Unbelievably Delicious Oatmeal Peanut Butter Brownies

Sometimes a girl needs to bake for her family. Sometime a girl needs sometimes that feels decadent, but making something healthier is a better choice. So let me introduce me to you a great no flour alternative, backed with peanut butter and oatmeal... Yes, it is a healthy brownie!

Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

(Adapted from http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2012/06/10/skinny-peanut-butter-swirl-brownies/)

Ingredients:

•         3/4 cup (185 grams) creamy peanut butter (do not use natural, runny peanut butter or powdered "peanut butter")

•         6 oz. low fat or fat free vanilla greek yogurt

•         1/4 cup (60 ml) skim milk (or almond milk)

•         1 large egg (or 2 egg whites)

•         1/4 teaspoon salt

•         1 teaspoon baking powder

•         1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar  (see note above in post about substitutions)

•         1/2 cup (64 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder

•         1/2 cup (40 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats

Some peanut butter...

...oatmeal....

Directions:

1.        Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 8×8 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

2.        Place all of the ingredients except for the peanut butter into a blender or food processor. (Yes, a blender!) For easier blending, place the liquid ingredients into the blender first. Blend until mix is smooth and oats are ground up. You will have to stop the blender and scrape down the sides a few times.

3.        Pour batter into prepared baking dish. Batter will be thin.

5.  Microwave peanut butter for about 30 seconds. Drop melted peanut butter by spoonfuls onto the batter, swirling gently with a knife to create a marbled effect. (Try not to overmix!)
 

4.        Bake for 20-25 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. Brownies will be extra fudgy, so be sure to wait until COMPLETELY cooled - I stuck mine in the refrigerator for 2 hours, which allowed them to be cut very easily. Cut into squares and enjoy!

Nice Nails- Hope Springs Eternal

It's been a while since I shared with you my nails designs. So I thought I would share this cute little number I called- Hope Springs Eternal!

With this long, cold winter just behind us, flowers are very slowly starting to come out. So to coax them along, I created this little flower design on my 'party finger'! Enjoy!

Niagara-on-the-Lake- An Amazing Adventure

It's always an Amazing Adventure when we go to Niagara-On-The-Lake... even better after a wonderful 14th Anniversary Sleepover at the Falls.  I love just walking around, window shopping and smelling the awesome smells from the bakeries and sweet shops... no calories for just smelling!

Since it was still quote cold, these are the only flowers that we saw outside!

A stop at Greaves for some delicious jam. Brent's favourite- Rhubard Strawberry Jam.

Can you find my favourite?  It's one of those!!!!!

I just love fancy tea towels, don't you?

And of course, no trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake would be complete without a visit to the Christmas Store. We just love it... and every year, we have to buy a new ornament. I tried to convince Brent we should get a cupcake one.... they look so real! But it was a 'it's not Christmasy enough' what??

The funniest were these fridge magnets, I so wanted to buy them all, but instead, I just took a picture. Funniest... The Beaver! LOL

Next stop: COWS, we just love this store! It's really an ice cream store- which we did not partake of- but all the cow souvenirs are hilarious!

Pyjamas with a back door.

Clever t-shirt.

Funny t-shirt.

LOL t-shirt... we got a fun butter dish, a drinking cup and a coffee cup... with cows on them... of course!

Ok, gratuitous 'over-the-top' sweet chocolate treats shot.... just had to throw it in there. No chocolates were ingested in the taking of this picture!  Just loved the colours, shapes and textures!

Crock Pot Greek Style Chicken

I am telling you... sometimes, your husband just makes such an awesome dinner that you remember once again why you married him... his caring and thoughtful side. Check out this delicious recipe he made in the crock pot. It was a risk, you know sometimes chicken breasts come out quite dry from the crock pot, but this time they were super moist.... and oh.... they made the house smell so nice coming home after a long day at work. I love you Brenty!

Greek Style Chicken

(adapted from the Crock Pot Slow Cooker cookbook)

• 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs (or chicken breasts)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ cup chicken broth
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup pitted kalamata olives
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• Hot cooked orzo or rice

Directions

Salt and pepper chicken breast. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown chicken on all sides. Place in Crock Pot slow cooker.

Add broth, lemon, olives, garlic and oregano to crock pot.

Cover, cook on low 5-6 hours or until chicken is tender. Serve with rice or orzo.

There you have it.... beautiful and so moist and delicious. Served with a fresh and tasty Greek Salad on the side...and you have a winner, winner, chicken dinner!

Honeymoon in Niagara- Celebrating 14 Years of Togetherness!

My sweet dear husband surprised me last week.  I do love surprises, moreover, I love when someone plans a totally decadent weekend away without me lifting a 'planning' finger! And I love that my husband would do all this for me.... because he loves me! So let me take you on a tour of the sights and tasty treats we enjoyed!

We stayed at a wonderful hotel with an amazing few of the Falls, both American and Canadian Falls, 39 flights up in the 'Junior Presidential Suite'. Amazing!

Here's Brent with the fancy fireplace.

Me, standing in the bathroom with the giant Jaccuzi tub with a giant window that looks into the room and out over the falls... yeah, WILD, I know!

Comfy bed and fluffy pillows, and super model... extra bonus! LOL

Now here's the part Brent was excited about... among other things, of course! Trying out this famous Brazilian Steakhouse. I must admit, I was intrigued too! Well it was quite an event- go with an empty stomach!!!! So you arrive at your table and they explain that if you want the waiters- known as Gauchos- to give you some meat, you place your Green coaster out- green means go! And if you are still eating or thinking about it or just plain full, you flip it to the Red side of the coaster.... STOP. As in, STOP, I can't bear another morsel of food.

So you can start with the 70 item salad bar, but don't fill up- they tell you. They are right! But hey, I couldn't resist the hard boiled quail egg... so cute, right?

Okay, then the meat insanity begins! This Gaucho is carving some delicious beef. I believe it was top sirloin steak. It was so delicious, such a treat, having someone bring you whatever you wanted. Oh we did indulge, as in, 'couldn't eat a thin wafer mint' from Monty Python!

But check this out. It's grilled pineapple! It was my favourite... I tasted a piece of  pineapple heaven that night! Those Pineapple-Carving Gauchos had my number. I went a little extreme and enjoyed almost 3/4 of a pineapple.  So unique and sweet, pineapple with brown sugar and cinnamon, grilled and all caramelized to perfection. I truly felt LOVE that night. Thank you Brent for a wonderful food adventure... and I can't wait to embarque on many more adventures with you!

Savory Italian Spicy Sausage and Mushroom Pasta Man Sauce

So you might be wondering, what did you serve at Brent's Birthday Dinner? Well, I would tell you I made him a 'Man Pasta Sauce'. He loves spicy sausage and mushroom (not me). So I decided to make him something uniquely for him.
HE ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!!
Said it was the best freakin' sauce he has ever had in his life!!!!!

Well, I would say it's a do over.

Here's the ingredients for you. Oh, and don't forget the red wine... so grown up!

Brown up the sausage, garlic, onions and mushroom. I decided to make a traditional sauce and this sauce. All the men chose this one and all the ladies chose the traditional sauce. Funny, eh!

Here's the final masterpiece. Really delicious for those who love those tastes and so delicious as a leftover too!

Savory Italian Sausage Sauce

(Adapted from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe-Tools/Print/Recipe.aspx?recipeID=26247&origin=detail&servings=4&metric=false)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound Italian sausage

4 green onions, chopped

1 (8 ounce) package fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup red wine

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons white sugar

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute garlic until it browns. Place sausage in skillet with garlic. Cook until evenly brown, crumbling it as it cooks. 

2. Stir in mushrooms, basil and oregano; cook 5 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes and tomato paste. Then add water, red wine, red pepper flakes and sugar. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 1 hour.

Brent's Birthday-Fun times and Banana Triple Layer Cake

You know, I'm always a few weeks behind... I just can't keep up with all the joy, love and celebration! Seriously though... what do you do for your husband's 49th birthday party? Well, make him all the things he would  LOVE and that you would never make (may be you don't like it- mushroom- or maybe it's too decadent - banana cream layer cake)... but it's a celebration and let me share the love and good times we had with you.

Here's a fantastic group shot around the b-day boy.

Ok, seriously funny coincidence, but Brent's favourite colour is blue and my dad, Cooper and I are all wearing the blues.

Of course.... so is the birthday boy and a baseball shirt at that!

Oh ok, HI! have you met my gorgeous nephew and his big blue eyes?

Group Shot and the Sunshine!

Breadsticks and cucumbers and dip for my little niece!

Special cousin time playing on Mela's new laptop, entertaining the little one with fun online kid stuff so the parents could enjoy some peace.... you know how it is!

Ok, now I am showing you a little bit of  'celebration' food. Prepare yourself for one great banana cake ride. Here's the birthday boy eyeing his triple decker cake.

I had never made a triple layer cake and it was quite a production. But hey, my man's worth it. SO you need 3, 8inch round pans, how about a 9 inch and 2, 8 inch... I just cut around the edge... That might be why it turned out a bit lopsided.

Here' s the recipe folks:

Banana Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

(adapted from http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Banana-Layer-Cake-with-Cream-Cheese-Frosting-4694#ixzz2vtFIx9JO)

Ingredients:

    2 1/4 cups cake flour

    3/4 teaspoon baking soda

    1/2 teaspoon baking powder

    1/2 teaspoon plus pinch of salt

    1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large)

    1/4 cup buttermilk

    1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

    1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

    1 1/3 cups sugar

    2 large eggs

    2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature

    1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

    2 large bananas, peeled, sliced

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter three 8-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides; dust pans with flour. Combine cake flour, baking soda, baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt in medium bowl. Mix mashed bananas, buttermilk and 1 teaspoon vanilla in another medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat 1/2 cup butter and sugar in large bowl until blended. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating to blend after each addition. Add dry ingredients alternately with banana mixture in 3 additions, beginning and ending with dry ingredients and beating just until blended after each addition. Divide batter equally among prepared pans.

Bake cakes until tops are just beginning to color and tester inserted into center comes out with a few crumbs attached, about 20 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks 10 minutes. Using small knife, cut around cakes to loosen; turn cakes out onto racks and cool completely.

Beat cream cheese and remaining 1 cup butter in large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in remaining 1 tablespoon vanilla and pinch of salt. Gradually beat in powdered sugar. Cover and refrigerate frosting until firm enough to spread, about 15 minutes.

Place 1 cake layer on platter. Spread 1/2 cup frosting over top. Place half of sliced bananas evenly over frosting, leaving 1/4-inch border at edge. Place second cake layer on work surface. Spread 1/4 cup frosting over top. Place cake layer, frosting side down, atop bananas. Spread 1/2 cup frosting over top. Place remaining half of sliced bananas evenly over frosting, leaving 1/4-inch border at edge. Place third cake layer on work surface. Spread 1/4 cup frosting over top.

Place cake layer, frosting side down, atop bananas. Spread remaining frosting over sides and top of cake. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Let stand 1 hour at room temperature before serving.) I decided to add some caramel drizzle on top of the cake and between the layers. Crazy good!

If you ever have a reason to celebrate with people who love bananas. This is a must!