Galatians 3:28

Lightened Up Scotcharoos

Sometimes I get on these health kicks where I'm all like "NO MORE SUGAR." You can probably imagine how long those last. I post more ahem unhealthy recipes than healthy ones here.

One night while on a chocolate and peanut butter kick, however, I made some chocolate and peanut butter rice krispie treats (being these), bit into one, and immediately thought how much they tasted like a scotcharoo bar. (Side note - is it scotcharoo or scotheroo? I've seen it both ways...) So I was all over them and yelling in by brain "THESE ARE HEALTHIFIED SCOTCHAROOS! EAT THEM ALL; EAT THEM ALL!"

Okay, so maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but if you're going to choose between a scotcharoo and one of these, I would definitely choose this as there's not nearly as much sugar. Is there some sugar? Yes, but not nearly as much, and you still get the same great flavor. Try 'em today!

Lightened Up Scotcharoos

4 cups rice krispies

4 cups mini marshmallows

3 T. margarine

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4-1/2 cup peanut butter chips

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

In a mixing bowl, pour the rice krispies. Prepare an 8x8 inch container for the scotcharoos by lightly creasing the bottom.

In a pan over medium heat on the stove, mix together the marshmallows and margarine until partially melted. Add in the peanut butter. Continue to heat until completely melted. Add to the rice krispies in a bowl and mix together until evenly combined. Mix in the peanut butter chips. Press evenly into the 8x8 container. Immediately press the mini chocolate chips into the top of the bars. Cool before cutting and eating.

Linked to Time to Sparkle, Buns In My Oven, Six Sister's Stuff

Double Berry Smoothie

My smoothie obsession lives on! In fact, my love for them is so strong that I am considering opening a smoothie shop someday. 

Seriously, smoothies are my major passion right now.

I have one just about every morning, and this one might be my favorite. I LOVE raspberries to no end, and the strawberries add such a great flavor...and the juice...oh the juice...

My mom has started buying us these Naked brand juices for our smoothies. They add so much flavor to the smoothies! This "red machine" flavor is my favorite right now. We had two other kinds in the fridge, one of which I haven't tried yet, but the other one's more yellowish orange and I think it's more of a passion/tropical fruit blend. It doesn't work quite as well in this recipe as this red kind does, but I guess that's totally a personal preference thing :) Either way, they all look super yummy!

I included this juice in the recipe, but you can go ahead and substitute milk in for the amount of juice. You could also add in your favorite juice, and fresh fruit juice is very tasty as well. As I've mentioned before, smoothies are super versatile and customizable to your own likes!

Double Berry Smoothie

heaping 1/4 cup frozen raspberries

3 medium strawberries, cut into fourths and frozen (or you can use the pre-frozen ones)

1/4 cup yogurt

2 T. milk

3 T. Naked brand "red machine" juice

Place all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. I like my smoothies to be on the thicker side, so if you want to thin it out, just add some more liquid, 1 T. at a time until it reaches a desired consistency.

Linked to Time to Sparkle, Buns In My Oven, Six Sister's Stuff

S'more Dip

My new favorite thing on earth is dessert dip. Ever since I first tried Shugary Sweets' Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Dip, I was hooked. (If you haven't made that yet, I'd say any day now is a good day. You haven't lived until you eat it.) 

Now that mallow bits have re-entered my life, I thought, "O hey, I'll just make some of those tasty s'more cookie I made a while back." But then I read on a little more in that old post and was all like "I was a genius back in the day! S'more dip?! Life. Made."

So, I did what my former self told me and made s'more dip.

This stuff is sooooooo good. There are not enough o's in the world to describe how good it is. 

I used Shugary Sweets' recipe as a base, but I changed it enough so it'd be s'more-like. I melted some marshmallow in, made some tasty brown sugar crumbles, added some chocolate chips, and of course mini mallow bits. What's even better is how this dip gets better as it sets. The mallow bits get soft and the flavors combine; it's the perfect make-ahead dessert!

S'more Dip

{recipe adapted from Shugary Sweets}

For the graham cracker crumbles:

3/4 cup finely crushed graham crackers (approx. 6 full sheets)

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 T. brown sugar

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1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup mini marshmallows

8 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1/2 cup mini mallow bits

1 cup graham crumbles

For the graham cracker crumbles:

Preheat the oven to 350º.

In a bowl, mix together the cracker crumbs, butter, and brown sugar. Pour evenly into a pan (size isn't a huge deal). Put the pan in the oven, and bake the mixture for 5 minutes, remove, mix everything around with a fork, and continue to check every 5 minutes. The it will be done when the crumbles are a little darker in color and begin to hold together a little better. The smaller the pan, the longer the baking time will be since they will be in a thicker layer. I used a bread loaf pan, and it took mine 15 minutes, mixing around every 5 minutes.

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In a saucepan on the stove, melt together the butter and brown sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil and remove from the heat. (It shouldn't be too grainy.) Immediately mix in the mini marshmallows (not mallow bits) until melted. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, cream together the powdered sugar and cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Add in the cooled marshmallow mixture. Mix until evenly combined, scraping the bowl down as needed. Gently fold in the mini chocolate chips, mallow bits, and 1 cup of the previously made graham cracker crumbles. (You will probably have extra crumbs. The extras can be used as a garnish or kept in an airtight container.) Pour the dip into a dish, cover, and refrigerate until served. Can be served with graham crackers, pretzels, animal crackers, ect.

Best if eaten within 3-4 days.

Linked to Inside Bru Crew Life (Time to Sparkle), Buns In My Oven, Six Sister's Stuff

I've Been Shopping...

Over Spring Break, I did some fun shopping! For the most part, you probably won't care, but over the next few days you'll see some of these things popping up over on the blog, so I thought I'd share where I got it if anyone's interested.

The two stores this stuff is from is Ikea (my first trip there ever and I loved it!) and E&S Sales (a bulk food store in Indiana).

1. Sifter from IKEA - I only have a mini one, so ever time I make royal icing I have to sift my powder sugar about 1/4 cup at a time and it takes FOREVER. This was definitely a much-needed purchase! 

2. Dishwashing Brush from IKEA - I do a lot of dishes, so I thought this brush might make it more fun!

3. Whisk from IKEA - I love big bubbly whisks, so I bought one! Plus it was cheap and a once-in-a-long-while trips, so that also justified the purchase.

4. Color Candy Coated Chocolate Pieces from E&S SALES - You know those little chippy things that come on Cosmic Brownies? Yeah...those are them things. They're so pretty I couldn't resist! You can see their close up in the top left corner.

5. Milk Bottle from IKEA - Once again, it was super cute. I also use it to drink water out of just for the heck of it.

6. Mallow Bits from E&S SALES - You know those crunchy little marshmallows you get in hot chocolate? These are those! They're super fun to bake with. This was the smallest bag I could find, and there's a TON! It sure is a good thing they're delicious. You can see their close-up in the bottom right corner.

7. Cupcake Liners from E&S SALES - These were cheap and cute (red with white dots). Not much else to say!

8. Sprinkles from E&S SALES - I was out of rainbow jimmies, so I had to FOR SURE buy some while I was there because I use them a ton. And, while I was in the sprinkles section, I just thought I should buy some of those hearts because I've never had any like them. I have a serious sprinkle obsession. You can see their close ups in the top right and bottom left corners.

Have you ever been to IKEA or E&S SALES? What are your favorite stores to shop at?