Peanut Butter Squares

"A perfect balance" said D as he referred to the peanut butter to chocolate ratio. In other words, a raving review straight from a very picky (and often skeptical) PB & chocolate connoisseur.

I love peanut butter. I was late to the whole PB world because we never really discovered it in my family until my brother was in high school (and he is 7 years my senior) because being British, peanut butter just wasn't big with them. Branston pickle, yes... peanut butter, no. In my adulthood, I have made up for lost time. I love PB cookies, treats, toast with PB & honey, celery with PB... anything really. Mmm... I digress.

It's my turn to bring Friday breakfast to the office tomorrow. Admittedly, I forgot about it until last night and being too tired to really plan anything, I decided to pull together a very European breakfast -- meats, cheeses, spreads, crisps & baguette. Easy, right? Yep! But I needed a sweet because who doesn't love a sweet for breakfast? The easiest, quickest & tastiest thing I could think of (and PB really screams out breakfast, no?) were these squares. This recipe kicks it old school big time!

Peanut Butter Squares

3/4 cup unsalted butter, divided, plus a little more to butter the dish

1 3/4 cups icing sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Line an 8x8 pan with foil, leaving enough foil overhanging the sides to use as "handles" later. Butter the bottom & sides of the lined pan and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, melt 1/2 cup of butter over low heat. Once melted, remove from heat and stir in powdered sugar until smooth. Stir in the peanut butter and graham cracker crumbs. Continue stirring until thoroughly combined and smooth. Spread the mixture into the prepared pan & use a spatula to even it out.

In the same pan, add the remaining 1/4 cup of butter. Melt over low heat. Add the chocolate chips and stir until almost completely melted. Remove from heat and continue stirring until totally melted. Pour the chocolate over the peanut butter and spread into an even layer.

Chill for 30 minutes in the fridge. Using the foil to lift, transfer from the pan to the cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut into small squares. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Soooooo good!!!

Garlic & Basil Pasta with Cheesy Baked Tomatoes

I had a ridiculously late night at work last night (3am... gasp!) and used my Friday afternoon to catch up on some sleep. D sent me a text around 4:15pm to say he was on his way home with M. I wanted to have dinner ready when they got here to I flew into action and threw together this meatless, fresh & simple summer dinner. This one is great for those of you with gardens!

Garlic & Basil Pasta with Cheesy Baked Tomatoes

3 tbsp. olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, minced

Pinch red pepper flakes

Paste of choice (linguine is perfect)

2-3 beefsteak tomatoes

Ball of good mozzarella

S&P

Basil & lots of it

In a small saucepan, gently warm about 3 tbsp. of olive oil. Add two cloves of garlic, minced and a good pinch of red pepper flakes. Be careful not to burn or brown the garlic.

Get your pasta of choice going in a pot of salted boiling water.

Slice 2-3 beefsteak tomatoes into thick 1/2" slices and arrange on a lightly oiled baking tray. Season with pepper and kosher salt before topping with a thick slice of good mozzarella. Place in the middle of oven and boil until bubbly & beginning to brown.

Strain your pasta and put into your serving dish. Using a strainer, pour the infused olive oil over the pasta and discard the rest. Add a few big handfuls of torn or chopped basil and toss together. Top with freshly grated or shaved parmesan.

Serve pasta topped with 2-3 tomato slices per person.

Meal Plan for the Week of August 14th

I have work commitments two nights this week so that means we need a few options that are quick & easy for D to toss in the oven or pull together when he gets home with M, who can be a mini dictator when he's hungry! This week's menu pretty much consists of meat, pasta & cheese. Um, yeah. Not the healthiest but I need things that are quick on the fly this week.

Grilled chicken breasts w/ a chickpea & pepper salad

Homemade mac 'n cheese with chedder, smoked gouda & gruyere & a panko crust w/ salad

Skewered pork tenderloin & pineapple w/an orzo & grilled vegetable salad with feta, olives & oregano

Homemade pizza w/ proscuitto, pineapple & roasted red peppers w/ salad

Basil spaghetti w/ cheesy broiled beefsteak tomatoes w/ salad

As usual, will share any recipes that are a hit but really, the only new one I'm trying is the last.

An Update on the Patient

A couple weeks back, I wrote about M's surgery to have his tonsils & adenoids removed. His recovery was quick & he was back at it within 48 hours of the surgery. We had to keep him home for almost 2 weeks to prevent infection but he went back to school this week.

We've noticed significant changes already. First, he no longer snores. He was a total bear before the surgery and he's SO quiet when he sleeps that I find myself checking him constantly to make sure he's okay. Second, he's having better sleeps. We've been lucky to have a kid who likes his sleep and always gives it the ol' college try but we can definitely tell that he's waking more refreshed and having better naps. Lastly, his speech is improving! We're thankful that his nasally pipsqueak voice is s-l-o-w-l-y disappearing (a side effect from the surgery) but he speaks with a much more clear voice now. We can understand him better and his parrot ways are nonstop.

Oddly enough, this post coincides with a letter we received from the SLP. We'll be getting a call shortly to schedule a reassessment and I know they're going to be thrilled. Yay! We are so excited for M.

Run Fatty RUN!

15km!

My hips are grinding worse than they did after giving birth to M and my toes feel like death BUT I did it! I ran 15km yesterday and almost died doing so! It was insanely hot and I was exhausted & sore but I talked myself through every step of the last 5km. I have bootcamp twice this week and then I'll get out for another run (albeit shorter) this weekend.

Asian Pork Skewers

D's dad was coming for dinner last night so I was scrambling to do something a bit different. We picked up a massive pork tenderloin from Rowe Farms and I promptly cubed it and tossed it in this simple but delicious marinade.

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup sesame oil

2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/8 cup packed light brown sugar

3 green onions, finely chopped

2-4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 1/2 tbsp. Asian chili paste

1 1/2 tsp. pepper

Trim your tenderloin, cube it and toss in the marinade. Marinade for a good 8 hours or so, stirring or flipping once or twice.

Thread onto soaked wooden skewers (or metal if you have 'em) and grill for 8-12 minutes turning often.

The Patient

Surgery was a success! M's tonsils & adenoids were removed and the fluid in his ears & chest was drained. It was a short procedure but a long day and there were a few things we just weren't prepared for despite reading up on what to expect.

First, I thought we'd be allowed in the room when they were putting him out. Wrong. The doctor came to talk to us and said the nurse would be coming soon to bring M into the operating room. The doctor excited M with her talk about all the Spiderman & Thomas stickers and he was sad when he left without her. When the nurse came, we walked down the hall to the doors that opened to the operating area and the anaesthesiologist told us they'd put him out using a mask before inserting the IV. He warned that small children were particularly restless when coming out of the anaesthetic but it would only last about 30 minutes to an hour. Two seconds later, the big doors opened up and M walked in with the nurse. He didn't even look back. A little part of me died and I broke down in tears.

Second, the word "restless" doesn't even come close to describing how M was as he came to after surgery. The nurse came to get me just as he started to wake and I came into recovery to find a little boy who was sobbing, screaming, coughing & hacking who was just so completely out of it. I scooped him up and he was flipping between angry rage, sobbing fits & limp exhaustion all while coughing up blood & mucous on my shoulders. Hard.

Third, after what seemed like eternity of the "restless" phase, the nurses decided M needed a bit of morphine because he was just so far gone and he was beyond the point of calming. Just when it seemed like he might be calming down, cue the nurse noticing a pile of blood on the floor behind me. They quickly realized it wasn't from his mouth but rather, his IV came out during his struggles with himself. Six nurses later, the IV was back in and another dose of morphine & Gravol was administered.

Lastly, after all of the above, I honestly didn't expect recovery to be so slow. I wrongly expected our little guy to be full of smiles as he came out of surgery but he wasn't. It took him a good few hours to be at all complacent and even then, everything was a struggle. He felt so horrible that he didn't want a single sip of water or a popsicle and of course, we weren't allowed to leave until he'd started drinking. The nurses had to give him yet another dose of morphine and only then did he turn a corner and want to eat popsicles. 5 or 6 white grape popsicles later, we were given the all clear to head home.

We came home and M was starving. He was begging for Goldfish crackers, which he obviously couldn't have so he instead inhaled 4 scrambled eggs, chocolate pudding, avocado, well cooked orzo cooked in chicken stock with cheese and various other soft nibbles. We had to administer antibiotics and he pitched an epic meltdown because they burned his poor throat. He eventually cried himself into sleep on D's chest and we took him to bed.

All in all, we're on day 3 and things are going well. He has ups & downs and he's definitely still in pain. He's on Tylenol and we've been told days 4 & 5 are worse than the first. Hopefully not! I'm so glad the procedure is done and I'm really hoping we notice a difference in his health over the next few seasons. M is such a little trooper!