Peanut Butter Cup Smore's

The second I saw these on Pinterest I knew I had to try them! I am a huge lover of all things peanut butter so to me this was heaven sent. I found the recipe at fashionchicsta.blogspot.com. The traditional smore is already a delicious gooey treat and this just takes it to a whole other level. One of my favorite things about this is the soft chewy crust on the top and bottom. Regular smores are usually pretty messy with the graham cracker smashing the marshmallow. You don't have that problem here! Give these a try I promise they won't disappoint!

Summer is for Smores! -Brittany

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups of flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
16 regular size peanut butter cups
1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff

Directions
1-Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8x10 baking dish with cooking spray.
2-In a large bowl mix together butter and sugars until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Slowly stir in the flour, baking powder, salt and graham cracker crumbs until mixed.

3-Spread 2/3 of the dough on the bottom of the greased baking dish. Lightly press the peanut butter cups into the dough, then spread marshmallow fluff on top. On a piece of parchment paper press the remaining dough into an 8x10 square to match the size of your pan. This will be the crust on top. Place the square on top of the marshmallow fluff and press down lightly removing the parchment paper as you go.

 

 

4-Bake for 30 mins or until the edges are light brown. Allow to cool for at least two hours to give the bars a chance to set.

                                     

Blueberry Muffin Bake

 My kids and I have been getting bored with the same old breakfasts every morning. The other day my 4 year old said "oh waffles again do I have to eat it all?" I couldn't blame him we have been in a breakfast rut. So instead of fighting him to eat I took to Pinterest to find some fun new breakfast recipes. We are big blueberry fans so this recipe from Running With Spoons was perfect! It is really yummy to eat by itself but its truly divine if you top it with whipped cream or cream cheese!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup Blueberries
1/4 cup Vanilla Almond Milk
1/4 cup Rolled Oats
1/2 Tbsp Maple Syrup
1/4 tsp Baking Powder
2 Tbsp Flour
2 Tbsp Oat Bran
1 pinch of Salt
1/2 tsp Vanilla
*Only makes one serving*

Instructions:
1-Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly spray individual sized ramekins with cooking spray.
2-Combine oats, oat bran, flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
3-Add almond milk, maple syrup, and vanilla, mixing until well combined.
4-Fold in the blueberries. Transfer the dough to your ramekins topping with a few extra blueberries.
5-Bake for 20-25 mins. Less time for it to be more moist. Top with whipped cream or cream cheese and ENJOY!

 

 

Berry Almond Salad

It is summer time and I am craving all the fresh produce! Jake was talking about the Berry Almond salad from Zupas the other day and it started me thinking. I don't live by a Zupas anymore. We recently moved and I don't live around many restaurants at all. I have learned to get a bit creative. The next day at lunch time I started pulling things out of the fridge. I threw it all together and this is what I came up with. I looked up a simple poppy seed dressing online and was fortunate enough to have all the ingredients to make it. You can always just buy poppy seed dressing and have it on hand in your fridge. Don't stress if you don't have all the exact berries. This can go so many ways and still be amazing. Here are some suggestions that would work:
Romaine lettuce
Spinach
Chopped apples
Dried cranberries
Sliced strawberries
Raspberries
Blueberries
Blackberries
Almonds
Walnuts (candied are the best)
Pine nuts

Here is the recipe I found online that was delicious.

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tbs + 2 tsp White Wine Vinegar
• 1 1/2 tbsp poppyseeds
• 1 tbsp honey or agave nectar
• dash of salt and pepper
• Combine and whisk well.
• I found this on Ilovenaptime.com

ENJOY!!!

Chinese Chicken Salad

I posted this recipe over a year ago but with summer here and lots of BBQ's happening I thought it would be a good one to post again. It is such a perfect side dish to take to any party and  I NEVER leave with any leftovers!

1 head chopped cabbage (or 1 bag of coleslaw mix)
2 packs of oriental ramen noodles (blue package)
1/2 c butter 
3 Tbsp sesame seeds
1 cup slivered almonds
1 small chopped red pepper
1 can mandarin oranges drained
1 grilled chicken breast cut into cubes

Melt butter in pan. Break up noodles and brown in butter until toasted light brown and crunchy.  Do not add the noodle flavoring to the pan. Let cool.
Toss everything together in salad bowl. 

Dressing
1/2 c salad oil
1 c sugar
6 Tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
ONE small packet of the oriental ramen flavoring

Mix all together.
If you are taking it to a party wait until you get there to add the dressing. If you are serving it as a main dish I would just top it after it is on your plate. The dressing can make it soggy if it sits for too long so wait until last minute to put it on.

S'more Dip

Jake's mom made this for us at a party not long ago and it was a smash hit. She found it on Pinterest and it ended up to be a great little treat. Both kids and adults alike loved it. It is perfect for those fun summer nights when you want a s'more but don't want to walk away smelling like a camp fire. I hope you love it!

Here's what you need:
1 bag large marshmallows
1 bag Nestle caramel filled chocolate chips
6 Reese's peanut butter candy bars (Total of 12 peanut butter cups)
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 box graham crackers

Preheat oven to 400
Heat skillet in oven until really hot (cast iron skillet works best but a regular skillet is fine if you don't have a cast iron pan.)
Pull skillet out of oven.
Sprinkle chocolate chips all over bottom of pan.
Layer peanut butter cups on top of chocolate chips.
Top with marshmallows
Place in oven and bake until marshmallows are puffy and golden brown
Remove and dip with broken graham crackers ( Be careful, the dip will be very hot!)

Tuna Stuffed Avocados

Hello!! We are back! After a little hiatus we have regrouped and are excited to bring you some great new recipes! This blog is so much fun for us to do. A big thank you for sticking with us and reading our posts! So with summer in full swing I have been on the lookout for simple healthy meals that don't require a lot of time. This one is one of the first I came across and I have to say I really liked it. It is very healthy and can be made in 5 mins! There are a few different versions out there but this is how I like it.
Ingredients:
-1 tin of Tuna
-1 Avocado
-1/2 cup of chopped celery
-1 and 1/2 Tablespoons of lemon juice
-1/4 cup chopped red onion
-1/4 cup slivered almonds
-Salt and Pepper to taste
-Dried Dill to taste
Directions:
1-Finely chop up the celery and red onion
2-Remove Avocado from shell and mash it up
3-Add mashed avocado, celery, red onion, and seasonings together.
4-Drain the tuna and add it to the mixture
5-Mix all together and spoon back into avocado shells.
6-Garnish the top with slivered almonds and Enjoy
Feel free to add or reduce any of the items to suit your taste!

Edible Easter Creations

 

In light of the upcoming holiday I thought I would give you some cute Easter treats that are easy and fun to make. Making these would be a great activity to do with your kids or grandkids. They would also be perfect as a little Easter basket surprise! Enjoy and Happy Easter!

Heidi

Snowball Bunny
Use one Hostess Snowball for the head
3 Red Hots for the eyes and nose
Colored toothpicks cut in half for the whiskers
Pink cardboard paper for the ears

Little chick in a nest
What you'll need
Regular size pretzels(not mini)
Shredded Coconut dyed green(food coloring)
Frosting(any kind)
Marshmallow Peep
Jelly Beans

1-Spread a pretzel with frosting and stick some of the shredded coconut on top
2-Put frosting on the bottom of the Peep and stick in on top of the coconut
3-Frost the bottom of a few jelly beans and stick them to the coconut around the peep

Bunny Car
What you'll need
Hostess Twinkie
Marshmallow bunny
Frosting(any kind)
Mini pretzel
Big marshmallows
Skittles

1-Cut opening (slit) in the twinkie a little past the middle
2-Stick the marshmallow bunny into the opening
3-Push a mini pretzel into the twinkie upside down, in front of the bunny for the steering wheel
4-Attach 4 big marshmallows to the four corners of the twinkie using frosting
5-Attach skittles to the center of the big marshmallow using frosting(hubcaps)