S'mores Bars

When we were kids, my parents would pack up the van and take us all camping on the weekends during the spring and summer.  I wasn't even a year old when my parents took me on my first camping trip. 

Of course, toasting marshmallows was always (and still is) the best part of a camping trip.  I loved eating burnt and melty marshmallows until my belly hurt!  (Still do!) 

As much as I enjoy marshmallows over the campfire, can you believe that I never ate a S'more until I was an adult?!  I'm not sure why or how that happened, but it's true! 

After not camping for a few years (late teens/early twenties), I met Joe and was happy that he also enjoyed camping and we started taking trips several times a year.  It seemed easier (and more important) to get out into the woods and camp when we lived in our apartment in the city.  Now that we are homeowners (in the country) we haven't been able to get away.  Seems that either Joe is working on the weekends or we have something to do around the house. 

Grace loves the outdoors and nature (especially leaves), so I am sure she would love camping.  Hopefully soon, we'll be able to take her on her first camping trip and show her how to toast some marshmallows!

Until then, I'll be making S'mores in the oven, thanks to a S'mores Dessert recipe posted by Jennifer over at Home Matters.   Be sure to click the link to see Jennifer's photos, her S'mores look nicer stacked on a serving platter than mine! 

S'mores Bars

Ingredients: 

• 3/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 12 graham cracker sheets
• 3 cups mini marshmallows
• 4 Hershey bars

Directions: 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Line cookie sheet with foil and arrange graham crackers in a single layer (I used 14 since I had a little more space on my cookie sheet).
• Melt butter and brown sugar over medium heat until sugar has dissolved. 
• Pour over the graham crackers (I used a silicone basting brush to spread the butter/sugar mixture evenly over the crackers).
• Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes. 
• Now would be a good time to break up those Hershey Bars (I used a couple of hand fulls of chocolate chips leftover from Christmas). 
• Remove crackers from oven and sprinkle with marshmallows and chocolate.
• Return to oven and bake for another 3-4 minutes until marshmallows are puffy and chocolate starts to become melty. 
• For a toasty marshmallow look, put under broiler just a bit...not too long, you don't want to burn them! 
• Allow to cool completely before cutting into small pieces (a pizza cutter made cutting those sticky marshmallows really easy). 

These were really good!  A perfect substitute for the real thing!  I served them for dessert on Super Bowl Sunday.  I wanted to serve them when they were still warm, but I knew that I would forget once we all started eating and visiting and watching those commercials!  My nephews popped their S'mores Bars into the microwave for a few seconds to warm them up a bit! 

Note:  I used too many marshmallows.  My measuring cup was in the dishwasher so I estimated 3 cups.  I don't estimate well, so the result was a lot of marshmallows!  Not really a bad thing! ;)  Mmmmm!

Here's where I'm sharing this recipe: 

• Sweets for a Saturday
• Your Recipe, My Kitchen
• Ultimate Recipe Swap

Menu Plan Monday ~ Week of February 7th ~ Another late edition

Here I am with another late edition of Menu Plan Monday.  Sunday, we had friends over to watch the Superbowl.  I spent most of Saturday and Sunday preparing food and tidying up the house.  By the time our guests left (shortly after half-time and dessert), I just didn't have the energy to post this week's menu plan (or even try to put together a menu).  Monday was errand day, so that's why I'm posting late (again) this week. 

As usual, I made too much food.  But with 2 big men with hearty appetites and 3 teenage boys watching the game (plus us girls) I didn't want to take any chances on running out of food! 




Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili

In the middle of the week, Joe requested that I make two types of chili for game day:  Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili and Chipotle Turkey Chili in addition to a batch of enchiladas.  I made 2 boxes of Jiffy cornbread and some rice to serve along with the chili.  Our friends brought wings from our favorite local place and some homemade deviled eggs (Joe's favorite).



Chipotle Turkey Chili

We also snacked on a veggie tray and some chips and dip.  Dessert was a store-bought ice cream cake and some S'mores Bars that I made following a recipe that I saw on Jennifer's blog, Home Matters. 




S'mores Bars




Grace really enjoyed having guests for dinner and even watched a bit of the game! 




Paying close attention to the game! 




Since I made too much food, this week will be all about the leftovers!  Not only will that make it an easy week for me, it should also keep us from the grocery store this week! 

• Monday:  Black Bean & Sweet Potato Chili over cornbread, fresh carrot sticks and ranch dressing.  I love having veggies leftover when I make a vegetable tray.  It makes it so much easier to make a healthy snack or side-dish decision when they are prepped and ready for eating!  

• Tuesday:  Breakfast for Dinner.  Sausage, eggs and hashbrown casserole.  We never got around the the breakfast for dinner that I scheduled last week.  Since I already shredded the cheese for the hashbrown casserole, we need to make that this week.  Not a problem since we LOVE it! 

• Wednesday:  Spaghetti, meatballs, garlic bread.  Last week, I found myself needing something quick for dinner after an afternoon out with my parents.  I found some frozen meatballs in the freezer, threw them in the crock pot with some sauce and had meatball sandwiches for dinner.  We still have some leftover meatballs, so boil up some pasta  and hopefully finish up those meatballs. 

• Thursday:  Chipotle Turkey Chili over rice.  Mmmm!  My favorite!  I could eat this every night of the week and never be tired of it!  But instead, whatever is left of this chili after this meal, will go into the freezer for another week. 

• Friday:  Hot dogs, Our Favorite Baked Beans, baked potatoes.  There was a sale on potatoes last week.  I'm going to make some potato soup with 5lbs of the potatoes and the rest will be for side dishes (mashed, baked, fried).

• Saturday:  leftover buffet.  If we somehow manage to finish all of the leftovers by Saturday, then I will make some Tuna Noodle Casserole (another meal carried over from last week). 

• Sunday:  Chinese food is our usual go-to take out for special occasions.  Since Valentine's Day is on Monday, we'll most likely "celebrate" on Sunday.  It's been a few months since we've ordered Chinese.....I wonder what I'll choose!  I'm also thinking of picking up a few Red Velvet Cupcakes for dessert from a cute little place in our town.  I've been wanting an excuse to check it out since it's opened recently. 

Pasta with Easy Tomato Bacon Sauce

This is a yummy pasta sauce that is a step away from the traditional tomato and meat sauce that we normally eat.


I read about this recipe on the Parents Magazine website. I was hooked as soon as I read the first ingredient: BACON! MMmmm! I knew I had to make this recipe.

Easy Tomato-Bacon Pasta Sauce


Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. bacon, diced
• 28oz. diced tomatoes, with juice
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• several dashes crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 lb. (or more) of your favorite pasta, cooked

Directions: 

• Cook diced bacon on medium heat until cooked through, but not crisp. 
• Drain bacon on paper towels, set aside. 
• Discard drippings. DO NOT WIPE OUT THE PAN!  
• Turn heat up to medium-high.
• Add tomatoes (with juice) and seasonings to the pan, stir.
• Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Remove from heat, add peas, sour cream and drained bacon.
• Pour over your favorite cooked pasta and serve. 

Notes: 

• I rarely follow a recipe as it's written, this is one of the few exceptions.  Although, I did add some crushed red pepper flakes for an extra kick! 

We really love this recipe!  It's quick and easy!  Frugal too, if there's a sale on bacon! 

This post can also be found on my other blog, My Vintage Kitchen.

I'll be linking this post to the following blog carnivals: 

• Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday
• It's A Keeper Thursdays
• Hookin Up with HoH
• Frugal Food Thursdays
• Food On Fridays
• Foodie Friday
• Fat Camp Friday

Wordless Wednesday ~ Ice Storm

Anyone that knows me in real life, knows how much I hate the icy weather.  The winter after Joe and I were married, I slipped and fell on the ice on my way to work.  After spending nearly 2 hours sprawled on the sidewalk in slush and ice, I finally made it to the hospital to find out that I broke my leg in 4 places!  Needless to say, I stay in if there's ice on the ground.  I don't even walk out to the mailbox. 

Joe is working today.  Knowing that he is out in this weather worries me and causes a lot of anxiety. I won't feel better until he is home and off of the icy roads. 

All of that said, I can still appreciate the beauty of the ice on the trees.  Here are a couple of pictures I took this morning from the safety of my dry back porch:

Okay, time for some cocoa!  Stay warm, friends!

You can find this post linked to the following blog hops: 

• Say Cheese!  at It's a Blog Party!
• Outdoor Wednesday at A Southern Daydreamer

Menu Plan Monday ~ Week of Jan 30th ~ a day late

Last week was a blur.  The days passed by so quickly that on Thursday, I was completely amazed that the weekend was almost here.  As usual, we didn't have big plans for the weekend.  Joe managed to pick up some extra hours at work over the weekend.  That will be a big help in getting caught up on some bills next month.

I had to make a few changes to last weeks menu plan, mainly because (again) I made too much food for our small family.  And since I am determined to empty my chest freezer, I decided we would just eat a lot of leftovers rather than add them to my still-full freezer!  So a couple of meals from the menu plan were skipped.

I'm a day late for menu planning, but still wanted to get this posted. 

• Monday:  Chicken Noodle Soup
• Tuesday:  Breakfast
• Wednesday:  Easy Tomato-Bacon Sauce over pasta
• Thursday:  Black Bean Soup
• Friday:  Leftovers
• Saturday:  Tuna Noodle Casserole
• Sunday:  Super Bowl (still undecided)

I'll be sharing the recipes from this week with you soon!  I've made the Tomato Bacon Sauce before, but didn't take a picture yet.  And I have a picture of the Tuna Noodle Casserole, but I never wrote down the recipe!  So, this week, I'll force myself to take care of those details so I can finally share those recipes here. 

I hope everyone has a great week!