i might have a problem peanut butter bars

It's my day off from work. I had to work a v. stressful event over the weekend starting from Thurs. and I have been exhausted. Too much sun and heat, on the water all weekend dealing with careless people. I decided to take a comp. day from work. As usual I come up with a menacing list of "to dos" on my relax day. I need to go grocery shopping and I wanted to finish reading my Bible today (selfishly so I can move onto another book). I just wrote 30+ thank you notes. How do I decide to spend the rest of my afternoon? Baking peanut butter bars with 1 1/2 sticks of butter to make me feel even worse about not working out!

Recipe taken in part from Jif

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 stick butter
3/8 c sugar
1/2 c flour
3/4 c oatmeal

Peanut Butter Bars:
1/2 stick butter
1/2 c water
1/4 c peanut butter (a bit more if you want a stronger pb flavor)
1/4 c oil
1 c flour
1 c sugar
1/2 tspn baking soda
1/4 c milk
1/2 tspn vanilla
1 egg

Crust:
Mix dry ingredients. Add in melted butter and mix until combined. Press into the bottom of an 8"x 8" pan.

Peanut Butter Bars:
Heat butter, water, peanut butter, and oil in a saucepan, stirring occasionally. Once it is brought to a boil, set in fridge to cool.

Combine dry ingredients in mixture. Add milk, vanilla, and egg. Add peanut butter mixture and combine. Pour into 8"x 8" pan over crust. Place in 380 degree oven for ~40 min, until the corners brown and pull away from the edges and a chopstick comes out clean after poking the center.

Enjoy!

low budget lemon bars

Sometimes things fall into place. My husband and I are trying to be good stewards of God's money. This past week was the last week of our first month's budget and we had about $7 left for groceries. A friend at work went blueberry picking with his family and gave me a ton of extra blueberries. I spent the remainder of the work day (including a 2 hr meeting) contemplating the best way to use these blueberries. I decided to put them in a lemon bar recipe. But, as it turned out, we didn't have lemons and only 1/8 c lemon juice. What do you do when the world gives you no lemons? Make low budget lemon bars!

This recipe is taken in part from Joy of Baking

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 stick vegetable spread or margarine (it was the cheapest "butter" we could find. We didn't realize it wasn't butter until we got home)
1/4 c powdered sugar
1 c flour
1/8 tspn salt

Filling:
1 c sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cup orange juice
1/8 cup lemon juice (optional!)
1 tbspn flour
1 c blueberries

For the crust: Mix sugar and butter until smooth and light (whatever that means). Add flour and salt and mix until combined. Press the dough into the bottom of an 8"x 8" baking pan and bake in 350 degree oven for ~25 min until the dough looks cooked but not quite brown. Remove from oven to cool while making filling.

For filling: Mix eggs and sugar until smooth. Add orange juice (and lemon juice if you've got it) and mix again. After juice is combined, pour in flour while mixing. When completely mixed, add in blueberries and stir around. Pour into baking dish over crust, spreading the blueberries evenly. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes until berries start to burst and the edges of the crust begin to brown.

This dish is gooey-er than usual lemon bars when still warm. If you let it cool for a couple of hours it will be easier to serve. Serving warm is still really good, but it will serve more like a cobbler than lemon bars.

Enjoy!