Fudgy S'More Bars

If you like s'mores, you'll like this treat bar. This is the September recipe from my calendar.

Fudgy S'More Bars

Crust:
1 c graham cracker crumbs
1/2 c flour
3/4 c packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 c butter, softened

Topping:
4 c miniature marshmallows
3/4 c candy-coated chocolate pieces
1/4 c hot fudge topping, heated

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13x9-inch pan with shortening or cooking spray. In large bowl, beat crust ingredients with electric mixer on low speed until coarse crumbs form, scraping bowl occasionally. Press mixture evenly in bottom of pan.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle marshmallows evenly over crust; bake 1-2 minutes longer or until marshmallows begin to puff.

Sprinkle chocolate pieces evenly over marshmallows; drizzle warm topping over top. Cool Completely, about 1 hour. Cut into squares.

This is fast to make if you want to have a quick treat for your kids. You can even have your kids help out, it's simple enough. I recommend eating it the same day you make it. It's okay on the second and third day, but the puffyness of the marshmallows goes down. The crust is very sweet with the brown sugar, so you may possibly reduce the amount of sugar used. To drizzle the hot fudge, I spooned the amount needed into a plastic bag to get an even drizzle over the top.

Lewiston, ID

Mike and I went on a road trip to Lewiston, ID. The purpose of the trip was to see Dennis DeYoung from the Styx and Rick Springfield in concert. Both were good concerts. However, I don't care for the drinking, smoking and rudeness of some of the drunken people. Minus that, it was a good concert with good music.

The Saturday we were there, we went to Hells Gate State Park and found a hike to go on.

A long time ago (hundreds of thousands of years) lava crept up to the earths surface and made some unique basalt rock formations. I saw a picture similar to the one below on a brochure and asked a ranger how to get to the place. The ranger pulled out an "unofficial" map of the hiking trails and showed us which direction to go. He said to stay along the Snake River and the path may be a little weedy. That didn't seem to be a problem for us.


The hike was nice and peaceful till we got to the trail where we started seeing the cliff side as you can see below. It felt like the rocks could fall any moment. We tried to convince ourselves that any rocks that had fallen along the trail were from a long time ago. However, you could clearly see that the rocks were freshly broken off. I started to get creeped out. I felt like any sudden movement or loud noise could start a rock slide.


We slowly made our way through this area and found the weedy path that the ranger was talking about. After making it through one section, Mike and I noticed that there were spider webs on either side of us with huge spiders. Some of the webs had caught their prey and others had spiders patiently waiting. That creepy feeling was getting worse and made us feel like we were in a scene that belonged in Indiana Jones.

I finally started to see our destination. The basalt rock formations I saw from the brochure.


It was beautiful! I'd never seen anything like it before and was well worth the creepyness. After we took pictures, Mike took a couple more steps down the trail and almost stepped on a rattle snake. Coiling and rattling, Mike stepped back as the snake decided to retreat off the trail and into the thicker part of the brush. That was our sign for us to leave as well.


We safely made it back to the clear trail along the river. I pulled out my map that the ranger gave us and found that the trail we had been on was a closed and no longer used trail. Hmm...do you think the ranger should have told us? Well, at least we were provided with an excellent adventure. To end it, we had one last snake slither away from us.

August 21, 2010

Doritos?! Mike and I went up for a picnic in American Fork canyon. While eating our lunch I ate my bag of Doritos and found a blue pouch inside. Shocked to find something in my bag, I realized what was happening. Mike proposed! And...of course, I said yes!

Shirts and BYU

Mike is a huge BYU football fan! I'm a fan of them also, but a little more calm (sometimes). We went to BYU campus to get ourselves matching shirts to wear when we watch the game. CUTE!

As of today BYU is 1-2...not good. We hope that they will get their game together. They have some good plays and moments, but need to be consistent. I think they'll be able to pull it off as long as they keep working together.

Still Together

It's the beginning of August and Mike and I are still together. Things have been going well for us and we are happy being with each other.

Sarah hosted a Midland Reunion at her place. We had a nice bar-b-que, which was yummy. It was fun to see all the my friends from back home in Texas. Yeehaw!!!

Ice-cream Cookie Sandwich

July was a perfect month for this cool treat!

Ice-cream Cookie Sandwich

1 pkg uncooked cookie dough
Ice cream, any flavor
Mini chocolate chips or sprinkles

Bake cookies per instructions. Let cool completely. Scoop ice cream between two cookies. Roll edge in mini chocolate chips or sprinkles. Serve or wrap up and freeze.

I had intentionally intended to bake my own homemade cookies, but decided against it when the time came for making the treat. I think that using the packaged cookie dough worked best for this recipe because my cookie recipe comes out puffy and soft. These cookies came out a little more flat and crispy. The crispy is important because you don't want your cookie to get soggy from the ice cream. I made vanilla and strawberry ice cream cookies.

Wendy's Visit

Not only did I get a visit from my friend Julie, but I also got a visit from my sister Wendy. It was so fun to have her here for almost 2 weeks. I'm so happy David let her come while he took care of the 5 kids!

We did a lot of hanging out and eating. I also introduced Wendy to my favorite TV show, Psych. While I was at work, Wendy would visit her old roommates and mission companions. Wendy also spend time with Rynell and her kids.

One day we went to spend a morning at Temple Square.



It was neat to see all the changes that have been made. We took a tour of the new conference center. I've been in there a couple of times for some meetings, so it was nice to see some of the other things they had in the building. The grounds are very nice and peaceful.



I love my sister and am thankful for all the times we get to spend with each other.

Julie's Visit

At the end of July I had a surprise visit from one of my amazing friends, Julie. I've been able to visit her a couple of times in England and now I had the chance to have her at my place and spend a fun day together.

We had a lazy morning and laid out at the pool. Then we ate at Cafe Rio for lunch before heading to BYU campus to reminisce about the good old college days. There were lots of great memories!

Finally we went to Bridal Veil falls to enjoy the beautiful weather. We came back to my place afterward and I introduced Julie to my favorite TV show, Psych. Mike came by so I could introduce Julie to him and by the time we finished visiting, it was time to take Julie to her next destination and we said our goodbyes.

I hope to be in England again someday. It's always fun to be with Julie!

Mike

I started dating Mike earlier this year. He's very thoughtful. When I came home from my European cruise there was a bag at my door. In the bag was orange juice and cinnamon rolls with a note saying:

I thought the pantry might be a bit bare, so I though you could use some breakfast. :)
~Mike

How could I not love a guy as thoughtful as that?!

Hazelnut Cake

I am now trying to catch up on all the desserts I have made since my European cruise. This is a hazelnut cake. The cake is rich and dense, has a great flavor and the chocolate compliments this nut very well.

I served this cake at one of my book groups and it was loved by all.

Hazelnut Cake

Cake:
1/2 c butter
2 pkgs (2 1/2 oz each) hazelnuts (filberts)
3 eggs
1 1/2 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 c flour
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Glaze:
1/2 c whipping cream
1 c semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 tsp vanilla

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease bottom only of 10-inch spring form pan with shortening or cooking spray. In 1-quart saucepan, melt butter over low heat; set aside to cool.

Reserve 8 whole nuts for garnish. In food processor or blender, process remaining nuts until ground, making about 1/3 cups. Reserve 1 Tbsp for garnish.

In large bowl, beat eggs, sugar and 1 tsp vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed 2 to 3 minutes or until thick and lemon colored, scraping bowl occasionally. On low speed, beat in flour, baking powder, salt and ground nuts, scraping bowl occasionally. Continue beating, gradually adding cooled, melted butter until well blended, scraping bowl occasionally (mixture will be thick). Spread batter evenly in pan.

Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Remove side of pan; run long knife under cake to loosen from pan bottom. Place heatproof serving plate upside down over cake; turn plate and cake over. Remove pan bottom. Cover cake with cloth towel; cool completely, about 30 minutes.

In 2-quart saucepan, heat whipping cream just to boiling; remove from heat. Stir in chocolate chips until melted and smooth. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Spread glaze over top of cake, allowing some to run down side of cake. Sprinkle reserved ground nuts around top edge of cake; arrange reserved whole nuts over ground nuts.

I couldn't find whole hazelnuts, so I used a bag of nuts already chopped. I reserved the 1 tablespoon of chopped nuts for the garnish before blending the remaining amount. I blended the nuts till they were almost a peanut butter consistency. It wasn't as hard as I imagined getting it to that consistency and it was good to work with.

Europe Cruise - 1

I finally put the rest of my Europe Cruise pictures on a slide show. I spent an amazing 2 1/2 weeks in Europe with great friends. I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Europe Cruise - 2

Europe Cruise - 3

Europe Cruise - Food

There was so much food to enjoy! Here are pictures of a majority of what we ate. The salame panini in Milan was probably my favorite of all. I also had a pistachio macaroon in Paris (didn't like the picture) and the chocolates in Belgium were amazing (picture will be in other slide show). It's sad to be home and figure out my own menu again. LOL!!!

Snowflake Quilt

Here is the first block to my new quilt...Snowflakes.

Basket Weave Quilt

This queen sized basket weave quilt was made for Wendy and David for their Christmas present of 2009. I completed the piecing at the end of March and the machine quilting was completed in the middle of May. The quilt is finished and was mailed this week. I think this the the fastest I have completed a queen size quilt.

Below is detail of the Aztecish design that was quilted.

Contradiction

"I am a contradictory mess but I see it as my prerogative to change my mood like the weather."

Shirley Manson

Pastelitos

Mom came to visit me last week and while she was here she helped me make these pastelitos.

Chocolate-Pecan Pie

I have made a pecan pie once before and forgot how easy it was to make. So when it came to making this Chocolate-Pecan Pie it was super easy. The recipe comes from my calendar. Of course, everyone enjoyed the pie at work and at book club when I made it for them as well.

Chocolate-Pecan Pie

Pie Crust (home made or store bought)

Filling:
1 c light corn syrup
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1 c semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 c pecan halves

Topping:
10 pecan halves
1/2 c whipping cream, whipped

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Make pie crust for 9-inch pie dish.

In large bowl, beat corn syrup, sugar, butter, vanilla and eggs with wire whisk until well blended. Reserve 2 tablespoons chocolate chips for topping; stir in remaining chocolate chips and 1/2 cups pecans into corn syrup mixture. Pour into pastry-lined pie plate, spreading evenly. cover edge with 2-to 3-inch-wide stripes of foil to prevent excessive browning; remove foil during last 15 minutes of baking.

Bake 55 to 65 minutes or until deep golden brown and filling is set. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, line cookie sheet with wax paper. In small microwaveable bowl, melt 2 tablespoons chocolate chips on medium 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or until melted; stir. Dip each of 10 pecan halves in chocolate; place on cookie sheet. Refrigerate until chocolate is set; 15 to minutes, before serving.

Just before serving, top pie with whipped cream and chocolate-dipped pecans. Store in refrigerator.

I've made this pie twice, once it was served after being chilled and the other when it was cooled with the recommended amount of time. I prefer eating the pie when it is chilled. I like the chocolate chips when they have solidified again.

BYU Ballroom Dance Concert

I almost forgot to post about the BYU Ballroom Dance Concert. I went on Friday, April 9th, with my friend Kelly the day before I left for the cruise.

It was the dance company's 50th year anniversary. To open the show up, they had alumni dance a swing medley. It was fun to see the huge group of people out there dancing. The rest of the performance was really neat. Last year they retired one of their choreographed routines and there were a few new ones this year.

I also ran into a friend that I had a couple of dance classes with back in my BYU days. I remember him because we were in a mock competition for the waltz and got third place. I had lots of good memories from my dance classes.

Orange Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce

I served this cheesecake at book group this week. It's a great combination of the tangy orange, tart raspberries and sweet chocolate. This is the month of April recipe from my calendar.

Orange Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce

Crust:
1 pkg (9 oz) chocolate wafer cookies, crushed
6 Tbs butter, melted

Filling:
4 pkgs (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 1/3 c sugar
4 eggs
2 Tbs orange-flavored liqueur or orange juice
1 tsp grated orange peel

Sauce:
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen raspberries in syrup, thawed
3 Tbs sugar
1 tsp cornstarch

Heat oven to 325 degrees. In medium bowl, mix crust ingredients; press in bottom and 2 inches up side of ungreased 9-inch spring form pan.

In large bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Gradually beat in 1 1/3 cups sugar until smooth, scraping bowl occasionally. On low speed, beat in eggs, one at a time, just until blended. Add liqueur and orange peel; beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour filling into crust.

Bake 55 to 65 minutes or until almost set. Cool completely, about 3 hours 30 minutes. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight before serving.

In food processor or blender, process raspberries with syrup until smooth. If desired, strain to remove seeds. In 1-quart saucepan, mix 3 tablespoons sugar and the cornstarch. Stir in raspberry puree. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and thickens. Cool to room temperature.

Carefully remove side of pan; leave cheesecake on pan bottom. Serve cheesecake with sauce. Store in refrigerator.

Cabo San Lucas Cruise

Here are Donna, Andrea and I with some friends enjoying our time on the Cabo San Lucas cruise. We had a fun time!

Sights of Cabo

Below are some of the pictures of the beautiful sites we were able to see.

Cabo Cruise Food

Here's a look at at some of the tasty food we got to eat on our Cabo San Lucas Cruise.

Happy Easter

I remember Mom making this bread when we were little and have wanted to make for a while. Usually she would put more eggs so each of us kids could have a slice with a hard boiled egg. It is called rosca de pascua and made at Easter time.

Living Legends

This years Living Legends performance was great! I love seeing all the different cultures of dance that are represented by the troupe. There's so much energy on the stage it makes me feel more alive that what normally feel. That's a good thing! :-)

The story is the same...Seasons...but this year I could tell a few of the dances were choreographed differently with some new music as well. Amazing! I was happy to see an Argentine dance with gauchos. Heehee! Mom would have loved it.

I had two cousins (second cousins) in the troupe this year, Michelle and Adriana. They are pictured above in their costumes. Very pretty! I also saw my cousin Ingrid, and her daughters McKenna, Mariah, (John and Loren only saw them on stage), my cousin Kerry (who I haven't seen in years) and met her youngest daughter Gabby. It was a small family reunion. It was a happy evening!