Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

I know, I had you at the title right? These are amazing! Sissy posted about them a while back and I couldn't get them out of my mind! I made these for our American Idol (YEA, David Cook) Finale party. We topped them with ice cream (vanilla & American Idol mint cookie crunch) and homemade hot fudge -they were amazing! Here is the link to Ina's recipe with the PB, but it's really easy you just swirl the peanut butter and bake. I sprinkled a few peanuts on top for added crunch and flavor! This will solve all your chocolate cravings!

Freezer Cooking

I'm joining two friends to try out freezer cooking. We are all making three (family sized) servings of four different meals plus one side dish. Tonight we are getting together to "swap" meals. These are the four I have in our freezer-

Turkey Taco's

This recipe is my invention- but really yummy! I also use this meat for taco salad and yesterday I even threw it in a basic mac and cheese recipe for a quick pasta dish.

Pulled Pork We already ate our serving of this, and I must say it was really good. This is a great summer slow cooker recipe.

Rub:

boneless pork shoulder (about 4 to 41/2 pounds- I used two roasts for 3 families)

4 tablespoons kosher

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar

1/4 cup paprika

2 to 3 sprigs thyme, leaves only

4 cloves garlic

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Scant 1 tablespoon cayenne (I used way less)

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Cook on low in slow cooker for 10 hours. Chill in fridge, remove fat and shred. Mix in favorite bbq sauce and bag to freeze. To serve: Defrost in fridge overnight, reheat on low in skillet or in microwave and served on buttered, toasted buns. Yum!

Freezer Mashed Potatoes

This is a new recipe I'm going to try- I'll add roasted garlic.

Garlic Lemon Chicken

This is a Karlson family recipe I can make with my eyes closed. It is my go-to summer recipe when entertaining because it always turns out and everyone seems to like it (and it is easy!). This works for any type of chicken but I usually use bone-in or boneless breasts.

Marinade:

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1/3 olive oil

3 (or more) cloves of garlic, minced

1 T. soy sauce (gives chicken great color)

Kosher salt and pepper to taste

One Tablespoon fresh (or teaspoon dried) of each:

Basil

Oregano

Thyme

Rosemary

I really like how this turns out with fresh herbs- but I used dried because we are freezing it and herbs turn black in the freezer.

Marinate for a few hours then grill.

Marinated Tri-Tip Steaks

Marinade:

Garlic salt to taste

Pepper to taste

1/4 c. Kikkoman teriyaki sauce

1/4 c. soy sauce

1/4 c. red wine

This is a new recipe- I hope the girls like it!

I have been cooking up a storm this week (and my kitchen now needs a serious deep cleaning!). Next week I'm looking forward to kicking back and just pulling dinner out of the freezer!

Baby Shower

We had a very cute Baby Shower for my friend Jen. She's having a baby girl and that was a great excuse to have a brown/pink theme (one of my favs).

My inspiration for the food part was cupcakes! I figured that everyone woman needs an excuse to eat a really good cupcake. We used Ina's recipes for the chocolate peanut butter cupcakes and the coconut cupcakes wow were they good! We also had chocolate with pink frosting (they were really cute w/sprinkles) and white with chocolate frosting. We kept it mostly in the brown/pink theme.

Ina's Croissant Bread Pudding

We had some leftover (read stale!) croissants from the bridal shower last week. Eric remembered this recipe from Ina and decided to try it out today. We rarely make dessert unless we are having guests over so this was a serious treat. We topped it off with a carmel rum sauce and holy smokes- good stuff!

Dinner this week:

Honestly- I don't follow these recipes too closely (click on links), they are more of a jumping off point for me...

Steak Fajitas {Tyler's amazing mariade! Worth trying- also awesome on chicken}

Thai Chicken Wraps {I'll probably simplify this recipe a bit}

Philly Cheese Steaks {Never made these before- still craving beef though!}

Portabella Ravioli {in the freezer from Sam's} with chicken and alfredo sauce

Country Style Pork Ribs on sale this week at Vons {but this is an Eric meal}

Taco Salad {never fails me!} Everyone has their own version...mine is with ground turkey and a 50/50 salsa & sour cream dressing

My new favorite sandwich

Four simple ingredients:

baguette

+

raspberry jam

+
sliced brie

+

ham

= really amazing, really delicious sandwich!

After having this at a family party recently, I decided to add these to the menu of the bridal shower last weekend. They were so easy and really a big hit. I think they are perfect for a bruch or a luncheon. Plus they are great at room tempurature- so great for buffets or open houses.

* Pictures of the shower coming soon!

Menu for Bridal Shower

I'm throwing a bridal shower luncheon in 10 days and I still need to nail down so many details! I think I have my menu planned- (I would love feedback and/or ideas).


Chicken Salad on Petite Croissants
Spinach Salad with Strawberries and Brianna's Red Wine Vinaigrette
Fresh Fruit Salad
Crudités Platter
Additional Side Salads (provided by bridesmaids offering to help)
Chocolate Cake by Eddie's Pastries for dessert
Strawberry Lemonade


Now ideas for favors and games...?