Chocolate caramel bars

This morning brought mine and my nearly-six-year-old's first snow-shoeing experience. My oldest boy, who did not take his first step until he was three years old, was running around in sub-zero temps with snow shoes strapped to his feet. I don't know that I would have believed this three years ago! I'm a proud mama. And I want more snow-shoeing! Er, maybe when it's 20 degrees warmer outside.

Tomorrow is Elijah's sixth birthday, so I have cupcakes to bake. In the meantime, I will share these delicious bars with you. This recipe comes from my husband's side of the family. After I made this batch, he sank his teeth in and said, "Mmmm, childhood." Gotta love treats that bring back a little piece of childhood.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup butter, softened

Mix until crumbly. Press half of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine:

14-oz. bag caramels, unwrapped

1/4 cup milk

Warm over low heat, stirring constantly until caramel is melted and smooth.

Remove the bottom crust from the oven and sprinkle an 11.5-oz. bag of milk chocolate chips evenly over the top.

Pour the melted caramel evenly over the top of the chocolate and top with the remaining flour-oats crumbles.

Bake for an additional 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Let cool completely before serving.

Enjoy! I hope you are staying warm, wherever you are today!

Printable recipe: Chocolate caramel bars

Project complete!

As a welcome change of pace from the negativity earlier this week, I have something very exciting to share! I would like to introduce you to my first ecookbook!

 

I have poured my heart and soul into this project. It began two years ago and was put on hold in 2011, the year that almost wrecked me. I revived it in late 2012 and spent countless hours in my kitchen preparing and photographing 25 delectable grilled cheese sandwiches. Then countless more hours were spent in coffee shops writing, editing, laying out, converting and refining copy, photographs and layouts.

Here is a tiny sampling of the delectable grilled cheese sandwiches waiting for you inside:

If you want to see more, you can purchase the ebook to view on your computer (in pdf format) through the BUY NOW button on my right sidebar. It is also available in Kindle edition through Amazon. iBookstore edition coming soon!

A promise to you

I had a food-related post to share tonight, but I'm not in the mood for it. Instead, I will share a bit about what my theme for today was: Copyright infringement.

Whenever I see my photos pop up on Pinterest, I always hover over the photo to ensure it is my website that the pin is linking back to. Today when I hovered over one of my photos, I did not see my own website but an unfamiliar one. I clicked on said website and found something atrocious. This person had downloaded photos from my website without permission and uploaded them to her own site. Not only did she not give credit to me for the photos, but she linked back to HER OWN BLOG when the photos were clicked on. Also, she copied and pasted the text WORD FOR WORD from the post on my blog onto her blog. At the very bottom of her post in teeeeny tiny lettering was a reference to my blog. It was not a link, and I had to look very hard to find it. Certainly nobody else would ever notice it.

Upon further inspection, I found two more of my recipes on her blog (one of which was her second most popular post and had received thousands upon thousands of hits on Pinterest). Then I realized that every single one of the recipes on her blog had been copied and pasted from other websites. 

Out of curiosity, I went back to Pinterest and did a search for one of my more popular blog posts. A bunch of results popped up and I started checking links. Dozens and DOZENS of other people had done the same thing. I contacted each blog owner, and I also reported them all to Pinterest. Thankfully Pinterest is very good about removing fraudulent material.

Please be kind, people. If you are inspired by someone else's recipe, that is wonderful! Create your own version of it and take your own photos and create your very own post about it. Heck, if you want to borrow my photo, ask permission and give full credit back to me. I'm fine with that. But DO NOT EVER take someone else's photos or text from their website without linking back to them and giving full credit or you will make people very very mad.

With that said, I want to leave you all with a promise: I have taken EVERY SINGLE photograph posted on this website and that will never change. I have written ALL copy posted on this website and that will never change. If I was inspired by another blogger's recipe I have given full credit to them and I will always be respectful and kind in that way.

Please be kind. To me and every other blogger who works hard to maintain a quality website. 

ps. I have to add a PS to this post since I see that I have received a handful of unkind comments from my Pinterest reports today. First of all, I didn't realize that I was reporting the "repinner" of fraudulent material and for that I'm truly sorry! I thought I was reporting the poster of the original material. If I did this to you inadvertently, please contact me directly and I will try to resolve it.

Also, if you repin links on Pinterest, PLEASE check the integrity of the link first. If there is anything fishy about it do not repin it. If there is a photo and only ingredient/direction text provided and nothing else that is a red flag. If it is a post titled something like "The best recipes from Pinterest!" Another red flag. I can typically look at a post and know if it comes from a place of integrity and not from an attempt to gain clicks/money.

I hope that makes sense. Thanks, friends. 

Megan

Luscious lemon bars

I like to store ideas for lemon-related recipes in the back of my head until January of every year. My mother-in-law loves lemon desserts and since January is her birth month, it has also become lemon month. It is nice having a little taste of summer in the dead of winter!

My first 2013 lemon experiment was edible, but not blog-worthy. My second, this delicious little bar, was fabulous! If you, too, have a loved-one who swoons over lemon desserts, you must give these a try.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine:

2 cups flour

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 sticks butter, softened

Mix until crumbly.

Using your fingers, press the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine:

4 eggs

2 cups granulated sugar

Zest from one lemon

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup flour

Whisk until lumps are gone. Pour over the partially-baked crust and bake for an additional 25 minutes.

Once the bars have cooled, dust with confectioners' sugar and cut into squares. Store covered in the refrigerator or at room temperature.

Printable recipe: Luscious lemon bars

Creamy vegetable dip

2012 brought a strangely mild winter, and I longingly think back to what a gift that was.

Our current reality:

Barely making it down the driveway in one piece while walking my kindergartener to the bus.

Sliding backwards down the driveway while the occupants of my son's school bus watch me make a fool of myself.

Being unable to wear mittens that I have left in the car because that is far colder than bare-knuckling the freezing cold steering wheel.

Not ever being able to fully warm up my very old yet reliable car and curling my toes for added warmth everywhere I drive.

Wearing the following items of clothing everywhere I go: knee-high socks, leggings, jeans, knee-high winter boots, 2 long-sleeved shirts, scarf, winter coat, mittens.

At least the Super Bowl is just around the corner! We can stay in our warm home, eating comforting food with friends. Comfort at its best! Here is another party staple for your own Super Bowl party. Dan and I thought up this dip last week and we both adore the texture and flavor that the veggies add to the creamy base. We will make this again and again!

In the bowl of a food processor, combine:

2 large carrots, cut into chunks

1/2 of a red bell pepper, seeded, stem removed and cut into chunks

1/2 of a cucumber, peeled and cut into chunks

3 stalks celery, cut into chunks

1 cup broccoli florets

3 serrano peppers, stems removed and cut in half (optional)

Pulse until the vegetables are finely chopped.

In a large mixing bowl, combine:

1 cup sour cream

8-oz. package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup mayonnaise

Juice from 1/2 of a lemon

Salt and pepper, to taste

Stir until creamy. Add the vegetables to the sour cream mixture and stir until combined.

Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve with fresh vegetables or crackers.

Enjoy! I hope you are warmer than I am right now!

Printable recipe: Creamy vegetable dip