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.

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).

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!

v day love and cookies

this year a and i decided to stitch a little love into each valentine. we added denium hearts to colorful paper....some for the boys and some for the girls.

a worked very hard on the lettering. somehow she has already gotten to the stage of embellishing her handwriting with little circles on the ends of her letters.

 

the next day we added candy cane hearts and heart bracelets to the cards.



of course, we also had to have some sweets to enjoy ourselves so, we made some peanut butter cookies with dove dark chocolate hearts in the middle.

 it is best to taste them when they are all chewy and melty.

this little guy has a thing for just the chocolate hearts! i {heart} my babes!

peanut butter cookies

1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
About 1/3 cup sugar for rolling
1 package Dove dark chocolate hearts
Cream butter, peanut butter, and sugars. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients. Roll dough into 1" balls and roll in sugar if desired. Place on lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for about 9 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press a chocolate into the center. Let sit for about 3 minutes, then carefully remove to cooling racks to cool.

black and blue but, pure genius

 it took some convincing but, ava finally agreed to just getting ice cream and cones at the store instead of stopping at culver's for ice cream that would not even make it home at least without being half-eaten, dripped and spilled in the car.

 then we were lucky enough to find black raspberries in the woods. tons of them with tons of thorns. check out the black and blue fingers can you tell they like to dig in and not really pick!

 and, double score. ava is a genius. she wanted a pie crust. i was busy making dinner so i suggested a graham cracker. she smooshed berries over one side and we added a roasted marshmallow and wah lah! balck raspberry smores. sooo good!!!

 the next morning, i found these two still in bed reading scooby, upside down....at first ava was confused about daphne being upside down:). so cute. so sweet. 5 minutes later.....

brotherly and sisterly love commenced with a brawl over baby. you wouldn't think that we had at least 10 or so in the house:)

ready, set, dig

finally!! we got the chance to dig in the garden. whew! dirt on our shoes, dirt in our shoes, dirt in our fingernails, dirt on our hands.... we did good and hopefully all that fresh air and sunshine will grant us a good night's rest.

 this little man is never without a tool.

 in go the sunflower seeds. we can't wait until they tower over us.

of course, we planted the usuals and some new finds that ava found at the garden center....sunflowers, cucumbers, peppers, pumpkins, watermelon, cantaloupe, heirloom tomatoes, squash, rosemary, fairy tale eggplant, parsley, beans.....yummy, i can't wait.


next time you head to the library, check out this book. grow it, cook it. simple gardening projects and delicious recipes. i have been hogging it for quite some time and i promise to return it soon!! and, check out this. how cool would that be!

what do you like to plant?

10 things i ((love)) sunday

gimme some sugar, baby!

it is soon to be easter!! gotta love reese's peanut butter eggs and rainbow jelly beans and the little gum that comes in a tiny egg carton.....do you remember those? here are some of my favorite easter basket finds mostly of the noncandy type because, well, that would be too easy to pick favorites or too hard to narrow down the choices.

1. things in stuff catapult how much fun would you have in your yard with this?
2. imagination kids bunny family
3. ahmelie vintage sweetness handbag clutch
4. bit of whimsy prims doll dress pattern clothes for the kids?? not so cool to the littles always but for baby. cool.
5. mahalo wolf mask we are all about pretend play here
6. while searching for a picture of reese's, i came accross this recipe...reese's peanut butter bars. yum! go check out designs by gollum's blog.
7. stay awake princess and her knight finger puppets
8. lilian eve designs sweet nella hair bow
9. those great house women i spy stegosaurus bag quiet way to keep busy
10. dreamspun kids extra large playsilks

books also top my list of things to add to the basket and silly putty or playdough. what kind of ideas do you have?

and, don't forget to add a few of these!!! i am bound to find a few hidden by the rabbit.

3.14 day

a little late on this post and a little out of season but, well there was some pie baking and eating to be done. no math in this house. and no worries. pie fixes everything. so have yourself a slice.

this is a favorite recipe and healthy:)....it contains pumpkins and nuts!! and sugar and goodness!

Mommy's Pumpkin Cheesecake Praline Pie

this recipe comes from Linda Hundt, owner of Sweetie-licious Bakery Cafe in DeWitt, Michigan. I clipped it from a newspaper article.

1 9-inch deep-dish pie crust, frozen

Praline Pecans
3/4 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar


Filling
1 (8-ounce) package cream chheese, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 1/4 cups canned pure pumpkin
1 cup half-and-half
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange rind
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Grated nutmeg

To prepare pecans: place pecans, butter and brown sugar in a nonstick skillet. Cook over medium heat until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and scrape onto aluminum foil to cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To prepare filling: combine cream cheese, 1/3 cup sugar and vanilla, mixing until well blended. Blend in 1 egg. Pour into pastry crust. Combine pumpkin, half-and-half, all-purpose flour, remaining sugar, 2 slightly beaten eggs, pumpkin pie spice, cloves, orange rind, salt and cinnamon. Carefully pour pumpkin mixture into a spiral pattern over cream cheese mixture. (Pumpkin mixture will sink to the bottom.)

Bake 1 hour or until almost set in middle. Let cool. Sprinkle Praline Pecans over top of pie. Dust with grated nutmeg.
Serves 8.

happy pie day. what is your favorite pie to bake and eat?

one mom's world...meet lisa siebert

my name is lisa marie siebert. i will be 45 this may. i am married for 22 years to a very supportive husband {paul} that is also a creative...this helps me move forward in my business!

we have 3 children born in 3 different states.
morgan is 20 in august...born in chicago, ill...goes to xavier university in cincinnati ohio.
erica is 17 in april...born in grand rapids, mi...is a junior at catholic central high school.
troy is 14 in april...born in san francisco, ca...will be in high school next year...yikes!

we live in a 100+ year old cape cod style home 2 blocks from reeds lake in east grand rapids, michigan...we located here for the walking community...restaurants, shops, library, yacht club + walking trails around the lake yet we are less than 10 minutes from downtown grand rapids.

grand rapids is a perfect city to raise a family...we also have a cottage on beaver island...makes for the perfect summer! i love shopping at small one-of-a-kind retailers local to my area. if i shop at a big name store it is j crew, urban outfitters, anthropology and i love t shirts from american apparel!

i am happily beyond where i thought i would be...i always figured i would work for someone else ‘when i grew up’! i have been a stay-at-home-mom since the birth of morgan doing ‘hobbies’

on the side along the way...my latest, repurposed fiber arts, loop loft started in 2008 + grew into a business in 2009...perfect timing because before i know it paul + i will be feathering an ‘empty nest’

i am blessed with a medium sized home...4 tiny bedrooms + 2 full baths...but the best part is that i am able to have my very own super awesome studio space above our detached garage...i can be in the middle of a huge order, leave the mess, shut the door and walk 30 feet to my clean {usually}home!

our catholic elementary school had the best art teacher, until she retired last year...she did the most amazing projects with the kids...she had specific projects for each grade so i have wonderful ceramic doves from each of my kids from the 5 grade that i affixed into shadow box frames from target.

when we lived in california almost 10 years ago i turned our garage into a play/art room for the kids. i draped yards + yards of bright pink cotton fabric on the walls, put down sisal area rugs, added a giant chalk board, easel, and lots of pretend and dress up boxes...i also carved out a tiny niche for myself so that we could all hang out together doing our thing...it was the best time ever! the side door to the garage entered our enclosed yard and you could enter the kitchen from the yard...they could get a snack + ride a cozy coupe + paint all in one contained area. we needed that because our family of 4 + a newborn baby lived in a 900 sq ft home at the time! our bedroom was so small that when i needed to add the crib it would not fit so we came up with the idea of buying a really nice radio flyer wagon with the wooden sides, had a custom mattress made and i made custom bumpers and bedding and viola...troy's first bed :)

i LOVE reading blogs...especially party related blogs more than fashion or home blogs. i LOVE making desserts...i made the ‘cupcakes in a jar’

diy: cupcakes in a jar

for valentines day and i just saw a recipe for ‘cake suckers on a stick’ that i am going to try next...you would think i still have toddlers :) i go all out for birthdays...we dont buy our kids things whenever they want them...we pretty much save the wants for birthdays + christmas. i also decorate and make a cake or fun dessert + we go to their favorite restaurant...i used to do ‘birthday dresses’ or ‘birthday t-shirts’ and crowns..those days are long gone!

LOOP LOFT
repurposed fiber arts with a bit of whimsy

a sampling of the blog roll she follows:)
[ simple song ]
100 layer cake
hip hip hooray
oh happy day
oh joy!
desserts for breakfast
poppytalk
Bright.Bazaar
Wiley Valentine

Loop Loft is part of the PoppyTalk Handmade Market all of March!

links to looploft.....
Poppytalk Handmade
looploft.etsy.com
looploft
Yellow Door Art Market

looploft Facebook

cheesy sunday

i finally let the kids make their own pizzas. there was a lot of cheese eating and a lot of cheese everywhere. sunday is almost always pizza day (and, pancakes for lunch day) and the kids like plain cheese so these little english muffin pizzas were perfect for them. and having 3 cute little bums crowding one little chair is just too sweet. we finished the meal with strawberries and grapefruit slices and apple pie....very much out of season but, i had some frozen slices from the apples in the orchard still in the freezer. so yummy when it is still warm and served with a scoop of ice cream to cool it down. i am thinking of making another out of season pie for PI day.

anyone have plans for these holidays? there is always a reason to clebrate and a reason for cake or pie or ...

March Calendar

Music in our Schools Month

National Craft Month

National Women's History Month

3/1 Peace Corps' 50th Anniversary & National Pancake Day

3/2 Dr. Seuss Day

3/4 March Forth (Do Something Day)

3/6 Read an E-Book Week begins

3/7 National Procrastination Week begins (or maybe next week. . .)

3/8 Mardi Gras and International Women's Day

3/13 Daylight Savings Begins

3/14 Pi Day

3/17 St. Patrick's Day

3/18 Forgive Mom and Dad Day

3/21 American Chocolate Week begins

3/26 Make Up Your Own Holiday Day

3/29 National Mom & Pop Business Owner's Day

color me fancy

or not. a heart filled day all around makes one really look beyond outward appearances and to look throughly at enjoying the randomness that is your life

next year maybe even a little of this...

as seen on pinterest