Sweets for the sweets- Carmelitas

Pour some sugar on me
Ooh, in the name of love
Pour some sugar on me
C'mon, fire me up
Pour your sugar on me
Oh, I can't get enough
I'm hot, sticky sweet
From my head to my feet, yeah
(Def Leppard, Pour Some Sugar On Me)

So, yah, that was the theme from my life this morning. No, get your head out of the gutter, I was making a new little treat called Carmelitas. It's Valentine's Day and my office is having sweets/chocolate day to celebrate. I know, like we need anymore sweetness around here, right? I looked through my Pinterest board and of course who wants to make something tried and true, why not just step out and try something new? And OHHHH MYYYY these were delish. I pan of gooey greatness. Enough sugar to put a small country into a diabetic coma for a few days. I highly recommend you give these a try. I doubled the recipe but they are super rich so probably the 8x8 pan is enough for most people.

Carmelitas
(from Lulu the Baker)
32 caramel squares, unwrapped
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Combine caramels and cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until completely smooth; set aside. In a separate bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, flour, oats, and baking soda. Pat half of the oatmeal mixture into the bottom of an 8x8" pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over crust. Pour caramel mixture over chocolate chips. Crumble remaining oatmeal mixture over caramel. Return to oven and bake an additional 15-20 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting.
*A stint in the fridge will help them cool off if you're pinched for time. They shouldn't be served cold, but all of that molten caramel takes a long time to cool down. They should be stored and served at room temperature.
**If you want to use homemade or store-bought caramel sauce in place of the caramel/cream mixture, use 1 1/4 cups of sauce.
***To make a 9x13" version, simply double the amounts.

You say you want a rev-o-lu-tionnnn

Wow, my how time flies! Didn't intentionally stop posting for OVER a month but you know -life- it just has a way of sometimes taking all the hours of every day. Although, I suppose if it didn't then it would be death.......hmmm, another ponderance for a different day. What I really want to talk about is another thing happening ready or not and boy am I ready, is a little thing called "Podstock." Yes people LESS THAN 6 MONTHS from now, July 17-19, 2013, we will be tech-ing (yah,  I made up that word) it up at the Hotel at Old Town in Wichita, Kansas. It's like a giant geekfest, nerdtopia of crazy family members. You know the type, they are a part of your family you hesitate to claim to outsiders but are definitely the most fun. :)

One of my duties to get this party started is the graphics. Myself and the whole Podstock team have got some awesome ideas planned for ya'll. From the requested iPad Preconference (some repeated stuff and of course some new stuff as well) to the wonderful plethora of knowledgeable and F.U.N. presenters to the zany and whacky ESSDACK staff members (yes, moi is included in that menagerie) it promises to be another year of learning, community and craziness.

If you haven't already done it listen to Ginger and Andrea as they try to herd the cats and talk about Podstock, past, present and future in podcast fashion. Look for the most recent podcast due to post any day now with yours truly and the rest of our awesome media team.

Ginger, Jaime, Lori and Michelle in the podcast studio

Ginger Lewman, she totally rocks!

Jaime and Michelle -making anything a fun time

Glenn talking about "sticking it to the man"

This year we have decided to revisit the first Podstock's era of the 60's. We couldn't just reheat what was already done, where would the hullabaloo be in that, right? Peace, Love and Hippies was fun but this year is going to tap into the rebellious side of the 60's and start a revolution. Because isn't it that we all want to change the world? And we can, one device, one idea and one child at a time.

Last year we had two t-shirts (thanks Prairie Print, Wichita), one for all the Podstock family members

Kevin modeling the 2012 shirt

and a limited edition one.

Makes me wanna listen to some Styx, Journey or Boston

 I can't even tell you how many people wanted that limited shirt, so I'm gonna just tell you in advance how you can get this year's "special" shirt. It's easy really, just be an ESSDACK staff member. I know what you are thinking,that you already have a job (that isn't nearly as awesome as being on staff here at ESSDACK- just sayin') so you are not going to be eligible, BUT Au contraire mon frere it IS possible. If you submit a proposal to do a session and are accepted, you are in, simple as that, you've got a ticket to ride. Honorary staff member for a day - or two. So don't delay we wanna see what you have to offer. Go to the podstock 2013 page and submit a proposal.

And just to wet your appetite, here is a sneak preview of this year's shirt design.

Power to the People - the phrase which could quite possibly be on the back. wink wink

And here is the limited edition shirt

:)

haha, you didn't think I'd really show ya, now did you?


and just for giggles......here is a preview of the guitar pick. BTW people have asked where we order our picks from and the answer is Seven Kings.

So Hey Jude....er, I mean dude,  do it NOW, register to attend or even better submit a proposal, c'mon you know you wanna and until you do my guitar gently weeps.

Heart Shaped Candy Cane Lollipops

So yesterday was sort of a not-so-nice day and I was definitely falling out of the Christmas spirit. I decided the best medicine was A) do something Christmasy B) do something for someone else. The result was Candy Cane Lollipops.

It was super easy although if I had to do it over again I would use a piping bag to put the white chocolate inside the shape. I worried the chunks of peppermint might cause a clog and opted to use a spoon instead. As my usual MO, I started late and hurried so they aren't maybe as neat as could be but they are unique.....yes, that's the word I'm going with and made with love :). The almond bark sets up quickly so I think if I would have used an elf to help with the sprinkles process that might have gone even smoother.

Candy Cane Heart Lollipops

(to make 50)
2 boxes of little candy canes
1 package of white almond bark
little treat bags
lollipop sticks
sprinkles

1.  Lay out the candy canes and sticks - I used parchment paper

2.  Crush any broken candy canes into little eensy, weensy bits - Great frustration reliever. :)

3.  Melt almond bark according to directions

4.  Mix in crushed peppermint

5.  Spoon or pipe into candy canes

6.  Decorate with sprinkles

7. Wrap and share

To Decorate or Not To Decorate - that is the question

I've been struggling with the Nordstrom's announcement since I first read it. On the surface it sounds reasonable, even commendable but something just didn't feel right about it. I understand my views are somewhat tainted in that I LOVE CHRISTMAS and all the bells and whistles that go along with it, but it was a nagging that went deeper than that.

I am going to look at this from 2 different directions.....the company standpoint and the personal standpoint. First the company - if they wait until after Thanksgiving they will most certainly miss sales - a noble gesture some might say but what about the people that want to buy things in advance to be able to decorate the day after Thanksgiving. Some people get nauseous just thinking about going out into the throngs of crazy -yes, I said it - people on the busiest shopping day of the year. Some like to have all their supplies and sip eggnog, listen to some Christmas tunes and decorate at a leisurely pace, not pile in the car and have to fight for a parking space with the mom that has been up since 4am and hopped up on caffeine and donuts. She's on a mission, that widget is half price and it's on junior's list.....she is a force to be reckoned with for sure!

The other viewpoint is that similar to my personal belief- that what exactly is Thanksgiving? OK, obviously it's a time to gather and give thanks for what we have been given. I would venture to say that most Christians in this country top our list with freedom, family and forgiveness.  Freedom to gather and give thanks and freedom to decide when to decorate and prepare. Family to join together and celebrate both at Thanksgiving and Christmas and be reminded of the love by which we are surrounded. And lastly..forgiveness - and what greater example of that then the love and forgiveness shown in the life and death of Jesus? So really, Thanksgiving truly points to Christmas.....why do we think they should be separate? Thanksgiving should just be the start of the season to be thankful for all we have been afforded, and if we would examine our lives further, Thanksgiving and Christmas should be reflected in us daily not just the two days on the calendar.

So Nordstrom's you can wait if you want but this girl is going to put up my decorations and if we eat turkey and cranberry sauce with Christmas music playing and a bazillion snowmen looking on, then so be it.

Pumpkin Spice Puppy Chow

And yes, that is Christmas decorations in the background.

It's November, time to experiment with all things pumpkin. Today I tried a recipe for Pumpkin Spice Puppy Chow.  Very easy and very tasty. However I should know better than to start a project at 9PM but I never learn. I forgot to add the pumpkin pie spice to the melted mixture but added it to the powdered sugar and it turned out just fine. I found the base recipe on where?........oh yes, you remember......PINTEREST!! I altered it to fit what I had in my cabinet and it was totally yummo. Here is the one I used as my inspiration. And here is my version:

Pumpkin Spice Puppy Chow

1 bag white chocolate chips
1/2 cup + a little more Biscoff Spread (will be in the peanut butter section, I found it at my Walmart)
1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 box Cinnamon Chex (it wasn't quite enough so I had some wheat Chex I threw in - about 2 more cups)
2 cups powdered sugar

Have you tried Biscoff? Uh-Maz-ing

Melt chocolate chips and Biscoff spread together, 1 minute, stir, and then in 30 second increments until smooth. Pour over cereal and stir to coat evenly. Put powdered sugar and pumpkin pie spice in a huge ziploc bag and then add the cereal mixture. Shake well to coat and separate clumps of cereal mixture. Spread on parchment to dry for about 30 minutes, then store in an airtight container.

I love creating......and it shows, don't ya think?

So simple and sooooooo good!

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

First of all this is Pumpkin infused/flavored Bread Pudding, not bread pudding made from Pumpkin bread....ohhhhh the nuances of cooking! I used a recipe I found on Pinterest.....I know people probably think I must just sit in my pajamas and surf Pinterest all day long because I mention it so much but I actually do have a life outside of the magic boards of wonder. The pin I found was adapted from a magazine recipe which you can find here.

Let me give you a bit of back story before the recipe. I work in an office that frequently has catered lunches. Occasionally there are leftovers but not your typical left overs they are things like a gallon of refried beans or 3 quarts of salsa. While most people would just shake their heads and mutter about it being such a waste, I see it as a challenge. I retreat to my fantasy world where I am a contestant on Iron Chef and find a solution for this extra food conundrum. This weeks spare parts consisted of:
- 2 sleeves (a total of 24) of ginormous hamburger buns
- a gallon of creamed corn

The first thing I made was corn chowder. It consisted of the corn, potatoes, sausage, made into a thick soup and it was yummy. I also made some croutons out of a few of the buns. I brought the chowder and croutons to the office and needless to say I took nothing back home.  (I forgot to take pictures and document that one) but it was a winner!  Yayyyy!

Which brings me to the bread pudding.

The comments from my official taste testers were:
"Yummy! Tastes like pumpkin pie coffee cake"
"Good either way, but is better warm"
"Would be good with a caramel sauce"
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU LEFT OUT THE BOURBON!"
"Might be good with a brown sugar frosting"
Here is my version of the recipe:

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Ingredients

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 can solid-pack pumpkin
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pumpkin pie spice
• 1/8 teaspoon of ground cloves
• 8 cups (or so) cubed hamburger buns that were very soft (or if you don't happen to have a bazillion buns to use, crusty bread of any kind will work)
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• pecans- to taste
• brown sugar - I dunno......an generous handful?
• powdered sugar.....1 cup, 2 cups?... until you have enough, whatever that is
•  
• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Whisk together all the remaining ingredients except pecans, brown sugar and powdered sugar. Melt butter and toss bread cubes with butter in a ziploc, coating thoroughly. Spread bread pieces in large casserole dish and pour pumpkin mixture over all. Sprinkle with pecans and brown sugar and bake until custard is set, 25 to 30 minutes. Mix together powdered sugar and water and after baking drizzle on top.

*Remember, it's ok to alter a recipe, cooking should be a creative process, not a chore, make it your own. :)

Cinnamon Rolls with COOL WHIP FROSTING!

I was at my local Walmart yesterday and stumbled upon what may possibly be the best invention EVER, Cool Whip has a new product, - FROSTING! They have 3 flavors- Chocolate, Vanilla and Cream Cheese (brand new product just introduced in October, 10.6 oz for just under $3.00 and check out the cool whip facebook page it has a ton of recipes.) I decided I had to try it and since I was making Cinnamon Rolls the next day  (ok, I wasn't really planning on it at that point but after seeing the frosting, I made a snap decision, just call me spontaneous) so I picked up the Cream Cheese flavor.

Not really having time (or patience) to do the whole, gargantuan batch that requires yeast and raising and lots of counter space, I opted for using my very favorite biscuit recipe. (This 7-up biscuit recipe [have I mentioned it before :)] has become my go to for any  dinner that needs a little extra because they are absolutely yummy and sooooo easy.) So this morning baked up a batch - the recipe only makes about 8 -perfect for a lazy morning - and I couldn't wait to try the frosting. I modified the recipe by spreading a little softened butter and brown sugar and cinnamon at the patted out stage and rolling them and cutting like a traditional cinnamon roll. The frosting was soft like cool whip but with a little more density, I let the rolls cool slightly and the frosting did not just immediately dissolve, it held up nicely. I would do one thing differently next time, I would only frost as needed as left overs will need to be refrigerated and not sure how they will reheat.

I made a batch, frosted them with just a dollop- albeit a rather large "dollop"  of frosting, tossed on a few pecans and  OMGOSH! so simple and sooo good. Go now.....get some.......you won't be sorry.

50 Shades of Gray...yes, GRAY not Grey

It seems that sometimes a word - one word - fits several things going on in your life at that particular time.  I find myself chuckling because I have different people in my life that would use dramatically different words. I have some that tend to lean to the negative and would say the word is "crap." You know the ones, it seems nothing is going according to THEIR plans so it all wrong, or they seem to think most people are against them and they need to get all they can and most definitely look out for number 1. Those people tend to be exhausting. Then there are the people that would use the word "party," never down, always smiling, making the best of whatever comes their way. And although they are a hoot to be around they sometimes don't have any sort of a plan and it is like herding cats to move forward. They also tend to be exhausting.

Before

I have a word that keeps popping up and it is "gray." Yes, I read the books, but this blog has nothing to do with a certain Mr. Grey. I am referring to the color "gray". It all started when I decided to paint my house. I thought it should be easy to find a coordinating color it's a gray brick with just a little wood siding in places and the trim. EASY PEASY my left eye! I had no idea there were sooooo many shades of gray, it seems every color has a gray spot on the old color wheel. But after much groaning and gnashing of teeth I managed to pick a color....green. I would say it's not celery, but not mint, but not really a sage. Maybe a light early non-red tomato green- at any rate, it's a lighter green. A beautiful lighter green over a very, very dark blue......I didn't think that one all the way through but managed to get it painted with some help from my very own handy man. Then the trim........oh, let's see, the trim is presently white sooooo let's go with black! yes, a good idea. [insert rolling eyes here]. But the end result - ok, not really "finished" BUT CLOSE!- is lovely.

After

 Another thing that has brought the word "gray" to surface is my birthday. Yes, a milestone- 50. (looking at my hair I'd say it's a completely different meaning to 50 shades of gray)  I really didn't have trouble with the idea of turning 50, I don't feel 50 and I don't think I look "old" so what's the big deal? Then the friendly AARP starting sending me stuff and although I'm sure they are just trying to be helpful, I could have done without those little reminders that almost jump up and scream, "Hey you, you might think you can pretend you aren't getting any older but you are so maybe you should consider stocking up on prune juice and putting a down payment on a rascal!" Sheesh.......

My kids and my sister took the task of planning a get together for my birthday. I started via the Prairie Band Casino in near Topeka (yes, I won 200+ on a penny slot machine, thank you birthday fairy for the good luck) and then we went on to Kansas City. A day on the plaza at the art fair, wow, $5,000 for a wooden armadillo? really? who knew?

MacKenzie, Brett and Molly

Me and my sister, Kelly

Me and "the baby"

We then we met for dinner at Buca di Beppo. If you haven't ever taken a big group there, you should. It's like being in a giant Italian family's house for the holidays. It's loud, it's family style and it's FUN! You walk through the kitchen to get to your table, unless of course your table is IN the kitchen, which is a possibility. We laughed and our waiter, Dave, played with us and even had some of the cake Jen and Aaron baked for me. It was just a hoot. I was surrounded by people I love and lots of laughter.

The whole motley crew!

Aaron and Jen - cake bakers extraordinaire!

A birthday kiss from the boys I birthed

After dinner we went to the Power and Light district to go to "the club". Can't remember which one we ended up at - it was something to do with a shark and thus it was totally legitimate for the bartenders to wear just board shorts and the women to wear bikini tops and daisy dukes. It was fun, but the black light extravaganza only emphasized the lint on my black sweater.  Us old people tried hanging with the youngsters as long as we could but I found myself wanting to ask many of the girls if they were mugged on the way in and part of their dress was stolen. OMgosh.... evidently short, VERY short and skin tight is the norm. And heels...I watched more than one teeter past us and I thought this would be a great place for a doctor to have a booth to deal with the twisted ankles I foresee. I decided the whole thing just made me feel older rather than younger and we gave the kids cab fare and went to seek out our hotel beds.

I suppose some people think that having a huge party with tons of people (some of whom really don't even want to be there or maybe that YOU don't want to be there) or a surprise party where, at the age of 50, isn't such a good idea (the outcome very easily a heart attack or peeing of the pants) is the best idea but I think a small get together with those that have all sacrificed something to be there is the most heart-felt. Sharing the love, sharing the laughter, sharing the milestone celebration and most of all sharing the memory.