Chocolate Caramel Bars

Love the combination of chocolate and caramel!

I'm craving chocolate tonight, so my recipe searches are gravitating towards these type of sinful sweets.  

Don't these look awesome?  The recipe and photo originates from Roxana's Home Baking, one of my favorite food blogs!  You must check it out for more delicious recipes from Roxana.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups (240 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup (56 grams) diced cold butter
• 1 1/2 cups (300 grams) sugar
• 1 cup (80 grams) cocoa
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (168 grams) melted butter
• 5 oz (1 small) can evaporated milk
• 14 oz caramels, unwrapped
• 1 1/2 cups (226 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 12-14 extra caramels

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350F.
2. Line a 13X9 baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
3. In a food processor add the flour and cold diced butter. Pulse a few more times until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs and all the butter is cut in. You can also use a pastry blender, a fork or rub the butter and flour with your hands.
4. Add the sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and whisk to combine.
5. In a large mixing bowl add the dry ingredients mix and pour the melted butter on top. Add 1/3 cup of the evaporated milk and mix until well combined. The dough it's going to be similar to a light crumby cookie dough.
6. Spread 2/3 of the dough in the prepared baking pan and set aside. Refrigerate the remaining dough until needed.
7. In a small saucepan place the remaining evaporated milk and the unwrapped caramels. Stir continuously over low heat until the caramels are melted. Pour over the cookie dough base.
8. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the caramel layer.
9. Take the remaining cookie dough out of the fridge and crumble it on top of the chocolate chips.
10. Top with the remaining caramels.
11. Bake for 25 minutes.
12. It may seem bubbly and undone but once cooled the caramel and chocolate layers will set.
13. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into bars.

Photo and Recipe Source: Roxana's Home Baking

Roxana's notes about this recipe . . .  After you mix the cake mix with the evaporated milk and melted butter it yields around 3 cups. The recipe suggested to spread half of the dough in the baking pan and the remaining half to be used as a streusel topping. I think it would be better to reserve around 3/4 to 1 cup of dough for the topping to leave room for the caramel and chocolate to ooze out a little bit more. 

Chicken Tortilla Casserole

Comfort food would be my choice if I had to choose my favorite type of food. In my opinion, all chicken casseroles fall into that category. The Captain laughs at my use of many starches and carbs in one meal, but I LOVE this type of meal with some mashed potatoes, maybe a batch of biscuits . . . THAT is comfort!

This recipe courtesy of Trisha Yearwood and The Food Network show Trisha's Southern Kitchen.

I'm anxious to try out this recipe since I have never used the concept of a tortilla-topped casserole and the addition of the green chiles has peaked my curiousity.

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Salt
• Chicken Gravy, recipe follows
• 1 cup canned green chiles, chopped and drained
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• Cooking spray
• Twenty-four 6-inch corn tortillas
• 3 cups shredded Cheddar

Chicken Gravy:

• 6 tablespoons butter
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Directions

Add the chicken to a large stockpot, cover with water and add a large pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 30 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside to cool. When cool enough to handle, shred the chicken and set aside. Reserve 3 1/3 cups of the broth (1 cup is for the chicken gravy, supplement with boxed stock if you don't have enough.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 13- by 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

In a large saucepan, combine 2 1/3 cups of the reserved broth, the Chicken Gravy, green chiles, onions, garlic, sour cream, cumin, salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat.

Spread 1 cup of the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Arrange a layer of 6 tortillas over the mixture, and then top with 1 cup shredded chicken and 1/2 cup of the Cheddar. Repeat this layer three more times, ending with cheese. Spread any remaining mixture over the cheese. Make sure all of the tortillas are covered or they will get very hard during baking. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

Chicken Gravy:

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan and whisk in the flour to make a roux. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and the flour turns light brown in color. Gradually whisk in the stock and milk and continue to stir while cooking over medium heat. When the mixture thickens, after about 5 minutes, whisk in some salt and pepper.

A note about making the gravy . . . the milk is optional, many people use only chicken stock, but I like to add some milk a couple of teaspoons at a time until the desired consistency is achieved to give the gravy more creaminess.

Click here for a link all about making chicken gravy.

Source

Cuban Mojo Marinade Recipes and Cooking Tips for Mojo

One of my greatest blessings is the kitchen aroma in my house growing up and the associated memories.

We were what is considered a "multi-ethnic european/latin family" . . . yes, ethnic groups have subgroups.  Back in the day, the mixing of those groups was frowned upon, but my generation in my part of the world seems to be one of the first to have embraced the mingling of those ethnic groups. 

Cuban cigar factories sprung up in Tampa, Florida that employed so many of the european latino and cuban immigrants that flooded the area and many grew up in the same neighborhoods and their children went to the same schools.

With the blending of those families came a blending of cooking techniques and customs.  The food that came from my childhood kitchen was italian, cuban and spanish in origin.  What a delicious combination!

In doing research for some local dishes I grew up with, I have come to realize that many are unique to this area of the world!

It is delightfully odd how writing a post about cuban mojo conjured up so many memories.  My fondest memories come from the smell of a roast pork in the oven marinaded and basted with cuban mojo and tons of onion and garlic as a bed for the pork.  Black beans served on garlicky white rice usually accompanied the roast.  When we make a roast pork, the aroma takes me back to Christmas Eve at my Godmother's house and the best black beans and rice with roast pork I have ever had! 

Ditto for the preparation of a roasted whole chicken, although the family had a strong preference for pork.

In Cuban cooking, mojo is a sauce/marinade that is made with garlic, olive oil and a citrus juice, traditionally sour orange juice.  Orange and lime juice can be used as a substitute if sour oranges are not available.

In my area, sour orange trees are prevalent since we live right on the line of the subtropical gardening zone.  When the sweet juicing orange trees would die from an occasional freeze, what grew back from the trunk was not a sweet orange, but a sour orange, much like a lemon, but sweeter.  Our house sits on a former orange grove, so the sour orange trees are still popping up from the birds scattering the seeds.  What a blessing!  I'm not even sure if they are locally sold in stores since I have never had to buy them.  I do know that you can buy bottled mojo in the ethnic section of the grocery store.

The Captain has developed quite a fondness for this concoction we call cuban mojo since we married and he was introduced to a whole new world of food and cooking.  He has become the official mojo maker, storing the mojo in old wine bottles that accompany all his other concoctions and sauces in the fridge.  He continues to experiment with the basic recipe by adding some form of hot pepper to the mix with some delicious results.

Honestly, all you need is a great mojo sauce to flavor your pork roast or whole chicken in a quick and easy prep . . . marinated and/or basted . . . cooked in the oven, grill/smoker or slow cooker does all the work.   For us, it is the most economical way for us to prepare them since we don't have to buy fancy, expensive sauces.

Some ideas for the use of mojo that we love:

Mojo is also used on seafood and beef. 

Add a splash of mojo to a shrimp scampi type of dish or baked fish with onions.

 Shrimp is awesome marinaded in mojo and grilled for a few minutes for a tasty appetizer. 

 Palomilla (a thin steak cut from the round) or cubed steak marinated in mojo and pan fried with grilled onions is awesome . . . put that steak and onions in some hot crusty bread for a sandwich that is to die for. 

 I love putting some mojo on black beans and rice for extra flavor! 

 It is one of those concoctions that can go a long way with a little imagination and creativity in your cooking.

Basic Cuban Mojo Recipe

½ cup of olive oil

10 garlic cloves, minced, but best processed in a blender with the juices  (You could use as few as 6 or 8, but in my opinion, the more garlic, the better!)
¼ cup orange juice
¼ cup lime juice
¾ tsp ground cumin

¾ tsp oregano
½ tsp salt (or to taste)

Process the garlic cloves with the juices until garlic is minced super fine if a blender is available.

Stir in the olive oil and spices.

You can use bottled sour orange juice available in the Hispanic foods/ethnic section of most grocery stores, however, lime juice and orange juice work just as well in a 1 to 1 formula.

The mojo can be kept in the refrigerator for three days to a week, if it lasts that long!

If you don't want to mess with making your own mojo, there are some very good varieties available in the ethnic section of the grocery store.

Gina's Mojo Pork

Another recipe for Cuban Mojo Pork

Bruschetta Chicken Bake

The Captain and I really enjoyed the Cornbread Stuffing Chicken Casserole made with Stove Top Stuffing so much!  We found this recipe on the box of Stove Top Stuffing the last time we made the casserole and thought it would be another great recipe using the stuffing mix.

It is another one of those semi-homemade meals that I am really loving as we try more recipes of this type.

We haven't made this meal yet, but plan to do so in the near future!

By the way, this is not a sponsored review for Stove Top Stuffing or Kraft Foods . . . it is just a product we love.

Ingredients

• 1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 tsp. dried basil leaves
• 1 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Directions

HEAT oven to 400ºF. Mix tomatoes, stuffing mix, water and garlic just until stuffing mix is moistened.

PLACE chicken in 3-qt. casserole sprayed with cooking spray; sprinkle with basil and cheese.

TOP with stuffing. Bake 30 min. or until chicken is done.

Tips from the Kraft Kitchen . . .MAKE AHEADPrepare and bake recipe as directed; cool. Refrigerate up to 24 hours. To reheat, spoon each serving onto microwaveable plate. Microwave on HIGH 2 to 3 min. or until heated through.