First Christmas Card and a Sweet Treat

My first Christmas card arrived the other day. It was hand delivered by a neighbor along with these sweet treats. YummO!

I googled the name and came up with the recipe below.
It's going in my recipe box as a keeper!

  Mistletoe Bars

1 box of white cake mix
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 tbsp. water
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
1 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup cashews, finely chopped

In a large bowl, combine cake mix, butter, water and eggs with a spoon until a dough forms.
Stir in cranberries, chocolate chips and nuts.
Spread into a greased 9x13 pan.
Bake 20 - 25 minutes at 350 degrees.
Cool and cut into bars.
You can eat them plain or mix up a little powdered sugar icing to drizzle over the tops.
Enjoy!

Only 6 more days to enter my giveaway.
Just click *HERE* and leave a comment on that post.

Frosted Zucchini Bars

Zucchini season is here and even though I only planted a few plants they are doing really well.
I checked on them the other day and found five that were ready to be picked. I sliced a few up and cooked them with a little onion and olive oil and the others got grated to make these yummy cream cheese frosted zucchini bars.

Frosted Zucchini Bars

3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 stick butter, melted
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 cup oats ( I ground mine fine in the food processor but you could leave them whole)
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups shredded zucchini
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chocolate chips

Mix eggs, sugar, butter, applesauce and vanilla in a bowl.
In another bowl, combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder and salt and then add to the egg mixture.
Stir in zucchini, raisins, walnuts and chocolate chips.
Spread into a greased 11X16 bar pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool and then frost.


Frosting Ingredients:
8 oz. cream cheese
1 stick butter
2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Cream together the cream cheese and butter.
Add vanilla and powdered sugar.
Spread on top of cooled bars.
Refrigerate and Enjoy!

A Party and Brown Sugar Brownies

Thursday evening I hosted a Pampered Chef Party at my house and would you believe that I didn't even think to take one photo while it was going on.
What was I thinking?
I don't know where my head was.
Well, actuallyI do!
It was absorbed in the pages of the new Pampered Chef Booklet as I was trying to decide what items I really really wanted.
There are just too many things to choose from.

The great thing is that I did well with my party and the rewards that you get for hosting the party are awesome.
I get to pick out $115.00 worth of free products as well as get 2 items for 1/2 off.
I also get to pick out one of the new items from the spring book for 60% off and anything else that I choose to buy will be at a 25% discount and all comes with free shipping.
Plus, since my friend booked a party from me I will be able to buy the April monthly special at her party when she has it for 60% off too!
Great way to stock up on some much wanted kitchen supplies!
Now I just have to pick and choose what I want.

These are the Brown Sugar Brownies that were made during my party.
They were really gooey while they were hot but once they cooled they thickened up.
So if you're gonna eat them warm you may want to scoop them into a bowl with a little ice cream. They taste kinda like a chocolate cobbler.
If you prefer to eat them as a bar then you will need to let them cool a bit.

Brown Sugar Brownies

1 box brownie mix

Eggs

Oil

3/4 c. brown sugar (will be divided)

1/2 cups chopped nuts

1 and 1/2 c. mini chocolate chips

2 packs of Rolo candies

Mix brownies as directed on the back of the brownie box

Add 1/4 cup brown sugar to batter and mix well.

Stir in chocolate chips.

Pour mixture into a greased 13X9 pan.

In a small bowl, mix the nuts with the rest of the brown sugar (1/2 c.) and then sprinkle the mixture over the top of the brownies.

Bake at 350 degrees for 27-30 minutes.

While that is baking unwrap the Rolos and cut each one into 4 pieces.

When brownies are done, remove and place Rolo pieces on top.

Let cool and enjoy!

Just for fun~ What is the one Pampered Chef item that you wouldn't want to cook without?

**Sorry for the big gaps and spacing. I went back to the Old Editor so that my photo thumbnail would show up and now the spacing is giving me fits.**

A Fibromyalgia Ramble & Chocolate Iced Toffee Bars

I usually try to post earlier in the day but my day began later than usual and this is the first bit of free time that I have had to get on the computer.

My day started late because I think a Fibro flare-up may be tugging at me and trying to get me in it's grips.
Some of you may remember me talking about having Fibromyalgia.
If you do remember, then you will also remember that I took and did not like the side effects of the prescription drugs that they gave me for it so I went in search of other options.
That other option and the one that has worked for me is homeopathy.
I am coming upon the 2 year anniversary of meeting my homeopath and receiving my first rememdy and trust me it is an anniversary that is so worth remembering.
Two years ago I had muscle pains all over my body, including chest pains. Everything hurt!
Hips, shoulders, knees, chest, you name it, it hurt.
I'm an "always on the go ~ never sit down" type of person so this was scary for me.
I simply couldn't go anymore!
It hurt too bad to do much of anything except for lay on the couch.
After testing & a round prescriptions I quickly decided on a last ditch attempt at finding a better solution. I decided to give homeopathy a try and I am so glad that I did.
Within 3 days of taking my first remedy there was big change.
I could get out of bed first thing in the morning and now walk instead of tip-toeing (because my feet hurt so bad). I could stand in the kitchen and cook again without making myself miserable for doing so.
The stiffness, achiness and pain were gone.
Amazing!
Fast forward...2 years later and here I am.
Still not taking any type of prescription meds and my last full remedy was taken in the fall of 2009.
I do still have signs of what I think is the start of a flare-up but I usually take it a bit easier for a day or two and it seems to pass on by.
Last winter was great with no real problems.
Same said for this summer.
However,this winter seems to be pulling at me a bit harder.
I have noticed the achiness creeping into my shoulders, chest, knees, hips and feet, stiffness in fingers and restless nights of sleep. UGH!
To top that off, I began a new (easy) exercise routine and it's kicking my butt. Not so much while I am doing the exercise but afterwards with the sore muscles. 
Frustrating because what really helps Fibro is exercise yet at the same time it also magnifies the muscle pain that I am already experiencing with the Fibro.
I can only stand a few more days of this groggy, foggy, achy feeling so I'll give it a few more to see if it passes on it's own and if it doesn't then I'll be taking a remedy.
OK! I'll quit whining now!

If you're still here after having to listen to all that whining then I'll share this new recipe that I threw together this morning. It's super easy and quick to make and it is so yummy that it will dissappear just as quick.

Chocolate Iced Toffee Bars

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
8 oz. package of Heath English Toffee Bits
11.5 oz. package of milk chocolate chips

Cream sugar, butter, oil, egg and vanilla.
Add flour and mix well
Stir in Heath bits
Spread into a greased 10X15 jelly roll pan.
Bake at 350° for 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips.
Return to oven and bake for another 5 minutes to melt the chips.
Remove from oven and use a knife to spread the melted chips all over the top.
Cool, cut and ENJOY!

Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Bars & a Fairy Ring

Howdy all!
I can't believe it's almost Friday. It's been days since I have posted anything but I just haven't really felt like doing much of anything. It's that time of the year when my sinuses drive me crazy. You know that feeling of your head being about three sizes bigger than it actually is and all that pressure behind your ears and eyes just feels like it's going to explode?
Well that is how I have felt for the last couple of days and all I've really wanted to do was close my eyes and go to sleep so I haven't done much of anything, or at least nothing worth sharing with all of you.
Thankfully, today things seem to be letting up and so here I am.
I was up and at it early this morning cleaning house, figuring out what was for supper tonight and of course you need a dessert so I thought I would give these a try. The recipe is out of one of my many Amish cookbooks, though I have seen it other places too!

Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Bars

1 box yellow cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
8 oz. cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (1 bag will do)

Stir cake mix, 1 egg and oil together.
Reserve one cup of this mixture for topping.
Press the remainder of crumbs in a greased 9X13 pan.
Cream together the cream cheese, 1 egg and sugar. Add 1 cup of chocolate chips to the mixture and then spread over the crumb layer.
Combine the reserved crumbs and the remaining chocolate chips.
Sprinkle over the top.
Bake 30 minutes at 350°.
Cool and cut into bars. ENJOY!

Now are you wondering what a fairy ring is?
If so, then go HERE to read Granny Sue's post about them.
The picture below was taken a few days ago in a neighboring yard. I got up that morning and looked out and wondered what those weird things were laying in the grass. I thought maybe someone had walked through and left garbage behind.

It's hard to see with all those leaves!

Nope it was a circle of mushrooms that had popped up overnight.
The first thing that came to my mind was Granny Sue and her fairy ring tale.
I noticed another person taking pictures of the shrooms today. (I should have gone and taken another picture because they have grown even bigger.)

Anyways, I stopped and asked him if maybe there had been an old tree that once sat there and he said NO. His parents had bought the house back in the 30's and that there was never a tree in that spot.
Hmmm... Are the fairies sleeping nearby?

*The tooth fairy recently visited our house so my husband's take on the whole tale was that the tooth fairy had been dancing in that spot.*
Cute thought and one that Katie enjoyed.

Frosted Fudge Brownies

Hello all!
This week has been a busy one & I am so glad that is winding down. I can't wait for an evening to sit out by the fire and just chill out!
I'm also anxiously counting the days down till our trip to the Amish country.
My best friend and I are leaving town (without kids) to spend a day out shopping in the Ohio countryside.
I've been there many times and love it!
Misty has been through there once, with her husband in tow and on a motorcycle and needless to say she wasn't able to shop much since she had very little space to haul anything home.
However, not this time!
It's all about US....a girl's day out....and one that we both are looking forward to!

The recipe that I'm sharing today is one of the many that I copied while sitting around the kitchen table at my MIL's house. We both shared a love of cooking and recipes and each time I visited her I always browsed through her many cookbooks and food magazines.

Frosted Fudge Brownies
 
1 cup plus 3 tbsp. butter
3/4 cup cocoa
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla

In saucepan, melt butter.
Remove from heat and add cocoa. Let cool.
Beat eggs and sugar together in a mixing bowl.
In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.
Gradually add to the egg/sugar mixture.
Stir in vanilla.
Next add the cooled chocolate/butter and mix well.
Spread into a greased 13X9.
Bake at 350° for 25-28 minutes.
Cool.

Frosting:
6 tbsp. butter, softened
2 2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 - 1/3 cup milk
Cream all and add enough milk to make desired spreading consistency.
Spread over brownies and cut into bars.
Enjoy!     

Butterfinger Bars

Hello to everyone!

Hope you are soaking up the sun like we are. I am finding it harder to even get the time to get on the computer because it's just too nice to be inside.

I've been able to hang my laundry outside to dry the past few days, the furnace is turned off and a few windows are open. I love this weather. It's not too hot nor too cold.

Just perfect! We've even dusted our bicycles off and began riding the trail this week.

I think we are all a little rusty from the long winter but it won't take much to get us back into the spring of things.

☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼

Before I show the recipe I'm going to show you a glimpse of what I am working on today.

It's a first for me so I'm not sure how it will turn out but I'm going to give it a try.

Can you guess what it is?

It's hopefully going to be a prim Annie doll!

I'll have to show you a picture of it when I get it finished. I just hope it turns out.

Okay, now to the Butterfinger recipe.

This is sooooo good and it's super easy to make.

Butterfinger Bar

2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup corn syrup

18 oz. peanut butter

1 bag of chocolate chips

3 cups corn flakes

Heat sugar and syrup until boiling.

Add peanut butter and mix well.

Pour over cereal and stir together.

Press into a greased 9x13 pan.

Melt chocolate chips and spread over the top.

Chill in the refrigerator for 20-25 minutes.

Cut into squares.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Puffed Wheat Bars - Easy & Inexpensive Treat

Hello everyone!

I sure hope you all have been outside and getting to enjoy these great sunny days.

We've spent the past few days outdoors while the kids have been riding their bikes, coloring the sidewalks with chalk and just simply playing in the mud. My poor floors have been scrubbed twice this week and probably by the end of today they will need it again. I've been on patrol at the doors telling all the kids to take their shoes off so that they don't track through the house but obviously have missed here and there.

Oh well! I'm just glad that the weather is decent enough to get outside finally.

Before I get to the recipe I'll give you an update on my last post.

It was about our truck getting hit because of a pothole ~ well I am happy to say that the pothole has been taken care of. We have had 2 good nights of sleep without getting woke up numerous times to the sound of someone hitting that hole and the insurance adjustor came yesterday so we are on the road to getting it all fixed. Just need to get the truck aligned and have the body work done and it will be good as new.

Ok, now to the snack recipe. I've seen this posted in several places recently and thought that I would give it a try. If you have never had Puffed Wheat then I will tell you that it is in the cereal aisle. I buy it in big bags for .99¢. We put a little sugar on it and eat it for breakfast or as a snack in the evening. It's super cheap and fat-free.

It's pretty yummy used in this recipe too!

Puffed Wheat Bars

8 cups Puffed Wheat cereal

3 tbsp. cocoa powder

1/3 cup corn syrup

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup butter

Measure and place puffed wheat in a large bowl.

Place the rest of the ingredients in a saucepan.

Cook and stir over medium heat until it comes to a full boil.

Let boil for 1 minute.

Remove from heat and pour over puffed wheat.

Stir well to coat and then place in a greased 9x9 pan.

Cool and then cut into squares or bars.

Enjoy!

Don't forget there is only a couple more days till my giveaway winner is announced!

Hope you all enjoy your day!

Another BBQ and a Crumble Bar

Carmen over at Waxed Out Creative Life shared a recipe the other day for BBQ Lasagna and I just HAD to try it.

I made a pan of it for my bunch and got thumbs up from everyone. It's a definite keeper.

While I was making ours I thought I would make a pan of it for my Dad who is a vegetarian as well as a diabetic. So for his I just substituted Morningstar Farms Crumbles in place of the meat and I used Splenda in place of the brown sugar. It turned out just as good.

I spent that whole day in the kitchen cooking. I made a couple loaves of Italian bread to go with our dinner and tried a recipe for Crumble Bars that I found in one of my Amish cookbooks.

Crumble Bars

1 stick butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tbsp. vanilla

2 cups mini marshmallows

1 bag chocolate chips

2 cups Rice Krispies cereal

1/2 cup peanut butter

Mix the first six ingredients together and spread into a greased 9X13 pan.

Bake at 350° for 15 minutes.

Sprinkle the marshmallows on top and bake again for another 5 minutes.

Let cool.

Once cooled, melt chocolate chips & peanut butter together.

Stir Rice Krispies into chocolate mixture and then spread on top of the marshmallows.

Let cool and cut into bars.

These turned out pretty tasty. I thought the marshmallow layer sounded a little different but they gave the bars a little layer of fluff.

Needless to say, it was a long day and by the time supper was over I didn't care if I ever stepped back into the kitchen again or not.

However, that thought was short lived because I spent the next whole day scrubbing the kitchen walls and cabinets down. The Spring Cleaning Bug got me!

Now today I hope to dig through my fabric stash and find enough material to be able to sew a new set of curtains for the kitchen window. Not so sure that I will have the right fabric or enough of the right fabric but I'm gonna try and if I don't get off this computer I'll never have enough time to even sew the curtains.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Back on Track and a Cereal Bar

You will have to overlook the smudged photo. Not sure what happened!

Well I feel a bit better after ranting about dieting on Friday and you all left many great comments for me. Obviously, I'm not the only one thinking this way. I guess what I'll be doing is trying to eat a bit healthier with smaller portion sizes and LOTS of exercise. As I said, I despise using a treadmill but that is all I've got unless I want to freeze my patooty off in this cold weather.

(By the way, we are on our second day of 2 hour delays for school. Yesterday was for flooded roads and today is ice/snow. You may ask, Why does that affect me since I homeschool? The answer would be because my oldest son does go to public school.)

We did get a break on Saturday with sunny skies and warm temperatures so I put my sneakers on and hit my favorite walking route. A 3 mile trek throughout our town. I took Sunday off and then hit the exercise bike again yesterday and it's on my to-do list for later today.

Now to the cereal bar!

I tried this out a few weeks ago and thought someone else may like it. It was simple to make and I had all the ingredients at home. At the end of the post I will include the fat and calories that I added up as I made them but keep in mind that you could switch out a few ingredients and reduce the numbers even more. I thought the walnuts were a bit high (yet still healthy for you) so next time I may substitute something else or just leave them out. Either way it was a good basic recipe to start from. Lots of possibilities!

Granola/ Cereal Bars

1 cup oats

1 cup shredded wheat cereal

1 cup walnuts

1 1/2 to 2 cups dried fruit (your choice)

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1/3 cup honey

1 tsp. vanilla

Spray or grease an 8x8 pan.

Place oats, shredded wheat, walnuts, fruit, cinnamon & salt in a food processor and chop finely.

In a large bowl, beat together eggs, honey and vanilla.

Add oat mixture and stir well.

Place in greased pan and flatten out with hands.

Bake 18 minutes at 350°.

Cool & cut into bars or snack size bites.

Here are the totals for the whole pan so you will need to cut the bars into the sizes that you prefer and then divide the numbers that I give you by the amount of bars you have to get an amount for each serving.

Calories = 3,160

Fat = 159

Fiber = 42

Carbs = 394

Chocolate Chip Macaroon Bars

Here is a quick dessert to whip up if you love coconut as much as I do.

I made this over the weekend and everyone enjoyed it!

Chocolate Chip Macaroon Bars

3 3/4 cups coconut

3/4 cups sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/4 tsp. salt

3 egg whites

1 whole egg, slightly beaten

1 tsp. almond extract ( or vanilla)

1 cup chocolate chips

Stir coconut, sugar, flour and salt together in a bowl.

Add egg whites and stir gently.

Add whole egg along with extract.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Spread into a greased 9X9 pan.

Bake at 350° for 35 minutes.

Cool overnight (or not) and then cut into bars.

Sorry for the blurry picture but I'm having issues with my Photoshop program and was unable to fix it.

Update on Katie:

I took her to have the cast put on her arm today. The Dr. showed me the two breaks and said that they should heal fine with a little time spent in a cast. Now the hard part is keeping the girl still. She sees no need for it to be rested and propped up and she doesn't understand why she can't ride a bike or do any of her usual activities.

I think it's going to be a long 4-6 weeks.

Wish me luck cause I'm sure gonna need it!

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars

Here's a quick and easy treat that my family likes. The bars cut nicely and would make a great bake sale item or a simple dessert to take to the office party, family gathering or just as a snack at home.

You will have to overlook my photo, it's not the best by any means but it's kind of hard to take another picture when you just scarfed down the last one.

My photo also does not include the chocolate chips that SHOULD be in the bar batter. That is what happens when your kids see an open bag of chocolate chips on the counter and decide to eat half the bag. I did manage to save the other half of the bag to make the icing for these. ☺

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars

1 cup peanut butter

6 tbsp. butter, softened

1 1/4 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1 bag of chocolate chips

In large bowl, combine peanut butter & butter till smooth.

In a second bowl, combine sugar, eggs and vanilla and then stir into peanut butter mixture.

Add flour and salt and mix well.

Stir in half a bag of chocolate chips.

Spread into a greased 13X9 pan.

Bake 25-30 minutes at 350°.

As soon as you remove from oven sprinkle the rest of the chocolate chips on top.

Let them melt and then spread to cover all of it.

Cool and cut.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Streusel Bars

I found this recipe while going through old cookbooks from my Mother-In-Laws last weekend. This was just a clipping that she had torn out but there were several of them and they all contained Sweetened Condensed Milk so I'm thinking it probably came out of a recipe booklet by Eagle Brand Condensed Milk.

As usual, I was missing one ingredient, the Sweetened condensed milk, so I made my own homemade version from powdered milk and they worked out great. These have a yummy cheesecake layer sandwiched between two layers of a cocoa crust.

Chocolate Streusel Bars

1 3/4 cups flour

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 cup cold butter or margarine

1 (8oz.) cream cheese, softened

1 (14oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

1 egg

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cups chopped walnuts, optional

In large bowl, combine flour, sugar & cocoa.

Cut in butter until crumbly.

Reserve 2 cups crumbs.

Press remaining crumbs firmly into a greased 13X9 pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

In large mixer bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy.

Gradually add in milk.

Beat in egg & vanilla.

Pour over crust.

Combine walnuts & crumb mixture; sprinkle on top.

Bake 25 minutes or till bubbly.

Cool.

Store covered in fridge.

Can't Leave Alone Bars

Yesterday was one of those days!

I got lots of done around the house like stripping the beds and washing everything, dusting, scrubbing, paperwork, schooling and lots more.

What I didn't get done was blogging and cooking supper.

However, I did make these bars for dessert.

I figured the dessert was more important.

(Yes ! the kids got fed. Just not a big, fabulous meal.)

I'm not sure who to give the credit to for this recipe but it's not me. I have found it in many of the local cookbooks around here.

Can't Leave Alone Bars

1 box white cake mix

1/3 cup oil

2 eggs

1/4 cup butter
1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup chocolate chips

Mix cake mix, oil and eggs with a fork in a medium bowl.

Press half of this mixture in a greased 13X 9 pan.

(I get my hands a bit wet so that the cake mix doesn't stick to my hands.)

In a saucepan, melt butter, milk and chips.

Pour over the cake layer.

Take the remaining cake mixture and roll into little balls and then flatten the balls out in your hand.

Place the flattened circles on top of the chocolate layer.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

I usually cook mine for about 20-30 minutes or till the center is not so jiggly.

This is a really quick but fattening treat to make when you are in a hurry.

I have tried this with a chocolate & a yellow cake mix and we all have agreed that we like it better using a white cake mix.

Enjoy!