The Best Food Combo Ever...PB and Chocolate!

There are always those classic food combos that you think of when coming up with a new recipe. Peanut Butter and Chocolate happen to be one of my favs. I found this recipe on a fellow blogger's site and thought I would give it a try..yet another dish that does not require the oven....note to self call repair man tomorrow!!! Enjoy! This is a recipe from a great tv chef as well so I knew it would be as good as it looked. My picture does not do it justice..unfortunately I have no photography skills. Something I am working on because it just makes a blog so much better if your pics are great...anyways here is the recipe.










Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars
Nigella Lawson
Bottom:
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 1/3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup of creamy peanut butter
Top:
9 ounces (1 cup + 1 TB) milk chocolate pieces or chips4 ounces (1/2 cup) bittersweet chocolate pieces or chips2 tablespoon unsalted butter

1. Mix all the bottom ingredients by hand until they are well incorporated.
2. Press the mixture into a pyrex or brownie pan, the size really depends on how thick you want your bars. The bigger the thinner the layers..my pan was too small..9x9..I would suggest anything larger than that..unless you want to go into a PB and chocolate induced coma:)
Make the surface as even as possible.
3. Melt the chocolates and butter in a saucepan on low, then spread evenly on top of the base. If you have leftover chocolate chips, toss on top.
4. Put the dish in the refrigerator to set. When the chocolate has hardened (it takes approx. 1.5 hours for the chocolate, but the longer the better for a firmer peanut butter base) cut into squares. I like to cut them in different sizes for a rustic feel. Serves 4-5.

Rapido Salsa

I am so into blogging right now it is crazy. Especially great food blogs. It so inspires me. I believe not having TV since we moved in a few weeks ago to our new house has done it. I can't watch Food Network or HGTV to be inspired so I turned to the Internet for some creative inspiration. My oven doesn't work and I wanted to make something quick for a get together we were having. I recently found a website by The Pioneer Woman http://thepioneerwoman.com/. I have heard about it for awhile but it didn't seem like something I would really be into being a city girl...boy was I wrong. She used to be a city girl and ended up marrying a cowboy type and moved to the country. She shares all sorts of fun stories and wonderful recipes. I decided to try her "Restaurant Style Salsa". It was sooo quick and easy to make. Best of all the crowd loved it. I am always so glad to add another recipe to my book. Here is the recipe below...enjoy..and check out her site, you won't be disappointed.

Restaurant Style Salsa....by The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients
1 can (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes With Juice
2 cans (10 Ounce) Rotel (diced Tomatoes And Green Chilies)
¼ cups Chopped Onion
1 clove Garlic, Minced
1 whole Jalapeno, Quartered And Sliced Thin
¼ teaspoons Sugar
¼ teaspoons Salt
¼ teaspoons Ground Cumin
½ cups Cilantro (more To Taste!)
½ whole Lime Juice
Preparation Instructions
Combine whole tomatoes, Rotel, onion, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro in a blender or food processor. Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you’d like—I do about 10 to 15 pulses. Test seasonings with a tortilla chip and adjust as needed.
Refrigerate salsa for at least an hour. Serve with tortilla chips or cheese nachos.

I definitely recommend letting it sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour...the flavors are really enhanced. This is not a very hot salsa, so add more jalapeno or another more fiery pepper if you prefer it hot. I also added a tad bit more salt like another 1/4 tsp...fabulous.

Curse of the Sleepy Mom

Since I joined this wonderful world of motherhood I have noticed something very eerie....every time I try to sleep I am rudely interrupted! It could be a phone call right at the moment my head hits my pillow...the doorbell...or my son decides to take a shorter nap than usual and is ready to get up! Now this also happens when I lay my sleepy little boy down as well...doorbell rings, husband decides to run in and tell me something, someone coughs, I sneeze, plane flies over, dog barks....REALLY??? What is it about a sleeping baby and Mama that makes things go boom? I am convinced that nature, humans and animals sense the sleepy spell and are determined to awake the baby and keep mom from ever taking just one nap.

Now I wonder when does this curse get lifted? Will I ever get to take an uninterrupted nap??? I have noticed the lil guy is getting better at sleeping through anything so that is a great feat. I am hoping that there is a great nap in this mom's near future...zzzzzz