This is a recipe that I have had my eye on for a long time.  I adore peanut butter in any way shape or form.  

 

I do like the creamy style slightly more than the crunchy, but if it's peanut butter I am all for it! I have never met a peanut butter anything I didn't like!

 

The original recipe comes from a baking book I have had for a while, entitled Tate's Bake Shop Cookbook, by Kathleen King.  

 

I have had it since before we moved back here to Chester and I am ashamed to say this is the first time I have used it!

 

As a part of my efforts to downsize around here I have been going through all of my cookery books and trying to decide which ones to keep and which ones not to keep.  

 

If they are books I have used a lot, they stay  . . . . naturally.

 

But if they are not books which I have used, I am having to do some serious thinking as to whether it is worth keeping them or not.  

 

I want to have at least 10 recipes per book, if not more, that I have cooked or am interested in cooking.

 

This one looks somewhat promising, especially after baking this loaf and seeing how lovely it turned out.

 

A simple quick bread with lovely rich peanut butter flavours.  Easy to make.  It did take me sightly longer to bake, but I am not sure if that is because of where I live, or because my oven isn't working properly.  (Yes, still!) 

This can happen often when baking things. All ovens are not alike and altitude, environment can also come into play when baking. We must be prepared to adjust things as we need to.

 

She recommended serving it toasted and spread with jam.  I decided to try it first as little sandwiches  . . .  one with strawberry jam, and another with a sugar free chocolate spread I have here in the house. 

I love sandwiches.  Almost as much as I love peanut butter.

 

Both of the sandwiches I made looked very good. I can't tell you which one I loved more.

 

Nutella?  Yum!!  Jam?  Yum!  Both? Yum yum yum!

 

I also cut a thin slice and toasted it in the toaster  . . .  until the edges were crisp and golden.  Nobody can ever accuse me of not doing what I need to in order to present you with the very best! 😉😉😉

 

The toasted slice I spread lightly with salted butter.  Lightly is a personal decision. One man's idea of lightly is not the same as another man's lightly. 

 

Just saying  . . . don't quote me on this!

 

  I actually sat down with a finger of each and a cup of Peanut Hottie Hot Chocolate to try them out inividually.  One small finger of each of the nutella sandwich, and one of the jam, and one of the toasted slice.

 

I am incredibly thorough when I do these things. I wouldn't want to share anything with you that wasn't amazingly tasty would I?

  

I know . . .  its a tough job, but somebody has to do it!  All I can say is Yum, Double Yum, Triple YUM YUM YUM!!

 

The results were  . . .  I liked the toasted one, but it was not my favourite . . .  the sugar free chocolate spread was very good. My very favourite however  . . . . was the one with strawberry jam!  Yes, you can take the North American out of North America, but you can't take the North America out of the North American.  My veins flow with peanut butter and jam!  Yummity yummity yum yum yum! 

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I think I must have spent my childhood living under a rock because it was not until I became an adult that I ever heard of S'Mores.  

Popular at campfires, you toast marshmallows and then sandwich them between two graham crackers along with a square of chocolate.  

The heat from the marshmallows melts the chocolates.  Very gooey and very scrumptious. 

 

Twice a year our church (The Church of Jesus Christ) has what is called a General Conference, which is an opportunity for us to gather together and listen to our leaders speak.  

I always enjoy Conference weekend.  There are two (two hour) sessions on each the Saturday and the Sunday, and on the Saturday the break in between is usually marked by enjoying some kind of scrumptious snack or treat that marks this day as special.

 

In Utah that might mean that they go for Ice Cream.  I have heard some of our leaders refer to that on occasion.  

Here in the UK, we watch it from our own home.  Normally we will have people invited over to watch it with us and we will enjoy some good food.

 

Generally speaking, for me  . . .  this means finger foods.  Pizza, sandwiches, etc.  cake.

 

This year I decided to make us some Chocolate Chip S'More Scones,  inspired by a recipe I saw on Sugar and Charm.

 

She used a baking mix to make hers.  I didn't want to do that, so I used my favourite rock cake dough  . . . which is much,  much nicer. 

 

Two kinds of flours (plain and self raising) are sifted together, along with some salt and baking powder . . .  and then butter is rubbed into them with your fingertips.

 

Sugar is stirred in after that and then a mix of milk, vanilla and beaten egg, to give you a droppable consistency of dough.

 

And then finally some milk chocolate chips.  You can vary the amount depending on how many you want in your scones.  

I used the full amount.  Just make sure you use good quality ones. 

 

Drop the dough onto paper lined baking sheets, leaving plenty of space in between, and then (its up to you) you can brush the tops with an egg wash.  

I chose not to today.  If you do that, you might want to scatter a bit of demerara (Turbinado) sugar on top as well.  But again it's up to you.

 

They are baked in a moderately hot oven until risen and golden brown and then scooped onto a rack to cool just until you can comfortably handle them.

 

Carefully split and then fill with marshmallows . . .

 

And returned to the oven just until the marshmallow melts and gets all ooey gooey . . .  scrumdiddlyumptious! 

  

Now that's what I call a Conference weekend worthy treat!  Well, worthy of baking and eating any time really!  Woo hoo!  Moreish!

 

Our marshmallows over here in the UK are always a mix of pink and white.  I am not sure why that is.  You only ever very rarely see completely white ones, and then they are called American marshmallows.

 

It doesn't really matter, these taste good no matter what.  The kids are really going to enjoy them!  Happy Weekend! 

 

  

I had a good clean out of the refrigerator today (Wednesday as I write this), in preparation for the up and coming holidays.  It is amazing how quickly your fridge can get full of bits and bobs of stuff, cluttering it up and taking up needed space.  You know the kind of thing I mean  . . .  that couple of tablespoons of relish in the bottom of the jar, or that bottle of ketchup that barely had enough in it for one serving.  I hate waste, so I always save this stuff, thinking I am going to use it, but then don't.

  

In all truth most jars and packs will tell you the shelf life of said article after opening, and its usually not very long.  Then too, you organise your fridge and it soon gets messy again with things being taken out and put back in.  I always give it a good lick and a promise about once a month anyways, but before Christmas I like to really have a good go at it, so that I have enough space for all the Christmas goodies we will be getting in.

 

I like a well organised refrigerator, with like things being in position together  . . .  like all the sauces and mustard's in one place  . . .  oriental foods (Ketjap Manis, Hoisin sauce, Srirachi sauce, etc.) in another area, dairy together, etc.  Cooked foods on a higher shelf and raw foods/meats on a lower shelf.  Did you know you should never store your eggs on the door?  In the shops here, they are kept on the store shelves, but they do recommend refrigerating them when you get them home.  I just leave them in the carton and store them on a shelf, rather than on the door.  They say that the temperature on the door fluctuates too much for them to be safely stored there. 

 

These Deluxe Double Layer Egg Containers are the ideal thing to use for storing them in the refrigerator or in the cupboards if you are so inclined.  It's convenient and protective, and double layered with space enough to hold 2 dozen eggs.  Its easy to use and grid shaped to take up less space in the fridge.  You can find out more about that here.  They come in three snazzy colours.  I have one of those on my Christmas wish list! 

 

I like to store my milk, other drinks and all of my jams and a few pickles on the door to my fridge.  My old fridge had a water dispenser and there was hardly any room on the door for anything.  I like the setup in this refrigerator so much better!  I know there are only two of us, but you would not believe the amount of milk we go through.  Todd is the main user of it. 

 

 

I had  small package of fresh ravioli taking up some space that was on its due date today so I threw together a Ravioli Lasagna for us for our dinner.  It was a beef and red wine ravioli.  Fresh pasta. 

 

The package said it was just enough for two servings. I have noticed lately that most things only serve two people, which is okay for us as we are only two people, but what do larger families do?  They must have to buy in multiples! That must get pretty expensive and annoying!

 

For this recipe you simply layer the fresh ravioli with a good tomato pasta sauce and cheese in a baking dish and bake.  Its so simple.  No fuss, no muss.

 

Layer and bake and in no time at all, dinner is ready.  All you need on the side is a lovely salad and maybe some garlic bread if you are feeling really hungry. 

 

This was really very tasty!  Even Todd (who hates pasta) didn't complain.  I don't think he realised what he was eating actually, lol.

  

I do have to apologise for the lousy photos today.  It has been raining cats and dogs and is dark, dark, dark.  I like to use natural lighting, hence the poor photographs, but trust me when I say if I had turned the lights on they would have been worse! 

   

In any case this makes a delicious supper for when you are lacking in time and inspiration.  Although the quantities are for two people, it can very easily be doubled to serve more!

 

One thing that I really like in my refrigerator are these Essential Refrigerator Containers.  I just have one at the moment, but plan on getting more.  These innovative refrigerator containers add space to your fridge and help you to safely and neatly arrange things to your convenience.  Right now I have some cheese in mine, but they come in handy for all sorts, sandwich meats, snacks, yogurt tubes, squeeze condiments, eggs, etc.   They are simple and easy to use.  You just slide them onto the refrigerator shelf using the handy clips which hold it in place, allowing for you to slide it open easily as well.  Simple to handle, set up and use, secure locking, with a good fresh air flow, and are dishwasher safe for easy cleaning.  Click on the link above to find out more. They are available at a pretty good price at the moment as well, with free shipping in the USA.    I love mine and plan on getting a couple more in the new year!

So now that my fridge is all clean and tidy for Christmas, I can start planning on what I am going to fill it with!  Not too much I don't think, until just prior to Christmas.  Filling it up too soon will just defeat my purpose in cleaning it up and getting it ready!  Enjoy the lasagna and Bon Appetit!