Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites

While surfing around on my favorite new obsession, Pinterest, I found these yummy looking snacks and I knew they would be a bit hit!! Though I did find a couple problems with them: their a bit time consuming and putsy to make, and they are highly addictive. Here's the recipe, my friends, enjoy! And please don't blame me for the extra calories that you will consume if you make these!

I forgot to take a pict until only 1 was left so this is from the original blog.

1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tsp butter at room temperature
2/3 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
bag of small pretzels
2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips

In a small bowl, beat the peanut butter and butter together until smooth and creamy. Beat in the sugars and vanilla extract until well mixed - you may need to add more powdered sugar to get the filling thick and stiff enough to hold its shape.

Roll teaspoons of the peanut butter mixture between your palms for form balls. Sandwich the PB ball between 2 pretzels and put on a cookie sheet. Freeze the pretzel sandwiches for about half an hour.

Melt the chocolate chips, using the microwave (30 second intervals) or a double boiler. Dip half of each pretzel sandwich in chocolate. (I acutally used a frosting spatula and spread the chocolate on as dipping made it look uneven.) Return the cookie sheet to the freezer and chill until chocolate sets. Store the Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites in the refrigertator until serving time.

Makes about 45-60 sandwiches depending on how much PB mixture you put in the sandwich.

Belle wanted a picture of her taking the last one!!

The original blog that the recipe is on can be found here: 17 and Baking

Wordless Wednesday: Smithsonian's National Zoo

Since we moved to Virginia in August, one of the main things I've wanted to do was go to the National Zoo in Washington to see the pandas. I've always loved bears of any type, but what an opportunity to see panda bears! We had a beautiful, sunny weekend, and decided to take advantage of being outside and headed for the zoo. One of the great things about DC is the fact that almost everything is free...except for parking! The zoo has a parking lot, at $16 for 3 hours, or $22 for anything over! We stayed for about 4 1/2 hours and decided it was worth the $22 since we didn't have to pay anything to be there. I've also included some fun facts that we learned at the zoo or from the website. Here's a few pictures from our adventure:

Some of the first animals we saw were zebras...this is Belle's scary face! Zebras live about 20 years and are the largest wild member of the horse family

 

 

This is the sloth bear. It got quite close to Andy! Sloth bears are the only bears to carry young on their backs and they are native to India.

When we first got to the Giant Panda Habitat, the bear was very close, and attempting to get something out of a brown paper bag: his morning snack! It was really interesting to see how the bear knew what was in the bag and what he had to do to get the snack, which we think was a frozen fruit chunk, like a jello mold size.

We were so close to the pandas that we could hear one of them slurping on his treat!! Giant pandas are among the most recognized, but rarest animals in the world, with only about 1,600 living in the wilds of China, and 300 in zoos.

Giant pandas eat 20-40 pounds of bamboo a day, and spend 10-16 hours a day searching for food and eating! I don't think they spend quite that much time foraging at the zoo, though!!

Flamingos! These creatures were beautiful! Such a vibrant salmon color. Flamingos are about 42 - 60 inches tall, weigh 5-6 lbs and have a wing span of 55 inches.

Belle enjoyed sitting on many of the animal statues they have around the park!

We enjoyed watching 1 year old lion cubs playing around! Reminded me of my nephews who like to wrestle around! Lions can grow to 10 feet long, not including their 2-3 feet long tail and a lions roar can be heard up to 5 miles away.

Andy played the drums on a models of paws!

The National Zoo's website is really interesting, and includes web cams of many of the animals and an abundance of facts about them. It can be found at: http://nationalzoo.si.edu/

For the Kiddos: Homemade Playdough!

When Belle was in pre-school, the teachers would request homemade playdough for the classroom. They would give the recipe, and the color they needed, then the parents would make it and bring it to school. I decided that I could definitely do this for the classroom! I have not bought playdough since, as we all love the homemade better than the store-bought. I also like the fact that if a bit gets eaten, by Andy, it's totally fine! This recipe gives a good amount of playdough; enough for a decent amounts for each of my kiddos. It also is super soft and stays soft for months. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
2 Tbsp oil
2Tbsp Cream of Tartar
Food Coloring
2 cups boiling water (water must be boiling or the recipe will not work)

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients together.
Add boiling water and oil.
Stir together, then knead together when a bit cooler.
Add food coloring after ingredients are mixed together. 

WARNING: you will be dealing with hot playdough, and your hands may get stained by the food color! I had a splotch of pink on my hand for a couple days!

Wordless Wednesday: Pumpkin Patch

The girls didn't have school on Monday because of Columbus Day, so we took off to a pumpkin patch! We had a perfectly sunny, warm day and had a great time!

Em on the zipline!

Andy wanted to take this wagon home!

Belle conquered the rope ladder.

 

Yep, she likes the camera!

Andy wanted to haul a pumpkin!

Virginia vs. Minnesota

We have now been in Virginia for exactly 2 months. We are pretty much settled into our new routines, and things are going well. Below is a list of 10 differences that Beau, Emily and I came up with!

1. Speed Limits = Some of the speed limits around here are just crazy SLOW! The main road leading into our neighborhood is 25. It should easily be 35, and there are cops waiting on it all the time! I tried setting my cruise control to 27 and it didn't stick! Too slow! Even on somewhat major highways, the speed limit is 50. I have yet to see a limit higher than 55 in this state.

2. School Times = The girls elementary school starts at 7:50am. Our school in MN started at 9:20. This means that we need to be walking at 7:35 or 7:40 at the latest. Morning have been stressful, especially since my little girl has a very hard time getting up at 7am. They also end at 2:35, which seems quite early, but gives a good amount of time for homework and playtime.

3. Grocery Stores = There is an abundance of grocery stores in our area. Emily would like to note that there is no Cub or Rainbow. I still do most of the shopping at Target or Walmart, but definitely like the double coupons at Bloom and the BOGOs at Giant!

4. Restaurants/Stores = We've got most of the same restaurants and retail stores as in MN, but here we have Chick-fil-A which I really like! We also have Ross, which is like TJ Maxx but better. What we do not have, that the girls and I miss, is the Mall of America!

5. Weather = In the 2 months that we've been here, we've experienced an earthquake, the aftermaths of a hurricane, and more rain than I can keep track of! Our temperatures have been good, with the exception of a few days, and our winter should be much nicer than what we're use to. I've heard that school gets canceled for an inch of snow, so we're looking forward to that!

6. Eastern Time Zone = Though we are only an hour later that MN, it's very intrusive! The kids like to talk to their cousins, but by the time it works out for them, we are getting ready for bed! It's not fun for a couple shows I like to watch that start at 10pm too!

7. Stay-at-Home Mom = This is one of my favorite parts of being in Virginia. In the 9 years that I've had kids, I've only truly been a fulltime stay-at-home mom for a few months. It's been fun to get use to a new normal of not going to work and just working for my family. Beau works many hours a week, and we are blessed that he is able to provide for us very well!

8. Churches = I miss Eagle Brook Church in Spring Lake Park. Though we'd only been going there for less than a year, I really enjoyed our time there. The worship is incredible and the teaching is spot-on. We've gone to a church here, McLean Bible Church, but I just don't know if it's where we're meant to be. We'll figure it out!

9. Language = The DC area is a huge melting pot of languages and cultures. I need to train my ear for the different accents to make sure I understand what's being said. The girls are also learning Spanish at school and have many different cultures in their classes as well.

10. Family = The only family we have in VA is the 5 of us. This has been truly difficult for the kids and I. We are use to spending a lot of time with cousins, Auntie, Grammy and extended family and friends, and it's odd to not have that. We are very thankful for Skype though, especially so Andy can share his new words, Belle can share staring at herself dancing, and so Em can just talk and talk to everyone! We are looking forward to Christmas break when we'll be in MN.

Well friends, that's a glimpse into our new life in VA. It's great to have all 5 of us in one location and to be a family again. We miss everyone very much, but know that God has placed us here in Virginia. Love you all!!

Baked Ziti...and the 2nd Pan

Monday was a cold, rainy, dreary day here in Virginia. As I was thinking about supper, something warm and filling was sounding good. I started looking for some recipes and decided on a baked ziti. I wanted something fairly easy, and after reading a few recipes, tweaked them into my own. This makes enough for a 9x13 pan, or 2 smaller 8x8 type pans. I'll explain later what I did with my 2nd pan! Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 package penne pasta
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 1lb mild Italian sausage
• 2 jars marinara sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 package chopped spinach (thawed)
• 12 oz ricotta cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 8 slices Provolone cheese
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Cook pasta according to directions, leave al dente.
• Drizzle a bit of olive oil into a deep skillet, add onions and sweat them out, then add sausage and brown; drain fat.
• While the sausage is browning, prepare the spinach. (Make sure it is thawed, and squeeze out the remaining water so it does not water-down the sauce.) I did an extra chop on the spinach to ensure it was small enough for my kids to not notice so much!
• Add marinara, spinach, basil, and oregano to the sausage. Heat together until bubbling, and simmer 15 minutes.
• Add ricotta cheese to the marinara sauce, mix in and bring back to a boil.
• In a large bowl, toss pasta with the marinara sauce.
• Put 1/2 the pasta mixture into the pan, and layer with provolone cheese. Add the rest of the pasta, and finish with a layer of mozzarella cheese.
• Cover with a tent of tin foil, and bake for 30-45 minutes until the cheese is bubbly.

As I was putting it all together, I decided to make 2 pans of ziti: one to eat and one to freeze. After packaging the "extra" pan for the freezer, I started thinking about who could use that meal. A gal from my Bible study came to mind, then I realized that she is nursing a baby and has cut out anything spicy or with tomatoes. Still feeling like this pan was suppose to go to someone, I put it in the fridge. On Tuesday morning, Andy and I went to our small group Bible study. One of the gals mentioned that her husband is out of town again this week. She has an active, almost 3 year old boy, a super climber 15 month old little girl, and she's pregnant with their 3rd. I knew a meal would bless her family...and it did! After Andy's nap, we packed up the ziti, french bread and some fruit and dropped it off at her house. She was very grateful to have the meal, and I was so happy that it went to a great family!

So, if you make this recipe, who are you going to bless with the 2nd pan?

Soft Gooey Caramel Popcorn!!!!

We had a family movie night this weekend and I wanted to make something new. Beau mentioned caramel corn, but we didn't have a recipe. The solution...google it! I've never been a fan of crunchy caramel corn, always preferring it to be soft and gooey. So that's what I searched for and found a ton of recipes. I weeded through them, immediately throwing out some because I didn't have the main ingredient, corn syrup. Then I found the perfect recipe on food.com and it turned out great! Pretty easy to make and everyone loved it, tho Emily thought it was a little sweet and Belle wanted more "sugar" on it!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup popcorn
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 10 large marshmallows

Directions:

• Pop the popcorn and set aside.
• Melt butter and brown sugar together in medium saucepan, over low to medium heat. Stir this a lot so it doesn't burn.
• Add marshmallows and stir until melted, stir constantly until everything is incorporated into a smooth caramel. Keep a close eye on it!
• Pour over popcorn and stir until mixed.