Is it really almost July??

Happy Saturday Everyone.

It is almost July which means that summer is flying by....

Which makes me very sad.

I love summertime-

long days

cool nights

pool time

Comfest

sunshine

and so much more.  

Given my blogging history you likely won't see me again until fall.

Until then.

Enjoy!

Happy Summer everyone!

Smiles-

Marci

2015...... a month late.....

Just to prove to you that I am still alive....

and I did bake some in 2015....

Here are a few pics to prove it....

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

Chocolate Cupcakes with Biscoff Buttercream...

A personal favorite...

There is no excuse for bad lighting...

except for when you live in Ohio

and it is dark at 3pm in the winter....

I think I like the real thing better.  

Don't believe me....

Check out this post.

Fun cookies with an inside joke...

Mini blueberry pies...

because...

blueberry PIE in a portable package.

Oatmeal chocolate chip bars...

because oatmeal is good for you..

therefore...

these are good for you.....

We are already well into 2016...

So I better get baking!

Smiles,

Marci

who is most definitely still alive...

and still baking....

A classic... Banana Bread

This banana bread....

Classic.

Simple.

Delicious.

I found the perfect recipe.  

On Pinterest.  

But, if someone can kindly point me to the original recipe- I would like to credit the creator.

Banana bread is truly one of my all time favorites...

I eat mine warm from the oven.

For breakfast the next day...

And my favorite way...

It is kinda sinful... 

but very delicious...

With cream cheese or butter on top.

I have a bunch of frozen over ripe bananas in my freezer right now.

In fact, I think I buy bananas just so they can go bad on me and I have an excuse to make more bread.

Smart huh?

Here it is..

My all time favorite recipe...

And the best part- no oil in the recipe.

The moistness comes from buttermilk.

All good things come from buttermilk- trust me....

Have a great week everyone!

Marci

Banana Bread

yield: 2 loaves

2 cups sugar

1 cup butter, softened

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup buttermilk

8 ripe bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare two loaf pans.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.   In a separate bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients.  

Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg.  Add bananas, vanilla and buttermilk.  

Add flour to wet mixture until just combined.  

Divide among the two prepared pans and bake for approximately one hour.
Cool and enjoy!!

Rueben Dip for the Win

So.... there is this football thing today....

I am not even sure who is playing....

Cause I am a college football girl...

But, I do like food and funny commercials and Bruno Mars...

So maybe.... I will pay attention a little to this football thing...

Want to try out a super healthy, leafy green, fat free, and calorie free appetizer?

Well- this is not that page.  

I am sure that there are all kind of bloggers out there who do healthy, fat free and calorie free...

But, not me....

I don't want to eat like a rabbit.  I want to eat like a tiger.....

Or how I think a tiger might eat....

In honor of the VXIIIVHIII Super Bowl I made Rueben Dip.

Super Creamy and Delicious.

Even Snickers came to check it out.  

If you do not like sauerkraut- be warned... this is not the dip for you.

Happy- can't wait for the Budweiser Clydesdale- Commercial Viewing Day!

Marci

Rueben Dip

  

3-2oz packages of corned beef, chipped and chopped into chunks (I only had two packages- trust me- you want three packages).

1 small- 14 oz can of sauerkraut, drained

1 cup sour cream

8 oz package cream cheese, chunked

12 oz swiss cheese, chunked

Combine in crock pot and look on low for a couple of hours.
Serve with assorted crackers or cocktail bread.   Pumpernickel or rye would be great here.

I only had french bread.
Enjoy warm.  

Buckeye Bars

I decided to share a treat....

Just in time...

For the Buckeye game on Saturday....

They are one of my favorite chocolate & peanut butter treats.

Buckeye Bars.

A friend shared them a few years ago... 

And I have not found a tastier version yet.  

But before we get to the bars...

Can I get an O-H.....

Photo courtesy of Sophie Wessel

So let's get started on these bars.

You'll need peanut butter and chocolate...

naturally...

And a couple of other ingredients.

In fact, I bet you have everything you need in your kitchen right now.  

Super simple and fast to make.  

Here is the recipe:

Buckeye Bars

1 cup butter

1 1/2 cups peanut butter

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar.  

for the topping:

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter

On low heat in a medium size saucepan, melt peanut butter and butter together.

Remove from the heat and add powdered sugar. 

Pat into a 13x9 inch pan.

In a separate smaller saucepan, combine chocolate chip and peanut butter.  

Heat slowly until melted. 

Pour over peanut butter mixture and chill. 

Cut into squares and enjoy.  

If you are a Michigan fan... bad things will happen if you eat these bars.....

Enjoy and let me know if you make them and how they turned out!

Go Bucks!!!

Marci

Memorial Day Weekend

It was a busy weekend. 

Filled with work.  blech.

Fun. Food and Family.

I decided to focus my energy on the Fun Food and Family part. 

I made my cookie version of the flag.  

I can't help but notice the lone white sprinkle on the top red cookie.  

Funny how once you notice something you see it every time you look at a photo.

Cookie Flags are fun.

It is even more fun to share your cookies with coworkers 

and a sweet little girl in the hospital who needs something sweet to eat. 

We had a family cookout yesterday.  

I made my corn salad.  

If you want to try it- check out my recipe here

And.....

I finally got to use my corn zipper....

Remember seeing it in this post?

It was amazing.  Just Amazing.

The best part of family cookouts.

Fire pits.

Drinks by the fire.

Laughs.

and..... SMORES!

How do you like your marshmallows? 

Toasted or burnt??

Me- I love them plain, toasted and burnt.

You could jazz up the traditional Smores with a Reese Peanut Butter Cup.   

It might be tasty.  Very Tasty.

But, I think I like the traditional way best.

I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend as well. 

Smiles,

Marci

Brown Butter Cookie Dough Chocolate Pretzel Yums!!

Betty Crocker does what... She bakes...

So- I decided to be more like Betty Crocker...

And a little less Suzy Social Worker..

So I made you some Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pretzel Yums!

This fabulous recipe is compliments of Willow Bird Baking!

Check out her original recipe here

Then go forth and make these yums! 

They are amazing.

And almost make you forget your Suzy Social Worker moments.

almost.

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!!

I am spending mine with two cuties named Cake Butt and Pie!!

And some Doodles fun may be joining us!

Smiles,

Marci

You see what I see right?

Once upon a time I made dragon egg cookies for a cutie's fourth birthday party.   

Only, they really didn't look like dragon eggs.

Or the image I had in my head of dragon eggs.

But, let's all shut our eyes and open them... Now what do you see? 

Dragon Eggs!

I knew you would come up with the right answer!

Once upon a time, a long time ago, I had eyes and could see.

Because if I could see, I would have surely seen how bad the lighting was in these photos.

Surely.  

Surely, I would have noticed how badly muted everything looked.

Surely.  

So, the moral of the story is....

Once upon a time, a long time ago..

There was a girl who could make dragon cookie eggs.

And you could look right at them and know instantly what they were.   

You would not mistake them for some rainbow camouflage eggs or something like that. 

And, once upon a time, there was a girl who could tell good lighting from bad lighting.

Although, in all honesty, that girl, is still working really hard on lighting.  

And pictures.

And cookies.

And sometimes cupcakes.  

Which are obviously dragon eggs on grass and not leftover Easter egg candy.  

Right?

Have a great weekend everyone!

Smiles,

Marci

**I linked up these cookies to Simply Sweet Saturdays at Simply Sweets by Honeybee.  Pop over and check out all of the great submissions!

Blue Cheese Deviled Eggs

Blue Cheese Deviled Eggs....

This past Easter I decided to get all fancy.....  Super Duper Fancy.   Cause you know that nothing is fancier than ham and hash brown casserole.  

What?  You don't eat ham and hash brown casserole on Easter?

So.. to make our meal fancy- I made some blue cheese deviled eggs... I love them.  

But, my brother did not.  In fact, his exact words- "You should probably warn people that those are not regular deviled eggs".  

I still encourage you to give them a try.  Especially if you love blue cheese.   

The recipe:
(makes one dozen deviled eggs)
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp celery seed
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp hot sauce
4 TBS mayo (please no miracle whip- YUCK!)

Cook six eggs.   Here is my method for foolproof hard boiled eggs.  Place eggs in a saucepan with enough water to cover the eggs.  Cook over med-high heat.  Once the water is boiling- time the eggs for 12 minutes.   Immediately immerse cooked eggs in cold water.

Mix the cooked yolks, mayo and remaining ingredients till well blended and smooth.   I placed my yolk mix in a baggie and cut the tip off so I can squeeze the yolk mixture into the egg whites.  

** Note- the blue cheese flavor is not subtle in these eggs.  If you are not sure if you will like the full flavor- I suggest starting with a 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese.

Enjoy!!!  Next time I am adding more hot sauce to mine.   I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and a great week.   This upcoming weekend is my birthday  yikes!! But, two cuties will be in town to help me celebrate.  

Smiles,
Marci

Pinterest fail....

I must share some very sad news....  I had yet another Pinterest failure.   Instead of keeping this failure to myself- I decided to share it all with you.  There are some very funny and witty blogs out there- Pintester and  others that blog exclusively about Pinterest successes and failures.  

I decided to test out the two ingredient pancake "pin" that is floating around out there.   The premise for the recipe is easy- only two ingredients- bananas and eggs. You mash up one egg and banana together.  You then fry it up in a pan like a pancake and presto!- you have two ingredient pancakes. 

I am here to provide a pubic service to you all.   These are not pancakes.   They turn out kinda wet and soggy.   Now I know that I would prefer to scramble my egg and eat a banana on the side.   I can see how these "pancake imposters" appear to be fluffy.  But, don't be fooled.   They are not as fluffy and airy as the real thing.   They do not taste like pancakes.   They taste like mashed up bananas and eggs.   Which I learned I do not like mixed together.  Take note Gerber- banana and egg would not be a best seller.  

I kinda feel duped.  Like when someone told me spaghetti squash tastes just like spaghetti.  Nope.  It doesn't.  It tastes like spaghetti squash with spaghetti sauce on top.   Which can be quite tasty, but does not taste like spaghetti.  

 

So, I know that most blogs are filled with beautiful recipes and talk nothing of kitchen failures.  But, I am a wanna-be blogger so I will keep it real here.  I have many many failures in the kitchen.  I also have made many recipes that were mediocre.   But, I do love to share the recipes that did turn out delicious.  And, I also feel obligated to tell you of the recipes that did not turn out at all.   This is one of them.   So next time you get a hankering for some pancakes- make some real ones please.   Pancakes are meant to be fluffy, tender, buttery pillows of deliciousness.   If you are worried about over indulging on the real thing- save them for the weekend.  And eat the eggs and bananas (served separately- of course) during the week.

Saving the world from fake pancakes.  No thanks is needed.
Marci

It's all about the appetizers.....

Do you ever get so excited at appetizers that your forget that there is an actual meal coming later?  Have you ever accidentally filled up entirely on appetizers and then had your mom yell at you because you did not finish your dinner? Does anyone have a recipe file filled with more appetizer recipes than any other type?  

If you answered yes to any of the above then you and I have something in common.   Not that I have ever been yelled at by my mom for not finishing my dinner (just every time we get together for dinner.....).  Well, I hate to tell you- but I am going to feed the appetizer insanity some more.  

This appetizer is simple, delicious and requires minimal fuss and work.   It would be a great appetizer to serve on Christmas Day while you are waiting for dinner to cook.   Just don't let me eat them all.   Cause then I won't want to finish my dinner.  

I wish I was a super-duper-awesome blogger and had precise amounts and measurements to give you- but- alas-I am not a super duper blogger.  Instead, you just get me.   But, I promise- measurements or not- these tomato-mozzarella bites are delicious and easy.

First, head to the antipasta section of your local grocery.   I found sundried tomatoes and herbs in oil on the bar area.  I also have seen these sun dried tomatoes packaged by the grocery in the deli section as well.  Be sure to buy the kind in oil as the oil helps the bread toast in the oven.   The herbs in this variation also made the tomato-mozzarella bites even more tasty.  Slice some french bread and place a couple of tomato slices on the bread and spread the oil all around.  The place a chunk (or two) of fresh mozzarella on top.   Sprinkle on some salt and pepper.   Then broil in the oven till the bread is toasty and the cheese is melted.   Be sure to watch the bites as they can burn easily.

Presto- a quick, simple and delicious appetizer.
What is everyone making for Christmas dinner?  I am not sure what is on the menu since I will be with my sister, but I am going to try a new crockpot recipe for breakfast.   I will share it soon if it turns out as good as I hope it will.

Smiles,
Marci

Chocolate Sheet Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

I made this sheet cake for my book club a couple of weeks ago.  It was amazing.   Seriously, who does not love peanut butter and chocolate together?  Okay- my mom doesn't,but she might possibly be the ONLY person I know who does not.  

My grandma made Texas Sheet Cake for me quite often when I was young.  She also used to make it for my one cousin who always refused to share it when she made it.  No- I am so not kidding.  She would eat the whole thing by herself.   

Grandma's Texas Sheet Cake was an amazing treat.   And this cake is such a fun spin on it.  The peanut butter frosting adds an amazing level to this cake.   I will make my Grandma's Texas Sheet Cake soon and share the recipe with y'all.   Okay I feel just a little silly for saying that.   Being an Ohioan and all.  

Look at the beautiful crackles on the top of this cake.   And ignore my bad photography skills.  I need camera lessons ASAP.

Let's just take one more look at this amazing cake.  Keep in mind this cake is a thin cake and bakes in a jelly roll pan.  And you pour the hot frosting on top and let it cool.

Are you drooling yet?  

If you want to try out this recipe- I made the one shared by Iowa Girl Eats.   I did add quite a bit more peanut butter to my frosting though.  I wanted it to be super duper peanut buttery.   I added close to a 1/4 cup more peanut butter.   But, this is one recipe where either way is amazing.   And because it is a sheet cake it makes a large pan of cake.   So make this cake when you plan on sharing it with a large group.   Please don't eat the whole pan like my cousin.   Well- I guess you can if you want to..... 

Can you believe it is almost December?    I can't wait to share the cutest pictures from Thanksgiving with you.   

Smiles, 

Marci

Baked Oatmeal

I have been avoiding baking here recently.  Not sure why.  I still love it, but have found little time for it.  Actually, I am not sure where any of my time recently has gone. I am falling behind on my tv shows again.   My house needs a deep cleaning- and that one is definitely at the top of my "I want to do it now" list- NOT.

But, I do want to share a simple recipe with all of you for Baked Oatmeal.  I was introduced to Baked Oatmeal by my friend Melinda.   And I have been hooked since.  I find Baked Oatmeal to be soothing and comforting.  And lately, I think I have been needing some comforting.  So I made some Oatmeal.

Here are the ingredients:

It is super simple to throw together on the weekend.  Plus, this dish is especially comforting as the weather grows cooler.   I love curling up with a bowl of this oatmeal on a cold winter day.

I like to eat this oatmeal hot from the oven with milk poured over it.   The milk cools the oatmeal just enough that you can eat it without yelping in pain.   Plus, I like my oatmeal a touch soupy.   The best part of the oatmeal- you can eat it however you want to.  With milk, without milk, with cream, with dried fruit.  You can customize to whatever your family likes.   And I think that this would be a super filling and hot breakfast for Thanksgiving Day.   It would definitely tide you over until the big meal.   Ignore the "burnt" edges.  I might have not paid as much attention as I should have to the clock when baking this.  But- those crispy edges actually tasted great!

I hope everyone is enjoying fall!

Marci

Baked Oatmeal

1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup milk (I use 2%)
2 tsp baking powder
3 cups oatmeal
1 tsp salt

Mix together butter, sugar and eggs.   Add remaining ingredients.  Pour into 8x8 cake pan that has been sprayed with non stick spray.   Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes 

You can add nuts or dried fruit to the baked oatmeal after baking to personalize it to anyone's taste.   I do love dried fruit in mine, but sometimes plain is just what I am craving!