Peanut Butter and Jelly S'mores {Improv Cooking Challenge}

Hey friends! It's time for another round of the Improv Cooking Challenge, hosted by Kristen from Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker! 

For this month we had to pick something peanut butter and jelly related. Can you believe I was never crazy about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? Yeah, I was that kid. Weird. So I was excited to see what other peanut butter and jelly recipes live out there in the vast world of recipes. I went through my longgggg list - like 200 pages worth - of recipes from blogs that I've wanted to try, did a search for "peanut butter and jelly", and was oohing and aahing over my options. Did you know there are tons of peanut butter and jelly bars and cupcake recipes out there? I'll try them one day, but for now I was drawn to these peanut butter and jelly s'mores. Uh, genius! I love when I can find a unique, creative recipe. I hadn't heard of this idea before and was intrigued. Cuz I used to love s'mores. Loved my marshmallows burnt. Extra burnt.

The only change I made was that I added some chocolate to it too, to make it a true s'mores. Plus the peanut butter and jelly of course. 

Overdoing it? I.think.not.

Peanut Butter and Jelly S'mores

slightly adapted from Cookin' Up North

• creamy peanut butter
• strawberry jelly (or whatever kind you prefer)
• graham cracker
• 2 marshmallows
• 2 squares of chocolate (I used a Symphony milk chocolate candy bar)

For one s'more, break a graham cracker in half and spread with peanut butter and jelly. I used 2 normal sized marshmallows. Stick a square of chocolate in each of the 2 normal sized marshmallows and roast until marshmallows are browned to your satisfaction. Put on top of the peanut butter and jelly-topped graham cracker and then top with the other graham cracker half.

Printable Recipe

Looks like PJ was ready to dive in head first. We enjoyed this treat! It was fun to "roast" the marshmallows on the stove, but it would of course be a great idea for camping too. Put a twist on the old s'more, plus it's so easy to bring along some peanut butter and jelly too.

Oh, and check out the other Improvers' peanut butter and jelly recipes below:

Linking up here.

Peace, and bacon grease!

Lemon Sour Cream Pie {Improv Cooking Challenge}

Lemon desserts.

I used to never be a fan of them. Then I got older and I became less of a picky child and more of an openminded adult, and I discovered that my taste buds have changed. I thank that magical lemon bar from BonBonerie that I tried a little while back. Oh, with its shortbread-like crust and its tart, creamy filling... I found a piece of heaven I had been missing for so long. Now I'm all about the lemon desserts. Always open to try one.

Now I was on a mission to change PJ's mind. He said he'd worn himself out on lemon desserts and thought he didn't like them anymore. Just like he thought he didn't like pumpkin until he tried this. I've got to let him try that lemon bar from BonBonerie. But until then, I wanted to make him  us {ok me!} this pie...

You see, this months Improv Cooking Challenge theme was lemons and sour cream. I searched high and low in my 'must-try recipes' word document (yes, I have a document saved with millions of recipes listed that I want to try), searched on pinterest, and finally discovered the perfect pick: this Lemon Sour Cream Tart. Oh snap, I was all over that.

I used a 9-inch graham cracker crust rather than an ordinary pie crust because I'll snatch up any opportunity to use a graham cracker crust. I chose to bake mine for a little bit according to the package directions, but you don't have to bake it at all if you don't want. Completely up to you.

Lemon Sour Cream Pie

slightly adapted from One Perfect Bite

• 1 (9-inch) graham cracker crust
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 3 egg yolks, beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup heavy cream, whipped

If you want to toast the graham cracker crust a bit, preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake according to directions on package. Cool to room temperature.

Combine sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest and juice, egg yolks, and milk in a heavy saucepan. Cook on medium heat until thick, stirring constantly. Add butter and let mixture cool to room temperature. Stir in sour cream and pour filling into tart shell.

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Top with dollops of whipped cream just before serving. Yield 8 to 10 servings.

Printable Recipe

I just realized I forgot to take a photo with the whipped topping. Oopsies. Oh well, look at Mary's... her slice is beautiful especially with that dollop of whipped topping! And the slice (ok, many slices) I had were so delicious even without it.

Loved this pie, and PJ even liked it when he had a slice, especially with that graham cracker crust. See, that's some good stuff. Can't wait to make some more lemony treats!

Be sure to check out other lemon and sour cream goodies from the Improv Cooking Challenge in the blog hop below:



Linking up here and here.


Peace, and bacon grease!

Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese {Improv Cooking Challenge}

Good morning, friends. 

Today I'm bringing you a delicious topper for your breakfast bagel or toast... Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese. For so long, I've thought I didn't like pumpkin much. Since I had to make something containing pumpkin and cream cheese for this month's Improv Cooking Challenge and still wanted to participate, I figured I would test out my taste buds again and see how I felt about pumpkin now. I mean, I had seen so many delicious-looking pumpkin recipes all over pinterest and different blogs that were calling me to try them. This was definitely one of them.

Now that I see the photo on the screen I think I'll re-edit it tonight

And you know what? I'm so glad we did! We both were surprised at how much we loved this cream cheese. I like mine for breakfast on a cinnamon raisin bagel. MMM....

Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese

from Pinch My Salt

• 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1/4 cup Libby's canned pumpkin
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small bowl, beat softened cream cheese, sugar, and syrup til creamy. Add pumpkin, spices and vanilla and beat til smooth. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

Printable Recipe

Oh yeah, and I finally splurged and bought some of the pricier vanilla extract. I've heard it's the only way to go. We'll see if I'll be able to taste the difference.

This spread really was delicious! I'm so glad I got a little bit of a pumpkin fix this fall season. I'd love to dabble some more in the pumpkin fields before the season is over.

And check out all of the other pumpkin and cream cheese recipes in the blog hop below:

Peace, and bacon grease!

Caramel Apple Marshmallow Dip {Improv Cooking Challenge} + {Week 4 of The 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies and Sweets!}

Top of the morning to you! I was recently contacted by Sheryl at Lady Behind the Curtain to participate in a monthly cooking challenge called The Improv Cooking Challenge, where each month we all have to make a dish that features two specific ingredients. I was all over that! 

For October, the first month, we had to make something with Caramel and Apple. That's where all those caramel apple recipes I've bookmarked came in handy, and I finally settled on this version of Caramel Apple Dip. I've seen variations of this simple yet delicious snack slash dessert recipe showing up all over the blogsphere and knew it would be made one fall day with some crisp apples. This was the perfect opportunity.

As you know, I'm also participating in The 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies and Sweets weekly challenge, hosted by Brenda at Meal Planning Magic. Not gonna lie, it's tough to come up with a recipe to make every week, as well as find the time to make it during the week. So I figured why not kill two birds with one stone? So I'm submitting this Caramel Apple Dip to both linkies. This counts as a holiday "sweet", right? I say yes. Nod with me.

The slight modifications I made to the recipe were that I used dark brown sugar instead of light brown sugar, and Hershey's caramel topping not Ghiradelli. We only needed 4 apples total instead of 6-8, (since there is only me and Peej), and used 2 granny smith apples and 2 honeycrisps. Had to use those honeycrisps since they're in season! Her recipe says to use 1/4-1/2 cup caramel, so we used 1/3 cup. We also didn't really measure out the heath bits... we just used as much as it took to completely cover the dip. I'll leave Tina's measurement of 1/2 cup heath bits since we just winged it. Oh yeah, and I added in the word "marshmallow" to the title, because in the future I hope to make a similar caramel apple recipe that doesn't include marshmallow, so I'll probably call that just Caramel Apple Dip, so I'll need to be able to differentiate the two. 

I'm always thinking ahead like that. Ok not always but usually. Ok not usually but sometimes. Ok ok hardly ever.

Caramel Apple Marshmallow Dip

ever so slightly adapted from Mommy's Kitchen

• 8-oz block of cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup marshmallow cream
• 1/3 cup Hershey's caramel topping, + more for drizzling
• 1 tbsp dark brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup heath toffee bits (or however much you want to cover the dip)
• 2 granny smith apples, sliced
• 2 honeycrisp apples, sliced

Blend cream cheese and marshmallow cream in a medium mixing bowl until creamy. Add 1/3 cup caramel, dark brown sugar, and vanilla and blend until smooth. Transfer to a decorative bowl, or the center of a platter. Drizzle more caramel topping on top and sprinkle generously with toffee bits. If using bowl, place it in the center of a platter and surround with the sliced apples.

Printable Recipe

We couldn't stop eating this! It's a sweet dip, so it was kinda like our dessert before dinner. I'm so glad I've got some leftover for a snack tomorrow at work, too!

Don't worry, PJ already knows about my love affair with caramel  :)

Be sure to check out the Improv Cooking Challenge blog hop below!

And check out some tasty treats at The 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies and Sweets blog hop below, too!

Peace, and bacon grease!