Another Recipe!

I know, I know... this is becoming the Desserts-R-Us blog. I had both an extraction AND a root canal, on opposite sides of my mouth, last week, and I'm fantasizing about foods I totally can't eat right now. I wish I could just make my Recipe Box on AllRecipes.com public, but I haven't figured out how yet. SO- I get to share all the best ones on my blog. This one is for "Magic Peanut Butter Middles". Drool. I love anything and everything Reese's, and I think these babies do a pretty decent impersonation. Next thing you know they'll have booked a full time gig in Vegas! :) Here they are:















Magic Peanut Butter Middles via AllRecipes.com

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 3/4 cup peanut butter

DIRECTIONS

1. In small bowl blend flour, cocoa and baking soda. Mix until well blended.
2. In large bowl beat sugar, butter or margarine and 1/4 cup peanut butter, until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg, beat. Stir in flour mixture until blended. Set aside.
3. To make Filling: Combine confectioner's sugar and 3/4 cup peanut butter. Blend well.
4. Roll filling into 30 - 1 inch balls. For each cookie, with floured hands, shape about 1 Tablespoon of dough around 1 peanut butter ball, covering completely. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten with glass dipped in sugar.
5. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 7-9 minutes. When cookies are done, they should be set and slightly cracked.

**Sorry Haylee- these are not Owen Safe. :(

Best Brownie Recipe

Ah, brownies. Duke and I gained 20 lbs EACH when we were dating and engaged because we made brownies almost every night around 9 or 10 PM. We love brownies THAT MUCH. :) In all this time, I have been an avowed box-brownie-mix user, because it seemed like the ones I made from scratch never really worked out the same. Ghirardelli is my favorite brand- the double chocolate ones. Well, I recently found this recipe on AllRecipes.com, and it's JUST as good- if not better. I present it to all of you, so you can enjoy it, too. :)












Brooke's Best Bombshell Brownies via Allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup butter, melted
• 3 cups white sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips*

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.
2. Combine the melted butter, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each, until thoroughly blended.
3. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture until blended. Stir in the chocolate morsels. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking dish.
4. Bake in preheated oven until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove, and cool pan on wire rack before cutting.

*Note: I add 1 cup of milk chocolate chips in addition to the semi-sweet. It's much better that way.

These are especially good fresh out of the oven with vanilla ice cream and a hot fudge sauce. You know, if you wanted to get REALLY decadent.

Six

Years, that is. :) Yesterday was not only Mother's Day, but the 6th anniversary of our wedding. What a double whammy, huh?

I can't believe that it's been a whole six years since I was in this awesome place:



Before you can say "Oh NO YOU DI'N'T!", let me assure you: we did. :) Yes, that is a drive-thru chapel, and yes, we did elope. In Las Vegas. How cliche', right? It's a long-ish story, but the short version is that I was in St. George, and he was in Vegas, and we were completely miserable apart and just decided to elope one night when I was in Vegas with my dad for a business conference. My poor dad had no idea what would ultimately come about when he sent us out to buy the card game 5 Crowns that evening. Somewhere between getting on the I-15 and checking out at the game store at the Meadows Mall, we looked at each other and said "Let's just get married, for heaven's sake" (Just like that, I'm sure). We just happened to have our marriage license AND the rings with us in the car (we'd actually been planning a real wedding for August). If I remember correctly, my dad's response, when we (I) called from the Fairfield Inn to tell him that I wasn't going to be coming home that night was "Bless your heart! I'm happy for you. Have fun; see you in the morning." I sure love that man.

Someday, when I find the "souvenir" Polaroid the chapel gave us after our nuptuals, I'll post it, so you can all have a good laugh. Until then, however, here's a picture of me and the hubs, my nuzzlekins. This one is from around the time we got sealed- THAT day was even BETTER. :)

Here's to you, kid. May the next six years contain just as much joy as the first six. And may we have many many more to come. :) I love you forever and always.

"Spring" Break

Riiiiiiiiight.

This is the view from my mom's back porch the other day. Doesn't look very "springy" does it? I told Duke the other night that I'm about sick of the snow- just for this winter. He said I was being ungrateful. I told him I'd be a lot more grateful for the moisture if it was someplace where I wasn't. LOL

Looks like we won't be hiking that trail we've been wanting to try out for a LOOOOONG time yet. In the meantime, though, I'm getting a lot done around the house, and I've been practicing the piano. I've just about got "Carry On" down. That one's a toughy.

So- how was your spring break? Anyone actually get any sunshine? :)

More Gas and Grocery Savings

Some of you may recall my recent shout out to Maceys for their fuel rewards program. I'll admit that I've become a bit obsessed lately with saving money on gas and groceries. So I was super excited when Duke told me about about a way to $600 a year in rebates on gas and grocs, plus get extra savings and rebates from other stores I shop at, like Costco and Target, through thEZmall.com. There's a membership fee, just like at Costco, but what you get back is far more than what you spend. The way it works is this: you register online and choose one grocery store and/or one gas company to shop/fill up at. Then you do your normal shopping (or fill up your tank) just like you would any other month. Save your reciepts, and if they total $100 (who doesn't spend at least $100 a month on gas or groceries?? I'd like to meet them.) mail them in with a voucher you print off at home, and the next month you get a $25 Visa gift card in the mail. That's it!! So simple, right? I'm really amped about it! I'm doing both the gas and the grocery programs, so that's $50 a month, $600 a year! Right now thEZmall is running a half price special (through Wednesday only), so you can get both programs for $100 a year- no pesky monthly fees or anything like that- AND get to shop on their online mall which launches at the end of April. That's less than $2 a WEEK. Pretty sweet, no? Anyway- check it out at thEZmall.com It's not MLM (whew!), but you do get referral bonuses for referring your friends and family. And Duke is one of the co-founders of the company, so you know it's not some crazy internet scam I got duped into. lol :) Happy Savings!!

This kitteh will EAT you while you sleep

Apparently the kids have been taking pictures when I'm not looking. And provoking my mom's cats' homicidal tendencies.

Yeah... and a bass drum

Today in the car:

Spencer- "Mom, this car would be cooler if we had a microwave in it."
Hannah "Yeah! And a guitar. ... And a bass drum."

LOL I didn't even think Hannah knew what a bass drum was! :)


**Also, please don't forget about my previous post regarding private blogs. :) Thanks!!