Scotcharooski

My good friend Leah has been going on and on about how much she loves Scotcheroos and how much she wants them but never has time to make them. She invited me over last night to help her cook and hang out and I figured Scotcheroos were the best thing to bring! Being the genius that I am I completely forgot about it until 900 the night before. I made a quick dash to the store to pick up some of the necessary ingredients. (I also bought two of the cutest pumpkins! I love pumpkins)
Anyways, I got back home and I started making these cookies; let me just say - these are the easiest cookies ever! (And so quick too!!)
I just googled the recipe and I always choose a blog source, if available. I like seeing new blogs and seeing what someone else wrote about them. I found one here and the recipe looked similar to the one my friend Leah kept tucked in her purse for emergencies.
I made these really quickly and got back to watching my new show 'Revolution' which was awesome! Anyone else a fan?

 Scotcheroos

Source: adapted from TheGirlWhoAteEverythingIngredients:

1 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup corn syrup
6 cups Rice Krispies
1 ( 11 oz. ) bag chocolate chips
1 ( 11 oz. ) bag butterscotch chips

Instructions:
In large saucepan, combine sugar and corn syrup. Heat to dissolve sugar and bring to boil; remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter. Add Rice Krispies and mix until well blended. Press into buttered 9X13 inch pan. In small saucepan, melt together chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. Spread combined mixture over top of Rice Krispies mixture. Cool. Cut into 36 bars.**
(I froze mine overnight because I knew they were going to sit in my car until dinnertime & they were perfect. **I will add that they were not easy to cut after being frozen so I cut them when I got to Leah's house, but I could have probably done it before I froze them!)

They were such a big hit last night, I'm soo glad I remembered to bring them!!

30 Before 30: The Adventure

I was reading blogs today and I saw this post by Katrina of Warm Vanilla Sugar. I read her list and realized that I too turned 25 this year and I have a lot of things I'd like to accomplish. She has some really great things listed and I saw a lot of other really great stuff when I did some more research. So without further ado here is my list to be updated as I go along. Wish me luck!

30 Before 30 List


1. Go back to Prague

2. Learn French

3. Visit Paris/London/Germany…Europe

4. Move in with my sister!

5. Lose my goal weight!

6. Run a 5k

7. Do something amazing for my sister B, she deserves it!

8. Make homemade jam

9. Photograph all of my crafts and actually get them online!

10. Finish college! (or at least be dang close)

11. Knit something from start to finish

12. Do my own photo shoot and be truly happy with the photos

13. Road trip in the US with some girlfriends

14. Skydive

15. Start a great career – not just a job

16. Scuba dive

17. Have a winter wonderland weekend

18. Meet a celebrity

19. Learn to drive stick

20. Take a cooking class from a chef

21. Audition for a play/movie

22. Pay for someone’s coffee/drive-thru meal behind me

23. Go to The Wizarding World of HP

24. Shoot an amazing engagement session

25. Read the Bible cover to cover

26. Organize and back up the multitude of photos I have (on my computer and printed)

27. Go sailing

28. Ride in a horse-drawn sleigh/carriage

29. Perform in a Burlesque show

30. Go hunting and take something!

PB & C

Peanut butter and Chocolate. I don't know why people say "we go together like peanut butter and jelly" when the more obvious and, let's just say it, more delicious combo is peanut butter and chocolate! I know I'm not alone in thinking this is a magical combination forged in the shining light of a rainbow and......I'm getting ridiculous. Nevertheless, I will say that I have always loved peanut butter bars and I love that they are quick to make! And there's no baking so these are the perfect treat to make during summertime but substantial enough to hold up to cold weather. I don't know why, but I always think of hardier cookies and treats during the winter, as if I'm going west in a wagon train.



Mmmm the peanut butter-y goodness!

 I decided to make these to bring in to the girls at work and you know what? They didn't mind at all! :)  (I think I even got a woo hoo from one of the providers! (I work at a doctors office.))
As far as the recipe goes, it is one I've had written down in a notebook for awhile, but I suspect I found it on Allrecipes. Does anyone else do that? I have tons of recipes jotted down and I have no clue where they came from! I started to just print them straight from the source and make sure the address is on the paper somewhere, now I have a gigantic binder filled with papers and magazine rip outs....I should organize that....someday.

Peanut Butter Bars
(Adapted (probably) from Allrecipes)

Ingredients
1 cup butter or margarine, melted

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1 cup peanut butter

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

4 tablespoons peanut butter

Directions


In a medium bowl, mix together the butter or margarine, graham cracker crumbs, confectioners' sugar, and 1 cup peanut butter until well blended. Press evenly into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan.

In a metal bowl over simmering water, or in the microwave (this is what I did and it was super easy), melt the chocolate chips with the peanut butter, stirring occasionally until smooth. Pour over the prepared crust and use a spatula to spread it out. Refrigerate for at least one hour before cutting into squares.

Thanks!

Birthday Celebration

This last week I had planned to make Crab Puffs from a couple of recipes that I found online. I'd been jonesing for them lately but didn't want to go to a restaurant and order them when I could just make them at home! Right? Wrong. It was a big fat flop! However, this weekend was my birthday and as such I have a positive experience to share.

My wonderful parents took me out to lunch for my birthday! I chose a dinerant (that's what they call themselves - diner + restaurant) called The Original. (I love diners and diner food - perhaps a little too much. They are so comforting and I love the vintage aesthetic.)* We'd never been before and it was quite lovely. The place is an upscale diner in a mod 50's/60's feel. The whole place was quite chic.

The Original - Portland, OR



It's kind of blurry, but I was trying to snap while walking to the table. I love the wall detail!

Brunch Menu - Soo many yummy choices!

I decided to try something new and ordered the Elvis Sighting. Which was french toast with bacon, banana mousse & peanut butter sauce (I'm a sucker for Peanut butter!). It was sooo delicious! I took out the bacon and had that on the side because I don't like to mix the two. I don't dip my bacon in my syrup either.

French toast AND Peanut butter sauce!

My mom ordered biscuits & gravy and my dad and sister both ordered the steak & eggs. All of the food looked so scrumptious. I tasted the hash browns and the steak from my sister and I gotta say, it was almost as good as mine.
I also requested that we try something else new to us all - Poutine. I'd heard of it and all it's glory, but I'd never partaken. That has changed and I am so glad! (I know it's a weird appetizer for brunch, but we're a weird family! ^_^.)


Fries with gravy and cheese curds. SDG (So Darn Good)

My parents presented me with my other gift......Julie & Julia. I enjoy this movie immensely and was so happy to get it! After brunch we did some thrift store shopping and headed home! It was a fantastic birthday! I look forward to growing another year wiser (hee hee) and to achieving the goals that I set to accomplish before my next birthday!

**I apparently love parenthesis as well....(who knew?)

My little sister and I

Spice 101




 I recently found this great spice shop in town, Pat's Pantry and met the owners. Let me just say that they are so wonderful! They are soo nice and knowledgeable and they encouraged all of my questions. I’d never been in a spice shop before so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it’s a bright shop with a lot of the spices in clear jars on shelves so that you can see and smell. There are little cards with the name of the spice and information about it. I was able to buy as much or as little as I wanted, which was amazing since I just wanted a little to use for one recipe. And she had some great advice about trying different spices.

 



Pat weighing and measuring out my spices

I then went to a spice class held there at the shop. It was so neat! There were about 7 people there in a half circle of chairs; I was the youngest and newest (to cooking). There were a couple of vegetarian/vegans looking to spice up their dishes and a couple of people like me just looking for more information about spices. Pat was so open and friendly and she made sure to ask if there was anything specific we’d like her to cover so that she could try to make sure to hit those topics as well. I’m new to this so I was just there to soak up whatever information I could! She started out with some basics and answered any questions we had along the way. I cannot say how impressed I was with the class as a whole. Everyone was super friendly and I ended up talking to Tom for twenty minutes about social media.
I don’t know if I’ve expressed how much I enjoyed the class and the shop in general. I recommend that if anyone is in Astoria they should stop by and I know they are going to add an option to buy online as well!! 

Summer Spice blend we made in class



Different size scoops for le spices!