Peanut Butter Brownie Trifle

Doesn't that look yummy? Let me tell you from experience it is DELICIOUS! I think that this may be my new favorite dessert! This photo and recipe were found at Taste of Home.

Ingredients:

1 fudge brownie mix

1 pkg. (10 oz) peanut butter chips

2 pkgs. (13 oz each) miniature peanut better cups

4 cups cold 2% milk

2 pkgs. (5.1 oz each) instant vanilla pudding mix

1 cup creamy peanut butter

4 teaspoons vanilla

3 cartons (8 oz each) frozen whipped topping, thawed (I only used 2)

Directions:

1. Prepare brownie batter according to package directions; stir in peanut butter chips. Bake in a greased 13x9 pan at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with moist crumbs (do not overbake). Let cool; cut into 3/4-in. pieces.

2. Cut peanut butter cups in half (when I do this again I am just going to crumble them) and set aside 1/3 cup for garnish. In a large bowl, whisk milk and pudding mixes for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set. Add peanut butter and vanilla; mix well. Fold in 1-1/2 cartons whipped topping.

3.  Place a third of the brownies in a 5-qt. glass triffle bowl; top with a third of the remaining peanut butter cups. Spoon a third of the pudding mixture over the top. Repeat layers twice. Cover with the remaining whipped topping; garnish with reserved peanut butter cups. Refrigerate until child.

*I did not use the whole pan of brownies and when I added the brownies I crumbled them somewhat.

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps

These are a HUGE hit in my house! I found this recipe Mel's KitchenCafe.

* Makes 6 wraps*

Ingredients:
1 cup cooked rice, warm
1 cup chicken, shredded (cooked)
1 can black beans, rinsed
4 green onions
2 green or red peppers
1/4 cup cilantro
juice of 1 lime
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
2 cups shredded cheese
sour cream
burrito-sized tortillas

Mix rice together with chili powder, cumin, and garlic salt. Add remaining ingredients except for cheese and sour cream. Sprinkle cheese over tortillas, leaving 1/2-in. border around edges, then arrange chicken and rice mixture down the center of each tortilla. (We like to put sour cream in our wraps) Roll stuffed tortillas, leading edges open. Spray the tortillas all over with cooking spray.

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat for 1 minute. Arrange wraps seam-side down, in pan and cook until golden brown and crisp, about 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and repeat with remaining wraps.

Teacher Gifts

I found this cute gift idea at...no where else, but pinterest! (I am addicted, I know!) The idea can be found here. I had the boys help me make up these cute gifts for their teachers and one for their principal. 

If you go to the site you will see that I expanded on the idea a little bit. Instead of using a clear plastic bag to put the stuff in I got these great 31 bags (they were having a special and I got them for $1...you can't even by a gift bag for $1!) that can be used over and over again. Then we filled the bag with peppermint patties, mint gum, mint tick tacs, and mint lifesavers. I printed out the following poem and had the boys sign their name:

Thanks for your commit-"mint" to help me learn. 

Thanks for your encourage-"mint" to always do my best. 

Thanks for your involve-"mint" in my life. 

Thanks for your invest-"mint" of time and energy    

to make school such a great place to be. 

Thanks for making each day an enjoy-"mint". 

Thanks for helping to create a nice environ-"mint"

for me to learn and grow.

Everything you have done has really “mint” a lot to me!!!

We then included a Christmas card with a fun gift card in it for them to enjoy!

Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken

I found this awesome recipe here. This was even a hit with my kiddos! I made a few changes to the recipe, if you want to see the original one go here. I served this over rice and let the kids top it with crushed tortilla chips, sour cream, and cheese.

1-1/2 lbs. chicken breast
14.4 oz. can diced tomatoes w/ chipotle chilies
15 oz. can black beans
1/4 cup cilantro
14.4 oz. chicken stock
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. salt

Combine chicken stock, beans, tomatoes, cilantro, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper in crock pot. Season chicken with salt and lay on top. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. Remove chicken shred and return to crock pot.

DIY Ruffle Scarf

I found this fun DIY Ruffle Scarf on Pinterest. There are a couple different once posted on pinterest, but here is the one that I followed.

Here is the finished project. I plan to gather the scarf with a fun pin.

What you will need:

t-shirt (XL or 2-XL)

paper plate (9 in.)

scissors

Trace the paper plate on your t-shirt and cut out.

Stack all circles on top of each other.

Cut your circles into spirals. The thicker your spirals the shorter your scarf will be.

Separate your spirals and find the center. If you want you can use one of the spirals to gather the scarf or you can use a fun pin or whatever your heart desires. :)

HAPPY SCARF MAKING!

Long time...

It has been over 1 month since my last post and I apologize for that. I can't believe it has been that long! I just don't know where the time has gone! It seems like only the other day I did a post, but apparently NOT!

With the busy holiday season just around the corner I have been busy making plans and have been finding lots of fun DIY projects on pinterest that I want to try in the new year. Do you have any fun projects of recipes to share?

Granola

18 oz. box of Wheaties
9 cups quick oats
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup coconut
3/4 cup wheatgerm
1 1/2 cup oil
1 1/2 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1.  Combine the Wheaties, quick oats, almonds, coconut, and wheatgerm
2.  Mix together and heat oil and honey. DO NOT BOIL! When hot, add vanilla.
3.  Pour over the other ingredients and mix well.
4.  Bake in a large roasting pan @ 300 for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.