Carob Peanut Butter Bars

Alright, Halloween is later this month, and the stores are filled with candies and pumpkins.  I love fall. I love pumpkins.  I love many things about this time of year that IC does not interfere with.  However, my least favorite thing about this time of year and Halloween is the re-appearance of stupid seasonal Reese's treats.  We've had a nice long break of these treats not being available.  Really it's only been like 4 months, but, whatever the case, I really enjoy not seeing these things in stores.  Now they will be available again until May.  Don't believe me? Think about it.  It starts with the Halloween pumpkins, then outcome the Christmas trees, then the Valentine's day hearts, and ends with the Easter eggs.  Whhhhyyyyy?! Maybe there is a week break in there, but for me, seeing these things in stores just makes me bitter and annoyed.  I LOVE THEM.  Okay, enough of my moaning and complaining about how unfair and miserable store trips and holiday candies are.  I decided to come up with an IC-safe substitute, a treat that will quench your peanut butter and chocolate craving.

Generally, I am not a huge fan of carob.  I really don't know what it is, but it makes the edges of my tongue water, and it never quenches my desire for chocolate.  However, the glaze I came up with for this recipe is actually awesome.  No tongue watering, except from looking and smelling these bars because they are AMAZING.  Get your peanut butter chocolate fix and try these bars.  You won't regret it.

Carob Peanut Butter Bars

Recipe adapted from Leigh Anne at yourhomebasedmom.com 

Ingredients:
Crust:
1/4 c. butter
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
` `/2 c. quick oats
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Peanut Butter Filling:
1 c. all-natural peanut butter (ingredients are just peanuts and oil- nothing else)
1/3 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Glaze:
1/4 c. butter
1 Tbsp carob powder
3 Tbsp milk
2 c. powdered sugar

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F
2. Cream together butter and sugars. Add in eggs and vanilla and beat until fluffy.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, soda, salt, and oats until combined.
4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and beat until combined.
5. Spread this mixture on large cookie sheet.  (This is easiest if you use your hands and some flour and just pat it all out until it is even and pan is covered.)
6. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes
7. Mix together the peanut butter, sugar, and vanilla for the peanut butter filling.  Spread this mixture over warm crust.  Be patient, the natural peanut butter is hard to spread, but it will if you work slowly and patiently
8. Prepare glaze: in a small pot over medium heat, melt butter.  Stir in carob until dissolved and smooth. In a medium bowl, combine this carob mixture, milk, powdered sugar, and vanilla.  Mix until smooth.
9. Spread glaze over peanut butter layer
10. Let set for a few hours and enjoy!

Chicken Pesto Pizza

Summer is wrapping up and that means it was time to prune the basil plants for the last time this year.  I was bummed to learn that my basil won't come back next year.  Temps here don't get too cold, so I thought it might have a chance, but no such luck.  After doing some research, I found that basil won't live in temps under 50 degrees F.  Bummer.  We have predicted lows in the mid 40's this week (yay!), so it was time to remove all the leaves and make some pesto.

I've written about my pesto, and, now that I am looking back, I am embarrassed of the picture of the boxed/store-bought basil!  I will be sure to update that next year. Now that my husband and I have grown basil, I realize how much better it tastes and how expensive store-bought is! I am new to the gardening thing, but I was very impressed and pleased with our basil plants.  They were surprisingly easy to grow and produced a ton of basil.  Anyways.... after pruning all the leaves off my 3 plants, I had 40 cups of basil (yep, not a typo, 40 cups.) (And yes, I did prune them throughout the summer!)  I don't know what all to do with basil, but I love pesto, so I just made a TON of pesto and froze it all in little baggies.  I have no idea if we will be able to eat all of that this winter, but I figured we might as well get started.  I made a chicken pesto pizza that turned out to be delicious!  I have blogged about how much I love pizza in the past, and this is definitely a new favorite for us!  

Chicken Pesto Pizza

Ingredients:

Pizza dough (I made mine in the bread machine- do whatever works for you.. a wheat crust is super good!)

2 chicken breasts, chopped into bite-size pieces

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp minced fresh garlic

1/3 c. pesto 

2 c. shredded Mozzarella cheese

1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2. Roll out/stretch/toss etc. dough onto a pizza pan

2. Spread pesto over dough, leaving a 1/2 inch border for crust

3. Heat skillet, olive oil, and garlic over medium heat.  Add chicken and cook until it is cooked through (no longer pink inside)- about 5 minutes

4. Top pizza with chicken 

5. Spread cheeses over top

6. Bake in preheated oven for 20-22 minutes.