101 hearty recipes: review and giveaway

Guess what!!!

It's time for another review and giveaway!

101 Hearty Recipes is another Gooseberry cookbook that's soon to be one of our favorites!  It's got 101 of the best Gooseberry recipes to date.  How did they pick them?  They turned to their readers' favorites!  One thing I particularly love is that each recipe is accompanied by a beautiful color photo to tempt your taste buds and help you visualize your menu.  The cookbook is also spiral-bound so that it can lie flat, no fancy cookbook stand required.  These recipes are gorgeous, easy-to-make, and absolutely delicious.  You MUST check it out!

Once again, we picked a recipe from each chapter to try out and share with you.  Here they are, each given its own "reward"!

Richest and Boldest Side Dish

Texas Hominy from the chapter "Casual & Comforting"

 

We've always liked hominy, so we had to try this dish.  Man is it BOLD!  Filled with bacon and cheese, this dish has tons of flavor all on its own.  I think we had to split the amount shown on the plate.  It was definitely a fun new way to eat hominy and an easy way to dress up a plain entree like grilled chicken.  Don't count on it to help you shrink your waistline! :)

Spiciest Kick

Texas Two-Step in a Jar from the chapter "Speedy & Satisfying"

 

This soup recipe is originally intended to be packaged dry as a gift, but we went ahead and made the full thing.  For such a small meal, it's got a lot of spice.  I found the spices a bit overwhelming and would probably cut them in half next time.  Cookie Bandit, however, slurped it right up!  It's a fun soup and would make a great gift-in-a-jar once the weather cools.

Most Restaurant Worthy

Cornmeal-Cheddar Biscuits from the chapter "Baked & Buttery"

We just loved, loved, loved these biscuits.  They remind me of something you would expect to get in a restaurant, and yet they were so easy!  This was one recipe that we couldn't get enough of.  Light and flaky, tons of butter flavor, and ribboned with melted cheese, these biscuits were winners!

Most Structurally Unsound Delight

4-Layer Cookie Bars from the chapter "Fun & Filling"

Lol...Cookie Bandit picked this award.  As an engineer, it bugged him that these 4-layer cookies kept wanting to separate.  However, just like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the lack of structural integrity didn't ruin their coolness factor.  These cookies were delicious!  We took the entire pan to our Bible study and ended up with just these two pieces left.  Overwhelmingly, everyone loved them.  Some even suggested adding cinnamon or cinnamon graham crackers to the cookie for an even more fun flavor combo.

My husband gets to pick which one of the above recipes I share with you.  It didn't take long for him to decide on his overall favorite...of course he picked the dessert!  4-Layer Cookie Bars!!!

Making these no-bake cookies was easy-peasy!  First, we combined the peanut butter, chocolate chips, and peanut butter chips in a saucepan and got those melting over low heat.  You need to stir occasionally until everything is smooth and creamy.

In another saucepan, melt margarine and combine with sugar, brown sugar, graham cracker crumbs, and milk.

Heat the sugar mixture over medium-high heat until sugars dissolve, stirring constantly.

To assemble, line the bottom of a buttered baking pan with crackers...

Spread the sugar mixture over the top of the crackers...

Place another layer of crackers over the sugar mixture...

And then pour the chocolate mixture over the top!  Set it aside until the cookies are firm before cutting them into bars.

Hope you like them as much as we did!

4-Layer Cookie Bars
16-oz. package rectangular buttery crackers
1/2 cup margarine
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup milk
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter chips

Line the bottom of a buttered 13"x9" baking pan with a single layer of crackers; set aside.  Melt margarine in a heavy saucepan; add sugars, graham cracker crumbs and milk.  Heat over medium-high heat until sugars dissolve, stirring often; spread over crackers in pan.  Arrange another single layer of crackers on top; set aside.  Combine remaining ingredients in a saucepan; heat over low heat until melted, stirring until smooth and creamy.  Spread over crackers; set aside until firm.  Cut into bars to serve.  Makes 2 dozen.

So...how can YOU win a free copy of 101 Hearty Recipes?  Just leave me a comment answering the following question - which of the other recipes featured above would you like me to share?  I'll tally up the answers and share that recipe when I announce the winner!  (Please also make sure I have access to a valid e-mail so that I can contact you if you win.  No contact info, no entry!)  Giveaway ends next Friday at midnight (Pacific time).  Winner announced Saturday, August 20.

PS - Gooseberry Patch gave me a free book to review as well as another to give away, but the views and opinions (and pictures!) presented in this post are entirely my own!   Disclosure...check!