Rocky Road Brownies

Yummy!!! These are the BEST brownies ever. I was only introduced to these a couple years ago and my family has enjoyed them ever since.  Made from scratch, no box mix and so gooey and moist.
 Try them...you will love them too.

First, mix all the ingredients together.  Yum...it is really good batter.

Pour your mixture into a cake pan 

(love my Pampered Chef Baking Stone, it works perfect for these brownies)

 

After they have baked in the oven and your toothpick comes out clean, pour the marshmallows over and put them back in the oven for just a couple minutes. DON'T LET THEM GET BROWN!

 

All puffed up! :)

Cover with frosting and they are so perfect!

ROCKY ROAD BROWNIES

Brownies:

1/2 Cup Butter

1/2 Cup Margarine

2 Cups Sugar

1/2 Cup Cocoa

4 Eggs

2 tsp Vanilla

1 2/3 Cups Flour

1/2 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Baking Powder

1 bag Mini Marshmallows

Melt the butter and margarine.  Add sugar and cocoa.  Mix in the eggs one at a time and then add the vanilla.  Mix the flour, salt and baking powder together in a seperate bowl and add to the egg mixture.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Immediately cover the brownies with marshmallows and put back in the oven until they are all puffed up.  DO NOT LET THEM GET BROWN!

Frosting:

2 Tbsp Butter

2 Tbsp Water

2 Tbsp Corn Syrup

1 oz Unsweetened Chocolate

1 oz Chocolate Chips

1/2 tsp Vanilla

1 Cup Powdered Sugar

Bring butter, water and corn syrup to a boil.  When bubbling remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate until melted.  Add the vanilla and powdered sugar.  You can add additional powdered sugar if the frosting is too runny.  Spread over the cooled marshmallow brownies.

NO chocolate chips...

anywhere in my house!  What am I supposed to make as a treat for the next couple of days.

Hmmm...thinking...going through the cookbook...thinking!

Aha!  I found Tom Thumb Cookies.  I don't know where the name came from but these are AMAZING cookies (my husband ate half the pan in one sitting) and VERY yummy!

 First make your crust and press it out into pan.  Bake at 325 degrees for 7 minutes.

Next...mix together the rest of the ingredients and spread over your crust.  Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes.

Cut into ooey gooey bars and ENJOY!

Tom Thumb Cookies

Crust:

1 Cup Shortening

1 tsp Salt

1 Cup Brown Sugar

2 Cups Flour

Topping:

2 tsp Vanilla

4 Eggs, beaten

2 Cups Brown Sugar

1 tsp Baking Powder

3 Cups Coconut

Cream the first three ingredients together and blend in the flour.  Press into a cookie sheet.  Bake at 325 degrees for 7 minutes.  Mix together the ingredients for the topping while the crust is baking and then spread over top of the crust.  Bake at 325 degrees for another 20 minutes.

Made By Me

We had some awesome feedback when we had a post a while back about making your own laundry soap.

This has started the wheels turning in our heads and we are totally excited to include in this blog a DIY section.

It is labeled Made By Me and it is just a click away (see above).

We have been brainstorming on some things that we can DIY - and I am super excited to post them.

Some of our ideas that are in process:

Made By Me - Dishwasher Soap

Made By Me - Swiffer Pads

We have to test them out and make them ourselves first (of course) but if you have any ideas or things that you want us to try, please comment and we will see what we can do.

Homemade Lasagna

My son recently told me about his love for Lasagna.  I had no idea that it was his favorite food, and so we were at the grocery store I was looking in the freezer section at the pre-made lasagnas and about had a stroke when I saw the prices.  I decided to look around and see how much it would cost to MAKE my own lasagna.

So I bought the stuff needed to make lasagna and sighed with relief at the price.  Less than half the cost of a frozen lasagna.  So I went home and experimented and made a lasagna for dinner.  I went off the recipe on the back of the lasagna noodles, but also detoured and came up with this recipe (I did use jar marinara sauce this time but I recommend trying the homemade recipe below - yummy).  

I must say that it was really good and my husband and son want me to make it again...and again!  I have a feeling that it will be a weekly meal at our house now.

HomemadeLasagna

1 pkg Oven Ready Lasagna Noodles

(*Oven Ready Lasagna noodles do not need to be boiled before placing in the oven)

1 jar Marinara Sauce (or homemade – see recipe below)

1 lb Ground Beef, cooked and drained

1 Cup Water

3 Cups Cottage Cheese

½ Cup Parmesan Cheese

Lots of Mozzarella Cheese, shredded

2 Eggs, slightly beaten

1 tsp Dried Basil

-Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

-In a bowl, combine the cottage cheese, parmasan cheese, eggs and the basil.  Mix well.

-In another bowl, combine the marinara sauce, water andthe ground beef.  Mix well.

-In a 9x13 pan layer your lasagna noodles in the bottomof the pan, overlapping them as you go.

-Spread half of the cheese mixture evenly over thenoodles. 

-Next, spread the mozzarella cheese on top of the cheesemixture.

-Then spread the meat mixture over the mozzarellacheese. 

-Repeat this process (Lasagna noodles, cheese mixture,mozzarella cheese and then the meat mixture)

-Now sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and more parmasan cheese over the top. 

-Wrap tightly with a double layer of foil.  Bake for 60 minutes.

Homemade Marinara Sauce

1 can Stewed Tomatoes

2 cans Tomato Sauce

Spaghetti Seasoning packet

Chili Powder to taste

Onion Powder to taste

Garlic Powder to taste

Oregeno to taste

Basil to taste

Parsley to taste

Sugar to taste

In a saucepan add the stewed tomatoes and crush them witha potato masher.  Add the tomato sauceand all the seasonings.  Let simmer for20-30 minutes.

Spudnut Donuts

I am actually going to be giving out a secret family recipe. Well...maybe not secret but this is one of our Christmas Traditions. We have made donuts every Christmas since I can remember...and they are amazing. We would try to give them out as neighbor gifts...but usually we ate most of them. Just thinking about them makes me hungry....yum!

Spudnut Donuts

Donuts:

2 Tbsp Shortening (no Wesson Oil)

1 Egg, beaten

1 Cup Warm Milk

3 tsp Yeast or 1 1/2 pkg Yeast

1/4 Cup Mashed Potatoes

1/4 Cup Sugar

1/4 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Vanilla

3 cups Flour

Dissolve the yeast in 3/4 cup warm water. Put the potatoes through a sieve. Scald the milk, add sugar and salt and cool to luke warm. Add the remaining ingredients. This makes a very dry, sticky-like dough. Let rise double in bulk, then roll out o to lightly floured board. Cut with a donut cutter and fry in deep fat until golden brown.

*You can refrigerate the dough, just make sure it had already risen twice before you do so.

Glaze:

2-3 Cups Powdered Sugar

1-2 Oranges, squeezed for juice

1 tsp Vanilla

1/2 Cup Water

2 Tbsp Milk

1/2 Cup Margarine

Mix the ingredients. Should be thin. Dip the donuts in the glaze while hot and drain off the excess in a bowl.

Caramel and Chocolate Covered Pretzels (A great neighbor gift!)

My newest holiday treat addiction are these delectable little nuggets of sweet and salty deliciousness. The picture above is missing the chocolate and M&M...but still look yummy!

Caramel & Chocolate Covered Pretzels

1 bag Kraft caramels, individually wrapped, about 50 count

(45 after you have snitched a few)

-or if you are ambitious-

your own homemade caramel, probably around two cups?

Around 45-50 mini pretzel twists or Snyder's pretzel squares

About a cup of melting chocolate

-or-

about half a bag of chocolate chips, unmelted

45-50 M&M's

Down to business:

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, place pretzels about 1 inch apart on the pan. Top each pretzel with unwrapped caramel square. Bake 8-10 minutes at 300 degrees or until caramels are rounding and soft. OVERBAKING will cause caramel to harden! While still warm, using the flat of a butter knife, press down caramel to cover pretzel.

*If you are using homemade caramel, fill pretzel holes and coat surface.

To chocolate your caramel:

If using chocolate chips, drop 3-5 chips onto the warm caramel and pop back into the oven until they are soft. Using your trusty butter knife again, smush the melty chips and cover the top of the pretzel.

If using melted chocolate, drop a healthy dollop on top of the caramel.

Place one lovely little M&M on the top and allow the treats to cool.

YUMMO!

Happy entertaining!

-A.S.

Shorthand Sugar Cookies

Alright, who hasn't fallen victim to the demure yet enticing call of the sugar cookie this time of year?
That's right.
No one can resist.
I am no exception. The only issue I take with these sweet yet subtle cookies is the recipes I own. They are complicated and time consuming. (That possibly sounds like a seriously lame excuse for someone who writes on a cooking blog, I understand.)
Truth be told...baking and me; not such wonderful friends. I am a novice at best when it comes to baking. My sisters got that genome, not me.
My solution? This awesome recipe I ganked and modified from KraftFoods.com.
Seriously. Easy. Sugar cookies.

The Players:
8 oz. cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup margarine
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda

The Directions:
beat softened cream cheese, margarine, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add baking soda and flour slowly. Mix well.

If doing cookie-cutter cookies, chill dough until firm-ish. Take half the dough and roll on floured surface to desired thickness.
If doing rolled cookies, ball dough and flatten slightly before baking.

Bake 12-19 minutes depending on thickness or until slightly browned on edges. Cool 2-5 minutes before removing from pan.
Frost, decorate, sprinkle with powdered sugar, do what you want with these lovely, simple cookies!
Happy Holidays!

Tasty Cheese Ball

I made this as an appetizer for Thanksgiving this year...wow...it disappeared FAST!

This is such an awesome cheese ball and it tastes soooo good!

Cheese Ball

2 pkgs 8oz Cream Cheese
1-2 Cups Shredded Cheese
2 Tbsp Ranch Dressing Mix
1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
Chopped Nuts (optional)

In a large bowl, mix together the cream cheese, shredded cheese, dressing mix and Worcestershire sauce. Form into balls. Roll in the nuts and refrigerate for 2 hours.

I usually don't roll mine in the nuts and just leave it wrapped in the plastic wrap until ready to serve. That way it is fresh and tasty! :)

*Easy way to form ball. Line a bowl with plastic wrap and place cheese mixture inside and take the ends and make into ball.

Cucumber Limeade Drink

This is the most refreshing drink. It is perfect for parties, showers or just to have in your fridge.

It really is ideal for summer, but I thought I would post it here in case anyone needs any ideas for a party drink for the holiday season.

12 oz frozen Limeade

1 liter Lemon Lime soda

1/2 Cucumber, sliced

Mix the limeade and the lemon lime soda together in punch bowl, add cucumbers.

Yummy!

A Non-Edible Addition

Alright, time for a break from the lemmings, ladies and gents. It is time for some penny-pinching, miserly, money-saving, home-made, DIY goodness!!!
This week's adventure; LAUNDRY DETERGENT!
Anybody else get sticker shock looking at laundry soap? I do! I hate shelling out large amounts of hard-earned dinero to wash the grunge out of my clothes. The solution?
Borax.
Arm and Hammer Washing Soda.
Fels Naptha Soap Bar.
And that is it. I swear to you.
The clincher???
For less than twelve dollars, you can do 640 loads of laundry.
Yes. yes, I know. Please stop crying. There there...
Ten gallons of laundry detergent at about one cent a load. And it gets even cheaper the next time you need to make it because all you need is the Fels Naptha bar...there is enough Borax and Washing Soda to make roughly five or six batches of this ten-gallon wonder.
Alright. Really. Please stop sobbing. Its okay. I didn't know until recently, either.
I'll give you a moment to compose yourself.
....
....
....
Better? Alright. Hold on to your britches...it gets even better...
IT'S EASY!!!
Twenty minutes of stirring and mixing is IT.
Are you ready to save money?
Are you REALLY ready???
Then lets get to it!

Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent;

First of all, I recommend you get yourself five gallon bucket from walmart if you don't have one already. Make sure it is clean and has a lid. If you do not have your leftover expensive-brand laundry detergent bottles or gallon milk jugs then I suggest you buy a second five gallon bucket with lid. I have been hoarding my laundry detergent bottles for a few years for water storage. My husband shook his head at me thinking they would never come in handy but HA HA! Now I have another use for them.

Silly husband.

Anyway???

Get yourself a sturdy one quart pot and put four cups of water in it.

Take your Fels Naptha soap bar and grate it into the water. (Yes, use your cheese grater.) On medium-high heat, melt the soap shavings in the water until there are NO clumps or flakes. It will be a little foamy but you want it lump-free.

It takes around ten to fifteen minutes.

While you are watching the soap-water, fill your 5-gallon bucket half full with HOT water.

When the soap mixture is done, pour it into the bucket with the hot water.

Now add 1 cup of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda and 1/2 cup Borax.

Stir well to distribute evenly.

Fill the rest of the bucket with water and stir again.

Snap on your lid and let it sit overnight.

It will gel and thicken. The next day, give it a good stir.

Using a funnel, fill your old detergent jugs or milk jugs HALF full of the detergent. Dilute with water to fill the rest.

If you are using another five gallon bucket, just use the 1:1 ratio and dilute with water.

Before using the detergent, give the jug a good shake. If taking directly from the bucket, stir before use. The contents will settle over time so this is necessary.

Good looking stuff, huh?

Still not convinced it is a worthy detergent? A test was done with white shirts and mustard. Against the most expensive Tide super-duper stain remover, this simple, CHEAP detergent cleaned the stain exactly the same!
Here's a little nugget about how soap works; it isn't the soap that does the cleaning. It is WATER that cleans your clothes. The detergents break the barrier on the fabric to allow water through so it can clean. Water is, after all, the world's best solvent. So next time you are at the laundry soap aisle, you have my permission to laugh at all those expensive brands. They all use the same ingredients, every brand, even cheap brands, and it is your water that does the cleaning anyhow.
Worried about an allergic reaction? Afraid these cheap ingredients will be harsh?
WRONG!
100% allergen, dye, fragrance free. You can add fragrance oil if you desire, but this recipe is extremely gentle on skin. My neighbor used it for her infants as well as for herself who has severe skin allergies.
If you aren't going to make this for yourself/family...then I have to say you are a SAP. You have money to throw away, obviously.
So anyway, happy laundry-soap making, my friends.
-A.S.
(Oh, and Borax and the washing soda have excellent household cleaning uses...lots of suggestions on the boxes. YAY!!!)