Mint Chocolate Brownies

I love these brownies! My mother-in-law is who turned me on to this addictive sweet treats! I hope you enjoy them too!

Brownie

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cup sugar

3 eggs, beaten well

3/4 cup flour, sifted

1/3 cup cocoa, sifted

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup walnuts, optional

1. Preheat Oven to 325. Grease and dust with flour, 9x13 pan.

2. Cream butter and sugar together.

3. Add in beaten eggs.

4. Add cocoa, flour and salt.

5. Fold in Vanilla and Nuts.

6. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.

7. Completely Cool.

Mint Filling

1 stick butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp mint extract

2-3 drops green food coloring

1 tbsp water

1. Cream together butter and sugar.

2. Blend in mint extract, green food coloring and water.

3. Spread over cooled brownies.(Tip: place brownies in freezer for 30 minutes then frost. You frosting will less likely pull top layer of brownies that way)

4. Refrigerate for 30 minutes of until set.

Chocolate Topping

1 package of chocolate chips, you can use mint chocolate chips

1 stick and 1 tbsp butter

1. Slowly melt chocolate chips and butter over low heat or in microwave.

2. cool for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Spread over mint filling.

4. Refrigerate until set (don't over cool it for it will be impossible to cut up and still look pretty)!

NOW ENJOY!!!!!!!

Tomato Basil Soup for the Birthday Soul!

I love Tomato Basil Soup! There was a restaurant in Dallas called Souper Salad where I got my first bowl of the delicious soup. It is amongst the best of comfort food in my opinion! After I left Dallas, oh how I missed that soup. Safeway, the Grocery Store, had a version of the soup, but it was chunky. It was good but creamy is better! When we moved to the Rocky Mountains, guess what I found! Souper Salad! I was delighted until I found out Tomato Basil Soup was not on the menu anymore! So I have set out to find a recipe for my beloved Tomato Basil Soup! I hope it is good!

Ingredients

• 4 tomatoes - peeled, seeded and diced (I like to add a can of Stewed Italian Tomatoes for more flavor)
• 4 cups tomato juice
• 14 leaves fresh basil
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream (might need 1/4 to 1/2 cup more if you added canned tomatoes)
• 1/2 cup butter
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place tomatoes and juice in a stock pot over medium heat. Simmer for 30 minutes.
2. Puree the tomato mixture along with the basil leaves (I used my blender, but you could use a food processor too), and return the puree to the stock pot.
3. Place the pot over medium heat, and stir in the heavy cream and butter.
4. Season with salt and pepper. Heat, stirring until the butter is melted. Do not boil.
5. Serve inside a bread bowl or with my favorite, grilled cheese sandwiches!!!!
6. Of course, this Soup is great on its own or you can add parmesan cheese, sour cream, pasta, etc. The possibilities are endless.

Thanks to www.allrecipes.com for the base recipe of this soup!!!!

And to Souper Salad for the start of this love affair!

Lesson Learned: When you pour something hot into the blender - don't turn it on high! You will have a big mess to clean up and a few burns - and a few laughs!

Take Out Menu for Playfood

My daughter just loves the playfood that she got with her birthday and loves to pretend that she is a chef at a restaurant. She wanted to make a menu so that she could serve her guests - so we did! He is the generic version! So fun! Bon Appitet!

Trying my hand at sewing - with playfood!

When I was about 7 or 8 years old, my maternal grandparents gave me a little kitchen hutch. It was beautiful. It was made out of wood and was something that my grandpa had refurbished for me. My grandpa died just just a year or so later. It is one of the last gifts he gave to me. I was also given a tea set. I remember the tea set - it was green and white which were my favorite colors at the time (funny - green still is).



When I got married, 10 years ago, I left my little hutch behind hoping if I ever had a little girl, I would be able to give it to her. Well my wish finally came true this summer. We were moving from the great northwest to the rocky mountains and my family came to help and they brought the hutch with them. When we settled into our new home, I was able to give it to her. She loves it. She has some dishes and plastic food, but nothing she wanted to play with. She asked for some more food so she could cook!

A few weeks later, my little girl would be turning 8 so I thought is was a perfect time to get her some more play food and a few more dishes and a few pots and pans. Did you know it is really hard to find non plastic playfood and if you do, you pay an arm and a leg for it! Being the thrifty person I am, I set out to make my own. I found many websites and blogs that were very helpful. At the bottom of this post will be the links to those pages!

So we start with Strawberries!


Anyone want a cheeseburger and fries????


Bowtie Pasta with Sauce and Carrots


The old lunch standby - peanut butter and jelly with orange slices!


Pancakes and eggs with bacon - yummy!


This was a fun project and fairly easy since I am about the worst seamstress on the planet! I used measuring cups and canisters as templates for many of the patterns. A rotary cutter and mat were an accentual part of the project since I cannot cut straight either! THe clear thread that I found at my local fabric store was the best find of this entire project! I love it! No more changing thread colors for me!!!!!

Thanks to the following for the patterns and ideas:
http://theadventuresofroryandjess.blogspot.com/
http://helpinglittlehands.blogspot.com/
http://melissagoodsell.typepad.com/day_to_day/
http://oneinchworld.com/blog/

Remembering 9/11

I think 9/11 will be one of those events that my generation will never be able to forget. It is one of those "I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when it happened" moments!

For me, I had a 10 month old baby boy and we were going to school. My hubby was already up and gone to his early morning class and I was up feeding the baby. As part of my morning ritual, I was watching the weather channel except they were not showing any weather. All they talked about is all the airports shutting down and what a national tragedy this was. I couldn't for the life of me understand what they were talking about. Then I turned it to one of the national news channels and there it was. One of the Towers was on fire. About 2 minutes later, I actually saw the 2nd plane slam into the other tower. I sat there in shock, holding tight to my baby. I could not believe what I was seeing. Then towers fell and all the other events unfolded and I really think I sat on my couch for most of the day in shock.

I think the entire county was in shock, but we were united. We came together as a country, united, wanting to defend those who were innocently killed. We wanted to rally around those families who lost loved ones. We were united in being America - however you looked at it. Fast forward 9 years later. We are anything but united. We are divided politically, racially, religiously - almost every way! There are even conspiracy theories out there that say 9/11 was not a terrorist attach, but a government cover up.

It is hard for me not to get caught up in the politics. I get angry about some of the things being said and done - by both sides. I then remember my faith and what I have been taught. I know this has to be.

So I say lets just take today, 9/11 and honor those who lost their lives. Let's honor those families who go on without loved ones. They have made ultimate sacrifices. I, personally choose to fly a flag today - to honor the lost, the left behind, the rescue workers, and the soldiers who fight so I can sit here and express my thoughts freely. Thank you and God bless you, all!

Starting this Journey

Well...I have thought a lot about starting this blog for many months now. So many of my friends have awesome blogs where they share their creative sides. So I thought, I am somewhat creative and every once in awhile have something I can share so here we are! I hope you enjoy the things that make my journey happy!