01/27/2012

salted brown butter crispy treats

Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Makes 16 2-inch squares or 32 1- x 2-inch small bars

4 ounces (1/4 pound or 1 stick) unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan
1 10-ounce bag marshmallows
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal (about half a 12-ounce box)

Butter (or coat with non-stick spray) an 8-inch square cake pan with 2-inch sides.

In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Don’t take your eyes off the pot as while you may be impatient for it to start browning, the period between the time the butter begins to take on color and the point where it burns is often less than a minute.

As soon as the butter takes on a nutty color, turn the heat off and stir in the marshmallows. The residual heat from the melted butter should be enough to melt them, but if it is not, turn it back on low until the marshmallows are smooth.

Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the salt and cereal together. Quickly spread into prepared pan. I liked to use a piece of waxed or parchment paper that I’ve sprayed with oil to press it firmly and evenly into the edges and corners, though a silicon spatula works almost as well.

*These are THE most delicious rice crispy treats I have ever had! The nuttiness from the browned butter and the pinch of salt at the end, really take this mediocre dessert to the next level! I made this for a small group event last night and they were the hit of the party.

 

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01/26/2012

lost & found

my sweet friend Paige gave me a beautiful pair of pearl earrings as a gift for my wedding
I saved them to wear on my wedding day
and every day after that
and then about a year ago I lost one of them
I was so mad at myself for loosing it and sad that I wouldn’t have them to pass along to my own daughter one day
my sweet husband new I had lost one and being the sweet husband that he is
got me a matching one for Christmas this year
BEST present ever!!!
you can’t even tell the difference
I love that man

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01/26/2012

magazines

I got really spoiled this year
three new magazine subscriptions
which means at least one new one every 2 weeks
if you know me, you know that I love a good food/gossip magazine to peruse through on the plane, at home or on the beach (my favorite of course)
so I was thrilled when I got these three magazine subscriptions, some as gifts, one I bought for myself
Bon Appetite

this is my first time getting this magazine and I love it
I bought it from Mamasource which offers discounts on lots of items including discounted magazines
$10 for a whole year, can’t beat that
I have seen a bunch of the recipes on food blogs that I read so I know it’s got some good recipes
Everyday Food

I got this one as a gift from a friend for my birthday
it has a lot of great tips for cooking and some great recipes I still go back too
I like how small the magazine is, it makes it convenient to pop it in my purse and take on the bus with me
Cooking Light

my sweet husband got me this one as an early Christmas present (after a gentle email nudge from myself )
this is a tried and true magazine
I like that it has a lot of great tasting recipes that are also healthy
they are never sugar free or fat free, just delicious and healthy ways of preparing food
I think he got this one off of Mamasource as well, $10 for 2 years

there you have it, what I am cooking out of at the moment
how about you, have any good food magazines you are loving right now? I am always open to suggestions!

 

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01/23/2012

1st birthday

my sweet little niece had her first birthday party yesterday
she looked darling in her little tutu and flower headband
she LOVED her first cupcake
and I had fun pinching her cheeks and filling her tummy up with sugar
I think it worked ;)

 

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01/23/2012

butternut squash

I have a new favorite vegetable to share with you
Butternut Squash
and it is so delicious
in the past I had been a little uncertain with the vegetable
never knowing how to get the delicate squash out of that that hard shell without completely butchering it
but I have always loved butternut squash soup, so I thought I would give it a try
just in the past two weeks, I have tried out two new recipes with it
adding it to pasta and stew and both times it turned out delicious
adds just a hint of sweetness and lots of squashy goodness (pun intended)
here are my favorite recipes I have tried so far
Butternut Squash Stew
tastes like curry and I added in some ground turkey for my husband
but either way I think it would be pretty filling
I loved the flavors of this and I am a sucker for anything with chickpeas in it
I will definitely make it again
the second recipe I made ( the squash was huge that I bought so it worked for two separate dinners) was this
Roasted Butternut Squash Baked Penne
tasted like macaroni and cheese, but healthier and more filling
enough said and I will definitely make this again as well
so there you have it, my new favorite

how about you? do you have any favorite vegetables you are loving right now? butternut squash perhaps?

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01/20/2012

snowed in

We’ve been snowed in the past 4 days
I can’t believe how much snow we got..and it’s still here
been enjoying fires, hot chocolate, playing in the snow with Bear and catching up on the DVR
my fridge is running low though
and I could use a take out night
as in someone else makes dinner

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01/17/2012

book worm

I have had my nose stuck in these books the past few weeks
except for a brief period when I was waiting to get my hands on the second one, thanks Heather!
have you heard of the Hunger Games series?
if not, you should
I was skeptical at first, ” So it is about teenagers killing each other to survive?”
oh, but it is so much better than that
I am on the second book right now
I will agree with Hannah, it isn’t as intense as the first, but still good
and I am only half of the way done
can’t wait for the movie when it comes out in March
I think some of my small group girls and I are going to go see it together
if you have read the series, let me know your thoughts?
Gale or Peeta? ;)

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01/09/2012

meal plan

I have some exciting news to share with you all, that is considering I am not the only one who just heard about Pepperplate?
It is an online database that you can house all your recipes in one spot, kind of like pinterest but better in my opinion. There are certain websites (food network, all recipes, etc) that the website supports and in that case you can just input your link and it will update all the ingredients, directions and a picture for you. If you can’t find your recipe on one of the supporting sites or have a lot of 4×4 note cards at home, you can manually put them in. Furthermore, there is a calendar for meal planning and a shopping list that you can add your recipes too and it automatically calculates which category each ingredient falls under.

Easy right? I already have 74 recipes uploaded. Try it out and let me know what you think (that is unless I am the only one that just found out about it!?)

Monday- Butternut Squash Stew and Cafe Green Salad The Butternut Squash Stew was delicious! I forgot to add in the spinach at the end and added in some ground turkey and it was awesome. Served over rice.

Tuesday-Roasted Butternut Baked Penne w/ green salad ( I am on a bit of a Butternut Squash kick ;)

Wednesday- TBD

Thursday-Small Group/DC

Friday- Chicago!!

Snacks: Homemade Chewy Granola Bars ( last time I made these they were too sweet, so I only used a 1/2 cup honey and I added in a mixture of coconut, dried cherries and slivered almonds)

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01/09/2012

bling

this weekend was super relaxing and low key
Friday night we went out with friends for Pho
and then stayed up until 1am playing Monopoly Deal
Saturday we both slept in, late

and except once to get milk and a few groceries, I didn’t leave the house all day
it was wonderful
between church and football, Sunday was both busy and relaxing as well
did anyone watch the Denver vs. Steelers game?
whew that was a crazy game, glad Denver won!

oh and hubs surprised me with a new iphone case!
it is the perfect amount of bling without being over the top
and it was under $2 on Amazon
you can score your own here, now it is only $0.07!!

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01/05/2012

love

At church this past Sunday, one of our pastors gave a really wonderful sermon
it cut me to the heart
realizing that I will never fully understand the depth of God’s love for me
it made me cry
it made me think
but more importantly, it made me want to change
you can listen to it here

 

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