Dolly Parton's Imagination Library

So I was told about this program through a friend because my youngest just loves books. He would sit for hours and read (more like look at) books if he could. So I looked up the Dolly Parton's imagination Library and registered my two boys. It did take a while to receive the first book but after that, you get a book monthly....I believe. The first time you get your book (if you have more then one child) the book will be the same but after your first book, they will go based off of the age of your child. So yes, we did get two books the same but now I won't have to hear the boys fighting over the book! (See there is a bright side!)

The first books my boys received were "The Little Engine That Could" and their not the cheap paper books either. They got a hard outside cover. :) 

Here is the second book one of the boys received. I forgot to take a picture of one of them. 

If you would like to register your child(ren) follow this link: 

http://usa.mobile.imaginationlibrary.com/

Or if your not mobile:

http://imaginationlibrary.com/?full=1

Remember it takes a while to receive the first book but definitely worth the wait! 

Enjoy! 

Buckeye Brownies!

So the other day I made some Buckeye brownies. Here is the recipe if anyone is interested in it.

For Brownie:

19 1/2 ounce package of brownie mix...
egg
vegetable oil
water
or whatever the package calls for

Prepare and bake brownie mix in a greased 13"x9" baking pan according to package directions. Let cool.


For Middle Layer:

2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 (8 ounce) jars creamy peanut butter

Mix powdered sugar, 1/2 cup butter and peanut butter.
Mix well and spread over cooled brownies.
Chill for one hour. (I would recommend not leaving it in for an hour because the brownies will get hard.)

For Top Layer:

1 (6 ounce) packages semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 tablespoons butter, softened

Melt together chocolate chips and remaining butter in a saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally until melted.
Spread over brownies.
Let cool; cut into squares.

I got this recipe from the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Handy-Dandy-Recipes/343846885735798
Check that page out because they have LOTS of recipes to try! 

It's a Naked Egg!

 So I got this idea from my mother in law.

So how do you get an egg like this??

Things you will need:
An Egg
Vinegar
a cup
food coloring (optional)

Just put an egg in a cup and fill it with apple cider vinegar till egg is covered. Then let it sit. I believe it needs to sit for 24 hours or longer? Once the hard shell is completely off the egg, you rinse off the egg. It's a rubber egg! Be careful though! It is bouncy but it could possibly break. Here is a picture of a broken rubber egg. :)

Hint from Online: If you place the "naked egg" in corn syrup, it will shrink/shrivel up. The vinegar inside the egg moves through the semi-permeable membrane. You can then place it in water with food coloring and "color" the inside of the egg and it will fill up again due to osmosis.

Have fun with this neat little project and enjoy!

Halloween Bark Candy

So my friends and I were having a movie night and everyone had to bring a dessert. Well here is what I brought. I even put them in snack size baggies and it was a blast and very yummy treat!! Got a sweet tooth? This will hit the spot!

Halloween Candy Corn Cookie Bark

Ingredients

• 14 whole Oreos, broken up (use Halloween Oreos if you can find them)
• 1 1/2 cups pretzels - any shape, broken into pieces
• 16 ounces almond bark or white chocolate melts
• 1 cup candy corn
• brown and orange colored sprinkles
• Marshmallows
• M&M's (holiday colors)

                                                                      

Instructions

1. Cover a large cookie sheet with wax paper or parchment paper. Spread broken cookies, pretzels and about 3/4 cup of the candy corn onto the prepared cookie sheet in a 9x13 shape. Place almond bark in a container and microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir and then microwave for another 30 seconds until melted and smooth.
2. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cookie mixture, spreading with spatula if needed to coat evenly. It may seem like it's not enough but just try to evenly spread it. The ratio of chocolate to toppings will be off if you add more almond bark/white chocolate. Sprinkle remaining candy corn and colored sprinkles over the almond bark/white chocolate while it is still wet. Do not let it harden. Place cookie tray into refrigerator until set and firm. Remove and gently break bark into small pieces - it's really rich. Makes around 20-24 pieces. Store in air tight container.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

I absolutely cannot wait to make the Pumpkin Cheesecake this year. I made it last year for Thanksgiving and everyone who tried it, loved it! It is very similar to pumpkin pie but so much better I think! When I find a picture, I will definitely post it. But in the mean time, here is the recipe.

Found the recipe at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/pumpkin-cheesecake-recipe/index.html

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 stick melted salted butter

Filling:

• 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin
• 3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

For crust:
In medium bowl, combine crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Add melted butter. Press down flat into a 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.

For filling:
Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar and the spices. Add flour and vanilla. Beat together until well combined.

Pour into crust. Spread out evenly and place in oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.

Reese's Peanut Butter Truffle Recipe!

This recipe was a huge hit for my husband's squadron party! This recipe made one big batch (biggest bowl I had in the house) and there was plenty left over!

This is how much my husband brought home. He said people went back for seconds! Definitely will make this again for another party! 

 

Recipe:

Peanut Butter Brownie Trifle 

1 fudge brownie mix (13-inch x 9-inch pan size)2 packages (13 ounces each) miniature peanut butter cups 
4 cups cold 2% milk 
2 packages (5.1 ounces each) instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup creamy peanut butter
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cartons (8 ounces each) frozen whipped topping, thawed  

Prepare brownie batter according to package directions.  Bake in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with moist crumbs (do not overbake).  Cool on a wire rack; cut into 3/4-in. pieces.  Cut peanut butter cups in half; set aside 1/3 cup for garnish.  In a large bowl, whisk milk and pudding mixes for 2 minutes (mixture will be thick).  Add peanut butter and vanilla; mix well.  Fold in 1-1/2 cartons whipped topping. Place a third of the brownies in a 5-qt. glass bowl; top with a third of the remaining peanut butter cups. Spoon a third of the pudding mixture over the top.  Repeat layers twice. Cover with remaining whipped topping; garnish with reserved peanut butter cups. Refrigerate until chilled.

Greatest fitness Apps out there!

So when I was in a Challenge group, I was told about the Lose It! app and thought I would give it a try. I was told if you had to keep a track of everything you ate and drink that it would make you think twice about your decisions and at that point, I was willing to try anything. My eating habits were through the roof and were crazy. So I got this app *which is free! btw* and downloaded it onto my phone. Best decision I have ever done! You can record so much and it calculates your calories for you. You can input what you eat even if you went out to a restaurant, it provides tons of restaurants and it has a lot of their food listed so its very easy to input your food. You can enter your date for your exercise. It is such a great app, I wouldn't of known what to do without it. You can  record your weight and it shows a chart and keeps everything you need to know in this awesome app. Also the app gives you badges for accomplishing certain goals! It’s a lot of fun and easy to keep a track of what you eat and what you do. You won't ever have to get a pen and paper to keep a track of your calories you got left to eat because this app does it for you.. The greatest thing about this app is you can scan the barcode on a product and it will enter it in your food log for you. I seriously recommend this app!

The other app I recommend for fitness is called Idrated. It's a water app that helps you log in how much water you are suppose to drink that day. All you do is log in, record how much water you drank, and you're done! It's so simple! I forgot all the time to drink water and it would send me little reminders of when I am suppose to drink water. If you are busy like I am and need reminders, get this app!