salsa- Pioneer Woman Recipe

(Her directions are way more detailed and she photographs every step.  It will not hurt my feelings if you just go to her website.  Really, its ok.)

Ingredients:

*1 can (28 oz) whole tomatoes

*2 cans (10 oz) Rotel (diced tomatoes with green chiles)

*1/4 cup chopped onion

*1 clove garlic, minced

*1 whole jalapeno, quartered and sliced thin

*1/4 tsp salt

*1/4 tsp sugar

*1/4 tsp cumin

*1/2 cup fresh cilantro

*1/2 whole lime juice

(I have made this numerous times now, and to be honest I do it a little differently each time.  I also quit measuring and do it all to my taste preference.)

 

Directions:

You will either need a food processor or some type of blender to make the salsa.  I use a hand blender but that is really only because I gave away our blender during our last move because I didn't want to pack it. But all you need to do is combine all the ingredients in your blender/food processor/bowl and blend until it is the consistency you prefer.  Then taste your salsa and adjust ingredients as needed.  I typically add more lime juice and salt to mine, but thats just me:). 

**Side note, this recipe makes a very large batch so its great for parties or for people who really LOVE salsa!

I will post the Chocolate Bark recipe later in the week, so keep an eye out for it soon! Happy Monday:)