Candy Dipped Peanut Butter Ritz Sandwiches

Yes, I realize that title is a mouth full, but I didn't think of it myself. It actually came from Kevin and Amanda's blog. Amanda posted this recipe the other day and when I first saw it, I thought, Hmm.. what a weird combination, but yet it looks so tasty! So when Gramps went to the store later I had him pick up some Ritz and some vanilla candy chocolate. Unfortunately, the store was out of the chocolate so I had to wait until I felt up to going myself. Which was today.

Which goes to show just how amazing these are, because instead of posting cupcakes, I'm posting these.

After I got home with the chocolate though, they kind of stopped sounding good to me. Because they have kind of weird ingredients that make you go Hmmm. But, seeing as how I had everything I needed anyway and I'm rolling on 2 hours of sleep, I figured Eh, what the heck and made a dozen.

And Gramps loved them so much that even after that first batch, he asked me to please make some more so he could have them as dessert when he was finished with dinner.

He never does that.

Ever.

That's how good these are.

So, her pictures over there are way better than mine, but this is my blog, so here are my pictures.

The players:

And this is the one thing I love so much about these.. They are so incredibly easy. No oven. No stove. Only 3 ingredients. 

Anybody can make these.  

I used Reduced Fat Ritz (hey- it's what Gramps bought), Simply Jif Low Sodium Peanut Butter (hey- it was on sale), and vanilla candy chocolate, which is basically just white chocolate, don't be fooled. 

You can totally use regular Ritz and regular peanut butter, but you can also make it less bad for you by not. They came out so, so, so amazing that I will forever choose the oh-so-slightly-less-bad-for-you option. 

Makes me feel less guilty since I can't stop at eating just one. 

So, spread some peanut butter on your Ritz. Be generous, peanut butter is a gift from God. 

And make it a little peanut butter Ritz sandwich by topping it off with another Ritz. 

By the way, I think this might be the best food picture I've ever taken. 

Melt your chocolate in a bowl in the microwave. I did 45 seconds, stirred, 45 seconds, stirred, until it was done. 

It doesn't take that long. 

And then dip and coat. I forgot that picture, but I bet Amanda has one. 

And then I stuck them on a cookie rack on top of foil to dry. 

But if your as impatient as I am, I suggest you put them in the fridge for a few minutes. 

Then you can eat them right away. 

And as long as you make them the not so bad for you way, you'll love eating them so much that you won't start to feel guilty until you're on number four. 

Trust me. 

T-Bones (surprising) fail.. and then success.

I love hamburgers. A lot. They are always my favorite thing to order when I order or eat out. They are just so delish. I don't know what it is about them that I love so much, but man do I love them. One of my favorite places to order burgers from out here is a place called T-Bones. They have a few locations around New Hampshire, but they are still family owned and only a NH chain. I've never had a problem with them before and totally understood why they had been rated #1 burger in NH for the last 100 years, or something like that. 

The other night though, I ordered a hamburger for take out as we had absolutely nothing in the house to eat. When I was ordering it, the woman on the other end said it would be about 15-20 minutes, so I went with 20 just to be safe. Once I got there I had to wait an extra 10 minutes, which is fine, except I had to listen to one of the employees complain the entire 10 minutes extra. I don't mind waiting extra, I know things get backed up sometimes, it happens, so I really didn't mind, but the waitress complaining the entire time about someone she works with was just over the top. 

Then when I got home, this was my lettuce (courtesy of my camera phone)..

I know, right?

That led me to sending the following email to let them know about my experience. 

Hello,

I wanted to just you know about an experience I had in your restaurant tonight. I'm not upset or angry, just a little disappointed in the level of service and quality. First, let me say that you really do have the best burger's and everyone I know knows I love them and good they are. Tonight I ordered a B.L.T. burger for pick up. I was told that it would be ready in 20 minutes, but I ended up having to wait an additional 10 minutes. Which really doesn't bother me at all, I know the kitchen gets backed up and what not. However, my problem was that the entire time I was waiting I had to listen to one of the waitresses complain and complain about her job and the other girls that she worked with to the hostess- and it wasn't just an "Oh my gosh, I'm so frustrated!" moment- it lasted at least 10 minutes and was still going on when I left. I know we all get frustrated with our jobs, but that's what break-rooms or out best friends are for, not the greeting area of a restaurant. The other issue I had was in my burger. While the quality is usually exceptional, tonight this is what I found: [picture above]. Brown squishy wilted lettuce. Unfortunately all my lettuce was like this. Which in and of itself isn't a big deal- lettuce wilts, but to have it brown and squishy and just gross and then to put it on someone's burger? Ick! I have a really hard believing that this was just an oversight as how can you miss it? I really believe it was just laziness and not caring. After having to listen to the disgruntled employee for 10 minutes and then to come home to this when I went to eat it was just really disappointing. Thanks for taking the time to read about my recent experience. 

But then they turned that fail into a success by replying with the following

       Thank you for writing. I am so sorry to hear of your experience! As you can

imagine, the type of bantering you overheard while waiting in the lobby is

completely unacceptable; we are truly disappointed that this was your

experience and I assure you it will be addressed. As for your burger, it

looks as if your e-mail was supposed to include further details regarding

your meal, if that too was less than satisfactory please do not hesitate to

share the details, we certainly appreciate your feedback.

If you would be so kind as to forward me your full name and address I would

love to mail you a gift certificate with hopes of making this up to you as

well as to thank you for your feedback, allowing us to learn from your

experience.

Regards, Lisa 

And I can't tell you how unexpected that was. I didn't really expect anything in return other than a "thanks for bringing it to our attention," but they went one step further. I just wanted to them to know what had happened and instead they turned my bad visit into something really positive, which only makes me want to brag about them more. I wish more companies worked like this too. I know things happen, which is why I wasn't terribly upset with my experience, it was after all, only the first time, and I still would have eaten there again in the future, but instead of taking that chance that I might go somewhere else, T-Bones automatically fixed their mistake and insured that I would continue being a customer. Kudos to them! It's nice knowing that where I choose to spend my money is appreciated, because that's really what it comes down to. 

Yummy Delicious Brownie Bites.

A while ago, P-Dub had these amazing brownie bites on her site and so I decided to try them out. They came out amazing. I mean, so amazing, that they melt in your mouth. So amazing that everyone who tried them immediately fell in love with them. So amazing that they are now requested. They are a little time consuming and a little messy, but oh so worth it. 

Start your oven off at 325. 

I made them using plain old brownie mix from a box. I am so semi-homemade.

So make your brownies according to the box directions. 

Add in a cup of chocolate chips. 

I just use the expensive grocery store brand. I've found that using the more expensive kind definitely makes a huge difference in the flavor. 

You'll need a mini muffin pan. Make sure you extra, extra, extra grease it and then add some flour. 

Scoop your brownie mix into your pan. I used a cookie scoop to make it easier and have them all come out even. 

Now put your brownies into the oven for about 9-10 minutes. I like mine to still be a little squishy in the middle, so feel free to cook them just a little longer. 

FYI.. it was about here that my camera batteries died and I had to switch to the camera on my phone, so the rest of the pictures suck 100x more than they normally do anyway. 

Now your chocolate glaze. You can eat them without the glaze, but they won't be anywhere as enjoyable. 

Cut up your 8 oz. of semi-sweet chocolate 

This was my hand afterwards. Yum.. not. 

Then you'll need 8oz. of heavy cream.

Add 2 tablespoons of light corn syrup to your heavy cream.

                                      

Then add 1 teaspoon of vanilla to the mixture and pop it in the microwave for about a minute.

When it gets out of the microwave add your chocolate. 

And stir until it's all mixed together. 

Take your brownies out of the oven when they're done and turn them upside down on your cooling racks. Let them cool completely, about 10-15 minutes. 

Then it's time to dunk. 

I used a large salad fork to dunk my brownies, it was perfect for letting the chocolate drip off. 

I stuck my cooling rack inside of a cookie pan in order to contain the mess and this worked perfectly. You can use max paper I'm sure, but there is a good possibility that it will pool and get soggy. 

May the force be with you in that case. 

So once they were all coated, I added some sprinkles. 

I love sprinkles. 

I let them set for a while as well. Luckily our porch is like a second refrigerator this time of year, so I let them chill out there for about an hour to let the chocolate set. 

If you need the complete recipe and much better pictures, you can get it from P-Dub here. 

My thoughts on... honey.

I love honey. It's so good just by the spoonful, in some tea with lemon or apple cider vinegar, in peanut butter, and even mixed in with my face masks or baking soda. And if that wasn't enough, it can usually be found in this adorably cute bear container..

How cute is that?

But yes, you read right. Lately I've begun mixing honey in with my baking soda whenever I use it. Previously I was just mixing baking soda in with my Noxema, which you can totally do with whatever facial cleanser you use, but I decided to try it on it's own and on a whim pulled out the honey. 

(You can read about my love of baking soda here if you need to play catch up.)

Now before you think I'm weird for that, wait, never mind, I am weird for that. I do a lot of weird things like that now that I think about it. I mean, after all, I do put sake on my face everyday. 

But, anyway, so I had read about honey having benefits on the face when used as a cleanser or in a mask. And while, I never bothered to follow up on it, I always kept it in the back of my mind. 

And tonight I just decide to add some to the mix, and I couldn't be happier I did. My face has never been so glowy. 

Can I just for a moment point out that in all my years of using all those crap facial cleansers and this and that, my face has never ever looked as good as it has since I began adding these natural, chemical free,  products to my skin care regimen. I really am 100% shocked as to how well they've worked and what a difference they have truly made. 

Let's get back to the honey, honey. So after getting this amazing glow I decided to see what was in it that makes it so great. Well, it turns out that first of all honey is a humectant, which means that it traps and retains moisture in your skin, supposedly keeping it from getting dry. I need a week or two before I can say I agree with this or not. 

Honey also contains glucose oxidase, which when combined with water is suppose to produce hydrogen peroxide. I'm not a scientist, but that's what they say anyway. Honey is also suppose to contain antioxidants and flava-flavonoids that act as antibaterial agents. Which is always good if you have acne prone skin like I do. 

In addition to all that, honey is suppose to reduce scarring and it's also rumored to soothe irritated skin and even out complexions. 

In summary.. you need to try it out for yourself. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. I know it sounds odd, but give it a shot. And if not, it's always a good thing to have on hand for that nasty sore throat. 

Artichoke and Spinach Dip

Who doesn't love artichoke and spinach dip? It's one of my absolute favs with tortilla chips, especially the blue ones. It's not something that needs an introduction so we'll skip directly to the players. 

Allow me to introduce the cast

 You'll need a frozen package of spinach (thawed), an 8oz package of cream cheese, a 1/2 cup of Parm. cheese (I used a little extra though), a 1/2 cup of shredded mozz cheese (I used a little extra of that too, and took the lazy way out and got preshredded), a 12-14 ox can of artichokes and about a teaspoon give or take of garlic powder. 

First, preheat your oven to 325-350

Thaw out your spinach in the microwave if needed and then make sure you absorb all the extra water that comes out form it, otherwise you'll have soggy spinach dip. 

Add your block of softened cream cheese. 

The cut up your artichokes into whatever size you want to eat on your chip. 

I cut mine up  little too small, I like it chunkier artichokes. 

Add then to your bowl

Then add your cheeses

And your garlic

Mix it all up really well

And then I forgot pictures after that, but you toss it in the oven for 20-25 minutes until it's warm and creamy and brown and toasty. 

Let it cool for a few minutes and then dive in. 

McDonald's (not all that surprising) Fail

Usually when I have McDonald's, I order a cheeseburger Happy Meal with a diet soda. I do this for 2 reasons, first, it comes in around 520 calories, which really isn't that bad. Not great, but for fast food, it's not bad at all. Second, I like the toy. I'm not ashamed to admit that either. Currently they have Transformers which are just awesomely fun. Okay, 3 reasons, the third is because it's the perfect size and amount of food. Who needs all that food that comes with the other meals? Is just too much for me.

Except today. Which by the time this posts, was really the other day, but you get the idea.

I skipped breakfast this morning so by the time lunch rolled around, I was starvin' marvin'.

So, I ordered a quarter pounder with cheese meal. It just sounded so good and like I said, I was really hungry.

I like to read while I eat, and I'll read anything. Back of shampoo bottles, year old TV guides, other people's mail.. anything.

Here's a picture of something I read on my quarter pounder box today,

My quarter pounder only has, and I quote, "a pinch of seasoning."

Really McDonald's? Is that what you call a pinch? Somehow I find it hard to believe that "a pinch of seasoning" equals 1190mg of sodium, 50% of my daily allowance.

And don't get me wrong, I'm not tricked into thinking McDonald's is healthy by any means, I know it's not, but I can't help but feel like they're misleading us. In my opinion, they're guilty of false advertising. Anybody else agree? It shows in the picture that correlates with they're " a pinch" caption, salt and pepper shakers.. so if there is only a pinch of these, how does my burger have 1190 mg of sodium?

I'm so confused!

I've always been a fan of fast food restaurants having to put nutrition labels on everything and I think this is a perfect example of why. How misleading would this be without a nutrition label on the bottom of the box stating what exactly McDonald's considers a pinch to be.

Honestly though, I would happier if McDonald's would just remove the false caption from their box. I don't really like being lied to and I have a feeling most of their consumers would agree.

Poppy Chow

So I got this recipe from TPW Tasty Kitchen website. I have to be honest and say that I definitely wasn't a fan of the original "Puppy Chow" that this is based on, but when made with popcorn, it sounded absolutely amazing, and it really, really, really didn't disappoint. I mean really. This is a crowd pleaser for sure. I'll post a link to the original recipe at the end.

So, let's start with the players.

9 cups air popped popcorn, 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick), a teaspoon vanilla, 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Now, let me stop for a minute and share a couple things. First, because the recipe called for air popped popcorn and I don't have a pop corn maker, I tried making it on the stove, in a pan, and it was an ultra fail. That's why you won't find a picture of the popcorn popping, because while it did pop, it took forever and burned. So, instead, I raided our pantry and found the microwave kind that was like 94% fat free or something, and used that. And it came out amazing, so please don't hesitate about using that. I will every time from now on. I'm still going to work on making popcorn on the stove, just so I can say I can do it, but you can totally use microwave popcorn instead. I suggest using the flavorless kind though because when it gets coated, it has a ton of flavor and you don't want to interfere with that. 

And secondly, use a good chocolate, please. It doesn't have to be the best chocolate, just a fairly good brand you can find in the grocery. I used Ghirdelli. 

Alright, let's continue. 

Put in your 1 cup chocolate chips

Now 1/2 cup peanut butter

And your half stick of butter, which comes out roughly to 1/4 cup.

Put these all in the microwave until they're melted and mix them up. 

I forgot to take a picture of this, sorry. 

And pour it all over your popcorn in a BIG bowl. You need a BIG bowl. 

Mix it up until it's as well coated as you can get it. 

Then add your powdered sugar. 

I forgot that picture too, don't hate me. 

And mix it up till it's all coated. 

Your BIG bowl should be a little messy, which is why you need a BIG bowl. 

Now put it on a cookie sheet in an even layer to let the chocolate set. I suggest using a really BIG spoon for this, preferably with holes so you don't end up with a cookie sheet covered in powdered sugar as well. But if you do, you do, no biggie!

And while it's setting, try not to eat all of it. It'll be really hard though so it's okay if you do. I think our batch here is almost half gone.. oops! I plan on making it again for an upcoming holiday party though. I don't think it will last too long there either! Trust me when I say it is amazing. It is. 

Oh, and here's the link I told you about. Poppy Chow

This is perhaps the best cake I've ever made. And I like to make a lot of cakes.

Actually, it's not perhaps, I'm pretty sure it is.

Just look at how good it looks. It's a Tres Leches cake, which is a Spanish dessert. You can read about it here if you really want to. But, it's basically just a cake soaked in three different milks. Specifically for this cake I used, coconut milk (not cream), whipping cream and sweetened condensed milk. It came out amazing.

Preheat your oven.

(If your not using a dark pan, set your oven at 350)

Start with a box of white cake mix (any brand, it doesn't matter), 2 tablespoons oil, 1 1/4 c. water, 3 eggs and 2 bananas mashed up. Make sure you mash them up. I didn't mash mine up before putting it in the mix, but I wish I had.

(Sorry, forgot the flash in more than a few pictures!)

Grease the bottom of you pan, pour in your mix and bake for about 35 minutes or until done.

Then is has to cool for an hour. So while it cools, I toasted coconut.

I love toasted coconut. I had a cup of vanilla ice cream with toasted coconut on top with hot fudge this morning. For breakfast. But it's just so good, I couldn't resist. But, back to the cake.

Mix together a can of sweetened condensed milk (14 oz), 1/2 c. coconut MILK, and 1/2 c. whipping cream in a bowl and then once your cake COMPLETELY cools, poke holes with a fork ALL over it, and pour the milk mixture on top.

Then put it in the fridge overnight.

As you can see, I still had a lot of liquid left in the morning. I poured this into a cup and poured it back over the cake in the middle and let it sit for another hour to absorb. 

Once it's absorbed, frost it!

I just used a container of white frosting.

Then I used my toasted coconut.

And wow. It is amazing! Enjoy!