Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Creme Pie

Because ... why not ...

The boy loves pie.  Now that I'm on holidays, I've told him to put in requests for things he'd like me to make, but he's too polite to ask me to make anything.  Okay, fine, I'll just start with pie.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Creme Pie

Slight adaptions from recipe here.

35 Nilla wafers (in the cookie aisle), finely crushed
1/4 cup butter melted
2 squares semi-sweet Baker's chocolate, divided
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 bananas
2 pkgs. Jell-O instant pudding (3.4 oz. each)
2 cups cold milk (any %)
2 cups thawed Cool-Whip topping, divided

Heat oven to 350 F. 

Mix wafer crumbs and melted butter until well blended.  Press into the bottom of a 9 inch pie plate.  Bake 6-8 minutes.  Cool.

Meanwhile, beat the pudding with the milk for 2 minutes.  Add 1 cup of the thawed Cool-Whip.

Slice bananas into the crust.  Melt 1.5 squares of the chocolate with the peanut butter for one minute.  Stir until the chocolate is melted.  Pour over the bananas.  Top with the pudding mixture.  Then top that with the remaining 1 cup of Cool-Whip.  Use a veggie peeler and the last half of the chocolate square to make some chocolate shavings for the top.  Refrigerate for 3 hours.  Serve.  Store leftovers in fridge.

What is your favourite kind of pie?

"Bitten" and my first juicer experience

ood afternoon blog faces! Sorry I didn't post yesterday - I will recap now:

Breakfast yesterday was a green smoothie with almond breeze, and a banana ...



Chia seeds ...



2 packs of amazing grass ...



And some peanut butter ...



Voila:



At work I ate a chocolate brownie, and for lunch I had a small chicken pita from Extreme Pita, an apple sauce, a piece of cheese and an orange.

The hubby and I went out for dinner last night with our friends to celebrate our buddy Brad's 31st b-day. We started the night at a restaurant called "Bitten."

For an appetizer the hubby and I shared coconut prawns. I was clearly very hungry, as I devoured them before remembering to take a pic!



My meal was a honey mustard pork pizza (mini) with a spinach salad on the side:





The salad was good, but the pizza was blah.

I am not a big dessert person, but the vanilla marscapone parcels caught my eye. The hubby and I shared them, and they were pretty darn good.



I also had a couple bevvies throughout the night (3 I think).



This morning I decided to try out my new juicer for the first time!!! I bought a juicer at Costco a couple weeks ago, and I was debating whether or not I wanted to keep it. I don't like how big it is and how much room it takes up on the counter, but I am worried if I put it away I will never use it. I finally decided to keep it.

This morning I juiced the following:

1 grapefruit
1 orange
1 apple
1 yellow pepper



I was very impressed with how the juicer worked, and how smooth the juice was. When I checked the pulp container, there was only about 1-2 tablespoons to toss out! 4 servings of fruit/veggies just like that!!



This juice was SO good! The grapefruit definitely "made" the juice. I am sold.

With my juice I enjoyed a bowl of maple, brown sugar oats, featuring these maple flakes that I stumbled across in Safeway the other day:







I am going to spend the day cleaning/ organizing and running errands.

This evening my best little buddy is coming over for a sleepover!!! I can't wait!!!

Being an auntie is seriously the BEST!

Do you have any nieces or nephews? Tell me about them!!
Do you see them often? We try to see Giovanni once a week :-)

The Hubby

Happy Friday Everyone!! First I will tell you about my eats today ... and then I will introduce you to "The Hubby."

Some of you may be wondering just who "hubby" is. Does he have a name? What does he do? Etc. Etc. Hang tight, and we will get there.

Last night I was feeling rather nutty ... so my snack consisted of an apple with peanut butter:

And 1 slice of rye toast with almond butter and honey:

This morning, I was still being nutty ... so I had a bowl of oats with a banana, peanut butter, and chia seeds loaded on top:

I also had some orange juice to nurse my cold:

Lunch was obviously leftover pulled pork (which I dumped on a bun):

I also had some cheese:

And a fruit cup:

After work I went for a drink and ended up staying at the pub until 8:00!
Since it got so late we ordered dinner. This was unplanned and I didn't have a camera with me.
I had 2 Caesars, about 12 pieces of calamari, and 1/2 a veggie quesadilla. I didn't eat much because I was busy chatting away with friends. I might make a green monster tonight for some veggies, as I didn't get anywhere near enough today!

The Hubby

On the blog I usually refer to my husband as "The Hubby." He does in fact have a name, believe it or not!! We like to call him Chris :-)

He is my best friend, my soul mate, and my love. This is a picture of us waiting in the airport together for our flight to Mexico 2 years ago:



This is Chris being goofy in Vegas (I surprised him with a trip for our anniversary this year):



Chris works at a very successful Structural Engineering Firm as a structural technologist. He does a whole bunch of things on the computer that I do not understand. He likes his job, but if I had to do it for even one day, I would cry. I seriously cried in drafting in high school ... a structural engineering firm is not the environment for me!!

Amber had this great quiz on her blog that inspired this post ... so here are my answers to the quiz about "Us" (Chris and Myself).

What are your middle names?
Jolene is actually one of my middle names, but I have gone by it since I was 7. My other middle name is Catherine, and my first name is Marie. Chris's middle name is Leigh.

How long have you been together?
Since 1999! This year was our anniversary of 10 years together, and 5 years married! We were married on July 23, 2004.

How long did you know each other before you started dating?
We knew eachother for about 10 months before we started dating.

Who asked whom out?
He asked me out ... many times ... finally I said "yes."

How old are each of you?
I am 27, and he is 28.

Whose siblings do you see the most?
We probably see my sister the most ... because we just use her to get to our adorable little nephew :-) JJ, Leah. You are cool too. And Sal. Cool.

Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
Renovations. No more explanation needed.

Did you go to the same school?
Nope, but were were high school sweethearts. I went to his grad, and he came to mine! We did go to the same university though.

Are you from the same home town?
Yes

Who is smarter?
This is impossible to determine. When it comes to memory, and academic stuff, me ... but when it comes to lots of other things ... him. Like I said, I couldn't do his job. It is too hard for me.

Who is the most sensitive?
Me I suppose.

Where do you eat out most as a couple?
Probably Korea house lately.

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Hawaii.

Who has the craziest exes?
Neither of us.

Who has the worst temper?
Me. But he has tamed it. A bit.

Who does the cooking?
We both do!! I probably do it more often though. He has been amazing over the last couple months having dinner ready for me as I finally dragged myself in after a long long day at work and school.

Who is the neat-freak?
Him maybe.

Who is more stubborn?
Me.

Who hogs the bed?
Hehe. I am going to say him. I will hear about this tomorrow!!!!

Who wakes up earlier?
Him.

Where was your first date?
I can't remember - isn't that bad! We went on "dates" as friends before we were even dating ... so I don't really know.

Who is more jealous?
Me ... but I don't ever get jealous about anything ... I would just be the one more likely to.

How long did it take to get serious?
Not long ... we knew we were meant to be :-)

Who eats more?
He does.

Who does the laundry?
He does.

Who’s better with the computer?
Depends. He is better at the technical stuff, and I am better at social aspect and searching stuff. He will probably argue that one too - zip it honey :-)

Who drives when you are together?
He always does. I don't like to drive unless I am in the car alone. I am easily distracted.

~ Choose a few questions and answer in the comment section for you and your significant other ~

Today feels like Saturday!

Sorry no post yesterday ... I am a bad blogger :-(

Here is my recap from yesterday:

It was the MOST beautiful day in Saskatchewan! For November 10th, I could not believe that I was walking around outside in the afternoon without a coat. Absolutely lovely!

My breakfast was some oats topped with a sprinkle of mini chocolate chips, a banana and a T of almond butter. I made the oats with 1/2 cup quick oats and 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond breeze:

Lunch was leftover stuffed shells:

A fruit cup:

And source vanilla yogurt topped with blueberries:

After work I went straight to the university for a couple hours to talk stats with my advisor. I found some very interesting and unexpected results in my study. Now it is time to start writing!

After working at the U, I came home and quickly got ready for dinner. We were meeting friends at The Bushwakker. I ordered the tequila lime chicken wrap with fries and gravy:

I ate half the fries. I also had a beer:

After dinner we went to a concert at a local club. I had 2 more beer throughout the course of the night. Ahhhh, gotta love holidays in the middle of the week!

Since it is a Holiday in Canada (Remembrance Day) I get the day off! I have to finish report cards though, and study for a test that I have on Monday ... but it will be nice to be able to have the whole day to do these things, and not worry about work too.

Breakfast this morning was oats again, this time made with 1/2 cup coffee, 1/2 cup vanilla almond breeze, 1/2 cup oats, a big scoop of peanut butter, and 1 banana:

Is today a holiday where you live too? What are your plans for the day?

November 1st Already!!!

My little nephew came by last night to trick or treat :-) He was dressed as Venom! So cute! He will be 3 in February, and he is SUCH a little boy. Apparently he was flexing his big muscles in the mirror at home!! I love this little guy SO SO much!

Last night while handing out candy, I snacked on one of these:

And a small handful of yogurt covered raisins:

We went to our friends house later on last night, and I had some drinks (vodka and water, and a couple shots), and about 10 chips throughout the night.

This morning I slept in later than I have in years. Lunch was a Green Monster made with 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond breeze, 1 banana, 1 scoop amazing grass, 1 T peanut butter:

I also had some Mary's Crackers with herb and garlic cream cheese:

Dinner was 2 slices of meatloaf, topped with ketchup, and some Anne's Mac and Cheese:

I also had a couple glasses of milk, which is weird for me because I never really drink milk .. but I was craving it, so I guess that means by body needed calcium or something!

I choose not to drink milk most of the time, as I don't know how healthy it is, and I think that the human (adult) body has trouble digesting it. I have done loads of research about milk, and the majority of what I have read says that milk is not good for adults, particularly because it can scar the arteries, and because of the hormones/ antibiotics given to cows. But - since I was craving it today, I figured why not. Typically I think that if your body is craving a food/ drink, that food/ drink has something in it that your body needs. I listen to my cravings for this reason.

Do you drink milk?

Meet my friends this morning ...

I am taking a HEALTH day (aka a sick day), but I prefer to focus on the fact that I am trying to restore my good health.

Last night before bed I had an apple:

Some Mary's Organic Rice crackers with light herb and garlic cream cheese:

And a Hot Toddie ... recommended to me by Maggie from TheSaladGirl. Her dad is one smart man, because this definitely soothed my throat for a while! I didn't have any lemon, but I mixed hot water, honey, cinnamon sticks, and cloves and drank it down. Tasty, and effective!

This morning I slept in until about 10:00, then I got up and made a Green Monster of course. In addition to 1 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 3 handfuls of spinach and 1 banana, I added:

1 T of Peanut Butter:

And 1 package of wheat grass:

I drank it from a Heineken glass:

The good thing is, I still have my appetite. And I don't have a fever.
This makes me almost certain that I just have a cold.
I have a headache, sore throat (not as bad anymore) and stuffy/ runny nose, with a general tired feeling all over. With this whole H1N1 thing, people are very adamant that if you are SICK, stay HOME. So that is what I am doing.

No matter what I do (eat healthy, eat plenty of fruits and veggies, exercise etc) I still get a cold or two each winter, and usually the flu once. It must be because I am around so many germs all day at work ... I can't figure it out. Do you get a cold every year?