Excitable

Is it just me or has it been a slow work week? Let’s blame the rainy weather. Because, let’s face it, we can blame everything on the weather somehow or another. Think about it.

At least there are a few things I’ve got going on that keep me slightly upbeat. Which isn’t hard. I’m excitable over the littlest things:

1. The schedule of the rain. It’s been conveniently starting after my commute home and ending before my early morning walk to the gym. That means I’ve only noticed how much it’s helped me sleep through the night. I never have this kind of luck.

2. Our boss took staff (three of us) out for lunch this week as a form of Staff Appreciation Day from last week. Which means free lunch that doesn’t consist of salad or deli. As a girl of serious deli/salad routine during the work week, that’s a welcome change.

3. My plate at lunch being so big that I stuffed myself and still had plenty leftover for dinner.

Oh hellooooo blurry pic of semi-free food!

I did add a few more roasted veggies to the side of my salmon that were laying around for extra bulk. Then gave myself a pat on the back for being healthy and well-rounded. What? Do you not have roasted brussels sprouts just hanging around in the refrigerator at any given time?

That’s weird.

4. My morning workout motivation has not failed me yet. To be truthful, Tuesday was a little iffy (damn Tuesdays), but since my roommate swore up and down she would get up that day, I had no choice but to go. And didn’t regret it once I got there. Every other day? Jumping up with the alarm.

5. Colored skinny jeans. Considering how apprehensive I was about skinny jeans when they first came out, it’s hilarious I can’t stop buying them in every shade under the sun.

Ok fine, “every shade” is actually just two pair. On sale. At Target. Mint green and sky blue. They’re so bright and fun and give me the urge to do cartwheels.

Oh… that’s just me again? Crap.

6. God Bless “Candy Wednesday”.Because if there is anything from this list that will get me through the slow-moving week, that would be it.

Refer to #3 to discuss the importance of a “well-rounded” diet.

7. After being sad about not being able to track down the 50 Shades trilogy, a friend helped me out and let me borrow all three! With the help of my rest weekend, I’ve been able to almost finish all three of the poorly written yet addicting trashy romance novels. And my opinion is just that. Poorly written. But an addicting storyline. 

There’s a good chance this may be one of those rare cases where the movie that is supposedly in the works may actually be better than the book…

Anyhoo, that’s all I’ve got for you this Thursday morning. Let’s get to it!

Another Excuse For Buttercream

We all have one.

Or two.

Or if you’re me, at least 5… maybe 6…

We’re talking about friends with babies. Not benefits. Babies.

And I’m totally cool with it.

Because I’m still working on keeping a house plant alive.  Does anyone really trust me with a child? Nope. Surely one day. But for now? I’ll live vicariously through others.

Like through my friend Jaime:Her little girl, Summer, just popped into this world to say hello a week ago. And I’m no expert, but find her quite a precious and adorable little thing.Because I often bring in treats to the office whenever I have extras from a baking spree, and because Jaime’s gone for a couple months, part of my bridal shower gift to her was to bring her baked goods throughout her maternity leave.

Really, it’s selfishness on my part. Because I’m just using it as an excuse to drop by more often.

Obviously, it’s all about me… right?

Fine. It’s not. It’s really about the cookies.I made these first for a reason.

Because I had a lot of malted milk powder hanging out from when I made the Chubby Hubby cookies. And there was this bag of candy staring me down:Robin Eggs that I got on clearance. It’s the last of the Easter candy that I had hanging around (no judgement about how little of the candy actually went into baking like originally planned, please).

I had to eat all the blue robin eggs. Because Jaime had a girl. So the blue had to go. And I’m not wasteful.

Anyway, if I had actually gone back and read the post about when I baked the chubby hubby cookies, I may have actually remembered how many cookies came out of it.This recipe could really be halved and no one would know the difference. Unless, of course, you’re cooking for a crowd. Or an entire baseball team. Then you should probably make the whole batch.

The recipe for the cookies was also the only one actually followed. When it came to the filling, I really wanted to make the oreo cookie knock-off filling. So I fired up the Google. And searched. And searched. And realized, without vegetable shortening, I was up a creek. Because this week was still a very busy one and a trip to the grocery store was not typed into my Blackberry calendar (aka wasn’t happening).Thank goodness I can always trust good ol’ buttercream to come through for me. Any recipe for it will do (I sort of always eyeball it)- just use at least a stick and a half of butter and a little more powdered sugar/less milk than you normally would as to get a thicker filling that won’t “smush” as quickly once you sandwich the cookies together.

It could all stop here if you really wanted it to. A classic sandwich cookie.Simple. Elegant. Satisfactory.

I am none of those things.

When it comes to baking, I’m a girl who lives in the excess.

*That rule also applies to pizza, wine, shoes and Vince Vaughn.

But anyway, when baking, why not go above and beyond?Because chocolate makes everything better.

As does crushed candy on top of your creation.

As does more chocolate.You can never have enough, to be honest.

It turns out quite pretty.And heavenly to devour when you’re in the market for a solid sugar rush.

Just make sure there’s a napkin involved. That is my disclaimer- I am not responsible for crushed candy getting all over your house.

Now that I’ve left you good and hungry, I must leave you. It’s time for yet another road trip to St. Louis. This maid-of-honor is SO not going to be the one late for the rehearsal dinner…

Toodles!

Oh yeah… I should probably go water that house plant before I leave…

Pre-Vegas Brownies

Happy Monday, everyone!  Did you all have a good weekend?

Mine was pretty fabulous. And by fabulous, I mean one of the most low-key weekends I’ll have until… um… August?

Yeah, I’m overwhelmed just thinking about it. Excited. But overwhelmed.

So a night in and a nice tasting and dinner at a winery was perfect for my mood.

What did I do Friday night during my night in, you ask?

Well… I broke out the big guns.After staring at Jessica’s Better-Than-Crack brownies for several months now, I finally had an excuse to make them. And thanks to hitting up the Easter clearance like a baller, I also had all the necessary ingredients.

Please do not judge me for using a box mix. I am not a huge brownie person (weird, being as how I’m a self-proclaimed chocoholic). And because I am not a huge brownie fan, the “perfect” plain brownie recipe is yet to come through my kitchen (I do have a soft spot for Almond Joy Brownies- they’re crazy good). The box mix will do for now. Does anyone else find it troubling how it takes literally less than two minutes to mix brownies and throw them in the oven? Dang.

Oh and I’m probably one of very few crazies to be baking over-the-top brownies the weekend before I travel to Vegas for a bachelorette party that consists of running around in swimsuits and cocktail dresses. Smart.

At least now we’ve got an excuse for the dimple on my left butt cheek. Even if the sexy boys at the pool don’t care where it came from, I’ll still feel obliged to let them know.

While the brownies started the baking process, I got the mix-ins ready to throw on top after 20 minutes of baking.This was also about the time I started watching No Strings Attached (a red box snag). The movie was ok. I didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it. There were some good lines- none of which I can remember at the moment. *Sigh.

And speaking of Ashton Kutcher, is anyone else curious how they plan to incorporate Ashton Kutcher into Charlie Sheen’s old role on tv? Is he the crazy younger brother that no one talks about? A son Charlie never knew about? Another kooky neighbor? I’m so confused!You top the brownies with the peanuts and reese’s and bake it for another 6-8 minutes. They come out looking pretty stellar.

My only frustration with baking these was putting the second layer of milk chocolate/peanut butter/rice krispies on top and sticking it in the refrigerator. What do you mean I have to wait 2 hours before serving???

Thank god I had the movie to distract me for at least part time. If you’re smart, have only one brownie at the 2-hour mark. Pair it with a nice white wine (or a bottle of $4.99 wine from Trader Joe’s- whatev). Then wait overnight to cut up for serving or hoovering the rest. The top was still a little soft on my first go-round.

What did I think?

Delish. Like I said, I’m not the biggest brownie person. But these were pretty good. I think if I found a fudgier brownie mix/recipe or had thrown in semi-sweet chocolate chips to the batter, I would have enjoyed the brownie base more. And I’d totally put more peanuts and reese’s in the middle layer. Or maybe more rice krispies on top?

It’s the texture- I do wish there would be more “chew” in it. But that’s just a personal preference.

However, that’s not to say they weren’t good. Because they were And there’s not much to complain about the peanut butter and chocolate combo. It’s a winner. 

When I took them with as an after-winery dessert on Saturday night, they got everyone else’s seal of approval. So that’s really the only opinion you need. They’re good. Make them. But feel free to customize them to your own tastes. Everyone’s different, right?

The brownies are pretty much gone except for one I promised to save for someone. They’ve got another 24 hours to claim it.

23:59….

23:58…

If you think I won’t eat it for breakfast, you’re wrong.

Like I said- there’s a reason for the dimple.

Excuse me while I take a minute to step away from the computer and do a few lunges.

Later!

Can’t Get Enough

Hello!

I’m back from my long holiday weekend in Missouri and things already feel like they’re back to normal.

Rain. Coffee. Work. Computer. Tuesday. Yep- the weekend is definitely over. Meh.

The drive back to Chicago went alright. Although I’m now convinced there’s a rain cloud that just travels with my car. Just can’t get enough of that rain. Woot woot!

We won’t complain anymore, though. I made good time and was still able to make my Whole Foods date with Mon! After a long weekend of good eats, a little bit of roughage was necessary. And appreciated by not only my tastebuds, but also my digestive system. Yep.

But then we counteracted our healthy dinner date with a trip to Target.This was planned months ago- like all the way back when we stumbled upon Valentine’s Day clearance after the holiday had passed.

No- I’m not chowing down on chocolate. As much as I’d like to. Just stocking up for future baking and such. There isn’t usually a chocolate stash in the house, but as long as the bag of candy isn’t open, there’s usually not a problem.

I cannot promise the same discipline once the bag is open. I can only warn you to watch your fingers.

I also cannot promise that I will stop talking about candy any time soon.  Sorry.

After the dinner and shopping, we finished catching up on each other’s weekends with a trip to the gym. A half hour of treadmill walking made me feel sooooo much better after being stuck in a car all day. The leggies appreciated it.

Now if only someone could help me out with the tightness in my back from sitting for a total of 16 hours in a car over the weekend…

And speaking of sugar… sounds like you really enjoyed the pics of my mom’s Coconut Cream Crunch and Almond Joy Cake. We may have to give them their proper time to shine on the blog sooner than later. Noted. 

Also, thanks for letting me know I’m not the only weirdo who doesn’t like ham.

Seriously- for all this time I thought it was just me.

Alright Tuesday… let’s DO THIS.

Sometimes You Feel Like A Nut

My mom’s favorite candy by far is Almond Joy.

Who can really blame her? The sugary coconut-y filling goodness. The almonds. The chocolate. What’s not to love?(And who doesn’t love a pot of butter?  Oh geez…)

Actually, I used to not like Almond Joys. At all. And my brother and I would get SO MAD when mom came home with a bag of almond joys for the house. Because mom knew we didn’t like them and they’d be all hers.

See how smart she is?Over the years, this changed. I grew to love coconut. And now I’ll rarely go more than a couple days without. I’ll sneak it into oatmeal or every other dessert I make.Mom taught me well. 

She also attempts to teach me other things. Like how to stuff a turkey (one of these days I’ll pay full attention and not laugh when a finger gets sliced during the demonstration). And that you should always line your cabinets with shelf paper in a new apartment before using them because only god knows who’s been there (I did half of them after the last move- that’s progress, right?).Granted, those things I’m still not quite sold on, but hey- she always has my best interest at heart. And I’m lucky to have her.

My brother and I may look across the dinner table at each other with raised eyebrows on occasion. Or roll our eyes while on the phone with her as she gives us a “friendly mom reminder”. But this only makes me all the more thankful. Because I love that I’ve seemed to inherit her quirky ways. And her genuinely positive outlook on life. And her sincere kindness (although an ex or two may debate this…).But anyway, because one thing I know for sure is that my mom does not make a road trip to Chicago without a bag of almond joys to share in the car, I decided to make something of similar fashion to share with her as the family all travels to meet up in St. Louis.

Almond Joy Brownie Bars!I was a little surprised at how fudgy they turned out- given the choice, I prefer a brownie that is the perfect balance between fudgy and cake- a perfectly chewy brownie. In that regard, I was nervously watching these babies cook up. I prefer cupcakes and cookies because of this, too- soooo much easier to tell when they’re “done”.However, the coconut/sweetened condensed milk combination absolutely MADE the brownie. I licked that particular bowl clean, too. Not kidding. My stomach hurt afterwards.

But anyway, I hope she enjoys them. 

Happy Birthday, Mom.I know I’m a handful, but thank you for everything you do. I love you!

My “Go To”

Everyone has that one thing they use as their “go-to” for parties/gatherings/holidays. Something easy to make, travels well, and is easy to serve to the masses.

This is mine.Scotcheroos. You’ve probably seen one version or another floating around on the interwebz at some point. The reason is because they’re delicious. And amazingly addicting. My friend calls them “butterscotch-covered crack” and of all the things I’ve ever made, this is the one that is most requested.

I even made them as part of the dessert when I made my friend Jaime’s wedding cake.  And yes, I do believe rice krispie hybrids can be considered fine dining.

But a lot of people don’t know my secret.

It’s one of the easiest things I know how to make.This may damage my credibility as a baker, but it’s a chance I’m willing to take.

The thing I like most about this recipe is that it’s about 20 minutes start to finish. And the majority of it happens in one big pot.

Also… there are measurements. But if you decide not to follow them precisely, you won’t be penalized. In my case, I up the peanut butter and decrease the sugar. Just a little. Or a lot. Depending on the day and mood…My mom makes this a lot to “have around the house”. Which is sort of silly because it doesn’t stick around the house very long. My brother takes out a row of them at a time. Or at least he used to when I was still around before moving. Pretty sure there’s a black hole at some spot in his 6’7 frame. Silly boys and their metabolism.But now that I’m thinking about it… I may have taken a row of them down at a time, too.Did I mention my sugar tolerance used to be amazing?  It still is… but now I’m buzzing if I have two. You’ve been warned.Scotcheroos

Again, I will stress that approximations are totally allowed. They’ll still turn out better that you’ll imagine. Promise.

1 cup corn syrup

1 cup sugar

1 cup peanut butter

6 cups rice krispies

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1 cup butterscotch chips

Mix corn syrup and sugar in small saucepan and heat until it comes to a boil and sugar dissolves. Stir in peanut butter. Then stir in rice krispies a cup at a time (as to prevent cereal flying everywhere). Dump it all into a coated pan and press to make solid.

Melt chocolate and butterscotch together. Spread over top of rice krispie mixture.

*I also melted a little more butterscotch in the saucepan I was already using. And drizzled it over the top of the chocolate. Because I’m fancy like that.And thanks for all the good thoughts about the leg! Right now we’re not “freaking out”. I’m not worried about the leg because I know I’ll be good to run by race day- it’s just going to be ugly.

And this is all requiring me to be patient. Which is hard. Because that’s something I generally AM NOT when it comes to such things.

Hopefully your Tuesday goes well. However, if it doesn’t, don’t be upset. Tuesdays hardly ever do. That’s just the way it goes… :pLater everyone!

Satisfied Cravings

I’m a strange chick.

There’s no getting around that.

I like to think my quirkiness is endearing. And adorable.Don’t try and tell me otherwise.

There are other things that make me relatively normal. Or at least things that allow me to pretend I am. 

Like my strong love of all things chocolate. Come on- I AM a girl afterall!Except for during a few days of the month (holla’ at your girl if you know what I’m talking about). I do something sort of strange.

I don’t crave chocolate. Like at all.

It’s alarming. And always catches me off guard. Those *couple of days* happened to span over my Vegas trip (major suck) and I even looked at Mon at one point as we were having lunch and said, “what is going on? why have I not craved chocolate more considering a bakery/gelato is around EVERY corner?”

Some consider this lucky. I considered it unfortunate that gelato was only purchased once. Lame.

Of course, once I’m back to “normalcy” and those couple of days are over, the chocolate cravings come ROARING back.

You’d think I’d be satisfied with the brownie cupcakes from Friday night. Rich. Decadent.

Not so much. I needed more.Plus, peeps at work were getting restless without the usual inflow of cookies. And I was tired of getting badgered. 

Geez guys… I guess if you REALLY want me to bake for the office…

Another chocolate-heavy dessert was necessary. Since brownies were already explored, on Sunday I decided to revisit my favorite type of sweet- cookies.

White chocolate and M&M’s, chocolate cookies to be specific…

They were a spin on The Picky Palate’s White Chocolate, Chocolate Cookies. (I still had more of those peanut butter M&M’s to use obviously.)

Since people are sometimes finicky about peanut butter (yeah, I don’t get it either), I did half with the candy and half without.Don’t ever say I’m not accommodating…

The cookies were super soft right out of the oven. I was almost afraid of them all crumbling- when the recipe says to let them sit on the pan for a few minutes, for heaven’s sake, let them sit.

There was only one casualty to the crumble after transporting them to work (whew!). I loved the white chocolate chips, but the peanut butter M&M’s really did knock ‘em out of the park.After these, my cravings were finally met. And my coworkers have quieted down with the nagging.

At least for now.

Just in case you were concerned, the rest of my Tuesday was acceptable.

- I did not scratch my eye out after being VERY concerned with yesterday morning’s self-mutilation attempts. A nail file solved that problem. Real quick.

- Solid cross training happened (even if I was STILL a little sore from Sunday’s Shred session).

-An old man stopped me in the parking garage to compliment me on my “hot boots” that I wear so well.  “Oh… um, thanks…” I say.  “No really, you look very good in them.”  Ummmm… Good thing I can pick up the pace pretty easily in my hot boots.

- My vacuum cleaner may be broken. Too lazy to investigate last night, but there was a hot smell coming from it after I was done. I’m going to assume it needs to be cleaned again. I shed a lot and it’s normal for me to have to cut hair that’s wrapped around the wheel thingie (is there an official name? do you know what I’m talking about???).

We’re halfway through the week, kids. We can do it!

Friday Night Cupcakes

It seems I have been on somewhat of a baking hiatus.

Let’s blame the Vegas vacation, half marathon training, and overall crazy busy schedule as of late.

No worries- Friday night I recognized the severity of this problem and took efforts to fix it.A sweet friend of mine, Danielle, had no idea a surprise birthday party was being thrown in her honor over the weekend. I already had plans before the invite came through and couldn’t make it. So I did the next best thing and sent some love through cupcakes.

I had no idea what to make, but did know I wanted to use the peanut butter M&M’s I had picked up on a whim from Target’s Valentine’s Day clearance. Finally, I settled on brownies. My only issue was finding a recipe to use. There were SO MANY good ones to choose from. But because I was lacking unsweetened chocolate, it took time before I found this one that didn’t require any.

Can you believe I have every other kind of chocolate except for unsweetened? Unheard of!

Because I used milk chocolate, white chocolate, and M&M’s, the brownies were loaded with sweet. So the icing needed to counterbalance it just a little.

See how much thought I put into such things? Baking is taken seriously around these parts…

Who else would I go to but Paula Deen to help a girl out? Butter was being used and she is the queen of such things.  Aaaahhhh her cream cheese frosting… I lightened it up a little by subbing in some milk for a little of the butter. This is usually how I do it because I prefer the butter cream to be a little less heavy. 

And it’s much easier to mix this way.  Just a dab on top did the trick.

We tested two of them just to be sure.The cupcakes go lovely with a dry white wine.

Not that I would know or anything…

Danielle informed me that she even had one for breakfast yesterday after the party.

I approved. One thing great about birthday weekends- anything goes. 

All the sugar from my baking adventures is probably what helped to propel me through yesterday’s workout. Not sure if anyone noticed but myself, but the strength training was horribly lacking. The Shred was popped into the dvd player with a little apprehension. It had been at least 3 weeks. It wasn’t going to be pleasant.

The workout itself wasn’t awful. But as I sit here and type this today, my thighs are burning.

Sorry Jillian… I’ll never ignore you for this long again.

I also did a little elliptical work to get the blood pumping and spent some time as the “cell phone talker” as I walked on the treadmill.  Multi-tasking!

*If it happens when no one else is in the workout room, it doesn’t count as rude. That’s my rule. 

Question of the day… how did everyone sleep last night? Well? Or did Daylight Savings get the best of ya?

I definitely did not go to bed until about 30 to 40 minute later than usual. Not much you can do when you’re just not that tired!

Feeling Back to Normal

Thanks for taking pity on my attempt at the long run.  You guys are right- 6 miles are still awesome.  But I wanted that 7th and 8th so bad! I really had a hard time deciding to stop. But it was either that or start taking walk breaks every quarter-mile. And that thought was just miserable.

But that’s behind us now. Today is a new day. And I’m about to give it another go. After I post this and give myself a pep talk. In the bathroom mirror. 

“… and gosh darnit people like you…”

Wait… let’s get back on track.

After a recovery period that included Waiting for Superman and a few SNL reruns, I woke up on Sunday feeling awesome. Or at least ordinary. Seriously guys- Friday night’s shenanigans left me hurting. Even my friend let out an “aaaawwwww” as he walked in on Saturday night when usually he just points and laughs. Could have been the fact that I was buried under multiple blankets with no makeup on and a massive glass of water on the coffee table.  If that doesn’t say “pity me”, I don’t know what does.

Either way, Sunday morning brought promise. Until I had a sip of coffee.  Bleh.

My coffee maker had been on the fritz for quite some time. But enough is enough. I sipped the rest of it slowly while browsing the Sunday ads for kitchen appliance sales. 

Coincidently, Mon texted me about her plans to hit Target at some point before we go to dinner later.  I invited myself along. All that was on the list was a coffee maker and face wash.

As we entered the aisle, Mon goes “oh! I still have the old one I had before my Keurig. Just take that one.”

Score! But of course Target sucks you in.  We found the clearance aisle…Gift bags for 50 cents?  What? A box of chocolates for $1? Bags of peanut butter M&M’s 90% off??? 

Went in for 2 things.  Left with 15. 

You got me again, Target. You got me again…

Later on, after a quick Shred and elliptical workout, Mon and I had an early dinner at Salsa 17 to use another one of our Groupon purchases. Sure, the first time we used it, there was a bad taste left in our mouths with the crowds and lackluster service. But we still had another Groupon that needed to be used.  Why not go at on off time? Like 3:00 in the afternoon?

We even beat the senior citizens there.Excuse my teary eyes. This was just after I was trying to re-enact the lastest episode of Community.

Donald Glover leaves me in hysterics every week.

Anyway, after a lovely dinner that was exactly like the last time we went (those enchiladas are freakin’ delish), we retreated back home to watch Red and break into the chocolates.Sorry about the mess.  I love that you can see the sweat pants I wear over my gym clothes. They were drying out because I had to walk through a down pour… stupid rain.

But anyways, waiting even 6 hours from when I bought the chocolate was a big deal.Aaaahhhh…. I love discount holiday candy. We took down all the caramels. The truffles were pretty much left behind. Not that I don’t like truffles (because I do!), I just prefer the caramels more…

I also love sleeping in. Until 7:30. Weeeeee!

And that coffee maker Mon mentioned? Put to use right away.Because I named my crock pot, it only seemed fair the coffee maker gets a name.  This is Sophie. She’s french. And is quite the barista.

So cheers! And happy Monday!

Off I go…

How To Become Addicted to Peppermint

Just when I was trying to convince you I don’t JUST bake around here…The third thing Mon and I tackled over last Saturday’s Baking Extravaganza was peppermint bark. 

Now… I’ve done the standard chocolate and crushed peppermint before. And it’s good.  But that’s not what this was.  THIS blows my standard candy out of the water.

Basically, they’re slabs of junk food goodness.  That’s the only way I can think of to explain it. And yes, it’s a slab.  No “cute” or “sexy” way to put it. 

I found the idea by stumbling across this post by Gingerbread Bagels, but did some substituting here and there.  And didn’t really follow the measurements.  Because sometimes I just feel like winging it.

My version had a peppermint theme going on, but I’m positive there would be a way to make an amazing Andes mint remake of it (if you’re so inclined to do so).

I melted the semi-sweet and milk chocolate together.  No problem.If you like peppermint bark REALLY minty (hence the name, right?), I would suggest adding peppermint extract to the chocolate after you melt it. Just a thought.

My issue came when it was time to melt the almond bark.  The original recipe calls for buying separate red and green candy disks to melt.  Did I do this?  No… my thoughts were that I’d just buy the white almond bark and dye it.  Cheaper and just as easy, right?

Um.  No.

Once that dye hit the almond bark, it became this really weird, almost paste-like, concoction. Trying to heat it more did absolutely nothing.  I had to throw it out. Can someone explain this to me?  Chemistry was not my strongest subject.

On to Plan B.

The bark itself just wouldn’t be as “festive”.  I think we were close to hour 3 or 4 at that point and a break to run to Michael’s was not happening.  Plus, we were drinking and it was sleeting outside. And a pizza was on it’s way.  Priorities, people!But after plenty of swirling with a knife, it still looked oh so pretty.On to the toppings…When was the last time I bought Oreos?  I don’t remember.  I’m not one to buy packaged cookies (because I prefer to bake instead).  But in case you’re wondering, the peppermint Oreos?  Deadly…

That goes for pretzel M&M’s and peppermint Hershey kisses, too. I’m wasn’t overly sad there’s still about half of each bag leftover. They’ve been coming in handy this week. 

Like I said, I’m sure you could buy as much christmas-y candy you’d like and really load up on this thing.  But I kept it simple…This is where the large knife came in…After it cooled in the refrigerator, I was trying to figure out how to best break it up without smashing all the stuff on top. 

Clearly Mon took care of it.

This was her favorite out of all the things I made.  And she even replicated it on her own a couple days ago.

Since Mon doesn’t spend time in the kitchen, you know it’s easy.Well.  Not THAT easy.  Melting things can be hard…

I say that kind of seriously.  I’ve burned my share of chocolate. And other food.  And skin.  Now that I think of it, I have no idea why I’m allowed extreme heat or open flame.

Speaking of that half bag of M&M’s… I’d be lying if I didn’t say they were a good chunk of my dinner last night after a 20-minute walk on the treadmill because I wasn’t feeling very energetic.

What?  Sometimes Hump Days are just rough. 

I still got a round of resistance bands in yesterday morning and The Shred this morning.

We’ll call it even.