Home For The Holidays: Emma Chapman's Sweet Treat

Hey everyone, it's Emma. I wanted to share a little holiday treat
recipe that I love to make! Be sure you have some family members or
coworkers to pawn these off on because they are HIGHLY addictive.
These little peanut butter truffles (sometimes called, Buckeyes) are
bite sized, so they are perfect for a holiday party or you can wrap
them up and put them in a little one's stocking.

Here is what you will need to make these little yummies: 1 ounce cream
cheese (softened), 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter, 1/2 cup graham
cracker crumbs, 1 1/2 cups powder sugar, 5 tablespoons unsalted
butter, 6 ounces dark or semi-sweet chocolate and 1 tablespoon
vegetable oil.

In a mixing bowl, combine peanut butter, cream cheese, graham cracker
crumbs and melted butter. Stir until smooth, then stir in powdered
sugar until batter turns to a dough consistency. Form small (2-3
tablespoons) balls and place on wax paper. Put balls in the freezer
while making the coating.

To make the chocolate coating, melt together chocolate and vegetable
oil. I used semi-sweet chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl, coat
in oil. Melt on high for 30 seconds, stir, then melt for another 30
seconds and stir then it should be smooth. Let the chocolate cool for
4-5 minutes. Now using a long skewer or fork, dip the peanut butter
balls in chocolate so it is mostly coated, put them back on the wax
paper. Once you have dipped them all, refrigerate or freeze them for
5-10 minutes until the chocolate is set.

If you use them as stocking stuffers then, wrap them in plastic wrap
and tie them up with a ribbon, or twine or a twistie tie:)

That's it. Serve with milk, trust me:) And just so you know these were
inspired by a recipe from smittenkitchen.com. xo. Emma

Every time I read Emma's blog I get hungry. I just visited to grab her blog URL and suddenly need to eat something sweet and salty at the same time. This girl is not just a pretty face, ya'll. She's quite the reader, really good at hosting parties, makes me laugh with her dry humor, and the only Twilight ally I have among the lovely people that work in store at Red Velvet. Emma, us vampire love story lovers have to stick together! ;)

I could gush about her for another two paragraphs but you should probably just go read her blog and tell her how hungry you are. Thanks, Emma!

Be sure to check in regularly this week and next for more 'Home for the Holidays' inspiration.

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xoxo,
Rachel

My Favorite Summer Treat Other Than S'Mores

source

We bought a blender last month to make our own baby food from organic fruit from the farmer's market. While I still haven't made the first batch, we've been keeping it busy with fruit smoothies for ourselves! They are one of Brett's favorite things to whip up for us and other than maybe one failed experiment, they are all delicious and super healthy. Here's the jist of our favorite so you can make your own after you're done reading this post because you'll be craving one pretty badly. My apologies in advance if you're stuck without a way to the store and all you have in your fridge are eggs and some cream cheese.

Brett's Berry Tasty Smoothie Recipe
(the name is original, the recipe is probably not)

1 carton of raspberries
1 carton of blueberries
1/2 carton of strawberries
2 bananas
2 cups vanilla yogurt
1 cup frozen chocolate chips
1 dollop of honey
Ice to the top of the blender
(30 grams of protein powder optional)
(1 Tablespoon wheat germ optional)

serves four

Talk about antioxidants, right! Use local honey for help with allergies and any other supplements that you can sneak in to make you feel good. The frozen chocolate chips pair well with the berry taste and are a nice little surprise. NO IDEA about calories, protein, etc. but it's definitely a treat you can feel good about.

What are your favorite smoothie combinations?

xoxo,
Rachel

SUPER YUMMY!

image from Simply Recipes

A rice pudding craving has not let up this month so I added 'MORE EGGS' to the shopping list that Brett is in charge of (he's a keeper!) and started in on this recipe during Sebastian's nap time this afternoon. I just googled 'how to make rice pudding' and the pretty picture sold me on it. I'm just like a five year old in that regard.

It takes some attention so don't leave your stove top unattended and be sure to make sure your rice is tender enough before you add in the egg and sugar mixture. My first try turned out pretty great, if not a little sweet. I think I added a Tablespoon of vanilla instead of a teaspoon. And then I put some vanilla on each side of my neck just like my mom taught me. Here's the recipe from SimplyRecipes.com.

Rice Pudding Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups (600 ml) of whole milk
• 1/3 cup (66 grams) of uncooked short grain white rice
• Pinch of salt
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup (50 grams) dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/3 cup (40 grams) raisins

Method

1 In a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the milk, rice and salt to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the rice is tender, about 20-25 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

2 In a small mixing bowl, whisk together egg and brown sugar until well mixed. Add a half cup of the hot rice mixture to the egg mixture, a tablespoon at a time, vigorously whisking to incorporate.

3 Add egg mixture back into the saucepan of rice and milk and stir, on low heat, for 10 minutes or so, until thickened. Be careful not to have the mixture come to a boil at this point. Stir in the vanilla. Remove from heat and stir in the raisins and cinnamon.

Serve warm or cold.

Serves 2-3.*

* I think it may depend on your idea of serving sizes. I think maybe 1.5 unless you're good at sharing!

xoxo,

Rachel