Summer!

I sort of love summer.

 

This is an extremely old picture.  I don’t have braces anymore.  Thank goodness.  See that hill in the background?

Yes.  Yes.  I must do that again this summer.  Sans braces.

Workout 6/7:

30 min elliptical

30 min run

 

Workout 6/8:

30 min elliptical

Abductor – 40 reps/55 lb

Adductor – 40 reps/55 lb

 

For breakfast today I had a big bowl of Cheerios Oat Cluster Crunch.  This is the best cereal!  Then I went to the gym, showered, picked my sister up from her summer bible class, and came back home.  Then it was time for…

AP FRENCH SUMMER HOMEWORK!

Yay.  I bet you can sense the enthusiasm behind these words. 

J’aime parler francais mais je n’aime pas travailler.  On peut parler francais, ou aller en France, sans travailler beaucoup.  Je veux y aller maintenant!

 

Au revoir,

=)

Everyone’s Favorite Cookie Bar

DISCLAIMER: This recipe is in no way healthy.  Failure to follow through with recipe protocol will result in immediate loss of friends, family, and dignity.

 

So don’t make any healthy substitutions.

You’ll ruin it.

Got it?  Good. 😀

 

This is what we’re making today:

Well… sort of.  I don’t add nuts, and I switch up the measurements from this card a little bit.  So I guess these are 6-layer bars.  But we call them seven-layer bars.  It’s catchier, don’t you think?

 

Anyway…  Start by crushing 12 honey graham cracker rectangles into crumbs.  I used a Magic Bullet, but feel free to unleash your anger and crumble them in a plastic baggie with the heavy instrument of your choice.

  

See how finely crumbled they are?  That’s what we want.

 

Stir the crumbs into 1 stick of melted butter.  Use unsalted or salted, it doesn’t matter.  I used salted because that’s the one I saw first in the fridge.

Aren’t I trustworthy?

 

Press the mixture into a 9 x 13-inch glass pan.

Carbs and butter.  Yummy.  And it gets better!

 

Sprinkle on 1 cup of butterscotch chips and 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips.

Action shots!!

 

Now pour 1 small can of sweetened condensed milk over the top.  Make sure to spread it evenly- don’t forget the edges!

 

Did you know they used to feed sweetened condensed milk to babies?  Yuck!  It tastes really, really bad.  But when you cook it, something magical happens!

I took AP chemistry, but I still don’t know what it is.

=(

 

And sprinkle over 1 1/2 cups of sweetened, shredded coconut.  The kind in the blue bag, you know?

 

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until the coconut is slightly browned and the bars are somewhat set.  They won’t be totally hard, but it’s better to underbake than overbake them.

 

Now freeze them until they’re hard.  This is the most difficult part.  I’m sorry.  But when they’re done, you’ll have this…

Totally worth the wait.  Make these today!

More Stuff for my Shop!

As you may know from yesterday, I’m going to be opening up an OpenSky store in August.  And since I’ve been lovin’ looking through websites for possible stuff to stock it with, here are some more cute finds.

OpenSky!

Big news!  I’m going to be opening a shop with OpenSky!  :D  But what to sell?Hmmmm…

 

I can’t wait. 🙂

No Title Ideas?!

Hey y’all… long time no see.  Erm.. I guess I haven’t really ever *seen* any of you, per se, nor am I qualified to say “y’all” seeing as I’m from way up north, but if you’ve been reading for longer than a day, or at least since the copyright Oreo cake post, you’ll know that I’m not one to follow the rules.

Oh, who am I kidding… I’m a regulation goodie-two-shoes.

Sorry.

 

In other news… my way of boycotting BP is by refusing to put gas in my new car.  Oh, wait!  That’s cuz I don’t know how!  Don’t get me wrong- I DO know how, I’m just intimidated by the whole process.  That nozzle thingamajig is really heavy and I’m afraid of dropping it and spilling $2.799 worth of gas on the ground.  Or worse, someone lighting a cigarette and blowing up the whole station.  Fun fact: that’s the only scene I’ve seen from Zoolander.  And it’s made my irrational fear of pumping gas all too real.  Sob, sob. 😦

I personally think they should attach mops to some of those trained dolphins and whales at SeaWorld and let ‘em clean it all up.

I hope you know I’m totally kidding.  I love sea creatures.  ‘Specially whales. =D

 

I’ve become addicted to microwave popcorn.  But not just ANY microwave popcorn!

I’m a little more complex than that.

As illustrated by the handy though not-drawn-to-scale visual, I take a bag of Orville Redenbacher’s SmartPop! and top it with a little salt and plenty of grated parmesan cheese.  I’m Italian- I put parmesan on everything.  The good stuff that comes in a wedge.  I’m sure regular old Kraft cheese would be okay, but please DON’T use this stuff:

You want milk to be part of the ingredient list.  And yes, I eat an entire bag of this stuff as part of my lunch.  It’s light popcorn, I don’t add any additional butter, and it tastes really delicious.  And mildly addicting.

But there are worst things to be addicted to.

🙂

College Review!

Yay for college visits- there’s no better way to kick off the summer than driving through farmland for 6 hours to visit a school.  Fortunately, I really liked Washington University.  I’ll definitely apply there.  Here’s my official “review” of the school, for all you juniors out there.  Of course, this review is only based on three hours at the campus- there wasn’t enough time to see everything!

Pros:

• In its own little community- not spread out throughout the city
• AMAZING dorms with Tempur-Pedic beds!  The dorm architecture reminded me of Disneyworld!
• Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology program… awesome!
• Great food- they have a food court, little restaurants, and cute coffee shops
• Friendly people on campus
• Very walkable
• Across the street from a gorgeous park with a zoo, skating rink, paths, etc.
• Inner-tube water polo team?  Sounds good to me!

Cons:

• Why can’t it be closer to home?? 😦

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Truffles

These truffles are easy to make and absolutely delicious.  They don’t contain any butter or oil (except for the oil in the peanut butter, of course) and did I mention they’re amazing?  Make these today… or better yet, right now!

 

The contenders…

 

Start by measuring 3/4 cup peanut butter.  I used a mixture of creamy and crunchy, but you can use one or the other.

 

Put 2 graham crackers in a plastic baggie.

I define a graham cracker as a set of 4 mini cracker rectangles.

So, 8 mini cracker rectangles if that’s what floats your boat.

 

Take out all your anger.  Use a food processor if you’re a mild-mannered person.  <–I only know one of those. 

Chances are you’ll be using a rolling pin like I did.

Mix the crumbs into the peanut butter along with 1/4 cup powdered sugar.

 

Line a plate/pan/tray with wax paper.  Look at this little cookie sheet!  I put my hand there for comparison.  And yes, I cook with my ring on.  Nobody’s died yet.

Roll the dough into balls and put them on the sheet.  You should get about a dozen.  Freeze the balls (TWSS… sorry I had to) while you make the topping.

 

Fpr the topping, combine 1/2 cup chocolate chips with 2 tablespoons honey.  Melt in the microwave for 30 seconds, then add 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, and (NOT SHOWN) 1/4 cup milk.  Mix together- it will look like too much milk, but it isn’t.  Trust me, okay?

Dip the tops of the truffles into the chocolate.  They will look like they’re wearing little hats!  Err… at least, that’s what I thought.

Freeze for a little bit longer and enjoy!  Store them in the freezer or fridge, but they won’t last long! 🙂

Oreo Cake!

I’ve been on a cake kick lately.  Today I was bored, so I made Oreo cake.  There should probably be a copyright symbol after “Oreo”, but because I don’t know how to add one I’m not gonna put one there.  Nabisco, please don’t sue me.  I know your Oreo brand is special.  Anyway, this cake looks delicious and tastes heavenly.  I judge a cake based on how good the batter tastes, and this one tastes like the inside of a dark chocolate truffle.  Yummy!  The frosting is also delicious- make sure you spread it on while the cake is still warm.  As much as you’ve been told to wait until it cools, this cake is best when the frosting sinks into it and keeps it moist.  I hate that word, “moist”.  Moist moist moist.  Ewwww.

Ignore my tangent- here’s the recipe.

First make the cake…

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  In a large bowl, melt 1 stick of unsalted butter.  I did this in the microwave.  Stir in 3/4 cup white sugar, 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract, 1 large egg, and 2 tablespoons cream cheese.  Mix it all together, making sure to stir in all the chunks of cream cheese.

2. Now add 1/2 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder.  I used Hershey’s brand, which, like Oreo, should have a copyright sign.

3. Mix in 1 cup flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 cup milk.  No need to sift the dry ingredients- I’m no overachiever.

Oh wait… I sorta am.  Sorry.

4. Line an 8×8-inch square pan with foil, and spray the foil with cooking spray.  Pour in the batter and bake for 30 minutes.

 

While the cake is baking, make the frosting…

1. Soften 4 tablespoons of butter, and put it in a medium bowl with 2 tablespoons cream cheese.  If you don’t have cream cheese, just substitute it with more butter.

2. Gradually add 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar.  Then, for the fun part.  Crush 5 Oreo cookies- pick your favorite type, and stir them into the frosting.  Put it in the fridge until the cake is done.

 

Now, to decorate…

1. Frost the warm cake with the frosting- it’s okay if it melts into the cake.

2. Top with some more crushed Oreo cookies if you’re in the mood.  I sure was.