Beef... It's what's for dinner.

So here's what's happening in the photo above: Loaf of bread with the center dug out, a steak, a mushroom/garlic/onion sautee, another steak, pesto, and the top of the bread.


I know. It's amazing.

Peanut butter cup brownies

Confession.. I made these at the beginning of April. It's now the middle of May and I'm only now getting around to posting. Oops.

They are brownies baked in mini muffin tins with peanut butter and chocolate chips spooned into the middle. They are the perfect combination of chocolate and peanut butter. They are bite size. They are adorable.

Mini chicken pot pies

Pot pies are great. Like I mentioned in the post below, I like the idea of warm, hearty meals. They're gooey, can be eaten in a bowl and topped with a flaky dough. But there's always the issue of transport. If you don't have 20 individual ramekins, it's difficult to do a satisfying pot pie.

Chili verde

There's a place in Seattle called Slim's Last Chance. It was featured on the Food Network's Diners, Drive Ins and Dives, and my date on Saturday was telling me how good their chili is. I admitted to him what I had never said out loud before--I don't love chili.

Zesting MACHINE

I did a significant amount of baking in the last week, so be prepared for an onslaught of entries.

I had a free weeknight last week and clients coming into the office the next day, so I decided to put my zester to use again. I've had my eye on a lime-white chocolate pound cake for a while but upon looking at the ingredient list, didn't want to deal with buttermilk. I'm a big fan of making things that use ingredients I'll use again--buttermilk is not one of those things.

Since I was still on a citrus kick, I settled on a cookie version of the flavors. The resulting cookies were flat and chewy, but with crispy edges. I'm on the hunt for a puffy cookie recipe, but mostly because the puffy ones are prettier to photograph ;)

Lime White Chocolate Chip Cookies

From The Fresh Loaf

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lime juice
1 tablespoon lime zest
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 - 12 oz bag white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line two sheet pans with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, sugar and butter until combined but not fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, then add vanilla, lime juice and lime zest. Mix to combine.

Whisk together flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix into creamed mixture until just combined. Fold in the white chocolate chips.

Shape the dough into 1″ balls, and place 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges are golden and the centers just set.

Allow to sit on the pan for three minutes before moving to wire racks.

Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate

I like baking. I do. But sometimes, that gets shoved under piles of I'm-working-every-weekend-and-I-have-two nights-a-week-to-fit-in-7-days-of-hanging-out-noooooo. The baking has suffered, to say the least. But! Light, tunnel, end.

As an event coordinator, my work schedule gets jam packed during the summers and then slowly, blessedly, lightens up around fall. Which is: right now! Yes! Presumably, I'm with the 6 day, 60-hour work week and back to the 5 day, 40-hour work week. Supposedly, I'm not getting sent to Ellensburg (although, it was pretty) or Oak Harbor (also, gorgeous) or Lacey (eh.. at least I didn't get shot) anytime soon.

So I took a look at my Pinterest Recipe board and realized that more than half of the items on there didn't have a "DONE" label on them. Oh no. No no. That won't do.

Peanut butter and chocolate is probably one of the best combos ever. It might even be better than salt and caramel.

So..

Some cocoa and sugar.










Whisked with water to make a smooth paste.










Add milk










And of course, peanut butter










Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate
Adapted from Babble Blogs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1/4 cup water
3 cups 2% milk
4 tbsp. creamy peanut butter
3 oz. chocolate (the original recipe called for bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped. I used chocolate chips, about 3 oz=1/2 cup)

In a saucepan, stir together the sugar and cocoa to get rid of lumps; stir in the water until smooth, then whisk in the milk over medium-high heat. Heat until steaming. Remove the pan from the heat and add the peanut butter and chocolate. Let it sit for a few seconds, then blend it with a hand-held immersion blender.