Pinterest Banana Boats

 

 

I originally saw these amazing looking things on Pinterest (of course), and tracked them down to the Lick My Spoon blog. In my excitement (and being in my ravenous pregnancy hunger mode), I didn't really pay attention to any of the instructions and made them how I wanted to.

 

Instructions:

1. Choose your bananas wisely. I sent my husband to the store and he bought barely ripe ones. You     will want to pick up the ugly old lady ones...you know, the one with brown spots (but not too many spots, and not mushy).

 

2. Slit the bananas lengthwise and stuff them with any combination of toppings that you (and the little fat kid inside of you) desire. I used chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, chopped almonds, and sprinkles!

 

3. According to Lick My Spoon, you should wrap the bananas in foil and place on the grill.  Next, grill with the cover on until toppings get melty and delicious. I opted not to do this and it may have made a difference. I didn't wrap them, I just placed them on a sheet of foil on the grill so I could watch them. Per other websites, if you are not wrapping them in foil, they are most likely done when the center is gooey and the peels are black...The middle didn't get as gooey as I would have liked, but they were still pretty yummy!

 

 

4. Eat right out of the peel with a spoon or scoop out and eat it with ice cream! Mmmm!!!! I had a picture of me eating one, but I decided not to post it. I can assure you it looked something like this though, just add bananas....

 

The End.

Cheap Thrills: 25 under $25

Since I took a little break and missed the last couple of weeks, I decided to do things a little differently. To make up for lost Cheap Thrills, I put together a big list of 25 goodies, each under $25. For you, for your friends, for your everyday gifting needs. Sometimes you need a pick me up that won't make a huge dent in your budget, or maybe you need a gift for someone but want to keep the spending to a reasonable amount... I gotchu covered, babies! Browse this list for a little inspiration, you'll be surprised how much fun you can get out of $25.

True Blood: Sundae Bloody Sundaes

If you didn't get enough sweets and liquor in Vanessa's epic True Blood Season 5 premiere party post this week (in which she included these cupcakes by yours truly), you may have a problem. You also are in luck because I have one more bloody treat to fling your way faster than a shape shifter. Whether you'll be having a quiet night on the couch on Sunday night (like me) or decide to invite a bunch of your best blood thirsty friends over for a party, these Sundae Bloody Sundaes are fun and perfect for a warm June evening. 

For a bit of southern flair, I used Blue Bunny red velvet ice cream for the sundaes. It's scary good (and very sweet) and if you're feeling extra ambitious, you could always make your own. For the decadent Chambord raspberry sauce, simmer raspberries, lemon juice, a generous pour of Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur, and a bit of sugar in a pot for a few minutes. Then, strain out raspberry seeds (or keep them in, the sauce is tasty either way) and pour over a scoop of ice cream while still warm and bloody-riffic. Top with a maraschino cherry. These sundaes are messy and melty sorta like a hot fudge sundae and verrry red (if you are partying hard, you may even want to throw down some American Psycho style drop cloths). I also made a set of fancy blood type party picks that would look just as good in cocktails or on cupcakes. You can download the design here!

On Sunday, I will also be watching another HBO gem and one of my new favorite shows, Girls (anyone else?) but until I can think of something besides cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon, shower cupcakes, and the morning after pill as themed nosh, I'm resisting the urge to post any Girls viewing party ideas. Consider yourself warned. Have a wonderful rest of the weekend!

Top photo: HBO

Follow me on Instagram! @ririmaria

What the Fluff.

I MADE MARSHMALLOWS.

They're actually very easy to make and they're oh-so-tasty.

Ingredients:

3 envelopes of unflavored gelatin
1 cup cold water
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup corn syrup
dash of salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Powder:

Powdered sugar
Cornstarch

Salted Caramels. NOM.

Come here, little girl... eat some canndyy.

I certainly will, especially when it's salted caramels!

I've been wanting to make candy for a while now, but finally had en excuse: celebrating going to the Edwardian Ball in LA with friends to see Creature Feature. WHAT A GOOD NIGHT TO STUFF OUR FACES.

Here's the recipe:

In one pot warm up 5 tablespoons butter, 1 cup heavy cream, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, and 1/4 teaspoon salt until butter has melted, as seen in photo on left. Turn off heat.

Peanut Butter Lovin'

I was at Target the other day and saw in their clearance 'fridge section some peanut butter cookie dough! Be still my clogged arteries, I LOVE peanut butter ! To sweeten (SWEETen, get it?) this deal, I had a rare coupon for $1 off and Pillsbury cookie dough that I found here making it only $1.08 ! Holla !

Yesterday was "National Peanut Butter Day", so in light of this I made delicious "Peanut Butter Blossoms" for my co-workers with a Valentine theme. I referred to them as thumbprint cookies all day long because Heather has ruined the word blossom for me forever.

Anyhow, these cookies are super easy to make. You will need peanut butter cookie dough, granulated cane sugar, an un-greased non-stick cookie sheet, and heart shaped milk chocolates .

First you roll spoonfuls of dough into balls. Next you roll the balls in sugar and place them on the cookie sheet.

Bake for 10-12 minutes at 375. Take the cookies out and press your chocolates into the middle of the cookie while still hot.

I obviously made them a little large so they stuck together but they were so yummy so who cares ? And you gotta figure if two stick together then it only counts as one cookie... NOM NOM NOM. Now don't be a fatty and eat them right away, you will burn yourself and/or get hot melty chocolate all over the place and look like you have poop face. Your welcome.