fabulous brownies

hi y'all.....

(yep. i still wish i had that sweet southern belle accent!)

i am FUUUHHHRRREEEZING. not even kidding.

i am sitting in my office at work right now...and my fingers literally feel like they are

going to fall off.

i am queen of procrastination. i guess i should have added this to my list of resolutions!

i have a paper i have to write for school and i just do not want to do it.

and yes.

it

is

due

in about 8 hrs. 11:59 EMT. which would be one AM. here.

ahhhh...why do i do this to myself....hmmm. i guess because i am literally so busy

working two jobs and have no time to do anything.

fully legitimate. doesnt make me feel any better about not having it done.

i do not want to do it.

anywho,

i am going to share this recipe for these delightfully delicious diet sabotaging (spellling?)

BROWNIES....

you need to run to the store and get the goods to make these.

they are gooey. chocolatey.

melt in your mouth maddening.

do i have your attention YET?!

i found them over

here~@ my baking addiction!

i had a work pot luck luncheon, which i should admit right now, the truth.

i {{{LOVE}}} pot lucks.

it's cuz i am seriously food obsessed.

i had this conversation with princess # 2. she said the same thing. i think this was her

direct quote

"like, i just love food....it makes me so happy".

god i love that kid.

and the fact that yes, she is young a size two and can still eat like a pig says nothing.

like, i love food too. yet, i am no longer a size two and probably will not be. ever.

so what were we talking about?

oh yeah....

heavenly brownies.

i doubled the recipe.

i will also show you where i did a couple different things.

and honestly. they were easy peasy. you will never want to eat store box brownies again.

ever.

pinky. promise.

and the best part........

i had ALL of the ingredients in my pantry. :o)

bonus points for that fo sho.

so here ya go homies....and let me know if you try. the only complaint i had

from someone at the evil potluck, was that,

they were too rich.....wahhhhhh???

too rich? are you freaking kidding me?

they ARE BROWNIES PEEPS.

arent they supposed to be?

best brownies ever

preheat oven to 325'
prepare a 9x13 pan. i lined with stick free foil......so you can just lift and cut them at the end!

2 sticks plus 4 tablespoons butter. ( i used 1/2 butter, 1/2 margarine)

1 cup chocolate chips. I used 1/2 dark and 1/2 semi sweet.
1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 and 1/2 cups pure white sugar. yep. thats right.

1 1/3 cups flour

4 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
3 large eggs

mix dry ingredients together in large bowl. set aside.
melt over low heat the butter. add in the chocolate chips stirring to melt. my baking addiction recommends double boiler but i am lazy and just heated on low and worked perfecto.
when chips and butter have melted stir in sugar and vanilla. add eggs one at a time. stirring between each one.
pour chocolate mixture into bowl of dry ingredients and mix until blended.
pour into prepared pan and bake. i think i ended up baking mine for about 32 minutes. my baking addiction states DO NOT OVERBAKE. you want your toothpick to be moist and wet crumbs! so true.

i love gooey madness. seriously. i was in heaven. will you think poorly of me, if i devulge that yes, i brought the leftovers home from the pot luck and by sunday had consumed about 6 brownies? not kidding. i feel the butter stuck to my glutes as i type this. help. i have issues!

source: my baking addiction

bake up kiddos. i promise you wont regret.

xo



greatful saturday!

oh hi there!!

thanks for stopping!

i just wanted to let all of you know the things that make me smile.

in the wake of japan's natural disaster,

it's so easy to see how quickly

one's life can

be

turned upside down.

literally.

so random list of what makes me happy and greatful!

#1.



my kiddos.

(you knew i was going there, admit it)....

lol. i am a mom.

they make me laugh, cry and everything inbetween.

i am thankful they are in my life.

i always tell people we are a VERY open family. sometimes they share TOO much.

(do i really need to know that you got THAT drunk at the college FRAT party?)

um, no.

but we DO keep it REAL!

i have never been one of those moms, to say, "OH, my sweet lil angel

would never do THAT"...because a. they probably will. or b. they probably

HAVE!

#2. my warm house.
so many people are homeless.
i am blessed.
so very blessed.

#3.

you.

yep.

if you are taking the time to read this teeny weeny little blog then you are as special

to me as white chocolate raspberry mocha lattes!

i love reading each and every comment you make.

they ALL put a smile on my face

and a lot of times when i am having a bad day,

it's here where i come for comfort!!

(no pressures to comment or anything!)

this blog has become a venting ground and a place where i can

ramble about, well, whatever i am feeling at that moment!

i like that.

not to mention i have made so many friends via this crazy blog world.

it humbles me.

#4.

my life. i love that i have a nice life. i love that i have a warm bed to sleep in

every night and a nice little kitchen where i can create

yummy baked goodies. i love my job and the flexibility that

i can work from home, especially when we have

snow higher then my car doors!!

i am looking forward to spring so i can plant my little flowers and sit out in the warm sun!!

#5.

there are soooo many things i have in my life i am thankful for. the ones mentioned above

are just a few that make me smile!!

i hope that you have things in your life that make you smile as well.

care to share?!?

k, now i am  off to finish baking.

(i am knee deep in sugar, flower, chocolate and sprinkles.....pics coming soon!)

love your guts,

xoxoxo

"feauxstess" fun!

hello my pretties!

happy friday!

hip hip hooray.

so i am sharing my first baking FAIL.

yep. big time.

i had a baking request. a request for hostess filled cuppies.

i was like, easy. done. complete.

well, settle down little soldiers. not as easy as i thought.

(that's what happens when i get cocky.)

so princess # 3 and i have decided that we will attempt a new

cupcake flavor once a week.

we pretend we are on cupcake wars...

lol...kidding....

it is fun. girl bonding. delicious.

AND

fattening.

(oh well.....everything is good in moderation, right?!)

so off we went to start our 'feauxstess' creation.

we used a dark fudge cake mix for starters.

i always 'dr' up a cake mix.

i will bake cakes with "REAL" ingredients,

BUT....in a pinch, a good box cake mix is ok to use.

add some pudding, extra butter (yep the real dealio)

an extra egg....don't get too crazy.....but you get the idea, right friends?!?

bake. cool. fill.

use this filling if you want:

it is so yummy and creamy!

then make your GANACHE.

insert, this is where the major fail occured.

i tried to double the ganache recipe. i tried to wing it. i tried to eyeball it.

der. de. der.

(blonde girls should NEVER just wing it)

womp. womp. womp.

my ganache never set. it was a pool of runniness. eww. even sounds yucky.

i laughed about it. i said the boy and i were going to paint ourselves in in later.

LOL.

(kidding)

i tried to chill it and see if it would set.

(you all know how incredibly impatient i am)

it finally got a teeny weeny bit thicker. not much.

THEN.......my white icing for the little scroll on top, well, i made that too thick.

ARRGGHHH.

it.

was.

not.

a.

good.

cupcake.

baking.

night.

oh well....we cant always be perfect....

here's ONE....

i repeat.....

ONE.....

and then....the boy.....

dropped the frosting bag on the only one that turned out....and RUINED it.

good thing we REALLY were not on cupcake wars!!!

yeppppp! that's it, lovies....before the frosting bag dropped on it.

the only one flipping cuppie that actually turned out.

next week was going to be red velvet.....but i can not stand failure. we HAVE to

make these AGAIN.

have YOU ever had a baking fail?!?

linking up with these lovelies.....



have a fantabulous weekend!

love you.

bye.

xoxo

cupcake pops~hollar!

well my foodie bloggie buds.....i promised and now i am delivering! last night i started the whole process of the cupcake pop process....shenikeys, thats a mouthful....anywhodoodles, i made them and i have to say that thanks to our dear friend, ms. bakerella, herself i have now made my first attempt at these cute lil suckers.

be prepared for messy hands and fingers. oh, and it leaves lovely chocolate under your fingernails, too.....lots o hand washin goin on last night.....oh, make another note to self. dry hands well before rolling more BALLS! yes, BALLS. big ones. i like big balls, i can not lie...oh...wait different song....

so you can go here for the recipe with amazing directions if you need pictures to help you out with knowing what to do exactly. i needed pictures. but heres the recipe

cupcake pops

1 box cake mix
1 container frosting. any kind works! (thats the joy of this recipe)....i used buttercream, i think duncan hines.
chocolate discs, milk and white
gel color dye (wilton brand is what i used)
1 styrofoam piece to stick pops in
1 small flower cookie cutter
sucker sticks, bags, ribbon

preheat oven according to cake mix directions.....spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. mix cake according to box. do not overbake. allow to cool completely. i covered in plastic wrap at this point and finished the next night.

crumble in large mixing bowl. add frosting. typically you can use about 3/4 of this. i used the entire container and i thought they were pretty sticky. still moldable but just sticky. refer to paragraph above on messy hands and fingies.

roll into balls. i made mine about 2 inches. bakerella did a little smaller.

stick in freezer for about 15 mins. i left mine in longer.

 now is where you really want to look at the pics at bakerella's site. i had a bit difficulty trying to form the cupcake part....you have to use a small flower cookie cutter.....i think partly because mine were SO moist...but its hard to get the hang of this at first. (i am brutally honest....or maybe just slightly SLOW to learn things new).....

you can make 1/2 and keep the other 1/2 in freezer while doing this. they get warm quickly and more difficult to handle. then dip in chocolate (milk first), then turn upside down and insert stick.....then dip in the white. i did pink with sprinkles. i did not have the styrafoam container so i stuck them into a basket.....not really a good idea, as a couple fell. damn it.

but here lovies is the result. i have to say not too shabby for first time. my friends at work RAVED about them, which is always good for a girls esteem!

i love love love the way they look and they are just fun! thank you bakerella! you. are. my. idol.

and can i just say i also love the pink polka dot ribbon. i am a sucker for anything pink. so girly, frilly, ahhhhh....love it!

soooo what is everyone doing for fun this weekend? we have no major plans. i have a date with my bed and dateline......love that show. i always seem to fall asleep during the last 15 mins. always. i do not think i have ever seen the ending. loser.

big hugs......let me know what ya'll think of the popsiedoodles!

xoxo

happy chocolate covered strawberry sunday!

hi blog land! happy sunday. i am getting soooo excited. the celebrity apprentice starts tonight. we 'heart' that show. seriously. we normally HATE love sundays....but only when its apprentice time. we look forward to eating a yummy comfort food meal and then relaxing while we watch the craziness of these celebrities! too fun! i personally have grown to love bret michaels, after watching rock of love....(um, dont judge!)....but seriously, i think he seems to have a really caring heart....but he is on celebrity, as well as cyndi lauper, sharon osborne and quite a few well knowns!

this weekend was rather low key. i didnt do much of anything besides, laundry. we did do some shopping today and i signed up for a cake and cupcake class at williams sonoma, next sunday. they offer FREE classes every sunday and since i am a HUGE cupcake lover, i thought this is the perfect opporunity to learn some new home made recipes.......later this week, i am going to make some chocolate cookie dough cuppies, so i will share that.....

tonight, however we, meaning JP and the hailmeister (my youngest princess).....made chocolate covered strawberries. divine. scrumptious. sinful. yes, my friends, i, could EAT the whole plate of them myself....but seeing how i already had a 5 guys burger and fries for lunch, i refrained.

heres a pic of deliciousness themselves:

the pic is somewhat blurry....i really need to use my camera instead of my phone, but i am always in a hurry and its easier to click from the phone and send from there, rather then take the pic and then have to upload....blah. (in case ya havent realized....i am all about EASY. like, super easy.)

so in case anyone is interested in recreating these chocolate covered delights, here's how. (i am quite sure most of you know how to do this, but in the rare case some of you do not....well, here ya go

chocolate covered strawberries

1 package strawberries, washed and DRIED. (muy important step!)
8-10 ounces MILK chocolate (i cheated and actually just bought a bag of milk chocolate at the grocery store today. however, any candy, cake or cookie supply store sells the discs.

melt chocolate in microwave safe glass bowl for 45 seconds. stop and stir. heat for approxmately 20 more seconds. (chocolate is very touchy. its like a moody girl pms'ing. you have to make sure you time it just right or it will become a yucky, sticky, dry, MESS. so, play with the microwave. you would rather under heat then over. some people recommend melting chocolate on 50% power. the biggest step is just watching and stirring. the chips will appear not melted but as you stir, and the more you stir, you will find the desired consistency.

dip strawberries in chocolate, holding by stems. place on parchment paper and allow to dry. when giving as gifts you can then drizzle swirls of melted white chocolate, or other colors on top for a 'designer' effect!

enjoy~and i am quite sure, you will find that you can not eat just ONE of these little treats.

the other delight we had for dinner tonight were turkey nachos. very easy, and low fat. the best part. (trying to offset the fattening dessert....lol....

but here is a pic and an easy recipe. these are sooo yummy and you can basically make with anything you have on hand.

turkey nachos

one pound lean ground turkey
one package taco seasoning
garlic powder
salt
diced red onion, jalapenos, tomatoes, cilantro, red/green peppers
low fat sour cream and salsa for dipping purposes!
3/4 bag reduced fat shredded cheddar
tortilla chips

preheat oven to 400'. heat 1 tbsp olive oil in  pan and add ground turkey. brown meat. follow directions on taco seasoning and add to turkey. cook until liquid evaporates.

spray cookie sheet with pam. sprinkle tortilla chips in single layer on pan. add meat and diced toppings. sprinkle with cheese, garlic powder and salt.

bake for approximately 10 mins or until cheese melts.

these are the perfect 'meal' and not overly filling. serve with sour cream and spicy salsa! delish!

soooo thats the end of my weekend.....bloggies. i am super pumped to be back in the office tomorrow! lol. pause pause. NOT. i am going to try to blog twice this week. note word: "TRY".....and i am super excited....i received my FIRST cookie order. 9 dozen baby shower cookies. i will be starting those this week also....pictures coming.

enjoy the rest of YOUR sunday/weekend,

love and hugs,


terri