peanut butter fudge brownie trifle

hello again. remember me? i have been a total blog failure as of late. i'm not even going to make excuses (insanely busy summer, school year starting, not enough hours in the day, k enough said.)  i have lots of things to share with you....a delicious green bean recipe and lentil soup (yes, soup already) and others, BUT today is about this: a peanut butter fudge brownie trifle. it's from pinterest (originally from this blog: howsweeteats) you may have seen it. yes, it really is as good as it looks and i recommend you make a plan to have lots of friends over  before making it so you're forced to share this divine little treat with others.

this is sinfully rich (and not at allllll good for you) BUT it's so worth it. promise.

ingredients:

1 batch of your favorite brownies, boxed or from scratch, cooled and cut into cubes (i used ghirardelli dark chocolate with chocolate chips)

1 large box (5-ounce) of instant chocolate pudding, prepared and chilled (this will most likely call for 3 cups of milk)

1 bag of peanut butter cups, chopped (I used Recess mini cups)

2 cups heavy cream

3-4 tablespoons granulated sugar, depending on your desired level of sweetness (3 for me and it was plenty sweet!)

1 cup of creamy peanut butter

1 cup of powdered sugar

2 tablespoons milk

8 ounces of whipped cream cheese, at room temperature

what to do:

Using a hand mixer (or in the bown of an electric mixer), beat heavy cream and sugar on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form.

 Transfer the whipped cream to an separate bowl and stick in the fridge until ready to use. I did not even clean the bowl of my electric mixer and just began mixing the peanut butter mixture.

Add the peanut butter and cream cheese to the bowl and beat at medium speed, scraping down the sides a few times until mixture is creamy.

 Add in powdered sugar and mix until combined, then mix in 2 tablespoons of milk.

Remove the whipped cream from the fridge and add 1 cup of it to the peanut butter, folding it in until the mixture turns lighter in color and is mostly combined.

Grab your trifle dish (I got one that I really like from Walmart for $6...score! :) ) and begin to layer your ingredients however you’d like.

 I did a layer of brownies, then peanut butter, then a handful of chopped peanut butter cups, chocolate pudding, whipped cream, and so on. I repeated it until I got to the top, then piped the remaining whipped cream on top and sprinkled the candy on.

You really can’t go wrong with layering – just use a long spoon to serve!

we had some friends over last weekend. we packed on our front porch. the girls drank wine and talked. the guys grilled. it was a lot of fun. then the trifle happened. the most social of the social butterflies were quieted by this dessert. "it's like heaven in my mouth.", "shhh don't talk to me right now, i just want to be alone with my trifle" -emily...i mean anonymous :)

make it, you're friends will love you for it!

enjoy.

garden lettuce wraps with shrimp

I've made these twice in the past 2 weeks. They are fun, a good thing to share with friends, really healthy, and so so good. It does require some chopping and a teensy bit of sauteeing, but other than that there's nothing to these! Change up the ingredients if you'd like, but I'll share what I put in mine.

What I used:

-Bibb lettuce (iceberg might work as well)

-shrimp

-red pepper, thinly sliced

-chives

-cilantro

-cucumber, thinly sliced

-carrots, thinly sliced

-portabella mushrooms, thinly sliced and sauteed

-lime wedges

-edamame (for appetizer)

-Soy Vay Island Teriyaki (from whole foods. it's like soy sauce, but much better...with ginger, sesame seeds, and other goodness)

How to prepare lettuce wraps:

Chop and organize all your vegetables into little bowls or dishes.

Saute portabello mushrooms (and red bell pepper if you'd like) in a couple teaspoons of olive oil for about 5 minutes.

Add shrimp to bowl and pour some Soy Vay sauce on shrimp (about 3 Tbs). Sprinkle a small handfull of chives over shrimp. Sautee over medium high heat for about 3-4 minutes, stirring/flipping shrimp gently until shrimp are cooked through.

Assemble lettuce wraps any way you like. I like lettuce, shrimp, all the vegetables you want, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.

mmm!

enjoy!

"Not-too-bad-for-you" Spinach Artichoke Dip

So I know I've been talking about light, summery things like watermelon and snow cones and salads. Spinach Artichoke Dip and watermelon? gross. don't do it. So this is probably not what you'll make all summer, but it is what you'd make if you were part of the "Winston Salem Contingent".  haha. My wonderful friend Laura's dad is an assistant coach for the Boston Bruins...who just happen to be playing in the Stanley Cup finals. :) So what have I been doing every other night for several weeks/months? Watching hockey with several other dedicated fans (and we now have a gang name..the WSC...winston salem contingent. we're pretty serious. and dorky. and half joking. anyways.) Spinach Artichoke dip goes well with hockey. not snow cones.

I looked for lots of different spinach artichoke dip recipes, all of which had mayonaise, sour cream, cream cheese, or a mixture of all of the above. I decided to make up my own recipe. It's much lighter, but still really flavorful. Totally delicious! Game 5 is tomorrow night, game 6 is Monday night, and if it goes to game 7, that'll be Wednesday night. Form a contingent. Make this dip.

Go Bruins!!!

What you'll need:
-a food processor (or a good chopping hand)
-about 4 cups spinach (frozen or fresh, well chopped if not going in a food processor)
-1 14 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained
-4 cloves garlic
-1 cup grated parmesan cheese
-juice of half a lemon
-sea salt
-pepper
-dash of red pepper flakes
-1 cup 0% fat greek yogurt (I used fage brand)

What you do:
Preheat oven to 400. Combine all ingredients in food proccessor and pulse until well blended. Spread into baking dish. Sprinkle with a generous pinch of parmesan cheese. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve hot. Get your game face on.

i can hardly take myself seriously right now... :) omg. but seriously...GO BRUINS!

daydreaming about summer

I have 13 days of work left until SUMMER.

Yesssssssssssssssssssss!!!

Excited is an under statement.

We have lots of visitors coming this summer. We're going to a couple weddings in Texas!

 I'm nannying for 3 kids this summer which I'm really excited about (4 days a week. no lesson plans. no observations. time at the pool. getting to know some sweet teenagers.... all sounds perfect!)

 And Ryan will keep on keeping on in his second (almost) year of residency.

I've been daydreaming a lot about Summer lately.

swimming.

bathing suit coverups.
bright nail polish.
being barefoot.

 weddings.

frozen yogurt.

(craving a snow cone so badly, but they don't exist here. if you're in houston, please enjoy one for me. white coconut, light on the syrup. mmmm) 

grilling.

cold drinks.

margaritas.

family. 

friends.

no more sunday blues.

eeeeeeeeeee i can't wait.

There are countless things that I love about summer!!

One thing I'm REALLY excited about is lightened-up, summery fresh food.

 salads. grilled veggies. watermelon as a meal (mixed with feta and basil and grape tomatoes of course!) lots of herbs. fruit. veggies, veggies, and fruit. and margaritas. and the pool. wait a second...

cooking light has some great summer meal/side ideas. can't wait to try a lot of them!

http://www.cookinglight.com/food/in-season/scb-sides-0040000002%208195/page33.html

convo with 3 of my 5th graders today:

student # 1: so Mrs. Aubuchon, what do you like to do? i mean like what's fun to you? what do you do besides teach?

me: well i like a lot of things... (then i was cut off by student #2)

student #2: she likes to read! right, mrs. aubuchon? you love reading?

me: yes i love reading and i like some other things

all the students: YOU DO? LIKE WHAT?

me (laughing): well like cooking and exercising and being outside and with friends and at the pool and travelling and lots of things :)

them (totally shocked at the idea that i'm a regular human not just a reading teacher): ohhhhhhhhhhh

:)

I'd love to hear about what you're looking forward to doing and/or cooking this summer!!

Happy almost Summer!

my favorite way to eat corn...thanks, Mom!

What you'll need:

5 ears of corn (with all their clothes on..if you know what i mean. corn clothes=husks)

3 big cloves of garlic

about 2 T olive oil

about 1/2 tablespoon of butter

a little salt

a little pepper

a dash of cayenne pepper

What to do:

-Bring a big pot of water to a boil

-put all 5 ears of corn (husks and all) in the pot of boiling water

-boil for about 3 minutes

-remove from boiling water with tongs and place under cold water

-remove husks and cut corn off the cob

-heat olive oil and butter in skillet

-add garlic and corn

-saute for a couple minutes

-season with salt, pepper, and cayenne

it's crunchy and sweet and ohh so good.

enjoy!

White Wine Sangria

This is one of those recipes that you can change up a lot (like next time, I might use peaches and fresh basil...or watermelon and honeydew..), add or take away some fruit, or make it just like I did.

 I brought some to a friend’s for dinner and served it over good crushed ice (sonic ice to be exact!) with a splash of sparkling water. It was a great night…good friends, perfect Spring weather, sangria, grilled chicken and vegetables, Joy the Baker’s cookies that I can’t stop thinking about à  http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2011/04/brown-butter-toasted-coconut-chocolate-chip-cookies/

What you need:

-regular sized bottle (750ml) of dry white wine (I used a Pinot Grigio)

-1/2 cup orange liqueur (triple sec or cointreau)

-1.5 cups lemonade

-3 kiwis, cut into thin slices *

-1 large granny smith apple with skin, cored and thinly sliced *

-1.5 cups green seedless grapes, halved *

-1 lemon

-1 lime

-handful of strawberries, thinly sliced*

-handful of blueberries*

-splash of sparkling water or ginger ale, optional

*save some fruit for “garnish”…and by garnish I mean to toss a good amount of fruit on top of your sangria. The wine-infused fruit makes a nice little snack.

What you do:

Slice fruit and put it in a big pitcher. Add wine, triple sec (or cointreau), and lemonade. Let it soak and mingle and get good overnight. Serve over good crushed ice with a splash of sparkling water, and a generous handful of fruit, bring it to a party….or have a party as an excuse to make this.

Do you have a fun Spring/Summer drink you love making? Please share!

some glimpses of Spring...