Strawberry Oatmeal Bars

My mom wanted to make a recipe she had seen on TV, and it just so happened to be from The Pioneer Woman.  My immediate response: let's do it!  This was such an incredibly easy recipe and had amazing results.  Not to mention the whole house smelled like strawberry oatmeal...mmmm.  You could eat these warm with ice cream, cold as more of a granola bar, or just straight out of the pan (whoops!).  Also, you could substitute strawberry preserves for any type you prefer.

Strawberry Oatmeal Bars
(recipe courtesy The Pioneer Woman)

1 and 3/4 stick cold butter, cut into pieces
1 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 and 1/2 cups oats (quick or old-fashioned)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 jar (10-12 ounce) strawberry preserves

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 x 13 or 8 x 10 baking dish.

Mix together the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle half the mixture into the pan and pat lightly to pack it a little tight. Spoon strawberry preserves evenly over the surface, then use a dinner knife to carefully spread it around. Sprinkle the other half of the oat mixture over the top and pat lightly again.

Bake until light golden brown on top, about 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in pan.  Cut into squares.

(quick iPhone snapshots)

(image source: X)

Brownie Cobbler

If my hips could handle the calories, I would make a simple chocolate dessert like this every day of the week. This "brownie cobbler" is an interesting combination of regular brownies and chocolate pie. Certainly brightened up our Tuesday night!

Brownie Cobbler 
(adapted from this recipe)

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

1 refrigerated (9 inch) pie crust


-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-In a mix bowl, combine melted butter and sugar.  Add in eggs and vanilla, then dry ingredients.
-Stir in chocolate chips
-Place unrolled pie crust into a 9 inch, greased pie pan.  Pour in brownie mixture.
-Roll the edges of pie crust down until about 1/2 inch from brownie batter.
-Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until done.

(please excuse the iPhone photos, oops!)

I served this warm with ice cream...incredible!

Baked Eggs [with spinach and ham]

Not all baking has to be sweet, right?  We have such an abundance of fresh eggs these days, I'm trying to use them in any way I can think of.  Enter: baked eggs.  With no recipe, I just looked in my refrigerator for ingredients that sounded good with eggs and went to work.

I had a handful of spinach and deli ham, so I sauteed the two together in a pan with a pat of butter.  Then I cracked two fresh eggs on top.  Fearing the dish might dry out a little, I added a bit more butter to the top.

Bake at 350 until eggs are as done as you like them.  I like mine over hard so I cooked longer than most people would prefer.

Prep your garnishes.  Avocado and spring onions are always a favorite around here.

Garnish and dive in!

This dish was absolutely delicious!  Maybe next time I can bake eggs on top of hashbrowns? Oh the possibilities...

Easter Egg Hunt Cupcakes [For Kids]

This past weekend, my MIL hosted an Easter egg hunt, so I whipped up some easy cupcakes for the children to enjoy.  Any white box cake mix and your favorite frosting recipe will do.  Themed paper liners help add cuteness!

I used a drop of food coloring and a butter knife to marble a few of the cupcakes.

You can never go wrong with milk chocolate Cadbury eggs!

Hope you all had a Happy Easter!