Peanut Butter Bars

My brother's graduation party was last month, so I went to my parent's house beforehand to make the bars for my Mom. She was pretty busy getting everything else ready, I figured I could help her out with the baking. Among other types of bars, I made these peanut butter bars that were a big hit with the family!
My little sister, Clara, told me they were her "FAVORITE!" :)

Ingredients

BASE:

1 c. butter, melted

2 c. graham cracker crumbs, finely ground

2-3 c. powdered sugar

1 c. creamy peanut butter

TOPPING:

1/4 c. creamy peanut butter

1 1/2 c. chocolate chips

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, combine the melted butter, graham cracker crumbs, peanut butter and 2 cups of the powdered sugar. Stir until well combined. (Mixture should be thick and moldable. If it's too runny, add more powdered sugar until you achieve desired consistency.)

Press into an ungreased 9x13 inch pan.

In a glass bowl, melt the chocolate chips and additional peanut butter in the microwave in intervals until smooth and creamy.

Spread evenly over the top of the graham cracker mixture.

Place in the refrigerator for at least an hour or until fully chilled before cutting into bars.

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(Directions with Photos)

In a large mixing bowl, combine the melted butter, graham cracker crumbs, peanut butter and 2 cups of the powdered sugar. 

Stir until well combined.

Mixture should be thick and moldable. If it's too runny (like shown above), add more powdered sugar until you achieve desired consistency (shown below).

Press into an ungreased 9x13 inch pan.

In a glass bowl, combine the chocolate chips and additional peanut butter.

Place in the microwave for 45 seconds, stir, then continue in 15 second intervals.

Continue melting until smooth and creamy.

Pour over graham cracker mixture.

Spread evenly.

Place in the refrigerator for at least an hour or until fully chilled before cutting into bars.

Scrumptious! :)

Veggie Pasta Salad

I can only say how many times that my husband and I are trying to watch what we eat!  For fear of really boring you, I will steer away from that line of thought today. :)

Instead, I will say that we have been focusing on quick meals.  This meal is definitely that... especially if you have another "chopper" in the kitchen. :)  My husband and I agreed that it is a really nice, light tasting pasta, but it needs a "little something". Because we were both really hungry, we didn't bother trying to figure it out.  Let me know what you would do to give it a little "mmmff".  

So for a quick (and healthy ;) meal, give it a try.  Don't forget to comment on how to make it better.  I love suggestions!!! :)

VEGGIE PASTA SALAD

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

16 ounces of whole wheat fusilli, cooked

1 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. dried oregano

3 kosher pickles, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 yellow pepper, chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

1/2 cup grated carrots

2 T. dijon mustard

DIRECTIONS

1.  In a bowl, whisk white wine vinegar and oil.  Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, add fusilli, vinegar and oil mixure, and dried spices.  Mix with a large spatula.

3. Add chopped veggies. 

4. Add 2 T. mustard.  Mix well.  Chill and serve!

EASY!!!

DeLite Pizza

Life is busy. Whether it is work, school, homeschooling, cleaning, sports, church, activities.....as we all know, I could go on and on. :) To add to all our busyness right now, we are in the process of buying a house and hope to be moving in the next couple weeks. (Yay!) As I was grocery shopping, I was trying to buy food items that would make my life a little easier without resorting to the processed food in a box. Ew.

So I ended up throwing this pizza together.  Oh. My. Yum.

I loved it.  My kids loved it.  It doesn't get more satisfying than that. 

As I said, I was trying to turn this into a quick meal so I used some shortcuts.  If you have the time, by all means...Take the long route.  It will be worth it in the end and probably be even tastier.  :)

If you need a recipe for your own pizza crust, these two are great!

Mom's Homemade Pizza Crust

Quick Rising Pizza Crust

So yummy!

Ingredients:

Pre-baked Wheat Pizza Crust

3 Tablespoons butter

2-3 teaspoons minced garlic

12.5 oz can chicken breast

salt and pepper

sliced baby portabella mushrooms

small onion, chopped

medium tomato, sliced

2 cups fresh spinach

6-8 ounce mozzarella cheese, shredded

Parmesan cheese (see below)

I saved lots of time using a pre-baked crust. Obviously, if you make your own, it will be even better. 

I also used pre-minced garlic.

Next, I used canned chicken. Feel free to cook up your own chicken breast and use that instead.

One thing I don't usually compromise on is shredded cheese. I prefer just shredding a block of mozzarella rather than using a bag of shredded cheese that always has that sawdust coating on it. It melts better and just plain tastes better, too!

And now for the parmesan cheese.....

....Mama Francesca's Fiero Parmesan and Red Pepper. It is awesome!

I found it at Walmart. If you prefer, you could easily substitute with freshly shredded parmesan and just add crushed red pepper, basil, oregano, and parsley. But for now, I will continue to use this.

Now, onto the directions....

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.

Saute the garlic in the butter in a

 medium sauce pan on medium heat.

When the garlic is golden brown 

add the can of chicken.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Now add a generous sprinkling of parmesan cheese. Mix well.

Top the pizza crust with the garlic chicken mixture. Add desired amount

 of sliced mushrooms.

Add chopped onions and the tomato slices.

Top it with fresh spinach.

Now add the shredded mozzarella cheese and another sprinkling of parmesan cheese.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. 

Ta-Da!! 

And believe it or not, it tastes just as good as it looks! 

Ok...now I am hungry. :)

Banana Crumb Muffins

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 c. Flour

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 tsp. Salt

3 Bananas, Mashed

3/4 c. White Sugar

1 egg, Lightly Beaten

1/3 c. Butter, Melted

1/3 c. Packed Brown Sugar

2 Tbsp. Flour

1/8 tsp. Ground Cinnamon 

1 Tbsp. Butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease 12 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.

In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter.

Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon.
Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.

Sprinkle topping over muffins.

Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick

inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

Hope you enjoy!!! :)

Frozen Spinach Cubes

I love smoothies! And being able to add loads of spinach in my fruit smoothies has been awesome. You can't taste the spinach, but you get all those lovely nutrients. :)

The only bad thing is that I usually don't use it all up before the spinach goes bad. Then, I had an idea. If I can freeze my fruit in ready-to-go baggies, then why can't the spinach get thrown in there, too? 

We tried putting the spinach leaves straight in, but the got really crisp and papery and were a bit of a mess. So, instead we tried blending them into frozen cubes. It worked awesome!

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Just gather up your spinach and make sure it's clean.

Place it in a blender with 1-2 Tablespoons of water.

Start blending.

Add more spinach periodically until you've blended as much as you want.

Pour into a clean ice cube tray.

Freeze for about 2 hours, or until fully frozen.

Pop out and place in a freezer bag on their own, or divide them up with fruit so you have everything ready to go!

I've been using frozen pineapple, banana, blueberries, and chia seeds with 2-3 spinach cubes. I blend it up with 1/2 c. Greek yogurt and some water....delicious! :)

Monster Cookies

When you ask someone what their favorite kind of cookie is, the majority of the time they are going to tell you "chocolate chip". It just happens that way. Chocolate chip cookies are a classic, can-never-go-wrong kind of cookie to serve. However...this one has become one of my husband's favorites, and mine, too! 

Monster Cookies. 

They are chewy inside, yet crisp on the outside, contain NO FLOUR, and are filled with all sorts of yumminess. :)

Ingredients

3 eggs

1 1/4 c. brown sugar, packed

1 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 c. creamy peanut butter

1/2 c. butter, softened

2 tsp. baking soda

4 1/2 c. rolled oats

1 c. peanut M&Ms

1/2 c. chocolate chips

1/3 c. raisins

1/2 c. shredded coconut, toasted & cooled

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Spread coconut on large baking sheet and bake until lightly golden. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Turn oven down to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugars until blended.

Add salt, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter.

Stir until well combined.

Sprinkle baking soda over mixture, then add oats. Stir well.

Mix in M&Ms, chocolate chips, raisins, and cooled coconut.

Scoop dough on an ungreased baking sheet (lined with parchment, if possible) about 2 inches apart.

Gently press about 1/2 way down.

Bake 12-18 minutes, depending on size, or until golden on the edges. (May look slightly shiny at the centers yet...that's okay!)

Let cool on baking sheet for about 3 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

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(Directions with Photos)

*I apologize for my pictures, my phone camera was not cooperating well with the lighting. :/

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Spread coconut on large baking sheet and bake until lightly golden. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Turn oven down to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugars until blended.

Add salt, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter.

Stir until well combined.

Sprinkle baking soda over mixture, then add oats. Stir well.

Mix in M&Ms, chocolate chips, raisins, and cooled coconut.

Scoop dough on an ungreased baking sheet (lined with parchment, if possible) about 2 inches apart.

Gently press about 1/2 way down.

Bake 12-18 minutes, depending on size, or until golden on the edges. (May look slightly shiny at the centers yet...that's okay!)

Let cool on baking sheet for about 3 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

(Once cooled, store in an airtight container.)

Painted Burlap Quote {A Father's Day Project}

Father's Day!

I love Father's Day.  I am very sad that I am 1000 miles from my wonderful daddy on this special day, but  thankful he knows I love him sooooo much!  I think I will have to Skype with him for a little while on Sunday though. ;)

Although my daddy is far away, I am lucky to have my "Papa Joe" close.  He's my other daddy (Mike's Father).

Rather than getting a tool to add to his collection, Mikey and I decided to take some time and MAKE a gift.  I can sew...and crochet...but I have never been patient with piddly stuff.  That's all Nae Nae. ;)  Channeling my inner crafter, I decided this project looked easy enough that I could complete it and cute enough that it would make a nice gift.  Who knows, he's probably going to miss that tool! ;)

What made us decide to do this?  Having some pretty awesome conversation on the deck a couple years back, Papa Joe had nonchalantly said these words.  Loving it, I grabbed a sheet a paper, quickly jotted it down, and then put it in my cedar chest.  After, I returned to the deck to have more great conversation.

Recently, I was going through my cedar chest looking for wedding ideas for my sister.  Yippy for wedding!  Sorry... off topic.  Anyway, as I was going through my cedar chest and I found that sheet of paper.  Telling Mikey about it, we came up with this idea!

This project was about my limit for patience while doing a craft, but  it was well worth my time.  I would definitely recommend this to people that don't think they can do a D.I.Y. project.  I will be doing this again.  Pinterest has all sorts of great sayings. ;)

Items Needed:

Frame

burlap

Satin Acrylic paint

Spouncers

Stencil

"paint trays"

Paper towels

Paper

scissors

Gloves (optional, but I wouldn't have done it without them.  I am messy  though.)

• Remove any matting or paper from frame
• Clean glass so it will be ready when you put your project in.
• Cut burlap. Leave quit a bit extra.  You can always remove the excess.
• Get "paint trays".  I just wrapped aluminum foil around small kitchen plates.  It worked.
• Taking a bunch of paper, I cut squares.  Then I cut circles which were large enough that it would accommodate the stencil, but small enough that you wouldn't paint any part of the other letters.  I will show you in a picture what I mean.
• Wearing gloves, start stenciling.  I used a little amount of paint, adding thin layers as needed.  If you have too much paint on your spouncer, it seeps under the stencil.
• Between every application, I set my stencil on some laid out paper towel and carefully dabbed off the excess.  I didn't want to leave paint blotches all over.  That's up to you though.  I was looking for a cleaner look. 

Below are a few of the products I used...

I just bought the burlap at Walmart.  Everything else, I found at Michaels!