Recipe - Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs

Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs

I'm drooling a little as I type this blog, just looking at the picture of these Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs.  I LOVE Reece's Peanut Butter Cups and have tried several different copycat recipes, but I've never found anything out there that was close to the real thing.  I think I've found it.  This recipe is OUT OF THIS WORLD!!  I definitely think you could cut the recipe in half.  I made the full batch and it made approx. 37 rather large Peanut Butter eggs.  You can make them in any shape you want, but for some reason, the egg shape always tastes better to me.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs
(Courtesy of Whimsical Princess Recipes)

(Full Batch)

4 Cups Powdered Sugar
1 1/2 Cups Creamy Peanut Butter (I used Reduced Fat Creamy Peanut Butter....Like that was going to help!)
1/4 Cup Butter or Margarine
3 Tablespoons Milk
3 1/2 Cups Semisweet Chocolate Chips
1 Tablespoon Shortening

Directions:
Mix the powdered sugar, peanut butter and butter together with a mixer.  Add the milk, one tablespoon at a time.  The mixture will look crumbly, but will stick together when you smash it all together.  It's really easy to work with at this point.  Take a small handful of mixture and press together and form an egg shape.  Place formed egg on wax paper and place in freezer for 1 hour.
Place the chocolate chips and shortening in a glass bowl and microwave for 1 minute at a time, until completely melted.  Once melted, dip each egg in chocolate, covering entirely.  Place dipped egg back on wax paper and put in frig to firm up.
That's it!  You're done.  Nothing to it.  Now, share a few with some friends.  They will be forever grateful.


CAUTION:  These are very rich and VERY dangerous!!!  Don't eat entire batch in one sitting.  If you're depressed and feel like doing some binge eating, this is NOT the recipe.  Far too many calories will be consumed and the regret will last a life time. Otherwise, enjoy!!!

It was the best of times.........

And the fun ensues at our house.  We have an extra dog at our house this week.  Jasper, the lovable lug of a lab from across the street, is staying with us while his family is out of town.  We really do love having Jasper here, as he and Java are the bestest of friends.  4 dogs is a LOT to handle, especially when Chris takes off to California for a few days.  I can barely handle the 3 on my own, without having a mental break down.  They always seem to get into more trouble when "Dad" is away.

2 Beagles against 1 Lab - Let the roughhousing begin!

I wasn't sure how it was going to work, all 4 dogs under foot, but so far (we're only into day 2), so good.  They are having a blast together and actually being pretty good.  Jasper loves to play and I think he could play all day, if I let him.  Unfortunately for Jasper, the Beagles like to sleep most of the day.  The mornings and evenings are a different story.  It's all about roughhousing!  From running around the dining room table to playing tackle in the den and running like crazy dogs in the backyard, they manage to wear themselves out.

Each Man to their own corner....Ready?  Set!  Sniff!!!

It's so nice they're all friends.  Why people say that all male dogs don't work is beyond me.  We've always had 2 or 3 male Beagles at a time and it couldn't work better.  Guess we've been lucky.

Jasper and Java - Best Friends forever!

Our neighbor's dog (Jasper) get's so excited to come over to our house, he will literally drag you across the street, just so he can see his friend, Java.  I went over to get Jasper one day, so he could come over and play, and he got so excited, that he pulled me down in the street and was dragging me behind him, until I managed to let go of his leash.  I don't think our neighbors will ever have to worry about Jasper getting out and running away.  He heads straight for our house, each time he gets the chance.  It's the craziest things with Java and Jasper.  They both sit and the window and look for each other, whenever they can.  If one see's the other, chaos usually follows!

Boy Wonder, the "little guy" - Almost 3 years old

Our little guy is a Champion Beagle.  We got him the day he finished his time in the ring, back in February.  He's only 13", but built like a stud!  Even with his small stature, he weighs just as much as Java does.  Wonder is so small, we were a little afraid that Jasper might have him for a little snack, or at the very least, run him over, but they all get along great.  Wonder may be small, but he's feisty and we doesn't let anyone walk on him.  He's such a little cutie pie, my Wonder!

Buddy  will turn 11 in December.

This is Buddy, the only Field Beagle of the group.  He's our oldest and most docile dog.  Buddy is almost 11 years old, but still loves to play with the boys.  He just plays in shorter spurts now and gets distracted very easily.  He's a stop-drop-and roll dog.  He stops, drops to the ground and rolls over for you to pet his belly.  Buddy is all about the belly rubs!

Java - 3 years old

Mocha "Java" Joe is the most photogenic of boys and our Alpha Dog. While he hates the camera, it sure loves him.  Java's got such a pretty face, it's hard not to photograph him constantly.  He's also the loudest and most obnoxious of the 3 boys.  His bark is enough to make you go deaf.  We've done everything to get him to quiet down, but he's stubborn.  Java is also a big baby and didn't get the memo in Kindergarten, that he's supposed to share.  He does not like Wonder getting any attention and hates it even more when Wonder has something he doesn't have.
A water bottle is Java's biggest concern.  If you give him a bottle, he really doesn't want it.  BUT, should you give Wonder a water bottle, then all bets are off.  He wants what Wonder has and will get it, no matter what. Even if we give both of them a bottle, Java will always want Wonder's bottle.  And once he gets it, he will guard it with his life!  Have you ever seen that commercial for Travelers Insurance?  Where the dog puts his bone in the bank to protect it and then has nightmares and can't sleep, because he thinks his bone is going to get stolen?  This is Java, with a water bottle!  Ridiculous!!

Recipe - Balsamic Caprese Panini

Balsamic Caprese Panini

I love a Caprese Salad.  Especially when you get some really good Mozzarella and some home grown tomatoes and basil!  YUM!  So, when I came across this recipe for a Caprese Panini, I knew it was going to be good.....I just didn't know how good it was going to be.  This Panini is light and refreshing, for a sandwich, without giving up taste and flavor.  I think it has become one of my all time favorites!

Balsamic Caprese Panini


French Bread
2 Medium Tomatoes, Sliced
1 Package of Fresh Mozzarella, Sliced
Fresh Basil Leaves
Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Cut French Bread to desired size. Coat one or both sides of bread with balsamic vinegar.  Top with a light coat of Olive Oil.  Next Layer on your basil leaves, sliced tomatoes and mozzarella.  Repeat with basil, tomatoes and mozzarella.  Cook in Panini maker until bread is crisp and mozzarella has slightly started to melt.

HINT:  Don't buy the cheap Mozzarella.  Buy the freshest Mozzarella you can find.  It really does make all the taste difference in the world.  

Recipe - Oven Baked Onion Rings w/Spicy Dipping Sauce

Oven Baked Onion Rings and Dipping Sauce

So, it's a Friday night and I felt like having something a little bad.  I wanted something that tasted good, but not something I normally have.  For some reason onion rings sounded perfect and I found this great oven-baked recipe.  You never know what you're going to get, when trying something new out, but this turned out amazing!!!  The onions turn out crispy, not soggy and the coating is spectacular!  Definitely will make these again, but just can't do it too often.  It's nice for a special treat.


Recipe - Oven Baked Onion Rings w/Spicy Dipping Sauce

Courtesy of Annie's Eats

Oven-Fried Onion Rings

Ingredients:
½ cup all-purpose flour, divided
1 large egg, at room temperature
½ cup buttermilk, at room temperature
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
30 saltine crackers
4 cups kettle-cooked potato chips
2 large yellow onions, sliced into 24 rings (½-inch thick rounds)
6 tbsp. vegetable oil

Directions: 
Adjust oven racks to lower- and upper-middle positions.  Preheat the oven to 450˚ F.  Place ¼ cup of the flour in a shallow baking dish.  Beat the egg and buttermilk together in a bowl.  Whisk the remaining flour, cayenne, salt and pepper into the buttermilk mixture.  Combine the saltines and potato chips together in a food processor and pulse until finely ground.  Place half of the crumb mixture in a second shallow baking dish; reserve the other half.

Working one at a time, dredge each onion ring in flour, shaking off the excess.  Dip the onion rings in the buttermilk mixture, allowing the excess to drip back into the bowl, and then dredging in the crumb coating, turning to coat evenly.  When the crumb mixture is low, add the reserved crumb mixture to the dish for dredging the remaining onion rings.  Transfer the coated rings to a large plate or platter.

Pour 3 tablespoons of the oil onto each of 2 rimmed baking sheets.  Place the baking sheets in the oven and heat just until smoking, about 8 minutes.  Tilt the heated sheets to coat evenly with the oil.  Lay the onion rings out in a single layer on the oiled baking sheets.  Bake, flipping the onion rings and rotating the pans halfway through baking, until golden brown on both sides, about 15 minutes total.  Transfer to a paper towel-lined rack briefly before serving.

Baby Onesies

I went to California earlier this week.  It was time to get my hair done (yes, I travel to Cali and use the same hair stylist I've used for over 17 years!) and I got to meet my cousin's little girl, Sienna, for the first time.  

What do you get a 5 month old??  I didn't want to go empty handed to Kelli's (my cousin) house, so instead of running out to buy baby clothes, I got the brilliant idea that I'd make a couple of baby onesies.  I mean, how hard could that be, right?  After much research, I decided on several ideas, but putting them into clothes, is not something I do often.  (I don't even own a onesies and I'm almost 43!).  

First idea.....Let's tie-dye/dip a couple of outfits.  How cute would that be?  Well, of course it would be cute.  But good grief!!!  Any idea how long that takes?  First I dipped half of the onesie, then I had to let another 1/3 of it really soak in the dye.  Once that was finished, I had to let the material air dry out, so as to let the dye really soak in and not fade. The next step is to rinse.  Let air dry again.  Rinse.  Air dry and iron.  After a day and a half, I was ready to make a onesie.  (Oh, and by the time these were done rinsing, drying, repeating, etc, it was less than 16 hours before my plane left.)  

Luckily for me, while the process of dying was going on, I had made a couple of different fabric flowers, printed out a couple of words and was almost ready to get to work.  I ironed my newly dyed clothes and started out sewing on flowers, painting on fabric and ironing on appliques.  I actually made some really cute baby clothes.  And, what's great about them is you can't find them in any store. :-)  Hope you enjoy them, Sienna.  I really did have fun making them, even if it would have been cheaper and easier to get them at Hermes!

Just love this Monkey!

Handmade fabric flower with glitter fabric paint

Fabric Flower with Metallic Silver fabric paint

Who knew that lots of people get up before 8 am??

I'm always the busiest, when I seem to have nothing planned.  Why is that?  You'd think that with a slow calendar, it would allow for some relaxation.  Fat chance of that!  Life just keeps flying right on by, busy or not.
This past week I started walking at 6 am, with a neighbor/friend.  For those of you that know me, mornings are NOT my strong suit.  As a matter of fact, when I told Chris that I was getting up to walk at that hour, he looked at me, incredulously, and then asked "What time did you say?"  I repeated the time back to him and you would have thought I just told him that I was dying.  The sheer look of panic in his face was priceless!  He knows me and knows that if I rise before 8am, this cannot mean good things for anyone involved.  I found it funny, on the first day I started walking, that he went out into the back yard, when he heard me coming out of the bedroom.  On normal mornings, I don't even speak to Chris, until after I've had my Starbucks or Frappe.  I think he finds it helpful not to talk to me until I've been up for a good hour or so.  Lol!  Poor guy!!  It's not just him......I've been like this my whole life.  I hate the mornings.  I hate everything about them.  I hate that I have to wake up.  I hate that I have to get out of bed and I especially hate that I have to eat breakfast!!  The thought of shoving food into my mouth when I first get out of bed, seems just gross to me.  I've never been one to eat in the mornings.  I was good waiting until lunch to eat.  But, in this past year, I've learned to make myself eat breakfast, because I know it's important.  I still find it repulsive if I stop and think about it, so normally I don't.  I just shove those Cinnamon Cheerios down the hatch and try not to think about the fact that I'm still half asleep.
Walking around the neighborhood has been a pleasant change, actually.  I don't mind being out and about and it's really nice to have someone to talk to.  It makes the hour go by so much more quickly, than when I'm at home on the treadmill.  I hope that we can keep up the early mornings, but know that it will be a challenge, as it stays darker longer and longer.  Come on, Kristina!  We can do it!!  :-)

A Secret Obsession

I'll be honest with you, I don't even really call it an obsession....it's just sort of happened over they years and now I realize it's kind of out of control.  Sooooo, here it is:  I'm addicted to nail polish.  No, No, I don't eat it or sniff it or do anything out of the ordinary with it.  (There's no need for any sort of intervention here.)  I just like to collect nail polish.  I don't normally wear nail polish on my finger nails.  Every now and again, I'll be known to put a coat of black on my nails, but for the most part, I keep my nails clean and clear.  My toes on the other hand....well, that's another story.  I love giving myself a pedicure!  And, I'm pretty good at it, even if I do say so myself.  I love to change colors and sport new toes for an outing.  It's one of the things strange things that I will admit to being girly about.  So, it seems that my "collection" has gotten rather large lately.

Crazy amounts of Nail Polish.
(And, this was after I had cleaned out my stash!)

I've even been reading blogs on manicures and pedicures.  What is wrong with me?????  Over the past few days, I've bought 5 new bottles of nail polish....okay it was really 7, but 3 of them are mini bottles, so I can't count them as a whole bottle.  I spent half of the day Sunday, watching football and giving myself a pedicure AND manicure.  YIKES!!!  I've got so many other things going on in my house, the last thing I need to be doing is wasting a half of day sitting in one place, waiting for my nails to dry.  I'm starting to think I've inhaled too much nail polish remover and maybe I should see a doctor.  But hey, I can tell you this.....My mani/pedi ROCKS!!!