Cravings...

In an attempt to shed the pregnancy lbs, Mark & I have been on a diet for the past couple weeks. Both of us are on those fancy diets where they deliver all your food to you each morning and you don't have to do anything other than "heat & eat". While the food is fresh, organic, and gourmet, it is also small, low-calorie, and after awhile, pretty boring.

While it's been successful (Mark claims to have lost 12 lbs) I find myself thinking about food all day...not my diet food, but the food that I'm missing out on. I watch the food channel, read more food blogs, and talk about food constantly.

My growing obsession with food had led me to create a "food bucket list". This would definitely be on the top of my list...the Passion Bar (Thanks Sherbet Blossom).

For those of you not on a starvation diet, please make these for yourself, you deserve it (for one reason or another).

PASSION BARS

2 cups quick cooking oats

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

3/4 cup peanut butter

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, stir together the oats, flour, brown sugar, salt and baking soda. Cut in the butter to form a crumbly mixture. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the crumbs, and pat the rest evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. In a medium bowl, stir together the sweetened condensed milk and peanut butter. Spread evenly over the oatmeal layer. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the peanut butter layer, then crumble the reserved crust over the top.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Enjoy!