White Chocolate Lemon Streusel Bars

Sweetened Condensed Milk 1 can (14 oz)
Fresh Lemon Juice (1/2 cup)
White Chocolate Chips (2 cups or 12 oz pkg)
Butter, softened (2/3 cups)
Light Brown Sugar, 1 cup
All Purpose Flour 1 1/2 cups
Pecans, chopped 3/4 cup
Quick Oats 1 1/2 cups
Baking Powder 1 teaspoon
Salt 1/2 teaspoon
Egg 1

 1. Heat oven to 350 F
2. Lightly grease 13x9x2 in pan
3. Combine milk, lemon juice, and chocolate chips. Mix well.
4. Beat butter and sugar in mixer until blended well.
5. Stir together oats, flour, baking powder, salt and pecans.
6. Add to butter mixture and blend well.  Add egg and blend well.
7. Press egg/crumb mixture evenly over crumb mixture.
8. Save about a cup of the crumb mixture to sprinkle on top.
9. Spread lemon mixture evenly over crumb mixture.
10. Sprinkle saved crumb mixture over lemon mixture gently pressing down on crumbs.
11.  Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned.
12.  Cool completely then slice.

In the past few weeks I've been able to do a bit of baking! At the Twig's cooking class in January we got to taste these white chocolate lemon streusel bars and...I have since made 3 batches! Mmm Mmm! I love to bake and I'm always looking for new recipes. So please feel free to share!

Well, I can't believe February is already here! This has already been a very busy year. On Monday, we received a new student in our class. He is a very sweet, very young student -- 5 years old. Most of my students are around 9 to 11 years old. So as you can imagine, I've had to do a bit of adjusting! I've learned that it takes a lot more energy and attention to keep up with a 5 year old! It's been a really great experience. Speaking of ages...our niece Elise turned 3 years old on Thursday! (am I really old enough to have a 3 year old niece?!) Happy Birthday Elise! Her cake, presents, and decor were decked out in Disney Princesses and she went ice skating (like the Princesses On Ice show we viewed in December) for her birthday. I am so glad we've been able to spend some time with the Sammis family in the past few weeks. Soon they will all be leaving us to move up to VA. Natalie, Bryan, Elise and Carson will all be greatly missed! We love you and hope to visit you sometime this summer so go ahead and furnish the guest room. =)

Other than baking and visiting family, I've been able to keep up with my training for the big race and even visit with some old high school friends. We went to dinner and a show at the Peace Center. It was nice to get back together with friends and catch up on everyone's life. It's so weird to think we're at the point where it's no longer high school, sports, and prom, but grad school, careers, and husbands! Sometimes life just flies by and I've made a promise to try to slow down and remember how much I need a Girl's Night every once in a while. You should do the same!