Peanut Butter Bars

These bars were one of the very first thing that I baked when I started this "spree".  I absolutely love the combo of peanut butter and chocolate and these are the perfect answer! They are probably the easiest thing that I will ever put on this blog as well.. No one can eat just one!

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup sweet butter softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 egg beaten
1 tspn vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tspn salt
1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat 350
2. cream butter, sugars and peanut butter
3. combine flour, oats, soda and salt in different bowl
4. Stir dry and peanut butter mixture
5. Spread in a 9x13 greased pan and sprinkle chocolate chips on top
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes

Banana Cake w Cream Cheese Frosting

So I have always had a bit of a banana phobia.. I do not like bananas at all, the smell makes me gag as well as the consistancy.  It has always been a running joke in my family to chase me with peels or leave them in inconspicuous places so I am left with the smell.  About a year ago a friend of mine got me into baking, she is a baking goddess and generously allowed me to be her sort of apprentice.  She raved about this banana cake we were going to make one night.  I had my reservations, but went along and even did the "mashing".  Honestly, it was hard for me, and no one in my family believed me that I actually touched the bananas! Wow way to face your fears thru baking! ha.  Anyways this cake is seriously to die for.  This past September for my mom's birthday the only thing she wanted from me was one of these cakes.  I also made one last Christmas for my family and it literally lasted 2 hours, and its huge! It really is perfect for birthdays or just any special occassion.  I am thinking about doing one for Christmas again this year! Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:
 1 cup unsalted butter
3 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
4 cups flour
2 tspns baking powder
2 tspns baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 cups of mashed bananas

FROSTING:
8 oz cream cheese
6 tblspns sweet butter
1 tblspn vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar
juice of 1/2 lemon

Preheat oven to 350
Cream together butter, sugar, vanilla and eggs until fluffy
Sift dry ingredients into seperate bowl
add alternately dry ingredients and buttermilk into egg mixture
blend in bananas
pour into greased pan- either 9x13 or I used a round bundt pan (which takes more baking time I just add 5 min and keep checking back)
Bake 40-45 minutes

Anyone who makes this will be absolutely blown away!

ENJOY!

T town

So this past weekend was a hugely successful Ramser vacation!  This was my second trip to Tucson and it far exceeded the first (never thought that would happen).. The area around U of A has great options of bars and restaurants.. Alex and I took full advantage of all that was there... Our first round was at Dirtbags, where I had been before, it was a quintessential college bar with the over-crowding and loud, but much appreciated $9 pitchers..

my brother came and met us.. so happy!
Saturday morning we went over to the Arizona Inn, which I just loved! Its a pink Spanish style hotel- my two favorite things! We ate a great breakfast, I got huevos rancheros, as did every other Ramser @ the table... blue tortillas really make it better!

After breakfast AY and I went over to university and checked out the bars... the weather was perfect for a few..

AY found his best friend Tyler's wine Russian Jack from New Zealand- I have to say this was amazing and we are currently looking for it everywhere! If you like Pinot you have to try this one

I found the hotdogs! But was a little disappointed I couldnt find a bacon wrapped like @ USC games- one of the perks of LA I guess.

the whole clan



the game was a blast!



so we had some trouble getting home and ended up renting a car.... 7 hours later we made it home! But we of course stopped at this lovely spot for some good and bad jerky!

Spiced Applesauce Cake

I really just love anything that tastes like Fall.  I found this recipe on Smitten Kitchen and was instantly drawn to it! I love adding spices like ginger, cloves and cinnamon to cakes to add an extra spice!  This cake was so easy to make and I really had everything in my pantry already...

                                         i love everything all lined up!

This cake came out so moist and delicious, my mom and I were pretty excited eating it while watching Glee (which was amazing this week!)  Ross even said that it was maybe the best cake he has ever had! I just love it when things like that come out of my friend's mouths about my baking- really gets me excited! Anyways this cake is great for the Fall, I had lots of fun baking it! This version of cream cheese frosting came out unbelievable as well, it might be the addition of cinnamon.  I have been having trouble with my oven so my cake came out a little too doughy and had to go back in, I think I will stick with the bottom oven from now on! Enjoy!

For cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon  baking soda
1/2 teaspoon  salt
3/4 teaspoon  cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup  packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups (about 13 ounces or 365 grams) unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup  walnuts (optional), toasted, cooled, and chopped**
                  I think the walnuts would be better on top of the cake rather than in the batter- would taste
                  better in the icing so you get some in every bite!
For frosting
5 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 (1 teaspoon) teaspoon cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter an 8- or 9-inch square cake pan
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices
3. Beat butter, brown sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and fluffy
4.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in applesauce.
5. At low speed, mix in flour mixture until just combined, then stir in walnuts
6. Bake for 35-40 minutes
7. Mix frosting

Ram Fam

I do not know how I am going to get thru work today! I am flying out to Tucson this evening to meet up with my whole family... Claire is coming from Purdue and Charlie from Utah! Weepy and Scott are driving and AY and I are flying in tonight! This is gonna be a good weekend! And to top it all off U of A is playing USC on Saturday.. cant get enough of that!  Just hope poor AY survives!

Sorry Kimbo but I think I might go for USC! oops....pictures will follow next week I am sure they will be entertaining, I am going back to college!

Weekender

I had one of the most perfect weekends last weekend.  Obviously I hope everyone else did too... It did not involve going out the town and causing a raucous but I was  perfectly content.  We watched movies and football and enjoyed some fine beverages.  Sometimes it is nice when you have the opportunity to just enjoy the other person without a lot of distraction.  It also helps that I find AY to be absolutely hilarious even when he doesnt think he is doing anything which always makes for a good time!


Sunday we trecked up to Belmont Shores to visit friends and stopped @ a couple bars to enjoy all the football.  I love when I get to spend the afternoon with people who without a doubt I always have a great time with... After a few beverages we headed home with a plan to make our own homemade pizzas

the sunset on the ride home was unreal! gotta love CA!

we ravaged Trader Joe's and created 2 amazing pizzas! This was so much fun, I had never made a pizza before.  We made two; one our staple favorite of pineapple, pepperoni and jalapeno. And of course pizza sauce and mozerella cheese.  @ trader joes they have pizza dough you can buy that is not pre-cooked, we got one plain and one garlic herb.. both were great! 

and i guess its hard to tell cuz we thought it would be brilliant to put all the toppings on then cheese so it all stayed in... i thought it turned out well!

The other was a combo of all things delicious- chicken, pizza/ bbq sauce, mushrooms, bell peppers, pepperoni, onion, avocado- and that may be all I can remember.  Oh and this was the garlic herb dough.

Anyways we stuck them on the BBQ and they were amazing... we did totally char the bottom of the pizzas but they were still sooo good.  There will just have to be a couple alterations for our next go around!  

the little things

sometimes it is just the little things that mean the most.  For me when someone takes the effort to do something they know I will enjoy, it really makes my whole world seem great! How cliche and simple is that? But really, it can be just a "good morning" text or grabbing me a brownie....

this was a good one with cookie dough on top...

or flowers!

Everyday I try to acknowledge the wonderful things that my friends do for me and do my best to reciprocate especially when they are not expecting it... It always make me happy when I know I made someone else feel good! Oh and it helps with the damn anxiety!  Life seems to be pretty stressful most of the time but the one thing that makes it ok is the people I have to call when I get off work to laugh or walk or just lay around with! I guess this post was kind of inspired as I was stuck in LA traffic for over 2 hours this morning, very late to my meeting, and all I could think about was what I have to look forward to once I punch in my time card and am free from work!

oh and how can I forget mimi who kills spiders for me when my parents are out of town and Im too much of a wimp to do so!

It Gets Better

My Uncle Rob works @ the Gap and is one of my very favorite people.  He and my Uncle Peter live in San Francisco together, I really do not get to see them very much but they always bring a smile to my face! Rob was insturmental in making this video called "It Gets Better"! So awesome! And you can see my Uncle Rob @ the very end of the video he makes the last cameo!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQaXz22Ok-c&feature=share

Heat Wave

We have been having the craziest heat wave in Newport for the last couple weeks.  I love the sun and summer, but come on its almost Thanksgiving where is Fall?  The heat does not always leave me with the biggest appetite, so last night I thought a salad would do the trick! I had also told AY I would cook for him, he told me to get a little more creative than a caesar (I make a good one though).  So I texted all my cooking savvy friends and got some great ideas!  But then I asked my mom and she reminded me of the most amazing salad she made from Ina Gartens Back to Basics.  So I made the Cape Cod Chopped Salad, which was amazing! AY even ate the left over salad for breakfast.  It is perfect for a hot day, the dressing has orange juice and zest that makes it very refreshing!

INGREDIENTS:

8 oz bacon
8 oz arugula (I used spinach, ate an arugula salad for lunch)
1 granny smith apple chopped
1/2 cup walnuts chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries
6 oz blue cheese ( I used feta)
3 small chicken breasts

DRESSING:

3 tblspns apple cider vinegar
1 tspn grated orange zest
2 tblspns fresh orange juice
2 1/2 tspns Dijon mustard
2 tblspns maple syrup
kosher salt
1/2 tspn pepper
2/3 cup olive oil


I just cooked the chicken on a baking sheet in the oven @ 400 for 20 minutes with salt pepper and olive oil.

YUMMY!!

Harry Potter 7!

I am the biggest Harry Potter fan! Hello I was Hermoine for Halloween! I have to admit though I have not read all the books.  When I lived in Paris a few summers back I picked up the fourth one and just died.  These books are so entertaining and addicting! What is better than a fantasy land of wizards? I really cannnot think of anything.  The first half of the last movie comes out in 2 weeks and I can barely wait.  If you haven't seen the trailer watch it! These movies have everything I like; action, magic, love, and suspense! I can't wait for the midnight premiere, I will be there costume on! AY even came around and said he would go with me so I did not have to stand alone!

my friend Melissa made this for me, I just love it! Dumbledore- he is so wise!

It is our choices...that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.
Albus Dumbledore
Ah, music. A magic beyond all we do here!
Albus Dumbledore
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.
Albus Dumbledore
Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.
Albus Dumbledore

brussel sprouts

I love brussel sprouts! next week I think I will have to start testing out some recipes. I already asked my mom if we could have some at Thanksgiving- her response "only if I know what I am doing".  I guess we all grow up thinking they are bad- maybe its the occassional cabbagey smell, anyways I am exciting to dive into some of these!

Oh and anyone have a good recipe they would like to share??? I always like them paired with rosemary!

Is it Thanksgiving Yet?

I am such a huge fan of the holidays.  I know that in a couple weeks decorations will start to appear and that sense of excitment will be back again!  I am just like every other stereotypical girl who gets giddy over Jessica Simpsons version of "Baby its Cold Outside"!  My family always has such a wonderful time getting together during the holidays-  that might be why I love it so much.  My family is kind of spread out all over so I love that we have an excuse to all get together.  And trust me my family is a hoot! Really we are just a bunch of freaks who love hearing ourselves talk... but over a couple bottles of wine I find it quite amusing.  And after Thanksgiving is Christmas, an even better upgrade! I absolutely adore thinking about getting everyone I love the perfect gift, honestly I am a bit over the top but it just makes me so happy to do something well thought out for someone.  My greatest downfall however is that once I figure out what to get I always tell the person or give it to them early! Ha- poor AY found out about his Christmas present in October I was just too excited to wait! My favorite time in college was every Christmas when Claire and I would drive around and look @ Christmas lights! Dallas does this right! So this year I have one of those huge snow globes I am going to put in AY's front yard and create my own winter wonderland- poor guy. 

Oh and how could I forget the FOOD!  I am excited to help out with cooking this year, last year I just did the baking.  This year I am going to try to take the reigns, but with my mom that could be hard, she has a system down! I'll have the best posts on this thing as the next two months unfold!

Pumpkin Bars/ Cake

So I am obviously still on an extreme pumpkin kick! I had an extra can of pumpkin left over from the pasta I made so I wanted to try out another desert! I found this recipe from Paula Dean on the food network- she is one of my favorites! I knew this was going to be a good one, as Paula is not known for low calorie.  These are called bars, really its just a cake, but oh wow it is unreal.  The day I was baking however was my first "off" day. The baking time was 30 minutes, but really it should be 40.  The center of the stupid cake would not bake! I got frustrated after putting the cake back in the oven a couple times and just cut the center out (picture below).

Then while I was making the frosting I made the mistake of talking on the phone with AY, big oops! I put granulated sugar in the icing rather than powdered! Nichole and I could not figure out why the delicious icing seemed to have a crunch! haha.. anyways the cake was still so moist and delicious I literally could not stop (seriously I ate half of it by myself) and my coworkers devoured it! I am going to make this cake for Thanksgiving for my family! Everyone must try it!

INGREDIENTS:

4 eggs
1 2/3 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups flour
2 tspns baking powder
2 tspns cinnamon
1 tspn salt
1 tspn baking soda
1 can pumpkin

Icing:

8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup soft butter
2 cup POWDERED sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

oven @ 350 degrees.  mix on medium speed; pumpkin, oil, sugar and eggs.  In another bowl stir flour, powder, soda, cinnamon and salt.  Combine 2 mixtures and pour into greased 13x10 pan and bake for 35-40 minutes. Mix the icing and put on cooled cake!

ENJOY! I cannot wait to make this one again!!

Moss Landing/ San Francisco!

On Thursday night AY and I headed up to Moss Landing in Northern California.. it was so beautiful! The beaches were unreal with great surf! Then we spent the rest of the weekend in San Francisco! It was such a blast- ate lots of good food and met great people!

                                       I love the beach!

Oh and I ate way too much late night pizza- why is it so much better in that city?

                                                We were lookin good!

Happy Halloween

A coworkers girlfriend made these cute Halloween treats!  I am really feeling competitive and must learn how to make cake balls!