Will Run for Ice Cream

You know, a funny thing happened this year.  I started running (or as I told my friend, Teresa, it might technically be "scooting").

Before this, the only time I had ever run was to be first in line for cake at a wedding.

Let me start at the start...in December, I was talking to my friend Amy from She Wears Many Hats.  She and Robyn were gearing up to run a 5K together.  Amy told me about the Couch to 5K program they were using and said, "you can do it."  I'm not sure why, but her words really stuck with me.

Fast forward through Christmas, and many, many gingerbread cookies, I decided to give it a try.  Not to be cliche, I started my Couch to 5K on December 28th, not January 1st.

I'm not going to lie....it was hard (it still is).  I've never been a "workout person"....other than a very (very) brief stint in college where I skipped class to go to aerobics.  (Sorry you had to hear that, Dad.)

I completed the 9-week Couch to 5K (in 11 weeks...I had to repeat a few), but had not signed up for a race.  I just figured, I would keep running and maybe sign up for one *someday.*

*Someday* turned out to be the day I saw a flier for the Blue Bell Fun Run.  On the flier, it mentioned "FREE ICE CREAM."  Well, that's all it took; I signed up.

Saturday was the 5K...and I have to say, it was very emotional for me.  Not the end....I was too sweaty and tired (and really had to pee, TMI?), but the beginning of the race had me teary-eyed.  The race started slightly downhill and the sight of all of those people running, being in the middle of it, the sound of all of those feet...it brought me to tears.  I got a hold of myself...no one wants to run next to a lady with tears steaming down her face and a shaky chin. (Plus, my mascara might run.  Yes, I wear makeup to exercise.  You're welcome.)

The bonus?  The longer I run, the more cookies I can eat. :)

Is this post to encourage you to start running?  Only if you want to.  This post is really to say...go do SOMETHING.  Break out of your comfort zone a bit.  It feels good.

{I found this on Pinterest and just love it.}

If you ARE interested in running, let me tell you a few things I couldn't live without:

1. The running community is INCREDIBLY supportive.  They don't care if you're a newbie.  On twitter, we have a little #redfacedrunners Club: Amy, Kristen, Robyn, Lauren, Windy, Katrina, Dara, Lori & moi.  And my running idols: my dad (who ran a marathon when we were kids), my sister Molly, Toni & Cindy
2. Shoes: I LOVE these shoes!!! (Plus, Kristan has them, so I feel really cool.}
3. App love: Get Running 5K...you can listen to your own music and a very nice British lady tells you when to run and walk. 
4. Running skirt: I've found most are a little too short for me, but I LOVE this one from Level 59.
5. And, this post on running from Amy. 

Is there something you've been too scared to try?  
What is it?  

Nutella-filled Banana Muffins...

 

I toyed with the idea of calling these QPTWB Muffins (Quite Possibly the World's Best Muffins), but it seemed a little braggy...and difficult to say.  I actually take no credit for these muffins being the best.muffins.ever....it's all due to Nutella.

Inspiration?

...I bought bananas.  I came home from the store to see that we already HAD bananas.

I had two choices:
1. Do what I did last time this happened and freeze them for smoothies, or
2. bake with them.

I decided to marry the bananas with Nutella.

Aww...look.  They're snuggling.

Here's the low-down:  the mashed bananas keep the muffins soft and moist, the salted butter and kosher salt give a double-shot of salty to the sweet, the nutmeg & cloves add just a bit of spice and interest, and the Nutella?  Well, it pushed the delicious factor over the top.


Want to make them?  Yes, yes you do.  Here's how...

Nutella-filled Banana Muffins

ingredients:
2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 & 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 medium bananas, mashed
1/3 cup milk
2/3 cup Nutella

instructions:
Preheat oven to 350.  Line 12 regular size muffin tins with liners and lightly spray with cooking spray (this will keep the muffins from pulling away with the liners).  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.

{Don't you love freshly grated nutmeg?  If you never tried it, do.  you don't even need a fancy-schmancy microplane....the small holes on your grater will do.}

With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until smooth.  Beat in the egg, mashed banana, and milk.  Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl as needed.

With a silicone spatula, gently stir the dry ingredients into the wet.  Divide the batter into the 12 muffins tins.  Bake 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Place on a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes, remove from the tin to cool completely.

Meanwhile, spoon the Nutella into a pastry bag fitted with a large tip. (I used a Wilton 4B.) Once the muffins are cooled, poke the tip into the center of each muffin.  Fill until you see the muffin expand a bit and, while squeezing, pull the tip up and out of the muffin.

DEVOUR.

Oh!  And if you still have banana muffins on the brain, check out this deliciousness from Jessica at How Sweet It Is.  Can you say, "swoon?"

Works for Me Wednesday e-book (!)

Have you ever looked through the tips on Works for Me Wednesday and thought, "man, I wish I had a book of those?"

Well, guess what?  Now you can!

My beautiful neighbor, Kristen (host of Works for Me Wednesday, and blogger at We are THAT Family, and author, and humanitarian, and all-around supermom) and her friend Jennifer DeGroot have put together an e-book called That Works for Me!

The book contains over 800 WFMW tips, organized into 24 different categories and including 300 contributing bloggers.

{A few of the bloggers: Jen from My Kitchen Addiction, Myra from A Blessed Life, and the gals from How Does She?}

Here's a little peek at the categories, as well as a few sample tip summaries:

One thing I LOVE about the e-book is that after reading a synopsis of the tip, one click takes you directly to the original post.  It's a win-win for readers and for bloggers.  (Kristen is so smart.)  Oh, and it's also available on Kindle!

You can purchase a copy here.
{psst...here's $1 off coupon code: SAVE1}

You can submit a tip to enter to win $150 worth of housecleaning here.
{No one enter....I *need* that.}

You can follow along with That Works for Me:

• Like TWFM on Facebook (and follow the blog tour of 175+ reviews/giveaways!)
• Follow TWFM on Twitter (you might see your Tip of the Day!)
• Join TWFM on Pinterest and repin your favorite WFMW posts
• Earn money by becoming an Affiliate 

And, you can win a copy here!  
{yep, right here!}

To enter, just leave a comment with either your favorite WFMW tip (here are a few from moi), or share one of your own tips.

Contest runs through midnight, April 15th.  Good luck!

That Works for Me e-book?  It works for me! ;)

Peeps Show S'mores Bars

Confession: Until yesterday, I had never eaten a Peep.

We grew up in an all-chocolate-and-jelly-bean Easter basket family.  {I love Easter.}

So, fast-forward to yesterday...I made Peeps Show S'mores Bars.  Peeps, combined with semisweet chocolate and a graham-crackery, oaty crust, baked until melty and gooey and messy?
ALL.KINDS.OF.AWESOME.

I love Peeps now, but honestly after taking a bite of one plain, I ONLY want my Peeps baked into these bars.

Scroll on down for the recipe, but here's what you're going to do...

First, Steal all of the Peeps out of your children's Easter baskets.
{I kid; I kid. RUN to the store Monday and stock up on them at half-price.}

OK, you'll make a crust/topping concoction with butter, oats, brown sugar and a few other ingredients...

{It comes together really fast.  You won't even need your mixer...just a saucepan...

...and a spoon.} 

...about half goes in a pan for the crust...

Here are the ingredients for the filling:

{Hello, Peeps.}

...you'll top the crust with chocolate chips...

...and some Peeps...

...and top with the rest of the topping/crust mixture...

...bake.

You'll let it rest for a bit, then you'll dig in. 

It's gooey and delicious...it may not be elegant, but it WILL make your eyes roll back in your head.  You might even moan a little.

Peeps Show S'mores Bars

ingredients:
6 TBSP salted butter
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
6 TBSP dark corn syrup
2 & 1/4 cups rolled oats (not instant, not steel cut)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 & 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
15 Peeps

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350.  Grease an 8x8 pan.  Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, heat the butter, brown sugar and corn syrup over medium heat, until the butter is melted and sugar has dissolved.  Remove from heat and stir in the oats, flour, salt and graham cracker crumbs.

Press a little more than half of this mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan.  Place on a wire rack and let cool completely.

Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the cooled crust.  Top with the Peeps, making 3 rows of 5 Peeps.

Cover with the remaining topping/crust mixture.

Bake for 20 minutes; the Peeps will looks slightly misshapen under the topping.

Place on a wire cooling rack and let cool for 20 minutes.  Serve warm.
{adapted from S'mores Granola Bars, King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion}

{These bars are good at room temperature, too...but are a-MAZ-ing warm.}

What are you waiting for?!?  Go get some Peeps!

Happy Easter, bunnies!

aaaand, the obsession with double-decker cookies continues....

How do you say Happy Easter?  Dots, bunnies, sparkling sugar?

Yep.  That should do it.

You've heard of the "double-decker" cookie, right?  Two cookies, but only the guilt of eating one.  It's part of my new diet plan.

{You know, I thought the pink would be my favorite, but I actually ended up loving the yellow.}

Let me show you how to make them...
 
For the double-decker bunny cookies, you'll need:

• sugar cookies (pick any flavor cut-out here) in scalloped ovals and tiny bunny faces
• royal icing, divided and tinted with AmeriColor Lemon Yellow, Electric Pink, Regal Purple, Bright White, and Super Black
• couplers and tips: #3, #1
• disposable icing bags
• squeeze bottles
• toothpicks
• small paintbrush
• small ramekins
• meringue powder
• basket-style coffee filter
• sparking or sanding sugar: yellow, pink and purple

Use a #3 tip to outline the ovals and bunnies.  Reserve some of this piping consistency royal icing.

{PS...I'm officially obsessed with this scalloped oval.  PPS...anyone else watch Fashion Police?  Now I can't say "I'm obsessed" with something without thinking of Kelly Osbourne.}

Thin the yellow, pink, purple and white icings with water, a bit at a time, stirring with a silicone spatula, until it is the consistency of a thick syrup.  You'll want to drop a "ribbon" of icing back into the bowl and have it disappear in a count of "one thousand one, one thousand two." Four is too thick, one is too thin.  Count of 2-3 is good.  Cover with a damp dishcloth and let sit for several minutes.

Stir gently with a silicone spatula to pop and large air bubbles that have formed.  Pour into squeeze bottles as needed.

Working a few cookies at a time, fill (flood) the ovals with white icing.  Use a toothpick to guide to edges.

On top of the wet white icing, drop dots of the thinned colored icing, starting with the first cookie filled.  (Giving the base color a few minutes to set will help prevent bleeding.)

Fill in the bunny faces.  Let the cookies dry uncovered 6-8 hours or overnight.

The next day,  mix 1/2 teaspoon meringue powder with 1/2 teaspoon water.  Brush this mixture onto the bunny faces.  Sprinkle on the sugar, shaking the excess off over a coffee filter.  Use the filter as a funnel to pour back into the jars. {psst...can you see where I overfilled one?}

Use a #1 tip to pipe eyes on the bunny faces in black.  Add a nose in an alternating color.

Pipe a small amount of icing onto the back of the bunny cookies.  Place on the ovals and press down slightly to adhere.  Let the cookies dry for at least 30 minutes before packaging and stacking.

What are you baking this Easter?

ZipList & Printable Recipes...Works for Me Wednesday

You might have noticed something new on the blog lately. 
Have you noticed the cute little buttons on posts with the recipes that look like this:

Let me tell you about them:

1. Clicking "Save This Recipe" will take you to ZipList where you can save recipes & create grocery lists, not just from this blog, but from tons of other blogs and websites like, oh, Martha Stewart, Confessions of a Cookbook Queen, Cookies and Cups, Recipe Girl, TidyMom, Skinny Taste, A Southern Fairytale, Our Best Bites, and Challenge Dairy...just to name a few.  They even have an app!
2. Clicking "Print This Recipe" will let you, well, print the recipe.  Right now this is through Google Docs.  Someday, maybe blogger will come up with a cute recipe card option.  Until then, print away.  I'm including a small picture with every recipe...I don't know about you, but I like to see pictures...I'll keep them small, though, so you don't waste precious printer ink.

 

What do you think?  Do you like the new options?  Do you already use ZipList?

This will be a regular feature on new recipes and I'll try to go back to add them to old ones as I get a chance...and as I remember. ;)  Are there any requests?

ZipList & Printable Recipes...works for me! :)