Tuesday, April 26, 2022

It's a Hit

 

Peanut butter Nutella Bars have everything you love, cookie butter, peanut butter, Nutella, and so much more. | recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #dessert

"Happy Mother's Day" is probably the last thing I expected to hear in early April. I'm willing to bet you'd agree.

Nor, I'm willing to bet, do you think it might be a good idea to use "sports app" and "Mother's Day gift" in the same sentence.

On that one, you'd be wrong.
 
We had finished dinner, the dishwasher was running and I was just settling down on the couch to see what was on TV when my cell rang. I took a quick look at it and saw it was PurDude calling. My teeth clenched and my stomach rolled.

I'm sure that's not the kind of response one would expect to have when their son calls home, but when he was away at college I had so many heart wrenching phone calls from him, it's (sadly) sort of a Pavlov's dog type reaction. I learned that when everything was fine, he'd text. But when he broke his leg, when a friend died, when he had been taken by ambulance to the hospital, when he had a his second flat tire in a week, when he really needed me, those were predominantly the times my phone rang.

Now that he's working 8 hours away in the other direction, I'm trying hard to stop that automatic reaction to his calls. We text once a day, just to check in, and he still calls when there are problems, but they have been few and far between. And he does call every week or so, so we can have a conversation without my fat fingers trying to hit the right letters on the cell phone keyboard.

But on this night, I was worried. It was Wednesday night, April 6th, and I was worried because he'd just gotten back from a vacation with his high school friends on Sunday. He'd called to fill us in on his vacation, so I'd just talked to him 3 days earlier.
 
And we'd just texted that morning, him informing me, and both of us complaining, about the Red Sox season opener the next day against our arch rivals the Yankees being postponed. 
 

It's a Hit | picture taken by, featured on, and property of www.BakingInATornado.com



I picked up the phone and gingerly said "hello." I knew immediately from the tone of his "hi, ma," that everything was fine. Phew.

PurDude: Happy Mother's Day!
Me (rushing to look at the calendar in a panic, I hadn't sent cards to my mom and step mother): Mother's Day?
PurDude: Mother's Day. It's a holiday. You know, Mother's Day? A day for mothers?
Me: A day for mothers a month from now.
PurDude: Well, I bought you a Mother's Day present.
Me (as confused as only a family member can make me): A present? In April? Over the phone?

Let me just say here, that there are ways to express love, and then there are soul crushing no-nos. You know what I'm talking about, gifts from the heart that show you know the person you're buying for, those are the best. Then there are the more common gifts, flowers, dinner out, chocolates, champagne . . .

And then there are the tragic mistakes. You've heard of them, like don't buy your wife a vacuum cleaner for your anniversary, or a scale for her birthday . . .
 
or a sports app for your mom for Mother's Day . . .

As I said, you'd be wrong.

I've mentioned many times on this blog that I'm a Bostonian, stuck in the Midwest. I miss a lot of things, like skiing, going to the beach, fresh seafood, and sports. Not just professional sports in general, but my teams. Especially the Red Sox. I grew up a Red Sox lover, got it from my grandpa, and I've passed it on to PurDude. I used to love watching the games with him. Well, when we could get them, which, even though I have the MLB channel, is still rare.

I have a Red Sox throw on my couch, a Red Sox clock in the kitchen (and a Patriots mug), all gifts from my family.

And now, PurDude bought me a subscription to stream the Red Sox on the MLB app. I can watch any game. Not just any game, I can watch all of them.
 
Maybe he's a month early for Mother's Day, but as far as I'm concerned, this kid just hit a home run.
 
 
Peanut butter Nutella Bars have everything you love, cookie butter, peanut butter, Nutella, and so much more. | recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #dessert
Peanut Butter Nutella Bars
 
I might just have to bake him a treat, something using his favorite pairing, peanut butter and chocolate. I'll ship it to him, and wish him a happy birthday.
 
It'll only be 10 months early.

But I bet it'll be a hit!


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Peanut Butter Nutella Bars         
                                                                                      ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup cookie butter
1 egg, room temperature
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup Rice Krispies
1 cup mini chocolate peanut butter cups
1/4 cup Reese's pieces
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup Nutella

Directions:
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 X 11 baking pan.
*Beat together the butter and cookie butter until smooth, beat in the egg. Slowly at first, beat in the salt, cinnamon, powdered sugar, and flour until it comes together to form a dough.
*Press into the bottom and 3/4 of the way up the sides of the pan.
*Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, but leave the oven on.
*Sprinkle the Rice Krispies, mini peanut butter cups, and Reese's pieces evenly over the crust.
*Whisk together the sweetened condensed milk and Nutella, pour over the top.
*Return to oven and bake for 25 minutes. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

17 comments:

  1. Yay! Another Red Sox fan. Unfortunately, living in Maine, we can't use the MLB app, but have to pay for NESN. Oh well. Recipe looks delish! Thanks! Go Sox!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think a NESN subscription is probably similar to the MLB Red Sox subscription, the games we get are via NESN, we just don't get all of the other NESN programming. GO SOX.
      PS: Love Maine. Eat a lobsta for me!

      Delete
  2. I wish I hadn't been hungry when I read this! I kind of have the same reaction to my son calling me vs. texting although (so far) his incidents haven't been as memorable as your son's. Unless he's hiding them from me, which he does. Many times. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Aww what a nice thing for him to do.
    There are something's you don't buy, that is true. My brother once gave his wife 2 tubes of caulk and a screen door for Christmas. lol My mom was given a half eaten box of chocolates by my brothers inlaws that year as well. lol

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  4. You raised him well, his future spouse will be grateful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not sure I can take all the credit, but he is a good person, and for that I'm grateful.

      Delete
  5. That is wonderful he knew what to get you and got it, even early. Once upon a time it might have been a gift I'd use as well, but I am/was a Cincinnati and Oakland fan... and this off season was one time too many. I vowed not to follow baseball and so far have not, except at a distance.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Red Sox are in my blood. Even when they exasperate me (like they are right now), I can't give them up.

      Delete
  6. Boston is my favorite city by far. I visited there several times when I was stationed in Maine with the Navy. Alas though (from your perspective) I'm a Yankees fan and took great delight in the opening series. But, I still have nightmares over the Yankees collapse in 2004. That said, after much therapy, I no longer get knots in my stomach whenever I think of the Red Sox (who play in my now favorite baseball stadium). New Yankee Stadium is a museum in the Bronx where they happen to play baseball. Pervasive smell of urine, rats, and claustrophobia notwithstanding, I much preferred the House That Ruth Built). I don't get caught up in it as much as I did in years past. though. In fact, I don't even know their records now. Oh, peanut butter and nutella? Yeah...yum.
    Did I mention Boston is my favorite city?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, that's quite unique, being a Boston lover, even a Fenway Park fan AND yet a Yankees fan {{grrr). We won't be talking about their records right now, maybe later in the season.

      Delete
    2. I never felt like I would be killed if I walked out of Fenway (even wearing a Yankees hat). Now? As far as the House That Ruth Built (and the House Next Door To the House That Ruth Built)? Yeah. Kevlar required.

      Delete

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