Oreo Rice Krispie Treats

Rice Krispie treats always make me feel like a kid again.  Oreo's happen to be one of my favorite cookies and my favorite flavor of ice cream so when I recently aquired a bag full of crushed Oreo's the idea of combining these two great desserts!  I looked up recipes, but didn't find anything simple enough for me, so I just made my own!

I don't have any pictures of this one sliced up, but you get the idea!  I kept with a basic recipe with marshmallows, butter, corn syrup and crispy rice cereal.

I melted the first couple of ingredients and added my crushed up cookies to the cereal so everything was mixed in when I poured my marshmallow mixture on top and proceeded to stir it all together. 

Next time I would use more marshmallows as the cookies increased my dry ingredients and the wet ones need to be increased as well!

Once it was in my pan I melted some milk and white chocolate to make a pretty drizzle!

So give these a try if you like Oreo's and love the classic Rice Krispie treats too!

Oreo Rice Krispie Treats

Ingredients:

6 cups crispy rice cereal
1 1/2 cups crushed Oreo's
5 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons light Karo syrup
1 10oz package of mini marshmallows plus 2 heaping cups (try 3 cups next time)
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

1. In a large bowl combine cereal and crushed Oreo's, set aside.
2. In a very large pot, melt butter, syrup and mini marshmallows.  Stir until melted and smooth.  Fold  cereal mixture into the pot and stir until is is evenly coated.  Press mixture into 9x13 pan.  I had extra and had to use a second pan! 
3. In a small microwave safe bowl, melt white chocolate chips and drizzle on top of bars.  I then used the same bowl to melt my chocolate chips and drizzle on top as well.  Let cool before cutting into bars.  Store in airtight container.
Enjoy!

Creamy Pesto Raviolo Bake

Ok, here is another Kathy original!  And I figured it was time to post something you could eat for dinner vs just having desserts all the time! 

It was my turn to to make family dinner yesterday and I knew I would end up making something like this, just wasn't sure on all the details in advance.  I was constantly making changes, including the Parmesan panko topping, which happened at the last minute!  Regardless of not doing much advance planning, this one turned out so good and I will be making it again!

Though probably not this summer as it heated up my kitchen pretty good!  It was also a hit with my family and that is always a bonus!

Ingredients:

1 13oz package of Turkey Sausage links
1 cup of shredded or diced cooked chicken (I had some in my freezer ready to go, this could be ommitted)
1 package of cheese filled pasta ( I used ravioli but you could use tortellini or any non-filled pasta as well)
1 cube butter/margarine
2 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup milk or half and half
1 80z block of cream cheese
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons of minced garlic
3 heaping tablespoons of pesto

Topping: Optional
4 tablespoons of melted butter
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
Sliced green onions

Directions:

1.  Cook sausage either on the grill or on the stove top.  Cook and shred chicken as needed.
2. In a medium saucepan combine the butter, whipping cream, milk, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, garlic, and pesto.  Stir continuously  until all ingredients are melted and sauce is creamy.  As a note Parmesan cheese takes forever to melt so keep it low and let it simmer for awhile, being careful it doesn't burn.
3. While the sauce is simmering, bring 5 quarts of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions.  When done, strain out the water. 
4. When the sauce is done you can either put all the ingredients in a large pot on the stove to stir and combine.  Once heated you could serve it at this point.  Should you choose, pour everything into a 9x13 baking dish. Put in 350 oven to keep warm while you make the topping.
5. Combine melted butter, bread crumbs and cheese, add more dry ingredients or butter until the mixture is crumbly.  Spread on top of dish and broil for 3-5 minutes.  Keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn! 
Serve with optional sliced green onions.
Enjoy!

Key Lime Pie

It is summer time, which for me hopefully means desserts that are fast, easy and don't heat up my kitchen!  I also think that tart desserts seem more obvious in the summer.  A family friend and adopted aunt always requests this Key Lime Pie for her birthday dessert.  I love making it because it is so easy!

You could make it fancier or more homemade by making the crust from scratch, but store bought graham cracker crusts are just so easy and still taste good!

The filling couldn't be easier, some sweetened condensed milk, Key Lime juice, sour cream and the zest of one lime.

So the first time I made this, I did attempt to juice enough Key Lime's to get me the required amount of juice, but never again!  Those suckers are smaller than standard limes and it took me forever!  Store bought lime juice works great and the flavor is still amazing!  After it is mixed up you bake it, yes bake, sorry folks.  But only for 10-12 minutes, or even less.  You don't want any browning and if you start to see little bubbles at the 8 minute mark, go ahead and remove.

Serve with whipped cream and fresh berries if you have them.  It is tart enough you will need something to help tone it down a bit!

At the suggestion of a friend I might be trying this with lemon juice and maybe a swirl of raspberry jam!

Key Lime Pie

Ingredients:

1 9" graham cracker crust
3 cups of sweetened condensed milk (just over 2 cans worth, I just used the 2 cans and added a bit more sour cream and it turned out great)
1/2 cup of sour cream
3/4 cup Key Lime juice
Zest of one lime

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a medium bowl, combine condensed milk, sour cream, lime juice and zest.  Mix well and pour into crust.
3. Bake for 8-12 minutes, until tiny bubbles appear and burst on the surface.  Do no brown the top!  Chill pie before serving and garnish with fruit and whipped cream.