Peanut Butter Cup Blondies

Ready to have your socks knocked off?  Instead of my usual chocolate craving, today I was craving peanut butter and chocolate.  To create this knocking-your-socks-off treat, you'll need to make a quick trip to Trader Joe's and buy their mini peanut butter cups (and maybe a few boxes of their frozen mac and cheese...).  And make sure the PB cups are the mini sized, otherwise you'll need to chop the larger ones up.

The batter is thick and can be mixed with a spatula.

After stirring in a quarter cup of chocolate chips, spread the batter in your greased 9" pan.  Sprinkle a handful (or two...) of the mini peanut butter cups on top and bake.

After about 22 minutes in the oven, our house was filled with warm peanut butter aroma. Waiting for these goodies to cool was next to impossible.

Okay, so we couldn't wait.  The blondies were moist and the ratio of peanut butter to chocolate was perfect.  These blondies are also very quick to mix up, so give them a try!



Peanut Butter Blondies, courtesy of Cooking Light and Bake or Break

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 c. creamy peanut butter
1/4 c. butter, melted and slightly cooled
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 c. semisweet chocolate chips
One big handful of mini peanut butter cups

Preheat oven to 350°. Coat a 9-inch square baking pan lightly with cooking spray.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.  In a separate bowl, combine peanut butter, melted butter, milk, vanilla extract, and eggs. Stir well.

Add peanut butter mixture to flour mixture, stirring until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Transfer batter into baking pan. Arrange the peanut butter cups over the batter.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs. Cool in pan on wire rack.

Happy Anniversary!

To me!  My husband and I celebrate our sixth anniversary today.  An anniversary of 'iron' and 'sweets' or 'wood' if you go with the modern theme.  This morning we have family photos with a photographer that captured our family just three weeks before Miss C arrived and when Miss C was a newborn.

To give a bit of an anniversary twist to our photos, I created a '6' out of wood branches from our yard and placed it in a wood and iron frame.  Hopefully this will be incorporated in to some of our photos!

Its amazing what a fallen branch, some extra time while the little one naps, (patience!) and some stiff paper will create.

And as a gift to my husband?  A print that is original and unique, just to us.  It may take some deciphering for those who don't know us well, but each line has a big significance!

If you are interested in me creating a unique print for you too, contact  me!

The Great Pumpkin

Our first pumpkin from this year's crop.  Crop sounds cool, but is probably misleading.  Our crop consists of two pumpkins, so far...

I did learn a lesson in pumpkin growing... don't let a pumpkin ripen while laying on wood beams.  This pumpkin chose to sit and grow on our railroad tie and the rain and dampness of the wood helped to rot the underside of the poor guy.  So this pumpkin won't make it to Halloween, but it has been fun to enjoy for a few days at our back door.

Garden Bonus

The crazy plethora of tomatoes is starting to get super crazy.  Crazy to the point that I'm running out of freezer space to store these suckers.  Looks like I've got some sauce making and roasting to do!

And as a surprise... potatoes from the garden!  They cropped up on their own this year after I apparently didn't dig up all the harvest last year.  This is what I've found so far... 

And for the family birthday gathering tonight... Fresh blackberry pie (thanks mom and auntie for picking blackberries!)....

 And chocolate chiffon pie, mom's special birthday request.

Oh, and pumpkin pie too.  But this was for last night's little birthday shindig. I heart a good pumpkin pie made from scratch (no canned pumpkins in this guy!). 

And the birthday girl!

Because every good tailgate deserves equally good gelatin shots. GO HUSKIES!  And happy birthday mom!

2011 Halloween Costumes?....

Last year B wanted to be Thomas the Train for Halloween.  I thought it would be fun to create a Thomas out of cardboard that B could wear.  It was a great idea until I look back on the project and realize how many steps were involved.  But, the look of pure excitement when he saw the finished product made it all worth it.  But it makes me wonder... what will we do for 2011!?  It sounds like B is narrowing down his choices.

2010 meant 2 cardboard boxes. 1 blue can of spray paint. 3 rolls of colored duct tape. 1 exacto craft knife. 1 hot glue gun and LOTS of hot glue. Craft paints and paintbrushes. 1 empty breadcrumbs container. 1 round container from craft store.  Lots of thinking of designs in my head when I should have been sleeping.  All this helped create a Thomas costume for Blake.  Well, that and quite a few evenings after the kids were in bed!

B couldn't wait to try on his costume.  The minute it was on he had a huge smile and took Thomas for a spin around the house.

I am so excited by the finished product!  B was too!!  Now, my only dilemma is fixing the straps that hold it up.  Thomas' face is a little heavy so he takes nose dives unless Blake holds on.  Thankfully there are a couple weeks before Halloween!

And I can't forget to post a picture of C in her 2010 costume.  B wore this on his first Halloween and I figured it could get one more use.  To make the purple monster more 'girlie' I added a few bows.  I'm not sure that helps much, but she still looked cute.  C's 2011 costume will require some manual labor from me, but hopefully not too much!

Oven Fried Chicken

Hold on to your hats.  This recipe was so good that the husband planned to take some leftovers to work for lunch.  This never happens. Never.  A good sign, especially because we're both lovers of fried chicken. So the fact that this oven baked 'fried' chicken knocked our socks off? You've gotta try!

I put the chicken legs and thighs in a large ziploc along with the buttermilk and seasonings.  I let it all soak for 24hrs. 

A bowl of bread crumbs and cheese for coating.

A picture of a finished thigh.  The pieces were all incredibly moist with a great outer crunchy layer.

Chicken legs turned out crisp and ready for little hands.

And guess what? I can't find the recipe.  I can't even remember where I found the recipe!  Hang in there... I'll figure it out and get that recipe posted!