I love painted furniture. I know it’s not for everyone, but our house would be filled with painted pieces if not for self-control. They fit into our little country house well.
I have painted several pieces over the years. Most of which is in our house today. One of my all-time favorites is our old entertainment center. At one time, everybody that was anybody had an entertainment center. But like everything else, their day in the sun ended.
We ended up removing the center section that held our television. Greg pulled the backing from the other two pieces and added barn wood from the farm instead. Then he connected the pieces, making one long piece, and I painted it a beautiful Annie Sloan Old White. It served as a coffee bar in the kitchen for a while but has finally found a home in the dining room as a beautiful display for all my blue and white treasures, some of which I inherited from my mom.
The furniture pieces I love the most are those I painted in neutral colors. In fact, everything I painted in other colors has either been painted over, or I no longer own them, which leads to my dilemma.
I have been trying to get my mom’s dark cherry China cabinet moved to my house for over a year. Her favorite color was blue, and I planned to paint the cabinet a beautiful blue with white or cream on the inside. This would be a great way to honor my mom with a piece she loved. But now that I have it here and am ready to work on it, I’m starting to doubt my choice.
I’m afraid it will be too much. I’ll get it painted, and it will simply be more than I want. I don’t know why I am second-guessing myself. Stay tuned for future developments. I will share pictures of the pieces I have painted and get your opinions.
One thing I am not second-guessing is these incredible peanut butter bars from www.houseofnasheats.com. I loved these and am not even a huge peanut butter lover. I recently took two trays of these bars to a church luncheon, bringing both platters home empty! That’s a good sign!
These delicious bars are called Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Bars, and they taste like the tasty treats I remember having at school. Back when school lunches were actually good.
This recipe makes a large 13 x 18-inch pan and bakes quickly. In fact, because the first dessert I made was not good, I started these at 11 PM, and by placing the pan in the freezer to cool, I was in bed at a decent time.
The peanut butter bars are soft, chewy, and incredibly addictive!
Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Bars
Ingredients
BARS
- 1 cup salted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter divided
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour scooped and leveled
- 2 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
FROSTING
- 1/2 cup salted butter softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Spray a half-sheet baking pan (13 x 18-inch) pan with a rim, with nonstick cooking spray.
- Beat the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and 1 cup peanut butter in a mixer until creamy and light.
- Add eggs and vanilla extract, then beat again, scraping the bottom and sides of bowl.
- Add the flour, oats, baking soda and salt. Mix just until combined. Spread the mixture into the prepared pan with spatula.
- Bake 15 to 17 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and barely set in the center. DO NOT OVERBAKE!
- Remove from oven. While bars are still hot, melt the remaining 1 1/2 cups of peanut butter in the microwave for 1 minute. Drizzle over the top of bars and spread into an even layer. Cool completely. (The freezer helps!)
- Make the chocolate frosting by beating the butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, milk and vanilla with an electric mixer, until smooth. Spread in an even layer over cooled bars. Cut into squares.
