Must or Bust: Yummy Food Bonanza!

Okay. . . So I realize that I post a lot about food {and cleaning stuff. . . } but it's because I love to eat! Seriously. Especially if it's sweet. Just ask the hubs. He'll tell you the truth.

Yum.

I have a couple pretty funny, "I'm-sure-glad-I'm-not-Jessica" stories to go with this week's Must or Bust, so you should be excited! ;)

. . . . .

Microwave Potato Chips: Must

{source}

These things, found over at Food Gal's site {HERE}, were pretty fun to make! And they are super simple-- potatoes, olive oil and salt. Done. No nasty stuff crammed in there, which is a perk!

A few words to the wise. . . if your plate isn't large enough for you to nuke your taters on all at once {meaning that you have multiple batches}, spritz your plate with cooking spray again before starting the second batch. I noticed some sticking on mine.

I had some of an opened package of Ranch dressing mix that begged to be used, so I sprinkled some of that on the chips after arranging them on the plate. They tasted yummy, but I would suggest tossing the mix in with the chips and oil instead of sprinkling it on. It spreads more evenly that way and you don't end up with a blob of Ranch on one chip {ahem. . . I don't speak from experience or anything like that. . .}.

Make sure they don't get burned either cause, uh, they taste not so very good. Yeah. I did that, too.

. . . . .

No-Bake Chocolate Chip Granola Bars: Must

{source}

These little guys from Lauren's Latest {HERE} are also great because they're simple, quick, and tasty. Perk? No nasty stuff. I'm on a roll with that, can ya tell? :)

Words of wisdom from little ol' me. . . Don't freak out if you don't have mini chocolate chips. I used regular-sized chips and it worked just fine for me. I also threw in some mini marshmallows, too, because I'm a rebel. I totally realize that shoots my whole concept of "no nasty stuff" in the foot, but at least I can say that they've got "very LITTLE nasty stuff" at my house. :) Close enough, right?!

I mixed some of the chips {chocolate ones. . . not potato ones} and mallows in with the oats before putting them in the pan, and then decided I needed more chocolate and sprinkled some on top. It worked marvelously.

Push those suckers into the pan with the ferocity of a wet grizzly bear. I'm dead serious. If you don't, they fall apart all over the place. I thought I was pushing them in with adequate ferocity, but it still wasn't enough. Turns out I was using more of a 'wet fish' ferocity instead. If it helps, use the back of your mixing spoon to help keep them from squishing out all over the place as you squish. Does that make sense? :P

Don't store them in a Ziploc bag, either, because they get a little too soft a fall apart. Or maybe it was just me. Could be legit.
. . . . .

Super-Easy Microwave Carmels: Must

{source}

Good ol' microwave. . . I seem to be a fan this week. The oven has been shunned, poor little fella. Okay, focus, Jessica. Focus.

Eat Cake for Dinner {HERE} shared this recipe for easy peesy 6 minute caramels. I was a fan because it doesn't require a candy thermometer. I have one, but I have yet to truly master it. Shame, I know.

I went to satisfy my sweet tooth by whipping these up and realized I didn't have any light corn syrup. I did some Google-ing {bless them} and found out that you can use equal parts honey in place of the syrup. Sold! Wanna guess why?!

Yup. No nasty stuff.

;)

I didn't have a lot of honey. . . in fact, I had half of what I needed. I decided to half the recipe and go from there, but forgot to adjust the cooking time. Just to let you know. . . if you cook caramel for too long, it turns into hard candy. You know those yummy caramel hard candies like this?

{source}

Yeah. You'll end up with those. And good luck getting them out of your dish. . . even after soaking them for a few hours. :) And as long and we're talking about "don't"s here; DON'T, under any circumstances, decide that it's wise to taste test your aspiring caramels by liking the back of the metal spoon that you just used to stir.  Four minutes in the microwave + metal spoon + tongue = ouchie.

With some of my famous frustration when cooking goes awry, I tossed the disaster in the sink and marked it off as a bust. I stormed off to do something else but guilt crept in. 1) it wasn't really the recipe's fault; just user error, and 2) my sweet tooth had been begging for those yummy things for days and I couldn't disappoint it. I was willing to give it another go.

I found some creamed honey for round 2 and it worked out just grand. The honey did result in a tiny bit of a grainy texture, but I'd rather have that than high fructose corn syrup anyhow. And just for those who could use a little tip: Since I halved the recipe, I stopped microwaving them when the caramel became frothy {somewhere around the four minutes mark, I believe}

. . . . .

I hope you enjoyed this crazy-long Must or Bust! Stay tuned for my next adventure that will hopefully not result in a burned tongue or a house that smells like burned potatoes. :)