I'm still here and a few recipes...

Okay - so, I haven't been as consistent as I'd have liked to be, but I'm working on it.  I checked out some books from the library today that talk about herbs, and I'm gong to be planting some for my kitchen.  We actually have some growing cauliflower and broccoli in our seed pots in the basement!

I also have some recipes to share, and pictures I remembered to take while baking!  So, I haven' totally forgotten my mission in life...lol

Anyway - I have two great recipes.  One is totally healthy, the other is a little less so, but at least it's somewhat good for you.  ;)

First the good stuff....

Who out there loves the Reeses Peanut Butter Cups?  Well, me, not so much any more, but when I did love them, my favorite thing in the world was when holidays came around and they made the eggs, pumpkins and trees.  For some reason those tasted even better than the regular ones.

Now that I'm not into milk chocolate, I don't enjoy them any more.  In fact, they are just tooo... ugh.  ;(  which makes me a little sad, but ya know.  So, then I saw sites about making them at home.  The thought had NEVER occurred to me!!  So, I decided I could do that!  and last Friday I decided to experiment for this weekend (since I wanted time to make sure they were going to work before feeding them to granddaughter #1.  ;)  In looking for them, did you know there are TONS of recipes for how to make them???  Everything from including cream cheese to graham crackers to honey and coconut oil.  sigh.  I ended up kind of making a conglomerate of the ones I found.  Though, these sites had some of the best:

Homemade Peanutbutter Eggs
Savory Stuff Blog
The wannabe Chef

So, here is my first attempt.

I put all the stuff together and then cut them out.  I don't have an egg shaped cookie cutter, so they were round.  Then I realized I could make them a little egg shaped, and tried that.

Not quite the same, but you get the idea.  Then, I did the whole dipping into chocolate.

I did two batches, and two different kinds of peanut butter.  The round ones are smooth peanutbutter, the egg shapes are crunchy.  All of them are dark chocolate.

They weren't as pretty as some, but I figure they weren't bad for my first attempt.  The boys loved them, which I guess is something.  For me, they needed something.  I think perhaps semi-sweets would be better than the dark chocolate Guaradellis that I used.  I'm not sure.  Obviously they aren't the production based items, so I guess they aren't going to taste the same.  They were still good, I just need to try another batch and see if I can be happy with them.

Here's the recipe for them should you want to try them:

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 C xagave nectar

1/2 cup powdered sugar

4 oz Guaradelli semi-sweet chocolate chips, (60%)

Mix together the peanut butter, nectar and powdered sugar till it forms a somewhat sticky dough.  Then roll it out in powdered sugar.  Not too thin...cut out in desired shapes, and then stick in freezer while you melt the chocolate.  Follow package directions for melting - usually half power in a microwave does it and stirring....  After you've melted it, pull the pan of eggs out of the freezer and dip them in the chocolate, covering every inch.  Put them back on the tray and back in the freezer.  The only thing I found is that you need to bring them out a few minutes before eating so that they're soft enough to eat!!  lol

The second thing I wanted to share was microwave potato chips.  I know I've mentioned them somewhere, but I'm not sure when or which location, so I'm doing it again.  

These are the best!!  I'm not a big potato chip fan, and I love these!  Probably because they aren't as salty as store bought brands.  I can add however much salt I want.  Everyone chows down on them, so you can tell they're a hit.

I've seen this on several blogs, but I don't remember which one made me think I could do it, so I can't give credit to anyone...

They're really simple.  Really.

First you need potatos and a mandolin, or some kind of slicer that gets them really thin.  We have one that we bought at the state fair EONS ago and still works marvelously.  We just have to make sure we don't take off the tops of our fingers...have done it once or twice.  ;)

I used several potatoes for this batch because I was feeding all my kids.  Usually it's just one potato because one potato sliced really thin makes a LOT.

Rinse them REALLY good - you want to get rid of all the starch you can.  Then lay them flat on a large kitchen hand towel, and carefully roll it up.  Then take a paper towel and unroll the potatoes and lay them on the paper towel.  Spray with pan spray and sprinkle with some sea salt.  Stick in the microwave on high for 2 minutes, and then check them.  I usually have to add additional time, 30 to 60 seconds.  they should be golden around the edges and some in the middle.  They should be crisp!  If they aren't, then keep cooking.

then take them out and enjoy!!

Anyway - that's my contribution for the week.  Hope you have a great Easter!