Smitten with s’meaches!

Ever hear of s’meaches before? Me either, but now that I have, that’s it, it’s over. I am smitten! s’meaches = s’mores + peaches. Genius!

Thank you, Kitchy Kitchen, from the bottom of my heart!

via Doobybrain

Carbohydrate Friday: Sopapilla Cheesecake!

My sweet tooth has been in overdrive lately. As has my appetite as a whole… which is not good news for my pants, however. Ah, what the hell, I’m on a roll. Why stop now?

SOPAPILLA CHEESECAKE
via My Yellow Umbrella 

Ice cream BOGO!

Now through July 4th, its BOGO time at Baskin Robbins! Buy a scoop, get a scoop! I scream, you scream – let’s all scream for free ice cream! Yay!

Carbohydrate Friday: Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie!

I am not a baker by any stretch of the imagination (I don’t like to measure things). But for this recipe I am willing to make an exception. Quite possibly this weekend. Now excuse me, I have to get a towel to wipe the drool off my keyboard…

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE PIE
via Love From the Oven 

Spirited sweets

Add a whole new level of interest to your cooking with the Boozy Baker cookbook. With 75 intoxicating recipes, you can now kill two birds with one stone by getting your drink on while you satisfy your sweet tooth. I’m all for multi-tasking, so this is right up my alley!

Chocomize

At Chocomize, customers can select their favorite chocolate bark base (dark, milk, or white) and then add up to five out of 90 fine ingredients to create their choice chocolate bar. This allows for more than 10 billion possible chocolate combinations. In other words, if every citizen of New York City ate one different chocolate bar a day, it would take over 3 years until two people had exactly the same chocolate bar.

Now that’s A LOT of chocolate bars. And with so many possibilities, it’s virtually impossible to ever tire of them. They have 20 different kinds of nuts, over a dozen different kinds of fruit, eleven herbs & spices, candy, decorations (like “Happy Birthday” for example) and even obscure additions like beef jerky and vegetarian bacon (?). I’m overwhelmed just thinking about all the chocolate bars I could make! Fat pants, here I come!

via Cup of Joe

Carbohydrate Friday!

Okay, so even though fall hasn’t officially shown here in So Cal, word on the street is that it is showing up in other areas of the nation. So I suppose that makes it officially time for fall food – hearty soups, toasty cinnamon flavors and pumpkin. Lots of pumpkin. So here’s to fall – wherever you are!

PUMPKIN PIE MILKSHAKE
via Our Best Bites

1/3 C pumpkin
1/4 – 1/2 C milk
1/4 t vanilla
1/2 t cinnamon
1/16 t cloves (just use a 1/8 t measure and fill it half way, or do a pinch)
1/16 t nutmeg
2 T brown sugar
2 C vanilla ice cream
a few graham crackers

Pop it all in a blender. Start with 1/4 C milk and then slowly add more if needed to make the blender process it all. Sprinkle with crushed graham cracker crumbs before serving.

Carbohydrate Friday (a.k.a. – I’ve got potential!)

If you missed the last carb friday post, I’m considering changing its name to “I’ve got potential” because with all these recipes, getting fat is the one thing I am confident I have the ability to do. But until that happens – LET’S EAT!

NUTELLA POUND CAKE
via Dana Treat

1 1/2 cups flour, plus more for dusting
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
One 13-ounce jar Nutella

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease and flour a 9-by-5 inch loaf pan, tapping out any excess flour. In a glass measuring cup, lightly beat the eggs with the vanilla. In a medium bowl, whisk the 1 1/2 cups of flour with the baking powder and salt.
2. In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat the butter with the sugar at medium-high speed utnil fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the mixer at medium-low speed, gradually beat in the egg mixture until fully incorporated. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, beating at low speed between additions until just incorporated. Continue to beat for 30 seconds longer.
3. Spread one-third of the batter in the prepared pan, then spread half of the Nutella on top.  Repeat with another third of the batter and the remaining Nutella. Top with the remaining batter. Lightly swirl the Nutella into the batter with a butter knife. Do not overmix.
4. Bake the cake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto a wire rack, turn it right side up and let cool completely, about 2 hours.  Cut the cake into slices and serve.

Carbohydrate Friday!

I think I should change the name of carb Fridays to “I’ve got potential.” Potential to be really fat. Like really, really, grossly obese fat. So on that note, let’s drink to this week’s recipe.

CARAMELIZED BANANA CRISP WITH HOT BUTTER RUM SAUCE
via spork or foon

For the bananas:

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 medium bananas

Melt butter in large sauce pan over medium heat. Add brown sugar and lower heat to a simmer for 2 minutes. Slice bananas on the diagonal into 1/3″ slices. Arrange in a single layer int he sauce pan, turning after 2 minutes, until golden brown on each side.

For the crisp:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/4 cup oats
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 6 tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter or spray two individual ramekins. Combine bananas, sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon in a ramekin. Mix sugar, flour, oats and salt. Cut in butter until if forms crumbs. Scatter mixture over batter and bake 40 minutes or until browned.

Carbohydrate Friday!

Hooray for long weekends! Too bad we don’t have them more often. Perhaps if we moved to Utah…

Anyhow, this is the perfect recipe to get you prepped for the long weekend (or celebrate it at the end – whichever you choose)! Hope you have lots of sunshine (with 800 degree weather like we’re having), lots of laughs, a few (or a lot) of tasty cocktails and overall a really great 3-day weekend!

Happy Labor Day!

BURNT MARSHMALLOW S’MORES
via Conversations with a Cupcake

1 king-sized milk chocolate Hershey’s Bar
1 king-sized Hershey’s Cookies & Cream Bar
1 bag large marshmallows
10-12 Oreo cookies, finely crushed
6 thin wooden dowels cut into 10-inch sticks

In two small, separate bowls, melt chocolate bars. Dip one half of a marshmallow in the melted cookies and cream bowl. Turn it upside down and spear it onto the tip of a dowel. Dip the other half of the marshmallow into the bowl of melted milk chocolate, the press firmly into the Oreo crumbs. Eat immediately or allow chocolate to harden before serving.