Peanut Butter Dessert

1 pk. brownie mix (for 9 x 13 pan)
2 1/2 cups cold milk
1 pk. vanilla instant pudding mix
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
12 oz. carton of Cool Whip
3 squares semi-sweet chocolate

Prepare and bake brownie mix as directed. Cool completely.

Mix vanilla pudding mix and 2 1/2 cups cold milk, beating at medium speed for 2 minutes. Add in powdered sugar and peanut butter and whip well. Spread on cooled brownies.

Melt chocolate squares in microwave for 1 minute (on high). Stir until all bits have been dissolved.  Put frozen Cool Whip in microwave for 1 minute (on high). Mix chocolate and Cool Whip together and whisk well to blend. Pour over pudding layer and spread evenly.

Refrigerate for several hours or overnight before serving. Store in refrigerator.

This what I had for dinner last night. Well, there might have been soup, too, but this is the thing I remember most. The chocolate and peanut butter dessert. Mmmmmm….

My Traveling Woman Shawl is done and ready to block. Now I’m on to Mara with Madelinetosh Worsted and another pair of Cabled Mitts with Lorna’s Laces Worsted. (Worsted weight – a knitter’s best friend when gift knitting must get done. And Lorna’s and Madelinetosh must have the most wonderful worsted yarns on the planet. Seriously.) I’m also contemplating Colonnade with Lorna’s Laces. Elf Donna is making one up out of LL Worsted and it is gorgeous. A Must Knit.

Sheri inthemoodtogetapuppy.Pleasetellme
whythat’sareallybadidea.WHclaimsitis.Idon’tbelievehim.

Homemade NO’s
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups sugar (plus 1/4 cup to flatten the cookies)
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (room temperature)
2 eggs (room temperature)
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Vanilla Cream Filling (see below)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift together dry ingredients.

In mixer, cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add in eggs and beat well. Slowly add in dry ingredient mix and continue beating until the dough is well mixed.

Scoop out 1 Tbl.-sized balls onto baking stone (or parchment-lined cookie sheet), about 2″ apart. Dip bottom of glass into sugar and press to flatten cookies to about 1/4″ thick. Bake 10-12 minutes. Let cool on pan/stone for 2 minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Vanilla Cream Filling
1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 cup solid vegetable shortening
7 cups confectioners sugar
2 Tbl. pure vanilla extract

Cream butter and shortening. Gradually add in sugar and mix until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and mix to combine.

Spread on flat side of one cookie, then top it with the flat side of a second cookie and press lightly.

Filled cookies can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.  Makes approximately 3 dozen sandwiches.

*Note, you can also half the recipe and get just 16 sandwiches. But why would you want to do that?

So much to get done this weekend. I’m still trying to knock off some of the half-finished items from my “to knit” list, so that when I write about it in the blog next week, it won’t look quite so bad…

Sheri madetheselastweekandtookthemtoWebGuyinOhio
NowI’mwishingIhadonetogowithmycoffee.

I

Peanut Butter Frosting (from allrecipes.com, with modifications based on some of the reviews. This frosting is way too good.)

1/2 cup butter, softened to room temp
1 heaping cup of creamy peanut butter
2-4 Tbl. milk
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla

Mix butter and peanut butter until smooth. Add powedered sugar gradually, beating the whole time. Add vanilla and then the milk as needed (1 Tbl. at a time.) When well mixed, turn up the speed and whip for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.

Thank you for all of your votes on Loopy’s Summer Vacation! Here are the winners:

Most creative: Crab Loopy from Linda

Farthest place that he traveled: Great Wall of China from Toria

Photo that made you wish you were there: Loopy Goes Canoeing from Liz

Each of the winners will receive a Loopy Ewe Gift Certificate. We also drew one name randomly from all entries to win a Gift Certificate and that one went to: Jennifer from CA for Loopy Goes Back in Tyme. Thank you to everyone for participating!

Some of you have asked when we’d have the stuffed Loopy sheep back again. The company we get them from discontinued them this summer. (With no warning. FPS.) However, we pleaded with them (and showed them the travels that Loopy has taken) and they agreed that we needed to have them again. Or rather, they agreed that if we purchased a whole BUNCH of them, they’d have them special-made for us. So they are being made as we speak, and we’ll get the batch in again in late Winter/early Spring, just in time for another round of summer travels and such. We miss seeing all of the Loopy guys hanging around here. It will be fun to have them back!

Found another pattern I want to make. It looks like a quick knit. It’s this, by Loopy Groupie Jess. (I can only find the pattern on Ravelry. Sorry about that.) And I’ll make it out of this yarn. I love that yarn. But first I need to finish the second Multnomah, so I’ll be spending time on that this weekend. What will you be spending time on?

Sheri weadded13moresetsofshelveshereatLoopyCentralthisweek.
Lotsofyarnonorder.

I have two things to tempt your palate today. The first: THESE have got to be the very best caramels I have ever had in my entire life, bar none. (Yes, that’s quite a strong endorsement. And I mean every word of it.) The salted caramel flavor (Fleur De Sel) is unbelievable. I also ordered the English Tea flavor, and wondered how in the world “tea” and “caramel” could combine into something good. It does. Amazing. When you need a good caramel fix, try them out. 

A couple of weeks ago I tried a new recipe from The Pioneer Woman’s Blog. (Digression: Do any of you read her blog? How in the heck does she have the time and energy to blog that much?  I know that her blog is broken down into different sections, but holy cow. When I came home from the Sock Summit, I checked my Google Reader to see which of the blogs that I read regularly, had been updated while I was gone for a week. In that time, a couple of the blogs had been updated once, most had not been updated at all, and the Pioneer Women? 25 updates. TWENTY FIVE unread posts. In the 7 days that I was gone. The thing is, they’re all interesting and I do read them. She has a good thing going there.)

As with almost any recipe I make, I tweaked this. Not because it wasn’t good as is, but I’m a tweaker. I tweak. With this one, I added in cooked chicken breasts, a little more onion and cheese, and doubled the dressing. I also thought that it would be delicious (and colorful) to add in chunks of avocado. I might try that the next time. I hope you enjoy it!

Pioneer Woman’s Pita Chip Panzanella (tweaked by Loopy)

1 oz. bag Stacy’s Simply Naked Pita Chips (or the pita chips that you like)
5 medium ripe tomatoes, cut into 1″ chunks
3/4 cup medium red onion, sliced thin and chopped
1/2 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
4 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 Tbl. red wine vinegar
freshly ground black pepper
kosher salt 
(note to self: try adding in avocado chunks the next time)

Combine chips, tomato chunks, onions, Parmesan and chicken in a large bowl. Mix together oil and vinegar with a dash of salt, and pour over the ingredients. Add freshly ground pepper and toss to mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit at room temperature for 30-60 minutes before serving. 

It has been fun to read all of your comments from Monday’s blog contest! (If you haven’t added one yet, there is still time. We’ll draw for the winners on Monday.) We do one prize for every 250 entries and we’re up to 7 drawings for prize packages, so far. How fun!

Sheri doyoufollowarecipesaswritten,orareyouatweaker,too?

Isn’t she a cutie pie? And she has good taste, because you know by her smile that she likes visiting Loopy just as much as we like having here there.

Our time in the mountains is winding down, but it has been great! Lots of knitting done, movies seen, places visited, and time spent with my favorite people. I’ve had fun making some new recipes, too, which I’ll be sharing over time. Today’s was adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe and it’s delicious.

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 cup unsalted butter
3 cups sugar
1 cup shortening, melted & cooled
2 eggs
3 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in bowl.

In mixing bowl, mix butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in melted shortening, and then eggs and vanilla. Mix until creamy. Add flour mixture slowly and mix until just combined.

Drop by rounded tablespoon onto baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 13-14 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes and finish cooling on wire racks.

Sheri HappyFourthofJulyweekendtoallofourLoopyStatesiders!

I’m still doing an excellent job of  “Be-ing”, and boy is it nice.

I tried a new recipe for Father’s Day. We had my parents and brother over for lunch that day and my dad likes Peanut Butter Pie. This one came from the Pioneer Woman blog, which I love.

Peanut Butter Pie

Crust:
25 Oreos
1/4 cup butter, melted.

Crush Oreos in blender or food processor until fine. Add melted butter, mix well, and press into the bottom and up the sides of a pie plate.  Bake at 350 degrees for 5-7 minutes. Let cool. (Need this recipe to be even easier? Buy one of the prepared Oreo Pie Crusts at the grocery store. That also saves you from having to eat the rest of the Oreos in the package you had to buy to make this.)

Filling:
1 cup creamy peanut butter
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
8 oz. Cool Whip, thawed
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Whip together peanut butter and cream cheese. Add in the powdered sugar and mix well. Add in the Cool Whip, mixing until light and fluffy. Spoon the filling into the cooled crust and refrigerate for a few hours or over night. (Lick the beaters – it’s delicious.)

Cut into 8 pieces and enjoy!

Sheri wholikesrecipesthatarethiseasy&thisgood

Sometimes we come across unusual street names as we’re packing orders.

I tried a new crockpot recipe this week (adapted from a Betty Crocker slow cooker recipe) and it smelled great when I walked in the door after my day at Loopy. Better yet, it tastes wonderful, too.  I love crockpot recipes at all times of the year, but it’s especially nice in the summer when you really don’t want to heat up the whole kitchen. (I could not get a good photo of this to save my life. I took 12 and this was the “best” one. Sad, isn’t it? Sorry for the blur. But it does taste good!)

Hoisin Pork Roast

3 lbs. pork roast
1 medium onion, sliced
1 cup Hoisin sauce
2/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tsp. ground ginger (or 2 Tbl. grated gingerroot)
4 tsp. sesame oil
fresh cilantro leaves, if desired

Place roast in slow cooker. Cover with onion slices.  Mix remaining ingredients except cilantro, and pour over roast and onions.

Cover and cook on low heat for 8-10 hours or until done.

Remove roast to serving platter. Skim fat from surface of juices in cooker. Serve ribs with sauce and sprinkle with cilantro.

Have a great weekend and I’ll be back with you on Monday. In the meantime, do you have any unusual street or city names that you have come across?

Sheri soridiculouslyHOTandHUMIDhereinSt.Louisrightnow

We have had the same forecast all week long.

Several of you have asked what I used for blocking my Girasole. I bought two sets of these at Sam’s. I like them because they interlock (which also means they come apart for storage). The colored side is knobby, but the black side is smooth.  I used all of the squares in two sets to block mine, which turned out to be 72″ in diameter (just what the pattern said it would be.) So far, we have over 250 people KALing with us on this, and people are still signing up – how fun is that? It’s not too late to join. Details here.

We went to a dinner earlier this week and had the best cookies for dessert. I decided that I needed to come home and duplicate the recipe. (This was a catered dinner at church, so no one was there that could pass on the recipe to me.) I think they go well with thunderstorms and coffee and knitting. Or hot chocolate, fires in the fireplace, and a good book. You choose.

Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

6 cups oats
2 1/4 cups flour
2 cups butter or margarine
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups brown sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups dried cranberries
2 cups white chocolate chips

Cream together butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Add baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and flour, mixing well.  Add oats 2 cups at a time and mix until blended. Fold in cranberries and white chocolate chips by hand.

Scoop into balls and bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. (Cookies will flatten, so space well.) Let cool 2-4 minutes on pan before transferring to a wire rack.

Makes 6-8 dozen, depending on size. You can also freeze half the dough for later. I make the rest of the dough into cookie-sized balls, freeze on a cookie sheet, then transfer the frozen balls to a big zip-top bag when they’re completely frozen. Add a couple of minutes to the baking time if you’re baking the balls directly from the freezer later. If you click on that cookie photo to make it bigger, I think you’ll practically be able to smell them ….

Sheri whoishavingaGirlsWeekendwithKnittingDaughterthisweekend!
Whatareyoudoing?

Remember that song, “Just another Manic Monday”?

Question for all of you who live in Indiana. Last weekend when we were driving up to meet College Guy and College Girl, we passed fields and fields of these bright yellow flowering plants. What are they? They looked so cheerful, and they were planted in rows so I know it’s something that was planned and planted on purpose. We just couldn’t figure out what they were. Does anyone know?

Today’s recipe was adapted from the Year of Crockpotting blog. She has such great recipes – I hope you have that site bookmarked. This soup recipe is delicious and SPICY!

Buffalo Wing Crockpot Soup
3 cups cooked and cubed chicken
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1/4 cup butter, unsalted
1/4 cup flour
2 cups fat free milk (or no higher than 2% – it will curdle)
1 cup chicken broth
4 oz. Velveeta
1/3 cup hot wing sauce (more, if you like it hotter)
1/2 tsp. celery salt
1/2 tsp. garlic salt

Add chopped onion, celery, and chopped chicken to your crockpot. Pour in chicken broth and milk. Add Velveeta and salt.

Make a roux with the flour and butter. (Melt butter in microwave and then whisk in the flour.) Add to the crockpot, along with the hot sauce.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours (or on high for 3-4 hours).  Delicious.

Watch for next week’s Sneak Up – we have fun things going up! Just in – the new Color Commentary from Lorna’s Laces, and this time it’s in honor of our friend Wendy at WendyKnits.  We ordered lots in Shepherd Sock, Shepherd Sport, and Roving to go up next week. We’ll also be adding in new colors of Claudia Hand Painted Fingering and Silk, as well as new colors in Mountain Colors Bearfoot. We have more Fleece Artist Trail Socks to go up, Yarn Pirate Roving and Fingering weight yarn, and Creatively Dyed in a new Worsted Weight. We did a lot of photographs this week (and by “we”, I mean Elf Wendy) and we’ll do a lot of color correcting this weekend (and by “we”, I mean WH), and then we’ll get it all up for you asap next week (and by “we”, I mean me). It takes a village, you know.

Sheri whohasn’thadmuchknittingtimelately,haveyou?

This weekend I’ll be out of town and away from emails today through Monday evening. I’ll catch up as soon as I get back. In the meantime, I wanted to leave you with a good recipe to try. I had Tres Leches Cake in San Antonio a few years ago and have been looking for a good recipe for this for a long time. I adapted this from a Cook’s Illustrated recipe and made it in Colorado over Spring Break. It turned out great (even making ingredient adjustments for the high altitude baking, which is always a gamble. The recipe below is for regular altitude baking.) I hope you enjoy it!

Tres Leches Cake
2 cups unbleached flour
2 cups sugar
8 Tbl. butter, unsalted
4 eggs (room temperature)
1 cup whole milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
(I would delete the cinnamon the next time. Maybe that’s an important part of Tres Leches cake, but we decided we’d like the flavor better without it.)

Milk Mixture
1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)
1 can evaporated milk (12 oz)
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Frosting
1 3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 Tbl. light corn syrup

Start with the milk mixture. Pour the condensed milk into a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave it on low power, stirring frequently.  You will cook this until it is slightly darker and thickened (about 12-15 minutes). When finished, slowly whisk in the evaporated milk, cream and vanilla.  Let cool to room temp.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 pan. Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon and set aside. Heat butter and milk together over low heat until the butter has melted, and set aside.

Beat eggs with electric mixer for about 30 seconds. Slowly add in the sugar until well mixed and beat until this mixture is very thick and glossy (about 5-7 minutes). Reduce speed and slowly add in the butter mixture and the vanilla. Add the flour mixture slowly after that.   Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 30-35 minutes and let the cake cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack.

Use a skewer to poke holes at 1/2 inch intervals across the top of the cake. Slowly pour the milk mixture over the top, until it’s completely absorbed. Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes, then refrigerate uncovered for 3 hours or longer.

To frost: Remove the cake from the fridge 30 minutes before serving. Beat the frosting ingredients into soft peaks and then frost the cake. The frosted cake can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Now that it is May, we have a new “Loopy’s Summer Vacation Contest” starting up! This will be our third summer of sending Loopy out to visit places of interest with you all summer long. (Here are the two photo galleries from past contests. You can see that Loopy has had a LOT of fun traveling and seeing the sites with all of you.) We will include a Loopy postcard with your first May order and will continue while supplies last. Some people pose the Loopy postcard, others take their Little Loopy or their Big Loopy. Whatever works best for you is fine with us. You can start adding your photos to Loopy’s 2009 Summer Vacation photo gallery through your Loopy account, as soon as you get them.  (Jill – I nabbed your Beachbum Loopy photo from last year as the Highlight Photo for this year. It was a cute closeup!) We’ll accumulate photos all summer and will do the judging in September. Have fun!

Sheri sowhatisyourfavoritedayoftheweek?Andwhatmakesitafavorite?