Birthday Bonus: Marshmallow Crunch Brownie Bars

Because it's Sue's birthday, I had to make an extra-special treat (Since I would have made Wednesday muffins anyway). Thanks to Lindsey, I recently found this amazing-looking treat on eat me, delicious. I had to give it a try... for Sue... and for the students.
The recipe included the brownie base. But since I already have a tried-and-true, top-secret brownie recipe that I love, I used that instead. Then I layered on the rest like it said:

Topping Ingredients:
1 package (10 1/2 ounces) mini marshmallows
1 1/2 c semisweet chocolate chips
1 c smooth peanut butter (I accidentally came home with chunky... didn't seem to matter)
1 T unsalted butter (I only had salted)
1 1/2 c Rice Krispies (I think I added more... closer to 2 c)

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.

Make brownie batter. (check out the original recipe if you want that info) Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and even with a spatula. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the corner of the pan comes out with moist crumbs.

Remove the brownies from the oven and immediately sprinkle with the marshmallows. Return the pan to the oven for 3 more minutes.

While the brownies are baking, place the chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter in a medium saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until melted. Remove from heat, add the cereal and mix well. Allow this to cool for 3 minutes or so.

Spread the mixture evenly over the marshmallow layer. Chill in refrigerator before cutting. Makes 12 3×3-inch bars.

******
This is SO rich that I cut into bite-sized pieces. Without milk to wash it down, 3 x 3 could kill you with chocolate overload!

I also had trouble with the chocolate topping layer. Because of the thickness, it sorta ended up in a big pile in the middle instead of nicely spread out over the entire pan. And because everything underneath was gooey (melted marshmallows and hot brownies), spreading it afterward was nearly impossible. I did my best, but it ended up swirled and uneven. But really, that's just presentation... the finished product was YUMMMMMMY! Next time, I'd be careful to pour it out more evenly over the pan.

Compliments from the students warmed my heart. This was easy and very good. VERY rich. Make sure you have milk at home before attempting.

:)

Muffin Wednesday: Esther's Famous Poppyseed

This Muffin Wednesday is also Sue's birthday!!!! YAY! I tried Esther's Famous Poppyseed Muffins from the book of 500 recipes. I personally don't like poppy seed, so I haven't tested them. But they have simple ingredients and went together easily - two pluses in my book!

Brad thought they were maybe heavy on the poppy seeds. Another taster thought there was a strange mystery ingredient - not bad, just different. But there isn't. Hmm.....

Preheat to 425
12-cup muffin tin, paper lined

1/4 c vegetable oil
3/4 c sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c poppy seeds
1 c sour cream
1/4 c milk
2 c flour
1/2 t baking soda
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt

1. Cream oil, sugar and eggs. Add poppy seeds, sour cream, milk, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir until moist and still lumpy. Mixture will be quite thick and heavy.

2. Spoon batter into prepared tin, filling to top. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

:)

Detention

(You can click to make it bigger)

:)

THS trumpeter plays with Dave Matthews Band

Two Tigard High School jazz musicians were chosen to play at Grammy's week in Los Angeles. One of them, Noah Hocker, has been picked to play live, on stage during the Grammy Awards show with the Dave Matthews Band!

So if you're near a TV at 8 p.m. Sunday night, tune in to CBS and watch for Noah!

:)

Meet Baltic

This dog, dubbed Baltic, was found floating alone on ice in the Baltic Sea. Click HERE to read about his amazing rescue!

:)

Muffin Wednesday: Esther's Favorite Blueberry

Esther's Favorite Blueberry was the muffin of choice for this week's Muffin Wednesday.
They went together simply and quickly and got good reviews from today's tasting panel, which included my coworkers and a former student.

Preheat to 400 degrees
12-cup muffin tin, greased or paper lined

1/4 c softened butter or margarine
3/4 c sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 c pastry flour (I just used all-purpose)
1/2 t salt
2 t baking powder
1/2 c milk
1 c fresh or frozen blueberries (I had frozen)

1. Cream butter and sugar. Add egg; mix well.

2. In second bowl, sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Add to creamed mixture alternately with milk; stir just until moistened. Fold in blueberries.

3. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin, filing to top. Bake 15-20 minutes or until browned.

:)

Girls' Weekend, Jan. 2010

I spent the MLK weekend at the beach with my best gal pals. Of course, no girls' weekend is complete without a cheese buffet: And some lounging/chatting/reading: And a trip to the Tillamook Cheese Factory: Cheese samples! Which ice cream to buy??? Those who stayed Sunday night also experienced the big wind storm. The house, which is on stilts on the Oceanside hillside, shook and rattled with each gust. We were watching on the front porch as Pa's boat lifted off the ground and moved toward the house. Luckily, rock edging around the garden stopped it from going farther. The trailered boat used to be in line with the other, but the wind turned it quite a bit: As always, it was a wonderful weekend with good times and good friends. Can't wait for the next one :)