Tuesday, May 27, 2014

A Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop

Hey All!! I'm still on vacation and don't have anything new to share. But that just means you'll have more time to look at all the wonderful links on our blog hop tonight! Without further ado...here's our link party!

Happy 
75th 
Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop!
75 is a special number. Seventy-fifth anniversaries are celebrated with diamonds and/or gold. In blogging world? We celebrate milestones with hoopla and hallelujahs,right?  

Simply put, I thank each and every one of you who participate in this party. It gets bigger and better every week. I've said it before, your talent and creativity make it like visiting the best online magazine ever! You are what makes Wednesdays wonderful!

DRUMROLL PLEASE? Last week we had a record-breaking 331 posts shared at our party. Wow! 

THE VIEW: I love the larger icons so I hope you don't mind scrolling your way through them all but everybody creates such visibly fetching images, they deserve to be seen nice 'n big! So, for now we'll keep them that way!

Of the 331 posts, which were the most popular?  
Let's take a look here:

Most Viewed 

Glazed Kielbasa Pineapple BItes by Jam Hands

Very Popular


Editor's Pick
Gorgeous Hawaiian Paradise Cake


And now, for this week's collection of creativity... LET'S PARTY!

We can hardly wait to see what great new ideas and yummy recipes you have for us this week!
Please take some time to visit our co-hosts and follow them, too.

Ali from Jam Hands

Elie of Organizer by Day

Nicole & Susan from Flavors by Four

Diane Recipes for Our Daily Bread

Dawn of Spatulas on Parade

Tammy of Creative K Kids
and…The Ultimate Linky
Sinea from Ducks ‘n a Row
Blog / Bloglovin’ / Email / Facebook / Google+ / Pinterest  / RSS / Twitter

Love this party?

So let's party!  Simple Guidelines:
  • Please follow our host and co-hosts in as many ways possible (social media links below) 
  • PLEASE TWEET THIS PARTY !!!!  We want everyone to know about it!
  • Add as many of your family-friendly posts as you would like, no giveaways please.
  • Visit three or more others. Let them know you've been there!
  • When you are PINNING, remember to do it from the original post. 
  • If you are new, be sure to let us know in the comments so that we can follow you back. 
  • Thanks for joining us!


Tuesday, May 20, 2014

A Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop

Hey All! Welcome back to another Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop. Thank you so much for joining us for another great week of inspirational ideas! In case you missed it, here's what I've been creating:

That's it for now. I'm on vacation! But can't wait to see what you've been up to!

Welcome to the Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop!
The most popular post from last week's party is this delicious 
BBQ Bacon Ranch Chicken Pasta salad. 
Mmmmm. 

MOST VIEWED 



VERY POPULAR




We can hardly wait to see what great new ideas and yummy recipes you have for us this week!
Please take some time to visit our co-hosts and follow them, too.

Sinea from Ducks ‘n a Row
Blog / Bloglovin’ / Email / Facebook / Google+ / Pinterest  / RSS / Twitter

Ali from Jam Hands

Elie of Organizer by Day

Nicole & Susan from Flavors by Four

Diane Recipes for Our Daily Bread

Dawn of Spatulas on Parade

Tammy of Creative K Kids
and…The Ultimate Linky

Love this party?

So let's party!  Simple Guidelines:
  • Please follow our host and co-hosts in as many ways possible (social media links below) 
  • PLEASE TWEET THIS PARTY !!!!  We want everyone to know about it!
  • Add as many of your family-friendly posts as you would like, no giveaways please.
  • Visit three or more others. Let them know you've been there!
  • When you are PINNING, remember to do it from the original post. 
  • If you are new, be sure to let us know in the comments so that we can follow you back. 
  • Thanks for joining us!

Friday, May 16, 2014

Copycat Brownie Bites

Hello and Happy Friday to y'all!! Yay the weekend is finally upon us! Hopefully this Midwest cold snap will be over soon so I can get back outside. In the meantime, I guess I'll stay inside and bake.
So, the other day, yet again my weird obsession with all things chocolate and peanut butter hit me. But I was again stuck with the question of what to make to satisfy the craving?! 

As weird as it sounds, I had seen a package of brownie bites at a gas station and couldn't get them out of my head. Since I was being lazy didn't need to leave the house, I decided to try and make my own instead...of course making mine with peanut butter. So here are my Copycat Brownie Bites...stuffed with Peanut Butter! 
First I followed the recipe on my Nestle Cocoa Powder to make my yummy brownies.
Then I made a fun peanut butter mixture to stuff in the middle.
And last, I mixed up a yummy cream cheese icing for the top! 
I've nicknamed these "Death by Tiny Chocolates" because I can't stop eating them! And I don't want to, because they're so small and innocent...and amazing!

Ingredients:
1 2/3 Cup sugar
3/4 Cup butter, melted (1 1/2 sticks)
2 Tbsp water
2 eggs, room temperature
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 1/3 cup flour
3/4 Cup baking cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 Cup peanut butter
1/2 Tbsp butter, softened
1/3 Cup powdered sugar
1/3 Cup light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Icing:
4oz cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp butter, softened
1/2 Cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
food coloring (optional)

Directions:

In a small bowl combine together the peanut butter and butter until there are no clumps. Add in the powdered sugar, brown sugar and vanilla and stir until completely mixed together. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a mini muffin pan. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the sugar and butter. Stir in the water, then the eggs one at a time until fully mixed together. Add the vanilla.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Stir this into the wet ingredients until there are hardly any clumps left.

Fill each muffin cup until there's just a couple centimeters showing at the top. I did this three times and ended up with 36 brownie bites.
Roll together 1/2 tsp size balls of the peanut butter mixture and smash it into the middle of the brownie.
Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool. I set mine in the pan on a cooling rack for a couple minutes, then popped them out and let them finish on the rack while the next batch cooked.

For Icing:
Combine the cream cheese and butter in your mixer on high until there are no lumps left. Add in the sugar and vanilla and any food coloring you may want. 

Add to a piping bag and frost the tops of your bites once they are cooled. Or just grab a knife and glob it on there!

Refrigerate for later, or devour as many as you can now! I've had them warm and cold and both are equally amazing! I must say, I think these are even better than the ones you find at the gas station :)
Do you have any weird cravings that you just can't get enough of sometimes? Got any great chocolate/peanut butter recipes I should try? Let me know!

Thanks for stopping by!

**I linked up to link party palooza, creative collection, best of the weekendthe scooptitus 2 tuesdaytoo cute tuesdaytutorial tuesdayflusters creative musterwhats cookin wednesdaywicked awesome wednesdayinspire me wednesdaywhatever goes wednesdaycreate it thursdayfull plate thursdaypin it thursdaythe homeacre hopthursday stylefriday flash blogfriday link partykitchen fun and crafty fridaycreativity unleashed, weekend potluckweekend bloggy readingamaze me mondayfrugal crafty home

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

A Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop

Hey Hey and Happy Tuesday to ya! I'm back hosting another Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop! Last week was so much fun! I found amazing recipes and crafts and I hope you can join us again!

In case you missed it, here's what I've been up to:
Now that you're all caught up, let's get to the party!

Welcome to the Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop!
Last week our two most viewed posts had to do with FOOD -- desserts, to be specific. Oatmeal fudge bars and a plethora (exaggeration here) of Chocolate Cheesecake recipes!

Most Viewed


Very Popular



Be sure to visit our host and co-hosts on their blogs and social media, too!


Sinea from Ducks ‘n a Row
Blog / Bloglovin’ / Email / Facebook / Google+ / Pinterest  / RSS / Twitter

Elie of Organizer by Day
Blog / Bloglovin’ / Facebook / Google+ / Instagram Pinterest

Ali from Jam Hands

Nicole & Susan from Flavors by Four

Diane Recipes for Our Daily Bread

Dawn of Spatulas on Parade

Tammy of Creative K Kids

and…The Ultimate Linky
Facebook / Twitter


So let's party!  Simple Guidelines:
  • Please follow our host and co-hosts in as many ways possible (social media links below) 
  • PLEASE TWEET THIS PARTY !!!!  We want everyone to know about it!
  • Add as many of your family-friendly posts as you would like, no giveaways please.
  • Visit three or more others. Let them know you've been there!
  • When you are PINNING, remember to do it from the original post. 
  • If you are new, be sure to let us know in the comments so that we can follow you back. 
  • Thanks for joining us!
Love this party?