Carrot Cake Bars and Blueberry Skillet Pancakes

that's kind of a mouthful. a mouthful of noms.*ba dum tssss*

ohh man. i need to get back on something. some kind of schedule. i don't know. i guess i've been feeling a little blah lately, not to mention i have a freezer full of girl scout cookies that make me feel like i shouldn't be making anything. i am not even kidding on the freezer full part. i do want to make things with them, though. i have been on a kick to make something chocolate and mint, lately.

did i do that today though? NOPE. i might call it the exact opposite- warm, spicy, cinnamony, with carrots?

oh, comes complete with a cream cheese icing. i had a couple extra carrots from when i made cheddar broccoli soup, so these seemed like a good idea for a quick snack of the sorts.

i got these from averie cooks. it is a pretty easy recipe, no mixer required! i added an extra egg to make them a little more cakey. they came out pretty tasty though! check it out! they are pretty spicy, with the addition of cloves, allspice, nutmeg and ginger on top of the cinnamon. the cream cheese drizzle makes them, though!

i  love the way cinnamon smells when it's baking, too. everything smells awesome.

sigh. the countdown continues, in the mean time, to north carolina. 116 days left. the weather is on the fence of being nice or inclement. i've been able to go out running twice in the last week. i will complete my 5k soon....before the winter i made it to week 7 of 8, running about 25 minutes. i will run on the beach this summer. but it can't get here soon enough!!

i've just been working, other than that. i get a day off, and i just want to sit around. or run, like today, but it's supposed to get cold next week. speaking of next week, though, this sunday is my breakfast party! i love breakfast. this is exciting for me. you can eat it any time of the day, it can be sweet or savory, hot or cold....and pancakes and waffles are pretty much the best things ever.

and then there are things like this. i made this a few mornings ago, because i was in the mood for pancakes and blueberries. what a better combination? also, an excuse to use one of my skillets.

ron argued with me that "blueberry cake is not the same as pancakes," but i beg to differ. this is just a deep dish pancake! not sweet at all, like regular cakes, full of blueberries, and delicious covered in syrup! cut into eight slices, it was breakfast for several days! at least for me, anyway. i still have a couple of pieces left. (recipe here- also from averie cooks!)

imma make this on the beach, too. hurry up, july!!

thanks for reading!

Peanut Butter Cupcakes for Peanut Butter Lovers Day

because if you don't like peanut butter, then go home and come back another day. i mean, i guess i didn't go completely overboard, but i got some peanut butter cupcakes to share today!

is there a better way to eat peanut butter (other than with a spoon straight out of the jar)? actually, pretty much any way is awesome. sandwiches, pancakes, toast, granola bars, apples.....shut up. but for seriously though.

we just filled our freezer with girl scout cookies so it seemed fitting to put a do-si-do on top of them. tagalongs are great, don't get me wrong, so is chocolate on chocolate, but i wanted the contrast, so these worked out great!

i got this recipe from sally's baking addiction. i seriously love the recipes here. opposite of my usual chocolate peanut butter cupcakes (ie: chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting), this dark chocolate frosting though. seriously for the win. a nice glass of milk is required for this, too. (i totally won't lie, i ate the last tablespoon or so of frosting straight from the piping bag. that doesn't happen often for me- because how much of this do i really eat?) it is what magic is made of, and i am pretty sure my new favorite chocolate frosting. i have been searching for some time for something super rich like that thick, fudgy frosting you find on the brownies at the grocery stores. this is close. i also love dark chocolate so double win (although i think the fudgy kind is more of a ganache, but i have more to experiment with later).

i may have overmixed my batter a little, as they were not quite fluffy, but they were still pretty peanut buttery! i also used a little coconut oil which was partially melted. i will have to try these again sometime! they are totally worth it, though. i think just a regular cake would be good, too!

i need more days off. i am sick of working.

see what i mean? they're really squishy, but not underdone. pure satisfaction for all of your chocolate peanut butter needs. happy peanut butter lovers day!

i also made cheddar broccoli soup today!

it's like opposites.....sugary sweets, and veggies and cheese. er, something like that. vegetables are healthy, sugar is, well, delicious in things, but probably not the best for you all the time or in large quantities. you know what i mean. this is also my favorite recipe for cheddar broccoli soup from peas and crayons. i have made it several times now (i posted it a while ago with a picture of nubs in front of all my ingredients, and threatened to put him in my soup), and it is always delicious.  it's an easy recipe, too! give it a shot, and we can all have "panera" cheddar broccoli soup together!

for now, i will leave you with the other assholes, since i have to work some more. all i do is work, even on my days off, i can't escape. looking forward to trying to make some more treats in the coming weeks! thanks for reading!

they are both laying on this stuffed snail. they're dumb.