Monday morning she decided she wanted to make Cheeseburger Pie for supper. I balked a little, but decided I could make the pie crust for her while she was off swimming, since that's a lesson in and of itself. And the thought of having the oven on was not appealing, although Monday was not as warm as it has been. Funny how quickly +22 goes from balmy to cool.
But she decided she wanted to spend the night with her friends, so I was on my own for supper. Ah, cheese and crackers, no fuss, no muss. She could cook Tuesday.
Tuesday, after I donated blood, we headed to the mall to pick up a new cable for her tablet. We did a little shopping before deciding to have an early supper with my son, who works at the mall. Dinner again was delayed, and Emily decided to have another sleepover with her friends.
Wednesday morning she messaged me to ask when I wanted her home. While we were settling that I suggested she try another recipe, since having the oven on for almost an hour in +30 heat didn't seem like a good idea. I emailed her the recipe I had found and we were off.
I spent a quiet afternoon in the sun, enjoying a cold beer and finishing my book.
While Emily mixed together the ingredients for the meatballs I made garlic toast, slicing a panini roll into rounds, like a miniature loaf of French bread. She needed help chopping the green onions-we really need to get her past whatever thing she has about onions and knives.
I cut her a couple layers of foil wrap to cook the meatballs on and started the barbecue for her.
While the meatballs were on the grill she heated up a bowlful of frozen mixed vegetables. I got distracted and scorched the garlic bread on one side. You can stand and watch it like a hawk and it will not brown, turn your back for a moment and it's black. Why is that?
Dinner was great. I think the meatballs would be a good addition to a camping menu too, since they didn't require much prep and used only a few basic ingredients.
Foil Pack Grilled Meatballs
1 pound lean ground beef 1/4 cup Caesar salad dressing
3/4 cup bread crumbs 1 egg
2 green onions, finely chopped 1/4 cup barbecue sauce
Heat barbecue to medium high heat.
Combine all ingredients except the barbecue sauce. Mix until just blended and shape into 24 -1 1/2" meatballs.
Place on a large sheet of heavy duty foil sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Drizzle with barbecue sauce and fold into a packet.
Grill 15-18 minutes, until meatballs are done. Cut vents into the foil to release steam before opening packet
Emily has discovered Pintrest (Heaven help me!) Last night she found a recipe for Reese's peanut butter bars. This morning she decided she wanted to make them, but couldn't find the recipe. I happened to have one that I know is very good, quite easy (easier than what I recall her find looked to be) and so I suggested she try those instead.
We had a brief lesson on equivalent measures, 12 ounces of chocolate chips is 1 1/2 cups, which we melted in the microwave. My 1/4 cup measure has disappeared, so she learned that 4 tablespoons is 1/4 as we measured 2 3/4 cups of icing sugar into a mixture of graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and peanut butter. Once this was blended well we pressed it into a 9x13" pan and poured the melted chocolate over it. Emily, despite not liking peanuts, decided the squares did need decorating, and placed peanut halves onto the chocolate. We chilled it for several minutes and then I cut the bars before the chocolate hardened completely. Once they had chilled completely Emily tried one and declared them good, saying she thought we should make them again. I can't say I disagree, although they cannot go to school, and the last time I made them I was the only one who ate them. Go figure.
Reese's Bars
2 1/c cups graham wafer crumbs 1 cup melted margarine
12 ounces chocolate chips 2 3/4 cups icing sugar
1 cup peanut butter
Melt chocolate chips, set aside. Combine remaining ingredients and press into a 9x13" pan. Pour melted chocolate over graham crust, refrigerate. Cut into bars after about 15 minutes, before the chocolate hardens completely. top each bar with a peanut half, if desired. Chill completely before serving.
No baking makes these bars a great summer time treat too
* I have halved this recipe before, using an 8x8" pan. It works well. These bars are very rich so a little goes a long way....but they do taste very much like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.
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