Christmas Cookie Bark

14 whole Oreos, broken in pieces. You can use regular, but the holiday ones really add color, as they have the red filling.

1 1/2 C pretzels, I used the small stick ones whole, but you can break them up

1 lb. white chocolate (almond bark)

1 C Christmas corn, the red and green candy corn (you can find it in the Christmas candy section, usually)

Red & Green colored sprinkles

Cover a large cookie sheet with wax paper. Spread broken cookies, pretzels & about 3/4 C of the candy corn onto the wax paper. Place almond bark in a container & microwave for about 1.5 minutes. Stir & then microwave for another 30 seconds until it it melted & smooth...HOWEVER, be very careful as the white chocolate melts & BURNS much easier than chocolate.

Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cookie mixture, spreading with a spatula to spread evenly. Sprinkle remaining candy corn & colored sprinkles over the chocolate while it is still wet. DO NOT let it harden, it dries pretty quickly. Once it is set & firm gently break into small pieces & store in an air tight container....

(I will add pics later today!)

Fall Candy

It has been a long time since I posted anything.....so sorry....I have a quick and easy recipe that even your kids can make....with a little help from you.....

You will only need a few ingredients....

1 block of vanilla almond bark
3/4 C. Candy Corn, divided
1 C. of pretzels, broken (the kids love doing this)
14 Oreos, I used the halloween ones for the orange icing, broken
Festive holiday sprinkles*

*Keep in mind that this recipe can be changed up depending on the holiday/season :)

On a cookie sheet, spread waxed paper or use a silpat on the cookie sheet. Spread out 1/2 the candy corn, the broken pretzels and the broken Oreos. While the kids are doing that, melt the almond bark in a microwave saft bowl, stir frequently. Be careful as it melts and BURNS much quicker than the chocolate bark. Once the almond bark has melted start by pouring in the center of the cookie sheet and then spread to the outside. Do Not stir the mixture together or everything will turn orange, yes, I speak from experience. Simply spread on the top of the other ingredients. Before it starts to cool, sprinkle with the sprinkles and the rest of the candy corn. Let cool, break, and enjoy!

Is it Friday yet? (And a new recipe!)

As I sit here, I find myself wishing it were Friday.....Am I the only one? Why Friday? Really, there is no reason, other than my kid load goes down considerably....(I watch kiddos during the week:)) However, other than that not much changes. There are still the endless home responsibilities that seem to NEVER get finished. Do you ever notice that when you set out to "organize" you end up with a much larger mess than when you started? It is like a never ending cycle. Oh well.......It has been quite a while since I posted anything, much less a yummy recipe.

For dinner tonight, we are having pot roast. I know, seems pretty typical, but I have the no fail, turns out great every time recipe. And, even though you may think one of the ingredients is strange, TRUST me.....I would not lead you astray.


Crockpot Pot Roast


1 large roast 3-5 lb. (depending on the size of your family)

1 can Golden Mushroom Soup (I have only ever found it in Campbells)

1 can water (use the soup can)

1 pkg onion soup mix (the dry kind)

1 can Coke (yes, you read correctly, it tenderizes the meat. You CAN NOT tell that it is in there.)
Carrots, potatoes & 1 large onion


Heat 1 tbsp. oil in a large pan. While your pan is heating, salt & pepper your roast. Place roast in HOT pan and sear on all sides (about 2-3 minutes per side). Once browned, put in crockpot with potatoes, carrots and large onion sliced or quarted. Cook on low for 7-8 hrs or high 4-5 hrs. However, DH prefers longer cooking, so I start mine on low the night before.....I also check in the morning for the liquid level, if it is starting to cook down, I add some beef stock or some water. Just don't let it get dry.

This is one of the easiest dinners and one that definetly rates as comfort food.....Hope you enjoy!

The BEST cookies!

Oh my! I was on Becky Higgins blog today (she designs for CK Media, scrapbooking stuff) and she has these in her recipe blog. I decided to make these since the kids were on their way home (Jeff picked up today)....Mix, scoop and 8 minutes later....COOKIES- Now, are you ready for this?

Here goes: 1 box of cake mix (I used triple fudge for the chocolate ones and vanilla Christmas ones for the others)
2 eggs
1/2 c. oil
1 c. chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.....scoop & bake for 8-10 minutes....The chocolate took 8, vanilla took 10......

These are great & with a big glass of milk it should be a great treat for you and the kiddos-

Hope you enjoy these as much as we did!

Aunt Summer's French Toast Casserole

My wonderful sister, Summer, sent me this recipe. I ask her if I could pass it on and she graciously said yes. I thought that with New Year's coming up, this would be a great one to make Wednesday and have in the refrigerator for Thursday morning......

Ingredients:

*Italian bread (I used chaballah bread or Hawaiian) large loaf
*6 eggs
*1 & 1/2 c half & half
*1 & 1/2 c milk
*1 tsp vanilla
*1 tsp cinnamon
*dash of nutmeg

Butter a 9x13 baking dish. Slice bread 3/4" - 1" pieces. Arrange bread slices in pan. Mix eggs, vanilla, milk, 1/2 & 1/2, cinnamon & nutmeg in large bowl. Pour over bread. Cover w/plastic wrap or foil & refrigerate overnight.

Topping:

*1 stick butter, softened
*1 c brown sugar
*1 & 1/2 c blueberries or strawberries-i used strawberries & they were amazing! Rinsed, sliced, & thawed.

Next morning, liberally sprinkle fruit on top of bread. Mix butter & brown sugar w/pastry blender or fork. Sprinkle topping over fruit & bread mixture.

Bake for 40 min @350 degrees.

*I only put the fruit on 1/2 of it & it was delicious!!

Mother Fannie's Pound Cake

Ingredients:

1 C. butter (2 sticks) NOT margarine

3 C. Sugar

3 C. All purpose flour

1 C. sour cream (you can use low fat if you would like, but DO NOT use no fat)

1/2 tsp. baking soda

6 eggs

1 1/4 tsp. vanilla



Glaze:

2 C. powered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 T. orange juice or milk



Mix all three ingredients together. It will be thick. Slowly add more juice or milk 1/2 tsp at a time until you reach your desired consistency. This needs to be thin enough to drizzle over cake.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cream butter and sugar together; add sour cream. Mix flour and baking soda together. Add to butter mixture, alternately with eggs, one at a time, beating after each. Add vanilla. Pour into a greased* and floured tube pan and bake for 1 hour 20 minutes.
Watch as you get close to the end. The cake should be nicely browned.

Let cake cool for 5 minutes and turn out onto a wire rack. Once cool you can either top with glaze or eat plain.

*Grease bundt pan with shortening (not cooking spray) then coat evenly with flour.

You can make these in individual loaf pans or cup cake tins, however, watch closely as it only take a few minutes (10-14 minutes, depending on you oven) for these to cook :)