Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Do-Si-Do Pie!


It’s that time of year again….the Girl Scouts are out and about selling their delicious cookies door to door and at your local grocery stores.  Have you seen them yet?  If not, you can check HERE to see how to get your hands on some of their goodies.  There is an app for that too!!
The Girl Scouts of Western Washington announced last month that they would be having their Girl Scout Cookie Recipe Contest again….and of course, even though I am as busy as can be, I couldn’t NOT take the chance to submit a recipe.
I wanted to make something with peanut butter this year, though I did test some recipes out with the Savannah Smiles….love the lemon tang….goes perfect with meyer lemons.
And you know peanut butter goes ever so lovely with….chocolate!
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Do-Si-Do Pie!
I made 4 mini pies (4inch) but this recipe would make an 8 inch pie
Crust:
2 Sleeves of Do-Si-Do cookies – with the peanut butter filling removed (eek….I know!)
4 tbsp Melted Butter
Chocolate Peanut Butter Ganache:
5 oz Chopped Dark Chocolate
1/4 cup Smooth Peanut Butter
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Peanut Butter Chocolate Filling:
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
1/2 cup Smooth Peanut Butter
1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
7 oz  Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 oz Melted Dark Chocolate
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
To make the crust:
Put the do-si-do cookies in a large ziploc bag.  Take your frustrations out on the cookies with a rolling pin or meat tenderizer….or if you have no frustrations, feel free to put them in a food processor and turn them into crumbs.  I liked leaving some larger chunks for texture, but mostly you want crumbs.  Similar to making a graham cracker crust.
Put into a medium sized bowl.  Add butter and mix thoroughly.  Press the mixture into the bottom of the pie plate(s).  Put into the fridge while you make the other components to the pie.
To make the Chocolate Peanut Butter Ganache:
Place the chopped chocolate and peanut butter into a heat proof bowl.
On medium low, heat the heavy cream and vanilla in a small pot. Simmer for a minute or two….you want it hot, but not boiling.
Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate and peanut butter.  Let it sit for a bit to let the chocolate melt a bit.
Whisk together until smooth.  Set aside to cool a little, but not too much – you want it pourable still.
To make the Peanut Butter Chocolate Filling:
I used this recipe from Jennifer Perillo for this filling….with the addition of chocolate to make it a little richer.
Whip the heavy cream in a bowl until stiff peaks form.  Put the bowl into the fridge to chill out while you make the rest of the filling.
In a double boiler or microwave, melt the 2 oz of dark chocolate and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the cream cheese and peanut butter until fluffy and lovely.  Switch it to low and beat in the powdered sugar until combined.  Add in the condensed milk, vanilla and melted chocolate.  Increase the speed and mix until well combined and the filling is smooth.
Using a large spatula, mix in 1/2 of the whipped cream.  Then fold in the remainder of the whipped cream.
To put the whole pie together….
Take the pie plate(s) out of the fridge. 
Spoon enough of the Chocolate Peanut Butter Ganache to cover the bottom of the pie crust.
Pour the Peanut Butter Chocolate Filling into the pie plate(s).  Use a spatula to smooth the surface.
Drizzle some of the remaining ganache over the top of the filling to make it look pretty.
Put the pie into the fridge to set for a few hours or overnight.  If you can wait that long.  This pie filling is hard to not just sit with and devour with a spoon.
ENJOY!!

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Courage to Change GIVEAWAY


Super excited to kick the year off with a giveaway on LB,BO.  When I saw that Shell, from Things I Can’t Say, was looking for bloggers to test out and giveaway board games from Courage to Change, games designed for kids with special needs, I knew that it was an opportunity I should jump on.  All the games that I was able to chose from were tempting….but I focused on one that I thought would help and be fun for my special little man.
One of the things that we (Aiden’s Preschool teachers and I) are working on with him is routine and rules. We are planning on putting him in all day kindergarten next year, knowing that it could be tough, to get him use to those routines and rules that go along with being in school ALL day.  So that when he gets to first grade, he has them down pat and can focus on the learning.  So….when I saw “The Classroom Behavior Game”, I knew that would be a great one to work on these skills with him to prepare him for next year.  I also thought that it would be a fun game to take into the school so that his classmates could enjoy it and learn some of the rules as well.
classroombehav
After watching the video about the game and who it caters to, I knew that it would be a fantastic game for Aiden.  And for Jakob!  It will be a fun way for Jakob to teach Aiden how to behave in school, and maybe remind Jakob too!! :)
I am REALLY looking forward to getting the game – my stalking the tracking number says it will be here in three days.  You could have a chance to win one too! a Rafflecopter giveaway  

Be sure to check back here next week for a review of the game itself, after the boys and I get to play it a few times and take it into Aiden’s class for his friends to give it a whirl.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Happy New Year

 

With the start of a brand new year, I think about all the things that I didn’t quite accomplish in the past year and if they are something that I really wanted to do…or what was stopping me.

Ask anyone who knows me well will tell you I am the queen of procrastination – will find any reason to stand in my own way.

I have goals for this year, attainable ones.  We will get into this later as I start to plan them out a little further.

The problem with starting this new year and thinking about all the great possibilities that come with it is that I am starting it without my partner, my best friend.  Having Jason on the other side of the world for the first half of this year makes it difficult.  Will it really start, do I want to accomplish all these goals without him?  I know he would tell me to get it done, get going, make things happen.

Damn Army. 

So, with those thoughts floating around my head and heart, I wish you all a very Happy New Year and hope that all your dreams come true this year….I plan on making mine!