Peanut Butter Nanaimo Bars

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Casey

Eeeek! Prom is tomorrow. I feel like I was seriously just writing the overview of prom weekend from last year, weird how the time flies!!

I’ve been my uber busy self this week. It is like everything that I need to do for senior year has been piled into one week. We have AP tests starting this Monday after prom weekend (yeah, our school is that cruel) and then I had senior night for soccer last night, the soccer program pasta dinner Wednesday night, a game Tuesday night, and several tests and practice AP tests throughout the week that the teachers have been throwing at us to be prepared for next week.

Thankfully, my dress was bought and altered with plenty of time before this week and my appointments were scheduled for hair and such pretty far out to be sure I got the time I wanted. Oh and another nice little twist to throw in for my prom weekend?…we have a soccer game. Yep, same thing as last year.

My coach insists EVERY year to schedule a game on the day of prom, so then we all get to sprint from the game to our appointments with hardly a shower. I guess he likes to keep us busy.

Enough with the prom talk, I’m sure I will have plenty to say after the weekend. Let’s talk about these bars! I have never had a nanaimo bar, but had heard about them and have been intrigued for a while now. This is a peanut butter version, and guys…you NEED these in your life! They are super decadent little bites of a chocolate-coconut graham cracker crust, with a smooth peanut butter filling, topped with a thin shell of chocolate. Yum!

Peanut Butter Nanaimo Bars

(Makes 36 small bars)

FOR CRUST:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon cocoa powder (I used dark)

1 egg, beaten

1 1/4 cups (1 sleeve/9 crackers) graham cracker crumbs

1 cup shredded coconut

FOR MIDDLE LAYER:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

2 Tablespoons peanut butter

2 Tablespoons vanilla pudding powder

2 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

FOR TOP LAYER:

4 oz. semisweet chocolate

Melt the butter, sugar, and cocoa powder in a double boiler until fully incorporated (don’t let it come to a boil). Add the beaten egg and stir constantly until the mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat and stir in the graham cracker crumbs and coconut. Press down firmly into an ungreased 8 x8-inch or 9 x9-inch pan. Let sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile prepare the filling. Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, peanut butter, vanilla extract, instant pudding powder, and powdered sugar, until light and fluffy. Spread filing over crust layer in an even layer. Pop pan in fridge for about 30 minutes to let it firm up a bit.
Melt the chocolate for the top layer, spread over the filling and spread out evenly with a knife or spatula. Let sit in fridge for about 1 hour, then slice into bars and keep in sealed container. I keep them in the fridge to stay firm.

Random Fact of the Day: Only 1 out of 700 identity thieves gets caught

Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Chocolate Mousse Frosting (whatchamakinnow.blogspot.com)
The Great Nanaimo Bar Search (1000wonderfulthings.com)
The Best Nanaimo Bar in Nanaimo – Contestant Number 6 (girlwithadogandgoodshoes.wordpress.com)

Best Tomato Soup-SRC Post

Posted on April 28, 2013 by Casey

Guys, I am certainly not one who likes to pick “favorites”, but I think this may be my favorite recipe I have ever tried through the Secret Recipe Club.

This month I was assigned to explore Kirsten’s blog, Loving Life.

Kirsten is a busy mom who was born in England (that is so cool to me!) but now lives in the grand ‘ol USA, she loves to garden, read, cook, and browse the internet for more time than she considers appropriate (like any awesome blogger), and she has two daughters, who are home-schooled. The older daughter (Kristianna) is super impressive! She is taking Running Start classes at the local community college to try to get her diploma and AA degree by the time she graduates. Her family sounds busy, busy, busy!

Let me start out by saying that I am NOT one who is a fan of tomatos. But I am that weird type of person who will choose a tomato-based recipe.. I didn’t really have high hopes for this tomato soup, it looked super simple which appealed to me but then made me think it might lack flavor or pizazz.

Plus, I really have never even been a fan of tomato soup, only when it is paired with about a 3-1 ratio of grilled cheese to tomato soup. BUT the day I made this, it was super rainy and we actually had a “rain day” and no school because of flooding, so I figured soup was what was going to happen that day.

Make sure you hop on over to Kirsten’s blog and explore all of her other delectable recipes! Don’t forget about the other SRC members at the bottom of this post, too!! They all work so hard and do a beautiful job, visits and blog love are always appreciated.

My three favorite things about this recipe were…This soup took me 10 minutes, tops! All the ingredients were things I commonly have on hand. And this soup tasted ah-mazing. So good that I didn’t even have to make grilled cheese to go with it.

Tomato Soup

(From Loving Life)

(Serves 2-4 people)

2-3 Tablespoons butter

2-3 Tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk (I used skim)

15 oz. tomato sauce (I used pasta sauce, basically the same thing but with some seasoning already in there)

In a saucepan on medium heat, melt butter, add flour and stir for about 1 minute.
Add milk and salt. Stir until sauce is a medium thickness. Add tomato sauce and if desired diced tomatoes (I left them out). You may also add some water, about 1/2 a can to thin it out a bit (I like mine thicker, so I did not do this). Add your seasonings to taste and serve.

Random Fact of the Day: Castor oil is used as a lubricant in jet planes.

Tomato Soup (foodiefriendsfridaydailydish.com)
All Grown Up: Thomas Keller’s Brioche Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup with Homemade Bread (newzaholic.com)
Tomato Soup (subbuskitchen.com)

Banana Crumb Cake

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Casey

Over this past week I have realized how much I truly appreciate my family. I love my parents with all my heart but, as I have gotten older, I have grown to be increasingly thankful for my brother and sister.

This past weekend was the last weekend I was able to visit my sister at college (the same college that I will be attending next year). She is graduating in just a couple short weeks and even though I have already visited her twice by myself for “fun visits” (without parents), I wanted to squeeze in one more visit before we both graduate and I head off to the University of Illinois. Brooke is always a great host, she always lets me borrow whatever clothes I want, and we hardly ever argue anymore like how we did when we were younger. She’s my best friend in the world, who I know I will always be able to trust. I am super thankful to have a sister. My mom always says, “Friends come and go, but sisters are forever”, and that is certainly something I believe in full-heartedly.

Now that I have gushed over my sister, Brooke, I think it is time to rave about my big brother, Jack. Let me start out by saying that my brother was not the most organized guy when he was a teenager. Birthday presents from him usually went something like him driving me over to Borders and me picking out some books, or maybe a gift card of a place I picked out. Teenagers are busy (as I know very well of right now in my life) and birthday presents often seem silly or too much effort to try and be creative.

Fast-forward to present day and now my brother is Mr. Organized with birthday gifts. It was my mom’s birthday recently and even though he lives across the country in LA, HE bought the present for my mom (which I still need to pay him back for) and had it sent to a local Best Buy, where all I had to do was drive over and pick it up!

When I got home from my visit at U of I with my sister this weekend my mom told me that my Jack had a surprise for me. I was kind of like ok…what kind of joke is this going to be? The surprise? These gorgeous BCBG earrings that he bought for me to wear to my prom. Yes, feel free to cry everyone. I mean..what?! I was not expecting that one at all!! Anyways, I owe a big ‘ol THANK YOU to Jack and Brooke for being rockstar siblings. Love you both with all my heart!

On to banana crumb cake! I am super pumped to share this recipe with you all. Oh my gosh…so good! The night I made it, my dad ate probably about 1/4 of the 13″ x 9″ pan!!! I KNEW he would like this one, as he is the banana king and loves basically anything associated with bananas (food-wise).

However, this was actually a request from my mom, so I guess I am just trying to make the whole family happy with this post today. Must be that I am getting close to high school graduation and starting to feel sentimental and stuff… yikes.

Banana Crumb Cake

(Makes one 13″x9″ cake)

3 bananas, ripened

2 cups white sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup milk (I used skim)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

CRUMB TOPPING:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350˚F and spray a 13″x9″ baking pan with cooking spray, set aside.
Using a mixer, beat bananas and sugar until liquidy and combined. Mix in butter, eggs, and vanilla extract. Add in flours, baking soda, and salt. Mix in milk until thoroughly combined.
In a smaller separate bowl, mix together crumble toppings with hands or fork until crumbly.
Pour half the batter into the bottom of the prepared baking dish, sprinkle half the crumb mixture on top, pour remaining batter over top, add final layer of remaining crumb mixture. Bake in preheated oven for about 45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out mostly clean. Let cool and enjoy! Cover leftovers in container or with plastic wrap.

Random Fact of the Day: There are more than 1,000 chemicals in a cup of coffee. Of these, only 26 have been tested, and half caused cancer in rats.

Banana Cake. (bobbysock.wordpress.com)
Banana Crumb Cake (unihomemaker.com)
Peanut Butter Crumb Banana Bread (meagenrice.wordpress.com)

White-Wheat Batter Bread

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Casey

So where did March come from? Like I could have sworn I was just making Christmas cookies and drinking hot cocoa.

I know February always has less days, but it seriously FLEW by this year! I have to admit, as much as I am looking forward to the warm, sunny days of summer, I am kind of scared for high school to finish. My last season of high school soccer officially starts this week and it is so bittersweet.

I know there is so much to look forward to with college and what not but the unknown is still pretty freaky to me.

Womp womp wooomp. Sorry for such a Monday-moody post, here’s some super easy sandwich bread that you you don’t need to knead. (heh..”need to knead”) It’s tasty, and has soft insides with a real crusty crust. You know, as opposed to those non-crusty crusts.

White-Wheat Batter Bread

(Makes 1 loaf)

1 package dry yeast

1 1/2 cups warm milk (I used skim)

3 Tablespoons butter, room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 Tablespoon white sugar

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 cups all-purpose flour

Combine warmed milk and butter in a large bowl. Sprinkle the dry yeast over the mixture and stir, let sit for a minute or so. Add the salt, sugar, and 1 cup of all-purpose flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour. Using a wooden spoon, stir vigorously for about 2 minutes, this will be a good arm workout! If you prefer, you may use the stand mixer and mix with the paddle attachment for about 1 minute, instead.
Add the remaining 1 cup of all-purpose flour and beat well. Pour the batter into a greased 4-inch by 9-inch loaf pan. Wet your fingers and smooth the top of the bread batter. With a sharp knife, make a couple slashes along the bread. Cover lightly with a towel and let rise to the top of the loaf pan, about 35 minutes.
Bake bread 375˚F oven for about 45 minutes. At about the 25 minute mark, I covered the top of my bread with a small piece of foil to prevent the top of the bread from getting any browner. After baking for 45 minutes, let the bread cool for about 5-10 minutes, then turn bread onto rack and finish cooling. Enjoy!

Random Fact of the Day: It was illegal to sell E.T. dolls in France because there is a law against selling dolls without human faces.

Moist Applesauce Chiquita Banana Loaf Recipe (chiquitabananas.com)
Easy Chiquita Quick Bread Recipe (chiquitabananas.com)
Cheddar Beer Bread (grainmillwagon.com)

National Chocolate Cake Day

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Casey

Happy National Chocolate Cake Day everyone! Whoever scheduled this one out seriously could have had a little bit better planning. Like really? In the middle of Lent!? Puh-leassee. Well if any of you guys have not given up treats for Lent the way my family does, please do not refrain from the National Chocolate Cake Day celebrations. Due to the lack of treats my family allows ourselves to consume during Lent, I will not be sharing any new chocolate cake recipes with you; however, I will be sharing with you some of my all time faves.