6 Chip Peanut butter Oatie Cookies

Since we are leaving for Iowa I was wanting to make some goodies for the trip.  Well these cookies are amazing!! 

 I tried to "healthy" them up in every way I could but you can't do much with 6 different kinds of chocolate chips.  


Heres the recipe.

6 Chip Peanut Butter Oaties

1 cup Butter

1 Cup Peanut Butter ( I used all natural PB)

1 C White Sugar

3/4 Cup Brown Sugar

1 T Vanilla

2 Eggs ( I used 1 small container of Greek yogurt instead of eggs)

Cream together then add

2 Cups Flour ( I mixed spelt flour and Whole Wheat flour)

1 Cup Oatmeal

Mix together and add to the Cream mixture

In separate bowl mix together 

2/3 C Dark Chocolate Chips

2/3 C Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

2/3 C White Chocolate Chips

2/3 C Milk Chocolate Chips

2/3 C Peanut Butter Chips

1/3 C Butterscotch Chips

( I used the milk chocolate/ peanut butters swirled chips)

Mix into cookie mixture.  Heat oven to 350 degrees and drop by rounded spoonfuls onto cookie sheet.  Top with additional chips.

 Bake for 10-13 minutes or until edges are brown.  

Remove from oven and let cool.  These are delish!!

Iowa

I don't know which day is longer; the night before christmas or the night before vacation!?  I am going to Iowa!!  
My mom was from Iowa and our summers always included a complete family vacation to visit her family there.  We would pack up and leave for a week taking the 7-9 hour drive in our own family trukster and  head down I-80 to Iowa.  These are such great memories for me.  It was always so much fun to take these vacations.  We didn't go on a plane, didn't go to any amusement parks, or stay in hotels, we went to see family and honestly those were the best vacations EVER!  Visiting family.  Aunts, uncles, cousins and my grandpa whom we only saw once maybe twice a year.  Playing outside going to dinners and to everyones house to make our "rounds", was every bit as enjoyable as if I was at a hotel or amusement park and the beauty of it was that I didn't miss going to those places.  We would pack a lunch to eat at a rest stop on the way and I tell you what, those were the BEST bologna and cheese sandwiches to this day!
Well last January my favorite aunt and uncle moved back to iowa. 

My Aunt and I at her going away party.

 I have missed them so much, and this week my sister and I along with my youngest Kendall are heading out in my family truckster and heading down the familiar road that leads us to Iowa.  Yes, we are packing a lunch, yes we will stop at the I-80 truck stop and yes I will road up every farm, blue sky, and memory I can munster this week.  I intend to take in every bit of this trip and burn it into my memory and hopefully make it an incredible memory for Kendall.  My ex and I took Hillary, my oldest, to Iowa when she was younger and she still remembers the trip.  I want Kendall to experience the fun of taking a road trip and being bored to death in the backseat and asking "Are we there yet?".  Visiting with family and showing her some of my memories from traveling to Iowa all those years.  Visiting my grandpas old house we would stay at, the park he would take me to every day that I wanted to go and even the McDonalds he would take me to and let me get whatever I wanted.  I want her to experience the fun of a road trip to Iowa.

Olympic Mudslides

We had a nice quiet evening last night, and were going to watch the olympics on TV so we decided to make some popcorn and I went to the store to get ingredients for one of my delicious Ice Cream drinks.  Now I know, Ice Cream doesn't sound very healthy.  BUT I do try to cut back where I can and we have these only rarely , so I figure you gotta live sometimes.  

Mudslides

In blender combine:

2 scoops Sugar Free Vanilla Ice Cream ( I use Breyers, they only have 80 calories per scoop)

2 Shots Vanilla Vodka

2 shots Godiva Chocolate Liqueur

2 Shots Kaluha

2 shots Baileys

Ice

Put all ingredients into blender and blend on high.  Use as much ice as you need if you want a thicker drink or thinner consistency.  Line glasses with Hershey's chocolate syrup and pour drinks into glasses.  Enjoy!

This makes 3 Martini size glasses or 2 regular 8oz glasses.

Go USA!!!

I'm Baaaack!

I'm back!! Toronto was amazing, Vacation was amazing but boy am I glad to be back home!!  We went to Canada to do some testing over the weekend with a customers car then decided to continue in Canada for our vacation.  We went to Niagra Falls and then headed back to the city of toronto for the final 3 days. It was great!  The city itself...mmmm it was ok.  I don't think we will go back there for any extended time but Harry and I's time together was amazing and we met up with some friends and threw all diets and cares out the window to really enjoy our time.

 

The Bridge to Canada

Welcome!!

Niagara Falls.  Just Beautiful!!

This great restaurant a friend of ours own Dimmi's

Great food!

They end their dinners with Cotton Candy.  Yum!!  Yes i ate it all!!

Glamping

Look what I got in the mail yesterday!!

So excited to read this on vacation next week!  There is an entire section on Glamping and that is something I want to do...BADLEY!!  It's right up my ally.  Now if you ave never heard of it, it's camping just with a little glamor added to it.  This still gives you the outdoorsy feel to camping and it gives you some luxury.  There are places al over that give you the space to rent for a night or longer that has all the luxuries Glamping offers.









This is one place you can rent to stay in outdoors.  Its under a tent and it is outside, but it just gives it a totally girlie feel and I love it!!


Here is a site that shows some of the Glamping spots you can go to in the US


http://glampinggirl.com/location/usa/

Now this is what I think is so cool!!  This is palace you can rent and  spend some old fashioned time out doors.  It has the vintage feel with the trailer and has a lot of added amenities that some of us can't live without!







This is one that is on Mary Janes Farm.  This one would be ideal,for me, since I am love with her books, magazines and products!  It is in Washington state near Spokane. 

This is my idea of being under the stars!!  So feminine and so cute!  I love it.


Make sure you pick up this months issue of Mary Janes Farm Magazine to get a better idea of Glamping!

Grilled avocados

Things I would never thought I would like let alone like grilled is avocados. I tried it the other night and they were a hit! Everyone in the family loved them and they looked amazing

Cut avocados in half and take out the seed
Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper and put face down on grill. Let grill for 5 minutes. Take off grill and fill with salsa and top with sour cream. So good!!

Barry oh Barry

Yes tonight is the night!  Tonight we are off to see Barry Manilow in concert!! Now I may be showing my age here when I say how excited I am to see this man in concert!  so many of his songs bring back such good memories!  I mean who can ever forget American Bandstand??  I couldn't leave the house on SAturday morning until I watched that show.  It was so great.  To be perfectly honest the dance shows they have on Tv now, (or what they call dance shows) are no comparison to the orginal.

Now this is the wayI remember him.....but he still looks great even today!!

I'm sure you won't be able to take many pic but If I do don't worry I will share them all!!

Memories

I went back to my hometown today, which is only about an hour or so away from me.  My best friend from high school lost her Grandmother Saturday.  She was 98 years old.  Amazing!  I hate going to funerals.  I mean I never really liked them but since my moms death it has a different effect on me.  I feel more i guess.  It brings back floods of memories of her death and funeral and the days that followed it.  I ALWAYS have some tears...for both my mom and whoever  is being mourned.  


So since my mom was on my mind today, when I got home I needed to make a pie for a friend of ours who was coming to dinner.  so I made  my mom's special "Crust" recipe.  She would make this every time she made a pie with her homemade crusts...it is cinnamon sugar goodness and so yummy.  it makes me think of my mom and give me aware feeling inside reminiscing about the memories I have of her.

Crust

Scraps from pie crust.  You can use ones you buy in the dairy section but it is not as good as a homemade crust.


Spread the scraps onto a baking sheet and coat with melted butter.  Then sprinkle with sugar and top with Cinnamon.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes. 


They are so good!

How sweet it is!!

My intentions were there but I never did make a post from the track.  To be honest it was to HOT to do ANYTHING!!!  we actually walked by a very small puddle of water and it was boiling!  I could not believe it.  At one point the track temperature was 148 degrees.  That is to hot for anything.  But with the heat came an incredible win!!  Yes, we took home the Wally for the Pro Mod series.  We took home the win and how sweet it was!  

That is our driver with the Wally and the incredible car.  It was an amazing weekend.  Water park,  race, and ending with a win.


I made a few recipes this weekend I want to pass along to you but first a few more pics from the race...

Me and my baby...the man who can do it all!

The whole team in the winners circle!

Now one of the guys who helps out a lot , his birthday was over the weekend and he is staying with us.  His favorite is pumpkin pie but for breakfast I thought I would try and make a treat for him but that was still a little bit healthy.  So i found the recipe for pumpkin muffins and it has only 2 ingredients!!  Yes, I said that right, 2 ingredients!

So here goes

Pumpkin Muffins

1 Box of Yellow Cake mix

1 15oz Can of Pumpkin

Thats it.  Mix the two together and it turns into a think dough.  I used a Ice Cream scoop and scooped into muffin tins.  I got 16 muffins from this recipe.

They look really good.  You could leave them like this or put some powdered sugar on them BUT I went a little further....

yes I Made some Cream Cheese Frosting for them.

Oh yes Oh so Good!!!

Yummmmmm!!!

Live....from the drag strip

Another love of mine and our family is drag racing. It's our business We own a turbo business and therefore go to al the races. This weekend is the NHRA drags in Norwalk Ohio . We have a car we race in the pro mod division. My posts this weekend will be from the track with the rumble of engines and nitro in the air!

A Mothers Love

My oldest daughter, Hillary, was home this past weekend for the July 4th party we had.  this is the first summer she is not at home.  She is off trying to become an independent adult.  Although it makes me proud that she wants to do this and be on her own it is also so hurtful to think she doesn't need me in the same capacity that she used to.  I mean , yes we all need our mothers, but she has moved onto another stage in her life which puts her and I at another stage in our mother/daughter relationship.  We have gone through some rocky times, i mean who hasn't with their parents, but all in all she is a great kid, er I mean adult.  I am very  proud of the woman she has become, I mean she has graduated college with a bachelors degree, in 4 years none the less.  That in itself is almost unheard of in these days, she has over come some obstacles of personal growth regarding relationships, and she truly wants to make it on her own.  She is a world traveler, traveling to Greece for her senior semester in College , something I would never have done at her age, let alone all by herself without anyone.  I admire her courage and her adventurous spirit.  She would love to live and work overseas, much to my fear, I believe she will do it.  

Me and Hillary at the party this past weekend

It makes me think of my relationship I had with my mom and how it was always great, but as I become an adult was it truly one of admiration, and friendship.  She was my best friend, the one who would always have answers, and the one who would drop everything at a chance to see me or her grandkids, the one I could count on no matter what. I miss that feeling.  My mom passed away 10 years ago from ovarian cancer and I think that is what I miss most, the feeling that their is someone who will drop everything for you and give you that hug or talk or just understanding that comes naturally when you have a child.  Unconditional love, that is what mothers should give to their children. That is what I hope I have given my daughter.

One week old

The kittens are a week old today

Corn Pop Bites

So these little morsels are addicting and oh-so-good!  You cannot eat just one so be warned!!

Ingredients:

1 Pkg Mikesells corn Puffs
2 Sticks of butter
1 Cup White Sugar
1/2 Cup Light Corn Syrup




Put all ingredients into pan cook over medium heat stirring constantly until it comes to a boil.  boil for 2 minutes.  Put corn puffs into large bowl and pour syrup mixture over Puffs, stir to coat.  pour onto large cookie trays and put into oven at 225 degrees bake for 1 hour stirring every 15 minutes.  Enjoy!

Party Pics

Some Post Party Pictures

M and M's filled jar with flags and eventually Chocolate covered Carmel pretzel rods.

Awesome Feta Dip...Recipe to come soon!!

All ready to go!

My cute 10 year old Kendall

Bouncy House

Playing Bags

Me and my oldest, Hillary

Me and my sister

And the fireworks show begins!

Ending with a bon fire.

The party was a great time!

Post Party

Whew!!  its sunday morning and the party went off without a hitch!  It was great weather (meaning no rain) and it wasn't even as hot as everyone thought it would be because of the cloud cover.  Great food, and an amazing time with friends and family.


I made a bar with Reece cups that was absolutely to die for!  It was so yummy!  I tweeted about it and wanted to give you the recipe. ( Courtesy of Babygizmo.com)

Reece Cup Brownie Bars

• 2 ½ cups crushed butter pretzels
• 1 cup melted butter
• 5 tbsp sugar
• Betty Crocker Peanut Butter Cookie Mix and all the ingredients the mix calls for
• Brownie Mix (13×9 family size box + all the ingredients the mix calls for)
• Snack Size Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (2 – 10.5oz bags)

Crush the pretzels in a food processor or however you like to crush pretzels. Any kind of pretzels will do but I recommend using crushed butter pretzels. Press into lightly greased 13×9 pan. Set aside pretzel crust and make the cookie dough.  Make cookie dough according to directions and press it into the pretzel crust.  Top with the Reece Cups.  Make your brownie mix according to directions and pour right over the Reece Cups.  bake at 350 degrees for  40-45 minutes.  I cooked more like 40 it was better a little gooey inside.  Cool before cutting.  it was so good!