Yummy!!!

These Mint Chocolate Bars were the cover recipe for Cooking Light this month. I have had a number of requests for the recipe. So I thought I would share with all.

The dense base layer is like a rich, fudgy brownie, so don't overcook it or the dessert bars will be dry. Refrigerating the mint bars allows the chocolaty top layer to set properly. You can make the dessert up to one day ahead. For a more grown-up taste, you can also use dark chocolate chips for some or all of the semisweet chocolate chips in the glaze. Also, remember these were "lightened" by 1/2 from the original but they are by no means calorie or fat free :)

Ingredients
Bottom layer:

1 cup all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 ounces)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup egg substitute

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, beaten

1 (16-ounce) can chocolate syrup

Cooking spray

Mint layer:

2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 tablespoons fat-free milk

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

2 drops green food coloring

Glaze:

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

3 tablespoons butter

Preparation

1 Preheat oven to 350°.
2.To prepare bottom layer, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and salt; stir with a whisk. Combine granulated sugar, egg substitute, 1/4 cup melted butter, 2 tablespoons water, vanilla, eggs, and chocolate syrup in a medium bowl; stir until smooth. Add flour mixture to chocolate mixture, stirring until blended. Pour batter into a 13 x 9–inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 23 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out almost clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
3.To prepare mint layer, combine powdered sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter, and next 3 ingredients (through food coloring) in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer until smooth. Spread mint mixture over cooled cake.
4.To prepare the glaze, combine the chocolate chips and 3 tablespoons butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at HIGH 1 minute or until melted, stirring after 30 seconds. Let stand 2 minutes. Spread chocolate mixture evenly over top. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Cut into 20 pieces.
Yield
20 servings (serving size: 1 piece)
Nutritional Information
CALORIES 264(30% from fat); FAT 8.7g (sat 5.2g,mono 2.5g,poly 0.4g); PROTEIN 2.8g; CHOLESTEROL 38mg; CALCIUM 12mg; SODIUM 139mg; FIBER 0.5g; IRON 0.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 45g
Megan Patterson ,
Cooking Light, MARCH 2008

My buddy

The other day I was thinking how much fun it is to have a 2 year old, WHAT?!?!? I think 2 year olds get a bad rap. As much as Lee and I would like to have another baby, while we wait I am LOVING this time in my life. Keaton and I hang out everyday. We go to the zoo, go shopping, go to lunch, go for walks, read books, go to the library, or just hang out and talk about stuff. It is like having a friend to hang out with all the time. We don't worry TOO much about diapers, special food (he is great at eating just about anything), and he is a pretty good sport about doing pretty much anything. Now warmer weather is here we can get into even more trouble. Life is good.

Favorite FInds- February!

Here are my favorite finds for February-
First I have to tell you about The Nester. You will find her in my Favorite Blogs link on the side. She has become a family favorite. My sisters, cousins, and I are obsessed. We spend way too much time at family dinners talking about our Nester projects now. The Nester is amazing because she truly not only decorates on a dime, she does it with charisma, charm, and little effort. ANYONE could do her projects. Trust me when you link make sure you have a good couple of hours since you will want to read to the end.
Next, don't know how the Nester is going to like being followed up by Pineapple but trust me this is a good one. Has anyone else bought the new Dole Pineapple 100% Gold. YUM, we went to Hawaii last year, we know what Pineapple is supposed to taste like. This is it (with no sugar added). Worth the extra pennies.
Once again Keaton and I are trying a new adventure. Keaton is under 3 so he gets into all kinds off cool places free still. Nice for me. I just got a pass to the Aviary. JUST 20 bucks for me for a YEAR. With that pass there are so many cool reciprocal programs. I get into the zoo on the first Thurs. for FREE. The Dinosaur park any weekday.....FREE. The Aquarium (which we had passes to last year and is fun to see), 1/2 price. We are pretty excited. Defiantly something to check into. (Also if you travel there are many Zoos' nationwide you can get into....FREE).
Lastly, KINDERMUSIK with KIM http://kmkim.kindermusik.net . Keaton and I signed up for this for this semester. Honestly, the first week was horrible and I was trying to think of how to get out of it. You sing and dance with your kid, not exactly within my comfort level with strangers. To make matters worse Keaton was too shy the first week too so he just sat back with his, "you are really making a fool of yourself Mom" face. He wouldn't participate at all. He also kept trying to escape, "not without me!", I thought. BUT.....after that first week of breaking down our insecurities. We LOVE it. We are so excited to go to the "singsong" class. It is a great time for organized play, that is educational. It also has taught me a lot more on how to play with him at home, to increase learning. As an added note: the second week she also added gates to keep Keatster in. What a help!

Hardware Ranch

Lee and Keaton checking out the horses.
What a rack!

Eating the ranch provided alfalfa.

Moose feeding.

So if you know Lee and I very well you know we like to "go". We are not very good at sitting in the house all day.

Lee has been trying for 4 years to get me to go check out Hardware Ranch just outside of Logan. For some reason I never really got into it until this year. We went last weekend and it was GREAT! On our way up the canyon we saw some Moose feeding in the river. When we got up there it was so interesting, tons of information. For $5 (I think kids under 4 are free) they take you out into the herd (over 600 Elk) by horse drawn sleigh. At Hardware Ranch they feed the Elk during the winter to keep them healthy and out of the nearby towns. They also do lots of testing to prevent widespread disease. It was a great family activity, Keaton loved it! Also, while you are up in Logan be sure you go to "Logans Heroes" for Lunch, YUMMY!!!

Here is a link to the Hardware Ranch site for directions/ etc.

http://wildlife.utah.gov/hardwareranch/visit.php

Kids say the funniest things!

Just a quick one to tell you some crazy things Keaton has been saying:
Lee was giving him a "talking to" about being rough with our entertainment cabinet. Keaton without missing a beat looks him in the eye and says, "Dad I'm just TWO!".

Keaton and I have an ongoing struggle with putting his shoes on. He thinks they are unnecessary and will remove them immediately. Yesterday he let me get them on him with little fight. He then exclaimed, "Congratulations Mom you got my shoes on!" Funny.

Any good one liners from the little people in your life?

FHE

We had a home run FHE tonight for our little family. My friend Dana had done something similar in sharing time and the kids LOVED it. I thought I would adapt it to out little family. We talked about Samuel the Lamanite. We looked at the picture and had Keaton tell us what he noticed in it. He noticed that people were throwing things at a guy on a wall that had a stick. We put Daddy on a chair and wrapped a robe on him (a bed sheet), and threw crumpled up magazine pages at him while he told his message. Keaton loved it and we all had to take turns being Samuel and giving the message. He even took his turn and told us to, "repent, Jesus is coming!!!". We then sang the Samuel Christmas song. I think sometimes the easiest things are the best for 2 year olds. Has anyone else had any "home run" ideas for FHE? Especially if you have a young audience?

Park City

Well, today Keaton and I made our pilgrimage to Park City. I try to go every October and February because I think that is when I can find the best deals (especially on kids clothes). I do need to revise my statement. I think it is the FIRST WEEK of the month you should try for (I had a friend that wanted to go today and then ended up not being able to go). It was a little more picked over today but still some good deals. If you want to go get up there in the next week or so. Here is the deals I found:
Osh Kosh- I had become disenchanted with Osh Kosh lately since I don't think $7-$10 for a kids shirt is any kind of deal. They rope you in with the big: 75% off signs but then once you start looking close you realize that it is still $7. Today though I thought the deals were worthy of this girls dimes. Their clearance was buy one get one. That made most shirts 3-4. They also had a ton of winter coats that ended up being under $10. They still had some pretty cute stuff. I think the bet deal I got there were denim jumpers for my little twin nieces for $3 a piece. Not too shabby. They also have a 20% off your $50 purchase coupon at the register, even better.
Carters- Carters did not fail me. Every year I go up there to get Mr. Keatons warm footie pajamas for the next year, as well as some "summer" pj's (I like long sleeve thin knit so they are still a tad warm, he kicks off the blankets). They had all their jammies 5.99 and 20% off. We cleaned up. They also had a lot of other great baby things. It REALLY made me wish I had a baby to buy for! (the lady in front of me also had a internet coupon for 20% off it made me sick, I signed up for their list post haste so I don't miss out again).
Childrens place- I love Childrens Place. I always get some good deals there. They had their 3.99, 1.99, and .99 racks. I got a lot of shirts off the 99 cents rack, I also got some rather heavy sweaters off of the 1.99 rack, and a couple of church shirts off the 3.99. Add to that the 15% off coupon you should have gotten in the mail and it made the stuff down right cheap.

This will have to be the last time I take Keaton with me. He did not make it that great of a time, although it could have been some pent up resentment towards the Poopy diaper he self removed allover his bed this morning ;) Will he ever potty train?!?!? Let me know of any good deals you have found around town.