Peanut butter s’mores

Hey friends,

Per (Facebook) requests, I figure I better post this recipe. 

I had tagged it on How Sweet It Is weeks ago and knew it was just a matter of time before I made them.

A mommy group meet up (complete with daddies this time!) was the perfect occasion. 

Bean and I were decked out to match (he was far too interested in my necklace to pose for the pic, however):

On to the good stuff.  I do believe that words such as “keep that sh*t away from me” and “crack bars” were used in reference to these bars.  So beware, they apparently are quite good  

Peanut butter s’mores (very slightly adapted from How Sweet It is – all inventive genius is owed to Jess!)

• 1 and 2/3rd 10 oz bag of mini marshmallows (Jess uses two full bags)
• 1 sleeve of graham crackers coarsely broken up
• 1 10.5 oz of milk chocolate chips
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• ~2 cups creamy PB
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter

Melt butter, milk chocolate chips and peanut butter in large non-stick pot over low/med heat until everything is melted together.  Let cool slightly for about 10 minutes and fold in dark chocolate chips, marshmallows, and graham crackers.

Spread mixture in lightly greased 9×13” pan.  Store in fridge overnight (or for several hours).  Cut with serrated knife and serve! (Makes about 24+ bars)

Note:  If I were to make these again, I’d up the graham crackers to maybe 1.5 sleeves, reduce the marshmallows to 1.5 bags and add a healthy dash of cinnamon to the PB/choc/butter sauce.  AND just for kicks, I’d use mini Reeses PB cups in lieu of dark chocolate chips   Oh yes!

So there you go!  “Crack” in bar form.  Just wanted you wanted and need to start your week off right.

If you’ll excuse me, I need to spend some time with my MIL (Cookie) and beanie before he heads to bed. 

Snacky Snackerson

Happy Wednesday friends!  It’s my Friday, don’t be to jealous   You see, Saturday is my baby shower, so tonight my Mom is arriving, tomorrow afternoon my MIL, and tomorrow night my bestie.  Yipppeee! 

But back to today’s topic at hand: SNACKS!

Pregnant or not pregnant, I’m a snacker.  I like to eat a little something every 2-3 hours (lately it’s more like 1.5 to 2) so I’m constantly stocking up on easy-to-go items that can fit in my purse or in my desk drawer.  Come on, tell me that you have a desk drawer at work filled with food   Another story for another time is about how I no longer have a snack drawer due to some pesky mice that went to town on my snacks.  Watch out mousies – my wrath is way worse than a mouse trap (I kid, I kid).

Okay back to it.

I’m all about healthy snacks: apples, almonds, a short ingredient protein bar, but sometimes I want a snack that truly tastes like a snack.  Below are my latest top snacks:

• Popchips!  Thanks to Marssie, I was sent an entire box of these goodies! I had seen these little bags all over stores and the blogworld, but had yet to try them out.  I’m officially hooked.  I’ve had the Parmesan and the BBQ, while the hubby has had the Salt’n’vinegar.  Verdict: awesome.  I am now incorporating a bag a day in my life Totally hits that salty-chip-craving, but in a healthier, lighter, low-cal form.  WIN! And, what’s great is that they are from San Francisco – love supporting local companies!

• Candy corn: I’m an addict.  I really am.  It’s my favorite seasonal candy and it’s not too high in cals either – win!  And thanks to some twitter buddies, they clued me in on mixing candy corn with roasted peanuts.  Salty and sweet – life’s perfect combo

• Trader Joe’s maple cookies: Have you had them?  If not, why not???  They are sinfully delicious and so perfect for the Fall.  Who cares if I have slight addiction with maple – it just matches other addictions (like pumpkin), so I’m going to roll with it
• Frozen yogurt: I never craved ice cream like I do now.  And with the pure genius that is self-serve froyo places, I’ve been in gluttonous bliss.  I’m all about the toppings – cookie dough, heath, snickers….

• Chocolate: Normally I can say yay or nay to chocolate, but lately, my sweet tooth is on overload, so I love having just mini-Snickers (stolen from a coworker’s candy jar) or even a few chocolate chips just to get my fix.   Last night I may had a Reeses PB pumpkin

So yeah, not all of these are snacks on the go, but Popchips certainly are and I’ve already stashed them a few places for those hunger pains.  Errr, same as the candy corn   Gotta have the sweet-salty combo, ya know?

So tell me, what are your favorite snacky foods (healthy, indulgent, or otherwise)?

Have you had Popchips?  What’s your favorite flavor?

Blogger fun over Indian food

Where did the weekend go?

We had our Babymoon and it was fabulous – just what we needed.  Recap coming tomorrow

As I mentioned last week, I met up with Shayla from The Good Life   We are trying a new contemporary Indian restaurant called All Spice in the SF Bay Area. 

Shayla already provided an excellent recap here, so I’ll do an abbreviated version below:

Top left was an amuse-bouche red pepper soup that was fantastic – I easily could have eaten a bowl.  Next was a fritter stuffed with mushrooms (<—I HATE mushrooms and didn’t even know they were in there!) – this was one of my fave items of the night, served atop curried chickpeas (a la chaana masala).  And finally a ricotta cheesecake with pureed beets (the app special of the evening) – this was good, but probably my least favorite item of the entire meal.

And for our entrees that we split, we chose the Hara Kebab, which wasn’t a kebab at all, but more like Indian gnocchi with brussel sprouts.  This dish was so very yum!  And that crazy beast next to it was the Eggplant Dosa.  And while I’m also not a huge eggplant fan, I thought this was fantastic – slightly smoky with some tomato chutney within.  And oddly enough this huge serving was the cheapest on the menu – go figure

We snapped a photo after our meal: Shayla, me, and belly!  It now deserves it’s own shout out, haha!

And though we were tempted by the desserts at All Spice, we made the right decision and headed down the street aways for Yogurtouille for the win!

We taste tested the strawberry shortcake flavor and thought it was delish, but we’re all about our chocolate toppings so we kept it simple with vanilla and then loaded up – best parts?  Coated animal cookies and marshmallow drizzle!

Just like the last time I met up with Shayla, we had a ridiculously good time.  This girl is freakin’ awesome.  Period.   We have so much in common and we’re already looking forward to a low key pedi date next time

I did get to thinking about how interesting it is to meet new people in my ‘current state’ (aka pregnancy). 

While I still feel like myself, I feel like there is this elephant in the room that ends up being very much the focus of my thoughts, my conversations, and my being. 

Normally I’d meet up with someone for the first time, decked out in cute skinny jeans, funky heels, flattering top, and feeling pretty confident.  Now I realize I’m meeting people with a fuller face, wider hips, and clothes that aren’t quite standard.  It’s just an odd feeling.  I can’t quite describe it.

And of course, I’ve got baby on the brain so inevitably so much of what comes out of my mouth is about the little one inside me.  I really try to keep that balanced and not overloaded, but I have no idea if I’m doing a good job. 

It’s also a bit unique not to be able to socialize over vino!  There’s no, hmmmm, buffer if you will.  Nothing to ease the nerves and potential awkwardness.

All that being said, I’m glad it’s Shayla that I’ve met for the first time because there were no reservations, no awkwardness, no feeling bad about too much baby talk.  Pretty awesome if you ask me

Tell me, what did you do this weekend?

Have you ever hard contemporary Indian food?

Do you find certain events in your life change your persona a bit?