The Behrend's : March 2015

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Caramel Chex

I've made Muddy Buddies, Lemon Buddies, and even Christmas Chex! But, Caramel Chex is hands down my new favorite. It stays so crispy and the buttery coating is superb. It's been tough to keep Haley out of it (not that I've been too successful myself). The kicker for this recipe, it's only 4 ingredients! It takes just a few minutes to put together, and cools down quickly which means you can enjoy it even sooner. You could literally make this in the middle of a party and no one would even notice you're missing.

Ingredients:
8 cups rice Chex cereal
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 stick salted butter
1 cup dark brown sugar

Add the dry cereal to a large microwave safe bowl. In a saucepan, melt together the corn syrup, butter and brown sugar until smooth. Pour over the cereal and gently fold until everything is coated. Then place the entire bowl in the microwave and heat for one minute. Remove the bowl and stir. Continue this process for another 4 minutes (stirring after every minute). (Be careful not to lick the spoon because it will be hot, however I do understand that the struggle is real). Once the cereal is hot and you can smell the cooked butter, spread onto wax paper to cool. Once cooled the cereal well gently break up. Place in an airtight container. Enjoy!

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Lila and Colston

My home studio has been filled with lots of little baby love!

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Warm Apple Crisp

Nothing says fall like a warm and gooey apple crisp!

Oh wait... Its spring!

But really, is there ever a bad time to enjoy an apple crisp. I love everything about apples. Fresh, baked, in dumplings, applesauce. There is something so inviting about the sweet cinnamon smell of a fresh baked crisp. We are HUGE oatmeal lovers so fortunately for me, I always have a large container on hand. That makes it easy for days like this when we want a nice dessert, but don't want to spend our afternoon at the local grocery store. Owen went through a bit of an apple obsession. Thankfully, he's come down from his need to constantly have one, but we like to keep a few on hand. Costco has great prices on bulk apples, so we always grab a bag when we're there.

This recipe came together super fast! A quick 30 minute bake and its ready for indulging. (Excuse me while I wipe the crumbs from my lip.)

Ingredients:

For the crumb topping:
1/2 cup self rising flour
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup chilled butter, cubed

For the apples:
2 large baking apples
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp skim milk
2 tbsp water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
dash of salt

Start by peeling, coring and slicing your apples. Place on the bottom of a prepared 8x8 baking dish. Set aside. Put together the crumb topping but mixing together all the ingredients except the butter. Cut the cold butter into the mixture with a fork, until a crumble forms. Set aside. Mix together the flour, lemon juice, skim milk, vanilla, cinnamon, salt and sugar in a small bowl. Add the water to thin out the batter. Pour the batter over the apples and coat them gently. Evenly place the crumble on top. Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy!

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Pampered Chef Brownie Pan

I can't believe that it's taken me this long to order one of these bad boys! And, while you can do so much more with it far beyond baking delicious brownies, I couldn't help but start with the classic. I LOVE edge pieces! Most importantly, I LOVE corners! I might have eaten 2 (or 5) of these tonight. So delicious!

I used my Better than Box brownie recipe. They come together in about 10 minutes and this awesome brownie pan reduced my cooking time by 10 minutes. For the brownies, I used salted butter and removed the excess salt from the recipe. I also used 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips. They melted into the batter and gave these brownies a decadent chocolate flavor!

I am thrilled with my new purchase and absolutely can't wait to use it for baking my favorite food, lasagna!! I'll be sure to report back! Stop by friend Amy's Pampered Chef page if you're interested in ordering this kitchen resolution or to check out all of their other useful kitchen tools!

Amy's page is here!

http://www.pamperedchef.com/pws/luvsbaking

Monday, March 16, 2015

{Hour By Hour}

I was privileged enough to participate in an {Hour By Hour} project with Jessica Byrum Photography! I'm thrilled with the results and feel much better about taking my camera with me EVERYWHERE! Get out there and be inspired!

Friday, March 13, 2015

Lemon Buddies

If you love lemon and Chex mix anything then this is 100% the recipe for you! My family loves to make "extra" muddy buddies, and this is a killer twist on that old time favorite. This easy to throw together dessert will make the perfect accompany for a spring picnic. Light and fresh, yet simply sweet, I can say with confidence that you won't have any left over for yourself. I can't wait to make this for my next play date. I'm sure all the mamas and kiddos will appreciate it.

Ingredients:
(Adapted from Chex)

1/4 cup light butter
1 1/4 cup white chocolate chips
3-4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
3-4 tsp fresh lemon zest
9 cups rice Chex
2 cups powdered sugar

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, lemon and zest. Once melted, stir in the white chocolate chips, stirring until smooth. Meanwhile, measure out the cereal into a large bowl. Pour the melted chocolate mixture over the cereal and coat gently. Add the powdered sugar to the bottom of gallon sized ziplock bag. Dump the cereal over the powdered sugar, seal the bag and shake it! And shake it some more! Once everything is coated spread onto a sheet of wax paper to cool. Store in an airtight container. Enjoy!

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

PB & J Oatmeal Bars

Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches are literally a staple in our home. Owen only eats, maybe, 10 things and a pb&j comes in around number 3 on his list. I've been making jelly filled oatmeal bars for years. One, because I love Nutri-grain bars and these are pretty close to them. Two, because I love all things oatmeal. And three, because these may go down as the world's easiest grab and go treats to make! However, I've never thought to add peanut butter until now and I can honestly say we won't be going backwards!

The beauty of these sweet treats is they are perfect on the run. I vacuumed sealed them with my Food Saver beautifully so they will be shelf stable for a while. (This was only after the kids and I consumed more than "a few".) These are perfect for a brunch get together, or wrapped up and delivered to the neighbors!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter (only slightly softened)
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups self rising flour
1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
dash of salt
1 cup strawberry preserves (you may need up to 1/2 cup more)

With a mixer, cream together the peanut butter and butter. Add in the flour, oats and salt and mix with a higher setting to combine everything evenly (I had to scrape down the sides of my bowl once or twice). Mix in the brown sugar. In the bottom of a 13x9 inch prepared baking dish, press down half the oatmeal mixture until firmly packed. Top with the jelly and spread into an even layer. It does help if the jelly is room temperature! Top with the remaining oatmeal mixture and again firmly pack it down. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. Let them cool completely to firm up before cutting! Enjoy!