Healthier Peanut Butter Fudge

I love peanut butter and chocolate and when you put them together it's one of the best desserts I can imagine. I have a son with a peanut sensitivity so I don't often do much with PB as a result. Well he was away at camp recently and I decided it was the perfect time to practice making (& eating) freezer fudge.

It's really hot this summer so freezer fudge makes perfect sense to me. Keep it in the freezer and take it out when you want a cold treat. There are no refined sugars in this version so you can enjoy in moderation without guilt!

Healthier Peanut Butter Fudge
adapted from the Detoxinista
makes about 20 1″ squares

1 cup raw creamy peanut butter (unsalted)
1/4 cup coconut oil, softened
1 1/2 Tablespoons raw honey
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
dark chocolate chunks or chips

Set out all the ingredients so they are room temperature as this will make combining everything much easier. Mix the ingredients together in a bowl, until smooth and creamy. Line an 8x4 pan with parchment or cling wrap and pour the mixture into the pan. Sprinkle the chocolate on top and put the pan onto a shelf in the freezer.

I had to stuff my pan on top of other things in my freezer so it was tilted which resulted in uneven squares once frozen. No big deal as they tasted awesome. You can leave the fudge in your pan or cut it into one inch squares and store them in a bag or tupperware.

They will keep perfectly in the freezer until you are ready to eat.

This recipe is featured on: Your Green Resource, Pennywise Platters, Real Food Wednesdays, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Sweet Tooth Friday, Freaky Friday, Fight Back Friday

Menu Plan 7/30- 8/5

Summer seems to just keep going and going. I've got five more weeks until my boys go back to school and I'm tired. Tired of trying to keep them from fighting and finding things to keep us busy. I miss the structure that school provides for all of us and I miss having time to myself every day. 


I'm not finding it so hard to plan dinner this week, probably because I had a nice break from cooking while Joe & Zane were at camp. I just made salads and kid food for my little ones for the last five days. They're back now and I'm getting back into my cooking groove.

Zane & Joe at Camp Paradise

Weekly Menu Plan 7/30- 8/5
Monday: Grilled Steaks, baked potatoes, steamed green beans
Tuesday: Baked Pollock, rice, veggie
Wednesday: Pasta with homemade marinara sauce
Thursday:  Grilled Burgers, salad
Friday: Tacos
Saturday dinner: Pizza
Sunday: leftovers

Snacks:  Simple Vanilla ice cream, green smoothies

You can find more menus at Menu Plan Monday at I'm An Organizing Junkie.

Am I the only one struggling with this never ending summer?

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

I make a lot of things from scratch because it's usually easy, cheap and better for the earth and my family. It's taken me a long time to find an easy dishwasher detergent recipe that I was happy with because I didn't know where to find citric acid and didn't want to mess with my own essential oils. Lemi-Shine has solved my problems with this. 

This recipe is super easy- only four ingredients that you can find at most stores. I'm pleased with how safe it is for my family too. I'm not too worried if my little ones were to decide to break the child lock & get into this stuff since reading that Crunchy Betty's neice ate some of this detergent with no ill effects.

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent
1 cup borax
1 cup washing soda
1 cup Lemi-Shine
1/2 cup kosher salt

Mix it all up in a small bowl and store in an attractive bottle from Goodwill. To Use: fill your dishwasher soap well with it each time you do a load of dishes. Fill your dishwasher rinse aid with white vinegar to avoid water spots.

You may notice I paid $1.48 for this triangle glass bottle from Goodwill. I bought it years ago for a different project and it sat unused on a laundry shelf. It now fits just right under my sink holding my detergent.

Weekly Menu 7/15-7/21

Zane & Luke at the beach

My husband and middle son Braden (7) are away at Camp Paradise until Wednesday night so I'm finding fun things to keep Zane(10) and Luke (3) busy. Today I took them to Three Oaks beach & splash pad for a couple of hours. Tomorrow I'm going out to lunch with my mom and Zane and perhaps some antique shopping (if Zane doesn't object too much). Tuesday we're going raspberry picking again at our favorite organic farm and then shopping at our favorite farmer's market.  

Zane picking raspberries

I'm cooking a bit less until my guys return. I'm still making dinners though. Pasta is Zane's favorite so that's first up for the week.

I've got some beef liver in my deep freeze from the quarter of beef I purchased in January from the Riemer Family Farm. I've been scared to cook (& eat) it so while we've eaten most of the beef the liver is still waiting. I know organ meats are super healthy but I'm squeamish about such things. I've finally found a recipe that sounds pretty good so I'm going to keep my expectations low and give liver a try.

Weekly Menu 7/15-7/21

Monday: Pasta with homemade marinara & tossed salad
Tuesday: Baked Tilapia, rice, steamed green beans
Wednesday: Crockpot Chicken with carrots and potatoes
Thursday: Marinated Liver with Honey Glaze, steamed veggie

Friday: Tacos

Saturday dinner: Pizza
Sunday:  Chicken Noodle Soup & Leftovers

Snacks: Skin Clearing Green Smoothies, Honey Muffins

You can find more menus at Menu Plan Monday at I'm An Organizing Junkie.

What's on your menu plan this week?