Rice Krispie Squares/Scotcheroos

By Kathy Brasier Sikorski

She calls them Rice Krispie Squares, to me they are Scotcheroos. Either way, they are fantastic. Perfect with a cup of hot coffee (to wash the sticky off your teeth.) So good!

Rice Krispie Squares
1 cup sugar
1 cup corn syrup (white)
1 cup peanut butter
6 cups Rice Krispies
1 pkg chocolate chips
1 pkg butterscotch chips

Combine sugar and corn syrup and large pan. Heat to rolling boil. Remove from heat; stir in peanut
butter. Add cereal. Press into 13x9 pan. Melt chocolate and butterscotch chips together. Spread over
cereal mixture. Cool completely.

Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip

By Kathy Brasier Sikorski

This was delicious--I could have stolen the whole bowl and eaten it for lunch. (Not saying I did, but I could have!)

Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 pkg (10 oz eac) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, cubed
1 cup (8 oz) sour cream
1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8-1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a large skillet (coated with spray or small amount of oil), cook and stir onion until tender. Add spinach.
Cook and stir over medium heat until heated through. Reduce heat to low; stir in cream cheese and
sour cream. Add the artichoke hearts, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Cook 1-2
minutes. Transfer to ungreased 1 ½ quart dish; sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Cover and microwave on
high 2-3 minutes, until cheese melts. Serve warm with melba toast or pita chips or crackers. Yield: 18
servings

Ultimate Double Chocolate Brownies

by Kathy Brasier Sikorski

Celebrating their 10th anniversary by feeding us lots of goodies? I love these people! Congrats to Kathy and Kevin, and thanks! Several recipes to come!

Ultimate Double Chocolate Brownies
¾ cup baking cocoa
½ teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup butter or margarine, divided
½ cup boiling water
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup coarsely chopped pecans (optional)
2 cups (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chunks

In a large bowl, combine cocoa and baking soda; blend in 1/3 cup melted butter. Add boiling water; stir
until well blended. Stir in sugar, eggs, and remaining butter. Add flour, vanilla and salt. Stir in pecans and chocolate chunks. Pour into a greased 13x9 baking pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 35-40 minutes, or untilvbrownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely. Yield: 3 dozen

Buffalo Chicken Dip

by Priya Poehner
Priya made this at the Sept. 30 coffee hour, and it was scrumptious! Great for a party, game day, or you alone in the kitchen (we don't judge.) Thanks to the original poster! We've shared it here.

• 1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, cubed (or 3 10 oz. cans chunk chicken)
• 2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup bleu cheese dressing
• 3/4 cup Frank's Hot Sauce 
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 t. black pepper
• bleu cheese crumbles (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F. Reserve half a cup of shredded cheddar and the bleu cheese crumbles. Mix the remaining ingredients together and pour into a medium baking dish (9x13 pan works great.) Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of cheddar.

Bake for 20 minutes until hot and bubbly. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with bleu cheese crumbles if desired. Serve with celery sticks, fritos, tortilla chips or pita chips.

Fruit Fluff Parfait

By Priya Poehner


Priya served this at a recent coffee hour, and it was a big hit--the bowl was nearly licked clean! She found it  here via Pinterest, so thank you to the original poster. It is light and delicious, and could not be easier.

I know this one is going in my file for the holidays--simple and tasty!


Ingredients:

• 2- 6 oz. raspberry yogurts (or your favorite flavor)
• 1- package vanilla instant pudding mix (3.4 oz. powder)
• 16 oz. whipped topping (Cool Whip)
• about 16 oz. your favorite fruits (Priya used frozen mixed berries, which gave it a delicious, frosty flavor)

Mix yogurt and vanilla pudding powder well, then fold in the whipped topping. You can either fold the fruit in or serve it over the top of the fluff, or in layers in a trifle dish if you want to get really fancy. ;-)

Pavlova

This was served at a recent church supper, and was a big hit! It was a super rainy day, and it still looked crisp and delicious--and was given rave reviews! A lovely light summer dessert that is sure to please!!!

Pavlova

by Christina Pillot

6 egg whites

2 cups sugar

6 tbsp boiling water

pinch salt

2 tbsp cornstarch

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp white vinegar

Put all together in mixer and beat on high speed until mixture stands and peaks.  Place on greased large round oven-proof plate or tray and bake at 350 deg. for 10 minutes; then at 250 deg. for 2 1/2 hours.

Once cooled, top with fresh whipping cream (with a tsp of vanilla) and sliced strawberries and kiwis.   Or grate mint chocolate bar on top of whipping cream.

Curried Chicken Salad

by Priya Poehner

This was served at the reception following their son's baptism, and the bowl was cleaned out! I went back for seconds, and would have gone for thirds if there had been any left. So easy to prepare, and so delicious--a perfect summer lunch!

According to Priya, "I can't give you amounts. I just put more in the bowl until it looks right." This uses a commercial dressing, but if you don't have access to it, you could probably find a similar dressing by googling "curried yogurt dressing".

• rotisserie chicken, boned and cut into bite-sized pieces
• red grapes, halved
• green onions, sliced
• sliced almonds
• Wegman's Curried Yogurt salad dressing 

Combine ingredients in bowl and dress with yogurt dressing. Mix well and refrigerate. Can serve as is or on some type of bread. Priya served with slider buns, and it was wonderful. Would also taste great wrapped in a tortilla or with naan, or even on simple sandwich bread.