Caramel Crunchers

My family celebrated our October birthday's this weekend.  I am so lucky to have grown up with such a large loving group of people, but my children's Naners (long explanation, not currently relevant) will be the first to add that I am lucky to have grown up with so many good cooks!

I attribute my family being full of good cooks to two things:  First, my family is also full of creative individuals.  Our collective abilities include painting, spinning, crochet, knitting, quilting, jewelry making, photography, poetry, and on and on.  It is kind of ridiculous how talented my family is. 

The second and more important trait that resulted in so many good cooks is competitiveness.  Not in a bad "in your face, you suck looser" sort of way, but in a "I can't wait for all those bitches to eat my food and realize I am the superior cook" sort of way.  Just kidding.  Not like that either.  It is actually hard to explain, but I will try, just for you.

We love trying new things and are excited to find and create new recipes that no one has ever tried.  My family is great about appreciating a new yummy food and oooh-ing and ahhhh-ing over it therefore,  everyone wants to make something that is new, exciting, and oooooh ahhhhhh worthy.  That is what I mean by competitive.

At the party we had stuffed pepper soup, borscht, white chili, roasted corn chowder, tomato bisque, Chicken gnocchi soup and paninis with fancy cheese (It was a soup theme.  Yes we have themes.  Don't be jealous.).  We also had a REAL lemon pie that my Aunt Anne made from a family recipe that includes directions like "some" "good amount" and "hot oven".  It was tart and lemony and fabulous. 

I made these bars and they appeared to be a hit, and I have to admit it they were pretty tasty.  They are a perfect combination of sweet and salty.  They don't require baking, so they would be a great summer dessert.  They are simple to make (don't be scared of making the caramel, it is easy) and go together quickly, especially if you have a helper to layer the crackers (perfect job for my 10 year old).

Caramel Crunchers

 

 

Ingredients:

Club crackers (you will use almost the whole box)

1 c. butter (2 sticks, I use unsalted since the crackers are salty)

1 c. brown sugar

1/3 c. granular sugar

2 c. graham cracker crumbs (I used 1 sleeve's worth because it turns out, that was all I had)

1/2 c. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. bittersweet chocolate chips

1/2 c. butterscotch chips

2/3 c. peanut butter (I used creamy, but crunchy would be good too)

 

Directions:

Line a 13"x9" pan with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray focusing on the sides.

Cover the bottom of the pan with a layer of club crackers.

In a saucepan, melt butter.  I browned mine because I love the nuttiness it adds.

Add sugars, graham cracker crumbs and milk to melted butter and heat to a boil, stirring constantly.

Continue to boil 5 minutes.  Take off heat and stir in vanilla.

Spread 1/2 caramel (that's what you just made!) over crackers in pan.

Add another layer of crackers followed by the rest of the caramel and then a last layer of crackers.

Heat chips and peanut butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until melted and smooth.

Spread over the top cracker layer.

Chill at least and hour before cutting with a sharp knife.  I used the little indentations from the crackers on the top as my cutting guide to make even sized bars.



The Most Com-fur-table Blanket

My kids are weirdos.  Maybe quirky is a better description...  Well...  Nope.  Weird.  My older son has what I would call a sensory... well I would consider it a problem.

I discovered it while working on my daughter's reading nook (if you missed that post, check it out here).  I bought a super soft, silky and dead free faux sheepskin at Ikea.  I thought it would be a nice place to rest her bare feet while reading in her big comfy chair.  Problem was, it never stayed in her room more than five minutes.  Her little brother would immediately sneak in, grab it, go to a quiet corner, strip off all his clothes and...

 

Yup...  Weird.  Realizing it was going to be a never ending battle to keep the rug in Emma's room, I decided to make Mr. Man a furry of his own.  Luckily, it is costume season, so the options were plentiful at the fabric store.  I let him choose his fur and a flannel for the back.  I picked a coordinating flannel for the trim and got to work. 

 

I bought a yard of fur and a yard of the flannel for the back, but they were different widths so I laid them out and cut them to the same size, squaring them up a little in the process.  I don't have the time or the inclination to be exact, so I eyeball it.  Mr. Man doesn't care if it's not perfect and neither do I.

 

I bought 1/2 yard of my edging flannel (just to be safe) and cut it into 2" wide strips.  Then I sew them together, end to end, into one long strip.

 

My iron was in the basement and my flat iron was handy, so I used it to press the seams open on my super strip.

 

To make the blanket all I did was sandwich my fabric, wrong sides together and sew on my binding.

 

 

A couple of hours and under $15 to make my little weirdo happy.  Unfortunately we may have a new issue..

 

 

It appears we have another weirdo in the making.

 

 

***Like my fabric?  Got it all at my local JoAnn Fabrics.***

 

***Don't know how to sew binding on?  Check out how I do mine here .***

 

***Want more kiddo blanket ideas?  Check out more of my blankets here , here , here, and here .***

 

 



Emma's Reading Nook

I have been struggling to  help my 10 year old daughter to find the enjoyment in reading.  I thought I had her hooked when we found a series of books she loved.  Then we realized it was a new series and there were only four.  Then we found another, similar series.  Again, new and only a few have been written.  I tried old standbys (Nancy Drew and the Boxcar Children), but she was not into them.  Sigh.

I decided to switch gears and try working not on the content, but the experience.  Emma is the oldest of three, with the younger two being boys.  I wondered if she would enjoy reading more, if it was her escape from testosterone, noise, fighting, and Batman on repeat.  So, I set out to create her own little quiet space.

I decided the perfect place was found in her room.  She has two adjacent corner windows that look out over a horse farm and would provide lots of natural light.  I found an appropriately sized, but still comfy chair and nestled it in said corner.  I placed a basket on one side of the chair to hold books, and slung a rose colored afghan my mother made her over the back to snuggle under on cool days.  Last, I found a faux sheepskin rug at Ikea to put at her feet for some softness and fanciness.



She LOVES it.  It is the perfect place for her to sneak off to when insanity is running high.  So, if you are having motivational issues  with one of your minions, maybe try this trick and see if it helps them look at reading in a different light.