How sweet it is.

 I just love when I can get the time to make treats with my boy. He is growing up so fast that I know I need to enjoy these moments while I have them.

He is starting to question The Guy in The Red Suit, (Mom, I saw that he had a mustache under his mustache...) and honestly, I'd be worried if he didn't begin to question the conspiracy we adults have all been running by this age, but he still gets that excited sound, (I call it his tea kettle sound, because it's all, eeee!)  when he talks about him and his homeland The North Pole. I guess it all comes down to erring on the side of caution. You have to believe for the magic to work. My son is, thankfully, willing to suspend his belief for the time being, against his better judgement and that pesky opposing evidence to the contrary.

So, for another year, at least, the magic is strong. I wonder how it will be when there is no more pretense of St. Nick. With no siblings to carry on the fib, will we forget all about him, or continue with the grand charade?

As for myself, I don't think I have ever had a Christmas where I didn't leave the cookies out, plus carrots for the reindeer, and I hope I never do have one like that!  I guess a part of me remembers how it felt when there was so much possibility and wonder in the world. When you don't believe in any dreams anymore, it is a very dreary existence after all. We all have our own version of the North Pole in our heads, mine is a very warm and comforting place to go in the depths of winter. I wouldn't give it up for anything.

So, here is to whimsy, fantasy, dreams and imagination. May they always stay strong in the hearts of those I love, not just at Christmas, but every day of the year.

Summer Breakfast Frozen Cheesecake

 Oh yes, cheesecake for breakfast!
 It's the only way to go. I'm writing this one down because it's a keeper.
In a rectangular Ziploc plastic container mix up a cup of graham cracker crumbs with a 1/4 sugar and add 1/4 cup melted butter. Press to form crust. In a bowl mix 2 cups cream cheese with 1 cup vanilla yogurt and 1/4 cup icing sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla until smooth. Pour over crust. Place frozen berries evenly all over the top, then puree some (or just mash with a fork and a bit more sugar) pour evenly over all. All measurements are approximate because I never measure things like this. Freeze over night. Eat it for breakfast! YUM!

This turned out like an ice cream cake, so delicious. I let the big block thaw a bit, popped it out, cut it into squares and returned it to the container and put it back in the freezer. Let individual servings thaw a bit on the plate before digging in. This way, no worries about leftovers going bad, they are safely stored in the plastic container until the next cheesecake craving strikes!

I did not feel like baking, turning on the oven and I did not have any gelatin/jello to make this a fridge cake. This solution worked out great. I think this is my new go-to cheesecake method for the summer and the yogurt gives it a nice tang. It is also slightly healthier than adding whipping cream to cheesecake. Not much, but a bit.

Ten little things

Ten little things I have been doing to use my resources wisely (sounds better than the F word).

-Mended a sheet instead of throwing it out
-Made cut off shorts and muscle shirts
-Made pillow cases
-Baked bread
-Did my own bangs/hair trim
-Made yogurt
-Organize plastic containers and shopping bags to use less disposable waste
-Clean out fridge and use up random bits of leftovers before they go bad
-Made breakfast muffin cake with saved cereal mix and apple/pear puree (from food organizing)
- Bought a cooked chicken and made soup stock from carcass. Used breast meat for chicken snack wrappers.

White Bread and Bambi

 I had the best of intentions. I started out making whole wheat cinnamon buns with a recipe I found in my inbox. I thought they could be "healthy" cinnamon buns. I got skeptical looks from some unnamed man while I was making the dough and when I saw the final result, I realized the yield was far too small to satisfy my family. So, I broke out the tried and true Purity White Bread recipe and went to town. This recipe makes about five loaves or anything else you want it to make. I grew up eating this homemade bread (Thanks Mom). I made a pan and a half of cinnamon buns, 8 regular buns and a loaf. I also made the 8 whole wheat buns (pictured at the bottom) and then the next day the boys wanted pizza so I made pizza dough using The Frugal Girl's recipe. Easy. I was already in bread making mode. The pizza took less time than takeout and was wayyy better.

 I want it known that I froze most of this and we did not just go hog wild eating bread until we popped. Well, we popped a little, but I will still have lots of yummy bread next week too. Sunday we spent picnicking and lounging in the park. The weather has really warmed up and it was great to spend the day outdoors as a family. Later as we were lounging the deer came by on their nightly stroll. I usually miss them because as soon as they hear my screen door open, and my camera beeping and buzzing as it goes on, they run away. This time I let them pass without my accosting and then I made use of my zoom lens. I will remember this technique in future. It's such a funny paradox to see these beautiful wild creatures in our urban environment. You never get used to it, no matter how many times you see a wild animal, it is still a bit of a surprise. I was glad to capture these two beauties.

Homemade with love.

We had a wonderful Valentine's Day and celebrated it  fully. We made all of the classroom valentines in the week leading up to the day using my scrapbooking supplies. I am realizing I use them much more for cards than I ever do for photos. I also made an apple crumble pie, which was amazing with whipped cream for dessert. Hubby took care of dinner, steak and prawns and spoiled me rotten with roses and chocolates. I am truly blessed to have so much love in my life.



We have also had a new baby born in the family on Valentine's day. I won't share her photo here because she is a second cousin but let me tell you, she is some cute. I had the opportunity recently to snuggle a newborn baby during a baby shower at work, The baby slept on my chest while the parents opened their gifts and had cake. They were glad for the break and I relished in the chance to have a warm baby sleep on me for well over half an hour. There is nothing better in this world than to hold a new born baby. Never pass on the chance to hold one if it comes up.

Thanksgiving Mish Mash

In the spirit of holiday laziness, this post will be dedicated to links I like, things I want to try, a recipe I want to share and a photo of my WIP night table. Seriously, why would they paint this green?

First up, this bag made from cargo pants. How cool is that? and I know I have a pair in the closet just waiting to be cut up and made into a neat-o bag. I just love it when people take the time to post tutorials so I can steal their ideas and then blog about them. O.K., moving along to this delicious pumpkin dessert that I had at work with our fantastic Thanksgiving lunch on Fr

iday. It was so good that I got a photocopy of the recipe and made it for my own feast. It is like pumpkin pie but you use a cake mix and sprinkle it on top of your filling and serve chilled with whipped cream. I think it originated from a Company's Coming book, but I can't be sure. I liked this better than pumpkin pie because it seems lighter without the pastry, more like a mousse. I'm sure the caloric value is similar but this makes a 9 by 13 pan so it's loads more servings!! Hooray!! Here is the recipe:

Pumpkin Dessert

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 28 oz can pumpkin

1 tsp EACH cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger,

salt

3 cups milk

1 cake mix yellow or white two layer size

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1/3 cup walnuts

whipped or ice cream

Beat eggs, Mix in next 7 ingredients in the order given. Pour into 9x13 inch pan, (or two 8 inch,take one to a friend)

Put cake mix in a bowl, cut in butter until crumbly. Mix in nuts. Sprinkle over top of filling. Bake 350 for 1and 1/2 hours or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Serve hot with ice cream or chilled with whipped cream.

Mmmmmmmm. Alrighty. On to my next tip and that is this website, Tipnut. Wow, what a powerhouse resource site. Why had I never seen this before? I love sites like this. Basically it does all the searching for you and then gathers all the good stuff into one place, kind of like I am doing with this post, but on a much grander scale.

Finally, here is what I want for my kitchen. This is a dream, mind you, since a reno does not seem to be in my immediate future, however, when it is time I would like these colours and ideas, please. Thank you for your time and attention. We now return to your regularly scheduled programming.

Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving!

More Fall Food

I have been making food for friends and family lately. I don't always cook so when it turns out well, I like to give myself a pat on the back. I do this self congratulatory back patting by taking food photos, and posting them here to make you both hungry and envious. There must be some evolutionary reason

that people like to brag

about their food. I know that for many years my two uncles would phone each other long distance every week, just to boast about what they had eaten for dinner. They probably still do this.

Well, I don't have a brother, so here is what I have been eating:

First up, a turkey dinner made weeks before Thanksgiving simply because it was on sale and we like poultry. Then, last night, I had a little get together and made up some party trays. I snapped a couple photos of my handiwork before we dug in. last week, I baked up two loaves using the butternut squash from our turkey feast because, as it turns out, no one in this family really cares for sweet vegetables, unless it is in bread form. I haven't done any other baking and I think I will hold off, if only for health reasons.

I also made Knorr Spinich Dip for the first time and it was quite good, though next time I think I will use fresh

spinich, as opposed to the frozen kind, and let it sit in the fridge for a longer time. I wasn't quite industrious enough to make my own bread bowls, but I can see that being a fun indoor, it's-a- blizzard-out-there kind of activity. In my case, Superstore did the baking for me.

Tonight, I think I'll let my hubby do the cooking.

Fall Food

I'm so happy to be able to turn on my oven again. Recently I made a delightful chicken noodle soup from a grocery store deli chicken carcass, chili and today I am roasting a turkey. Of course it helps to have people to feed in the house. I am looking forward to doing some baking with the fruits I have been stockpiling. I also plan to make turkey soup and a million other turkey things as well. My girl friday, (you remember her) told me she made a cheddar and jalepeno bread using the recipe I gave her for white bread. I will definitely have to try that. It sounds heavenly. Next week I am having a little get together, we'll see what I come up with for that. I'm thinking of a hot dip of some sort, mmm. Cheesy goodness.

Here's what I hope to bake this week for the freezer:

Pumpkin Ginger Bread

Fruit Crisp

Blueberry Muffins

Banana Bread

Neiman Marcus Cookies.

Chili-done

Turkey Stock-done

Two yummy treats

I am making rocky road brownies. Sometimes I add walnuts, sometimes chocolate syrup, but always the marshmallows :) You can use minis, but if you only have the big ones, cut them into quarters and add to your brownie mix. Mine's from a box from the dollar store, homemade would be fine too. I find it cheaper to use a mix for brownies because I only need an egg and water, instead of all the butter and sugar.

Last night I had a hankering for an Orange Julius. Instead of schlepping to the mall, I made my own in the magic bullet. Because I added banana, I am calling mine Orange Banoolius.

Here's what I did:

juiced two oranges (good for the wrinkly ones)

added frozen banana chunks ( I freeze mine before they rot for just this purpose)

1/2 cup milk

a bit of vanilla pudding I had left over 1/4 cup? yogurt would be good too.

Whizzed it all together in the bullet. YUM!!

Random update

Somehow I have fallen out of the habit of blogging. I have been going along, doing fabulous things like making my own delicious Pad Thai, Homemade Chocolate Syrup and Elvis costumes and I haven't been writing about it?! What's that about? Who knows. All I can say is I have been living, just not necessarily sharing everything and sometimes I think that is OK.

The weather here has been extremely cold the past week, a cold snap they call it. Whatever it is I am about to snap if spring doesn't hurry up soon! If it weren't for the sunshine, the -27-with- the-windchill temperatures would probably drive me to full on cabin fever. It's hard to be sociable and friendly when everyone is stuck inside together for this long. Tonight, after playing Yahtzee, I made chocolate brownies from a dollar store mix and added walnuts, marshmallows and chocolate syrup. This helped some, I must admit, but it is not a long term solution!

Spring you better hurry up, or so help me...!

Good Food Box

I've got the winter blahs. You know, when you just want to sleep and eat carbs and nothing holds your attention? Yeah, I've got it bad. As we speak, (in our bloggish type of one-way conversation, that is) I am burning my tongue on a melted chocolate burning hot spoon. I know that sentence doesn't make sense but you get the drift. Usually I can formulate a thought when I write, or at least summon enough energy to correct myself when I can't, but, alas, not today. My photo of muffins is recycled, I did not bake them today, they are only a figment of the imagination now. They do look good don't they? Mmmm. Muffins. I did make peanut bull balls dipped in burning hot melted chocolate though, and never fear, my Good Food Box arrived today. Just in time, I must say. Maybe I will even sneak in a vegetable or two. Here's hoping!

Amish Friendship Loaf

I went to a dinner party recently and was given a gift: a zipper top baggie with batter in it to start my own Amish Friendship Loaf. The idea is to mix up your starter and then give starters to two or three friends, so they can bake up their own delicious loaves. If you keep a starter for yourself, you will be baking every ten days. This is the kind of motivation I needed to kick start my Christmas baking! Luckily for me, since I am impatient, my friend gave me my starter on day 9. Yes, this starter takes ten days to be ready to use, but I hear the results are worth it. In about an hour, when my loaves come out of the oven, I will let you know for sure :).

The starter comes with instructions, which you are supposed to pass on with the starter. They are not terribly difficult and it feels kind of like you are in a special bread club while you are baking. At least I felt this way while mixing away my batter. I was also thinking of whom I will share my good fortune with.Will it be my neighbour? My friend that I will meet for coffee later on? It is also nice to think about which of your friends will bake bread next and think of you, just as I am now thinking of the woman who gave the starter to me.

Here are the instructions for the basic loaf. There are many variations as well. Comment if you would like them.

-DO NOT use metal spoons or bowls for mixing (the photo here is some other bread I made, mine is still in the oven)

-DO NOT refrigerate

-If air gets in bag, let it out

-It is normal for the batter to rise bubble and ferment

Day 1: Do nothing

Day 2-5: Mush the bag

Day 6: Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk and mush the bag

Days 7-9: Mush the bag

Day 10:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Pour contents of bag into non-metal bowl

Add 1.5 cups flour, 1.5 cups sugar and 1.5 cups milk. Mix well.

Measure out three separate batters of 1 cup each and place into clean zip top bags. Pass on to 3 friends or 2 if you want to keep a starter for yourself. Give these directions and be sure to tell your friend which day the starter is on. ie: date the bag.

Add the following to the remaining starter.

3 eggs

1/2 c oil

1/2 c apple sauce

1/2 c sugar

2 cups flour

1 lg pkg instant vanilla pudding

1/tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp bkg pwdr

1/2 tsp bkg soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2tsp cinnamon

optional: 1 cup nuts, raisins, dried cranberries, choc chips, etc.

Grease two large loaf pans

Pour batter evenly into pans

Mix 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon, sprinkle evenly over loaves.

Bake 1 hour. Cool until breads loosen from pan. Turn onto serving dish.

You can call me Alvin

I'm a chipmunk, hoarding my nuts for the winter. I can not rearrange my freezer anymore as it is now stuffed. I have reached the point where I must eat all the food, I absolutely cannot buy anymore. This gives me such a satisfying feeling. The minute the weather cools off I seem to get into this frenzy of storing food. I come by it honestly. You see, my relatives are hoarders. Not in the extreme sense where you can't see over our piles of newspapers or anything. We just like to keep stuff. Lots of stuff. The more the better, really. You never know when you might need it! Remember my zippers?

I only keep the most recent two newspapers tops. Otherwise my husband will have a conniption fit. He thinks I must be afraid of starvation or natural disaster. Maybe that is true, but it doesn't come firsthand. This fear was bred into me, I think, from my ancestors. I am of Irish descent, after all.

I also did some baking today, using the same recipe booklet as the banana bread. (In other words, I kind of made things up as I went along.) I made two different kinds of muffins; carrot-pineapple and apple-cranberry-lemon, as well as a zucchini bread. The latter was a huge recipe, it filled my 9x13 pan. I am taking all it to the relatives so they can eat it on Saturday. By then, all the flavours should be just right.

I also finished my menu plan and ordered my first Good Food Box. It will arrive in a couple weeks. I can't wait to see all the fresh goodies from local farms. The price was so reasonable, and I can never seem to get to the farmer's market. I have been meaning to do this for over a year, so I am glad I finally got off my butt and did it.

I am looking forward to the long weekend, but with a smidgen of sadness because after that, summer will truly be over. It's a good thing I love the autumn so much.

Banana Nut Bread.

The weather is cool and rainy. I am wearing jeans, but just barely, after eating this delicious banana bread. I got the recipe from a bread recipe booklet called, Quick and Delicious Breads by Johna Blinn, that I got at Value Village for 99 cents. I have a feeling I will be making a few of these recipes in the coming months. (I also scored both my fall and winter coats at their big 50% off sale, but that's another story.) This is an old favourite and this recipe was pretty standard. Of course, because I am the Queen of Substitution, my banana bread will never taste the same twice. It may not even contain bananas. I added 2tbsp of molasses because I was out of vanilla, and used ground up trail mix instead of walnuts. I used yogurt instead of sour cream. I also didn't bother separating the nuts and sugar mixture and pouring on top as it suggested in the recipe. Yes, I said 'suggested'. I am not a big rule follower in the kitchen; The fewer bowls to wash, the better, I say. Here is the recipe that I sort of used as a guide, but didn't really follow at all, now that I look at it more closely :

Vanilla Banana Bread
Makes one 9 inch loaf
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
10 tblsps butter
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 cup mashed ripe bananas, (2 or 3)
1/2 c dairy sour cream

There is a big long explanation that I won't bother to transcribe here. The scoop with quick breads is: Dry ingredients in one bowl, wet in another. Pour wet into dry and don't over mix. Pour into greased pan. Bake at 350 degrees. The pan that I used here took an hour to bake. See if you can wait until the next day to eat, banana bread always has more flavour the next day. Enjoy!

As promised~ Cheese Bread

Don't you wish we had Smell-o-vision? Or Taste-o-vision? I made this recipe from the one Kristen posted over at The Frugal Girl. Today she has Italian cheese twists. Oh my! Must do that one too! I didn't get too fancy with my dough shaping, I just made one loaf and four mini loaves, two of which my son gobbled up while still hot out of the oven. OK, I gobbled a little bit, too. This bread has all the elements; soft, cheesy and wonderful. Served warm with a little bit o' butter? That's a little bit of heaven right there. What a fantastic addition to an otherwise regular Tuesday night meal. It was very pleasant to warm up the house on a rainy evening. I made another batch of granola, too. This time I added some chopped up trail mix in the last five minutes of toasting for that added bit of luxury. Along with supper, this is the most cooking I have done for a while. With the warmer weather and busy schedule, I haven't wanted to turn on the oven, so it was a treat to have a hot meal for a change. Now I have plenty of prepared food to work with for the rest of the week. Hooray for batch cooking! Saves energy in more ways than one.

OK here's another beauty shot, just for the heck of it.

Yum.

Bodacious Berry Cake

I made a blueberry bundt cake at work and I had to leave it cool at the end of the shift. I thought, "No fair! I want cake at home too," so here it is. My son was the one who told me to blog about this cake, in between mouthfulls. This photo was snapped quickly at dessert, so you won't mind the bite taken out, now will you?

I modified the recipe that I made at work, it was a blueberry bundt cake which I snagged out of their cook book. This is a mixed berry cake made in a 9 by 13 rectangular pan. I also used orange juice and zest, so I can claim the recipe as my own. I suppose any berry or soft fruit will do. Rhubarb would be amazing...

Bodacious Berry Cake

21/4 c flour

1tsp powder

1tsp soda

1/4 tsp salt

zest of citrus fruit (orange)

1 cup walnuts, optional

2 lg eggs

1 cup milk with 2 tbsp citrus juice (orange) or buttermilk

3/4 c soft butter

1 c sugar, brown or white

2 c berries

Sift together flour mixture. Cream sugar, butter, eggs and milk mixture. Beat wet ingredients into dry, adding a bit of water if needed, fifty strokes. Fold in berries. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes. I topped this with an orange glaze. Lemon would work well here, too.

Enjoy your berries this season!

Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal

This morning I made Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal for breakfast and I have to say that this recipe is going into the breakfast rotation at my house. It is delicious! You can even eat it cold as well for a scrumptious snack, as a square. The flavour is like a cookie or bar, but it's breakfast! We ate it warm from the oven with a little milk on top. So, so good, I just had to rave about it. Especially when this guy tells me how much he likes it! I am going to add crunchy peanut butter next time, maybe Adam's. Fabulous.

Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal
3 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter

Mix all ingredients together and stir well. Spread in a greased 9×13 pan. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. If you like it a little crunchy on top cook for a few minutes longer. Serve with warm milk poured over top. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Mom! Glad you like your birthday song.

Thanks Fellow Freecycler, for picking up on time and calling ahead to make sure you got your goods!

A day in the life

This has to be my favourite way to mess up my kitchen. With flour sprinkled from here to there and everywhere, I threw my big ball of dough into a clean bowl and ran off to pick up my son and run some errands. I was the lucky recipient of a Freecycle lead on a restaurant which was giving away all of old their tables and chairs. My husband kindly helped me load four sturdy restaurant chairs into the van and then we picked up ingredients for that night's dinner. When I got home, the ball had taken on a life of its' own. It was gigantic! My new yeast must have been working overtime while I was gone. My son couldn't wait to get his hands into it, so I quickly helped him scrub up and divided that monster into four. We stretched and pulled and pulled and stretched and pounded and sang songs in what we thought was Italian. It probably was not Italian, but we thought it was. We fashioned three pizzas and a loaf. I wasn't sure how my pizza would turn out using this particular recipe, because I have a recipe specifically for pizza dough that I usually use, but I decided to just go for it. The pizza was enormous, more like a deep dish Chicago style. Not that I have ever been to Chicago. The boys liked it, but eating two pieces each was more than enough for us, so I had quite a bit left after dinner. I put a whole pizza in the freezer and we had leftovers for lunch the next day. My loaf turned out amazing as well. See? That there is the beauty shot. I played around a bit with my cuisine settings on my camera to try to convey just how gorgeous my bread is. OK, I am boasting just a smidgen, but it's one of those sense of accomplishment things. To make bread from a few very simple ingredients and a little patience has to be my most preferred frugal endeavour.

What is yours?

Merry Tuesday!

I had quite a productive day off today. I made a plan with my son that today would be baking day. Somehow, the first batch of baking has dwindled down some. I thought I had made quite a lot; cake truffles, chocolate covered pretzels, gingerbread, and shortbread and it's nearly all gone! Well, we did have guests and it was nearly two weeks ago, but still...Needless to say, I had to bake more treats and get some more exercise. I decided on fruit bars, (a slightly healthier option with less sugar which my son loves) peach tarts, and butter tart squares with a shortbread crust, delicious! I also wrapped up 12 burritos with the beef and bean filling I left to simmer on the stove yesterday. My place is aromatic to say the least.
I used up the last of my yeast with the last home made batch of bread and forgot to get more at the grocery store. Since I won't be doing any more shopping for quite some time, ( I hope!) I am trying a new experiment: sour dough bread. I began a starter today using the advice I found here. According to this, I should have a decent "sponge" by the time Boxing Day rolls around. We will probably need a fresh batch of bread by then and I have been dying to try sour dough. I love making bread, it sure releases holiday tensions! Oh, I also gave away a tricycle to a very happy lady whom I met from Freecycle. I have gotten so much from this site, it felt great to get a bike to a kid right before Christmas! My son loved that idea, and it's a life lesson I want him to understand as well. We are so fortunate to have all that we have and to be able to share with other like minded folks is so wonderful. If you haven't checked out your local page, I urge you to try it!

Have a very happy winter season everyone. Whatever you celebrate, celebrate it heartily!

Here's to feasting, family, fun and Frugal Findings!

You can call me Martha.

I spent my weekend baking up a storm for Christmas.

How do you like my hot buns?

I may have some company over to visit and wanted to have some nibblies on hand. I have been scouring the circulars for all the loss leaders and planning my snacks around the sales. I am amazed at what they will mark down to get you in the store. If you only buy the few items that are a bargain, you are really smart because you get a deal. I am still working on this though, I tend to think more things are "deals" once I get in a shopping frenzy, especially this time of year. I have managed a few coupon scores though, like $1.50 for dishwasher detergent. I stocked up on that one. I even sent my husband, (although he grumbled a bit, he finally realized it actually was a steal) to snag a deal of fifty cent tin foil and wax paper. He bought six rolls. I was at work and couldn't bear the thought of missing out on the one day sale. I think I may have become a tad obsessed with the deals. Must reign in. After the holidays, that is :)

Oh, wait, that is when the deals really begin....oh dear.


The other thing I made, and this I highly recommend, (right along with chocolate covered pretzels, drool, and yes, the salt and chocolate combo is fantastic!) is cake truffles. All I have to say is, keep these in the freezer, way at the back, or you will eat them all. I think pretty well anything enrobed in chocolate is good and these definitely foot the bill as a chocoholic's fix. They are so freakin' good. I made these from my left over birthday cake which no one wanted any more of. You can use any leftover cake for these! Keep this in mind over the holidays. Even fruitcake could work...

Two desserts from one boxed mix? I'd say that is frugal!

The icing on the cake? Well, the icing that was already on the birthday cake mixed right into the filling. I used peanut butter to stick it all together into balls and dipped them in melted chocolate chips. Then I decorated them with chopped walnuts and other sprinklys and popped them in the freezer on a tray. There is no end to the combinations you can dream up. They also look so great you could give them as a gift.
I also hear that Nutella in the filling is delicious. No, they don't pay me to say that. I am just a sucker for the Nutella.

Along with all the other goodies in my freezer, I think Santa is going to be one happy camper, or, Elf, as the case may be. Ten more sleeps!!