Saturday, March 15, 2014

Blueberry Rolls

I tried making these before, with a different recipe that used jam instead of actual blueberries. It turned out pretty bad, they got way too brown, didn't rise right and I ended up needing to add almost a cup of extra flour.

This one wasn't anything like that! The dough came together really nicely and was simple to make. The one major thing I changed in the recipe was I used fresh blueberries. It says explicitly not to, but I had a really nice pint of them and I wasn't going out to buy frozen ones with them in front of me. The reasoning was that they didn't release juice the same. That does depend on the berries. I let mine sit for a good half hour with the sugar and cornstarch on them (the entire time it took me to make the dough and roll it out) and the amount of syrupy juice was amazing, even in that small amount of time. If you only have frozen, or want to use frozen go ahead! But I wouldn't go out of your way to buy them if you have fresh ones or there's a good deal at the grocery store.

Blueberry Rolls
(Adapted from Here)

Ingredients:

Rolls
2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup milk
2.5 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 egg

Filling
1 pint (11 oz) blueberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Lemon Glaze
Juice from 1 large lemon
Zest from lemon
1 cup powdered sugar
1-2 Tablespoons milk

Directions:

1. Filling first! Combine the blueberries, sugar, and cornstarch in a bowl. Stir together, don't worry if you mash up a blueberry here and there, it adds to the juice. Let sit while you prepare the dough.

2. Dough! In a large bowl or electric mixing bowl, put the dry ingredients - flour, sugar, salt, and yeast together until evenly dispersed.

3. Heat the water, milk, and butter together in the microwave until the butter is melted and the mixture is warm. Most yeast can only deal with about 105º, so if you go over that let it cool a bit before adding it. I did mine for 1 minute on power 6 in my microwave, stir is together once it comes out, the butter may separate.

4. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry, I added slowly to my mixer while it was going. Add the egg at the end. You may need a bit more flour here depending on your dough. It is ready when it cleans the sides of the bowl and is shiny and stretchy.

5. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough a couple times to ensure everything is mixed in well. Place in a lightly greased bowl and let rest for 5-15 minutes.

6.After resting, roll the dough out in a rectangle, mine was around 16 inches by 10 inches. I find it helps to get a rectangle quickly if you sort of shape the dough in to a rectangle instead of a ball. Pour the sugared blueberries on top and evenly disperse them on the dough. Roll the dough up from the long edge so your roll will be the longest it can be.

7. Cut into even pieces, I made 9, and place in greased or parchment lined pan, I used a 9x9 square.  Loosely cover the rolls with a damp towel and allow to rise in an oven you've preheated and turned back off. Place rolls inside oven and allow to rise. You won't want to refrigerate these now, they won't puff back up.

8. After the rolls have doubled in size, about 2 hours, take out of the oven and preheat to 375ºF. Bake for 25-30 minutes until lightly browned. Cover them about half way through with loose aluminum foil or they will get quite brown and crispy.

9. Before serving, mix all of the glaze ingredients together. For a thicker glaze add more powdered sugar or less lemon juice or vice versa for thinner.

10. Glaze right before serving, ideally when they are still warm (not hot) right out of the oven.






Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Jalapeno Cheddar Bagels

I've made bagels a couple times now but have really stuck to the simple starter recipe for Everything bagels I posted a while ago. I really like the Jalapeno Cheese Bagels at Tim Hortons, they have a great kick and a nice cheesy balance to them. Its pretty much the only thing I still go there for. So I of course decided I could make them myself. I found this recipe a long time ago and figured I would give it a try. It's a fairly in depth recipe for bagels, with a sponge starter and you have to leave them in the refrigerator overnight before cooking, so they're not an instant gratification type thing, although no bread really is. If I make them again (which I probably will) I think I'll add another cheese to the mix. Some parm or an Asiago. The cheddar is great, but its only one note and just having that extra sharp saltiness I think would put them over the top! If you want to stick to just cheddar, you may want to up the salt in the recipe.

Before you get really excited and want to make these right away there's a couple things you should be prepared for. I have a 5qt standard kitchen aid mixer, there's no way you can make these in it unless you half the recipe. Mine was dancing all over the counter before I decided to take out the dough and knead it by hand. It takes about 10 minutes to do it by hand and mixing the jalapenos and cheese in isn't a cake walk either. There's definitely something about kneading dough that's extremely therapeutic though. I'd highly recommend it over a stress ball. Plus in the end you have bready, cheesy goodness if you have any stress left.

The next thing is these take hours. Don't expect to start making them early in the morning for a brunch treat. The sponge needs to set up for 2 - 3 hours, the dough needs to sit in balls for half an hour, bagels for half an hour and overnight in the refrigerator. There's not a ton of active time but there's quite a bit of waiting time.

That's all though! Time to make bagels!

Jalapeño Cheddar Bagels
(Adapted slightly from Here)

Ingredients

Sponge:
1 teaspoon instant yeast
4 cups flour, I used AP - bread is probably a bit better
2½ cups water, at room temperature

Dough:
½ teaspoon instant yeast
3½ cups flour
3 teaspoons salt
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
8 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
1½ cups minced jalapeño peppers, Seeded if desired (About 10 peppers)

To Finish:
1 Tablespoon baking soda
2½ Litres water
8 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Sponge: Stir the yeast into the flour in a large mixing bowl. Add the water, stirring  until it forms a smooth, sticky batter, sort of lumpy with air holes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for approximately 2 - 3 hours, or until nearly double in size and collapses when the bowl is tapped on the counter.

2. To make the dough, in the same mixing bowl a couple hours later add the additional yeast to the sponge and stir. Then add 3 cups of the flour and all of the salt and brown sugar. Stir until the ingredients form a ball, slowly working in the remaining 1/2 cup flour to stiffen the dough.

3. Transfer the dough to the counter and knead for at least 10 minutes. Add the Cheddar cheese and jalapeños during the last two minutes or so of kneading, and knead until evenly distributed. The dough should be firm, but still pliable and smooth. There should be no raw flour left over in lumps. If the dough seems dry and rips, add a few drops of water and continue kneading. If the dough seems sticky or tacky, add more flour to achiever the stiffness required. The kneaded dough should feel satiny and pliable but not be tacky.

4. Divide the dough into equal pieces, I cut the dough with a knife into 14 equalish balls and evened them out to make a 15th ball. Roll into balls like you are making dinner rolls (or a snowball!)

5. Cover the rolls with a damp towel and allow them to rest for 30 minutes.



6. Line 2 sheet pans with silpats or parchment. Proceed with shaping the bagels: Push a hole through the center of the roll with the end of a wooden spoon or spatula and stretch out the hole to an inch or so in diameter, try to make sure the ring is fairly even.

7. Place each of the shaped pieces 2 inches apart on the pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let the pans sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

8. Check to see if the bagels are ready to head to the refrigerator overnight by doing a “float test”. Fill a small bowl with cool or room temperature water. The bagels are ready to go in when they float within 10 seconds of being dropped into the water. Take one bagel and test it. If it floats, immediately return the tester bagel to the pan, pat it dry, cover the pan with plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator overnight or up to 2 days if you're holding off on baking them.

If the bagel does not float, return it to the pan and continue to proof the dough at room temperature, checking back every 10 to 20 minutes or so until it floats. This time can vary, mine was about 30 minutes.

9. The next day, preheat the oven to 500 degrees F with the two racks set in the middle of the oven. Bring a large pot of water to a boil (the wider the better), I used my 3.25 Qt braiser since I can fit 4 bagels in it comfortably, and add the baking soda. Have a slotted spoon or skimmer nearby.





10. Remove the bagels from the refrigerator and gently drop them into the water, boiling only as many as comfortably fit, they should float. After 1 minute flip them over and boil another minute. Sprinkle the bagels with the grated cheese as soon as they come out of the water.

11. When all the bagels have been boiled and topped, place the pans on the two middle shelves in the oven. Bake for approximately 8 minutes, then rotate the pans, switching shelves and giving the pans a 180-degree rotation. (If you are only baking one pan at a time, keep it on the center shelf but still rotate 180 degrees.) After the rotation, lower the oven temperature to 450 degrees F and continue baking for about 8 minutes.

12. Turn the oven to a low broil and place each pan in separately for 3-5 minutes to finish off some browning and cooking.

12. Remove the pans from the oven and let the bagels cool on a rack for at least 15 minutes.







Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry

In interest of trying to be a bit healthier and work on our meal planning, this recipe is a good way to use up some extra and left over ingredients in your fridge. This recipe was in my Food Network Magazine back from November. I picked it because it was under 500 calories/serving. It obviously varies depending on your noodles and what you add in, but I like to keep things around there for our dinners - leaves room for wine! So feel free to add what you want and take out what you don't. If you cut up your veggies when you buy them this is even easier to throw together.

Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry

Ingredients

1 bunch broccoli
1 8oz package Rice or Egg noodles (Egg have way more flavour, but more calories)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp water
5 cloves garlic, sliced thin or grated with a microplane
1 pound chicken, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 red chile pepper, Sliced and seeded (or keep the seeds for more heat)
1 red pepper, sliced
1 carrot, sliced

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the broccoli and cook until bright green and slightly tender, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl - do not drain the water. Add the rice noodles and return to a boil. Take off heat and let soak until ready to use.

Combine the sugar and water in a Wok or large skillet over medium high heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Cook until it is dark amber, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Add the carrot and red pepper for 30 seconds before the chicken. Add the chicken and fish sauce and cook while stirring until chicken is no longer pink, about 5-8 minutes.

Stir in the red chile pepper and season with salt and pepper.

Drain the noodles and add them and the broccoli to the wok, stirring to coat all of the mixture in the sauce. Let simmer together for another minute and serve.


Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Enchilada Pasta Recipe - With home made sauce!

Sean and I are trying to get back into meal planning for the week, and while it hasn't been a very good start We've managed 2 meals for 3 days. Since there's only the two of us we always have left overs anyways so if we don't do them for lunch we already have another dinner that week, even if its just as a side. Since pinterest has come into my life, meal planning has been a bit easier. This week, our new recipe is Enchilada Pasta. I went to eight grocery stores and NONE of them had Enchilada sauce. (Shame on them) Turns out its pretty easy to  make and can be adjusted to your taste for spice. So I've added that recipe in here in case you can't find sauce either, or just want to try your hand at it. I only made a half order, since that's all the pasta recipe called for.

The recipe says it served 4, but we didn't even eat 1/4 of it for the two of us. Plenty of left overs! I would say 6-8 depending on appetites.

Enchilada Pasta
(Adapted from here)

1 pound extra wide egg noodles (or whatever you have!)
1 1/4 cups enchilada sauce (Recipe below)
1 cup frozen corn
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
1/4 cup 0% Fat Greek yogurt
1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles - drained
1 pound lean ground beef
4 ounces light cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon chipolte chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and diced

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

I made this in my braiser to go from Stove to Oven, but you can switch is out into a baking dish at the end!

Boil up your water and cook your pasta according to the package. Drain and set aside till needed.

In a large bowl, combine enchilada sauce (below, if making), corn, beans, 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, Greek yogurt and green chiles; set aside.

Heat braiser to medium heat, add ground beef and cook until browned, about 5-8 minutes, breaking it up as it cooks to ensure even browning.

Cut cream cheese into cubes to evenly disperse and easier melting.
Stir in cream cheese, chili powder and cumin until cream cheese has melted.

Stir in pasta and enchilada mixture until well combined; season with salt and pepper as needed. Stir together and cover on the medium heat for 5 or so minutes to bring everything to temperature and combine the flavours.

Top the pasta with the sliced Avocado and the remaining two cheeses. Bake in the oven, un-covered until nice and bubbly, about 15 minutes, with a high broiler for 1 minute at the end.

Let sit for 5 minutes (we used this time to make some margaritas) and slice it up and serve.





Red Enchilada Sauce - Hot! 
(Adapted from Emeril)

Ok, this isn't the hottest sauce I've ever had or anything but its pretty warm. Really flavourful and the smell fills your house while its cooking. This is the half recipe with the ingredients I used. If you only have one type of chili powder that's totally ok, If you have 4 kinds, use them all! Adjust it here for spice, I like the warmth and "smokiness" of the chipolte chili powder. I had garlic tomato paste and thought why not add another layer of flavour in there? Also, a few of the other recipes I checked had garlic powder in them anyways.

This will make 1.5 Cups of Sauce depending how long you boil it out for, the extra mixed with greek yogurt for a drizzle would be pretty (I promise).

Ingredients

1.5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 tablespoon flour
1 TBSP chili powder
1 TBSP Chipolte Chile Powder
1 cup chicken stock
5.5 ounces garlic tomato paste (plain is fine)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch salt to taste

Directions:

In a small saucepan heat oil, add flour, smoothing and stirring with a wooden spoon, will look sort of like a rue - on the runny side. Cook for 1 minute.

Add chili powders and cook for 30 seconds - will look more like a rue now, a tight one.

Add stock, tomato paste, oregano, and cumin. Stir to combine.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. Put the lid on now so you don't have red sauce all over your stove! It bubbles and shoots up.

The sauce will thicken and smooth out. Add salt and stir in.



Monday, February 24, 2014

Cinnamon Buns or "Cake"

Cinnamon Buns are probably my most requested recipe that I make. This year for Sean's birthday he wanted a giant Cinnamon Bun Cake (As seen on Stefano) but I wanted to use my go to recipe to make it. So this is that recipe and I'll tell you how and where to change it for buns vs. a cake.

Cinnamon Buns
(Bread base adapted from Here)

1 cup warm milk (110º)
2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
4 1/2 cups bread flour

1 cup brown sugar, Packed
2 1/2 tablespoons Cinnamon
1/3 cup softened butter

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 packages cream cheese, 16 oz total (Room Temp)
1-2 cups icing sugar (depending on how sweet/consistency you like)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whip attachment, add a spoonful of the 1/2 cup sugar. Let rest for 10 minutes or until yeast appears to puff up.

Mix in the remaining sugar, butter, salt, and eggs until there are no clumps of yeast. Use a fork to "whisk" these in if you see any remaining before adding the flour.

Switch whip attachment out for dough hook.

Add flour and mix for 2-4 minutes until the dough forms a loose ball and pulls away from sides of the bowl.

Dump on to your work surface and knead a few times by hand (No more than 10) to ensure everything is mixed in well.

Put in a lightly oiled bowl (I spray with pam), cover and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon until mixed thoroughly.

Roll dough into a 16x21-inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter (I use my hands to smoosh it around) and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture.

Roll dough from the bottom edge towards the top like a jelly roll.

If you want to make Cinnamon Buns:

Cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a 9x13 inch baking pan lined with parchment. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

If you want to make a Cinnamon Bun Cake:

Lightly grease (with butter) a 9 inch round cake pan And preheat oven to 375º F

Pinch ends to keep that goodness together. Roll with your hands to make the log skinnier, I found inching my hands down it while stretching and rolling worked the best to stretch it out. The log needs to be 35 inches long and about 2 inches across.

Roll log up like a pinwheel and place in the prepared pan.



Brush top with soft butter.

Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Cover loosely with foil (to prevent over browning) and bake another 30 to 40 minutes. I found mine got a little bit crispier and browner then I would have liked, next time I'll cover it after 20 Minutes.



Cut into wedges and pass around with frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Beat cream cheese with electric beaters until smooth, add in 1 cup of icing sugar and continue mixing.

Add vanilla and any remaining icing sugar you'd like and beat together.

Good to go!





One Pot Lasagna Casserole

I pinned this recipe quite a while ago and finally decided to give it a try. It says Skillet but I certainly don't have a skillet that big so I used my 3.25qt Braiser. It goes from stove to oven which is ideal. however, I've made this a couple times and have once let it cool and put it in a baking dish to bake all together at a later time. Its definitely a dish you can play with and add or subtract things at your leisure.

One Pot Lasagna Casserole
(Adapted from Here)

Ingredients:  

1 diced onion
5 Cloves grated garlic
1 Tbsp oil or butter
1 medium sized zucchini - grated
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp oregano
Salt & pepper to taste
1 pound lean ground beef
1 tsp sugar
1 (20 oz) can or jar tomato sauce
1 (12 oz) can diced or crushed tomatoes
12 lasagna noodles, give or take a few
1 cup 1% fat cottage cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano reggiano
1 egg
1 tsp basil
2 cups beef broth
1/3 cup red wine (or substitute this much extra beef broth)
1 Mozza ball, about 450 grams


Directions:

Saute diced onions and garlic in oil until soft.  Add in some seasonings now, not all. I would recommend layering them in different places to build the flavours.  Grate the zucchini into the pan.

To the vegetables, add in the ground beef. Break apart the beef while it's cooking until evenly browned.

Once the beef is browned and mixed in to the vegetable mixture, break apart the raw lasagna noodles into pieces. Add to the pan.

One top of the noodles, add in the broth and red wine.  It might look soupy, but the noodles will absorb most of it and some will evaporate out. Add the tomatoes and the tomato sauce, these can be anything you like. I like to add a primivera type sauce to add to the veggie count and flavours. Add the sugar to the sauce over the tomatoes to cut the tomato acid. Add another layer of the seasonings here, and bring it up to a boil, making sure that the noodles are down in the sauce.  Once boiling reduce down to a medium and allow it to simmer for about 20 - 25 minutes so the noodles are cooked.  Give it a couple stirs through out the cooking and add more liquid if it feels too dry.

While the noodles are cooking, throw together the cheese mixture:  Cottage cheese, low fat shredded mozzarella, and freshly grated Parmigiano reggiano.  Add in an egg and torn basil (or from a jar is fine!).  Seasonwith a little kosher salt (Cheese is salty) and black pepper.

Once the noodles are cooked, turn off the heat.  Drop the cheese mixture by big globs onto the meat and noodles and coarsely stir them in. I agreed completely with the original blogger, keeping it in pockets of cheese - I didn't want it to be too mixed, as I like seeing "pockets" of cheese.

Now cover with slices of fresh mozzarella and some additional parm is you have any left over and put this whole skillet into the oven under the broiler until the cheese gets a bit brown and bubbly - about 10 mins on low.  Garnish with some freshly chopped basil leaves.



Monday, February 10, 2014

Superbowl! (3 Recipes)

I tried to reign in my "crazy" this year and only made 3 things. We were away for the weekend until about 4 hours before the Superbowl so I had to make sure I prepped everything first and picked some easy things. I have to apologize in advance because I didn't take any pictures. None. Hopefully I'll make all these things again and will get some then. They just can't be in front of a hungry, football crazed crowd. So here we go! I have linked to the originals if you're wondering how they come out. Even though the game didn't go my way (I still love you Broncos), these things all helped that!

Fried Pickles
Adapted from Here

We made these because I had even more than three jars of homemade pickles in our pantry and the idea of these on Pulled Pork Sandwiches was pretty great. I don't know that I would use this recipe again, it was good but the coating didn't stay on the pickles that well and I think I would go the batter route for a bit more coverage, crisp and flavour. Maybe if you used sliced pickles with ridges the coating will stick a little better. That being said, it was still a good recipe and a good start to fried pickles, it was also super quick and easy if you're running short on time before the party!

3 Jars whole pickles or 1 large jar sliced pickles
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 cup bread flour
1/4 teaspoon Mrs Dash Garlic & Herb
1/4 teaspoon cayenne

Drain, Slice and dry your pickles on paper towel, making sure they're fairly dry.

In a large bowl stir together the batter ingredients, the Cornmeal, flour and spices.

Add the pickles to the bowl and toss so that each pickle gets coated, let them sit for a couple minutes and stir again to get more coverage on the pickles.

Fry them in oil or a deep fryer that is heated to 375°F for 3-5 minutes.

Remove to a plate covered in paper towels and sprinkle on a little salt and pepper.


Pulled Pork
Adapted from Here

Pulled pork was originally going to be the only thing that we took (obviously I have problems doing that) but we chose it because we could do the prep work before we left and my Mom had no problem throwing it in the slow cooker for us so it would be ready on return. I changed alot about the posted recipe, not that I doubt it was great. I've made pulled pork with a can of Soda before and I usually find it to be a little too sweet and that wasn't what I was going for this time. It turned out great and feel free to adjust the seasonings and liquid to what you have. I used a bit less BBQ sauce then it suggested because I don't like it too Saucy so if you like it looser, you'll need to add more sauce.

1 pork shoulder - about two pounds
1 Onion chopped
1 pint can Guiness Beer
6 Cloves Garlic peeled
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Salt
Freshly-ground black pepper
Chili Flakes
375 Ml barbecue sauce, we used a "Touch of Heat"
Buns

Instructions

Salt, Pepper and sprinkle chili flakes on your pork on all sides (and any other spices you'd like) and make 6 slits around the pork shoulder, 1-2 per side. Place the Whole Garlic cloves in each hole, let sit while starting on the onions.

In a large, cast iron or heavy pan over medium-high heat, begin to saute the chopped onions until they start to brown, around 10 minutes.

Once the onions have started to colour, move them aside (still in the pan) and place the pork in. Sear the pork well on all sides, 1 - 2 minutes per side. Remove pork from pan and place in slowcooker (or dutch oven), add honey and vinegar on top of pork.

Pour beer into the pan and deglaze, scraping up anything on the bottom of the pan. Let cook for 2 minutes, scraping the bottom occasionally. Pour over pork in slow cooker.

Cover and cook on low for 7 hours, high for 3 hours.

After the pork has cooked, drain off any excess liquid and shred the meat into small bits with two forks. Add the barbecue sauce to the pork and stir well.

Cover the slow cooker and cook for 1 more hour.

That's it! Ready to go! Serve on slider buns with fried pickles.

Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Footballs
Adapted from Here

I saw this on pinterest and knew I had to make them for so many reasons. One, this would be my last excuse to make something football shaped for a while. Two, Peanut butter, Chocolate rice krispies?? Really. The reasons go on. Anyways, you could definitely make this into regular squares and maybe just drizzle the chocolate on the tops. Coating them in chocolate seems easier than it is. I don't know that I would do it again. You need a lot of chocolate but it does take them the extra mile.

1 cup white sugar
1 1/4 cup light corn syrup syrup
1 cup smooth peanut butter (I used skippy)
2 tsp vanilla extract
6 c. Rice Krispies

Coating - you can skip this part or cut down and just drizzle with chocolate
20 oz chocolate candy melts
2 oz white chocolate or vanilla candy melts

In a small saucepan mix sugar and corn syrup; bring to a boil.

Add peanut butter and vanilla. Stir until melted and combined.

Put Rice Krispies in a large mixing bowl. Pour Peanut butter syrup mix over Rice Krispies and stir until well combined.

Spread in a 9x13 in. pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, or greased lightly with butter.
Let bars sit about an hour or until firm(ish)
.
Cut bars out with football cookie cutter, or into squares as needed. I went the football route. You can push together scraps to make more footballs. Doing this, I got 28 2 inch (ish) footballs.

Melt chocolate candy melts in a double boiler. Dip footballs in chocolate, let drip off and place on wax paper. Let sit until chocolate is set, around an hour.

Melt white chocolate melts in a small ziplock in the microwave. 30 seconds on medium power till melted. Take the bag out in between each and squish in the bag to help move along. Usually takes 2 - 3 times.

Cut a very small piece off the tip of the bag. Use this to pipe on the football laces.

Store in a airtight container or devour immediately.