Sandy's Yummy Mexican Appetizer

I really had no other name to call this. Sandy's Festive Dip....Sandy's Cream Cheese Avocado Dip...wait...what? It's not even a dip. I have no clue what IT is...I just know that it's super tasty!

My cute little friend Paula had us over for a pool party and she was making Street Tacos so a few of us brought over Mexican appetizers. I brought Jaime's To Die For Dip (which my cousin Jana seems to think it's called Jana's To Die For Dip, yeah right, she stole it from us), to be blogged later. And my other friend Sandy (who just moved to Canada :( I am so sad!), brought this appetizer. I had never had it before and I couldn't get enough of it. It has slices of cream cheese, who couldn't LOVE it, right??? Super easy to make.

All you do is slice cream cheese, then top with sliced avocados and then pour your favorite salsa over the top and OLE, it's party time.

Pasta with Prosciutto and Peas

Super yummy and super tasty. Best combo to have when you're cooking!

Bowtie Pasta with Prosciutto and Peas

12 ounces of pasta (whichever you like, I used Farfalle (bowtie)

1 T butter

1 large shallot finely chopped (sweet yellow onion will work too)

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 small package of peas, thawed (about 10 ounces)

8 slices of Prosciutto, cut in half and thinly sliced crosswise

1/2 C Parmesan Cheese, Grated

Kosher Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper

1. Boil the pasta, Reserve 1 cup of the pasta to add to the sauce to thin it out

2. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium low heat, add the shallot and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the cream, peas, and prosciutto. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Simmer until the peas are heated through, about 5 minutes.

3. Add the Parmesan cheese to the sauce. Add the pasta water to thin to your liking. I used about 1/4 a cup. Season with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over the pasta and sprinkle with additional Parm if desired. Serve immediately.

Delish! Enjoy!

How Much? How Many?

I am trying to make Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars and the recipe calls for 1 lb of Brown Sugar. Come again? 1 lb? That's not how I measure...I measure in cups. I did some googling and I'm getting varying answers on what constitutes a pound. Obviously liquids are different than solids but solids can be confusing too based on their texture...i.e. powdered sugar v. packed brown sugar. After a ton of research I think I found my answer. We shall see how they turn out. But in the meantime I found this handy chart for y'all to reference. My friend Lisa always tells me she doesn't understand measurements...after my measurement fiasco with my cookie bars, I feel her pain so this post is dedicated to her! Click HERE to find this handy dandy measurement guide. It has everything from how much liquid equals the juice of one lemon...2 TBS...who knew!...to how many mashed bananas in 1 cup. I love this guide. I'm going to print it out and laminate it and stick it on my fridge.

Again, click HERE to find the guide.

Peanut Butter Pancakes

I was so hungry Sunday morning when I woke up and I wanted something quick and easy to satisfy my craving and hopefully help get rid of this horrendous headache...think comfort food! I took a peek at my go to foodie blog Rookie Cookie and found this recipe. I never thought to put Peanut Butter IN pancakes. I really have never put peanut butter ON pancakes but Sydney's good friend Kaylee comes over and slathers the stuff all over her pancakes. I thought it was odd...until Sunday, that is. I don't even think I can make pancakes differently now. Not only were they ridiculously easy to make they were super tasty! It's like eating a peanut butter cookie with syrup on it. You HAVE to try these. Whitney at Rookie Cookie is seriously a cooking genius...she has some great recipes...go check her out...you are guaranteed to find something you will love!

Peanut Butter Pancakes

1 1/4 cups flour
3 Tbsp sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 egg
3 Tbsp melted butter

Heat a griddle or heavy skillet over medium heat.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine. In a large bowl, combine the milk, peanut butter and egg. Whisk until smooth. Combine the flour mixture with the milk mixture and gently stir until just combined. Fold in the melted butter.

Spray non-stick spray on the heated griddle. For each pancake, pour 1/2 cup batter onto griddle. Cooke until golden brown, turn when the edges are slightly dry. Yields 8 pancakes.