Recipe: Mint-Chocolate Chip Frosting

The other day, I was scheduled to bring a dessert to church.  Any dessert.

Trying to save a trip out the door in the cold, I checked my pantry shelves first to see what I could come up with.  The first thing that caught my eye was a devil's food cake mix.  Since all of our "chocolate birthdays" have been covered for a while, I decided to use the mix, but realized that I didn't have any frosting. [Yes, I am a canned frosting girl.  Don't judge.  I haven't made "my own" frosting since using a boxed frosting mix sometime in the 70's or 80's in my mom's kitchen.]  I also noticed that my mint-chocolate chip lover had stocked up on his hard-to-find favorite.  Hmmmm.  It got me wondering what kind of frosting I could make with chocolate chips... in this case MINT-chocolate.

Adding the chocolate chips to the boiling mixture...

After a little searching, I came across this recipe on cooks.com for Never Fail Chocolate Chip Frosting, and the fun began.  This recipe is as easy as in sounds, and is very straightforward with no fancy cooking techniques or specific temperatures to worry about (like in candy-making).

And...I highly recommend using MINT-chocolate chips!

TIP:  Don't have MINT chocolate chips?  Try adding peppermint extract in place of vanilla for this recipe!

White Dishes

Recently, I read THIS POST from Yvonne over at "Stone Gable" on collecting white dishes.  Since I've been growing tired of the "grapevine" pattern that we have used for everyday dishes for the past 21+ years, I thought it might be time to give this idea a try.  Imagine my delight when I found these four square dinner plates on clearance at Target!  Winner, winner.  Chicken Dinner!  AND, I should tell you that I passed them by the first time I saw them.  When I went back a few days later, they were marked down an additional $1+.  Baa-daa-bing!  Sold.  I purchased the FOUR that were left on the shelf.

A few days later, Laura at "Finding Home" made this Easy Plate Message Board.  Do you see where this is going?  I couldn't resist using one of my new plates for this project.  After all, the writing wipes right off -- and the plate is dishwasher safe for a good clean-up.  [The writing is not baked on in this particular project! Therefore: not permanent!]

This was my first effort, and I love the way it turned out.  Even better?  I love the fact that I can change out the message for something else.

I got to thinking more about the white dishes, though -- and wondered if I'd find any more at different Target stores in our area.  We have five Target stores that are within a reasonable driving distance.  Four are along one route in our city, one of those being slightly off the beaten path, and the fifth is in a different direction altogether.  I decided to hit the first four in one day while the weather was good.

I was looking for 12 dinner plates, and 12 of the matching salad plates.

First store ~ I found eight square salad plates to match the dinner plates I had purchased, and one more dinner plate, bringing me up to five.

Second store ~ I found four more square salad plates.  Though they already had clearance stickers on them, they weren't marked down as low as the first store, so I asked an employee (who was going around with a price scanner/sticker printer thingy) if there was any chance that my plates were being marked down further today. She scanned the tag on the back of the plate, and said, "YES!"  Can you see me grinning?  Another dollar off per plate!

Third store ~ I found matching bowls that I'm considering.  They weren't on clearance yet, so I'll watch their price for a while longer.  No plates at this store!

Fourth store ~ I found five more square dinner plates, bringing my total to ten. These were the only plates that I did not pay clearance price for.  Interesting that none of the dishes in this particular pattern were on clearance at this store.  I'm glad that I went for it though, as the website shows that they are not in stock in the fifth store, nor are they available online.

I'm happy as a clam.  I came home, peeled off every clearance sticker (and there were a kazillion of them, having apparently been on clearance at many different price points) and put my new dishes in the dishwasher. We even used them for dinner that night.  Now... I just need a corner to stash the old dishes in until that garage sale.  GAH!  That's the SECOND time I've said those words on my blog lately.  People are starting to call me out on this whole garage sale idea.  Better start getting my act together.

Thanks to Laura for inspiring me to write on my white dishes, and to Yvonne for inspiring me to "collect" white dishes.  Now, when I see white dishes or accessory pieces on sale/clearance here and there, I will feel better about grabbing them up in order to set a nicer table, while keeping my dishes coordinated.

White for the WIN!

Did You Know? Rice Krispie Treats

One of our sweet nieces is allergic to many foods.  There is a long list of things she cannot eat.  When I visited for a week last November, I had to pack lunches every day for the girls.  My sister-in-law told me the best rule of thumb was meat, fruit, and veggies.  And... just to be on the safe side, her lunch should be packed before everyone elses, just to make sure there was no cross-contamination of ingredients.  Wow.  That's a lot to think about that early in the morning.  But... we made it through the week without incident [read: no epi-pen or trip to the ER!].  Praise God.

I had received good instructions from my sister-in-law, PLUS, my niece knows her stuff.  In addition, her three sisters really look out for her.  They all know, for the most part, what is acceptable, and what's in the danger zone.

Marshmallows are a regular snack item in their home -- something that is on the "safe" list.  And, if you're like OUR family, that would naturally lead you to think of Rice Krispie Treats.  Of the three ingredients, margarine (or butter if you prefer) was in the danger zone.  BUT, did you know you could substitute the same amount of CANOLA OIL?  I imagine other oils would work as well, but canola oil was what I had on hand -- and I knew it was on the "safe" list for my niece.

So the recipe goes:

1/4 cup margarine (or substitute the same amount of canola oil)

1 pkg. (10 oz.) mini marshmallows

6 cups Rice Krispie cereal

I couldn't resist making these for my niece the day of our daughter's party.  I wanted her to be able to enjoy a sweet treat just like everyone else.  While I wanted all of the kids to have access to the treats, I didn't want to "advertise" them too boldly, making sure that the niece in question got some before they completely disappeared.

I remembered some cute Valentine bags that I bought on clearance last year.  Cutting the treats into uniform squares, I filled the bags and added them to a cute Valentine bowl.  They looked cute, but what was inside was subtle enough that there were actually LEFTOVERS.

My plan was a success.  We knew that our niece had gotten some treats -- and I loved it when, after the party, my daughter mentioned to me that one of the other kids had asked about having a Rice Krispie treat, and my daughter said, "Well, let's make sure that Laura got some before we eat any."  Well done, Sweetie.

Have you learned to adjust a favorite recipe for someone in your life who has allergies?

Hello??? What Kind of Blogger Am I?

Admittedly, my brain was a scattered mess this past weekend.  It's true.

I had a big plan -- to share with you an appetizer recipe that has long been a family favorite.  I was making it for my girl's birthday party.  I knew that I would not have time to share it until after the superbowl, but still, it's a great appetizer recipe for any occasion, and an awesome brunch recipe as well.  I took pictures of each step, even though it's one of the easiest recipes ever with only three ingredients. And then, I completely forgot to take pictures of the final product.  FAIL.  {What kind of blogger am I???}  Most of the food got gobbled up at our daughter's birthday party, and she took the "leftovers" to her youth group's "small group" meeting last night, because we knew the teenagers would help us clean up... and they did.  G-O-N-E.  No pictures.  Nada. Guess I"ll share that recipe another time.

I also made my Holiday Cheese Ball for the party, and thought I would finally be able to share a "final product" photo with you for that as well.  Ummmm, no.  Another fail.

Also?  I didn't get a lot of birthday girl shots, or a shot of the table loaded with food, or pictures of guests... But, after everyone went home, my girl said, "I loved how cuddly the girls [her cousins] were today!" -- and later when I looked at the photos I had taken, I found this one, snuggled up on the couch together, reading birthday cards. Sweet.

And BONUS:  I DID remember our traditional birthday-girl shot, and as the Granthams would say...

"Well.  That's Something!"  *wink

Happy, happy!

Highs, Lows, and Everything In Between

What a weekend we had around here.  If you visit here often, you know our television was not tuned into the super bowl.  We consulted no groundhogs.  It was our birthday blow-out weekend.  First, we celebrated our niece's birthday.  She is 10, and was born on our daughter's 6th birthday.  In addition to her birthday party on Saturday, the cousins enjoyed an artsy "splatter painting party" at a nearby craft studio. Thus, the colorful pictures I'm sharing here today.

Sunday was our daughter's birthday celebration, and we enjoyed having both sides of our family over in the afternoon for appetizers, cake, & ice cream.  We were blessed to have so many of our family members with us. My sweet sister-in-laws family of six was here from Pennsylvania to share in the celebrating, and my parents made it safely home from their January retreat.  We are so thankful for that, considering the weather that parts of the south were experiencing last week.

Earlier last week, we were alerted to another thing that would fill our weekend.  Our high school pastor stepped down, and his last Sunday was... yesterday.

Needless to say, in the midst of all of our celebrating, there was an entire Sunday morning at church in tears. Oh how we will miss him and his wife.  They have sacrificially given their time, greatly impacting the lives of our children and countless others.  In the midst of the sadness, they selflessly led a time of extraordinary worship and sharing that truly made an impact on everyone who attended.  It was the first step on a path of healing from the loss.

Do you love the way my pictures laugh in the face of sadness?  Yeah.  I kinda planned it that way.

Moving right along.  If you were wondering what our cousin-crew of TEN did at the art studio, here are some pictures documenting the process.  And lest you think this was a random splatter project, it was not.  It was done in the style of Jackson Pollock, and the kids were led by an amazing studio employee who had their undivided attention.  Take a look!

We don't have the finished project at home yet.  Of course it needed time to fully dry, and also -- the studio people will seal it for us.  Needless to say, the kids were all pretty excited with the results -- and it was great "cousin-time!"

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