Our Snowy Weekend - A Bit Late

So this was our Valentine's weekend (a bit late). My friend Ross and I found ourselves trying to drive 100 miles to our hometown in the snow and ice. It might be no biggie for our northern neighbors, but in case you haven't heard, snow shuts us southern folk down.

But we lived! And of course... took pictures. :)

Heels in ice and snow? Of course!

Peanut Butter Bars

Do you ever look at the recipes on boxes? I'll admit I rarely do. I just empty the contents, make my food and move on. But I picked up a box of Krusteaz Bakery Style Peanut Butter Cookie Mix recently and found their recipe for Peanut Butter & Chocolate Bars.

Perfect, I thought! I have some extra chocolate chips and some extra peanut butter chips. I'll mix those. It'll be great. And then last Friday, I ran across the Foodie Friday First Anniversary post over at Designs by Gollum. Ahhh, well. She does do it better! :)


So here you go... Peanut Butter & Chocolate Bars

Ingredients
1 box Krusteaz Bakery Style Peanut Butter Cookie Mix
1 tbsp water
1 egg
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter chips

What You'll Do
- In a large bowl, blend the water, egg, and vegetable oil. Add cookie mix and blend until dough forms. Hand kneading is necessary.

- Lightly spray a pan. They recommend a 9x9x2. I used a 11.5x7, I think. (Is that even a size? ha!) Press dough into the pan. I made a bit of a lip on the sides all the way around.


- Sprinkle the chocolate and peanut butter chips, pressing them into the dough.


- Bake 22 to 28 minutes.


I'll be looking at the recipes on the boxes from now on!

Broccoli Cheese Chicken Casserole

Let's have a quick heart-to-heart. How often do you walk into your kitchen, have zero planned for dinner, throw your hands up in disgust, and just order a pizza?

Guilty as charged. Very guilty as charged.

But not this time. No ma'am. I had things in my fridge and pantry that needed to be used and a quickly-dwindling back account that didn't.

So what did I come up with? Cheesy Broccoli Chicken Casserole.

The name needs some work, but the dish is delish!

Ingredients (all were in my fridge/pantry, and I bet they're in yours too!)
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken
2 cans condensed broccoli and cheese soup
1 package frozen broccoli cuts, cooked and drained
1 12 ounce container sour cream
3 tbsp butter
1 pack butter crackers (about 30 crackers)

What You'll Do
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces and cook in a skillet until done, about 5 minutes (depending on the size of your chicken).


In a large bowl, combine condensed soup, broccoli (that has been cooked and drained -- I love Steamfresh for this!), and sour cream. Add chicken and mix well.


Spray a casserole dish (I used a 2-quart pan) lightly with cooking spray. Pour chicken mixture into pan and spread out evenly.


In a microwave-safe bowl, melt butter. Put butter crackers into a zip lock bag and crush. Mix butter and crackers and spoon out on top of the casserole.

Bake in the oven 35 to 40 minutes or until hot and bubbly. I served this with a side of green beans (double the veggies) and mini roasted potatoes.




It makes great leftovers too!

Free Flapjacks

Tomorrow only, the International House of Pancakes (IHOP) is celebrating their fifth National Pancake Day by offering a free short stack to... everyone!

In exchange for the free grub, IHOP asks you to make a contribution to Children's Miracle Network or a local charity of your choice.

Their fundraising goal: $1.75 million!

Go grab a stack. And you know, give a little.

Psst... you can even receive a celebrity wake-up call so you don't miss out on the giving and getting!

Lucky in Pillow-making

Maybe it's because green is my favorite color. Or maybe it's because in my college days I spent a week in Ireland driving around with some of the best friends a gal could ask for. Or maybe it's because I feel a long-lost connection to my Irish roots. I just love St. Patrick's Day.

(It's probably not the long-lost connection thing.)

With a little help from my mom (okay, she did the whole thing), she whipped up these adorable pillows for my couch.

Am I the luckiest girl to have such a talented mom (who doesn't insist on my learning to sew but does these projects for me), or what?

Today, I'm joining these blog parties.

Pizza Pasta

This is an oh-so-fun, kid-friendly spin on pizza and pasta (two of my favorite things). You can mix and match any of the "toppings" for whatever your family likes. If you try this, let me know what you used. I'd love to try other ideas.

Ingredients
1 (12-ounce) package penne pasta
1 small onion, chopped
1 (14 ounce) jar pizza sauce
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (3 1/4 ounce) package sliced pepperoni, cut in half
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 small can sliced black olives
1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

What You'll Do
- Bring a large pot of (lightly) salted water to a boil. Stir in pasta and cook until pasta is al dente. Drain.


- In a skillet over medium heat, cook the onions until tender.

- In a large bowl, mix the pizza sauce and tomato sauce. Stir in the onion, pepperoni, mushrooms, olives, and 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. Gently mix in the cooked pasta until pasta is evenly coated. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.

- Cover with aluminium and bake 30 minutes.

- Remove aluminium, top with remaining 1 cup cheese and bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

I'm joining this blog party today...

Great Giveaway

Since it's Foodie February, I can't help but mention this great giveaway going on over at The Gaines Gang.


I don't own any Le Creuset pieces, but I am dying to start my collection. Maybe this will be a great way to do it! :)

So hurry on over, follow, and enter!

Good luck!