DO NOT make this cake...

(Picture source: www.southernplate.com)

Unless...
You are on a diet and need an excuse to get off it.
You don't mind eating at least two pieces of this evil cake in one day.
You don't mind hiding in the kitchen with the lights turned off while eating your THIRD piece of cake.
You want to hide the remainder of your cake in the oven for fear of the rest of your family finding out that the cake you made has 3 missing pieces.

Here is the recipe, courtesy of Southern Plate. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Chocolate Velvet Cake


1 Box any flavor of chocolate cake mix (I use Duncan Hines)
1 Cup sour cream
1/2 Cup milk (I used half and half -- only because I was out of milk)
1/4 Cup oil
3 eggs
1-2 tsp butter flavoring (can substitute vanilla)
1 cup chocolate chips
2 heaping T cocoa powder, plus more for dusting pans

Preheat oven to 350.
Grease pans with shortening and dust with cocoa powder. Combine all ingredients into mixing bowl, except chocolate chips. Mix about two minutes, or until well blended. Mix in chocolate chips. Divide evenly among prepared pans and let cook until done, about 25 minutes. Let sit in pans for ten minutes before turning out to cool completely.


Cream Cheese Icing


8 ounces cream cheese
1 stick margarine or butter
3 1/2 to 4 cups confectioner’s sugar
1-2 tsp butter flavoring (can substitute Vanilla)


Soften cream cheese and margarine by leaving out on counter until it reaches room temperature. Combine the two in a mixing bowl and mix until well blended. Add sugar. Mix until smooth. Add flavoring and mix some more until well incorporated and icing is creamy. Ice cooled cake.

Friendship

I have met some amazing women on the wonderful world web. Debbie from From A Creative Heart is just one of them. She is one of the most talented, gracious, down-to-Earth women I know. Despite life's daily challenges, she still manages to hold her head high, recognize all of the blessings God has given her and still has the ability to laugh - even through tears. Her blog, if you haven't checked it out, totally encompasses the true spirit of who she is.

So it came to me as no surprise that Debbie was given this award and was delighted to receive it as well.

'This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes for self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propogated. Please give more attention to these writers!'"

Wow. Thanks Debbie. I luv ya hun :-)

So in the spirit of paying forward, I'll like to pass this award to:

1. Tiffany from Making Room for Serendipity. Tiffany is one of my BFF from the internet. Her blog is filled with some of the most real, compassionate writings you will find on blogspot.
   
2. Melissa from Heart and Home. Melissa is such a positive gal with a fabulous house, a great outlook on life and a very warm and inviting blog.
   
3. Ruth Anne from Warm Pie, Happy Home. This blog encapsulates the word "cuteness".
4. Sandy Toes from Shell In Your Pocket. A new blog that I have started to blogstalk LOL It's such a nice, warm place to visit - full of decorating, cooking and fun girl talk.
   
5. And one of my favorites.. Chris from Just A Girl. Her blog is filled with inspiring home decor ideas, style and friendship. What else could you ask for?

Retro Tuesday

I've been listening to way too much digital music today as I catch up on some cleaning and have heard many songs from my youth. It's funny how one song can transport you back in time *smile*.

So here's my question... think ... think far back... back to your junior or senior year of high school. No excuses, I know you can do it. Humor me. Try. What music is playing inside of your head? Where are you?

Here... at the risk of embarrassment, I'll got first.

I'm at a rollerskating rink in Massachusetts, holding my first boyfriend's hand and sharing my first kiss during "couples skate". Yes Danny, I still think about you over twenty years later :-)

Pizzah

And now something a little different :-)

My DH emailed me a recipe (which he rarely does) so I thought I'd suprise him by making it for dinner tonight. While it is not your conventional pizza, it is complex, cheesy and incredibly wonderful. We will be making this pizza again!

Pizza a la Carbonara

Ingredients:

1 10-ounce package refrigerated pizza dough
3 green onions, sliced
1/2 pound (10 to 11 slices) bacon, crisp-cooked, drained, and crumbled
Parmesan Pizza Sauce
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1-1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (6 ounces)

1. Lightly grease an 11- to 13-inch pizza pan. Unroll pizza dough and transfer to greased pan, pressing dough out with your hands. Build up edges slightly. Prick generously with a fork. Bake in a 425 degree F oven for 7 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

2. Spread Parmesan Pizza Sauce over hot crust. Top with bacon, mushrooms, and green onions. Sprinkle with Monterey Jack cheese. Bake about 12 minutes more or until cheese melts and sauce is bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Makes 4 servings.

Why I'm playing with only a half deck

Happy Friday everybody!

So ever wonder what happens when half of a deck of playing cards takes a spin with your colored laundry and sits overnight in your washer? You get one giant, pulpy mess. Good grief. Anybody know how to get fix pulp mashed all over your favorite pair of blue jeans and knit capris? I mean seriously... I pulled my jeans out of the laundry and they look like a pair of acid washed jeans from 90s.

Wacky Wednesday

So it's been my first week back in the wonderful, wacky world of Preschool. As usual, my own children have been less than enthusiastic to return to Elementary school but we're slowly making it over the hump.

January has already brought me many challenges but I'm feeling rather brain dead tonight. So instead of masterminding a more meaningful post, I decided to cook LOL.

Tonight, I made Asian Chicken Slaw. If you like this kinda thing, you definitely need to make it. It came out restaurant quality! The presentation of this salad is a sight to behold. I woulda/shoulda taken a picture of it but alas my camera would not cooperate. Bring it to your next party. You'll get lots of ooooos and awes :-)

Asian Chicken Slaw

1 (16-ounce) bag coleslaw mix
1 pound cooked chicken, shredded (I cubed it into small pieces)
2 cups broccoli florets, blanched
1 cup sugar snap peas, blanched
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 cup sliced scallions
1/2 cup chopped cashews (optional) ... I used rice noodles (similar to lo-mein noodles)

Dressing: (I doubled the sauce and served it on the side. Warning: this is one gianormous salad LOL so I would recommend serving the dressing on the side to prevent the remainder of the salad from wilting before consumption).
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1. In a large bowl, toss together the coleslaw mix, chicken, broccoli, snap peas, red pepper, and scallions.

2. In a medium bowl, stir the soy sauce, vinegar, peanut butter, sugar, minced garlic, and grated ginger until well blended. Slowly whisk in the canola oil and sesame oil. Season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Toss the salad with the dressing. Offer chopped cashews on the side as a crunchy topping, if you like. Makes 10 servings.

I've been cooking again!

Okay, I'll confess... for some time, I had been going through a cooking funk. Those of you who know me personally, know this is not like me all. Along with the seemingly neverending holiday parties and school functions came many fast food meals, not-so-fast restaurant meals and quickie sandwich meals at home. It's a wonder I didn't gain 50-lbs LOL.

But thanks to great websites and blogs like Southern Plate and A Year of Crockpotting I am officially happy that I'm over my slump :-)

A new family favorite is Southern Plates' Butterfinger Cake. Now I will warn you. This cake is "to die for". It probably has a 5,000 calories per serving but it is so worth it. Make it for the next pot luck or family gathering. It'll make you the cooking Diva that I know you are. Here's the recipe:

Butterfinger Cake

1 box devil’s food cake mix
1 bottle caramel topping (I used Smuckers)
1 can Condensed milk
1 large tub cool whip
1 Butterfinger bar (Oddly I couldn't find a single "large bar" so I bought a 8-pack of mini butterfingers)

Prepare cake according to package directions. Immediately after removing cake from oven, poke several holes all over the top with a fork. Mix sweetened condensed milk and caramel together, pour over hot cake, spread it over the entire cake. Chill well. After cake has chilled completely, spread cool whip over the top and sprinkle crushed Butterfinger bar on top of cool whip.

My first post of 2009

Happy New Year Everybody!

I apologize for my absence. Here in the land of Preschool, school is about to start up again *sigh* which means for teachers we get to spend our last days of vacation doing "teachery" type of stuff like tweak our curriculum, generate newsletters and calendars... oh and did I mention adjust to our new puppy :-)

Here is the latest addition to our family. Her name is Chloe. Aren't they sweet?

Chloe is a wire haired daschund. We rescued her from the local animal control center. She's 2-years-old and a lovable sweet doggy :-) We feel very blessed to have her!

Now on to a completely different subject matter...



Thanks to my friend, Jen... I decided to sign up for Aloha Fridays. So my question to you today is "What is your favorite memory of 2008"?

My favorite memory was our first camping trip in our pop-up camper! By the grace of God, my DH's boss let us borrow his pop-up camper for Spring Break. We camped in Yogi Bear Campground. I caught 5 bass fish that trip.. DH, (the self-proclaimed almighty fisherman) caught ZIPPO LOL Little did I know that this single trip would hook our family... hook, line and sinker into the wonderful world of pop-up camping. We are now proud owners of the aforementioned camper and cherish every camping trip we have. It is truly a gift of family bonding time surrounded by God's blessing of natural beauty.

Wishing you and yours the very best in 2009.

Ky.

Sunday morning recipe

Good morning all!

I hope everybody had a fabulous Christmas. I am happy to report that Christmas came and went with lots of smiles and hugs from my little ones. While Christmas this year was on a much smaller scale, the kids didn't seem to notice and it was more relaxing all the way around.

The big "family gift" this year given to me by my sweet Mom and Dad was Wii Fit. Good thing we got it, since we've been partaking in seasonal goodies. Heck, what's 30 minutes of exercise if I can eat Christmas cookies and fudge without guilt? LOL.

And speaking of goodies, I've got these ridiculously easy muffins baking in the came out of the oven right now. While the recipe is simple, these muffins are incredibly good are often requested in our home.

Hershey's Cinnamon Chip Muffins

2 cups bisquick® baking mix
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg -- slightly beaten
1 cup HERSHEY'S Cinnamon Chips
2/3 cup milk

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Grease or paperline 12 muffin cups (2-1/2-inches in diameter).

2. Stir together baking mix, sugar, vegetable oil, egg, cinnamon chips and milk in medium bowl just until moistened. Divide batter evenly into prepared muffin cups.

3. Bake 15 to 18 minutes or just until browned. Cool slightly; remove from pan. 12 muffins.

Christmas Meme

Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper, for sure. While gift bags are convenient for sure, there's nothing prettier to me than a gift wrapped up in pretty Christmas wrapping paper.

Real tree or Artificial? Artificial but only because you can put them up easier and it doesn't involve my husband's help LOL I really do love having a real tree and will probably have one again in the near future.

When do you put up the tree? As tradition in our home, the day after Thanksgiving.

When do you take the tree down? Usually the weekend after January 1st.

Do you like eggnog? Yep love it. My Dad makes his own every year!

Favorite gift received as a child? A black puppy.

Hardest person to buy for? My parents. They appreciate everything but it's getting harder to find something they actually don't have or need LOL

Easiest person to buy for? My daughter

Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, purchased while I was in Mexico made of alabaster.

Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail. I usually mail Christmas cards every year but wasn't able to get them out on time this year.

Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Nuts. I despise nuts and one year, every child in my classroom (that was 18 children) gave me a canister of nuts LOL My husband was in heaven that year.

Favorite Christmas Movie? It's a Wonderful Life.

When do you start shopping for Christmas? Last night? No seriously... I think I started right after Halloween.

Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Oh yeah.

Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Christmas cookies. Peanut butter kiss cookies to be specific.

Lights on the tree? Colored but only because my husband and children insist on them.

Favorite Christmas song? The Christmas Song sung by Nat King Cole.

Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home. Thankfully, I have both sets of parents here in neighboring towns.

Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Uhm, are you kidding? I am a preschool teacher, ya know.

Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? We open one on Xmas Eve and the rest on Christmas morning.

Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Tie: TV commercials and my husband's family bickering.

Favorite ornament theme or color? I collect snowflakes (lol) since we don't get snow here in Florida. Actually, I am a native New Englander and it reminds me of all of my cherished childhood Christmases.

What do you want for Christmas this year? I'm already getting it... Christmas break with my family.

Angel or star on top tree: Star.

Favorite meal: Spiral glazed ham.

(Now if you are still reading... consider yourself tagged :-)

More of my favorite things and a recipe

Today is day number 2 of "Display Your Pitiful Christmas Decoration Day". Yes, I should be doing other things today like oh... baking, cleaning, cooking, finishing Christmas shopping but this time of year is when I let my procrastinating nature really shine through. LOL.

Don't worry about me though, I'll get it done. Sadly, I'm actually ahead of years past where I was sitting up at midnight wrapping presents. This year I've actually got about 75% of my presents already wrapped and under the tree. And today, to soothe my nerves, will probably be a baking day for me. (For all of four of my BFF who actually follow my blog, today is afterall haircut day. Listen for the scream at approximately 5:00pm EDT)

So without further rambling, here are some of my favorite things:

During a more creative moment, I decided to pull my 11-year-old's tricycle that I had been storing in the attic and fill it with my 8-year-olds teddy bear collection. Cute, huh? Sorry about the wire there. I should have fixed it before I took the picture.

A very silly Santa that arrived in my husband's stocking a couple of Christmas seasons ago. When turned on, he really plays the drums ROFL

My snowy wreath. Actually, I should have taken a picture of this whole room which we now call the snowy room LOL I flocked a cheapie wreath with snow and of course added all of my snowflake ornaments. Below it on my mantle, is a flocked garand filled with twinkling snowflake lights. It came out very pretty. My family loves this room now. It is filled with sparkly lights. They actually turn these lights on before the Christmas tree room. Go figure.

Another silly Santa. This was actually given to me by a little boy from my class about 3 years ago. He's actually a votive candle holder. Can you see those stars? They actually look quite magical when a candle is glowing inside of him.

And finally this music box:

It reminds me of the real wood burning stove that my Grandmother had in her farmhouse in Vermont. I miss her.

Okay now that I've tortured you long enough, here's a new recipe courtesy of the Crockpot Lady. I made a batch of it last night to warm us up after ice skating. Ice skating in Florida? Yep, it's true...'cept it wasn't ice. But I'll save that for a whole different post.

Here it is:

Holiday Punch

The Ingredients.

4 cups cranberry juice
4 cups pineapple juice
1/3 cup hot tamales or red hots candy
1 cinnamon stick

that's it!

The Directions.

This serves 6. Combine juices in your crockpot, and add hot tamales or red hots. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours, or on low for 4-5. Stir. The candy will pretty much dissolve, leaving just a hint of cinnamony-flavor.

Ladle into mugs, garnishing with an extra cinnamon stick if desire.

Verdict: This was a huge hit with my family. Being the sugar monsters that we are, we did add in more hot tamales candy in it. What a special Christmas treat.

Display Your Pitiful Christmas Decoration Day

Thanks to my friend Debbie over at From A Creative Heart, today is "Display Your Pitiful Christmas Decoration Day"

This, er um, "holiday" (?) is an inside joke. Debbie gave me a tip to go check out Warm Pie, Happy Home for some inspiration. Girls, if you haven't checked this blog out, go run and check it out after you look at my pictures. You simply won't believe RuthAnn's beautiful house. She makes Martha Stewart look like Roseanne Barr *lol* Her house is so beautiful that I told Debbie that was going to slit my wrist with holly and delete all of my Christmas tree pictures and soooooo..... a holiday was born LOL

So without further delay, here is this year's Christmas tree. This year, I added in white lights with the colored lights and loved the effect. It kind of added a snowy feel to it.

Hey cool tree... can you tell us a little about some of the more meaning Christmas ornaments?

Oh so glad you asked. You really did ask, I promise you.

While this is definitely not the prettiest ornament on the tree, it is definitely the oldest. It was given to me by my Grandmother back in 1968.

This is another "vintage" ornament given to me by the same Grandmother back in 1972. The picture really doesn't do it justice. You'll just have to take my word on it. Grandma G. was not known as being a crafter at all so this ornament will remain one of my favorites.

Yet another vintage ornament from 1973. This was given to me by Santa the same Christmas Santa brought me a real poodle.

This ornament was given to me by a co-worker the year my son was born. It is ceramic. I always get very sentimental every time I hang this on our tree :-)

Here are some relatively newer additions to my tree. I love retro Christmas items. These two ornaments came from The Christmas Place on one of our many trips to Tennessee:

This ornament came from Tennessee as well. I love him. He reminds me of my childhood in New England where chickadees are native.

A new ornament I received this year from one of my students. The reindeer appears to be made out of real bark. I wish I could have gotten a better picture of him.

And one last ornament (for today), it was given to me by my Director. Those are simulated pearls and rhinestones that are inlaid into the cross.

Well thanks for taking a look at my "pitiful" Christmas decorations. As you can see, our Christmas tree may not be beautiful and "perfect" but it is perfectly decorated with much love and memories.

As promised...

Here is the recipe for the fabulous Chicken Sesame that I mentioned earlier on Twitter. A word of caution: If you decide to make this for your family, you'll get much admiration from your family and they'll say things like "Oh this tastes better than the Chinese restaurant" (which translates loosely into now we don't have to go out for Chinese anymore).

But seriously, this recipe tastes like "the real deal". Enjoy.

Sesame Chicken

• 3 whole boneless chicken breasts

Marinade

• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon cooking wine or dry sherry
• 3 drops sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Sauce

• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/8-1/4 cup white vinegar or rice wine vinegar (depending on how sweet you want the sauce)
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon chili paste (or more)
• 1 garlic clove (minced)

Frying

• Peanut oil (3 1/2-4 cups)

Serving

• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

1. Cut the chicken into 1-inch cubes. Mix the marinade ingredients (the first 9 ingredients listed) and marinate the chicken for 20 minutes.
2. To prepare the sauce:.
3. Mix together all of the sauce ingredients (the LAST 9 ingredients beginning with water). Pour them into a small pot and bring to a boil, stirring continuously. Turn the heat down to low and keep warm while you are deep-frying the chicken.
4. To deep-fry the chicken:.
5. Add the marinated chicken pieces a few at a time, and deep-fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and then place chicken in warm oven (130 degrees) while you continue frying. Repeat with the remainder of the chicken. Just before you are finished deep-frying, bring the sauce back up to a boil.
6. Place the chicken on a large platter and pour the sauce over. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve the Sesame Chicken with rice.

Santa came early for me!

Look what I found today! Seems Santa must have gotten my address wrong and delivered this to a neighbor's house instead *grin*.

Today it was such a beautiful day that our family decided to take a leisurely bike ride around our neighborhood. On a whim, I decided to peddle down a road that I have never been down before. And there she was. Sitting in somebody's driveway with a sign that said "For Sale $25".

Immediately, I ignored my family's plea not to trespass and to pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease get out of the driveway before somebody saw me.

As luck may have it, the homeowner "Steve" came out and said, "Hi! Merry Christmas! Hey are you guys interested in that bench? You can have it for free. My wife told me to bring it to Goodwill today but if you want it... it's all yours."

After I did a happy dance and thanked my new BFF (*lol*) I peddled home at warp speed and drove back to Steve's house to bring my new addition home.

Thank you, Santa Steve :-)

Christmas Dinner

Here it is a mere 4 days of Christmas and I still trying to nail down what I'm going to serve my family for dinner. Thankfully, I have parents and In-laws who basically love anything I cook.

Every year it seems to get a little bit more difficult to plan meals since our beloved parents seem to develop various ailments which prevent them from eating the foods we love but I do my best.

The one thing I have definitely decided on is a nice spiraled ham. I know a lot of people love Turkey or Roast Beef but there is something so Christmasy about a glazed spiraled ham at Christmas. Plus we get to pick on the leftovers LOL.

So, here is what I have planned so far. Again, from previous posts you know I don't like to commit to anything (even food) because you just never know... I might find something better LOL.

For starters, I'm going to cheat and serve an Italian Cheese Tray. (That's the picture up there on top). I might substitute or add in marinated mushrooms, add a block of either Roquefort or Parmesan and maybe add some grapes.

For the main course, well.. that's where I'm still working out the specifics. Seems our family gatherings have gotten into a rut and continue serving the same side dishes for every Thanksgiving and Christmas.

By request of my daughter, Sweet Potato Casserole. This is a family favorite.

1 1/2 quarts mashed sweet potatoes
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs -- beaten
2 tablespoons vanilla
1 cup butter -- melted
Topping:
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup butter -- melted
1 cup flour -- approximately
1 cup pecans

Mash potatoes, butter, sugar, vanilla and eggs together and pour into a greased baking dish.

In a separate bowl, mix brown sugar, flour, and pecans. Stir in melted butter in small amounts until crumbly. You may not need all of it.

Sprinkle topping onto potatoes. Garnish with additional chopped or halved pecans on top. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.



A new addition to the Christmas table:

Tyler Florence's Scalloped Potato Gratin

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 sprig fresh thyme
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Butter
2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch thick slices
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for broiling

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a saucepan, heat up the cream with a sprig of thyme, chopped garlic and nutmeg.

While cream is heating up, butter a casserole dish. Place a layer of potato in an overlapping pattern and season with salt and pepper. Remove cream from heat, then pour a little over the potatoes. Top with some grated Parmesan. Make 2 more layers. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Sprinkle some more Parmesan and broil until cheese browns, about 5 minutes.

The remaining vegetables are pretty much up in the air right now. I might just go basic steamed so it won't compete with the other flavors of the meal. I will also make the Cranberry Bliss (see former post)

For dessert... heh.. I'm actually contemplating on making a chocolate dessert station. Buckeyes, Brownies, slices of peanut butter pie, gourmet chocolate bars. Oh yum. Good thing Santa is bringing me Wii Fit this year. I'm gonna need it.

Cookie Swap

So today over at From A Creative Heart, Debbie and Darlene from Our Creative Life are cleverly hosting a first Cookie Swap. What a brilliant idea and no calories either LOL. Here are my contributions:

If you're a cheesecake fan, this cookies is for you.

Cheesecake Cookies

1 cup butter

Publish Post

4 ounces cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup fine graham cracker crumbs

For the cheese filing:
4 ounces cream cheese
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon rind
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon half and half

Cream butter, cream cheese and sugar until blended. Add egg, lemon rind and lemon juice. Mix well. Combine flour and baking powder. Add to first mixture and blend well. Cover. Chill for at least 1 hour.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in graham cracker crumbs. Arrange on ungreased baking sheets. With finger make an indentation in center of each cookie. Fill with level 1/2-teaspoons of filling. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.

CHEESE FILLING: Beat together all ingredients until smooth.


This is not your typical chocolate chip cookie recipe. The Skor chips add such a wonderful caramel and richness to the cookie. They are husband's favorite.

Skor bits & chocolate chip cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter -- softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar -- packed
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 each eggs
1 cup skor english toffee bits
1 cup chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Beat butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Add eggs; beat well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating well. Stir in toffee bits and chocolate chips. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire racks. Cool completely.


Here's another family favorite. Be forewarned, adults will fight over this fudge down to the last piece. It is very rich.

Baileys Irish Creme Fudge

24 ounces milk chocolate chips
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
14 ounces marshmallow cream
2 teaspoons vanilla
2/3 cup Bailey's Irish Cream liqueur
4 1/2 cups sugar
1 can evaporated milk -- (12 ounce)
1/2 pound butter

Line a jelly roll pan (10 x 15 x 1 inch) with foil. Butter the foil. In a very large heavy bowl, place all the chocolate chips, marshmallow cream, vanilla and Bailey's Irish Cream.

In a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, evaporated milk and butter over medium heat and bring to a boil. Cook slowly, stirring constantly for 11 minutes.

Pour the hot milk mixture over the chocolate chip mixture, stirring by hand. The hot milk will melt the chocolate chips and marshmallow cream. Continue to stir until everything is well blended.

Pour mixture into the prepared pan and chill until set. Turn out onto a large cutting board and peel off the foil. Cut into small squares. Store refrigerated.

Yield: about 5 pounds of fudge.


Last but not least, this is the centerpiece that I'm bringing to Debbie's place. I use it on my table on Christmas day.

Peppermint Pretzel Wreath

24 ounces vanilla flavored candy coating
2 10 oz bags Golden Flake large thin pretzels -- * see note
6 3/4 ounces peppermint candies -- crushed
7 additional peppermint candies
5 small Christmas bows -- optional
1 box wax paper

Place candy coating in a large glass bowl, and microwave at high for 1-1/2 minutes or until coating melts, stirring once. Dip pretzels into candy coating, covering completely. Place coated pretzels on wax paper; sprinkle heavily with crushed peppermint. Let dry.

Place a single layer of pretzels around outside edge of edge of a 12-inch serving tray. Continue layering remaining pretzels until wreath is 3 inches high.

Spoon sever small dots of remaining melted candy around top of wreath; press whole peppermints gently onto the wreath, allowing dots of melted candy to act as "glue". Let stand until firm. Decorate with bows, if desired.

Note: Original recipe calls for 1 10-oz. bag of pretzels. "We used Golden flake fat-free pretzels.
You may want to buy two bags of pretzels just to be sure you get enough unbroken ones for the wreath."

Wonderful Wednesday

It's the last day of school for me. Hooray! (Humming the theme song from Mary Tyler Moore) "She's gonna make it afterall". Last night's Christmas concert (with my 28 preschool kiddos) went terrifically. The children sang their hearts out and their faces were filled with pride. It was an awesome site to behold.

This year I was a rebel and didn't wear the traditional gawdy sweaters like the other teachers. I chose to wear a simple black dress with Chanel rings on it and a sparkly silver high heels. They'll be a price to pay (lol) but what can I say? I'm a non-conformist and those sweaters ... well, they are just not me. Besides, what's wrong with getting dressed up for Christmas?

So I have two announcements that I have been procrastinating on making. If you know me personally or have read my previous post, you know I'm a procrastinator. To me:

Procrastination = perfectionism + commitment
It's literally taken decades for me to figure out this personality flaw. But at least recognizing it is the first step right? Basically, I am a perfectionist. And once I commit to something, it has to be perfect. If it's not perfect, I get irritated and/or frustrated and drop the whole project together. I know, I know... it's an*l but it's just how I am. So anytime I need to make a commitment to somebody or myself, I procrastinate until I'm 100% sure I can be perfect at whatever I am committing myself too LOL I know. I need therapy. Especially since there is probably nothing that I am perfect at doing ROFL.

I digress. Did you just notice I have now successfully procrastinated writing my two announcements for a whole paragraph? Yes, I know I should be commited.

What was I saying???

Oh yeh. Announcements.

First announcement. Giveaways. Yep, we all love 'em. Last week, I actually took my first stab at jewelry making. Actually pendant making... heh, which I then added to a double-tiered choker necklace. Anyway, I made a series of them and I thought they came out pretty good. So good, in fact, that I gave one to my Secret Santa. Well, the perfectionist inside of me silently screamed because the backing wasn't "perfect" when my Secret Santa opened her gift but she loved it. Actually, all of my staff loved in and people now want me to pay me to make necklaces for them. Soooooooo, in the spirit of Christmas, I thought I'd reserve one of these handmade 95% perfect pendants for my first giveaway. The rules for winning one of these pendants will be written on another post. Stay tuned.

Second announcement (deep breath...inhale). Oh darn it..have I told you lately how much I hate making commitments. I think... okay... I am... maybe... no really I am... going to finally make a Locks of Love contribution this Christmas. A preschool parent of mine owns a salon and has graciously offered her salon services to me. So yep, I'm gonna do it. Now for those of you who really don't know me, I realize you are probably laughing at me or rolling your eyes. But for those of you who do know me, know this is a pretty big deal. I have over 12 inches of long hair and the shortest I have ever gone is shoulder length.

So my family has convinced me to get this hairstyle:


While I like this hairstyle, I would like some hybrid type of hair style.

1 part Eva Longoria...
1 part Victoria Beckham...

and 1-part Katie Holmes

Okay now I feel queasy. I've said it. Short hair, here I come. Now will somebody please come and hold my hand????

I won an award!

One of my favorite bloggers and long time friends, Debbie, was sweet enough to give me an award :-)


Thanks Deb! You know I love ya to pieces to, girlfriend!

So here are the rules of spreading the love (award):

1.Post a copy on your blog.
2.Mention who gave you the award.
3.Pass the award onto 6 others.
4.Leave a message on their blog letting them know the award has been bestowed upon them.

And that's it! Easy, right? Heh.. not for me but here it goes:

1. Nester from The Nesting Place. I mean who doesn't love Nester, right? I've even mistreated my first set of curtains because of her :-)
2. Nester's partner in crime :-) Kimba from A Soft Place to Land I swear these ladies are my idols.
3. Pretty Organizer from Pretty Organizer Palace. Not only is she extremely talented in ways I could only dream of, she is an incredible Mother of 6.
4. The Crockpot Lady from A Year of Crockpotting. I love reading this blog. Creative recipes sprinkled with humor.
5. A fellow teacher and new friend... Jen from Time Out for Me. She doesn't know it but I'm sure we'd be good friends in "real life" :-)
6. Grams. Her love of her family and her love for the holidays always make me smile.

Is it Thursday yet?

'Scuse me while I just empty my head here today before it explodes LOL

So here it is 9:04pm and I am finally sitting down after a long productive day. Shopping is nearly done. Grocery shopping is done. 28 preschooler made noodle frames have been sprayed painted and are drying on my front porch LOL, all of my party supplies have been purchased and I'm exhausted.

This week will be yet another busy one but "the end is near in sight". Tomorrow is day 1 of 2 for preschool class parties, it is also the day where I have to pick over a $100 in cookie dough from the PTA *lol*, followed by an evening teacher's party and Toys-R-Us night shopping. Tuesday is the 2nd preschool class party and both of my classes perform the annual Christmas concert. Wednesday is my last day of Preschool before Christmas break! Yippee!

Thursday is my first annual Mother/Son Christmas goof-off day. For reasons I won't bore you with, I have decided to let my son ditch a field trip and we're going to spend the day together instead :-) I cannot even begin to tell you how excited we both are. So far, we've decided to start our day at Starbucks (he loves the caramel apple cider), followed by Christmas shopping, mini-golf and lunch out together.

Friday, my son graduates from D.A.R.E. (so I'll be able to attend the ceremony) and my daughter's class is having a "Polar Express" themed Christmas party.

And tonight... eek... I just remembered.... I forgot to grade a bazillion Math SuperStar papers for my daughter's class.

Calgon take me away! Oh well, time to drag out the footspa, pour a glass of wine, turn up the holiday music. Life could be worse.

Me graceful?

I had originally planned to write a fairly insightful blog today but fell prey to not one but TWO migraines *sigh*. Thank heavens for medication and insurance or life could be much, much worse.

At any rate, I decided to play "follow the leader" with Tiff and here's my results. How can a test with 2 question neatly sum up my existence here on Earth? LOL

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz...

You Are a Grace!

You are a Grace -- "I need to understand the world."

Graces have a need for knowledge and are introverted, curious, analytical, and insightful.

How to Get Along with Me

• * Be independent, not clingy


• * Speak in a straightforward and brief manner


• * I need time alone to process my feelings and thoughts


• * Remember that If I seem aloof, distant, or arrogant, it may be that I am feeling uncomfortable


• * Make me feel welcome, but not too intensely, or I might doubt your sincerity


• * If I become irritated when I have to repeat things, it may be because it was such an effort to get my thoughts out in the first place


• * don't come on like a bulldozer


• * Help me to avoid my pet peeves: big parties, other people's loud music, overdone emotions, and intrusions on my privacy

What I Like About Being a Grace
* standing back and viewing life objectively
* coming to a thorough understanding; perceiving causes and effects
* my sense of integrity: doing what I think is right and not being influenced by social pressure
* not being caught up in material possessions and status
* being calm in a crisis

What's Hard About Being a Grace

• * being slow to put my knowledge and insights out in the world


• * feeling bad when I act defensive or like a know-it-all


• * being pressured to be with people when I don't want to be


• * watching others with better social skills, but less intelligence or technical skill, do better professionally

Graces as Children Often

• * spend a lot of time alone reading, making collections, and so on


• * have a few special friends rather than many


• * are very bright and curious and do well in school


• * have independent minds and often question their parents and teachers


• * watch events from a detached point of view, gathering information


• * assume a poker face in order not to look afraid


• * are sensitive; avoid interpersonal conflict


• * feel intruded upon and controlled and/or ignored and neglected

Graces as Parents

• * are often kind, perceptive, and devoted


• * are sometimes authoritarian and demanding


• * may expect more intellectual achievement than is developmentally appropriate


• * may be intolerant of their children expressing strong emotions

Take Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz at HelloQuizzy