"Better Than MCL" Peanut Butter Pie

If you're from Indiana, you are probably familiar with MCL (or as my husband likes to call it, the MediCare Lounge). MCL is a regional chain of old-fashioned homestyle cooking cafeterias that caters primarily to the over-70 crowd. However, my husband and many of my friends here in Indiana absolutely LOVE MCL - they just get carryout. Anyway, I made this peanut butter pie for my boss as her birthday treat and she pronounced it "better than MCL!" Which is a serious compliment. It's also ridiculously easy. The only bad thing about this PB pie is that it is basically terrible for you. But...who cares when it is this delicious???

BETTER THAN MCL's PEANUT BUTTER PIE
Recipe from Allrecipes.com (Peanut Butter Pie XIX)

INGREDIENTS:

1 8oz package cream cheese, softened
3/4 C white sugar
1 1/2 C creamy peanut butter
2 8oz containers frozen whipped topping, thawed
Graham cracker pie crust
Chocolate syrup for drizzling (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Mix cream cheese and sugar with a hand mixer until creamy. Add peanut butter and blend until smooth. Add 1 container of whipped topping and mix using a spoon or spatula until the topping is completely blended into the peanut butter mixture.

Fill graham cracker crust with mixture and refrigerate for minimum 1 hour. If desired, layer chocolate syrup in between layers of peanut butter filling.

Drizzle chocolate syrup (optional) over the top of the pie. Layer as much of the 2nd container of whipped topping as you like on top and drizzle with more chocolate syrup. Refrigerate for at least another hour before serving.

YUM!

(don't ask me for the calorie/fat/etc information on this recipe. You do NOT want to know!)

Baked Won-Ton Wrapper Chips

To go along with my previous post, baked won-ton wrappers are an EXCELLENT alternative to tortilla chips which as we know are much worse for you than the cheese in which you dip them. Baking won-ton wrappers is super-easy and you can season them however you want! These are GREAT with the pico de gallo recipe that you can find on our humble little blog. :)

INGREDIENTS:

1 package of won-ton wrappers
Cooking spray
Whatever spices/salt/pepper you want

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 425. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. Place won-ton wrappers on cookie sheet and bake for 2-3 minutes. Remove from oven, turn over, and spray with cooking spray. Season with spices or dried/fresh herbs of your choice. Return to oven for 4-5 minutes until they are bubbly and as crispy as you want them.

Serve with pico de gallo, other salsa, or just by themselves!

Grilled Chicken and Key Lime Salsa

I've taken a break from posting for awhile - mostly because I am now eating healthfully and so many of my previous recipes no longer qualify as something that I can eat on a regular basis. Sad, but true. However, this new healthy initiative has enabled me to find some truly delightful recipes that taste good and are much better for you. For example, this delicious grilled chicken with salsa. I was even surprised at how awesome the salsa was. In fact, I would recommend just making this salsa and eating it on chips. Or baked won-ton wrappers. Anyway, enjoy the party in your mouth!

GRILLED CHICKEN AND KEY LIME SALSA
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 C Worcestershire sauce
3 T fresh lime juice from Key limes (or if you are lazy, from the plastic lime bottle)
3 medium oranges, sectioned, with pith and seeds removed
2 T scallions, chopped
1 T cilantro, chopped
1 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 tsp chopped green chiles or more to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine Worcestershire sauce, 3 T of lime juice and chicken in a Ziploc bag. Refrigerate up to 4 hours.
2. Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients in a medium-sized bowl to make salsa. Refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour.
3. Preheat grill or broiler. Grill or broil chicken until cooked through, about 4-5 minutes per side. Serve chicken with salsa.

Kira's Notes: No, I did not buy Key limes to juice for this recipe. Because I am (1) lazy and (2) cheap. And guess what? It tasted amazing with lime juice from the lime-shaped bottle. Also, I think I may have added more scallions and cilantro than the recipe called for. I also used cayenne pepper for heat in the salsa instead of the chopped green chiles because again, I am lazy. Marinating this for 3-4 hours would probably be perfect. I only had time to let mine marinate for an hour or so and it was good, but the flavor wasn't as good as it would have been with more time in the sauce and lime juice. I also cut up the orange slices into smaller chunks.