Woof Woof!

It's official: I am absolutely, positively, head-over heels in love with Pinterest.  It appeals to the most domestic, stylish, crafty, bake-tastic aspects of my personality.  If you haven't been on Pinterest, you should definitely check it out after you read this post (because if you go before you're done reading, you'll get sucked in and there's no way you'll ever think twice about coming back here)!!

Some of my favorite finds on Pinterest are all of the recipes!  I've got a Pin board devoted to nothing but fattening, delicious recipes that I'm dying to try (I just need a few victims!...er...tasters!).  Remember my blog post about making Red Velvet Cakesters?  I found that recipe on Pinterest!  I can spend hours just looking at all of the food on Pinterest.  And sometimes, I do...

If you're a fellow Pinner, you might recognize this recipe I tried last night.  Different variations of it are all over Pinterest and last night I finally gave in a tried it.  Last night, I made Puppy Chow!

Despite it's canine friendly name, this is definitely not a snack for your pooch.  It is sweet, chocolately, peanutty, 100% people food. And so easy to make!  Start to finish, it didn't take me more than 20 minutes to make a huge batch. And it would have taken even less time if I had a 2 gallon bag like the recipe called for (more on that later).

I decided to make the classic, "Chex official" recipe.  First you melt together semisweet chocolate, peanut butter, and butter (I used crunchy peanut butter because that's what we had in the house.  I loved the little peanut bits mixed in with the chow!).  Oh...and the recipe calls for you to add vanilla to the chocolate mixture after you melt it, but I kind of sort of completely spaced and forgot to do that. Oops! So, if you're one of those awesome people who remembers to follow the recipe, you would add vanilla here. If you're like me, you just pretend that vanilla doesn't exist and completely ignore what the recipe calls for. :)

 Then you dump it all over 9 cups of Chex cereal.  You can use rice, corn, wheat or chocolate Chex (or all 4 if you're feeling adventurous).  I used rice Chex (which are gluten free!).

Mix it all together as gently as you can.  Some pieces are going to break.  It's unavoidable.  But the goal is to have more whole pieces than broken pieces once you're done mixing.

 Then the recipe tells you to put it all in a 2-gallon zip-loc bag.  But really, who just has a 2-gallon zip-loc bag on hand?  So I put half of the mix in a one gallon bag and it worked fine.  Put 3/4 of a cup of powdered sugar in your 1 gallon bag and shake like crazy!  Repeat with the rest of the mixture.

 Pour it all out onto a wax (or parchment) paper lined cookie sheet so it can cool and set and there you have it!  Home-made puppy chow!

Warning: If you make this recipe, make sure you have people to share it with, because this stuff is super addictive!  And this recipe makes a ton of chow!  You definitely do not want a full recipe of this stuff sitting around.  You'll just find yourself grabbing another handful every time you pass by until it's all gone.  And your tummy will not be pleased.  Just trust me on this.

So, if you have 20 (or 15 if you happen to have a 2-gallon zip-loc bag lying around.  Where would you even find one of those?!) minutes to spare, I definitely recommend you make some Puppy Chow!  And then I recommend you find someone to share it with! 

Puppy Chow

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Start to Finish: 15 minutes

Makes: 18-1/2 cup servings

Ingredients:

• 9 Cups Rice, Corn, Wheat, or Chocolate Chex Cereal
• 1 Cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips
• 1/2 Cup Peanut Butter
• 1/4 Cup Butter or Margarine
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, measure cereal. Set aside.
2. In a 1 quart microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High 1 minute; stir.  Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth.  Stir in vanilla.  Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated.  Pour into a 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.
3. Add powdered sugar.  Seal bag; shake until well coated.  Spread on waxed paper to cool.  Store in an airtight container in refrigerator. 

You can find the nutritional information (if you dare!) here.

Happy chowing!  

30 Day Photo Challenge

Yesterday, I discovered Pinterest.   And all I can say is, "What rock have I been hiding under? How come nobody told me about this?"  The only reason I found it yesterday is because Katie at Marriage Confessions posted a blog about it.  And I am absolutely in love.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with the awesomeness, Pinterest is basically an online bulletin board that members can "pin" fun things they find on the internet on.  I requested an invite to join yesterday and am waiting on pins and needles for my invite.  But you don't have to be invited to look at all of the things people post.  There's recipes, craft ideas, fashion ideas, blog ideas, etc. that lead you to other fun sites that you might be interested in.  So far, Pinterest has led me to Food Gawker and How Sweet It Is.  Although my appetite his has not returned since my break-up, I've been really obsessed with cooking and baking (neither of which I've actually done yet, but I've thought about it), so I've had a lot of fun looking at pictures and collecting recipes that I want to try to make for others (and when my appetite actually returns, for me) on these sites.

One fun idea I found on Pinterest was this:

I know it says August, but I/m gonna do it now! It doesn't really require much explanation.  Every day for 30 days, you post a picture.  I think it's a cute idea for a blog because it gives you something to post even when you don't have something to write about.  So keep an eye out for these at the bottom of my blog posts or as posts themselves (for those days when my head is completely empty)!

So, without further ado, Day 1: Self Portrait

This is what I look like right at this moment.  Messy hair in a ponytail held back with a cheap headband.  Leftover make-up. Glasses.  Sweatshirt.  You can't see the pajama pants (which is probably for the best).  It's a rainy day.  The kind that makes you want to lie in bed in sweatshirts and pajama pants and ponytails and headbands and blog and watch 19 Kids and Counting (Have you heard?  19 is about to become 20!) and blog and browse Pinterest.  

So that's exactly what I'm doing.  And what I'm going to keep doing.  Perfection.