Peanut Butter Panic

who would ever panic over peanut butter, unless there isn't any? well, maybe someone deathly allergic, but let's talk about anyone in love with peanut butter.

so i bought a small jar that i used once while on vacation, and right before i left i bought a huge jar for home, so i had to use it up somehow. i mean, i love pb and fluff sandwiches all day long, but i need some variety of the fat kid kind, too.

anyone out there ever heard of buckeyes before? they're kind of like if truffles and peanut butter cups had a baby. theyre actually really easy to make, too! ron is kind of obsessed with them, and, until recently, had asked me to make them since his dad's girlfriend makes them only for christmas. seriously, they're almost as easy as muddy buddies, which i got him started on, too. (i am so good, bringing such good things to people.)

i got this recipe via pinterest (persnickety plates), but here is the recipe anyway, since it is only a few ingredients.

Buckeyes (Peanut Butter Balls)

3/4 c peanut butter
1/4 c butter, softened
1 3/4c powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
7oz chocolate for melting (i used a mix of dark chips and semi sweet)

first, take the first four ingredients and combine in a bowl. mix well, it will be a little thick and chunky. roll out heaping tablespoons of dough into balls. freeze for about an hour or refrigerate overnight. (i left mine in the freezer overnight and took out about 15 minutes before dipping them).

next, melt your chocolate. you can do 30 second increments, stirring between each, in the microwave, or melt over a double boiler until smooth. dip your balls (haha- yes, i am totally that childish sometimes) into the chocolate with a toothpick. check out this page/video for a super easy method. it worked wonders for me! putting the chocolate in a small container (like a mug) so it is deeper helps to coat them easier, also. i used my pyrex measuring cup, the chocolate was about an inch or so deep.

let them set, and store in the refrigerator!

yeahhh buddy. chocolate and peanut butter bliss. ♥♥♥

i had a little time on thursday and friday, and i found these tiny candy/cupcake liners in a drawer that i hadn't used in a while. i think they came out looking pretty nice!

anyway, on top of the buckeyes, i also made my favorite peanut butter blondies. the recipe is from one of my taste of home books. (by the way, i know the website has a ton of popups, but if you can get past them, it is totally worth it.) i know they have chocolate frosting, which no doubt will make them deliciously sexy to the extreme, but they don't even need it. i can eat a pan of these and not even care. once in a while i use chocolate chips instead of the peanut butter chips, but when you want something super peanut butter, these are your guy.

thick and chewy. peanut buttery. the peanut butter chips are like magic in these bars. you know you wanna try them.

come on. this makes me wanna lick the screen inappropriately, and they're up for grabs in my kitchen like 20 feet away. they are also pretty easy in terms of recipe and ingredients, just don't be half asleep and forget the milk and baking powder like i did. (i put the batter in the pan, and into the oven for 30 seconds before i realized i screwed up, but luckily it came out easy, i added the stuff, and they came out awesome anyway.)

seriously, i have had like half a brain the last week. i was just on vacation, but i can't tell what i'm doing lately. it really sucks. like i need a vacation to recover from my vacation, because vacation is hard. ?_?

so yeah. i have another midnight sale tomorrow. might try to make some cookies or something, but we'll see how i'm feeling. if not, i have a few other things planned out for the next couple weeks or so. that should get me through for apple picking! i now officially can't wait for apple picking, so i can make muffins, applesauce, probably that apple bread....lots of things! pinterest is full of pumpkin stuff. hate me if you want, pumpkin smells good and all, but apples are better. there. i said it. i may have last year too, but i'm saying it again. i'll probably make something pumpkin, but it's just not for me. you guys can keep it. ☺

anyway, i am tired, the next few days are going to be pretty long. so, have a good week, all! thanks for reading!

Vacation Pics- Chicken Wing Dip Recipe

ohhh my goodness i don't wanna do anything anymore. i am just tired. both of my wrists hurt for various reasons. it's like vacation kicked my ass, or maybe the week following? i don't know. im just gonna post a bunch of pretty pictures today about my adventure in north carolina. i also made chicken wing dip, not that it takes a very attractive picture or anything, but it's tasty, and super easy (like 5 ingredients).

so anyway, let's start with the pictures so i can pretend i am back on a beach away from everything for a few minutes.

okay, the last four were out of order because they didn't want to upload properly, but yeah. we traveled most of the barrier islands through the week, from north in corolla (the currituck lighthouse), all the way to hatteras (cape hatteras lighthouse). we watched the sunrise, the sunset, visited the beach at night to see the crabs (and lit them up with green laser pointers so they looked radioactive) and to look at the stars. the sound of the ocean is so nice and calming. even with route 12 and the local traffic, it overtakes everything and makes it all better.

i wish i had brought my tripod with me, and figured out my camera enough to get some good pictures of the stars. i have to experiment more. one night (mid week during the meteor shower) the sky was so clear, the milky way was pretty visible with it's stellar purple glow. that is something you can't see here in upstate new york.

anyway. i promised some chicken wing dip, so here is the reicpe! (here is the original from allrecipes, as well).


Chicken Wing Dip

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2-8oz packages of neufchatel cheese (light cream cheese)
3/4c Frank's Red Hot
1 cup light sour cream*
1/2 packet of ranch dip seasoning*
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

preheat your oven to 350 F.
 
start by cooking your chicken. i chopped mine into small pieces before frying in a pan with a olive oil spray, but you can cook and then chop, bake, however you'd like. as long as you end with fully cooked chicken, chopped into small pieces.

*for the sour cream/ranch dip mix, i combined them separately first by using the entire packet of ranch seasoning in a 16oz container of  sour cream to make ranch dip. you can also use ranch dressing, but i am weird and don't trust any ranch to not have mayo after working in my restaurant, where it is made with mayo. mayo is the devil. end of story. ANYWAY....

combine your cream cheese, hot sauce, "ranch dip" and cheddar cheese and mix well. add the chicken and stir to coat. pour that into a 13x9" pan and bake for about 30 minutes. if you'd like, you can sprinkle some additional cheese on top during the last five minutes. serve warm with tortilla chips!!

i made this for the midnight sale we had monday night, for the new madden game. a few people ate, but we also didn't really have a huge turnout. most people just came in the next morning. it has been a busy week.

i am going to quit here though. i am still tired, and have to go back to work later to get keys to pass off to the next person. i had to borrow people from other stores, and they all live over an hour away, so there would be no way to get the keys back and to the next person. yay for responsibilities. well, have a good rest of the week/weekend. thanks for reading!

Homage to my Favorite Asshole

the number of times i called this guy a dickface probably can't be counted, and i am quite surprised that nubs hasn't picked it up and started saying it himself.

sorry for the hiatus. the last few days of vacation were a little....stressful. and sad. and tiring. mostly sad.

(it figures, we finally get a chance to attempt to relax, and it doesn't work out entirely.)

remember how i previously posted about how no matter what the situation, how close you are, or whatnot, losing one of your family is never fun? yep. that just happened, while i was 5 states away, and i am pretty sure it is one of the hardest things i've had to do.

top left: what am i? - top right: super loaf - bottom: window creeps

rufio was diagnosed with diabetes on friday morning. the doctor that examined him actually took him home overnight and watched him to make sure things didn't go downhill. by the next morning he was stable, slightly better, but by the afternoon.....i guess things didn't stay that way.

top left: floor sprawl - top right: im a walrus - bottom: terrified at the vet

we didnt even get to say goodbye. </3

so now we are down to one, plus the birds. gizmo has been extra loud, probably in part because of that, and in part because i put him on a diet (his fat ass gained 3lbs in a week, which is pretty bad for a cat). assface is good at being an assface.

i am definitely a loaf.

it has been a long week, going back to work and catching up on everything. work 1 has been a little stressful, as i currently do not have a boss, and the next level up (district manager) is impossible to get ahold of. not that i can hire a manager, but a keyholder below me, i can't even do anything about because i need approval. we have no people to work and have to call around to other stores and borrow people. i am hoping it will be fixed soon. it is kind of annoying that noone will get back to me.

anyway. lets get back to rufio.

he was pretty good at snuggles when it came down to it. he was also ron's boy, so he gave him special treatment. (i suppose now it's gizmo's turn though.) all we have left now are memories and asshole #1. (cosmo was promoted to asshole #2, just for the record.)

i'm pretty positive he was gay. maybe a little. i mean, purple bows, rainbows, occasionally molesting his brother....whatever made him happy, i guess.

they always seemed to be doing the same thing at most times, and would take turns eating the bird seed/poop off the ground.

♥♥♥♥♥

ohh. he loves him so much. so do i, even if i didn't show it the same way. (for seriously, dont you believe anything otherwise.) he was one of my kids, and a piece of our family was torn away.

maybe someday we will look into a new playmate for assface, but in the mean time, i need to get things sorted out, and back under control (and by that, i mean pay off all of this new debt from our teeth, vacation, and the vet visit).

thank you to dr. b at the animal hospital, for showing him such amazing love and compassion and giving him his best chance. there are not many people that would go out of their way like that in the world, and it is truly an amazing thing you did.

with any luck, i will have something wednesday. i have beach pictures to share, and i can't remember if i finished sharing my other recipes or not. thanks for reading.

rufio, dickface, loaf- at least you don't have to be sick anymore. you are forever loved, and will be forever in our hearts. ~8.15.2015~ xoxo