WIAW #32 – Clambake Season

September 23, 2015September 20, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 13 Comments

Happy WIAW! Today’s What I Ate Wednesday is a fun one – it was last Thursday, which was the day of my office clambake. Have you ever been to a clambake? I had been to lobster bakes when I lived in Boston, but clambakes are a seasonal regularity here. And each year my office has one and they are delicious.

The day started out a little different from usual. Instead of eggs, I had a smoothie bowl. It was a mix of frozen fruit and some protein powder, topped with chia seeds and flaxseed.

Oh, and some coffee mixed with cinnamon. So delicious!

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For lunch, I had a salad, leftover chicken sausage and a sweet and salty peanut bar.

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Snacks during the afternoon included some kombucha, peanut M&Ms and an apple.

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i ate more than these but forgot to photograph them at first

Then it was time for the clambake. Appetizers and beer first:

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And then clambake time. Clams, chicken, corn and sweet potato.

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There were so many dessert options. Cherry pie, brownies, cookies and s’mores. I opted for the s’mores. I LOVE roasting marshmallows and these were perfectly roasted.

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And that was it! A pretty stuffed day.

Some questions for you:

Have you ever had a clambake before?
What’s something great you ate today?

Not Quite Camping

August 31, 2015August 31, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 5 Comments

For the last “official” weekend of summer (oh no!!), B and I went camping. Well, not really. We rented a house in the wilderness (40 acres of land!) with 2 other couples (plus a dog and an almost-2-year-old). We had gone camping with them a few years ago, and decided to keep the tradition alive – this time, with a large house. In West Virginia.

Here it is!

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Some photo highlights from the weekend: (linking up with Her Heartland Soul)

Friday night dinner – made by B and me (marinated flank steak, grilled veggies and a corn/bean/tomato/avocado salad) and dessert (custard bars with a fruit compote)

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Roasting marshmallows by the fire (See, it’s like camping!)

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Hiking around the surrounding area – including a river and some waterfalls

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The rocks and lake (we weren’t supposed to swim in it)

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Girls

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Boys

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The whole group

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4 random facts from the weekend:

The Tygart Lake Dam is not open to the general public.

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You can’t go swimming in Tygart Lake after August 27. So we put on our bathing suits and went to go swimming but we couldn’t. (So instead we went for a “hike” down to the “beach” and back up)

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One pair of Chubbies will fit three different sized men.

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Asking people to make a funny face produces a pretty good photo.

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Some questions for you:

Have you ever been to Tygart Lake?
What do you like on your s’mores?

Peanut Butter Cup S’mores Bars

May 29, 2014May 27, 2014 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

I have a confession … I’ve never really LOVED s’mores.

I know – that’s like saying I hate summer … but hear me out. I have never been a chocoholic, OR a big fan of marshmallows. So s’mores? I’ll take ’em or leave ’em.

But these bars. OMG. THESE BARS. There is no way that you’re not going to like these. Even B, another non-s’mores fan (yes, there are two of us and we found one another!), loves these bars. SO with the unofficial start of summer here, I decided to bring these bars to a Memorial Day BBQ and they did NOT disappoint. We got tons of compliments (yay!) and we will definitely be making these again. Enjoy!

PEANUT BUTTER CUP SMORES BARS - I CRASHED THE WEB

Here’s what you need:

The Graham Cracker Crust:

15 graham crackers, blended finely into graham cracker crumbs
1 stick butter, melted
1/3 c. sugar

The Cookie Layer:

1 ½ c all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
3/4 c firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 c granulated sugar
1 ½ cups (same as 1 1/2 sticks or 12 tbs) butter or margarine, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
A 4.4 oz Hershey candy bar (the giant bar), broken up into chunks
6 large Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, chopped up into chunks
½ c mini chocolate chips
2 ½ cups mini marshmallows (1 ½ c to sprinkle on top, 1 c to add in batter)

Here’s what you do:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Crush the graham crackers in a food processor. Combine with sugar and melted butter and press into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan.
Bake the crust for 15 minutes.
While the crust is baking, in a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a large bowl of a stand mixer, combine the sugar and butter. Add in the eggs and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and gently stir in half of the Hershey candy bar chunks, half of the Reese’s chunks, the mini chocolate chips and 1 c. mini marshmallows.
Carefully add the batter to the top of the graham cracker crust. I found it easiest to add big chunks in the corner of the pan and then carefully push the batter down with my hands so it is even. Be gentle – you don’t want to pull the crust apart. Don’t worry about making it perfectly even – it will spread as it’s baking.
Press remaining candy (Reese’s and Hershey bar) on top of the bars. Sprinkle remaining marshmallows on top of the bars.
Bake for 30 minutes or until marshmallows have started to brown/darken. Allow to cool completely before cutting into them. I put mine in the fridge overnight before chopping them.
Enjoy!

reeses smores cookie bars - i crashed the web

Peanut Butter Cup S'mores Bars

Some questions for you:

Do you like s’mores?
Do you have a go-to dessert that you bring to a potluck? What is it?
Peanut butter cups – yay or nay?

S’mores Cookie Bars!

June 11, 2013August 13, 2018 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 4 Comments

S’mores always make me think of summer and the movie The Sandlot. Remember that awesome movie? And the great scene where Smalls is introduced to s’mores?

I’ll recite it for you in case you’re unfamiliar. “You’re killing me, Smalls! These are s’mores stuff. Now pay attention. First you take the graham. You put the chocolate on the graham. Then, you roast the mallow. When the mallow’s flaming, you stick it on the chocolate. Then you cover it with the other end. Then, you scarf. Kind of messy, but good!”

Anyway, I digress. But with the official start of summer is just around the corner and a coworker’s birthday just this past weekend, to celebrate, I decided to make some S’mores cookies. I combined the three ingredients – the graham, the “mallow” and the chocolate to make a cookie bar reminiscent of this camp out favorite. Now you can bring a cookie version of s’mores to your next potluck!

smore bookie bars

Here’s what you need:

For the Graham Cookie Crust:

15 graham crackers, made into graham cracker crumbs
1 stick butter, melted
¼ c granulated sugar

For the Blondies:

1 ¼ c all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 c firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 c granulated sugar
1 ½ cups butter, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-4.4 oz Hershey candy bars (the big size!), broken up into chunks
½ c mini chocolate chips
2 cups mini marshmallows (1 c to sprinkle on top, the other to add in batter)

Here’s what you do:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Crush the graham crackers in a food processor. Combine with sugar and melted butter and press into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan.
Bake the crust for 15 minutes.
While the crust is baking, in a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a large bowl of a stand mixer, combine the sugar and butter. Add in the eggs and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and gently stir in one of the Hershey candy bars (broken into chunks), mini chocolate chips and 1 c. mini marshmallows.
Carefully add the batter to the top of the graham cracker crust. I found it easiest to add big chunks in the corner of the pan and then carefully push the batter down with my hands so it is even. Be gentle – you don’t want to pull the crust apart.
Press remaining candy bar on top of the bars. Sprinkle remaining marshmallows on top of the bars.
Bake for 28 – 30 minutes. Allow to cool for at least two hours before cutting into them. Or if you get antsy, once a little cool you can put in the fridge or freezer to speed up the process.
Enjoy!