Sarah loves pop culture

I am trying this soon! It sounds good with cream cheese and doesn’t even require that much rhubarb.

It’s rhubarb season, so now’s the time to try this rich and tangy cheese bar. It’s bound to be a hit with the rhubarb lovers you know. —Sharon Schmidt, Mandan, North Dakota
16 ServingsPrep: 20 min. Bake: 35 min. + chilling
Ingredients
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup cold butter
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 egg, lightly beaten
1-1/2 cups finely chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb
Directions
In a small bowl, combine the flour, oats and brown sugar. Cut in
butter until crumbly. Set aside 1 cup crumb mixture; press remaining
mixture onto the bottom of a greased 9-in. square baking pan. Set
aside.

For filling, in a small bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until
smooth. Beat in the salt, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add egg;
beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in rhubarb. Pour over
crust. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.

Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack
for 1 hour. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Cut into squares.
© Taste of Home 2012
2 of 2
Rhubarb Cheesecake Squares (continued)
Directions (continued)
Yield: 16 squares.

Nutrition Facts: 1 square equals 214 calories, 11 g fat (7 g saturated fat), 44 mg cholesterol, 164 mg sodium, 26 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 3 g protein.
© Taste of Home 2012

This makes a huge batch, but is a nice change from Chex Mix.

Mix together in a garbage bag:

2 bags Bugles
15 oz. bag pretzels
1# Frito corn chips
1 bag oyster crackers
1 box Crispix cereal

Mix together in a bowl:
1 1/4 c. Crisco oil
1 package Hidden Valley dressing mix
1 1/4 T dill weed
1 1/4 T lemon pepper mix

Pour over dry ingredients. Mix and shake.

Keep in airtight containers.

Delicious and a great gift!

Now here is a book that I have needed for many years.
This book has a very short, one page list of foods–including meats & veggies–and you can make EVERY recipe in the book if you have all the groceries on the list.
As an added benefit, I estimate it would cost only about $120 to purchase everything on the list.


There is also an FREE iphone app that make a great planning/shopping list. I have used it for a week with no glitches on my 3GS phone.

The only negatives that I can see so far are that they use some cuts of meat–like flank steak–that I don’t bother with, and there is a great reliance on canned foods. Because of John’s dietary limitations, I actually like the canned foods part.

This is a cookbook for people that like to cook, but don’t want to shop all the time and don’t want to get part-way into the recipe and have to run to the store. I love it. I borrowed a copy from the library, but realized quickly–I need my own copy. I have already recommended this to 2 people.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED if you cook at home. The cost savings in a month could easily justify the $24.95 list price.



Before I ordered this book, I carefully read the online reviews. I was expecting a book like The Stocked Kitchen that would give me a list of pantry staples with recipes to make using the ingredients. WRONG! This is more like an urban hipster how-to but not complete enough in any areas. For example–there are pickle recipes, canning recipes–weird combinations that I would never make–and stock recipes.

Some people might find the information useful–for example there are a few money saving tips–but basically if you grew up in the Midwest and paid any attention to anyone–you don’t need this book.

NOT RECOMMENDED for anyone except people who have never left an urban area. I can’t even recommend checking out a copy from a library–that’s how much I HATE this book. The $19.95 price could be better spent on a canning or freezing cookbook.

In honor of my favorite Mexican getting a new professional job, I developed this casserole.
It’s easy, cheap, and fast = perfect for a weeknight dinner.

Grease 9×13 pan, oven 350.

Brown 1 pound hamburger.

After browning, add 1 can drained Rotelle tomatoes

Crush up some original Doritos chips and put them in the bottom of the pan. I used about 1/4 of a large bag, but you could use more.

Put the hamburger mix on top of this.

Put a layer of sour cream on top of hamburger. (Not as easy as it sounds!)

Spicy variation–then add a layer of hot picante sauce/salsa/etc. (I didn’t –I’m a white girl from Iowa, dontcha know?)

Add a layer of cheddar cheese.

Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes.
Serve immediately with taco fixings like lettuce or (my favorite) black olives and guacamole.