“When You Reach Me” Charcuterie Board

by penji1

I hosted Book Group at my house the other night and we always have a treat after discussing the book so I decided to make a charcuterie board with some of the food that was mentioned in the book that we read which was “When You Reach Me” by Rebecca Stead. It was a really good book and we had a great discussion about it. I tweeked some of the food from the book to liven it up a bit. So, here we go!

Lay’s Potato Chips

Fritos

Cheese Doodles – which I don’t thing they make anymore, at least I couldn’t find them so I got Cheese Puffs instead

Oreos

Hershey’s Kisses

Animal Cookies – I went with the frosted ones instead of the plain so there would be some more color in the board

Almonds – I found some Snickerdoodle flavored ones

Cheerioes – I bought some Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cheerioes and made these Chocolate Cheerios Peanut Butter Cereal Bars instead of giving everyone a bowl of Cheerios recipe here

Lemonade

I think charcuterie boards are so fun to make and to eat!

Chocolate Cheerios Peanut Butter Cereal Bars

by penji1

I hosted Book Group at my house last night. We read the book “When You Reach Me” by Rebecca Stead which I really liked. I decided to do a little charcuterie board with some of the food mentioned in the book for our treat. (More on that tomorrow.) Cheerios were mentioned so I gave this easy treat a try and they were a hit. I didn’t have high hopes for them but they were really good.

5 cups chocolate Cheerios cereal (the store I went to didn’t have chocolate Cheerios so I got Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cheerios and they worked great)

3/4 cup raisins (I despise raisins so I left them out)

3/4 cup salted peanuts

1 cup corn syrup

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

1 Spray 9 x 13″ pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, stir together Cheerios, raisins, and peanuts. Set aside.

2 In a sauce pan, combined corn syrup and sugars. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter.

3 Pour peanut butter mixture over cereal mixture and stir until thoroughly coasted. Spread evenly in pan.

4 In a small microwavable bowl, microwave chips on high for 1 minute, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted and smooth. Pour chocolate into a small plastic bag, snip off a corner, and drizzle over treats. Put in fridge for 15 minutes or until chocolate is set.

recipe from Cheerios

Owl Topped Naked Wedding Cake

by penji1

Wedding cake for my friend Allie and her new husband Kelton. Haven’t made a wedding cake for a few years and it was not like riding a bike but it came out ok.

The cake is from this recipe here, the Original White Almond Sour Cream Cake Recipe. (It has almond in the title but I made it a vanilla cake as per Allie’s request.)

The frosting is our favorite buttercream called Basic Buttercream Icing, found here.

Allie provided the flowers (which I loved!) and the owl topper.

Congrats to Allie and Kelton!

Easter Oreo Chicks and Bunnies

by penji1

Happy Easter!

Here’s a fun and easy Easter treat that you could make with kids or surprise them with on Easter.

FOR THE CHICKS

1 package golden Oreos

1 bag yellow candy melts

small candy eyes

1 package orange Airheads candy (I couldn’t find just orange Airheads so I bought the multi color ones and then just trimmed the blue and and green and used the yellow/orange/red)

1 Melt candy melts according to package directions.

2 Carefully dip an Oreo in the melted chocolate with a small spoon. Gently tap against side of bowl to get rid of the excess chocolate.

3 Carefully set on a piece of parchment paper and place a triangle piece of the Airhead with pointed side down on the Oreo then add two candy eyes. Let set before moving.

FOR THE BUNNIES

1 package marshmallows

pink sugar sprinkles

1 bag white candy melts

1 package Golden Oreos

small candy eyes

pink M&M’s from a bag of Easter M&M’s

1 Take a marshmallow and cut it in half then cut each half in half. Roll the cut marshmallows in the pink sugar sprinkles for the ears.

2 Melt candy melts according to package directions.

3 Carefully dip an Oreo in the melted candy melts. Tap gently to get rid of the excess candy. Place two ears side by side on parchment paper and carefully set dipped Oreo on top of the ears. Place and M&M on the Oreo for a nose then add two candy eyes. Let set before moving.

inspiration from Always Autumn

Mini Cupcake and Sugar Cookie Charcuterie Board

by penji1

I made these mini cupcakes and sugar cookies for a Bridal Shower for a friend who is getting married. Isn’t that charcuterie board so cute?

I made mini cupcakes from a chocolate cake mix and then topped them with my favorite Buttercream Frosting, recipe for frosting here.

The sugar cookies are a knockoff recipe from a soda shop here called Swig. You can find that recipe for the cookies and frosting here. The shop makes the frosting pink but blue was one of the bride’s colors so we went with blue. Oh and by the way, those cookies are to die for!

Congrats to Allie on your engagement and upcoming wedding! Love you!

The food we ate at Universal Orlando

by penji1

We spent the last day of our vacation at Harry Potter World in Universal Orlando. Surprisingly it was so much more crowded than any day we spent at Disney World and as a result, wasn’t that much fun. Harry Potter Land was insane.

We did get to eat lunch at the The Leaky Cauldron because we got there early, like 11:30. It was one of the better meals we had on our vaca.

We ordered two kinds of Butter Beer – one cold and one frozen. The hubs loved the cold Butter Beer while I liked the frozen better so that worked out nicely.

We ordered the Fish and Chips and

the Banger which was a sausage sandwich. Both were great and would order again.

After fighting our way out of Harry Potter Land, we headed for the City Walk and ended up at Toothsome Chocolate Emporium where we had some of the best ice cream shakes we’ve ever had in our whole lives!

Bob had the “Cookie Jar” (on the right) and I had the Espresso Buzzzz (on the left).

I can say without a doubt that it was the best ice cream shake I’ve ever had!

And that my friends brings our vacation to an end. Thanks for taking this trip with me!

The food we ate at Animal Kingdom Lodge – The Mara

by penji1

Look closely at this picture. Your eyes go to the giraffe but if you look behind the giraffe you can see the hotel rooms. That’s right, at Animal Kingdom lodge you can get a room overlooking the animals, how cool is that?

But on to the food . . .

There is a restaurant in the Animal Kingdom Lodge called “The Mara” and we ate there several times. It was quick, easy to get to , and pretty good. Along the lines of a cafeteria but the food was definitely better.

The first time we ate there we had a pulled pork sandwich and a Cheeseburger both with fries. Like I said it was good and fast and easy.

The second time we ate there we had a Chicken Caesar Salad, a Fire Roasted Tomato and Herb Ricotta Flat Bread, and a side of fries, of course. That flat bread was one of the yummiest things we ate on our vaca. Really good combination of flavors.

We ate breakfast for our last visit there and it was better than any breakfast we had in the parks. We had Mickey Waffles with bacon and a breakfast plate with scrambled eggs, French Toast, bacon, sausage, and tots. All of it good, like I said, better than in the parks.

You don’t have to be staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge to eat at The Mara. You can hop on a shuttle and check it out. Totally kid friendly too with a tv’s playing Disney cartoons.

The food we ate in Disney World – Hollywood Studios

by penji1

Next up was Hollywood Studios which, if I’m being honest, was a bit of a letdown. Star Wars Land was the draw for us and it was awesome but the rest of the park, not so much. 

We did however have one of our better meals at the ABC Commissary located on Commissary Lane. This Mediterranean Salad and the Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwich were both winners! And, bonus, you can go in the Commissary and sit in the air conditioning to eat which on this hot day was a real bonus. 

Mickey Mouse Celebration Dome Cale

by penji1

The hubs surprised me with this birthday cake while we were at Disney World. It was beautiful to look at and delicious to eat. It was a chocolate cake with chocolate mousse covered with more chocolate and those ears were chocolate too. This might be the best birthday cake I’ve ever been given, it was delicious! 

If you’ve got a trip to Disney World planned and you need a special cake for a special event or you just love cake, click here for more info.

The food we ate at Disney World – Magic Kingdom

by penji1

We went to the Magic Kingdom twice on our trip so we ate a few more things there than in the other parks.

We started our first day in the Magic Kingdom with Mickey waffles at Sleepy Hollow Inn which is located in Liberty Square. They were delicious and I feel like it’s not a trip to Disney without a Mickey waffle covered in strawberries and syrup and whipped cream, what more could you want?

For lunch we ate at Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe which is located between Frontierland and Adventureland. The hubs had a Double Bacon Cheeseburger and I had Chicken Nachos, both very tasty, would def go there again.

Our second day in Magic Kingdom, we ate breakfast at Friar’s Nook which is located in Fantasyland. We got one of everything on the menu to try them all which included Sausage and Gravy Tots, Cinnamon – Sugar Doughnut Holes, and Sausage, Egg, and Cheddar on a Pretzel Roll. It was all ok, not terrible but not great either. Not sure if I would eat there again.

This is one of the most fun things we did while in Disney World – the Magic Kingdom Fireworks Dessert Party, Seats and Sweets located in Tomorrowland. I would happily do this again if we ever go back. The picture at the top of this post is one that I took during this event. It’s a little pricey but I think worth the cost. You get to eat from a big dessert buffet with all kinds of yummies on it and you have a special place to sit comfortably and watch the fireworks at your own private table without anyone standing in front of you Highly recommend and would definitely do it again.  

(permission required for using photos)