Mint Chocolate Yumminess

A bag of M&Ms for $1.10...I'll take three. I can't seem to pass up a bargain on holiday candy.

Can you?

I currently have 6 bags of holiday M&Ms in assorted flavors.

I also have at least 3 bags (that I have found) of these Nestle Winter dark chocolate & mint morsels.

What's a gal to do when faced with so much holiday chocolate goodness?

That's right. Make some Mint Chocolate Puppy Chow (for humans, not dogs)!

I can't take credit for the recipe...I saw it first on Pinterest (where else) from Shugary Sweets. She actually shares several mint-inspired recipes in her post, so check it out.

My version has just four ingredients. Yes, just four!

Before I share how I made it, I do want to warn you that it's not really a recipe. I didn't do a lot of measuring so feel free to add a little more cereal or a little less.

Mint Chocolate Puppy Chow

Bag of Dark Chocolate & Mint Morsels
5-6 cups of Rice Chex (or similar cereal)
1 cup of Powdered Sugar
Bag of Mint Chocolate M&Ms (or Peppermint White Chocolate, maybe?)

Measure cereal and place in a large mixing bowl. Put powdered sugar in a large, clean plastic storage bag.

Melt a bag of dark chocolate and mint morsels (in the microwave or on the stove). I did mine in the microwave in a 2-cup glass measuring cup. I started at 45 seconds, stirred and put it back in for another 30-45 seconds. Be sure to stir well because they will melt quickly and you don't want to overcook them.

Add melted chocolate to the cereal and stir to coat all of the pieces.

Dump the coated cereal into the bag with the powdered sugar. Seal the bag and shake, shake, shake!

Spread coated cereal on sheet of wax paper until set. Add the M&Ms and store in an airtight container.

Plan to share this with family and friends because if you don't, you'll find yourself with powdered sugar down your shirt as you eat all of it yourself!

Now what to do with all of the Milk Chocolate M&Ms...

Push Button for Bacon

Saw this while on the Purdue University campus today...

No other words needed.

Lazy Girl Confessions: Lightbulbs

The light in my bedroom has been out for over a week. 

Think that's bad?

The light in my stairwell has been out for six months.

Thank goodness I have an iPad to light my way at night.

Maybe this explains why I am single...

Cake Mix Sunrise Cinnamon Loaves

What do you and your friends do for fun on a Saturday afternoon?

Sit by the pool. Go shopping. Watch a movie.

Not my friends!

Recently, I got together with nine of my blogging buddies from The Real Farmwives of America and Friends and we did some Freezer Cooking!

What's freezer cooking? Good question. Cris over at Goodeness Gracious does a great job explaning the concept over on her blog here.

This is the second time I took part in this type of marathon cooking day and I have to admit it stresses me out just a bit! However, we had a great time and you can check out Instagram and Twitter to see some of our antics during the day.

Thanks to Gooseberry Patch we had a head start picking our recipes with their Freezer-Friendly Recipes cookbook. I chose the Sunrise Cinnamon Loaves as my recipe!

It's a really simple recipe and I decided to step up my game and mix up two batches at once since I had 12 batches to bake in about 5 hours (thankfully the kitchen had 2 ovens)!

As I said before, it was a bit stressful for me so I didn't get a lot of action shots as I was in the kitchen. Trust me, there are no difficult steps with this recipe so you'll be OK without step-by-step shots!

After it was all said and done, I had nine delicious smelling soups, side dishes and entrees in my car!

I have to admit I only kept one for myself. The rest are in my sister's freezer so she has meals ready to pop in the oven after her baby is born later this month.

Before I share the recipe, I do want to tell you that I did a couple of things that were not part of the recipe. 

First, I added chocolate chips to some of the loaves. Chocolate makes almost everything better!

Second, instead of making all large loaves, I made some mini loaves and muffins. Just because I could.

Third, I added some big decorating sugar crystals to the tops of the loaves. I thought it made them look prettier. I also didn't quite use all of the cinnamon sugar mixture that it called for. 

Sunrise Cinnamon Loaves

Yellow Cake Mix with Pudding* (the recipe calls from 18-1/2 oz. pkg. I used slightly smaller boxes)

4 eggs

3/4 c. oil

3/4 c. water

1 t. vanilla extract

1/2 c. sugar

3 T. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prep two 8x4 loaf pans (grease and flour).

Combine the first 5 ingredients in large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on high speed for 3 minutes.

Pour a quarter of the batter into the bottom of each pan.

Combine cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over the batter in the pans. (Add nuts, chocolate chips or other goodies here, if you want to.)

Spread the remaining batter evenly into the loaf pans; sprinkle the top of the loaves with the remaining sugar mixture.

Use a knife to gently swirl sugar and cinnamon into batter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes (baking time varies if you do small loaf pans or muffins). Cool on wire racks.

Freeze and Serve Instructions: Place cooled loaves in freezer bags and place in freezer. To serve, thaw at room temperature or put a frozen slice into the toaster.

Rumor has it that many of the loaves I made didn't make it to the freezer...the one I took home may not have either!

*Look for cake mixes that say they have pudding added. Aldi's brand has pudding-in-the-mix, as does Betty Crocker and Pillsbury.

All opinions and photos in this post are mine for better or worse. There is an affiliate link and Gooseberry Patch provided me with the cookbook. 

Perfect Day for a Garden Walk

On Monday, I shared about my favorite day of the year.

Here are some photos on what we did after we visited the butterflies!

"What if I put my fingers over his mouth, MeMe?"

He was making her wait until the train made a full lap

before letting her push the button. Gotta love big brothers.

She really, really wanted to put her hand in that water!

Yes, that's a Komodo Dragon on a leash!

Easy Peanut Butter Crunch S'mores Bars

I've been craving S'mores lately.

You may have realized that already as this is my second "s'mores" related post in a week! Remember the S'mores Popcorn?

So when I found this recipe on my "Recipes I Need to Try" board on Pinterest, I knew I had to test it out.

If you want a simple to make yet delicious to eat treat, you must try these.

Peanut Butter Crunch S'mores Bars

Graham Crackers
2 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
1/2 cup peanut butter baking chips (optional)
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup light corn syrup
3 Tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 cup peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
3 cups Rice Krispies cereal

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Coat 13x9x2-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Cover bottom of pan with single-layer of graham crackers (you may need to break them to cover completely).

Spread marshmallows evenly on top of crackers. Roughly chop peanut butter chips and sprinkle them over the marshmallows. Bake for 8 minutes or until marshmallows are "puffy." Cool completely.

In microwave-safe bowl (or on the stove), mix chocolate chips, corn syrup and butter. Microwave on high for about a minute and a half or until chocolate is melted. Stir every 30 seconds.

Once chocolate is melted, stir in peanut butter until smooth. Add Rice Krispies and stir until coated. Spread over the marshmallows.

Cover and refrigerate for an hour or until firm. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator.

These are good.

So good that once they were set, I immediately cut them and divided the bars into 4 containers and delivered them to family so I wouldn't eat the entire batch!

My Favorite Day of the Year

Christmas. Your Birthday. Black Friday.

One of these may be your favorite day of the year.

Not me.

My favorite day of the year is when I go see the butterflies at White River Gardens in downtown Indianapolis.

I adore butterflies.

This year my sister treated me to a day with the butterflies AND my precious niece and nephew.

She like butterflies too!

I think this is my favorite photo the day...

There's just something about these creatures that makes me smile.

If you live near Indianapolis, I definitely suggest you check this exhibit out. I think the gardens and zoo are a combined ticket so plan for an entire day of fun. I think the butterflies are there until early September!