Too easy, too yummy

I needed a dessert that I could whip up fast and I didn't want to go through the whole "from scratch trash my kitchen with flour and sugar" mess so I went the easy route. All you need are some peanut butter cups and a box of brownie mix with its required ingredients. The end result: yummy peanut butter cup brownies.



Peanut Butter Cup Brownies (from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
1 box brownie mix
any ingredients that the box of brownie mix calls for + an extra egg
1 bag mini peanut butter cups


Directions:
Mix up brownie batter with an extra egg for fluffier brownies.
Pour brownie batter into muffin cups lined with paper or foil wrappers.
Stick one peanut butter cup (all wrapping removed of course) in the center of each brownie
Bake at 325 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until brownies are fluffy but not gooey inside.
Cool and then eat!

I used a box of pillsbury chocolate chunk brownie mix and it yielded a dozen brownies in a regular sized muffin tin. A mini muffin tin could also be used for bite sized brownies.

The green stuff

We definitely love Mexican food around here and probably have it at least once a week. I've been working on perfecting my guacamole recently, but I still like to cut corners a bit and use a package of Produce Partners Great Guacamole seasoning. Lawry's also makes a good guacamole seasoning (the McCormick stuff in the orange package is nasty though). Eventually I may move to a completely from scratch guac with peppers and other spices, but for now I like my easy semi-homemade guac :)



Easy Mild Guacamole
4 ripe avacados (skin will be dark and the avacado will yield to slight pressure)
3 small roma tomatoes, seeds removed
1/4 of a white onion
1 packet of guacamole seasoning
juice of half a lime
dash of salt

Remove peel and mash up avacados in a large bowl. Chop up tomatoes and onion, add to the avacado mixture. Mix in packet of guacamole seasoning, lime juice, and salt. Chill for 30 minutes before serving.

Another semi-homemade dessert

We went to a game night at friend's home yesterday and in lieu of a rich and chocolaty dessert we took mini-fruit pizzas instead. I saw the recipe on the Pillsbury website a few weeks ago and bookmarked it in hopes that I'd have an occasion to make them soon. Now that strawberries are back in season I am always looking for an excuse to eat them! These were quick to make and tasted great! We are still chowing down on the leftovers! I used fruit I had on hand, strawberries, kiwis, and mandarin oranges.




Mini Fruit Pizzas (made by Julia)

1 (18-oz.) pkg. (20 cookies) Pillsbury® Ready to Bake!™ Refrigerated Sugar Cookies 1 (8-oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened 2 tablespoons frozen limeade concentrate, thawed 1/2 cup powdered sugar 10 fresh strawberries, quartered 1 kiwi fruit, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and cut into 10 slices 1/2 cup fresh blueberries 1/2 cup fresh raspberries

1 . Bake cookies as directed on package. Cool 10 minutes or until completely cooled. 2 . Meanwhile, in medium bowl, combine cream cheese, limeade concentrate and powdered sugar; beat until smooth. 3 . Spread each cooled cookie with 1 tablespoon cream cheese mixture. Arrange fruit on top of each. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate up to 2 hours.