Chocolate Peanut Butter Toffee Bars

A terrible thing has happened.

My husband finally realized that Revenge is {basically} a soap opera and doesn't want to watch it with me anymore.

For some reason he thinks Emily is cray-cray?

I know.  I don't get it either.  Assuming someone else's name, monitoring all your neighbors via hidden cameras in their houses, and plotting ways to destroy their lives is totally normal.


I knew this day was inevitable.  I mean, I nearly swallowed my tongue when he agreed to watch the first season with me.  

But I'm still going to go eat my feelings. 

Probably with these peanut butter toffee bars.

Wanna join me?

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Valentine's Ombre Drinks

I just found out that hats are not allowed at my son's elementary school next year.

Booo.

I thought that was the great part about having a boy? You know, them being all low-maintenance and everything.  Slapping a hat on them and sending them out the door.

Umm, do they even realize what a huge inconvenience this is?  This will probably add an additional minute and forty five seconds to my morning routine.  Where am I supposed to find that kind of time?

Will there be a complimentary breakfast served at school to make up for the time I will have to take away from toast-making or orange juice pouring in order to style his hair appropriately?

Starving children typically don't do well in school.

Don't they know that??

It's so hard to be a mom these days.


Sarcasm aside, remember the layered drinks craze of last summer?  For Valentine's day I came up with a cute ombre version to make my kids.  So pretty and soo yummy.  The trick of course, is layering these drinks in the right order.

Check the label on the back of the drink and look at the sugar content.  The highest amount of sugar is the drink that should go on the bottom.  The lowest will go on top.  Do not use drinks that contain the same or similar amounts of sugar or they will just mix together like regular drinks.  For really defined layers, choose sugar contents that are pretty drastic.

Happy Valentine's Week!

Wish me luck with all this hair-doing I'm going to be doing.  I should probably start practicing!

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Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes

Last summer I made Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes and used strawberry cake and chocolate frosting.  This time I used chocolate cake and chocolate frosting and filled them with strawberry whipped cream.  I love both versions, but man, the strawberry whipped cream in these is delicious!  These ones might take the cake.

I just swirled frosting onto these but if you want to top each cupcake with an actual chocolate-covered strawberry, check out my other link for directions.  Next time I make these I will add those.

Nommy nommmy.


In other news.

What are you all getting your significant other for Valentine's Day? 

I'm thinking my husband maybe needs a bacon tie?

If it happened to be scented it would be a no-brainer, of course.

Happy Friday friends!

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Chocolate Caramel Truffles

I can't say the word "truffle" without silently adding "shuffle" onto the end. 

Chocolate caramel... truffle {shuffles}.

(A truffle shuffle, of course, being when one holds on to, and proceeds to shake, their stomach.)

If you have no idea what I'm talking about you should probably watch Goonies immediately.

This compulsive habit sometimes gets awkward when it becomes necessary to say "truffle" in public.  One more reason I try to avoid social situations. 

PS- These truffle {shuffles} are great for Valentine's Day.

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Valentine's Oreo Truffles

February is here, all my girly pink and red decorations are out, and the sun actually peeked out for approximately six minutes last week.  I am all smiles!  Also one of my dear friends had a little baby girl this weekend, and I have a niece coming any day now.  If the groundhog is correct and Spring is actually on it's way, there are even more reasons to celebrate!

Around these parts, we usually celebrate in the form of chocolatey-goodness.

Oreo truffles are nothing new but I've never actually posted the recipe here.  I figured it was about time.  Also, my husband (who is on Atkins)  is convinced this is the food of the gods.

I agree.

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Red Hot Firecracker Ice Cream

 The other day my son told me his girlfriend was so good to him.

He's five.


(Eyebrow-raising is allowed here.)


After I got over being speechless (This has never happened before.  It was an odd feeling),  I asked him what he meant by that, and he said: "Well she's not Trouble like that song on the radio about girlfriends who are just TROUBLE."



T. Swift...  What would I do without you to teach my children about dating??

Seriously.  I don't know.

Will you write a book?

 


This recipe was inspired by a flavor I saw listed on the wall at a local frozen yogurt store.  As soon as I read it I knew it needed to happen for Valentine's Day, so I melted Red Hots into my favorite vanilla ice cream recipe and studded it with more Red Hots.  We love it!  It is cinnamony without burning your face off, since it is sweetened up by the ice cream.  The Red Hot studs give it a little kick and you can adjust the "hotness" by adding more or less of those.  Definitely kid friendly and significant-other friendly.

Except only if they're not Trouble.

Obvs.

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Cranberry Walnut Cinnamon Cream Cheese

My New Year's Resolution this year is one word:  Balance.

In everything.

I am an OCD perfectionist.  If I do something, it needs to be done 110%.  Which makes balancing things really hard.  I'm not great at juggling lots of things.  I get stressed out easily.

I am great at developing tunnel vision and spending an entire week a) reading a whole book series b) making forts with my children, creating snack drawers for them with little baggies of portioned snacks, and laminating everything in sight to use for an  upcoming preschool unit c) opening a closet to find a mess and spending the week reorganizing every drawer, closet, shelf, and crevice in the house (that was last week), or d) baking, photographing, and blogging 13 recipes and posting them all in one day.


This tunnel vision method just isn't working for me.  I want each day and each week to be balanced.  And it's ridiculous how hard this is for me, and how much of an adjustment it is for me to live that way.  It is taking awhile but I think it is coming along.


Obviously my other New Year's Resolution involves eating copious amounts of bagels and cream cheese, because they're so healthy and everything.


Derr.

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Snowball Pecan Cookies {Mexican Wedding Cookies}

I think this is it!  The last Christmas recipe.  Well, there may be a few more, but they are recipes that are appropriate year-round so they don't really count, right? 

I love Mexican wedding cookies.  Or Russian teacakes.  Or whatever their Italian name is.  The point is that they're crumbly, and sweet, and nutty, and I always figured they were hard to make. 

Turns out they're super simple and are so much better homemade.  These are easily the best Snowballs/Mexican wedding cookies/Russian teacakes/Italian wedding cookies I've ever had.

(If these cookies had a personality it's pretty obvious they would be Schitzophrenic.)

My only complain is fingerprints get left in their pretty white powder pretty easily.  I solve this problem by eating all the ones with unsightly prints.

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Peppermint Herringbone Brownies

Winter is the time of year I get incredibly frustrated with blogging and usually disappear for awhile.  It's ten degrees outside.  There's no light.  All of my pictures come out dark and grainy.  And it's really annoying to work hard on something and have the pictures not do them justice.

Apparently I need to start my Christmas baking in August or something and take all my pictures then. Although personally I'd prefer to take the easy way out and move somewhere habitable.

Forgive me for the terrible picture, but just know that these herringbone brownies are gorgeous in real life.  Gor. Geous.

Also delicious.  

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Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Cider Granita

Okay... only 17 days late.  Here is the dessert I made for New Years Eve this year.  100% kid friendly and only two ingredients.  Plus, it looks fancy.


It's not.  It's basically a slushie.


Don't tell anyone.

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