Our Spring Saturday, and an Unlikely Chocolate Bar Substitute

Sometimes it's nice and refreshing to reflect on a fun day spent with family, and that's what I intend to do with this particular post.

We started off the morning by heading to town to pick up our beef to restock our Wholehearted Farm freezer. It was a rather chilly morning, but sunny and absolutely beautiful. The weather was gorgeous the entire day, really. Once we picked up the beef, we brought it back home and added it to our inventory while the kids watched a quick show.

We got inventory done and I had to run a quick errand, so the kids got some quality time with their Daddy. I came back to a basement full of train tracks and giggles. Music to my ears!

While our youngest napped, we decided to build a raised bed for our strawberries. I bought them in a hanging basket from one of our local greenhouses, and the runners were really stretching and looking for a place to go. Joe grabbed some boards that we salvaged from our old house and quickly built a small rectangle, and filled it with some rich dirt that had already been naturally fertilized by our calves. I know, ew. :) But hey, it's going to help my strawberries, so I'll take it! It really did turn out so cute, and the big kids loved helping!

We did our typical nightly chores early after that. We also planted an extra row of beans next to the spinach, since the spinach will be done soon! The sun felt so warm, and there was just the slightest breeze to take the edge off. Like I said earlier, gorgeous! Perfect weather day in May!

When chores were done, it was time to decide what to have for supper. Joe grabbed some steaks (Tenderloin Filet and Ribeye) for us and some ground beef to make hamburgers for the kids.

I asked the boys if they'd go pick some spinach out of the garden for me and I'd make a salad. I tried to get as creative as possible with this one and made our own Italian dressing with our herbs and some olive oil, vinegar, and lemon juice. It ended up being really tasty, but the steaks and burgers for sure won the meal.

After we finished eating supper, a unanimous decision was made that it would be the perfect night to hang out at the firepit and have s'mores. Joe started the fire, and the kids ran to help him. We had marshmallows and graham crackers in our freezer, but much to my dismay, we were out of our typical Hershey's chocolate! Time to get creative again!

I was talking to my oldest when a thought crossed my mind. Why don't I make our own chocolate spread? I have chocolate chips, peanut butter, and vanilla. Then it hit me. This was basically puppy chow meets s'mores.

*drool*

Oh my gosh, I don't think I'll ever be able to go back to traditional chocolate again after having this on my s'more. All I used was:

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup natural peanut butter

1 Tablespoon butter

1 tsp vanilla

Melt together in the microwave in 30 second increments and spread on half of a graham cracker before adding your toasty marshmallow.

Puppy chow chocolate coating, minus the powdered sugar (and Chex of course). SO good. I brought it down to the firepit, and seconds later my middle son yelled, "AHH! THERE'S A WASP!" Sure enough, it was a yellowjacket. We all took off running to get some distance between us and the wasp, and Joe discovered a nest under one of our "Joe-made" Adirondack chairs. He knocked it down, and one yellowjacket went buzzing off. After checking the rest of the chairs to make sure we were in the clear, we had a peaceful evening around the fire, watching the kids run and play on the swings, and enjoying each others company.

But seriously, take my word for it. Next time you have s'mores, make your own peanut butter chocolate spread instead, and thank me later!