I have a bunch of little miscellaneous things to get to, mostly things I promised to do and haven’t done. So let’s get cracking!
Do you want to see how the Swistmas Package came out? Mimi did a post showin’ the stuff.
I promised Pseudostoops that I (1) had and (2) would post, the recipe for “those delicious things that are like rice krispie treats but with peanut butter and a thick coating of chocolate on top.” The recipe is from a booklet called Nestle Best-Loved Cookies, which I bought from the impulse-buy section of the grocery store a LONG time ago, back before Paul and I were married, or maybe shortly after. Like it matters. Here’s the recipe:
Chocolate Butterscotch Cereal Bars
1 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup creamy peanut butter
6 cups crisp rice cereal
1 cup (6 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup (6 ounces) butterscotch chips
Combine sugar and corn syrup in large saucepan [I use a 3-quart]; bring just to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in peanut butter. Stir in cereal. Press into greased 9×13 pan.
Microwave chocolate and butterscotch chips until melted. Spread over cereal mixture in pan. Chill in pan for 20 minutes or until firm. Cut into bars.
*****
Now, if I remember correctly, I TWEAK this recipe a little. For example, I think I use more chocolate and butterscotch chips than called for. Like—half again as many? And also, I don’t get too vigorous when I’m pressing the cereal mixture into the pan, because it can get hard to bite into if it’s too dense. I press it in a way I’d call “firm but considerate.”
Okay, next up! Do you remember when I won this gorgeous prize box from Amy Quarry? One of the things in the box was a gorgeous dress for Elizabeth from Amy’s Etsy shop. I promised Amy I would send her some pictures of Elizabeth wearing the dress, and did I follow through? NO. Well, until today. This is how the dress looked when she was wearing it this summer with a short-sleeved white shirt. It was even cuter without the shirt (skinny little shoulders!), but she’s always a little on the chilly side.
And this is how it looks when she’s wearing it in fall/winter, with a long-sleeved shirt and tights. I don’t know WHERE the child’s shoes are. Nor do I know where this child’s mother’s IRON is, but maybe she (the mother) could FIND it from time to time.
I ALSO won a contest over at Cerebral Palsy Baby, from her Etsy shop Small Grapes. The prize was a letter/number shirt of my choice, and I asked for a “3” shirt in gender-neutral colors so both twins could wear it. She sent me this shirt. Here’s a picture of Edward wearing it:
Every time he wears it, he says, “It’s THREE! Like ME!!!” Heady stuff for a toddler.
I have a new baby picture of my little spruce sprouts!
There are FOUR of them! Pretty soon I’m going to need to buy them their own little pots!
I tried a variation on the baked oatmeal recipe. I had some leftover frozen berries (strawberries, blackberries, blueberries), so I thawed them most of the way, sliced a knife around in the container to break up some of the larger berries, and put it into the recipe in place of the apple and pineapple (I still used the banana). It came out nice. Not as good as with apples, I’d say, but good—and a good way to use up some fruit that was getting all freezer-burnt.
There! Are we caught up? Or did I forget something I promised you?
The twins are so BIG. Both the dress and the three shirt are adorable.
Wow you are on the ball today!
I do that same recipe with Special K for Special K bars. :) Delicious! Jaw breaking! Never, ever try to eat them after refrigerating them….
Fantastic pictures! They look so adorable!
Cute kids!!!
Dear Swistle:
I love you. My pants, which are already too tight, hate you. But on balance, I’d say we come out at love.
Yours in holiday baking,
pseudo
You lucky thing! I didn’t realize you’d won those contests. Good for you.
My word verification is “beepmat.”
I added 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon to the oatmeal (a double batch from what you posted) and it was sooooooooooooo good.
Your kids are damn cute. Great clothes! I’m going to get me all kinds of Etsy for my future spawn (if, many years from now when I have spawn, Etsy is still all the rage).
Your kids got so big! Where did the time go? They are looking adorable, as always.
Merry Swistmas,
Hannah
thanks for the link back to the baked oatmeal recipe. I had already forgotten I wanted to make it but since the kid was hungry I went straight from blog reading to the kitchen and made it sans banana and pineapple but with (frozen) blueberries and craisins and lots of walnuts. It’s already gone!
We call that rice crispy thing Scotch-a-roos. A family friend gave me the recipe when I got married. They are the best and easiest thing to make. Yum! Maybe I will make some tonight!
I made the baked oatmeal but didn’t have any apples or bananas (kids ate them all) so I used dried pears(the ones from Costco), craisins, and pineapple. It was a little sweet for my tastes (probably all that sweetened dried fruit), but the pecans were so yum yum yummy in it! I have half a pan left so I may just make some more oatmeal and mix it all together.
I will be making baked oatmeal with fruit and nuts regularly from now on. I can’t wait to try it the right way (with apples and bananas).
Do you think those rice krispie bars can be doubled? Or is it one of those recipes where you have to make one batch and then another?
When did Elizabeth get so big? Love that dress!
Linda- Hm, I am not sure! I’ve never tried to double it, but they get eaten SO FAST, it’s certainly a WISE PLAN. I think the hardest part would be stirring the cereal into such a big batch.
I’d love to try that recipe, but alas I am about to attempt to make my first-ever apple pie. It’s a gift for my father-in-law and I’m very nervous. I bought Breyer’s vanilla ice cream to go with it and also in case the pie is inedible, we’ll at least have ice cream tonight.
I’m extremely impressed with your sproutlings :) I made myself some baked oatmeal (apple cinnamon) this morning. MAN that is one killer recipe, thank you so much for sharing it!
Ooo — that’s the ONE (and I do mean one, single, only) recipe with peanut butter or peanuts that I actually like. YUM!
And I’m making the baked oatmeal tomorrow morning for our Christmas breakfast. Soooo excited!
Merry Christmas!