1 of 101 Things To Do With A Cake Mix

When I was a little, little, little girl, I wanted to be just like my mom and wear an apron and BAKE! One of the ways she started teaching me was with cake mixes. This is really a wonderful way to get your kids in the kitchen and provide them with a really fool proof baking project. Of course, later I moved on to more difficult and challenging recipes.

A few years ago I came across this darling little spiral bound book full of easy and fun desserts that you just can't mess up. I have made several of the recipes and they were all pretty tasty. So with all the hub bub about the Julie and Julia project I thought that it would be comical to make every single one of the recipes in this book. HA! (By the way, LOVED the movie, hated the book!) So here you have it the first in a series of 101 recipes.

White-Chocolate Fudge Bars

• 1 chocolate fudge cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup oil
• 3/4 white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together cake mix, eggs, and oil. Stir in white chocolate chips.
Mixture will be stiff.

Press dough into a greased 9x13-inch pan.

Bake 14-16 minutes.

Serve warm or at room temperature. Can be topped with favorite frosting,
if desired.

A Breakfast Tea

Breakfast Tea .... Anyone?

I don't know about you guys, but I love butter!
And Butter with Honey.... um! um! UM! What better excuse than an
English muffin all toasty and warm......

Oh Dear! Excuse me.... the sweet and savory concoction

is running down the back of my hand....

Make sure you start your day right.... fix yourself a spot of tea and head on over to
Susan's blog Between Naps on the Porch.

a

Bows of Blue

SOOO easily entertained.

Seriously!

And that pretty much says it!

TableScape Thursday With My Favorite New Dishes

Lunch?

Come on! Pull up a chair!

What about a hamburger and baked beans?

Maybe a hot dog?

A bologna sandwich and chips?

Before you go back to work, make sure you head on over to Between Naps on the Porch for more lovely tablescapes.
Thank you Susan!

Mud Slide Brownies And A Little Bonus For You!

I got this recipe from Sandra Lee....yes it's another one of her Semi Homemade recipes.... These are really delicious! So I knew I had to share the recipe.
But here's the bonus part....

when I went to copy the recipe from Food Network .com.... all of the coupon offers came too.

What a bonus!

EDIT! Once I posted the recipe, I realized that the coupons did not transfer. BUT if you click on the words Food Network above, you will go to the recipe and the coupons are there.

For Brownies:

• Butter-flavored cooking spray
• 1 (18.3-ounce) box fudge brownie mix (recommended: Betty Crocker)
• 3 eggs, divided use
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup pre-made mudslide drink (recommended: T.G.I. Friday's)
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee crystals
• 1 tablespoon hot water
• 1 (8-ounce) block cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with butter-flavored cooking spray; set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine brownie mix, 2 eggs, vegetable oil, and mudslide drink. Mix well to combine. Transfer to prepared baking pan and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine instant coffee and 1 tablespoon of hot water. Stir together until all the coffee has dissolved. Add cream cheese, sugar and remaining egg. Using an electric mixer beat on low speed until smooth. Fold in chocolate chips. Spread over brownie mixture. Use a butter knife to cut cream cheese mixture into brownie mixture for a marble effect.

Bake in preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.

I hope you enjoy these!

New Dishes and a Favorite New Web Site

This is a website that I love!

I had seen these adorable plates in Country Living Magazine at the beginning of the summer and decided I had to have them. The site that was mentioned in the article was sold out almost as soon as the feature was published. At least that is what it seemed like to me. Then one day I was looking at Tina Smith's blog, Cherry Hill Cottage and she featured
Home a la mode.

So I had to check it out because Tina has wonderful cottage style! And there they were. My melamine dishes that I had been wanting forever.

So I ordered them! (yay)

They arrived the other day and of course I had to show them to you!

I am so happy with my order. I can't wait to set the table.

I also ordered these darling tea towels. Way too cute!

I have to wash and put them away now.

Look for these pretties in future posts!

Truvia

I tried this a couple of weeks ago and I think I really like it. I don't normally care for the 0 calorie sweeteners for two reasons. They never taste right and they have so many scary chemicals in them.

Truvia is made from only the best tasting and sweetest part of the stevia plant. Truvia only has 3 ingredients. 1. Erythritol - A naturally fermented sugar alcohol found in grapes and pears 2. Rebiana - Their brand name for the stevia product 3. Natural Flavors - Used to bring out the flavor, as salt and pepper would for meat,

I like it better than Splenda.

Thin and Crispy or Thick and Gooey

Do you like your chocolate chip cookies thin and crispy or thick and gooey? I personally prefer thick and gooey. However, if you like thin and crispy, this is a great recipe for you. I also added butterscotch chips.

Just to cut the sweet!

1/2 lb. unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
12oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
6oz butterscotch chips

In large mixing bowl, with electric mixer, mix butter until creamy. Mix in brown and granulated sugars, salt and vanilla until fluffy. Mix in egg and baking soda. Add flour. Mix on low until incorporated. Mix in chocolate and butterscotch chips. Drop onto greased or sprayed baking sheets by rounded tablespoon about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes until tops are set when lightly pressed with fingertips and color is golden.
Let stand 2 minutes and remove to racks.

Got Milk?

Sniffs Good!

You've seen these candles at Joannes and Wal Mart. I just thought the crock was to cute to toss. So I took the old melted candle out and soaked the original label off. I put a little pillar of my favorite from Yankee Candle (clean cotton). Then I gave it my own brand put a bow on it and called it new!