Four Favorites Series: Recipe Posts

While I am away at BLISSDOM I wanted to

share a fun series of favorite posts from these fun years of blogging!

Maybe some of these posts are your favorites too...

or maybe you'll discover a new post to check out!

Thanks for stopping by. ;)

I am no food blogger... I am seriously in awe of food bloggers.

I am lucky enough to get an instragram shot of the food before my little children come and sneak bites! My kitchen is also too messy to be photographed by the time I'm done cooking! haha. Seriously.. impressed food bloggers. ;)

But here are some of the recipes that are tried and true favorites.

We make them a lot. and love them. You should really pin and try some of these!

1. Mac N' Cheese

2. Pumpkin Spice Bars

3. Rocky Road Peanut Butter Candy Cups (o ya.)

4. Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings

Stop by all week/weekend long to see more of my favorites.

(PERSONAL POSTS to come! woohoo.)

While I'm away, follow my Blissdom fun via

twitter, instagram and facebook!

Can't wait to share all the fun I'm having with

blog friends and the wisdom from amazing blog mentors!

Rocky Road Peanut Butter Candy Cups - Easy NO BAKE Recipe!!

A friend dropped these off over Thanksgiving...

and I tracked down the recipe because they were AMAZING.

You need to make these: Rocky Road Peanut Butter Candy Cups

And..if you need an excuse.. gift half ;)

(It's the week after Christmas..so lots of stores have these candy

cup liners on sale! Got my pack for 99 cents at my grocery store.)

Rocky Road-Peanut Butter Candy Cups

INGREDIENTS:

11-oz. pkg. peanut butter and milk chocolate chips

2 T. creamy peanut butter

1 c. crispy rice cereal

1 c. miniature marshmallows

3/4 c unsalted roasted peanuts, chopped

 

DIRECTIONS:

Microwave peanut butter and milk chocolate chips in a large glass bowl on high for one to two minutes or until melted, stirring every 30 seconds.  Stir in peanut butter until well blended.

 

Stir in rice cereal, miniature marshmallows and chopped peanuts.  Spoon mixture by heaping tablespoonfulsevenly into miniature paper candy cups.

 

Chill on hour or until firm.  Makes about 3 dozen.

 

It's a no bake recipe so it comes together really fast..

Not as fast as it would be if you made these WITHOUT two little chefs...

but the kiddos loved helping! Lots of pouring in of yummy fun ingredients. :)

Keep any eye on your ingredients..some might be eaten

up before they hit the bowl.. ::cough:: sienna & marshmallows ::cough::

One of my all time favorite kitchen tool purchases....

My Cookie Scoop!

It is a huge time saver and makes recipes so much easier..

Especially with this messy one!

Enjoy!

Pumpkin-Spice Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin-Spice Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

This is the recipe that my Betty Crocker Cookbook

naturally opens up to. it's a loved one. :)

It makes up a big batch..perfect for gift giving (with plenty leftover for "sampling")

These would be a pretty addition to a party's dessert table!

Easy, delicious crowd pleaser!

PUMPKIN-SPICE BAR INGREDIENTS

Betty Crocker Cookbook (Bridal Edition..thanks Tricia!) Pg. 144

4 large eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup raisins (optional)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Cream Cheese Frosting....recipe at bottom of post.

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly Grease bottom

and side of jelly roll pan, 15 1/2 x 10 1/2, with shortening

Beat Eggs, Oil, Sugar and Pumpkin in large bowl until smooth.

This is where a little assistant comes in handy..
mix together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, ginger and cloves.
Stir in to wet mix.
(Stir in raisins now if you want)

Smells AMAZING and it hasn't even gone in the oven yet!

Spread in Pan. Bake 25-30 minutes or until light brown.
Cool completely before frosting (about 2 hours)

Frost with the deliciousness that is Cream Cheese Frosting.
Cut into bars and enjoy!

Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
Betty Crocker Cookbook (Bridal Edition) Pg. 145
1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup butter or stick margarine softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
(I ended up adding a dash more vanilla, teaspoon or 2 of milk..and a tad more powdered sugar)
--Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla in medium bowl
with electric mixer on low speed until smooth.
--Gradually beat in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, on low
speed until smooth and spreadable

Itsy Bitsy Spiders! - Halloween Treat Tutorial

Sophia and I had some Halloween Fun
making up some itsy bitsy spiders!
This was a fun toddler friendly treat to make 
and sophie was thrilled with the little things!
I even got some "you're the best mommy ever making spiders!"...haha.
Using these in some goodie boxes we are sending out today! 
(posting those tomorrow..ideas for last minute treating!
perfect to leave at your neighbor's doorstep! ding and dash!)
I found this great treat idea via Sprinkled with Flour.
She adapted her version from candyquik.com

Itsy Bitsy Spiders Ingredients:
Makes 15 Spiders (I made a couple extra)
45 Pretzel Sticks... (watch out helpers will sneak some. have extra on hand ;)
30 Ritz Crackers
1 Cup Chocolate chips... (I used a mix of hershey kisses & a bit of chocolate chips..use what you have!!)
1 tsp Shortening
1 cup Peanut Butter... (I have no clue how much I used..I didn't measure.)
30 Mini Reece's Pieces...(I had the large ones for another recipe but they were too big..
so I used medium size sprinkles instead..again, just use what you have!)

--Put chocolate chips and shortening in a microwavable bowl.
Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until chocolate is melted and smooth.
My bowl wasn't hot..I let the chocolate cool off a bit so that I could have my little helper there.
--Break the Pretzel Sticks in half..and dip the unbroken side into the chocolate
and place on wax paper to try.

I suppose if you wanted them perfect you would want the chocolate hotter..
.and NOT have a 3 yr old help..

but that wasn't the point here...we are making spiders............

--Dip one side of 15 of the Crackers into the chocolate...
and place on wax paper to dry.
For some of them I used the spoon to spread across the top.
If you are on a time crunch you can place the chocolate covered pieces into the freezer. 
But I left them on the dining room table..took care of babies running around lovingly terrorizing
each other and the house..and then came back to the project a bit later.

--IF you are using mini reese's for the eyes...at this point you would place a drop of chocolate on them for an eye mark..using a toothpick and let them dry.

**I took this step out of it and just used the Betty Crocker Candy Corn Sprinkles I had.

Put them in place before the chocolate hardens too much.

mmm salty sweet!

--Spread Peanut Butter on the remaining undipped crackers. 
Resist the urge to pop one in your mouth. jk. don't resist. go for it.
but just know if your toddler see's you doing this..they will want one too. nothing gets by them.

--Place 3 of the dipped pretzel sticks on each side of the cracker, to make the legs!

veryyyyy....slowly.....haha.
This was like amazing to her..
she was so impressed with herself at this point, seeing what she was creating!

Mommy took over to speed things up. :)



--Take the dipped crackers and put a little peanut butter on the undipped side.
Press on top of the pretzel legs to make the spider!

Sophia was happy to be a taste tester and try one before we send the rest off!

How stinking cute is she?

A Day in the Life- Favorite Bargains, Blogs, Recipes, Style Tips & Mommy Moments

RECENT DATE NIGHT- Ben and I celebrated our 4 year wedding Anniversary! We left the girls with close friends and went into the city for a night! It was the first time I had left Sienna(1) over night.,.so I was a little nervous. But the first night she didn't even cry for me!! and when she woke up she was a little snuggle bug for them. so on the baby front everything went well!

And we had a a blast! We usually do like chinese food  takeout to celebrate our anniversary haha.. but this time we got a gorgeous hotel room on the top floor in the city..rented a Jeep Grand Cherokee all sparkly and new with noooo sign of baby gear whatsoever! haha. I unloaded my purse of all diapers, wipes, pull ups, changes of clothes, sippy cups, baby snacks, etc... I don't remember when my purse weighed so little! ;) We wanted to just be spontaneous that night since we had no baby/sitter curfew! At first it felt really weird like we needed to rush and get home! We ended up going to South Side and walking around for a bit...had dinner at a fun irish restaurant..then grabbed drinks and dessert at a place right by our hotel. At 10:30 we were both like what??? it's only 10:30?! what do people do out this late?? what are we supposed to do now? haha. We made a promise to each other that we HAD to stay out till midnight........we lasted till 11:00. :) One of the most amazing parts of the overnight getaway was SLEEPING IN. till 10. it was UHHHH-MAZING. Quote of the Trip- Ben:"So thisss is what being rested feels like!!" It was a great time for ben and I to spend together..and the girls were happy to see us but not so eager to leave where they were staying! uh oh..this little new discovery of "them being fine for a night without us"could be dangerous. ;) 
Everyone go date your hubby!

SOPHIA'S NEW FAVORITE THING TO SAY - 
"what's dat smell??.. what's so stinky??"
Not the thing you want to hear about your breath when you are snuggling with her in the morning..or when she walks into the kitchen when you are cooking dinner..or to a friend who is helping you by putting her in her car seat for you..haha.
(PHOTO: She asked for a picture with Mary, Jesus' Mommy. ;)

FAVORITE DIY - Paint Swatch Chandelier
via hey gorgeous 

FAVORITE CAMERA PHONE SHOT- Sophie and Sienna love the horse outside kmart...it's in the same shopping center as the aldi's i sometimes go to. highlight of the trip! ;)

I CAN'T BLOG ABOUT HALLOWEEN

UNTIL OCTOBER!! - I just can't! Butttttt Sophia told me 

yesterday what she wants to dress up as (this will probably change 74 times..) She is going to be Belle, She wants me to be snow white..daddy cinderella..and sienna cinderella too. Are you seeing a trend here?? I think ben should totally be cinderella..he could pull it off.

image via pinterest-no link back

FEATURED FOLLOWER/CLIENT - A college friend of mine has one of the most amusing and relatable blogs that I follow!! Camp Patton And she so sweetly follows me back! You need to hop over and read one of her posts and I promise you'll be hooked. I usually end up reading post after post because I can relate so much to everything she writes about..and she says it in such a funny way! You should go check her out. literally. jk..that would be wierd. just check out her blog!

IN THE KITCHEN -  I LOVEE this fun snack idea put together by Little Page Turners
Sophia would love snack time with these Edible Insects!

MY PHOTOGRAPHY- I just started doing senior portraits! I'm excited.. it's something I'm doing on the side for fun! I'l share more of the photos 
this week but here are some of my favorites of my client (and her bff!)