mmmm I'm lovin' it

I have to share my love for these Chewy Cookie Crunch Bars from Amanda's Cookin

 Cake mix, chocolate and white chocolate chips, peanut butter and rice crispies-mmmhm so yummy. As I write this GG said they aren't that fabulous, their good but he wouldn't crave them. Me on the other hand, I crave them- maybe it has to do with the fact that I'm a girl and have cravings. ... do boys even have cravings? I suppose they do. I guess I just assume cravings are a girl thing. hmm.

Another Recipe that I tried that I like and will probably make again for a brunch or something like that are these Fresh Fruit Bruschetta with Orange-Honey Cream from Our Best Bites

I was a little worried about cream because it uses sour cream but I think it turned out pretty tasty. It's a nice switch up from just a fruit bowl.

In her Daddy's Shoes

Too cute, right?

Confessions

I didn't know it until recently, in fact I would have said gross, but I like Vitamin D Milk! I never knew. I never thought I would like it. I'm a skim milk kind of a girl  but on our trip we were packing around whole milk for Boo so that is what I ended up having on my cereal. I couldn't believe how much it improved my cereal.  I hope it ends there. I have enough unhealthy habits that I don't need to be adding a glass of whole milk to my oreos.

I must also confess, I have been forgoing my fruit and yogurt as part of our meal and just been adding whipped cream to my fruit. SO Good! Who knew it was so good to be unhealthy! 

Speaking of unhealthy...I've got another recipe for you. Chocolate waffle cone...bowls. 

They didn't really turn out like waffle bowls, they were more like brownie bowls.  I got the recipe from the Idea Room. The recipe was for a waffle cone maker but she just used a frying pan like you were making pancakes. I had a hard time making it thin enough. Next time I'm going to try the waffle maker and see what happens. On a scale of 1-10 for goodness I give it a 6. On a scale of 1-10 for fun-ness (or novelty, I guess) I give it a 7. Its a nice swtich up for a bowl of icecream.

I also made chocolate syrup that my mom has made since I was little. I don't know if others like it but I love it! She would make it for Banana Splits on conference weekend and store the rest in a bowl in the fridge.** Naughtiness ALERT, shh don't tell.** I would sneak into the kitchen and quietly open the fridge and dip my finger into the chocolately goodness. (yes, my finger... We couldn't use spoons that would only produce evidence to our naughtiness...and I'm mean "our" becasue I know I'm not the only naughty child in my family, I had to learn it from somewhere!) I do like this chocolate sauce but the only thing that makes it less than absolutely perfect is that it becomes grainy from the sugar when chilled. Obviously that didn't stop me from sneaking a taste.

Chocolate Syrup
2-4 T butter
2 sq of Unsweetened chocolate
6 1/2 oz evaporated milk
1 1/2 C sugar

In microwaveable bowl melt butter and chocolate. No higher than 70% power. Stir every 30sec to minute.
Add evaporated milk and sugar. Cook until thickened and sugar is dissolved.

And you're DONE! YUM!

Hope you love fat too because I can't seem to live without it! :)

Random

Just random things we have been doing or I've been thinking-hopefully I'll just stop thinking about the books I've read now that I've written it down.

**I just finished a book. I didn't realize it was going to be a sad book when I started reading it. Everything was going really well (too well apparently). A good woman, married to a good man (they both have their flaws) but a good marriage. It wasn't until like page 100 that you find out that she had beat cancer 4 years before. I should have put it down there. She gets cancer again and dies.  I wept and wept for a fictional family. 

**On the Today Show, I saw they were going to be making a movie of a book I read recently, Sarah's Key. There is no way I will watch that movie. It was sad enough to read it in a book there is NO way that I could watch it played out on the movie screen. It takes place during the Jewish Roundup in France.  A little girl locks her brother in a cupboard to keep him safe. She takes the key with her but she didn't return that night....or anytime soon. So you watch her go through that pain of trying to get back and how it haunts her. SOOOO sad. I don't want to make you not want to watch it or read it but just know its sad.

*We're enjoying watching the Marriage Ref online. It's pretty funny. And I love that it doesn't degrade marriage either.  Couples share their argument and then three comedians decide who's right. Check it out.

*Boo has come to love Blue's Clues. She asks for it a couple of times daily. She has a notebook and crayon that she pulls out when its time to draw Blue's clues in the notebook. It is so funny. And she sits in her little yellow "thinking chair". She'll try to dance to the songs. I LOVE it.

*I got 6 t-shirts for $10 at Younkers the other day! Score! I love good deals combined with associate discounts and coupons! One of the shirts is oranged striped. I told GG that I feel like Steve's counsin (from Blue's clues, he wears an green striped shirt, if you don't know). Haha. But its cute and it was only $1.90.

Just a few more weeks of Summer...well one really. GG starts football stuff up beginning of August. :(   It's been a pretty good summer. Boo and I will have to come up with some fun activities and crafts (for me) to keep us busy this fall.

Summer Recipes

A friend of mine was asking about summer recipes on her facebook page. I started listing different recipes and then I thought, I might as well put them somewhere I can look at it for my own use later.  And if you want to share your recipes that would be SOOO Awesome. :)

So here are a few of my favorite summer recipes that have some how been labeled "summer in my mind and or require minimal heating up of the house.

Southwest Egg Rolls from Sister's Stuff. I love this recipe. It's SO simple for the days I don't feel like cooking.  Granted, I already have chicken cooked and cut up in my freezer so I can just defrost it and throw it in.  I also think this recipe would be fine without the chicken.  I make the Alvocado sauce even though she says she just uses salsa.  And I don't grill it after I assemble them, we just eat them like a burrito or taco.

French Dipped Sandwichs- I just recently discovered these but they are so yummy to me. I originally made the Our Best Bites recipe but I also found this one from Barefoot and Baking I kinda of want to try.

BLT Chicken Salad- I don't know what blog I got this one off. sorry
8c Salad greens
2 large tomatoes chopped
Green onions, sliced
Croutons
1 1/2 lb bonelesss, skinless chicken breasts cooked and cubed
10 Bacon Strips, cooked and crumbled
2 Eggs, boiled and sliced

Dressing
1/2 c Ranch dressing
3-4 BBQ Suace
2 T onion chopped
1t lemon juice
1/4 t pepper

Combine the dressing ingredients, mix well, cover and refridgerate until serving.
Place salad greens on a large serving platter. sprinkle with tomatoes, chicken and bacon. Garnish with egges. Drizzle with Dressing. Avocados also make a yummy addition.

P.S. Plain ol' BLT's are an awesome Summer meal. yumm.

Chessy Rotini and Tuna from Kraft my mom also made one growing up that was served cold. She used rotini noodles, tuna, peas, olives, cubed pieces of cheese and anything else you want to throw in there. And maynoaise I believe. 

Chicken Salad in a Puff Bowl- I love this one. Its one that my mom made. The GG has gotten a little sick of it but I still love it. I'll have to make it one more time this summer.

Puff Bowl

1/2 C water

1/4 C butter

1/2 C flour

1/8 t Salt

2 eggs

Salad

2 C cutup cooked chicken

1 C celery chopped

1/2 C olives

1 small onion, chopped

1 T lemon juice

2 Hard boil eggs, diced

3/4 C mayonnaise

Heat water and margarine to a rolling boil, add flour and salt together and stir over low heat till it forms a ball. Take off heat and stir in eggs, spread evenly in pie plate. Bake 400 degrees for 45-50 minutes (mine gets done in less time than that I'd start checking on it about 25 min). Cool completely. Combine Salad ingredients and fill puff bowl.

Barbecued Burgers from my Sister's blog-not sure where she got it but I LOVE THEM!!!! They remind me of winger's hamburgers maybe because they are yummy messy. You can use the bbq sauce for other things too. My sister used for fajitas (different but still good). We used it on our chicken the other night.

Just some ideas. If you've got them PLEASE share. I love getting new recipes! especially ones that other's say are good. 

My pride and joy

My sister-in-law took some adorable pictures of Miss Boo. Here are some of my favorites:

I love, Love, LOVE this crazy girl of mine!!!!

ps.

don't miss the post below....more pictures.

Family Fun

We made it back from visiting family last night. IT WAS AWESOME! Family is the best thing in the world! They make me extremely happy and thankful for life. I wish I was better at taking pictures but here a few that I got:

at my sister's 50 Birthday Luau party

 Trying to take over her cousin's bike, she's very determined to get on that bike :)

 She looked like something from a Mario Bros game. I loved the helmet on her. She also loved all the doggies she got to meet at all the houses we visited.

So much fun! I'm already missing her cousins and other family members playing with Boo. She's already tearing apart our apartment and she's only been awake for a couple of hours. Oh....... sigh.