Day 294 (Not So Empty Again) - A Progressive Dinner

My ward's Relief Society has a summer tradition of a "Progressive Garden Dinner."  We travel from house to house enjoying all types of yummy foods and visiting one with another in a relaxing garden setting.  It is probably one of the best attended activities they have all year.  I know I really enjoy it.

So here's a little rundown of the dinner:
House #1 - Appetizers.  So yummy!  You get to have these fancy little appetizers that you never take time to make unless you're hosting a party!  I practically got filled up there because I had to take a taste of everything! :)

House #2 - Salads.  So yummy again!  I love salads!  And here I got to try some salads that Scott would just scrunch his nose up at!!  (I still love him!)

House #3 - Desserts.  My downfall!  But I was good!  I only tried two!  And one of them was mine because I thought I better try what I brought!  It was a recipe I found on Betty Crocker.com and it was delicious!  The only problem I had was I got home from work late so they didn't quite have time to set up...ya, they were a little gooey.  But I still got lots of compliments on them despite the gooeyness!

Here's the recipe!

Brownie Goody Bars

1 box (1 lb 2.4 oz) Betty Crocker® Original Supreme Premium brownie mix

Water, vegetable oil and egg called for on brownie mix box

1 cup Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy vanilla frosting (from 16 oz container)

½ cup salted peanuts, coarsely chopped

2 cups crisp rice cereal 

2/3 cup creamy peanut butter 

1 1/3 cups (8 oz) semisweet chocolate chips

1.   Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom only of 9-inch square pan with cooking spray or shortening. (For easier cutting, line pan with foil, then grease foil on bottom only of pan.)

2.   Make and bake brownies as directed on box. Cool completely.

3.   Frost brownies with frosting. Sprinkle with peanuts; refrigerate while making cereal mixture.

4.   Measure cereal into medium bowl; set aside. In 1-quart saucepan, melt peanut butter and chocolate chips over low heat, stirring constantly. Pour over cereal in bowl, stirring until evenly coated. Spread over frosted brownies. Refrigerate 1 hour or until set before cutting. For bars, cut into 4 rows by 4 rows. Store tightly covered at room temperature or in refrigerator.

Makes 16 bars