Peanut Butter Dream Bars

Ingredients

½ cup thin chocolate wafers, finely ground in a food processor*
½ cup old fashioned oats

1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
¼ cup creamy peanut butter
1 ½ ounces cream cheese, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted

*You can also place them in a ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin—great way to vent stress :o)

Steps:

1.) Line 9x4 loaf pan with wax paper or parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang along the long sides

2.) Combine wafers, oats, sugar and ¼ teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the butter until everything is moistened. Stir in 1 tablespoon peanut butter until mixture forms large clumps. Transfer mixture to lined loaf pan and press into an even layer.  Refrigerate until firm (about 10 mins)

3.) While step 2 is in the refrigerator, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium until smooth and fluffy (about 2 mins). Add vanilla, remaining 3 tablespoons peanut butter and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and beat on medium until pale and nearly doubled in volume (about 7 mins). Transfer to loaf pan and spread in an even layer. Freeze until firm (about 10mins)

4.) After step 3 is completely frozen, melt chocolate chips and spread over peanut butter layer as evenly as possible. Refrigerate until firm (about 10mins).

To serve:

 Lift bars out of pan with wax paper overhang. Cut crosswise and enjoy :o)

Creamy Potato Soup with Roasted Garlic

This one actually came from my Weight Watchers cookbook and I will admit that I was pleasantly surprised by the taste (and no, the food count didn't count the ciabatta bread at the top!)

Whatcha need:
1 garlic bulb, cloves separated but unpeeled
2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth<--1 can works just fine, you'll have your needed 2 cups
4 teaspoons olive oil
1 onion,chopped
1 1/4 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 bay leaf
2 cups low-fat buttermilk<--the pint container
1-10oz frozen chopped green beans (completely thawed)
1/2 cup lean ham, chopped
Freshly ground pepper to taste

**When I made it, I left out the onion and 2 teaspoons of oil since I have some anti-onion people in my house. The following recipe is how it would have went if I had used the onion**

Whatcha do:
1.) To roast the garlic, preheat oven or toaster oven to 350F; line a small shallow baking pain with foil.  In the pan, combine the garlic, 1/4 cup of the broth, and 2 teaspoons of the oil. Cover with foil and bake until the cloves are soft and have absorbed all the liquid, about 45mins-1 hour depending on your oven. When the cloves are cool enough to handle, squeeze their pulp out of their papery skins and reserve (the pulp, not the paper) <---heads up, the garlic will be pretty slippery!

2.) To prepare the soup, in a large nonstick saucepan or Dutch oven (I used the Dutch when I made it) over medium heat, heat the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil.  Saute the onion until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the remaining 1 3/4 cups of broth, potatoes, roasted garlic pulp and bay leaf. Bring mixture to a boil, cover, then reduce heat to a simmer. Let simmer until potatoes are soft, about 15-20mins. Remove bay leaf (nasty little bugger if you leave it in!), and remove 1 cup of potatoes with a slotted spoon.Just potatoes, nothing else!

3.) Transfer the remaining pot goodies to a blender or food processor (I found the blender worked quite well for this) and puree.  Return the puree to the saucepan/Dutch oven and add the 1 cup potato chunks, buttermilk, green beans and ham.  Heat until soup is at serving temp and enjoy.

I topped mine with cheese, which of course adds fat to it.  Without the cheese, here's the nutritional info:
Serving size: 1/4 cup
272 calories
6 grams of fat
1 gram saturated fat
0 trans fat
7mg cholesterol
582 mg sodium
43 carbs
5 grams fiber
14grams protein

Happy cooking :o)

Welcome Foodies!

Since I've gotten all around good comments and support regarding the food I've posted on Facebook, I've decided to share my food knowledge with everyone else :o) 

Here's how it works:

I'll post a picture of the finished product along with the recipe I used to make it.  That's it--pretty simple.  This can also serve as a recipe exchange.  I'm always looking for interesting things to make!