Caramel Apple Bars (via my baking addiction)

Ingredients
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chopped apple
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch pan. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix together melted butter, brown sugar, and 1 cup of white sugar with a wooden spoon until smooth. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture until just combined, then stir in the apples and walnuts.
3. Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared pan. In a cup or small bowl, stir together the remaining cinnamon and sugar; sprinkle over the top of the bars.
4. Bake for 30-35 minutes in preheated oven; finished bars should spring back when lightly touched. Cool in the pan, and cut into squares.
5. After these cooled I drizzled them with melted Kraft Caramel Bits! Enjoy!

I promise you that my husband could live on three foods: apple crisp, chocolate chip cookies, and pizza! Tonight he wanted pizza and apple crisp, but I was able to persuade him to try them with a twist. I get bored of cooking the same things all the time! Kevin is always very suspicious of twists on his favorite foods, but they usually win him over. He admitted that he enjoyed these, that they were “amazing”, and “right up there with apple crisp.” And I quote: “I can’t take apple crisp off its pedestal.” Nerd.

While I was out on my sweet but snowy 7 miler, Kevin seriously depleted our Diet Coke supply. And the cold weather was a good excuse for a Skinny Vanilla Latte. He also finished of all the Reese’s Pieces Cookies! There about 20, I just made them yesterday, and I didn’t eat any!!!

And yeah, my husband is wearing North Face. I think he looks hott in that fleece, or trust me, it would’ve gotten shrunk in the drier by now.

We also picked up some dinner and baking supplies to keep me busy in the kitchen while Kevin slaved away on his homework. I am an infamously slow walker. I have no idea why because that’s totally not my personality, and I’m not really a rose-smeller. I just kind of meander along, especially in trips from the parking garage to our apartment. This literally may be the one thing that Kevin is faster at than me so he likes to rub it in.

My husband was apparently in the mood to antagonize me today! He’s probably just bored silly from all the homework so he has to find a girl to torture. I know these things. I’m deathly afraid of the Pillsbury poppy tubes. I always make someone else open them. I hate that little pop! It’s like popping a balloon. Yuck! Kevin thought it would be cool to put me in a headlock and do it in front of my face. But I wriggled out of his grasp!

I immediately set to work on dinner & dessert. As you can see my bloody toe is now properly bandaged.

I spotted this cheese in the grocery store and knew we’d love it our little pizza. Ever since I can’t stop annoyingly humming Carmen’s Habanera. (Here’s an adorable video of a little girl playing a transcription for piano!) I’m probably going to have to listen to it 20+ times before I get it out of my head!

I got lazy with dinner. I had something totally cute in mind, but I started complaining aloud to myself that I didn’t want to make it. So Kevin James got his way with the pizza. We used the cheater Pillsbury crust and topped it with turkey pepperonis, green peppers, and the habanero cheese. My side had pineapple tidbits. It still breaks my heart that Kevin doesn’t like pineapple on pizza. I think he just can’t get over mixing things that are sweet & savory. I’ll trick him into it slowly, don’t worry. He barely even knows how to open the refrigerator after three short months of marriage! The only reason he remembers is because he has to get out the milk for our cereal in the morning because my eyes aren’t opened yet!

Favorite Starbucks drink? I’ve been totally won over by the Skinny Vanilla Latte. Otherwise it’s just a black coffee as bold as possible. I always just drink coffee at home. Yes, I’m continuing to brag about that. I’m just so proud that I trained myself to drink coffee black!! Kevin doesn’t really like anything, but he sometimes drinks my same drink. Copycat. Today he ordered a Tall, and I got his leftovers!

Slow walker or fast walker? I basically only walk quickly when I’m shopping. Clothes shopping. Not grocery shopping. I have a super slow supermercado walk!

Any ideas for entertaining me on a road trip? I am nervous about our drive to Minnesota next weekend. I like to read in cars, but I get restless unless I’m really hooked. I want to stop every hour and run a mile. That sounds fun, right?