Would You Like Chocolate With That? ~ The Recipes

 

Welcome to Chocolate Friday!  I'm here to give you a chocolate reward for a week well done, or at least a week...done!  Either way, you should have some chocolate!  :)

I don't have a recipe to share today.  Instead I've updated the list of chocolate recipes to make it easier for you to find what you like.  Just click on the pic for the list:

 

I've already put the updated pic and list on my sidebar so you can find the recipes any time you need them.  I'll eventually get a list of the non-chocolate desserts for you too.  I will be adding the link to the chocolate recipes to my navigational bar at the top of my blog.  And you can always use the search button on the sidebar whenever you're looking for a specific recipe.

Any Chocolate Friday suggestions for 2010?  Should we keep doing Dessert Friday the first Friday of each month?  Or would you rather have some themed Chocolate Fridays - like fave chocolate cookies, best brownie recipe, etc.?  Other ideas?  Just let me know!

I'm sure you can find something you like on that list of chocolate recipes!  And I'm sure that many of you have something chocolatey to share today!  Go get that old or new chocolate post and bring it here to link up below!  Let's finish this month out with plenty of chocolate!

Have a chocolatey day friends!

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Talkin' About Thursdays ~ 5 Things About Yourself

I'm joining up today with Genny from My Cup 2 Yours for Talkin' About Thursdays.  She's so sweet and you'll like hanging out at her blog!  Today's topic is 5 Things About Yourself.

I decided there was no need to share the silly randomness as I've done that before and you can always go look at my 100 Things to read many random things about me!  Instead I'll share 5 things that most of you do not know and may surprise you about me!

1.  When I was in elementary school, I was in a community theater production of The King and I.  I was one of the many school children.  My Mom had to make my costume and help get me ready for performances by spraying my hair black!  I loved being in the play and singing the songs!

2.  When I was in my early 20's and working for a bank, I wrote a rap about checking accounts (just for fun) and gave it to the managers.  With their help, I put on a disguise and surprised everyone in a staff meeting performing the rap as MC Lisa!  Oh the laughs!!!  Later on all the employees learned the rap and "performed" with me in a video that we sent to the regional office.  I still have that tape.  SO funny!  We knew how to have fun!  Peace out...

3.  About 10 years ago, I had an opportunity to be in a marathon back in my home state (Montana) to raise money for the Leukemia Society.  3 of my California coworkers decided to do it with me and we trained for a few months to be able to walk the whole thing.  I didn't train as much as I should have so it was brutal!  But I did walk and finish the whole 26.2 miles!!!  I wanted to give up by mile 21.  The last 5 miles involved thinking about cancer patients, praying, crying, and just moving one foot in front of the other - felt SO good to cross that finish line!

4.  Before I became a Mom, I worked in banking for several years - all the way from teller to manager.  By the end I was a typical career woman working 50+ hours a week.  I did.not.cook.  My husband cooked dinner after getting home from his job.  I barely baked anything.  If I needed to take a treat somewhere I would usually buy something.  I only had a couple of desserts that I made well.  After I had my son and God pulled me to be a stay-at-home mom, I gradually took over the cooking.  People are always surprised by that now as I cook all the time and you KNOW I like to bake and make desserts!

5.  About 5-6 years ago, I first joined Weight Watchers as I needed to lose weight that I had put on over the years.  I loved it and was very successful!  I lost 30 pounds and became a lifetime member.  Unfortunately, I stopped going and through the years I have put the weight (and more) back on.  I struggle greatly in this area but keep working on it because I did it once and can do it again!  I am back at WW and working to eat healthier and exercise.  I'm determined to get the weight off no matter how long it takes me!  I have a second blog where I talk about weight struggles and share healthy recipes.  Making connections with other women who have the same struggles helps motivate me to stay on track.

Now you know a little more about me!  Hope I didn't scare you - LOL!  I look forward to getting to know you better!  What is something surprising about you?

Be sure to stop over at My Cup 2 Yours to read 5 things about Genny and link up your own 5 things post!  I'm also linking this up to Your Life, Your Blog at Real Life - link up your fave post!

Have a lovely day and be sure to come back tomorrow for Chocolate Friday!

Works-For-Me Wednesday: My Vitamins

Here's a tip that works for me:

I suppose you think these vitamins are for my son.  I do give him some when I feel he needs an extra boost for his immune system or he hasn't been eating well.  But mainly, these vitamins are for ME!

Now before you start shaking your head saying that a grown-up can't take a kid's vitamin, let me show you the back of the label:

Notice that it mentions adults?  That's right!

I'm not going to list out the whole label, but here are some key things that it does contain:

Vitamin C - 100%
Vitamin D - 100%
Folic Acid - 100% (the recommended 400 mcg)
Calcium - 10%
Iron - 100% (so don't take if you take iron supplements & keep these out of reach of young children)
Iodine - 100%

There are plenty of other vitamins (A, B, E & more) and minerals (Zinc, Copper & more) and even Choline.

I could take a daily pill to get my multi-vitamin.  But I have always hated taking pills and have had many bad pill-taking experiences.  I will conveniently forget to take pills unless I absolutely must take them for medical reasons.  I can usually remember to chew up a Flinstones character every day at breakfast time.  It's fun, so why not?  If it gets me to take my vitamin daily, then I think it's a good thing!  If you have trouble taking vitamins, give it a try!  There are even gummy bear vitamins - do what works for you.

Yabba Dabba Doo! - LOL!!  :)

Stop by We Are THAT Family to see what's working for everybody else!  Have a great day friends!

Almost A Guest Post, But Not - How To Make Your Own Lattes

As promised yesterday - here are my hubs' tips for making your own coffee house lattes at home!  He took these pics and wrote up some directions to put on his facebook and I thought it would make a great post.  He's letting me post this on my blog.  It's almost like he's guest posting - which he is not because he tells me he would never do something like that.  :)

Hubs makes these lattes for me every weekend (yes, I AM spoiled)!  Here are the directions - in his words:

The kind of coffee you want to buy is dark roast, e.g. espresso roast, Italian roast, French roast, African coffees.  Basically you want the kinds of coffee with dark oily beans.  Grind the coffee beans really fine.  If you decide to buy the pre-ground espresso in the can, go with a more expensive brand like illy.  Be warned - the cheap stuff in the cans at the grocery store tastes terrible.  I mean really bad.

I use a stovetop espresso maker because they make more shots of espresso in a brewing cycle.  Most kitchen and bath stores sell them. I got this one at IKEA. It was around $20.  Follow the instructions that come with it to brew the espresso.

While the espresso is brewing, start steaming the milk.  We already have a single shot espresso machine and I use the steamer attachment to steam the milk. You can buy a low-price espresso maker and just use the steamer or you can steam milk in the microwave. Here's one way to do it (http://www.ehow.com/how_4750814_steam-milk-espresso-machine.html). Steam the milk to no more than 160 degrees (I use our meat thermometer to check the temp) or it will scald.  You’re probably wondering: “Why don’t you just use the espresso maker side of the machine to make espresso?”  I used it when we first got it, but it was laborious to make more than one shot of espresso because you have clean out the espresso basket after each brew cycle.  Plus the grind of the espresso has to be just right or the espresso won’t brew right (too fine the basket clogs, too coarse the espresso flavor is too weak).  The stovetop maker will brew a very fine grind of espresso without clogging and, as I said above, you get way more espresso shots in a brew-cycle.

Also in this pic is the flavored syrup to add to the latte (my wife likes foo-foo). You can buy these syrups at any grocery store. 

As soon as espresso is done brewing, it's good to pour it into a separate container so it won't continue cooking in the espresso maker since the maker gets very hot.  If it stays in the hot maker too long, it will become bitter.  

The espresso is done brewing. Too bad this isn't smellivision. Good stuff!

To make a latte the way my wife likes (a "lighter coffee experience") which is like a Starbucks flavored latte, pour into cup in this order: approx. 2 tablespoons flavored syrup, 1 shot espresso (1/4 cup), then 1 1/2 cups steamed milk.  To make a bolder latte (a "normal" latte), pour 2-3 shots espresso and then 1 1/2 cups steamed milk.

The finished product.  This cup cost about a dollar to make (if you use organic milk; much less if not) and my wife says it tastes just as good as "Fourbucks". ;)

Isn't it lovely?  Such a treat!  Thanks hubs!!  Um, for the record though, my lattes do not cost four bucks (hubs rounds up).  :)

I'm linking this up to the Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap!  Also linking this to DIY Day at A Soft Place To Land!

Eat From The Pantry Challenge Update

I've still been doing the Pantry Challenge that I started at the beginning of the month.  I thought you might like an update!

We've been doing great!  The only eating out we did was when my Dad visited and to take my BIL out for his birthday (though we used a gift card to cover most of that!).  I will say that *drinking* out - hey, I'm talking coffee drinks people - was not forbidden!  I have done very well using all my Christmas coffee gift cards and coupons to cover most of my lattes though - 1 or 2 a week.

For the most part, we've only purchased dairy products and produce at the grocery store.  There have only been a couple of small exceptions.  We've definitely saved money on the groceries this month!  I force myself to make substitutions in a recipe if necessary and I have had to save some recipes for next month.

Ah, but how have we been eating?  Could be scary depending on what's in your pantry and freezer!  Well we were very well-stocked to begin with so I wasn't too worried.  To be perfectly honest, we've been eating much better this month!!  That's because I know that I can't use eating out or grabbing a quick grocery store meal as a back up, so I must plan a meal and prepare it.

Here are a few of the yummy things I've been able to make this month from the pantry/freezer:

Crunchy Party Mix

Spicy Taco Soup

Chicken With Mushrooms and White Wine

 

Chicken-Tortellini Soup

 

Lace Cookies (recipe from Knit1Kids4)

 

Doesn't look like we've been suffering too much, does it? I even made Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate Chip cookies and froze half the batter for future chocolate chip cookie "emergencies" - LOL!

There have been other great recipes that we've been able to try - those will be posted soon on my other blog.  Almost all of my dinners fall into the "healthy" category as we're trying to watch those calories - which is why they're all posted on my other blog - but they are all delicious, loved by our family, and have often been served to company!

One of the ways we save a few dollars during the pantry challenge is by having hubs make me flavored lattes just like Starbucks!  I was going to post his directions/tips right here for you, but I think it will be better as a separate post.  So up next - how to make your own flavored lattes at home - on the cheap!  :)

How are you doing on the Pantry Challenge?  Have you tried a pantry challenge before?  Link up your updates and see how others are doing at Money Saving Mom!

Have a marvelous Monday!

Would You Like Chocolate With That? ~ Chocolate Toffee Cream Cake

I think we should reward ourselves with chocolate when we get to the end of a week!  Pat yourself on the back for all you accomplished, take a little break, and have some chocolate with me!

Do you remember my Chocri post?  Well, they have now officially launched in the U.S.!  Woo Hoo!  Stop by www.createmychocolate.com to customize a chocolate bar for a special Valentine's gift.  They do have Valentine's Day packaging available, but remember that you need to place Valentine orders on or before Feb. 1 ('cause those babies are hand-made and shipped to you from Germany!).  And you'll want to become a Chocri facebook fan if you haven't yet, because when they hit 2000 fans, then all 2000 will receive a $10 gift code!!

But now - on to a chocolate recipe!  I'm repeating a recipe for you today because I think you need an easy one after the holidays.  This is a recipe that even you non-baking busy moms can handle.  Everybody will like this one!

Chocolate Toffee Cream Cake (from Duncan Hines)

1 pkg. Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix
3 eggs
1 1/3 cups water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 (6 oz.) pkg. milk chocolate English toffee bits, divided
1 (12 oz) container extra creamy non-dairy whipped topping, thawed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9-in. round cake pans.

Blend cake mix, eggs, water and oil in large mixing bowl until moistened. Beat at medium speed with electric mixer for 4 min. Pour into prepared pans. Bake 30-33 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 15 min. Remove from pans. Cool completely. Reserve 1/4 cup toffee bits; fold remaining bits into whipped topping. Place one cake layer on serving plate; spread with 3/4 cup topping mixture. Top with remaining layer. Frost sides and top with remaining topping mixture; garnish with reserved chips. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you prefer to make things from scratch, just make a dark chocolate cake, some homemade whipped cream with toffee bits added and you're good to go!

Moist, rich, delicious, pretty, but best yet - easy!  Anybody can make this one!

Now it's your turn to share the chocolate!  I know, yes that's right, I KNOW you've got a chocolate post somewhere - old or new - that you can link up today!  Let's see how many we can get.  Spread the word and if you see something chocolatey out in the blogosphere, please send the blogger this way.

I'm linking this up to the Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap - check out all the recipes!  Also linking to Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam!

Happy Chocolate Friday!

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A Day Offline Is A Productive Day - Or - I Got My Cabinet Organized

Spending all day Tuesday off the computer was the best thing I could have done!  I was able to totally focus on my paperwork attack!  And since I wasn't distracted by the computer (thinking I need to check comments, twitter, facebook and getting sidetracked) I even got other things done!  I did my daily reading, some cleaning, some laundry, put homemade applesauce in containers to freeze, made Chex mix in the slow cooker, made cornbread, sorted paperwork, sorted paperwork, and sorted MORE paperwork - LOL!

I didn't take a before pic because it was just TOO scary!  But I did get an after pic which made me feel better!

 

Not bad, right?  Now let's pretend that there are not still sorted stacks of paperwork on the dining room table waiting to be filed away in the appropriate spots.  Sounds like a Friday project...

I'm wondering if I need to do the totally offline thing once a week so I accomplish more.  We shall see!  Did you accomplish a lot this week (I know Kim did; I'm talking to the rest of you!)?

Have a fabulous day!  And stay tuned - the Chocolate Friday post is up next!

Maybe Our Son Will Have His Own Line Of Greeting Cards...Or Not

Our son likes to use the laptop and do silly drawings in Paint.  He showed us this one tonight which we thought was really cute - silly, but cute!

Hubs and I could imagine "Chicky" doing all sorts of funny little things on greeting cards and told our son that he should draw "Chicky" doing some fun things.

I just found this drawing on the computer.  Isn't "Chicky Licky" cute and sweet?  *ahem*

Noooo - it's "Chicky Licky" - run for your lives!!  And *poof* - just like that our greeting card line dream disappears.  LOL!!  I hope you get a giggle from this like I did!

I'm linking this up to Friday Funnies with my friend Kim at Homesteader's Heart!  Go check out all the other funnies and get your laughs for the day!

Have a terrific day!

Wordless Wednesday: A Boy Lives Here

You don't have to look too hard to find evidence around our house that a boy lives here.

A boy who is a Star Wars fan and a Lego fan (whose mom is smart enough to make sure the gold tray is plastic - LOL)!

Happy Wordless (mostly) Wednesday!  Go see more Wordless Wednesday pics at 5 Minutes For Mom!

What Makes My Friends Think I Like Chocolate?

Maybe it's something to do with my blog name...or the desserts I make...or the chocolate smudges on my chin - LOL!  OK, so I DO like chocolate!

I have some very sweet friends!  My friend Lori Ann saw these items and said that they were calling my name so she simply had to get them for me!  I have to agree with her - they match my blog!  It's a dish towel and a little tray.

Aren't they CUTE?!  I love them - what a sweet blessing!  Thank you Lori Ann!!

Remember, I'm not really here today.  I am offline - completely - all day.  I might be curled up in a ball on the floor suffering computer withdrawal.  Or I might be attacking the cabinet of paperwork I talked about yesterday.  Hopefully the latter.  :)

Have a terrific Tuesday!!

Making My Home Sing ~ Battle of the Paperwork

I thought I better get back with it and attempt to make my home sing!  My original plan was to call this "Paperwork Week" and stay off the computer the rest of the week, but that isn't very practical.  However, if I post the next couple of days, it will just be some quick pics and a few words.  I've GOT to keep my focus on the paperwork because it is attacking!

I have a cabinet about to explode with all the unorganized cookbooks, recipes, stacks of miscellaneous paperwork shoved in when no time to organize, etc.  It's scary.  I can't share a before pic with you - it's that bad!  Too embarrassing and I know hubs would not appreciate it.  Just imagine a large computer cabinet (no computer in it) with doors that fly open and paper starting to shoot at you from every direction!  That would be close.

Since I can no longer locate things I need in there, I know it's past time to organize.  Also, I need to find tax paperwork which I have conveniently mixed in.  Speaking of taxes, do you realize all the stuff that bloggers have to show on their taxes?  I just discovered that even not-for-profit, hobby bloggers have to show the value of all items received for reviews as barter income and the value of giveaway items should also be declared.  You can deduct some expenses like giveaway shipping, etc. but still - ugh.  And you certainly can't pretend like you don't remember receiving those items when you've blogged about them for all the world to see, including the IRS!  If this is news to you - here are a couple of links for you to look at with some good info here and here.   But enough with the bucket of cold water!

I'm going to attack the paperwork - all day Tuesday.  That means I'm going to go offline that day.  I will attempt to stay off the computer all day so I won't get sidetracked - no e-mail, no blog reading, no commenting, no twitter, no facebook (hands shaking in anticipation of withdrawal).  If you don't hear from me on Wednesday, you'll know that the cabinet got me.  :)  I'll try to have an update for you on Thursday.

I hope to be so organized when I'm done that my home is singing an opera - LOL!  Oh and the dishwasher repairman is supposed to show up tomorrow morning - that'll make ME sing!  Only 26 days without an operating dishwasher.  Sigh.  Bright side - 26 days without any other large appliance in our kitchen would be slightly more difficult.

Are you a super-organized paperwork person?  How are you making your home sing this week?  Stop over at Mom's The Word to see how others are making their homes sing and tell Nan to get well while you're there!

Have a marvelous Monday friends!

Would You Like Chocolate With That? ~ Guest Post: Toffee Chocolate Cupcakes

Welcome to Chocolate Friday!  Yet another reason to have more chocolate (as if we need one) - Woo Hoo!  My most excellent bloggy friend Kim is guest posting today.  Kim blogs at Homesteader's Heart - you should go check it out.  She always makes me smile and today she's hosting Friday Funnies where you can link up your funny posts, so you're sure to find a laugh!

Hello everyone. It's Kim from Homesteader's Heart here. I love guest posting for my bestest bloggy buddy Lisa. I love her and chocolate so much I thought about renaming my blog to "I Stopped, I Smelled, I ATE the Chocolates!" LOL! Okay, maybe not! I feel I blog more about chocolate then she does sometimes. Hee! Hee! You wanna trade names Lisa? Just kidding!

Anyway, for Christmas my dear friend Lisa sent me this lovely book named Chocolate! With it came a small request. That I would make something out of it and guest post for her Chocolate Friday! Well after much arm twisting and leg pulling I caved and made a recipe. (Did I mention she bribed me by sending chocolate with the book?) How do you say no to that? Hee! Hee! I would have done it anyway and she knows it! I mean come on, it's CHOCOLATE!! I hope you dare try it.

I made the Toffee Chocolate Cupcakes on page 56. But like I do everything I make, I had to tweak it a little due to the fact that I didn't have ALL the ingredients it called for. But I think it still turned out yummy. I took a picture of the original recipe so you can try it the way it is.

The only thing I did differently was I put homemade caramels, left over from Christmas, in the middle of the batter instead of the toffee filling.

I simply filled the muffin cups half way with batter, stuck a yummy caramel in the middle and then covered them with  more batter. I admit these were really yummy right out of the oven while the caramel was still soft and gooey. If I had to do it over I would probably stick 2 caramels in the middle but they were still good just the way they were.

I then melted some dark chocolate chips that I had on hand with a little coconut oil and then drizzled them over the top after they cooled about 5 mins. They went perfect with a hot cup of coffee!

Thanks Lisa for this opportunity to say Howdy to YOUR blogging buddies. Feel free to stop by and visit me at my blog! HUGS!

Yummy!!  Those look great and you could have fun trying different things in the middle!  Thanks Kim!

Now you know the drill.  It's your turn to...yes, link up!!  Bring those old or new chocolate posts over here and link them up below so we can all share the chocolate!

Have a fantastic chocorrific Friday!

Because Toilet Paper Is Important :)

I just saw this and I could not resist posting about it!  I mean, you want me to be fully stocked with toilet paper, right?  And you don't mind if I get some free toilet paper, right?  LOL!

Well, Mom Bloggers Club let me know that Cottonelle is having a Roll Poll!  You should know that I am on Team Over!!  Here's my badge to prove it!

How do you put your toilet paper on the roll?  And I'm curious - if somebody else puts it on the "wrong" way, do you change it?  You can got to http://www.cottonellerollpoll.com and place your vote for Over or Under!  Come on now - you must be Team Over like me!  It's the only way - LOL!  :)

Guess what?  Just by leaving a comment on this post, you are entered to win 1 of 10 Cottonelle gift baskets randomly chosen on January 29, 2010 from all entries (on all Cottonelle blog posts).

Disclosure:  I am posting about this Cottonelle promotion to enter a contest for a month's worth of Cottonelle toilet paper as a member of the Mom Bloggers Club.

Because free toilet paper is even more important!

Take the poll (go Team Over!) and be sure to leave a comment here for your chance to win a Cottonelle gift basket!

Have a great evening friends!

P.S.  Don't forget - tomorrow is Chocolate Friday!  I've got a great chocolatey guest post for you!  Be sure to get your chocolate posts ready and come link them up tomorrow!