tuesday eats.....brookies

holy moly......the best two worlds smashed together in one bar. chewy chocolate fudgey brownies and chocolate chip cookies....you will not be disappointed. bake up a batch and grap a glass of milk and the family as it will be hard to stop yourself from eating the whole pan.

julianne from beyond frosting made a version of these that adds Girl Scout thin mint cookies.

Serving Size: 20 bars

Ingredients

1 Sleeve Thin Mints

1 Box brownie mix

1 Large egg

1/3 C Vegetable oil

1/4 C Milk

For the cookie

1/2 C (1 stick) Unsalted butter

1/2 C Light brown sugar

1/2 C Sugar

1 Large egg

2 tsp Pure vanilla extract

1 3/4 C All-purpose flour

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Baking soda

2/3 C chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Empty one sleeve of thin mints into a Ziploc bag. Crush cookies into smaller pieces using a rolling pin or wooden spoon. Set aside.
3. In a medium sized bowl, combine brownie mix, egg, vegetable oil and milk. Beat until thoroughly mixed.
4. Line a 9x13” pan with parchment paper or a baking mat. Pour brownie mixture over the baking mat and spread evenly. Empty crushed cookies onto the top of the brownie mixture and spread evenly.
For the cookie
5. Soften butter in the microwave 10-15 seconds. Combine butter with both light brown sugar and granulated sugar. Mix until smooth and mixture becomes fluffy.
6. Add egg and vanilla extract and beat until egg is thoroughly incorporated.
7. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt and baking soda. Slowly add flour mixture to dough batter while mixing at a low speed. Once all the flour has been added, increase speed to medium until dough forms. Add mint chocolate chips last and fold into cookie dough.
8. Take the cookie dough and drop chunks onto the top of the brownie mixture, gently pressing them down into brownie batter.
9. Bake for 23-25 minutes at 350°F. Remove from oven and allow to cool before cutting. Since I used a baking mat, I was able to completely remove the sheet of brookies from the pan before cutting.

v day blast

this kid will drive someone crazy someday.....i mean someone else:) he'll forever be my valentine.

he worked hard creating these cute valentines for his classmates. they were not to include candy or food so we came up with a new plan. autumn helped us out with a free printable....so we cut, punched, and added names and straws....tada all done.

at the same time, a was working on making some marbled beads to create a key chain her her teacher.

all of our time was definitely not spent inside. we have had some gorgeous days to play in the snow. usually in wisconsin we get 2 or 3 actual days where the weather is just so that the snow will pack and you can make a snowman. this is a's second of the year....somehow neither of them are actually in our own yard. i will be wishing for more super nice days so that we can at least make one more.

h did help a little...especially with keeping coulter, the big german short-hair pointer puppy who weighs at least 80, busy. we lost a few arms before h showed up and the hat and mittens surely would have been next!

h's main priority was taking laps around the farm. uncle brought out the kitty cat and h and k took turns looping around.

danyelle also helped us with creating these sweet treats to spread the love in zach's office with this free printable.

 a and h also got surprises of their own. i picked up a few surprises and hid them around the kids' rooms with the help of the dating divas and these printables.

 there you have it....a little love and cheer shared with our family and friends. we are anxiously awaiting little one's arrival.....23 more days until the expected due date. whew. i am definitely at the "i hate pants" stage but...it is winter and this is wisconsin...ummmm....i would freeze and cold is not my thing. so, grow baby grow and i will keep contemplating the page long list of names for boys and girls. just the right name is bound to make itself known.

share the love

woot woot! we made it through the week. 2 official stay at home days with all the snow that came our way. we had some stir crazy kids around here that were super excited to spend time with friends and not have to go to school.

with january flying by, i am surprised that i even took down the tree and put everything away. and...here's februray....already! we are on official countdown to valentine's day and then to the arrival of bebe landon.

a and h along with some neighbor friends created yarn hearts to decorate our window. just a pile of glue and a pile of yarn. a little bit of a sticky project for sure.

h picked out dark chocolate hearts and made peanut butter cookies which he shared with friends down the street. he personally delivered them in handmade valentine bags he created.

a is all set with her valentine box and cards to hand out to her classmates. i loved the airhead idea and printables from the crafty sparrow.

we also made these little sweetie pies! it was easy enough to use store bought pie dough, cookie cut hearts and fill with homemade strawberry jam. we pressed 2 halves together and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.

seems like just enough projects to warm them up, dry their clothes and send them back out into the winter wild.

tuesday eats.....samoas brownies

i have not posted on here in soooo long. believe me when i say it is not because my world has halted. i feel as if i am in constant full steam ahead mode. any mom probably feels this way some of the time or perhaps sometimes more than not. our world has also changed a lot since the october before last. and there are lots of things to still figure out.

but, today i want to give you something sweet to think about and try.

somehow, a certain someone, keeps sneaking boxes of girl scout cookies into the house! i know, kind of hard to handle right?!?! i have become much more of a do everything from scratch kind of person. so i went looking for a recipe to use up some of these infamous cookies (and save myself from just downing box after box).

cookies + brownies ...... so easy from scratch or just buy a brownie mix at the store and totally change the add in however you would like. sweet anna has lot so f suggestions on her site. i changed her original recipe a little bit.

i hope you will give them a try and let me know what your favorite add ins for brownies are.

toasted coconut samoas brownies

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup dutch-processed unsweetened dark cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2/3 cup butter, melted divided (1/3 cup + 1/3 cup)
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar (or organic coconut palm sugar)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 box Samoas Girl Scout Cookies, coarsely chopped

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350ºF, and butter a 9x13" glass baking dish.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the cocoa and baking soda. Stir in 1/3 cup of the melted butter until smooth. Stir in the boiling water until the mixture is smooth and thick. Stir in the sugar and eggs with the remaining 1/3 cup melted butter.

Into the chocolate mixture, stir in the flour and vanilla until just smooth. Stir in the chopped cookies and spread the mixture into your prepared baking dish.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the edges start to pull away from the pan. (Always better to under-bake than to over-bake brownies!!) Cool completely in the pan.

*If you'd like, melt 1 cup of chocolate chips in the microwave and then drizzle on top of the cooled brownies for decoration. Not necessary at all, but it sure looks pretty!

tuesday eats....for the love of orange

i am obsessed with pumpkins and squash once the cool weather starts to settle in. we have lots of frost advisories and chilly winds to keep me dreaming about cozy nights with a soft blanket and warm toasty fire and a little something sweet to munch on.

i love this recipe because i do not have to worry about having a pie crust in the freezer....still have not mastered rolling one of those out! i usually end up just patting it into the plate. this sweet also has a little bit of crunch on the top with the added pecans.

go ahead and try it. i would love to know what else you like to use pumpkin for.

pumpkin pie squares

crust:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter

filling:
2 cups of pumpkin puree
11 oz. evaporated milk
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves

topping:
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 T. butter

1. mix ingredients for the crust until crumbly. press into a 13x9 ungreased pan and bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

2. combine filling ingredients and mix well. pour unto hot crust and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

3. combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over pumpkin filling. return to the oven and bake 15-20 minutes or until filling is set (may be a little jiggly).

miti thursday....make it, try it.....diy pencil pouch

our daughter is officially a kindergartener! so hard to believe. before i was actually ready to have kids, i used to think 'now is not the time, i am not ready to be the mom of a kindergartener.' i knew the years would go by so quickly and guess what..... i am still not ready.

 

 

a worked so hard on her little 'a'. she has so much to be proud of....as do i.

2 days into kindergarten and this girl has mastered the monkey bars and mentioned that her pencil pouch no longer zips. that stinks. so, i thought that i could do a better job creating one with fabric i already had and well.....it only took 2 tries!!! the first one turned out perfect. she would have been set except for the fact that it was small...too small for the many things she needs to tote with her between classrooms. so, brother gets a little one and i went back to sewing and a got this one.

i love it!! especially the inside. the fabric is so right for a little school girl.

if you want to try making your own, i loosely followed the pictures on this site. come on! you can do it.

tuesday eats..chocolate chip lava cookies

it is a whirlwind around here but there is always time to try a new treat. these cookies are so good and so rich. i dare you to try them!

 

the photo and recipe are from kevin and amanda. she walks you through the entire process. i think i actually loved them a little more the next day just eaten from the counter. i also think that the next time i will try baking them in a mini muffin tin. i may just be able to control myself a little more then. but, then again, i am also thinking maybe chocolate chocolate chip cookie dough and peanut butter..ummm!

early june

everything about june seems like a complete blur. we started the summer by picking strawberries or what few there were after the warm spring followed by cold.

we then booked it on up to the farm for the dairy breakfast. it was a long line and a hot day but well worth it.

i am totally jealous of how close these kids are.

lots and lots of hot boiling days has meant lots of time spent at the beach. h loves to go out until just his tippy toes barely keep him above the water while he bounces. and, a loves to swim more than the fishes.

we then travelled home for a family fun night with the coolest face and arm painters! and, a few karate moves! watch out.

and, that was not even half of june!! can you tell why it is taking me so long to post?

too hard to believe

welcome to summer!

a long time ago, my daughter stepped off the bus for the last time as a 4ker. she is now an official kindergartner!!

we all worked hard (to not eat the m&ms and dough:)) and made all the kids monster cookies and topped them with a's favortie characters.



then h and i sent a off on the bus in the morning and continued all our hard work to make up a few of these water balloons!!

he totally looks like he doesn't have anything up his sleeves. ha! just come a little closer.

it was a great way to welcome in summer and surprise the girl as she got off the bus.

dino hoodie diy

this is so easy peasy but creates such smiles. h loves to wear his spikey jacket.





my mom had gotten h a thrifted hoodie and a has a friend whose gramma knit him a dinosaur hoodie sweater with spikes. i am definitely not that talented with hooks and needles and yarn and i wanted to use something we are already had.

we took some felt and folded it and drew triangles on the fold and cut out. if you unfolded it, it would look like a diamond. once you get enough of these line them up down the center of the hood and jacket and stitch them on with a straight line down the middle of the diamonds stopping halfway to make a little stitch crosswise. just lift your presser foot and turn. do a 2-3 stitches forwards and backwards (this will help it stand up like a spike). once they are all stitched on go back and stitch the triangles together. the beauty of felt is that the edges will not fray and you do not have to worry about finishing them.

mr. h-a-saurus or huds-o-rex is ready to roll and stomp through the neighborhood. ...... bringing terror wherever he goes.

try giving your dino an official name. in the words of amelia bedilia "if your last name is Saurus, you must be a dinosaur."

now, i am off to figure out how to stitch a unicorn hoodie. i am thinking more felt and some yarn....

1 thing i {{heart}} sunday

it's teacher appreciation week!! woot woot! there are some pretty fine teachers in my little girl's life and we baked up some homemade goodies for them and packaged with a sweet little note which you can easily create yourself or download here.

we made our cookie sleeves out of patterned paper but, i think this would be so cute in a cellophane bag with the labels printed on sticker paper and used to seal the sleeve.

wishing

image from http://blog.zerodean.com/2012/motivational-images/dont-wish-away-your-days/

we have been in full throttle mode. there never seems to be time to slow down as there is nothing i want to miss out on. i almost think that this feeling is 10x worse for a kid. we have been busy visiting the farm, riding bikes, having playdates, visiting the other gramma and grampa, getting used to daddy's new schedule, playing tractors, riding in tractors...... there is so much that i wish for. most importantly happiness and contentedness. i need to know that my kids are happy, paul and i are happy, and that what we do and are doing will only add to that.

all are now sporting new superhero capes. i found a tutorial from Lara here. i tweaked it a little to make them wider at the top and bottom. their superpowers have not totally gone to their heads! not totally!

there are plenty of big wheels to ride in and to spy from.

that sneaky bunny seemed to pop up lots of places and was able to find us even though we were not home. he even left us surprises at the nursing home with great gramma. a won the second prize and now has a new pink bunny.

just wishing and playing and loving. need i say more.