Guilt Free Chocolate

When it comes to chocolate, I'm a bit of a cliche.  I LOVE chocolate and have very little self control when I'm around it. 

I will admit it,  I have been known to sneak away and eat chocolate behind a locked door so I don't have to share with the kids. 

Although, it's hard to enjoy eating it when this happens the second I lock a door

That leads us to today's post.  I can't remember where I first got this recipe, I want to say one of my sisters sent it to me but I'm not sure.

My recipe card calls it DIY Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, but I like to call it Guilt Free Chocolate

Guilt Free Chocolate:
You Will Need:
 1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup  cocoa powder
1/2 cup  almond butter (smooth or chunky)
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Melt coconut oil.  Mix all ingredients together.  Pour into paper-lined muffin tin cups filling 1/4 the way. Makes 12.   Place in fridge or freezer until hard, about 20 min.   Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator.  

 Only 5 ingredients, and it takes about 5 minutes to make. 

 If you really want to get crazy, add some peanut butter

The Verdict: It depends on your taste buds.  My son hates them, my daughter is indifferent towards them, my husband can eat about half of one then the cocoa powder becomes to bitter for him.  As for me, I have been known to eat all 12 in 24 hours.  

Last week my husband went to the fridge knowing that I had made some that morning.  When he saw that only 2 were left he made a snide remark about me not sharing. Diet starts Monday! 

Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix

Ummmm..... something about the cold weather and hot chocolate

Ok enough intro, onto the important stuff

Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix
You Will Need:
3 cups nonfat instant dry milk powder
2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips 
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Mix all ingredients into a large bowl. Pour half of the mixture into the bowl of a food processor and process until the chocolate is finely ground. Transfer to an airtight container, then repeat with the remaining mix. Store in the airtight container for up to 3 months.

To make the hot cocoa drink, mix 1/3 cup of the cocoa mix with 1 cup hot milk. About 20 servings

Using that much powder stuff, I ended up with a good size mess. But it was easy to clean up.

The Verdict: I mixed it with milk and with water to see how it compared. 

The milk was definitely creamier and pretty good. 

The water mixture was thinner but had a richer taste

Both of them left a cocoa powder after taste in my mouth which I wasn't to fond of but it was subtle. Also, it doesn't mix as well as other mixtures I've tried.  There is a good amount of mixture that settles on the bottom, but it's an easy fix, just don't drink the last bit. 

Overall, it was better then any store bought packets I have tried, but not nearly as good as Starbucks.  But that might be because they use whole milk and whip cream. 

Homemade Wheat Thins

Oh Wheat Thins.... what would I do without your salty crunchy goodness? I try not to buy them that often because when I do the box is empty within 24 hours.  Both the kids and I have no control when they are in the house.

Homemade Wheat Thins
You Will Need:
1 1/4 cups (5 oz) 100% whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus extra for sprinkling on
1/4 teaspoon paprika
4 tablespoons Earth Balance (I used soy-free) or butter
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp water (or a tiny bit more if dough is too dry)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a non-stick mat.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, paprika, salt).
3. With a pastry blender (or two forks), cut in the Earth Balance or butter into the flour mixture until crumbly. See image below. Now mix together the water and vanilla and then pour into the flour and Earth balance mixture. Stir this mixture until it comes together. I got in there with my hands and really squeezed the dough to help it come together. If it appears dry add a touch of water, but you don't want it sticky.
4. Split the dough in half. On a floured surface or on a non-stick mat, roll out one half of the dough very thin (1/16th inch). Using a pizza cutter, cut into whatever shape you desire. Using a spatula, place the crackers on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat as necessary. Sprinkle with more salt and sesame seeds if desired.
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes, watching closely. Half way through baking rotate the pan to ensure even baking. My crackers took 10 minutes, but if you do not use a baking mat it will likely take less time for you. Be careful because they burn quickly. Cool completely. Makes about 64 crackers for this full recipe. Store in an air-tight container.
Note: This recipe made enough crackers for two baking sheets. I baked them separately, but I am sure you could bake them at the same time as long as you rotate the pans half way through.

 These looked pretty simple so I had the kids grab their step stools and help me.  They were so excited to be making their own Wheat Thins.

We mixed the dough

 Rolled it out and used a pizza cutter to make the squares

 Then put them on the cookie sheet.

 When they were done baking they had become a lot darker and thicker.  They were still a bit soft but I didn't dare put them back in the oven because some of them were starting to burn. 


















The Verdict:  My daughter popped one in her mouth and immediately said "I yike it!!" But then her face slowly contorted until she was looking pretty disgusted and promptly spit the rest of the cracker onto the floor. 

My son ate one, but was smart enough  to spit his out into the garbage.  He said "At first I thought it was good, but the deeper it went into my throat I realized it was gross."

At this point I wasn't to excited to try one, but knew I needed to form my own opinion.  If you want to know what it taste like, go grab a handful of wheat flour and put it in your mouth.  They were pretty gross, and the kids and I had a lovely case of cotton mouth for the next several minutes. 

Homemade Frosty

If any of my past sins are going to come back and haunt me, it will be the Frosty addiction I had in high school.  I pretty much lived on Frosty's and I'll probably end up with diabetes one day.  

I rarely have a Frosty these days, but when I saw a Pin about making my own I got a little to excited. 

DIY Frosty
You Will Need:
16 oz cool whip
1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
1 gallon chocolate milk
Ice cream maker

Directions:
Pour all ingredients into the ice cream maker and turn it on. 

Ok I'll admit it, I actually went and bought an ice cream maker just for this.  That's how desperate excited I was to try this.

I thought of going all girl scout on this and making my own ice cream maker with an old can, but then I remembered that actually takes more effort and you don't get very much.  If I'm making my own Frosty, I want a trough bucket full. 

The ice cream maker was a bit smaller, so I had to half the recipe, but I still ended up with 6 quarts and that was plenty. 

The Verdict: Best. Frosty. EVER!!!!  It really was.  It was sweeter then a regular Frosty, but I loved it.  I told my kids it was just chocolate ice cream but when my son took a bite he said "hey, it's just like a Frosty" It took about 30 minutes in the ice cream maker before it was mixed well and had the same consistency as a Frosty.

It kept in the freezer for about 10 days before it started to lose flavor and get that freezer burn taste.  I think it would have lasted longer if I had it in a better air tight container.

Now I just need to learn how to make my own french fries so I can dunk them in the Frosty...... I know I'm not the only one who does that. 

Single Serving Cookie

Cookies are yummy!

Ok that's a good enough intro. 

Single Serving Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookie
 You Will Need:

1 tbsp. butter, melted

1 tbsp. white sugar

1 tbsp. brown sugar

3 drops of vanilla

pinch of salt

1 egg yolk

1/4 c. flour

2 tbsp. chocolate chips

Directions:

In a bowl, ix together the butter, sugars, vanilla, and egg yolk.  Add in the flour and salt.  Mix until combined. Add in the chocolate chips. Put the dough in a small microwavable bowl, ramekin, or coffee cup.  Microwave for 40-60 seconds or until the cookie looks done. 

Best served warm… Enjoy!

Being super lazy, I threw all the ingredients in, stirred them up and microwaved it.  That didn't work out so well.  It was really gross and had a very strange flaky texture.

So I tried again and this time actually followed the directions.  It took about 3 minutes start to finish, which was nice because I wanted that cookie now! Just call me Veruca Salt "don't care how, I want it now!"

At 40 seconds I pulled it out and the middle was still a bit undercooked.  Another 20 seconds did the trick (I forgot to take a picture of the final product oops)

The Verdict: The outside edges were very dry while the middle was a strange spongy texture.  That could have been due to the mug I used, but even if you find a way to cook it evenly, that won't help the nasty taste. 

I really don't know how to describe the taste other then it tasted like a cookie that was nuked in a microwave instead of slow cooked in an oven. 

Maybe if your seriously desperate for a cookie fix then this would work, but I'd rather just skip the cookie part and eat the chocolate chips instead of subjecting myself to another one of these things. 

Honey Sweetened Strawberry Jam

 I have two little kids, which mean our peanut butter and jelly consumption is pretty high.  One day I might attempt to make my own peanut butter, but for now I'm sticking with the easy stuff.

Homemade Honey Sweetened Strawberry Jam
You Will Need:
2 pounds (~6½ cups smooshed) rinsed off, patted dry, and hulled really sweet strawberries
¼ cup honey
3 teaspoons lemon zest
¼ cup  freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:
Place the strawberries in a large pot and smoosh with the bottom of a glass. Add the honey, lemon zest and lemon juice and heat over medium high.  Boil, stirring every now and then, until the mixture thickens. With my really soft and juicy strawberries, this took about 45 minutes. It could take more or less time depending on your strawberries. To test, put some of the jam on a clean spoon and then put the spoon on a plate in the freezer. Let it sit in there for five minutes and then take it out. If the jam doesn’t fall easily off the spoon when you turn it to the side, it’s ready and you can take the pot off the heat. If it does pour off easily, continue cooking for another 5 minutes and try the test again. Let cool and then pour into jars and store in the fridge and for up 1 week.

 Because I'm lazy, I bought frozen berries so I wouldn't have to wash and hull them.  When they thawed they were pretty mushy which made the cooking time faster.  It was about 30 minutes until the jam was thick enough.

 I halved the recipe and ended up with just about a cup of jam

 The Verdict: It tasted nothing like store bought strawberry jam, which was a plus in my opinion.  It was very fresh and sweet.  I could see it being a little more tart depending on the strawberries you have, but you might be able to add more honey to counter that. 

My kids didn't like it, but I think that's because it was something new, and apparently it's a sin to ask a picky eater to switch their jam.  It could also have been the texture that bothered them.  It had more strawberry chunks then regular jam.

The one draw back to this is probably the time and effort.  You do have to sort of baby it, and because it's fresh it won't have a long shelf life. But to me the time is worth it.  I finished off that cup by myself in a week, and I'm not a big jam person.

Fruit Fly Trap

I'm a bit of a fruit fanatic.  I always have fresh fruit in the house and I could live off of just that, but alas, I still need those greens to keep my motor running.

Of course the fresh fruit attracts fruit flies by the thousands and of course they decide to take up permanent resident near the fruit bowl.

I kept seeing those wasp traps made out of a two liter bottle then one day I saw that you can do the same thing for fruit flies, you just change the bait. 

Bring it on bugs....

I forgot to tag the blog post I used so I can't find it, but this one gives you pretty much the same idea.

Fly Trap
You Will Need:
2 liter soda bottle
scissors
bait

Directions:
Cut the top off your soda bottle, just below the tapered neck. Remove the soda cap, turn the top upside down and place it inside the bottom of the bottle. Put the bait in the bottom of the bottle. 

The bait you use will depend on what you are trying to catch, but I kept seeing a common theme of  watered down jam.  The sweet smell should attract the flies/wasps then they should drown in the water. 

I used the 2 litre bottle I had after making the 4th of July drinks. I cut the top of the bottle off and it sat in the bottom perfectly with no seams around the edge.  I mixed enough water into the jam to make it liquid then set the bottle next to the fruit bowl.

The Verdict: Either those flies are smarter then I give them credit for, or this trap is a big dud.  I left it there for 5 days and not one fly went into that bottle.  Even when I covered the fruit bowl the flies still figured out a way to get past the seal and attack my bananas instead of going into the bottle.

I decided to try again with a different bait so I put the bottle outside on the porch and planned on cleaning it out later that day. About 5 hours later I went to get it and found this

 Apparently those flies are smart.  It looks like they only went into the bottle when it was the only option of food.  Once I saw this I decided to try a whole new method.  Stay tuned......

4th Of July Drinks

Have you seen those 4th of July drinks on Pinterest?  The red, white and blue ones?  I've seen so many different photos of them that I didn't doubt that it actually worked, what I wanted to know was how it tasted.

4th of July Drink
You Will Need:
Cranberry Juice
Blue Frost Gatorade
Diet 7-Up

Directions:
Fill your glass completely full with ice.  Pour in Cranberry Juice.  Pour in the Blue Gatorade Frost. Make sure to pour gently onto the ice so that it does not mix with the red juice. Pour in the Diet 7up, also pour onto an ice cube to prevent them from mixing.

First of all, the vast amount of ice is key.  No matter how carefully you pour the drink in, if you don't have ice you get this.

So I grabbed my a couple of glasses and filled them both with ice.  With all that ice I realized things might get interesting when I tried to drink it, so I shoved a straw into one. 

Very slowly I started to pour.  The Gatorade did mix with the cranberry juice a little bit but not enough to change the color. 

 The Verdict: I didn't want to attempt a huge spill, so I went for the drink with the straw.  I took a sip and not surprisingly all I tasted was cranberry juice.  I pulled the straw higher and sure enough I could only taste the Gatorade.  Those liquids were pretty determined to stay separated.  I decided to put a stop to all that segregation and gave my drink a good stir.

 I wasn't a fan.  I thought it tasted like watered down cranberry juice.  My husband thought it was great and finished his and mine.

I have only tried this one combination, but looking at other sites it looks like this drink is very customizable.  You can choose any drink for the red, blue and white. It's the sugar content that matters.  The drink with the most sugar needs to be on the bottom while a sugar free drink will sit on the top.  So if you plan on making this then you might want to attempt a few combinations until you find the one that your taste buds prefer. 


HAPPY 4TH OF JULY EVERYONE!!!!!

DIY Butter

I'm really not a big butter person. When I do use butter it's very minimal. My husband on the other hand is a huge fan of the stuff. For him everything taste better with more butter.

So when I decided to try and make my own, I had to rely on his expertise and get his opinion for this post.

Blender Butter
You Will Need:
1 cup heavy cream
ice water
blender
strainer

Directions:
You want to start with the cream at room temperature…it will go a lot faster that way. Pour the cream into the blender. Add salt to taste if desired. I used about a 1/4 teaspoon. Blend on medium-high speed for 3-5 (or more) minutes. How long this step takes will be highly dependent on your blender. It could take up to 10 minutes in an older blender.  Just keep an eye on it and when the butter starts to separate into butter and buttermilk stop the blender. Let the cream sit for a minute or two as the butter rises to the top. Pour the buttermilk off into another container. This next step is highly controversial in the butter-making world…to RINSE or not to RINSE! Rinsing the butter is supposed to make it last longer without spoiling (which is a good thing), but MY experience with butter is that it really doesn’t last that long around our house. Especially when you’re just making what is essentially one “stick”. But I decided to play if safe and did the rinsing thing because it’s really not much more work. All you do is add cold water to the blender and pulse for few seconds, then drain the water. Repeat this process until the water runs clear. Mine never really ran CLEAR, but after 6 or 7 times I figured that was good enough.Spoon butter into a strainer to drain. At this point you can pack your butter into molds or form it into a log like I did. Stick it in the refrigerator to chill.

 When my whipping cream was just about room temperature I poured it into the blender and turned it on full blast. 

 It was only about 2 minutes later that I had this.  I was surprised at how quickly things separated.

I put a strainer over a bowel then dumped the entire contents of the blender onto the strainer. I used a fork to smash the butter a bit and was able to get a good amount of buttermilk out.  

From the original directions it sounds like rinsing the butter may not be necessary but I decided to go ahead a do it. So I put the butter back into the blender, added water, gave it a quick pulse, poured the water out then repeated. 10 repeats later my water still wasn't clear and I was losing patients, so I figured that was good enough. 

I slapped my butter into a little container and let it chill in the fridge.  I had about the equivalent of one stick of butter

 The Verdict: Like I said before, I'm not a butter person so I had to get my husbands opinion on this one.  I had him use it for a few days then asked him what he thought.  He wasn't a fan for a few reasons. It was rock solid so he couldn't spread it on anything.  If he tried to leave it out to soften, it became to liquidity.  He said it didn't cook well and it didn't taste like butter at all, in fact it didn't have much of a taste, even with salt.

The curiosity got to me and I decided to make another batch and try it myself.  I agree with everything he said.  I tried to put it in my Butter Bell to see if that would keep it at a soft spreadable consistency, but it just kept falling out.

I'll be sticking with the store bought butter.

Detox Drink That Boosts Your Metabolism.

Summer has been slow coming, but the heat is on the rise and there have been several times where I have found myself slightly dehydrated.  Not a good idea when I'm prone to heat stroke. 

I knew I needed to up my water intake so I started to look online to see if there were any little tricks to help remind me.  I came across a blog about a drink that can help detox, enrich and raise your metabolism.

You mean I can get hydrated, boost my metabolism AND detox all at the same time?  Uh, yes please!

Metabolism Boosting Detox Drink
You Will Need:
1 gallon of water 
1 Lemon
1/2 a cucumber 
a handful of fresh mint leaves

Directions: 

Slice the cucumber and lemons into decently thin slices, the more you cut it open the more flavor your going to get out of it.Decide whether or not you want to crush your mint. Throw all of it into a gallon of water let sit over night (about 8 hours) Wake up and enjoy the rest of the day! Note: water will get bitter if it sits longer then 24 hours. Note: for a list of how each ingredient helps with your metabolism and detox please see the original site.

The original poster said she drinks 1/2 - 1 gallon of this 3 times a week and it helps her lose a lot of weight, like 8lbs in a week (insert skeptical single eye brow raise).  My plan was to drink 1/2 gallon every other day for 3 weeks while keeping my exercise routine and diet the same.

The Verdict: First of all, if you don't like the flavor of any of the ingredients then you might as well not even try.  I was amazed at how distinctive the taste was for the lemons, cucumbers, and mint.  It was a bit of a taste bud overload at first but I got use to it and it was pretty refreshing.

But the real verdict that I know your dying to know is, did I lose weight?  Did this amazing drink help me shed those pesky pounds?  Nope! Swing and a miss. Some how I actually gained a pound.  Other then feeling more hydrated, I didn't notice any difference. 

The original poster said that she does this with a very healthy diet and she exercises 5 days a week, so I'm wondering if it's not the drink itself that caused her to lose all that weight, but the diet and exercise.  I could be wrong. It's been known to happen.

Homemade Fruit Leather

Neither of my kids are a fan of Fruit Roll-Ups which is fine by me.  That's one less thing that will cause an argument in the store.  You know the one...

Mom can we get those *fill in the blank*
No
But I neeeeeeed them *used with the most pathetic whiny voice imaginable*
Sorry, but they are expensive and not very healthy.
*This will be followed by 1 of three things 1) child stops asking but pouts and gives you the evil eye for the next 20 minutes.  2) more argument proceeds where the child does their best to wear you down and convince you that they will die if they don't have the item in question. 3) Full blown temper tantrum.*

Anyways, several months ago I had some homemade fruit leather that I thought was fantastic.  I wondered if my children would actually eat it even though they dont' like Fruit Roll-Ups so I found a recipe online that I wanted to try.

Homemade Fruit Leather
You Will Need:
2 cups fruit 
1 tablespoon lemon Juice
¼ cup sugar (optional, depending on the sweetness of your fruit)
Food processor
Parchment paper
Vegetable oil

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 150 -170 degrees F. If your oven doesn't go this low, simply set it to the lowest temperature and prop the door open.  Puree the strawberry pulp and lemon juice in a food processor. If you choose another fruit you can chop it and stew it with the lemon juice until it softens before pureeing it. Stewing the fruit helps it retain its color. If it is a fruit with seeds, a food mill will remove the seeds more easily than a food processor and strainer. Add a small amount of water to the mixture if necessary so that it has a pourable consistency.  Cover a baking sheet with plastic, parchment paper, or a silicon baking pad. The temperature of the oven is low enough not to affect the plastic. (Note: wax paper will not work for this recipe, it will stick.)  Spray or brush with vegetable oil, then spread the fruit puree onto the sheet tray with an offset spatula or knife to 1/8-1/4 inch thickness. Place it in the oven for 6-8 hours. Make sure there is air circulating to prevent scorching. Alternatively place it in the sun for 6-8 hours.  Invert the fruit leather onto another baking sheet covered in plastic or silicon baking pad, and oil, and remove the first lining. Place in the oven or sun for another 6-8 hours. If it becomes too brittle at any point, simply brush on water with a pastry brush to rehydrate it.  Cool the sheet tray and cut the fruit leather into desired sizes. Dust with corn starch to prevent sticking, cover in plastic and store in a cool place in a sealed container.

I grabbed a bag of frozen strawberry's and set them on the counter to defrost.  When they were fully defrosted they were already pretty soupy looking so I decided they didn't need to be stewed to be softened.  I put them in my food processor and it was pure liquid in about 30 seconds.   I opted out on the sugar for this first batch because the original poster said that as the fruit dries it becomes sweeter.

 I poured the liquid onto my prepared cookie sheet then put it in the oven.  The lowest my oven goes is 170 degrees.

About every hour I would check on it and it ended up taking 7 hours for the entire batch to dry out.  The center was being pretty stubborn.

The Verdict: In no way did it resemble leather.  It was pretty brittle. I broke off a couple small pieces and handed them to the kids.  They each took a bite, made a face and declared that they didn't like it.  In my daughters words "I don yike it." I took a bite and had to agree with the kids.  It was pretty bitter.  I should have put sugar in.

I left that pan out for a few hours not wanting to throw it away, but not wanting to keep it because we probably wouldn't eat it.  That evening I decided to just toss it and when I went to get it I saw that 3/4ths of it was missing.  The kids had been sneaking pieces all afternoon and apparently had decided they loved it. They ended up eating all of it.

About a week later I decided to try again but I wanted to experiment a little bit.  I added sugar, then I threw in a handful of fresh spinach. I put the spinach right in the food processor with the strawberries and they blended together great.

The Verdict with Spinach: Except for the burnt pieces it tasted great.  You couldn't taste the spinach at all and the kids ate it up very quickly.

I bet your wondering why it had burnt edges.  Let me tell you.  I put the pan into the oven and turned it on.  My plan was to pull the pan out of the oven right before I went to bed, but when do things ever go according to plan?  Things got a bit hectic that evening so I plum forgot all about that fruit leather sitting in the oven.

The next morning I walked by the oven and was surprised to feel a lot of warm air next to it.  At that point I remembered about the fruit leather and started to freak out. I began yelling "OH NO OH NO OH NO OH NO"  as I yanked open the door. I was expecting a smoking black crisp, but instead I saw this. That fruit leather had sat in the oven for, get ready for this, 19 hours.

 About half of it was still edible, I was shocked.  So even though the texture I keep getting is nothing like leather and I can't roll it up, it taste pretty good, the kids love it, and it's very easy to make.

Homemade Almond Coconut Candy Bars

When it comes to chocolate I am pretty much a stereotypical female. I am a ''put down the chocolate and no one will get hurt'' kind of gal.

My favorite candy bar of all time is Almond Joy.  It's not so much the coconuty and almond goodness, but the nostalgia I have for it.  The only time I ever had Almond Joys growing up was when my dad went hunting.  He would buy them on his trips and when he came back there was always left overs in his cooler.

This brings us to our post for the day

Almond Coconut Candy Bars
yield: 30-40 candy bars, depending on how you cut them 
7 ounces sweetened condensed milk (half a standard 14-oz can)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups powdered sugar
14 ounces (about 2-1/2 cups) shredded coconut
3/4 cup whole roasted almonds
1 lb chopped dark chocolate, or chocolate candy coating

Directions: Line a 9x13-inch pan with aluminum foil and spraying the foil with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine the sweetened condensed milk, the vanilla, and the salt. Stir them together until they're well-mixed. If your room is fairly cold and the condensed milk is thick and hard to stir, microwave it for 10-15 seconds, just so that it loosens up and is easier to work with. Next add the powdered sugar to the bowl with condensed milk, and stir it in.  It may be difficult to incorporate it all at first, but keep stirring and you should soon have a thick, smooth mixture like this.  Now for the star ingredient: the coconut. Add it all at once and mix it with the condensed milk until there are no dry patches remaining. This can be done with a mixer, but I like using a wooden spoon. Your final coconut mixture should be sticky but fairly stiff. If it's runny add a bit more coconut, and if it's very dry, add a bit more condensed milk. Coconut can have different moisture levels depending on its age and how it was stored, so there's some trial and error involved in getting a texture you love.  Scrape the coconut into the prepared pan. Wet your palms and press the coconut into a thin, even layer. You can control how thick you want the coconut layer to be. I prefer my coconut to be about 1/2-inch thick, so I don't cover the entire pan--I use about 3/4 of it and leave the rest of the pan empty.  Use a knife or a pizza wheel to lightly mark the top of the coconut into bars. This is optional, but it keeps your candy bars the same size and helps immensely in almond placement. Take your almonds and press them into the sticky coconut. I use 2 per bar, to stay traditional, but you can use more or less, to taste. Once all the almonds are placed, refrigerate your pan to firm up the coconut, for about an hour. Once the coconut is firm enough to cut, take it out of the refrigerator. Lift the candy from the pan using the foil as handles. Use a large sharp knife to cut your bars along the lines you marked earlier. Place your chopped chocolate or candy coating in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave it in 30-second increments. Stir it after every 30 seconds so that it doesn't overheat. When it's melted and smooth, use forks or dipping tools to dunk each candy bar in the chocolate, then tap it against the lip of the bowl to remove any excess chocolate. Place the bars on a foil-lined baking sheet to set while you dip the rest. Refrigerate the tray to set the chocolate for about 10 minutes.

Did you catch all that?  If your feeling overwhelmed by the directions then I recommend you go to the link.  The directions are broken down with pictures for an easier to read, step by step process.

I mixed the first four ingredients until it was pretty thick and hard to stir.  I then added the coconut until I had a consistency that was wet and sticky, but not to dry.  When I squished it together it stayed together.

I pressed it all into my pan until I had a nice rectanglee. Then using a pizza cutter I made the lines on top of the coconut mix so I could have a reference for my almonds.  I decided to make smaller bite size bars so I just did one almond for each bar.

After it sat in the fridge lone enough, I took them out and cut all the way through the bars.  It was pretty easy to do so, but some of them seemed a bit flaky and dry. 

Then it was time to dip them in the melted chocolate.  I chose to do milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate. I'm not a big fan of dark chocolate, and Almond Joys are made of milk chocolate.   As I started to dip them I quickly got frustrated because they were falling apart big time. The Almonds were sliding all over the place and bits of coconut kept falling into my chocolate. 

Eventually there were so many coconut flakes in the chocolate that my bars went from looking like this.....

To this. Even though they looked horrible, I still had hopes that they would taste great. 

The Verdict: I never realized how much Almond Joys don't taste like coconut.  I bought an Almond Joy so I could compare the two and I was really surprised at how much they differed in coconut taste.  The homemade version has a sort of fresh taste to it.  Like the coconut was fresh.

The homemade one is EXTREMELY sweet.  Clearly I should have stuck with the dark chocolate like the original poster had in the recipe.  

DIY Goldfish Crackers

Awww Goldfish.  You have helped me through many rough times my friend.  You have seen me through many temper tantrums and long car rides. You have made Dr. offices bearable and lunches more enjoyable. And even though you have spent many weeks lost in a car seats crevices, only to be found and consumed by little sticky fingers, you are still the snack that smiles back

Mother Nature has finally got her act together and brought winter to us.  It has been freezing outside and the kids are starting to get tired of their Christmas presents.  About two weeks ago we needed an activity so I decided to try homemade Goldfish with them

Homemade Goldfish Crackers
Ingredients:

• 8 ounces, Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Shredded
• 4 Tablespoons Butter, Cut Into Cubes
• 1 cup Flour
• ¾ teaspoons Salt
• 2 Tablespoons Cold Water

 Directions:

Pulse everything (except water) together in the food processor until the dough resembles coarse sand.
Pulse in water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
Remove dough from the processor, wrap in plastic, and chill for 20 minutes.
Roll out the dough and cut into desired shapes. You can use a toothpick to make the eyes and smile if desired. Place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees F for about 15 minutes, or until crispy. 

 My food processor is one of those cheap-o kind that come with a blender, so I wasn't sure how these would turn out, but it's always worth a try.

I threw the ingredients in the processor and turned it on. It only took a minute or so until everything was blended together and looked like sand. 

I poured the water in and in no time at all I had really thick grainy chunks. It reminded me of cheese curds.  I smashed it all together into a dough ball, put it in a Ziploc bag and stuck it in the fridge, only to be reminded that the fridge STILL needs to be cleaned out....... I'll do it tomorrow. 

 At this point the original poster pulled out homemade cookie cutters.  She cut up an aluminum can to make fish and pac-man shapes.  I had no desire to put so much effort into something that was going to be eaten in about 40 minutes so I just used regular cookie cutters.  Once the dough had chilled for 20 min I rolled out the dough (it was a bit crumbly and grainy, but it held together good enough) and handed the kids diamonds and stars. 

I had halved the recipe and we ended up with about 25 quarter sized crackers.

When I pulled them out of the oven I was surprised at how much the crackers had risen.  They almost doubled in size but it was all in height.

The Verdict: They didn't taste exactly like Goldfish but they were pretty close.  I like them better because they weren't as salty and they had a nice soft texture.

 The kids loved them and ate all of them that day.  I might of had a couple a few, ok fine, I ate about half of them.

I told a friend that we had made them and she mentioned that this isn't something she would ever do.  Why spend all that time making something when you can just buy it at the store? 

This of course got me thinking about how much time it took and if I was saving any money.

So I made another batch by myself using the full recipe, and this time I used my friends suggestion to use a pizza cutter to make little squares in the dough.

The total hands on time was 10 min.

The homemade crackers cost $4 for 13 oz.
The store brand cost $7 for 30 oz.

Ok, so this DIY isn't going to save you time or money, but the kids had a great time cutting the shapes and they tasted great.

Starbucks Caramel Apple Cider

I love Christmas time.  There are just so many wonderful things about it. I love the crafts, the songs, the lights, all of it.

One of my favorite things to do on a really cold December day is to grab a Caramel Apple Cider from Starbucks while I'm out shopping.

However, this year I haven't really gotten the chance to do that yet.  We have had a few cold days but overall the weather has been really nice. While it has been great to be able to still send the kids in the back yard, I'm not a fan of drinking scalding hot drinks when I'm wearing a t-shirt. 

HEY!!!! MOTHER NATURE!!!! Stop playing Angry Birds on your iPad and pay attention!!!! It's December not October!!!!

Plus, it doesn't help that all the Starbucks in our new area aren't convenient for me. As good as they are, they aren't worth a 3 mile detour.

Then one magical day, a homemade version of Starbucks apple cider popped up on Pinterest and I leaped for joy.  Not jumped, leaped.  As in 10 Lords a Leapin. bwahahahahahah (I have the flu and flus make me tired and loony)

Homemade Apple Cider

4 cups apple cider

3 tablespoons caramel syrup (the ice cream topping)

1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Use a 2-quart slow cooker. Mix it all in together---stir, and cook on low for about 4 hours. I like to put it on after I clean up the breakfast dishes and then leave it alone until our after-school snack. I've also made a large pot for Girl Scout events and  playdates. The kids really like it, and it's a nice change of pace from hot chocolate with marshmallows.

Leftovers refrigerate and reheat well (in the microwave).

So I grabbed the ingredients the next time I was at the store and came home very excited to try it out.  I got everything I needed then discovered that I had grabbed a jar of butterscotch topping and not caramel.  I wish I could blame that on the flu but sadly no, my daughter was screaming and I was late picking up my son from school so as I walked by the ice cream topping shelf I just grabbed a jar that was the same color as caramel.

Eventually I had everything I needed, so I went to Starbucks and got a caramel apple cider so I could compare the two.

I could not find ground cloves anywhere so I threw in 4 whole cloves and fished them out before consumption.

I threw it all in the crock pot and went about my business.  After about 20 min the house started smelling really good.  So even if it turned out to be a gross drink I didn't care because it smelled great.

After 4 hours it was time to test them and compare

The Verdict: Obviously the look is very different (mine is on the right).  The homemade version didn't mix together as well as I thought it would and things kept settled pretty quickly so it had to be stirred before every sip.

My husband says he couldn't taste any difference.  I could definitely taste the cloves in mine and not the Starbucks one, but I actually liked it better with the stronger clove taste.  I bet if I only put 2 cloves in then it would be hard to tell the difference between the two. 

Unfortunately my kids didn't like it so sadly I will have to drink the whole batch and pretend that it's healthy because it has apples in it.