Pecan Squares

I don't know if I have posted this recipe before or not, but it definitely is worth repeating. Awhile back The Food Network aired a short lived series called The Cookworks, loved it, but it's gone, curses! One episode had the participants making these. My mouth was watering and I could not stop thinking about these until I finally made them. I normally don't eat pecan pie because it is way too sweet and rich for me(if that can be believed). These are great for the pecan loving bunch because they are caramel-y, gooey, sticky, and buttery, but not overly sweet or rich like their pie counterpart. You can even taste a little bit of the honey. I don't dip mine in chocolate like Ina does in this photograph, but it's not a bad idea at all.

Photo: foodnetwork.com

A Mom and her Nose

I have had this cold for some time now. I can't smell when to change the baby's poopy diapers. My son will come home from school and say, "Mom, you have to change his diaper, he really smells." I wonder how long he has been sitting in it, poor thing?! I have almost burned the house down twice now. I go to put something on the stove and walk away only to come running for all of the smoke billowing out of the kitchen. I nearly poisoned my family one night...how was I to know the meat was bad??!! I couldn't smell or taste it, looked good to me! Thank goodness my husband came home from work AFTER we had all eaten the tacos and he asked, "what's wrong with this meat, is it bad, I think it's bad?!" Nice. So, I used to think that losing your sight or hearing would be the the most frightening sense to lose, but I would have to say, as a Mother, losing your sense of smell/taste is by far the most hazardous. A Mom needs her nose. I will say that it is an optimum time for cleaning out all of those things growing fur in my fridge and changing said poopy diapers.

Sandals

I thought these were cute for little girl feet. Guess where you can find them?? Target, of course.

Mississippi Mud Cake

The photo of the mint brownie cake below was reminding me of Mississippi Mud Cake, so I had to share the recipe that I love. There are a lot of recipes for Mississippi Mud cakes, pies, bars, all worth a try, but this one in particular does take the cake. I figure if I blog about all of these decadent desserts, then maybe I won't be tempted to want to make them and eat them all in one day.

Photo: Allrecipes.com

White Chocolate

With my recently inherited assortment of chocolates, I made Grasshopper Squares, a mint brownie done up. The mint filling is a white chocolate and mint ganache. I left out the creme de menthe and just added a little extra peppermint extract. If you have some white chocolate that is just sitting around and you don't know what to do with it, you could also make these White Chocolate and Lime Blondies. I've made these without the filling part (too much fuss) and put the white chocolate in the bars and then made a glaze with powdered sugar and a little lime juice and they are great. Thanks epicurious.com for all of the lovely recipes and photos, this photo is actually the Chocolate-Mint Brownie Cake, it was much prettier to look at than the grasshopper squares in that sweater!

Bunny Cakes

I love this book. I love most all of the books involving Max and his overbearing sister Ruby. This book especially makes me laugh, but really makes me hungry for Red-Hot Marshmallow Squirters. I wish there were such a candy. I also love to have books with my children's names in them. I have one for all of them except the last one, anyone know a good children's book with a Christian in it? I think he is tired of us singing Onward Christian Soldiers to him.

Yummy Salad

Now that warmer weather is here, who feels like cooking? (Not that we ever feel like cooking, right?) I love this salad because it has so much going on, is really easy to put together and tastes SO GOOD. I love that it uses a rotisserie chicken, anything that calls for a rotisserie chicken has my name all over it. It makes a great presentation and impression. Here is the recipe for the critically acclaimed dressing from a cook in Kirkland, Washington (see reviews from this recipe). I love me a good asian chicken salad.

3T. rice wine vinegar
1 T. sugar
3T. soy sauce
1/2 t. dry mustard
2 T. sesame oil
1/2 cup peanut oil or vegetable oil
1 T. toasted sesame seeds

Photo: allrecipes.com

Happy Birthday, Liz

Liz,over at backwardsattraction is having a birthday today...if my records are correct. Go on over and wish her a good one! Here's to you, Liz!

photo:Williams-Sonoma.com

New shoes

I have been hunting high and low for a good pair of summer shoes that will go with everything. I think I have found them. They are very versatile, will match everything that I wear and are the right price. I am just worried that they scream "stripper" just a bit. What do you think? Find them here.

Skin So Soft

I was stocking up on my favorite sunscreen/insect repellant and I came across this bit of information regarding Avon's Skin-So-Soft and all of it's many uses. It removes chewing gum from hair and gets out ring around the collar and repels bugs all at the same time? Who knew? Now that is a product I can get behind. I was never a fan of the stuff, until vacationing in Hilton Head, SC years ago and they sold the stuff EVERYWHERE as a bug repellant. It seems to do the job, so Avon has now marketed it as an insect repellant. I love that it now has sunscreen and can do double duty against that nasty West Nile Virus, plus it is DEET free, big plus. It's a good thing.

P.S. I do NOT work for AVON.

Photo: avon.com

Prayers

Sometimes prayers are answered in mysterious ways. My prayers were heard and answered for Milka chocolate the other day. I found a little package on my doorstep and what to my wondering eyes should I find, but this cute little purple cow and about a dozen different chocolate bars from said purple cow(and other varieties). How is it done, you ask? How did the blog gods know of my heart's desire? My dear blogging friends, just when you think you are too weary to blog anymore and want to give up the fight, keep on blogging I say, good things may come your way. Just blog your wishes and you MAY receive. It also helps that I have a friend living in Ireland and she happened to read this. It's nice to have friends in high places! Alright you win, Jodi!

Date Shake

Have you tried a date shake? I have to admit, I was VERY skeptical at first. I think I must have had a bad experience with dates as a child, I think they look a lot like cock roaches, don't they? My last issue of Bon Appetit had a recipe for a date breakfast smoothie that sounded pretty harmless, so I gave it a go. Not bad, even delicious I might say, so good that I had to blog about it. I think it must be a California delicacy, so Californians may appreciate them much more than the rest of us, but do try one.

For a shake, use vanilla ice cream instead of yogurt. You can also use a little nutmeg and cinnamon for extra flavor. Mmmmm.

photo: click here

Suds

This is one more thing that I love from Target and then I will stop with the shameless plugs. Baby Hair & Body Wash is only 97 cents at my local Target, 97 CENTS!! I don't care if the kids dump the whole thing down the drain, squirt the whole bottle in the tub and slide around on it, or fill the tub with the entire bottles' worth of bubbles, it's only 97 cents. I've learned the hard way that the fancy, expensive stuff does the same job, doesn't smell/clean any better and I don't freak out when I find an empty bottle the same day I opened it.

Do my eyes deceive me?

Has anyone else seen Kiehl's products at Target?? Target, yes Target. I might have been dreaming, or it might have been a REALLY good knock-off. I really think I did see a small selection of these really good products there, a bit pricier than usual, but at Target nonetheless. Just when I thought I couldn't love Target anymore!

Photo:Kiehl's.com

Mother of the Year

I've lost the battle, given up, thrown in the towel. My fight to keep white bread out of my kids' diet is over. I am surprised I have succeeded this long. They have known about white bread and have bemoaned the fact that I would NEVER cave and actually buy it. They've had it enough to know that they were really missing out on an important rite of childhood. So when my son kept coming home from school with his uneaten sandwich day after day, I had to do something or the poor boy would starve. We tried other menu items for awhile, even different brands of whole wheat bread, but to no avail. I searched the grocery store shelves high and low for the "healthiest" white bread possible. Satisfied with my all-natural, organic choice, I took the leap. I grew up in a house where the bread was always homeade and always whole wheat, so you can understand my anxiety about bread. This was the last stitch of the few healthy foods in the lunch department, so you see why I agonized over this decision. The sandwiches are being eaten with great gusto now. White toast with butter in the morning is such a treat! I might get the Mother of the Year award this year! Well, maybe not quite, I am sure she would never down grade the quality of her bread . Hopefully I will advance to the rank of "Fancy Mom" at the very least. You see, "Fancy Moms pack things like Doritoes, Fruit Roll-Ups, Dunk-A-Roos, and Capri Suns" said my son. It's a slippery slope, but I think I'm headed in the right direction.

Photo: wonderbread.com

Save Our Chocolate

I normally don't get politcal on this blog or anywhere, for that matter. However, I make an exception when chocolate gets involved. It appears that our beloved chocolate is in trouble and needs our help. Apparently, the USFDA is threatening to tamper with our chocolate, using sub-par ingredients like vegetable fat to replace the quitessential cocoa butter in chocolate. Ugh! In my opinion you can't have chocolate without cocoa butter. If you want to get involved click here. To see my favorite chocolate blog (and how I learned about this impending issue), click here. Really, it's a whole blog about chocolate.

Photo: Guittard Chocolate Company

Give Peace a Chance

When Dorie Greenspan came out with her latest book, Baking: From My Home To Yours, one recipe, in particular stood out to me, World Peace Cookies. With a name like that, how could you not be tempted? I had to make them, Pronto. They are a bit of an obsession, one of my many. You just have to make them for yourself. They are not your ordinary chocolate chocolate chunk cookie. They are a sable (SAH-blay)meaning sand like in texture, they are crumbly and buttery and salty and chocolatey, you'll see. Grab a glass of milk.