More S'mores please

The fall semester is always a little hectic. With volleyball every weekend, traveling every other and then school in between its a rarity that I find a chance to do what I really love to do in the kitchen…BAKE!

But when the chance arises that someone needs something out of the oven, I never reject. I have to admit I was a little stressed when I said I could bring something sweet because I was completely swamped but like I said, I never say no. Cookies, although easy and convenient for a group I knew bars would be a lot quicker because it was just a one pan fix rather than constantly dealing with the multiple cookie sheets. 

I should also probably tell y'all that I have been craving s'mores like its my job lately. Not the chocolate, not the graham cracker, but mainly the ooey gooey goodness of a warm marshmallow. 

The combination of these two necessities lead to…S'Mores Bars. 

S'Mores Bars

1 stick of butter

1 egg

1 1/2 cup brown sugar 

1 Tb. vanilla extract

1 cup flour

5 graham crackers roughly chopped

1-2 cup marshmallows 

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350

Melt butter in a microwave-safe bowl 

Wait to let the butter slightly cool--so that the egg won't scramble and the choco chips won't melt

Whisk in the egg, brown sugar, and vanilla 

Add in the flour and stir until just combined

Add in graham cracker, marshmallows, chocolate chips

Pour batter into greased pan 

Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until film and mallows are golden

Allow bars to cool for 30 minutes before slicing 

Regarding the s'mores ingredients, I didn't really measure anything. I just grabbed some crackers and broke them with my hands so they were in bite size pieces. With the chips, I had so many half open bags laying around so I did a mix of semi sweet, milk, dark, mini…it really doesn't matter since they all melt together anyways. And for the marshmallows, in all honesty I probably added closer to 3 cups of mallows, but I seriously can never get enough of those suckers. 

The point is, it really doesn't matter. My advice, just add the most of whatever is your favorite…and then add a little more. 

The hardest part…you neeed to wait to cut these bad boys. Their ooey gooey warmness will make it nearly impossible to cut semi-cleanly (trust me, I tried). But since I was in a hurry I put the pan in the freezer for 15 minutes to speed up the process. I am having bloggers remorse right now because I never got a shot of the bars while they were cut, so that I could show how everything melts all together. 

Ahhh..my mouth is watering. 

Without a doubt, these deserve an "I can't". Because I just can't stop eating them. 

Mid-week Mexican

Since season is in full swing in the fall, it's a rare occasion that I am able to cook for myself. However, with a day off I was able to plan something for dinner. Now I knew I wanted to do something with the chicken and veggies I had, and most importantly something warm!! Let me tell you, it is fah-reezing here in Iowa City, when I woke up it was 21 feels like 11...brrrrrr. 

Since I was missing my Texas warmth and the delicious Mexican food, I decided to go with fajitas, well...something like fajitas. I only had bell peppers and zucchini on hand, and since it was beyond miserable outside I decided to nix the onion and just go with what I had. 

"Fa-gee-tas"

Cut zucchini into bite size pieces

Slice bell pepper and chicken (or beef) into thin strips

Mince a clove of garlic 

(This is where I was lacking onions, feel free to add them or anything else)

Toss veggies into a hot skillet with a little oil, S&P

Cook for about 5 minutes, then add chicken

(I preseasoned my protein with chili powder, cumin, and oregano)

Cover and let cook for about another 5

Add 1/2-2/3 cup of Rotel tomatoes to the skillet and let simmer 

Add any additional spices and continue to simmer until any liquid is gone. 

(I added some hot chili powder for a little more heat)

S&P to taste 

I just added a wheat tortilla to make mini fajitas out of the veggie/chicken combo. 

My favorite part of this meal was how the chicken turned out, it was really juicy and held onto all the flavors that were incorporated. 

Nothing special, but I just love being able to pick things out of the fridge and experiment with spices and techniques to get something a little different each time. I'm still learning to be a pro in the kitchen, but practice makes perfect and I am definitely enjoying the practice...and the taste testings!

The good things

Another weekend of home games, which means the parents are back in Iowa City! I'm lucky enough that I get to see my parents about every two weeks due to my schedule this year.

Having the rents in town is a triple threat: great times, grocery shopping, and great food. No shocker here, but everyone in my family is a big foodie. My rents and I have decided that for our lunch meet ups we have to try somewhere we haven't been before.

So on Friday since it was just Dad and I, we decided to try Iron Hawk. Now I have to admit, I was a little bit skeptical that it wouldn't live up to the high standards the Bedell's have for food. Iron Hawk is just one of the many bars downtown, however they are all about pork...which is exactly what Dave loves. They get their pork from Brenneman Pork Inc. which is a local Iowa company.

Dad decided to go with their biggest pork specialty: breaded pork tenderloin sandwich. We joked that mom would be jealous especialllly because it could be dipped in buffalo sauce...let me tell you my mom loves anything that makes her sweat because it's so damn hot.

We also got a kick out of the bun to pork ratio...I don't know how they expected anyone to eat this like a classic sammy.

I went with the pulled pork po' boy. It had pulled pork, with bacon and cole slaw on this buttery thin bun. We both were pleasantly surprised with our meals, however Dave couldn't finish tackling the massive pork.

You know how we said we like to try somewhere different for lunch? Well that is not the case for post-game meals, Mondo's and Backpocket are our staples for late night eats. For Friday night we went with Mondo's. It's easy to grab a seat at the bar, and my rents enjoy the selections on tap.

I have been addicted to anything Salmon lately, so it's a no brainer that I got the salmon salad. I don't only love this salad for the salmon, but it has, wait for it...goat cheese. Jon always makes fun of me, because I will probably eat anything with goat cheese on it. Salmon, goat cheese, sautéed onions, and a light vinaigrette, this salad is an A++ for me.

Saturday came around and my parents headed to the football game. I was busy getting ready for my game, so I didn't catch up with them until after my game. My ma had the great idea of ordering Backpocket Togo, so I just met up with them in their hotel room. If you saw the last the good things 
you read about the description of the Produce Pie and the Tatonka, but I actually remembered to take
pictures this time!!

Produce Pie: gooey mozzarella and fresh veggies

Tatonka: buffalo chicken with celery and bleu cheese

Beer Cheese. This is just spicy beer cheese with slices of brick-fired bread.

Let me tell y'all, the bread and crust from this place is ahh-mazing. I even had to slap Dad's hand away so I could snap a picture before we devoured all of this.

Sunday morning came around and we decided to go for a healthy breakfast due to all the greasy eats.

We toasted up some Ezekiel bread, fried up some Canadian bacon, sautéed some spinach, mushrooms, and green onions, and cracked some eggs and scrambled it all together. This was surprisingly filling and really good!

Well that's another edition of The Good Things, it was full of delectable food and as usual great laughs and love with the parentals.

The countdown for 2 weeks begins!