cooking ala mel

Fluffy 100% Whole Wheat Bread

2013-05-21T16:00:00.000-04:00

Remember that time I said I would only be making my own bread from now on? That lead to some pretty tasty breads, one I didn't end up writing down (although I did take pictures - go figure). One I couldn't quite get right, though, was a totally whole wheat bread, with no white flour at all. I have one posted on the blog, but it didn't rise nearly as much as I would prefer, although it was still tasty. I finally found a reliable recipe with the right ratios, but it was a bit too crumbly once it was made totally whole wheat. So I tried again.. and I think I've finally nailed it.

Cinnamon Apple Bars (Gluten Free)

2013-05-19T18:40:00.000-04:00

Alex starts his first "real life" job tomorrow, so we spent the weekend rearranging all of the furniture in our apartment so that we now have a real office space for the two of us, instead of a desk in each bedroom. There's still a ways to go until I'll be totally content with it, but it's different enough for now; since Alex got a job in Buffalo with a company he's been collaborating with at UB, he wanted to make sure that things felt new and different, rather than pretty much all of the same things, minus classes (and a new office location). This morning, before I got back into the organizing (and I'll be honest, I still haven't really gotten back into it today), I had to do some baking. With how much we've been moving around, something energy packed sounded good, so I made these apple bars that I had been eying up for a long time.

These apple bars have the flavors of apple crisp or apple cake without any of the guilt. Sweetened only with dates and the apples themselves, you don't have to worry about a major sugar high and crash later in the day. Walnuts and coconut contribute healthy fats and fiber. The bit of oats add in some of the apple crisp flavor, and a hefty dose of cinnamon rounds it all out.

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A Glimpse of Ontario Wine Country - Niagara Escarpment & Twenty Valley

2013-05-17T14:01:00.000-04:00

This week, we took a quick hop over the border into Canada for an overnight stay in Ontario's wine country. This is our second year going to this area, and I've fallen in love with the area more with each visit. The Niagara Escarpment - or the bench - is a beautiful area right near Lake Ontario, full of fantastic views of the lake, farm country, and of course, over 40 wineries.

Both times we've gone to the Beamsville/Vineland/Jordan area of Ontario, we've gone on a wine tour with Crush on Niagara and stayed in their Bed & Breakfast, the Harvest Guest Cottage. Their tour package consists of a visit to 4 area wineries with tastings, as well as a stop at a local cheese factory along the way (to give you a little something to absorb all that wine).

The bed & breakfast is definitely one of my favorite parts. It sits right on a small vineyard, so you have beautiful views of wine country, and it's extremely private. The owners live next door, so you only see them once or twice through your stay. You're given your own lock code to the house and a key to your room & bathroom and left mostly to your own devices. Both times we went, there was one or two other couples staying at the house as well, with us in one of the rooms downstairs, and them upstairs. They have a full kitchen if you want to cook dinner, or you can go out to one of the many area restaurants. We got a loaf of bread and cheese each time to enjoy some of our wine later in the evening after going out for dinner. There was a bottle of wine (a white blend - good for the white lovers we are) waiting for us in our room when we got there, complete with wine glasses, so we immediately took it to the fridge to chill for later in the evening. You wake up the next morning to a delicious breakfast basket left for you in the kitchen to eat at your leisure - farm fresh eggs, fruit, and the most delicious muffins. We always plan to have lunch out afterward, but haven't yet done it after such a filling breakfast. This year, we wanted to get back to the kitties, since they were alone for the night, and they've been especially rambunctious lately

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Whole Grain Strawberry Yogurt Scones

2013-05-14T13:52:00.000-04:00

What do you do with 4 pounds of super ripe strawberries? Bake, of course! I managed to plow through about 2 pounds yesterday.. I have to figure out what to do with the rest of them today before we go on a mini-trip tomorrow to Ontario! I'm determined to actually remember my camera this time, so hopefully I'll have a nice little recap post about that (think lots of wine). But anyway, back to strawberries.. I have yet to make it to the farmer's market this year, so no local berries as of yet for me, but I plan to go this weekend. Way excited! I have many plans for strawberries this year, so I'm just getting started.

To start out with strawberries, I made scones. To give them a more complexity of flavors, I used a combination of sprouted whole wheat and rye flours, as well as coconut oil instead of butter. Greek yogurt to add a bit of tang and stevia drops (or honey) for sweetness. I opted not to add too much sweetener so that I could slather them with butter and honey. Yum yum yum.

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Homemade Chocolate Pudding

2013-05-10T20:01:00.000-04:00

This weekend, Alex graduates from college/grad school. He'll be receiving his bachelor's & master's degree in Computer Science with a minor in Math.. and also some fancy data computing certificate that I can't begin to understand. Tonight, he's off to the casino to celebrate with his mom - I just got a new KitchenAid mixer (Aqua Sky - SO excited), so I'd much rather be playing in the kitchen. For his first night of officially being done, though, I made him some chocolate pudding. He had been asking for boxed pudding mix, but I made him something much better, although almost just as easy.

This pudding is made from a few simple ingredients that you probably already have in your cupboard: cocoa powder, corn starch, milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla. No funny chemicals like the mix you'd buy at the store. And of course, being homemade, it tastes a billion times better, too. It's actually chocolatey, rather than the barest hint of a chocolate flavor that you're probably used to.

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Classic Guacamole

2013-05-08T14:47:00.001-04:00

I am officially done for the semester! Hooray. Now, I'm able to get back into working out regularly; the combination of my foot aching every time I exercised and my hectic schedule gave me way too perfect of an excuse to give myself a bit of a hiatus. I'm totally okay with that, though - it's always good to give our bodies time to recover and rest, and now I'm feeling better than ever! I've been playing around with my kettle bells (I liked this workout a lot), biking, doing yoga, and adding a few weights here and there.

Another thing that's fantastic about being done for the semester is cleaning. Last night, I scrubbed down the entire kitchen - I can't wait to mess it back up again making new recipes! I plan on attempting to tackle the rest of the dusting and vacuuming today. I've never been so excited to clean.

I figured I'd start with a quick and simple recipe to kick off the summer - guacamole! I was surprised when I saw that I don't have any guacamole recipes in the archives; be prepared for at least a few throughout the summer to remedy that! To start it off, I went with my favorite classic guac.

This guacamole is simple and fresh, with lots of tangy lime flavor and a hint of spice. All you need are some avocados, roma tomatoes, onion, garlic, lime, jalapeño, and a bit of cumin, cayenne pepper, and salt. Here's the lineup:

Pastel Chocolate Brownie, Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake Cake (Gluten Free)

2013-05-05T17:32:00.000-04:00

This weekend has been fantastic. The weather has been beautiful, so I've been able to go on a few long bike rides - some bad sunburn and extremely sore muscles are keeping me from my bike today, but there's plenty to do around the apartment, so I'm not missing out. I've had ample time to clean, organize, and have some fun in the kitchen. Today's laundry day.. for the first time since Easter!

Speaking of Easter.. this is a cake I made over Easter weekend. My cousin recently graduated from nursing school with her BS/RN, so we celebrated that while also celebrating Easter. She has Celiac disease, so I was really excited to have the chance to make a gluten free cake for her! I had been eying up the cheesecake cakes over at Recipe Girl for a while, so I knew I wanted to make something similar but gluten free.

Baked Cinnamon Sugar Yeast Donuts (Gluten Free)

2013-05-03T11:17:00.002-04:00

This semester is finally just about over. I have one exam left on Tuesday, but it's for an elective, so I'm not too concerned about it. To say this semester was the hardest of my school career would be an understatement. I am so happy to have survived - it got to the point that the grades hardly mattered anymore. After a two and a half hour long exam yesterday writing out compounding procedures, the thought of writing out a recipe seemed a little bit daunting. But after a nice bout of sleeping in this morning, I think you guys deserve a new recipe after a long month of pretty much silence.

I made these donuts when I had a major craving for cinnamon rolls. It was getting late in the afternoon, though, and I wanted the sweet cinnamon sugar flavor right then, so I opted for donuts. And then I made them gluten free with almond and coconut flours, since that always makes for a healthier donut. Since I wanted cinnamon rolls, I decided to use yeast in the donuts, to give them that flavor. Topped with cinnamon sugar, this was just what I needed after a long day of exams.

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TARDIS Sneakers Tutorial

2013-04-19T21:12:00.001-04:00

She lives?! Ha, sorry, guys.. April is by far my busiest month with finishing off all of my pharmacy rotations and having the last few rounds of exams. Since I actually have a WEEKEND without anything planned other than a bit of studying to get ahead for the week of finals, I also found a bit of time for crafting! And since I haven't yet said a word about the new episodes of Doctor Who (which started March 30), you know it had to be Doctor Who related. These sneakers are something I have had pinned on Pinterest forever, and as soon as the weather was warm enough for blue plimsolls to be in stores, you better believe I immediately bought a pair. It took me probably around 4-5 hours to complete these, which included all of the planning for how I wanted to go about it. It was pretty relaxing to just paint these shoes with the warm breeze coming in the screen door after a long day of lectures -- although I do have to say, I definitely can't sit on the floor for hours like I used to. Ouch. Getting old! ;)

Before we get into the how-to with these shoes.. I have to ask. For you Whovians out there, how do you like the new episodes so far? Do you like Clara as a companion? I'm not going to say much - spoilers - but I will say this: I'm not entirely sure if it's because I always take a while to warm up to a companion after the last one leaves, but so far, I don't really like Clara. I loved her in Asylum of the Daleks, and I quite liked her in the Christmas special, as well. Maybe I'm just not used to the Ponds not being there, but these episodes just sort of seem.. off, with her as a character. She just doesn't quite have that confidence she had in the first few times we saw her. Ah, well.. I'm sure it'll get better - it always does.

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Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

2013-03-29T10:36:00.003-04:00

Woops.. it's been a little silent around here lately, hasn't it? It's been a busy couple of weeks, and it'll only be getting worse from here.. but let's not talk about that. Let's talk about these granola bars that have fueled lots of studying and work for Alex and me.

One thing I haven't really gotten around to make very often is straight up granola bars, but after receiving a package for Valentine's Day from our church back home (two houses up from my childhood home) that included Chewy bars, I wanted to recreate something sort of like them but healthier. These fit that bill.

Calming Piña Colada

2013-03-17T12:41:00.000-04:00

Today is my last day of Spring Break, and I have a slight head cold. I've been studying pretty much the entire time - I gave myself the first weekend of Spring Break to relax. So while it wasn't exactly an ideal Spring Break, it was way better than going to classes every day. The past few days, I've been surviving on lots of herbal teas, Vitality C, and Calm Plus Calcium (warm). Just what this cold needed. Before this cold hit, I made sure that we had at least a little bit of tropical in what would otherwise be an extremely boring break.

Healthier piña coladas! Piña coladas send me back to beach days with my best friend - walking the beach or boardwalk, people watching, tons of yummy food, and reading to our hearts' content. And while it still may be 30ºF here, I am totally fine with being swept away in my thoughts to a more tropical place while drinking this piña colada.

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Whole Wheat Banana Nut Yeast Bread

2013-03-14T13:05:00.001-04:00

So.. banana nut bread. Delicious, right? But what about if we made it into an actual yeast bread instead of a quick bread? Fluffy, soft, and perfect to eat as toast. Sounds great, right?! I had some overly ripe bananas, and I didn't really want to make a regular old banana bread, so I decided to give this a try. It turned out soo well. It'll definitely be in heavy rotation in this kitchen - although we don't often get super ripe bananas, since I eat them fairly quickly. I usually have to buy extras with the intent of freezing them for smoothies/using for banana bread.

This bread is subtly banana flavored, with a nutty walnut crunch just like in the quick bread. I loved this toasted and slathered with coconut oil and honey for a sweet snack in the afternoon. It's also great spread with nut butter for breakfast. I can imagine it'd make great french toast as well.. oh man.

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Moisturizing Coconut-Vanilla Body Scrub

2013-03-11T09:00:00.000-04:00

Is it just me, or does your skin get all rough and cracked during the winter months, too? The amount of lotion I go through is kind of ridiculous, and I still haven't found one I'm really happy with. I've tried straight up Aquaphor, but it's too greasy, so I have to wear gloves and wear it strictly to bed. Neutrogena's Swiss formula is alright, but it's also a bit greasy feeling (I hate that). General moisturizing lotions are alright, but the super smelly ones especially hurt my cracked skin, and I don't really like the neutral scents (there is totally no such thing as unscented). I've seen tons of recipes for homemade kitchen scrubs and the like out there, but I thought they might be too drying. Then, I got to try out Natural Vitality's Natural Calm Sports Bath - a combination of magnesium and Redmond mineral sea salt - and I figured I might as well give a scrub a try with the extra calming factor from the magnesium. Um, guys.. I can't believe I never gave scrubs a try before.

While the salt burned a little bit on my cracked hands, the lushness of my skin afterwards was absolutely amazing. If you let your hands get super dry like I do (since I kind of really hate greasy lotions), be aware that it will burn at first, but not too badly. I recommend not letting your skin get to that point, ha. The scrub is pretty basic, to keep things as natural as possible: coarse vanilla sugar, Natural Calm Sports Bath, and coconut oil. The sugar helps to exfoliate, the Natural Calm Sports Bath pulls toxins out, exfoliates, and allows for minerals to be absorbed through the skin (for a stress relieving experience), and the coconut oil moisturizes and soothes dry skin.

Raw Chocolate Cheesecake

2013-03-09T11:57:00.001-05:00

Woo! I am officially on spring break. This means that yesterday, I totally overhauled and reorganized our kitchen cabinets that were really starting to drive me mad, and I also went on a big shopping trip to restock. Nothing starts out a break better than a clean kitchen and a fully stocked fridge and pantry. And then Alex took me to the liquor store to stock up on more wine.. we are set for a while, I'd say.

One thing I got yesterday while out shopping was lots and lots of zucchini. Why? That's what the cheesecake part of this raw chocolate cheesecake is made of. And oooh, is it good. I was a bit nervous originally about the zucchini, but it creates such a smooth texture, and no zucchini taste is apparent (not that zucchini itself has that much flavor). Add in the nutty, slightly salty crust, and you've got yourself the perfect chocolate dessert - one that is much, much better for you than, say, cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory (but just as tasty).

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Cauliflower "Bread"sticks

2013-03-05T21:33:00.000-05:00

So, remember that tomato basil cheddar soup I posted? Remember how I said I'd shortly be sharing the cauliflower "bread"sticks that I served alongside said soup? Um.. yeah.. my birthday was a bit more exciting, so I had to post those goodies first. Now that I'm back in Buffalo (and buried beneath notes.. as usual), I can finally share these.

Firstly, if you go into this thinking they'll taste like bread.. they won't. The cheesy, herby flavors are there, as is the crispness of breadsticks, but they are by no means fluffy like bread. Honestly, I didn't miss it a bit - these are good. Really good. And you don't have to feel guilty about eating a good many of them. With that tomato soup, they were perfect for dunking. They'd be lovely with some marinara, too, if you'd rather have them as an appetizer on a pizza night.

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Chocolate Hazelnut Filled Chocolate Layer Cake

2013-03-01T16:30:00.000-05:00

So, yesterday (and today) was (is) my birthday. Gotta love being a Leap Year baby! ;) Immediately following my only class of the day - compounding lab - I drove 3 1/2 hours to spend my birthday with my family in Pittsburgh. My mom is a bit under the weather, so we had a nice night in just relaxing and spending time together. Of course, as soon as I got home, I got to work on assembling my birthday cake. I had baked the cake layers earlier in the week and froze them so that they'd be all set for when I got home - defrosted but still cold - so I just had to make the filling and frosting to get it all assembled.

Because I'm a huge fan of chocolate, I decided on a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, but I wanted the filling to be a bit different. I ended up going with a chocolate hazelnut filling using homemade hazelnut butter just whipped in the chocolate frosting I used for the outside. This cake is so, so rich, but so perfect for a birthday. It's definitely not the healthiest of cakes, being pretty full of sugar, but I made slight adaptations to make it a little bit better. It's definitely still an indulgence, but I wouldn't have it any other way for my birthday.

Almost Raw Samoa Bars

2013-02-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

This week is my birthday week. I call it my birthday week because, well, I was born on a leap year - meaning I don't have a birthday this year - and no one really quite knows when to celebrate my birthday. I like to celebrate on the 28th, since it's still in February, but I obviously don't mind celebrating on the 1st of March, either. Who would pass up more than one birthday celebration?! This year will be particularly interesting because it's also my 21st birthday. Um, which day am I allowed to purchase alcohol? Midnight on the 1st - right in between the 28th and 1st? On the 28th? What would make this way easier if my driver's license had the "Under 21 until such and such date" like the PA licenses do. But since I got my license in NY, they're not quite as helpful. Usually it would expire on my 21st birthday, but since I didn't get my license till later, it doesn't expire until 2015. So.. we'll see!

Since it's my birthday week, it gives me an excuse to bake treats that I normally wouldn't be able to justify finding the time for. Like cake. And homemade samoas! Once I decided to make homemade samoas, I decided I'd make them healthier. So I decided on a raw "shortbread" base and a date sweetened "caramel." Now, as you can tell from the pictures, these were cookies shaped just like samoas, but I'm posting a recipe for bars. Why? Um.. the amount of time and frustration put into cutting these delicate, raw cookies into rings was a little ridiculous. I mean, it can be done, if you're so inclined in putting in the effort, but honestly, making bars would be waaay easier. The taste is great, so I still recommend making them. Definitely in bars, though.

Calming Cinnamon Roll Milkshake (Dairy Free)

2013-02-24T09:00:00.000-05:00

As I've been slowly getting back into working out after my broken foot, I've noticed I need a lot more for recovery than I used to. This is probably because I try to do the same amount of work that I used to in my workouts, which isn't exactly feasible when I've been down for the count for almost three months. I've been doing shorter workouts, but my foot still hurts the next day because I pack so much power into those short periods of time. Maybe I should take it easier on myself. I've never been one to slack once I make the decision to do a workout, so this "taking it slow" is pretty hard for me.

My go to recovery smoothies always have a good bit of protein, fruit, and maybe some greens if I have any left in the fridge. Now, I've been adding Natural Vitality's Calm Plus Calcium to every smoothie, and I've noticed that I don't feel as tired later on in the day like I usually do after a tough workout. The soreness is obviously still there, since I'm working muscles that haven't been used as often, but it's not as bad as I would expect it to be (I've always been a fan of sore muscles - it tells me that I'm improving). Magnesium deficiency causes muscle cramping, so I'm thinking that adding the Natural Calm Plus Calcium is really helping with that.

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Tomato Basil Cheddar Soup

2013-02-22T11:00:00.000-05:00

It's been a little quiet around here this week (this seems to be becoming a regular occurrence), but it's mostly just because I've been on an emotional roller coaster this week.. because of Doctor Who. Oh yeah. I've been re-watching all of the new series, and this week marked the end of David Tennant as the Doctor. It still made me bawl my eyes out. And it gave me a whole new appreciation of Donna Noble (the first time 'round, I couldn't get the hang of really any of the new companions, and Donna was no exception). So I just sort of.. haven't done anything. You've got to mourn, you know?

This soup, though, is a wonderful bowl of comfort. Perfect for those nights that you don't really want to do anything but watch a certain Doctor. It's quick to come together and so full of flavor. With a lot of tomato soups, I don't like them very much - they never have quite enough flavor for me. This soup, though, shines on its own. It'd be great paired with grilled cheese, as with most tomato soups, but for once, I don't see it as a necessity. I would happily sit down with just a bowl of this soup and nothing else (and I did, with the leftovers, for lunch). Because I don't really have fresh basil right now (my basil plant died.. I am the worst at keeping plants), I used dried basil - I'll include both options in the recipe below.

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Calming Chocolate Banana Milkshake (Dairy Free)

2013-02-17T09:00:00.000-05:00

Remember when I broke my foot back in November? I'm pretty sure almost every single person asked me if I was getting enough calcium in my diet. Of course, working at GNC, I have bags upon bags of those caramel calcium chews you can get samples of every time you walk in the store. So yeah, I totally take enough calcium. It wasn't until I learned about Natural Vitality's Natural Calm magnesium supplements that I realized it might have nothing to do with my calcium intake.

Magnesium is a cofactor for a lot (over 325) of enzyme reactions in our body, and while we can get it from our diet - leafy greens, nuts, cacao, etc. - cooking our food depletes a good amount of it. Sugar, coffee, and high amounts of protein can also deplete the levels you already have in your body. When you're deficient in magnesium, it can cause stress, digestive issues (IBS), fatigue, migraines, PMS symptoms, etc. As a pharmacy student, I have no lack of stress.. and being lactose intolerant, I have a good bit of digestive issues. Migraines, too! One of the most important things about magnesium, though, is that it balances calcium in our body. Without enough magnesium to balance the calcium, we can actually cause osteoporosis and kidney stones just from taking calcium supplements (which I sure do plenty of). Since I'm obviously pretty great at breaking bones (I mean, my kitten did it, after all), I'm thinking magnesium is definitely a supplement I need to regularly take. Because I still can't quite get off the calcium supplement bandwagon, I thought Natural Vitality's Calm Plus Calcium was the best thing to try out first.

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Bacon & Brussels Sprout Salad

2013-02-15T18:25:00.003-05:00

Well! I'm back. After a week of tests, I've been slowly cleaning up the apartment, finding the kitchen counter under a mess of dirty dishes, and actually making something other than oatmeal for pretty much the first time all week. It feels great. I also got a haircut and dyed my hair (red - I needed a change). Tonight, I'll catch up on all my TV shows and binge on this salad.

I've made this salad so many times, now. The first time I made it, I use the ingredients I had on hand, and thought it was almost too tangy. Then, I made the actual recipe for dinner at my aunt's on Christmas Eve, and I didn't think it had enough flavor. So I went back to how I made it the first time, and yeah.. I'm in love. I could eat this salad pretty much endlessly and be perfectly happy. Alex actually likes it, too! He actually requested it again, which doesn't usually happen with salads for him.

Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies

2013-02-08T00:38:00.000-05:00

So.. I'm sort of buried under notes, so you probably won't hear from me for a bit (although, let's be honest, on social media, you'll probably hear from me more - procrastination at its finest). In the meantime, though, it's time to talk about cookies. My cousin-in-law, Tristan, got me a TARDIS cookie jar for our family Secret Santa gift exchange this past Christmas, and after giving it a prime spot on the counter right next to my espresso machine, I vowed to never let it go empty. It's now been empty for two weeks (when I ran out of these cookies), although I had been pretty good about it up until that point. Oops. Better replenish!

I want to say I haven't replenished the TARDIS because these cookies are hard to top (which is true), but I just haven't found the time to make cookies. I'd rather, you know, actually eat a homemade dinner, or catch at least one episode of Doctor Who. I have to have a few priorities during the hectic weeks. But these cookies.. fantastic. Browned butter, dark chocolate, sea salt, vanilla bean, coconut sugar. The perfect combination of flavors for a chocolate chip cookie.

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Chocolate Hazelnut & Almond Spread

2013-02-05T20:50:00.000-05:00

So.. it was World Nutella Day today. I've been pretty busy with the first exams of the semester, so I probably wouldn't have made a post for a while had it not been for this food holiday. It was just lucky that I've had a recipe lined up that fit in perfectly with today: a homemade chocolate hazelnut spread. One that is way healthier than Nutella.

For this spread, I used half almonds, half hazelnuts, mostly because I'm too cheap to use up all my hazelnuts for a nut butter (and because I go through nut butters like water). The hazelnuts are the most pronounced flavor, so you probably wouldn't even guess the almonds were there. Flavored with cocoa (use the best you can find - dutch process preferred) and sweetened with Truvia/stevia drops, this is a healthier version of Nutella that you can eat at any time of the day. I've been stirring it into my oatmeal in the morning, and I can't even begin to tell you how much I look forward to it every day. It's like dessert for breakfast, and I don't even have to feel bad about it!

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Cinnamon Raisin Bread (Whole Wheat)

2013-01-29T07:00:00.000-05:00

I am a huge, huge fan of cinnamon raisin bread. Every time my parents would buy the cinnamon raisin swirl bread from the store, I would sit there and eat piece after piece, unable to stop. I don't think I've ever actually bought any on my own, but when I decided that I'd only be making my own bread from now on, betcha can't guess what loaf I decided to try first..

Duh. Cinnamon raisin bread! I found a great recipe as a jumping off point, and made my own adaptations as I went. Guys, I can't tell you how much I loved this bread. This is one of the first times I've had a totally soft and fluffy bread that is 100% whole wheat. And considering the fact I only had half of the loaf left to take photos of the next day, I think that's a pretty good testament to how good this bread was. So good.

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Peanut Butter Brownie Fudge Bars

2013-01-26T14:57:00.000-05:00

Now two weeks into the semester, I'm slowly becoming used to the new routine. Posting has been scant, but that's not for a lack of recipes going through my kitchen. Hopefully, I'll get back to normal within the next week! In the meantime, here's a recipe for a rich treat (that isn't that bad for you).

Although I don't use this combination in baking as often as I would like, peanut butter and chocolate is one of my favorite flavor combinations (and I'm sure there are many of you out there who agree). Reese's are probably just about the only candy I'll actually buy - nothing else is worth the extra calories, in my book. One of the guys I work with mentioned making chocolate peanut butter bars, so I decided to do just that - a fudgy brownie base with a lightly sweetened peanut butter topping with an almost cheesecake like texture.