Butterscotch Blondies:

We used to make these ALL the time. I think we had them so much that we didn't want to make them anymore and so we kind of forgot about them.

I needed a dessert to take to a friends house the other week, and it seemed like we were out of everything, of course!! I had no chocolate chips, no cocoa powder...and of course I could only think of desserts that took one or both of those ingredients. One of my sisters suggested blondies, and for some unknown reason, we were overflowing with butterscotch chips, so I decided to give it a try.

It had been SO long since I made them, that I had forgotten how good they were!

And how fast they come together!

I'll try not to make them too often, but we will definitely be adding these back on our dessert list!!

I hope you try them out!

2 eggs

2 cups brown sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted

2 tsp. vanilla

2 & 1/2 cup flour

1 & 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum

1/4 tsp. salt

2 cups butterscotch chips

Vanilla Ice Cream

Butterscotch or Caramel Ice Cream Topping

In a large bowl, beat together eggs, brown sugar, butter and vanilla.

Add flour, xanthan gum and salt. Mix until well combined.

Stir in butterscotch chips.

Pour into a greased jelly-roll pan and spread out evenly (I like to use an offset spatula like for cake decorating for this).

Bake at 350 degrees for 23-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs. You don't want to over-bake these, or they will be hard.

Let stand for 20-30 minutes before serving, or cool completely until ready to serve.

Top with vanilla ice cream and butterscotch or caramel syrup.

Enjoy!

Note:

-You could bake them in like a 9x13 pan or something, but I find that makes them pretty thick, and then it takes a long time to get the middle done, while the edges are already burning.

Cinnamon Roll Baked Oatmeal:

I love our Baked Oatmeal (it's been on the blog for a while now) that we normally make. I had been seeing lots of different kinds of baked oatmeal recipes floating around, and some of them look amazing!

Be forewarned, you will mostly likely be seeing several more recipes for Baked Oatmeal coming soon!

Anyways, this one was my brother's first choice, so I through it all together one night and baked it the next morning.

Oh my! It is SO good!! I think I could have eaten the whole pan!

It's unbelievably creamy, and the perfect amount of sweet!

I will definitely be making this A LOT and I hope you try it out as well!!

3 cups quick oats

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 & 3/4 cup milk

3 tblsp. butter, melted

2 eggs

2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla

2 tsp. cinnamon

Glaze:

1 cup powder sugar

1 tblsp. milk

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients, except glaze, until well combined.

Pour into a greased 9x13-inch baking dish, and spread out evenly.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Let rest while you mix up the glaze.

Put all of the glaze ingredients in a small cup and mix until smooth.

Drizzle over oatmeal and serve!

Note:

-I like to mix this up the night before, cover and refrigerate.

Then bake the next morning. Just let it sit on the counter while the oven pre-heats.

Note to self:
-Top oven @ 335 degrees for 25 minutes.

The Pioneer Woman's Twice-Baked Potatoes:

I've recently came to a weird conclusion. A lot of people say that coming up with a side dish, is no problem...it's the main dish that's so hard to decide on or come up with.

It's the opposite for me. I can decide on a main dish pretty easily...but a side?

I have to rack my brain forever to try to figure something out!

I wanted something simple yet different to take to a potluck dinner a while ago. 

I LOVE twice baked potatoes, and I LOVE the Pioneer Woman!! I thought this recipe would be good for feeding a crowd, so I decided to give it a try! They do take time, but they're really easy and SO good!

I made my own variations of Ree's recipe, but as she says, this is only for a general guide line. Add more or less of whatever you like!

I hope you try it out!!!!

8-10 baking potatoes

1 cup sour cream

1 cup bacon bits

2 sticks butter, diced

1/2 tsp. seasoning salt

2 tsp. parsley

2+ cups shredded cheddar cheese

Thoroughly wash and dry potatoes. Prick potatoes with a sharp knife. Place directly on oven racks.

Bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove and allow to set until cool enough to handle.

Gently cut potatoes in half lengthwise. Scoop out the potato from the skin with a spoon - leaving a 1/4 inch shell; set aside.

Place the potato "pulp" in a large bowl. Add sour cream, bacon bits, butter, seasoning salt, parsley and 1 cup cheddar cheese. You can use a potato masher, but I like a hand mixer. Mix until well combined.

Using a spoon or an ice cream scoop, scoop the potato mixture into the shells and place in a baking dish.

Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Serve!

Note:

-I generally use 10 - 12 small potatoes

-I like to make them up to the point of baking them the second time, and then keeping them in the fridge.

Later in the day, or even the next day, I bake them for about 30 minutes. 

-Mine definitely don't look as good as Ree's and I'm sure they weren't, but they still did taste AMAZING!!

Orange Energizer Smoothie:

I love smoothies, but I'm also a little picky about them. I normally prefer smoothies that have veggies in them, and only one or two fruits. Otherwise, they taste SO sweet to me, that I can hardly drink them.
Enter: The Orange Energizer Smoothie!!!!

When I found this recipe, they were talking about how it's a great energizer and stress buster. I had everything for it, so I through it together real quick.

I was actually REALLY surprised how good it was! Everything was in perfect balance - not too sweet, but sweet enough...perfectly creamy...it's just good!!

Smoothies are SO perfect for the hot days of summer that are coming up.
Hopefully none of my summer-loving family is reading this, but, I personally dread the heat of summer, and love the negative degrees of winter. Sorry! But I love this smoothie so much, that I am actually looking forward to enjoying it on a nice, hot day!

I love to drink a smoothie before and/or after I workout too, and this is probably by far my favorite to drink before a good run or any kind of workout.

I've had one about every day this week, I think!! Hope you give it a try!

2 bananas, cut into 1-inch pieces and frozen

1 orange, peeled and cut into chunks

1 carrot (or 6-8 baby carrots) cut into chunks

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup orange juice

1/2 cup milk

Place all ingredients in order listed in a Blender or NutriBullet.

Blend until smooth. Makes 2 large servings!

Note:

-PLEASE use frozen bananas...it seriously makes this smoothie!!!