Halloween Marshmallow Krispie Treats and a Foodbuzz Award Nomination

Vote for Liv Life - Foodbuzz's Best Family Food Blog

Some twenty years ago I made my first batch of Rice Krispie Treats.  With the ingredients assembled I set to work following what appeared to be a fairly simple recipe only to find myself and the kitchen covered in some sort of sticky marshmallow mess a mere 30 minutes later.  Not only was the marshmallow on my hands, in my hair and on the counter, but the layer in the mixing bowl seemed to have turned into some sort of marshmallow cement leaving me tempted to head to the garage for a chisel.  The treats were OK, but the effort to put them together left me with little desire to try again.

My Little Bakers - Circa 2001

Fast forward about 10 years and my young son was begging for the pre-packaged treats in the bright blue wrappers.  Being a mom who doesn't take kindly to packaged foods I decided it just might be time to try my hand at these krispie treats again.  With my son in tow we again assembled the ingredients.  He measured the puffed rice, even getting most of it into the bowl while I slowly heated the marshmallows over the stove.  This time I actually greased the pan ahead of time and had it ready and waiting.  My son had the spoon in his hand and was ready to stir as soon as I said "Go!" and we poured the melted marshmallow mixture over the krispies.  Both of us stirred madly and then quickly poured the krispies into the prepared pan.  A plastic sandwich bag sprayed lightly with cooking spray kept the stickiness off of our hands and a simple soak in the sink had the mixing bowl clean in no time.  Could they really be that easy?  In a word... yes!

Since then krispie treats have made frequent appearances in our house and are my son's most requested recipe.  He prefers peanut butter versions over regular plain krispies with his all time favorite being our Triple Peanut Butter Layered Treats. 

Funny story... when we posted the Triple PB Treats I was thrilled to have Amanda at Food Porn Daily feature them on her site and proudly told my son of my accomplishment as I drove him home from school.  His comment was, "Featured on Food Porn Daily??  I'm just curious when they will be featured on our kitchen table!"  Ah... the joys of parenting a teen!

With Halloween right around the corner and another request for krispie treats I grabbed a bag of Reese's Pieces on a whim.  Melting peanut butter with the marshmallow mixture, I added the bag of treats to the measured chocolate puffed cereal and quickly mixed like crazy (now my habit) as I combined the "wet" with the "dry".  Producing peanut butttery treats studded with peanut butter candies, we have another winner.

On another note I am extraordinarily humbled to announce that Liv Life has been nominated by the Featured Publishers at Foodbuzz for the Best Family Food Blog Award.  Liv and I stared in amazement as we read the notification and then let out a whoop heard around the town.

Foodbuzz Blog Award Nomimee 2011

Vote for Liv Life here!

Liv and I would be thrilled to have your vote!  If you would like to participate, please follow this Award Link to the Foodbuzz site and take a moment to cast your vote for Liv Life under the Best Family Food Blog section.  And we wouldn't mind if you asked your friends to vote too!  Feel free to shout out on Facebook or Twitter or simply by email.  We have already received so much support that I am simply overwhelmed, and I can't thank you all heartily enough.  The polls close in about a week on October 17th with an announcement coming in early November... we will keep you posted!

In the meantime, enjoy some krispie treats on us.  Halloween is just around the corner and these colorful, Halloween themed krispies have one teenage boy satisfied... at least for the moment.

Potato Bread and a Stylish Award

Something about the aroma of freshly baked bread warms my heart.  As the aroma seeps into every corner of the house visions of the finished golden loaf flash through our minds and activate our salivary glands.  Professionals advise waiting until the loaf has cooled before slicing, but that kind of willpower I don't have.

More often than not the breads in our household are filled with whole grains, but on this occasion with potatoes on hand and Catherine McMichael's award winning Potato Bread recipe on the counter my decision was made.  Assembling the ingredients, kneading the dough and then baking the loaf, I knew we had a winner even before I tasted the first soft, tender slice.  Fresh from the oven (no, I did not wait for it to cool...) and slathered with butter this bread literally had me groaning with pleasure and utter amazement that these few ingredients mixed together could bring forth something so exquisite.

Speaking of award winning bread, I am reminded that I have been remiss in acknowledging a few Stylish Blogger Awards that have kindly been sent my way!  One award was enough to make my day, but to have four bloggers I hold in high esteem pass this award my direction is beyond belief.  Thank you to Raven, of RavieNomNoms, Michele, of Fit Foodista, Susan, of The Spice Garden, and Hester, of Alchemy - Simple Ingredients Magical Food. Each of these bloggers authors a blog I frequently visit and I feel like I personally know them through their posts.  Thanks for thinking me stylish!

In receiving this award the responsibilities include:

• List seven things about yourself that people may not know
• Pass the award on to 10 additional Stylish Bloggers
• Notify the bloggers that they have received the award

7 things about ME!

1. I love the beach!  From some of my posts you may already know that, but even though I love the beach I really don't like to go into the water.
2. I really like office supplies!!  I don't have much use for them, but a visit to the local Staples Store makes me want to load up my basket.
3. My favorite movies are Buzz Lightyear and The Birdcage.  When Harry met Sally is a good one too...
4. I would live on a tropical island if I could.  A pair of floppies, a few sundresses, Jimmy Buffet... life is good. 
5. Tequila is my drink of choice.  I don't like vodka.
6. I worked as an Accountant and an Assistant Controller at a power plant before being promoted to the best job in the world, Mom.
7. I don't like tv.  If I had my way, I'd give our tv away.  (Liv has issues with this one and is thankful that I don't have my way!)

And now I would like to pass this award to some additional Stylish Bloggers.  These are a few bloggers (in no particular order) that we have not passed awards to before who truly show passion and style:

1. Judy at Tastemonials.  Judy's blog was one of the first blogs that I stumbled upon when I started blogging.  She personifies style!  Wonderful restaurant reviews, tasty recipes and posts, and the most adorable grandson!  Her recent trip to Peru was an example of her passion for life.
2. Bella from Bellabits.  This 11 year old girl has got it going on.  She's engaging and has a passion for food and food items.  Her recent visit and review of Williams-Sonoma had me smiling.  She has quite a future if the foodie world!
3. Sommer of A Mama with Flavor.  Sommer lives in Germany and I truly look forward to catching up with her in her posts.  Her little Sous Chef has the most adorable curly hair and is quite a help in the kitchen!  We are sending safe travel wishes to her husband!
4. Letizia Golosa, of Lesizia Golosa, For the Love of Food.  Letizia has the most amazing eye for photography and made a simple slather of Homemade Nutella look sensuous.
5. I couldn't pass this award without thinking of my friend, Dionne, from Try Anything Once.  Dionne's style and passion shows in each and every post she writes.  She has inspired me to return to bread making, something that I love to do, but just haven't made the time for lately.  Her true love of life shows in her prose and style!
6. Becky of Baking and Cooking, A Tale of Two Loves.  Becky's posts frequently make me smile.  We have little pups in common, and when I read her posts I feel like I'm sitting at the kitchen table with her sharing a cup of coffee.
7. Ang, of Life Given, Eat Well.  Ang is one of those people who seems to live life with style.  Her quest for balance in life is one I hope to achieve as well.
8. Sabrina, from Eat. Drink. and Be Merry.  Sabrina's blog is a new blog for me.  She was also our recent giveaway winner and I could have been happier that the giveaway went her direction!  Recently married, she had my daughter and her friends drooling over her gorgeous wedding photos in the "about me" section of her blog.  I'm looking forward to following her!
9. Zerrin of Give Recipe.  Zerrin has made some healthy changes of late and I'm truly enjoying her healthy recipes along with bits and pieces of her culture and life.  Zerrin resides in Turkey and seems to "Liv Life" with a smile!
10. Jean, of Lemon's and Anchovies.  Jean writes from her heart... her Valentine's Day post has stuck with me.  Gorgeous photos to go along with some wonderful posts, all done with style!

And I could go on!  This flood blogging community has won my heart.  My husband belongs to another online community and is constantly amazed at the support and kindness that flows through the people I visit with.  I feel lucky to be a part of it.

Potato Bread... one of those that's worth each and every calorie (and extra for the butter!!)