Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

I love, love, love Reese's peanut butter cups and oh my gosh I wish I had a reason to make this right now. As in, right this very minute and it's only 9 o'clock in the morning. It looks and sounds amazing and I want it!! Teri made it for her son's birthday and was nice enough (wait, maybe it was actually mean of her because I'm drooling!) to share the recipe and pictures.

Ingredients:

• 18 vanilla ice cream sandwiches
• 1 cup peanut butter, melted
• 1 9.5 oz. package Reese's peanut butter cups (12 total)
• 6 tablespoons caramel sauce
• 6 tablespoons hot fudge sauce
• 2 8 oz containers whipped topping

Directions:

• Arrange 6 ice cream sandwiches on a serving platter. Drizzle half of the peanut butter over top. Drizzle two tablespoons of the caramel sauce and the hot fudge sauce. Top with a third of the chopped peanut butter cups. 
• Repeat for the second layer. 
• Top with the remaining 6 ice cream sandwiches. 
• Cover the cake with whipped topping. Drizzle the cake with the remaining caramel and hot fudge sauces.
• Place the cake in the freezer for at least 30 minutes before serving. 

seriously - look how tall this is! 

don't even try to tell me this isn't making you drool too!! 

PS: I also love the geniusness of layering ice cream sandwiches to make an ice cream cake. Brilliant (and yummy). Thanks for sharing this Teri!

Macrame Shell Holder

This project is similar to the tiny macrame plant hangers I posted here, but this time I added some half knots to the top of the hanger to get the cords to spiral and be a little more decorative.

Click the above link to see how to make the basic hanger. You can easily find how to make the square and half knots online, they are simple and this is a quick easy macrame project.

Instead of hanging the tiny terra-cotta pots with succulents I found a pretty shell that fits perfectly and added a live air plant. Then I hung it under my kitchen cabinet using a removable command hook thingy.

My Sister is Hungry: Honey Chipotle Chicken Pasta Salad

The last couple of reviews my sister has done for the "my sister is hungry" posts have had the recurring theme of "too mild" or "too bland" - so this week I amped it up and made her this Honey- Chipotle Chicken Pasta Salad that is definitely not mild or bland. I'm not a fan of spicy food but there is something about this dish that is the perfect amount of heat - almost addictive. Here's what she has to say about it:

Stopped at my sisters house to pick up my dinner to go.  She was there helping Brooke and her friend cook their Spanish homework. (different story I’m sure my sister will blog). She didn’t “sell” this one well.  Cold pasta.  “like pasta salad” I ask apprehensively?  (thinking in my head, where is the main dish?).  I started by opening it and taking a peek.  Brooke takes a bite, her friend Grace take a bite.  They then each take another bite! They then ask me to leave them a plate of it to snack on!  Well now I’m excited to eat this! 

Even tho skeptical about it being cold, it was still delicious.  DELICIOUS.  It was spicy and flavorful.  It was a nice mix of pasta, chicken, banana peppers and a yummy spicy sauce.  She also gave me a side of the spicy sauce (she apparently knows how much I love sauce) which I then poured over a few bites to try it that way as well.  YUM.  I then thought “well gee if its this good cold, I should try it hot!” I then promptly microwaved some of it.  I could hear my sisters voice telling me just to eat it as she made it and I should have listened to that.  It just wasn’t as good hot.  I don’t know why but didn’t have the same delicious flavor when I heated it.   

My hubs got home late and ready to eat dinner. He was skeptical as well.  “Cold”?  was the first thing he said. HAHAHAHA.. I advised him just to trust me (and Jill) and he did. He loved it as well. His ONLY “complaint” was that it was cold.  He then asked if he should try heating it… so apparently we think the same. I should be embarrassed by that part.

Bottom line is that this one was delicious. Even Cold.  Loved it.  Seems like a great thing to make ahead when pushed for time or take as a dish to pass somewhere- since it doesn’t have to be hot. 😊  

We both give this one a solid 8.  I might actually read the recipe and attempt to make it.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ditalini pasta (small little tubes)
• salt and pepper
• 2 cups rotisserie chicken (note: I used boiled, shredded chicken breasts)
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 cup sliced banana peppers, drained
• 1 avocado, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives

For the Vinaigrette:

• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar (note: I used a little less based on the reviews)
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise 
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, plus more if needed (note: I used 4 tablespoons)
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• 1 clove minced garlic
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

To Make the Honey-Chipotle Vinaigrette:
Put the vinegar, mayo, honey, chipotle, mustard, italian seasoning, garlic and some salt and pepper in a blender or food processor. While the machine is running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until the dressing is combined and emulsified. Adjust the seasoning if necessary, or add more chipotle if you want it more spicy.

Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta in the boiling water until al dente according to the package instructions. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.

Toss the pasta with the Honey-Chipotle Vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper. Next, add the chicken, cherry tomatoes and banana peppers. Toss it all and transfer to a pasta bowl for serving. Top with fanned-out avocado slices and garnish with the chives.

found the recipe on foodnetwork.com, click here

Skinny Chunky Monkey Cookies

I saw this recipe on FB, don't know who to credit for the original recipe. I had three bananas that were super ripe and I already made (and ate) banana bread last week (click here for that post) and while it is certainly delicious I don't need to make (and eat) more so soon. These are a much healthier option for using up my bananas - they don't have sugar or eggs, and "skinny" is right there in the title so I thought I'd try them...

Mine look nothing like the photo included in the FB post, theirs looks exactly like no-bake cookies and now that I'm thinking about it I'd bet good money that their picture IS of no-bake cookies and not of these "chunky monkeys"! Liars. Mine have a similar look I guess to no-bakes, but do not have it in your head that they are going to taste like them because you'll be in for a letdown! I'm not saying they aren't good, because they are - they just aren't sweet at all, more like chewy granola. Perfect for when I need a little somethin' when avoiding sugar and too many calories, and they are a very easy-quick-simple cookie to make.

I followed the recipe exactly other than after baking they didn't spread at all, so they were little round granola/cookie bites - I flattened them with a spatula so they were more cookie-like.

3 ripe bananas
2 cups oatmeal
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350'. Mash bananas then stir in the rest of the ingredients, let sit for 20 minutes. Drop by teaspoonful onto uncreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes. Makes 30

not a great photo but was trying to show the cookies on the left
baked into balls, cookies on the right are after I flattened them
with a spatula. 

Tip-sy Tuesday: Sorting Socks

Here's an idea I'm trying this week - because I hate, hate, hate sorting and matching (and looking for the one rogue missing) socks. Clip a laundry bag to your clothes hamper and put socks that need to be washed into the bag. When you run a load of laundry just add the whole bag of socks to the wash, that way they'll all stay together and there is absolutely no reason for one to go missing...like one always does...Worth a try! 

Wine Cork Keychain with Charms

My niece just bought her first house near a beach, so when I saw this charm that says "life is better barefoot" I knew I had to get it for her and turn it into a cute little something. A cork keychain seems like the perfect thing to keep her house key on - and then I thought how much better it would be if I could find a cork from a bottle of Barefoot wine...you guys know how many corks I have, right? I was sure I'd find a Barefoot one in my stash. I kid you not, I dumped bags of corks out on the floor and for real, I found the one and only Barefoot cork in the last bag. Ugh. As a side note, I organized my hundreds of hoarded corks while putting them away so next time it will be much easier to find what I'm looking for!

It turned out so cute that I made another one for Janis using a couple different charms that reminded me of our Africa trip, and made her keychain using a cork that says "the joy of wine" on it. Love. 

These are easy - find two small washers that fit on the ends of the cork and glue in place (note: hot glue didn't work, I ended up getting the washers to stick using E6000). Attach the charm, tassels, beads, whatever you like to an eye hook and then screw it into the bottom of the cork (thru the hole in the middle of the washer). Attach a keychain to another eye hook and screw it into the top of the cork. 

Around the Campfire 🔥 (week 22)

Dear Campers ~

Here's a quick recap of the happenings at camp this week in case you missed anything:

Posts ~

5/26: 🔥 (week 21)
5.27: red, white, and blue berry trifle
5.28: Tip-sy Tuesday: jicama
5.29: banana bread
5.30: My Sister is Hungry: Dorito Casserole
5.31: Escabeche
6.1:   Race day photos

What's cooking ~

• chicken enchilada suizas
• grilled chicken, cauliflower risotto
• tuna steaks, steamed rice, creamed spinach
• pork chops, baked spaghetti squash, roasted broccoli
• steak with potato, squash and goat cheese gratin (recipe to follow soon)

Miscellaneous things keeping me busy but not worth a whole post ~

• Doc thinks I have tendonitis in my hand which apparently takes a long time to heal - last week I was hoping it would be better in a few days but nope...soooooo that means I've had lots of free time to read! The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman (weird); Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel (classic series set in the Ice Age about an orphaned child who is found and raised by a clan of neanderthal people); My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing (dark, twisted, psycho, creepy book that I couldn't put down!)
• I did manage to (carefully) arrange all my fiction books alphabetically by author and group our other book together by subject. We don't have tons of books but doing it one-handed took me a long time. 

Hope you had a great week! Got some fun upcoming things next week - check back for a new wine cork craft, a couple recipes, my sis has another review, and who knows what else?! See ya later!

Sincerely ~


Jill
camp counselor and brace-wearing-whiner

Race Day Photos

My hand still hurts and I haven't been able to make very many crafts one handed lately so I've been spending lots of time cleaning up my computer photos and files. I came across a few pics I took while playing with my camera at the racetrack and thought I'd share them - haven't done any photo posts in a long time - I miss those "Creative Photography" classes we took! I like to find things that are different, and try to see things in interesting ways - for instance sometimes looking at the back of an object instead of straight on, or thru a fence, or cropped up close, or getting an off-beat expression instead of just a posed shot...look at your subjects in multiple ways to come up with some shots that are maybe more interesting, creative, or tell a different story than standard images. Know what I mean?

Brooke's Spanish Class Assignment: Escabeche

Brooke and her friend Grace asked if they could come to my house so I could help them make a chicken dish as an assignment for their Spanish class - at first I was touched that they wanted to make it with me, then it occurred to me that I bet both sets of parents didn't want the mess at their house LOL!! But Aunt Jill is always down with a craft or cooking project - mess or not (wait, there's always a mess - what am I saying?!).

They totally made this on their own, I was just on stand-by for any questions they might have:

• how do you toast spices and what is a dry pan? (put the spices in a pan that doesn't have any oil or spray, stir spices for a minute or so until they get a little toasty and fragrant)
• do you eat the bay leaf? (no, remove and discard the bay leaf from the dish before serving)
• can we grow a bay leaf plant? (sure!)
• how small should we cut the carrots and onions? (uniform small dice)
• can we leave out the raisins because we don't like raisins? (no, if you are going for an "authentic" dish you should make it the way they say - maybe the raisins are an important flavor with the other ingredients)

All good questions! They were so cute, fun, and funny while making this - I loved watching them, and the mess from frying the chicken was totally worth it (actually they didn't even make much of a mess - ahhhhh the niece is growing up!) Hopefully they get a good grade for this - I didn't taste it but the house smelled so good while they were cooking it, I will definitely be making this myself one of these days.

Here is the recipe they found for "Chicken Escabeche"at bonappetit.com. Escabeche means the chicken is in an acidic sauce - in this case vinegar with spices and vegetables.

1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
6 garlic cloves, smashed
1 bay leaf
2/3 cup sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
4 chicken thighs, 4 chicken drumsticks
1 serrano chile, very thinly sliced
1/2 cup golden raisins
3/4 cup mint or cilantro leaves

Preheat oven to 400'. Toast cumin and coriander seeds in a dry medium saucepan over medium heat, tossing, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add 1/3 cup oil, followed by onion, carrot, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent but hasn't taken on any color, about 5 minutes. Add bay leaf, vinegar, and 1/2 cup water, and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 1 minute.l Remove marinade from heat; season with salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season generously all over with salt and pepper. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-high. Working in batches if needed, cook chicken, skin side down, in a single layer until skin is well browned and very crisp, 8-12 minutes. Turn pieces over and cook on the other side 1 minute (if cooking in batches, transfer pieces to a plate as they're done). Chicken will not yet be cooked through. Return chicken to pot, arranging skin side up, and nestling pieces side by side to form as even a layer as possible. Pour in marinade (meat should be mostly submerged, but you want the skin still exposed). Scatter chile and raisins over top.

note: one change to the recipe is they used boneless chicken
thighs figuring that'd be easier to serve the class

Transfer pot to oven and bake, uncovered, until chicken is cooked through, 10-15 minutes (or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into a thigh registers 165'). Let rest 10-15 minutes, then top with mint or cilantro.

What's better than a cooking project followed by a craft? They spent almost as much time making a creative sign to be displayed with the Escabeche at class the next morning. They sandwiched 2 pieces of decorative papers with the recipe on the front, their personal story on the back, and in the pocket between the 2 papers they put photos attached to a pull tab that stuck up at the top with the directions to "pull tab to see the photos" - pretty clever!

My Sister is Hungry: Dorito Chicken Casserole

Cousin Pam gave me this recipe for a casserole layered with chicken, crushed nacho doritos, sauce and cheese years ago, I don't know why it's taken me this long to make it! Actually I do know why - I have a smallish aversion to artificially colored orange foods like Doritos (and cheese puffs, looking at you B) - Dave saw the bag on the counter and couldn't believe I bought them LOL -  even tho the recipe sounded good I'm just not that into Doritos so filed it away and forgot about it. Found it again while going thru my giant binder of recipes I'll someday try - fortunately my sister's family loves Doritos so I made the casserole for this week's "My Sister is Hungry" post - here is her review:

Ahhh Dorito’s.  The Hubby’s favorite meal.  

As soon as Jill said she was making Dorito Casserole for us this week there was excitement in our house.  So sad that our meals are the main source of excitement for us. LOL.

I picked it up from her house in a lovely pan and just had to take it home to bake it.  I’m not lying or exaggerating when I say that we could smell the Dorito’s while it was baking.  Sounds awful to some folks, delicious to others. We are on the delicious side. 

When it came out in its cheesy gooey existence the house smelled fantastic.  We weren’t entirely sure how to serve this – was it going to come out in squares so use a spatula?  Scoop it with a spoon?  Turns out we should have used the spoon.  It was slightly “messy” like a regular casserole.

Whatever type of chicken Jill used it was fantastic.  We liked this meal quite a bit actually.  The only criticism (if we were going to give one) was that the husband thought was a tiny bit bland for him.  He wished it were spicier.  So this is where I debated – should I tell him that I told Jill to use mild sauce when she asked??  Because I did.  She asked me and I chose it.  No one tell him that.  Darn that Jill not giving it enough spice.  At that point he added Ortega hot sauce to his and he liked it WAY better that way.  For me I added sour cream to the top and found it didn’t need that at all.  It was already cheesy and creamy enough so not sure why I felt compelled to add the extra calories to it. 

Bottom line; We liked it.  Wish I had asked for spicier sauce.. as it was it was good but just “mild”.  We both give this one a 7.

Update: since my sis wrote her review, Brooke discovered that this is even better if you add corn to it, good idea.

 RECIPE:

1 chicken, boiled and de-boned*
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 soup can water
2 8oz cans tomato sauce
1/2 cup picante sauce
1 large bag nacho Doritos, crushed
1 lb. bag shredded cheddar cheese

Mix soup, water, tomato sauce, and picante sauce together in a medium sauce pan. Warm on low.

Place 1/2 crushed Doritos in a 13x9 greased pan; layer 1/2 of chicken, 1/2 soup mixture, 1/2 cheese on top of the Doritos. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Bake at 350' for 40 minutes.

(note* I boiled 3 chicken breasts and shredded the meat, you could also use rotisserie chicken to save even more time)