Chewy Caramel Bars

3/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup oatmeal

1/2 cup melted butter

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup white corn syrup

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1 and 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Mix the first 5 ingredients. Pat into a 9 x 13 pan and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Mix vanilla, corn syrup, and sugar in a pan; bring to a boil and add peanut butter. Pour over crust. Sprinkle 1 and 1/2 cups chocolate chips on top and put in warm oven to melt, but do not bake. Spread chocolate chips around to make a frosting.

I decided to try a couple of new recipes for a bake sale tomorrow. Enjoy!

Double Chocolate Bars

1 pkg. (16 oz.) cream filled chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed

3/4 cup melted butter or margarine, melted

1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk

2 cups mini semisweet chocolate chips, divided

Combine cookie crumbs and butter; pat onto the bottom of an ungreased 9 x 13 pan. Melt milk and 1 cup chocolate chips in the microwave, and stir until smooth. Pour over crust. Sprinkle with remaining chips. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until chips begin to melt but do not lose their shape.

Mashed, Baked Potatoes

9 or 10 medium potatoes, boiled, drained, and mashed (do not add much milk to mash)

To the potatoes, add:

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken OR cream of celery soup

not quite 2 cups sour cream

chopped onion

fresh grated garlic

3/4 stick melted margarine or butter

salt and pepper

1 pkg. grated cheddar cheese

Bake at 350 degrees uncovered for 30 minutes.

Mashed potatoes are my weakness, and these are definitely the best mashed potatoes I've ever had! Just make sure to not add too much milk when you are first mashing them (like I did) or they will end up a little runny. This makes a large batch, so I made a half a batch and that was plenty for us to have, plus enough for a couple meals of leftovers.

Beer Braised Beef Roast

1 whole Chuck Roast, 2 and a half to 5 pounds
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil
Onions, peeled and sliced thick
5 cloves garlic, chopped (I didn't use that much garlic)
2 cans beer
1 tsp ground Thyme
1/2 tsp. Rosemary leaves

Heat oil in frying pan over high heat. Season meat generously with salt and pepper. Sear meat on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Remove meat from pan. Put onions and garlic in crockpot, pour in beer, and add thyme, rosemary, and salt to taste (about 1 tsp.). Add meat to crockpot and cook on low all day. I had it in for about 8 hours. Shred meat with forks and spoon juice and onions over top. Serve with very crusty bread to sop up the juice if desired.

This is a Pioneer Woman recipe that I modified a bit for the crockpot.

Cowboy Casserole

1/2 pound ground beef
1 small can whole kernal corn, drained
2/3 cup cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1/3 cup milk
2 Tblsp. sour cream
3/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. pepper
3 cups frozen tator tots

In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink. Stir in the corn, soup, 1/4 cup cheese, milk, sour cream, onion powder and pepper.
Place 1 and 1/2 cups Tator Tots in a baking dish (I used an 8 x 8 dish) coated with cooking spray. Layer with beef mixture and remaining Tator Tots; sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake uncovered, at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until bubbly.

I just discovered this glorified version of Tator Tot Casserole in one of my Taste of Home magazines, we love it!

Dripping Roast Beef and Provolone Sandwiches

These take 13 minutes from start to finish, so easy and so good!

1 can condensed french onion soup
1 Tblsp. Worcestershire sauce
3/4 pound thinly sliced deli roast beef
Kaiser rolls
deli provolone cheese

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Heat soup and Worcestershire in a saucepan over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil. Add beef and heat through, stirring occasionally. Divide beef among rolls. Top beef mixture with cheese slices and place sandwiches onto baking sheet. Bake 3-4 minutes or until sandwiches are toasted and cheese is melted. Serve sandwiches with remaining soup mixture for dipping.