Hello Snickers!

No SMS for me this week. This weeks recipe, Sweet Almond Cake, is presented by the talented and creative Katiecakes.

Instead I am sharing a recipe I found on my blogging friend Gnee's site, Singing With Birds. If you haven't been to her site, check it out. She takes amazing photos and shares the best recipes.

What’s your favorite candy bar? Mine is Twix. My husband’s is Snicker’s. He loves to keep the mini ones in the freezer for a cool summer treat. These cookies had Tim's name written all over it.

This recipe is so fun and easy to put together. My only challenge was unwrapping all of the caramels, which took much longer than I anticipated. Tim said his mom used to put them in the freezer. They would unwrap easier when frozen. A concept I plan to try next time. I had a little trouble getting my caramels to melt smoothly. In turn, I had a few spots in the bars with a piece of hard caramel.

These are delicious! Almost too delicious, I had to put the last piece together like a puzzle in order to have a picture to post!!

Hello Snickers!
Recipe courtesy of Singing With Birds

1 stick butter
1 cup chocolate wafers, crushed
1 cup caramel, melted
1 cup roasted peanuts, chopped
1 cups chocolate chips
1 cup sweetened condensed milk

Melt 1 stick of butter in a square 8x8 pan. Layer over this chocolate wafer crumbs, caramel, peanuts, chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk. Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes, (350 for a glass pan). Cool and cut into 16 squares.

Sour Cherry Soup

Do you like cold soups? My first experience with cold soup was at a tea room in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. I loved the creamy texture. A bowl of cold soup is almost too much to serve with a meal. A small amount, however, is a refreshing treat on a hot summer day!

I had a few leftover cherries. When I told Tim I was making a cold soup, he gave me one of those looks. In the end, he liked it and said he would eat it again. If you're looking to try a cold summer soup, give this one a try. It has a nice, not too sweet flavor with a hint of cinnamon.



Sour Cherry Soup

4 cups sour cherries, with pits
1/4 honey
1 3-inch cinnamon stick
2 cups water
1/4 cup sour cream or yogurt
Blueberries or peach slices for garnish (optional)

Place cherries, sugar, cinnamon and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until cherries have softened and relinquished their juices, about 20 minutes.

I am linking this to Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound and Souper Sunday's.

Overnight Baked Oatmeal

Did you like oatmeal as a kid? I didn't but my mother made me eat it. The worst thing was I had to sit there till I ate it. As much as I didn't like it hot, it was really bad when it got cold. Now as a grown up, I like oatmeal. My morning schedule doesn't give me time to make anything but instant oatmeal. When I saw this recipe for Baked Oatmeal over at Finding Joy in My Kitchen, I couldn't wait to give it a try. The best thing is you make it the night before, put it in the fridge and bake in the morning!

Tim and I both loved this oatmeal. I made it on a Monday morning and we enjoyed it for breakfast several days during the week. It kept well in the refrigerator and can also be cut into squares and frozen. If you're a mom on the run or just a two person working family, this recipe is for you. This would also be great made with peaches, raisins or even dried cranberries.

Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal - Adapted from the Benhase Home
Courtesy of SnoWhite of Finding Joy in My Kitchen

3 C Old Fashioned Oats
1/2 C honey
1 T cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 C milk
1 egg
1/2 C applesauce
2 tsp. vanilla
2 apples, chopped

Start by mixing together the dry ingredients. Then, add in the wet ones.
Lastly, fold in the apples {I used up some frozen apples for this}.
Spread into a 9 x 9 glass baking dish. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
In the morning, uncover the baking dish. Then, place the cold dish into the oven. After the dish is in the oven, turn the oven on to 350 and bake for 40ish minutes, until the baked oatmeal is no longer runny and it is set and lightly browned.

I am linking this to Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum.

In My Garden

Roasted Roma Tomatoes

Did you plant tomatoes this summer? We planted a chocolate cherry, a roma and a slicing tomato. All three plants have done well but the roma produced like crazy.

Roma’s make wonderful tomato sauce but aren’t the best slicing tomato. I plan to make sauce and sun dried tomatoes . How could I use them for a side dish? I found this recipe on the ever popular Pioneer Woman Cooks. I may have cooked mine a little long, a couple of them kind of exploded on the baking sheet. Although we love Caprese Salad, these were a nice change.


I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday's, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday's and Tuesday's at the Table.

New Addition - Mosaic Monday

Today I am sharing the newest addition to our family! My son Justin and his girlfriend Lily, just got a new puppy. Meet Ducky!



I am submitting this to Mosaic Monday at Little Red House.

No Cream Creamy Broccoli Soup

Summertime isn't really soup time but I had some broccoli that needed to be used before it went bad. Cream based soups are the best but they're also not the best for you. How about a recipe for a creamy broccoli soup that doesn't use cream? This recipe is courtesy of our friends at Kraft. The only change I made to this recipe was to use brown rice instead of white.

I loved this soup. It has a wonderful texture just like a cream based soup. The flavors are delicious and would make a great base for other soups.





No Cream Creamy Broccoli Soup
Adapted from Kraft
1 cup chopped carrots (about 2 medium)
1 cup chopped celery (about 2 stalks)
3/4 cup chopped onions (about 1 medium)
2 cloves of garlic, smashed and chopped
3 Tbsp. Oil
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp. Pepper
4-1/2 cups Broccoli florets (about 2 small bunches)
1/2 cup Instant brown rice, uncooked
3/4 cup Milk
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

Cook and stir carrots, celery and onions in hot oil in large saucepan on medium-high heat 5 min. Add broth and pepper; stir. Bring to boil.

STIR in broccoli and rice. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 10 to 15 min. or until vegetables are tender, stirring frequently.

ADD soup, in batches, to blender or food processor; cover. Blend until pureed. Return soup puree to saucepan. Add milk and cheese; cook until heated through, stirring occasionally.

This is my entry for today's Souper Sunday's at Kahakai Kitchen!