snacks

After school the girls often have popcorn for a snack. Erin now has braces so that is out. I want a quick,easy, simi health but filling snack to have on hand. We all love trail mix. I was thinking of having a container and making seasonal snack mix. I might do 2 containers and keep one peanut free for when we have peanut allergy friends over. Here is a link to one fun one, Seasonal snack mix. I'd love to collect a whole bunch to keep it interesting. I like one I posted here a while ago.

Southwest snack mix, maybe without the popcorn.

Quick Spring Dinner Ideas

With Baseball, Art Shows, concerts, etc... in full swing I try to plan ahead and use the crock pot for meals that whenever someone gets home to eat there is dinner ready! For tonight I decided to try Shephard's Pie, as I had leftover Lamb from Easter. All I needed to do was make Mashed Potatoes and mix frozen veggies and gravy with the lamb. I will post later to let you know how it turned out! Thursday I will be doing

Beer Brisket (from Prevention Slow Cooker)

2 large onions

3-4 Lbs Beef Brisket, fat trimmed

1 bottle of beer

1/2 c chili sauce

2 tsp dried steak seasoning

Place onion in slow cooker, top with beef. Mix chili sauce, beer and steak seasoning. Pour over beef. Cook on low 10-12 hours. Thinly slice across grain. Use slotted spoon to remove onions and place on top of meat. Drizzle some cooking liquid over meat and serve on rolls!

“Food is the most primitive form of comfort.” ― Sheilah Graham
My family has a difficult weekend ahead of us. We lost our dad a year ago Sunday. On top of that, it’s my sister’s birthday, and Easter. Lots of emotional stuff going on for us. So, ... when Said Birthday Sister asked for the recipe for the peanut-butter-chocolate birthday cake I had made her last year while we were all together with my dad (dodging the woman cooking up a Caribbean storm in the kitchen), I wanted to oblige. The problem was, I think I made it up as a I went along, and I don’t think I wrote it down (if I did, I sure can’t put my hands on it now). Here’s an attempt at re-creating it. (I hope my sisters will weigh in if they recall things differently.)
Maureen’s peanut-butter-and-chocolate semi-homemade birthday cake

cake
1 box double chocolate cake mix
½ c peanut butter

ganache
1 c chocolate chips
¼ c peanut butter

frosting
1 can chocolate fudge frosting
¼ c peanut butter

Prepare and bake cake in two or three layers according to package directions, adding peanut butter while mixing.
While the cake is baking, prepare ganache. Melt chocolate chips and peanut butter together in a double boiler over slowly simmering water. (I use a Pyrex bowl over a saucepan so I can keep an eye on how high the water is boiling. The water should never touch the bottom of the bowl (top pan) itself.)
Combine frosting and peanut butter and whip with an electric mixer until fluffy.
When cake has cooled, cover each layer top and sides with ganache, then assemble layers into cake with frosting.
 If you like, you can drizzle some additional melted peanut butter for decoration (and additional deliciousness). Happy Birthday, Maureen. Happy Easter, all.