No Bake Sweet and Salty Peanut Butter Bars

Growing up, my Mom was a single, hard working Mother for most of my childhood.  Working long days to support my sister and me, she was not given the luxury of being home when we returned from school or having free time to indulge our latest interests.  I know that she would often switch jobs in hopes that the new one would allow her more time to spend with us, but the expense of feeding and clothing two growing girls often outweighed the value of the little time she had acquired.  We did have many great times together, camping and swimming in mountain lakes, yard sale hopping on a Saturday morning, and going to the library in search of the latest adventure to get lost in.

My Mom worked hard for each and every thing we had, and I appreciate the sacrifice of each summer day she had to drag herself to work when she rather take us to Lincoln Park for a picnic.  I am  blessed to be home with my kids and share so many moments with them, but I am extremely blessed to have a Mother that sacrificed so much for me and gave me the love I needed so I could share that with my children today.  

May she who gave you birth be happy. ~ Proverbs 23:25

The kids and I recently tried the following recipe and LOVED the outcome.  While simple to create, the taste is rich and a great balance of sweet and salty as the name suggests.  YUM!  The original recipe can be found here: No Bake Sweet and Salty Peanut Butter Bars

No-Bake Sweet & Salty Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars

Ingredients:

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 2 cups creamy peanut butter, divided
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar, divided
• 4 cups (roughly ½-inch pieces), broken small pretzel twist, divided
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels, divided

Directions:

LINE 13 x 9-inch baking pan with foil leaving an overhang on two sides. Lightly spray foil with nonstick cooking spray.

BEAT 1 1/4 cups peanut butter and butter in large mixer bowl until creamy. Gradually beat in 1 cup powdered sugar. Stir in remaining 1 cup powdered sugar, 3 cups pretzel pieces and 1/2 cup morsels. Press evenly into prepared baking pan. Smooth top with spatula.

MICROWAVE remaining 1 1/2 cups morsels and 3/4 cup peanut butter in medium, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on MEDIUM-HIGH (70%) power for 45 seconds; STIR. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until morsels are melted. Spread chocolate layer evenly over powdered sugar mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining pretzel pieces, pressing down lightly. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or until firm. Lift from pan; peel off foil. Cut into 60 pieces. Store in covered container in refrigerator.

Need a Hug?

While driving in the car with my middle child Abby, I looked back in the rear-view mirror to see her cuddling herself, arms crossed around her midsection.  

“Are you okay Abby?  Do you feel sick, should I pull over?”  I inquired.

“No Mom, I am fine.  I just felt Jesus hugging me and I wanted to hug him back.”

As the tears welled in my eyes and the chills wrapped my body, I smiled and for a short time was speechless.  How wonderful to be so open to Him that you can FEEL His arms around you.  As adults, we often get caught up in our duties and selfish obligations and forget that He is there, hugging us as needed.  So many times I have felt alone in my tasks or day.  So many times I have yearned to have someone to talk to, to share with or to listen to my stories or problems of that day.  So many times I have reached for someone to understand me.  So many times I have obliviously ignored Him as He sat by my side, ready for whatever I needed.  

Much of the problem is that this world is full of people that disappoint us and let us down, including ourselves.  We find it hard to lean on any one person for long, because they inevitably will fall and take us with them if we don’t fall and take them down first.   The idea that there is someone that is selflessly there ALL the time, WHENEVER we need Him is a foreign idea to most of us.  Trusting that He is at the ready with an open ear and warm embrace when we need does not come as naturally as it should, but He is there and He will NEVER let us fall.  When we feel alone, it is due to our own misguidance because when we are in our darkest hour, He is there hugging us, carrying us and listening to us.  How awesome is that?!

 

Need a Hug?

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

 - Isaiah 41:10 

Wants and Needs

While having lunch with Emily a few weeks ago, she informed me that there is a big difference between wants and needs.  I asked her, “What is the difference?”

“Well, no one told me that part,” she quickly replied.

Most of us have been brought up being taught the distinct difference between wants and needs.  The lesson is usually taught to us as children after we have asked for something deemed frivolous by our parents.   Quite obviously there is a lot we do not need for survival on this world that we desire anyway.   The fact that chocolate is not required to keep us alive will not deter most of us from NEEDING a piece every now and then (or daily in my case).  As children this is a hard lesson to learn and I admit it hasn’t gotten easier in adulthood.  How can it be that I don’t NEED a bigger house, more money, more clothing, a tropical vacation?  Often it feels as if my very survival hinges on being able to purchase the latest technological device or at the very least new curtains for the living room because I will DIE if I have to look at the same ratty old ones for one more day.  However, clearly these are not things any of us need to get through to the next morning.  Sometimes though, what we desire is as simple as an answer to what is making us sick, or why we have lost someone we love all too soon.   Don’t we need those answers to move on and to move forward?  How can we live on this Earth without understanding, isn’t that a need?

God knows the path and the plan that is in place for each and every one of us.  Each of the hairs on our head are numbered.  He knows our hearts desires and He knows what is needed at all times.  With the little glimpse of this world that we have here on earth, how can we possibly expect to know what we need?  Without the knowledge that God has, why do we often presume to know what we need?  Proverbs 3:5-6 states “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path.” Ours is not to ask why, when or how but to trust that it is and will be because He is and always has been. 

A Meet and Greet with Bob and Larry...when did they sprout arms?

Here is one of God's creatures working hard on his need for a nest.

Risotto from Grandma Luigina's Cucina

My Grandmother is one of the most amazing cooks I have ever met and will forever be someone I admire not only for her cooking, but for her warm and generous heart as well.  No one has or ever will enter her home hungry and leave the same way.  Back in the day, she would gladly prepare whatever meal you desired.  There was no such thing as leftovers and every night was a full, hot dinner even though she worked outside of the home each day. 

As a child I often spent summers with my Grandparents and enjoyed watching my Grandma “dance” gracefully around her modest kitchen, preparing pasta, sauce, risotto, soups, chicken or ravioli.  Even eggs were served with love and class.  She never had an island with built in sinks, tons of cabinets and counter space, or stainless steel appliances.  The room is barely big enough to fit a table and open the fridge at the same time, but that never stops us from gathering in numbers to chat, laugh and of course eat. 

I am thankful everyday for the gift I have been given in my Grandma Louise.  She has not only taught me much of what I have learned about cooking, but about living a full and generous life as well.  While at 87 she is a bit slower in the kitchen and leaves the cooking up to others when we visit, just being in her presence is enough for me.  And while we are a couple generations apart, we are sisters at heart.

Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it. - Proverbs 15:17

    

Grandma Luigina's Risotto:

1 Sm/Med Onion (diced fine)

Minced Garlic (as much or little as you like...I go heavy on garlic)

Olive Oil

1-2 lb Ground Sausage

2 C Rice

Approx 4 C. Chicken Broth

Saffron (a pinch)

Spaghetti Sauce

Parmesan Cheese

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Sauté celery, onion and garlic in olive oil in large stock pot until tender. Add sausage and sauté until cooked through. Add rice, saffron and enough soup to cover the rice. Cover and simmer, slowly adding more soup and stirring as needed. Add a splash of spaghetti sauce and Parmesan cheese to desired taste. Once the rice is cooked to desired tenderness, serve with optional warmed chicken broth on top and Parmesan cheese.

Brown Days

Well, I guess it had to happen.  I found a gray hair, actually a pure white hair.  I did not pluck it, rather I am enjoying admiring and staring at it for the last couple of weeks.  I earned that white hair and I am sure I will earn many more in the years ahead.  Each time I catch a glimpse of the hair, I start to imagine life in my future white years.   

I imagine myself, a Grandmother of many, sitting on my porch with a pure white bun on my head.   Smiling into the sunshine, I rock away on my white, wooden rocking chair, waiting for my family to join me for Sunday dinner, as they do every week.  The smell of roasted chicken with the fixings wafts through the air.  Bob is out back, working on the screen door that squeaks when the wind blows it open, humming his favorite song of that day. Slowly rising and coming to the front porch, Bob gives me a kiss on the cheek and joins me in his rocker on the front porch.  We smile at each other as a warm breeze blows the wisps of white hair that have wriggled free from my soft bun.  Bob reaches for my hand and we sit together.  I join in singing to the song he has been humming and we look out onto the world before us, ever changing, ever growing and ever there.  The slam of car doors followed by the laughter and voices of young children fill the air and soon we are greeted by our children and grand children, ready to enjoy each other this fine Sunday afternoon.  Flooded by little hugs and stories of school, soccer games and choir concerts a content peace warms my heart.

For now I am still in my brown days, full of other joys like the laughter and voices of my own children.   Flooded by hugs and stories of school and being the one to flood others with stories of soccer games, swim meets and choir concerts.  For now I enjoy the soft kisses of my little ones, try to steal moments with Bob and hope to create traditions that continue into my future white years.

“Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life.” (NIV) - Proverbs 16:31

Dance Like a Child

When my middle child, Abby, was 3 years old I took her to sign up for her first dance class.  Abby has since decided that the frills and glitter that go with dancing are not her style, but at the time it was one of the biggest events in her week.  As we were entering the building for her first class, dance bag and shoes in tow, Abby announced to me, “I am pretty sure they are going to love my dance moves.”

Imagine entering every new experience and every new challenge with the confidence of a young child.  A child that sings out in public, asks questions without the fear of being laughed at and holds a faith that is unabashed.   One of my favorite praise songs (by Darrell Evans) sings:

"Teach me to have a child-like heart
Free me to be undignified
Teach me to have a child-like heart
Free me to dance all over my pride
Gonna dance like a child, Sing like a so
Abandon myself to the Holy one to the Holy one”

So many times as adults we withhold our child-like tendencies.  The change seems to start  in young adulthood, as I am witnessing with my oldest now in Middle School.  He is afraid to speak up about things that once he was quick to share with everyone.  We become acutely aware of our surroundings outside of the home and realize that not everyone thinks the same as us and we wonder, “What if the way I am thinking or the way I react is wrong?”  As we continue to grow and mature, we accept that not everyone will think and do as us, but then the fear of offending other’s differences enters the game and again we resist the urge to share, dance and live our thoughts freely. 

However, the Bible clearly states that if we do not change and become like children we will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  Certainly, the implication was not that we need to revert to childish misbehaviors, but rather live freely in our faith.  SING HIS PRAISES and not care that anyone is or isn’t listening, DANCE IN FAITH and not worry about whether the moves are right or smooth and  LIVE HIS LOVE without fear of offense for He is the way, the truth and the life.  Today I challenge you to dance your pride aside and let His love move your feet, your arms and your heart.  And if someone sees you dancing and asks what you are doing, don’t be afraid to let them know exactly what it is, just as a child of three would let you know her dance moves are nothing short of awesome.

And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, 

you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”    - Matthew 18:3