ValentiMe's Day!

Yesterday was Valentine's Day. Or as Jake would call it, ValentiMe's day. If you call it Valentime's day, raise your hand! (Okay, sorry, I've been in class for the last 6 hours...)

Anyway...the few days preceding Vday, I got the baking itch and scouted out some delicious goodies.

Here's what went down:

Fudgy Brownie Cupcakes

http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/desserts/fudgy-brownie-cupcakes/

• 1 Stick Butter (1/2 C.)
• 3 Whole Squares Baker's Chocolate
• 2 C. Sugar
• 1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 4 Whole Eggs
• 1 C. Flour
• 2 Tbs. Cocoa Powder
• 1 C. Chocolate Chips

 

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F.

Melt butter and baking squares in a microwave safe bowl. In the mixing bowl, cream melted butter and chocolate mixture.

Add in sugar and vanilla and beat until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
Add in eggs, beating one at a time.

 Add flour and cocoa powder and stir just until combined.
 Fold in chocolate chips.

Fill a muffin tin with muffin liners and fill each liner about 3/4 of the way full.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until brownie is set. The top will be a bit crunchy and the insides will be fudgy.

Frost if desired with your favorite frosting. I used "That's the best frosting I've ever had" submitted by MissyDew on tasty kitchen.
http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/desserts/thate28099s-the-best-frosting-ie28099ve-ever-had/



*Also, make note that if you use a smaller pan you will also need to use a lower baking time. Common sense? Unfortunately not for me that night. I have vowed to make them again...and make them edible this time!

ENJOY!

Late night rambles...

One thing you must know about me... when I have homework, I get SOOO many other things done! I cannot even begin to tell you how clean my house gets, how wonderful dinner tastes, and how many friends get attended to, when a blank piece of paper is sitting at the desk, awaiting an essay.

Tonight, at 11:30pm, is one of those nights.

I wanted to post a few pictures of some fun things that have happened in the recent past.

First of all, the Jazz game.

My dear friend Jody and her new hubby Eric

invited Jake and me to a Jazz game a couple of weeks ago. True, I know nothing about sports. False, I dislike them. I enjoy watching a good game of ball when it involves friends or family. Which is why we went to the Jazz game

and also why we attended the superbowl events

Is it obvious that we love food??

Butterbeer cupcakes in honor of Harry Potter :)

Go Green Bay! Woo!

Just Dance....c'mon, you know you want to...

For a fun lover like me, this was a gooooood time all around! The football cake, brought to you by the one, the only, S-I-L Torrey Woolsey. And the butterbeer cupcakes? Kudos to Aunt Holly! They were DIVINE!!

All in all, life is good.
I guess I'll go clean my kitchen now....wait, I mean...write an essay?

sigh...

Heaven perhaps?

I don't know if it's legal to post a picture of a treat that you can't even recognize, but maybe the fact that only one little tiny corner of heaven is left, proves my point that this is worth trying. Mmmm!

and I completely understand that this is a terrible quality picture. All the photographers out there are probably sliding off their seat with a cringe, but the camera is MIA and it would take too long to go and find the hubby's iphone. So. This is what you get. Apologies granted.

Also, for the record, the hubby and I did not devour this ourselves. I took it to work. I promise!


Anyway, for any of you who would like to join me in a little taste of deliciousness, here's the recipe. Feel free to drool!



Photo courtesy of soufflebombay @tastykitchen

 Chocolate PB squares

• 1 pound White Chocolate
• 1 cup Peanut Butter
• 1-½ cup Chocolate Chips
• ½ cups Heavy Cream

Line your pan with parchment or waxed paper, leaving an overhang. (You can also use foil, however you will need to spray it with cooking spray.)

Melt the white chocolate in your microwave for about a minute; stir until the chocolate is melted and creamy. Add in the peanut butter and stir until blended and smooth. Spread the mixture into your pan. Refrigerate for 15 minutes or until a bit firm.

In a saucepan, combine your chocolate chips and your cream and heat over medium high heat until melted and smooth, stirring constantly. Pour/smooth over the peanut butter mixture.

Chill for at least 3 hours or overnight. Later, lift out the candy and cut into small squares.

*For a Valentine's Day treat, adorn with cutesy sprinkles or edible jewels and glitter!

the yellow scrubbie thing...

Being a wife.
It's one of the greatest joys i've yet to experience, it's true, but you know those times when the housekeeping/cooking side of things just doesn't quite want to kick in?
[Aside from DownEast, I have another job where I go and clean apartments whenever someone moves out. It's really sporadic, but the pay is great and, to be honest, I actually really enjoy cleaning when it's not my own abode.]
Well, our apartment (particularly the sink of dirty dishes) needed some serious attention, and my "cleaning the apartment is fun!!" thoughts were not surfacing... 
when you don't have a dishwasher, it's kind of hard to get yourself to want to spend the next two hours of your life slaving away at a sink of not-so-hot (oh the joys of living in a cheap apartment...) bubbly water. This is what we were up against:

Do you blame me??

(Confession...this wasn't the worst. This is actually a picture taken a couple of days after the sink was at bursting point. Meaning, we go through way too many dishes in a week!)

Well my sweet husband, being the wonderful man that he is, offered to tackle the job. We made a compromise and I did half and he finished the other half later that day while I was at work. Life was good!

Then came yesterday. Yesterday, (the day after all of this took place), I was attempting the cooking side of being a wife. I was making dinner (recipe to come!) and had to fetch some pans out of the sink. As I'm beginning to wash the pan, just minding my own business, I look down and see this:

Now at first glance, this may seem like nothing to worry about. And if it were just an ordinary yellow scrubbie thing, you would be right....but I freaked!!! You see...did I mention to you that the other day I was on a cleaning kick and went through and *scrubbed* the entire shower, sink and toilet, removing every bit of yuck and grime that may have ever existed? Oh. Yeah. The other day I was on a cleaning kick and went through and SCRUBBED the entire shower, sink and toilet, removing every bit of yuck and grime that may have ever existed. After doing so, I placed the used scrubber brush under the sink in the bucket filled with cleaning supplies. Is 1 + 1 equaling 2?? The yellow scrubbie thing that I had used to scour our bathroom to the point of immaculacy was now sitting in my kitchen sink. Having been used to clean almost EVERY dish in our entire home!  

OH MY GOSH!!!

 

I wish I was black so this would be a better representation...



 HOW DOES ONE EVEN RECOVER FROM THIS??

Comments? Suggestions? Tips? Or friendly advice? All is welcome!

 

However, I do have good news... If you're looking for a service opportunity, a kitchen full of dirty dishes is awaiting your arrival. We'll even provide the soap and not-so-hot water! And dinner, too! You know you want it....



Spaghetti and homemade meatballs!



And in conclusion, In case you were wondering, we've resorted to washing each dish before using it. We really didn't know what else to do!

Oh, and p.s...in Jake's defense, how was he supposed to know that the yellow scrubbie thing that is supposed to be used for dishes was used in a bathroom setting? I think I'll be throwing those things away from now on.....