recipe: chocolate mint pudding delight

As you know if you haven't been living under a rock, the season finale of The Bachelorette was Sunday night. I think Emily Maynard's season was my favorite yet—the guys seemed normal (mostly), Emily clearly had her head on straight, and we got to meet Sean Lowe (the man that, at least judging by Twitter, approximately 87,000 women want to marry. Including this woman).

Anyway, we had Bachelorette viewing parties at my parents' house throughout the season, and we decided to make snacks for the finale. My chocolate chip cookie dough dip got rave reviews from Al and my mom, and Janae loved Blendy's peanut butter bars, but my favorite was the chocolate/cheesecake/mint concoction I came up with. I adapted a recipe I found on Pinterest (where else?) to make this delightful dessert, which turned out remarkably similar to a dessert a woman at the church I grew up in brought to every potluck. Yummy! 

Chocolate Mint Pudding Delight
adapted from Mint Chocolate No Bake Cheesecake on mybakingaddiction.com.

1 (8 oz) brick Neufchatel (⅓ less fat cream cheese), softened
½ c powdered sugar
1 (8 oz) carton light whipped topping, divided
1½ c skim milk
1 (3.4 oz) pkg instant chocolate pudding
½ tsp vanilla extract
⅛ tsp peppermint extract*
¼ c Andes Crème De Menthe Baking Chips

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together cream cheese and powdered sugar. Add extracts and mix until incorporated. **Beat in ⅔ of the whipped topping (this can be approximate). Set aside. In another bowl, combine milk and instant pudding and whisk until thick. ***Spread cream cheese mixture in a serving bowl or 8x8 glass baking dish. Spread pudding on top of cream cheese layer. Top with remaining whipped topping and Andes chips. Refrigerate at least two hours before serving.

*Even though it doesn't sound like much, ⅛ tsp will make this pretty minty. Not a problem if you like a lot of mint (like me!), but you may want to just use a couple drops or leave it out completely. You could also go with other flavor combinations, like almond extract and Heath toffee pieces. The sky's the limit here!

**The original recipe said to gently fold in the whipped topping. As mine was still mostly frozen and I lacked the patience to wait for it to thaw, I just dumped it in and beat the living daylights out of it. And it turned out fine!

***This would look great layered in parfait glasses or individual ramekins.

The finished product. Thanks, Beth, for the beautiful Spanish serving dish!

I was too busy eating to get a picture on the plate, so this is
the best view of the layers you're going to get!

The cookie dough dip—basically the only thing we dipped into it was a spoon!

Blendy totally dominates the graham crackers for the peanut butter bars!

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recipe: frosted molasses creams

Last week, I found this Pyrex set on sale at Amazon for $34.99. I bought it thinking I'd give away some pieces for shower or wedding gifts, but when I opened the box, I realized I wanted to keep it all! I also had this uncontrollable urge to bake something in one of the pieces.

Earlier this week, I had the best molasses cookies I've ever tasted at Das Dutch Kitchen in Dalton, Ohio. After I got home yesterday, I started looking for Amish molasses cookie recipes. The arrival of the Pyrex put my cookie baking on hold, but I still wanted molasses. Then I remembered my mom's frosted molasses creams recipe, which is kind of like a molasses cookie in bar form. As she wasn't home tonight to give me the recipe, I turned instead to the trusty internets. I ended up finding a recipe for frosted molasses bars that looked similar to Mom's recipe and adapted it a bit.

Frosted Molasses Creams
adapted from this recipe on Cooks.com

Bars:
½ c shortening
½ c white sugar
1 egg
½ c molasses
½ c strong coffee (hot is okay)
1 ½ c all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves

Frosting:
½ c butter
2 ½ c powdered sugar
2 T strong coffee

To make:
Preheat oven to 350°. Cream shortening and sugar. Stir in egg. Add molasses and coffee, beating for about 30 seconds. (At this point, the liquid may not be completely incorporated into the shortening/sugar mixture. That's okay.) Add dry ingredients, blending well. Pour into greased 9x13 inch pan. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes.

For the frosting: 
Cream butter and sugar. Gradually add coffee and beat until smooth. (You may need to adjust the amount of coffee.) Spread on bars after they have cooled for 30 minutes.

These are seriously SO GOOD! I had to cover them up (with a nifty Pyrex lid, of course) so I would stop smelling them—and hopefully stop eating them!

The finished bars. Keep in mind that I never claimed to be a food photographer!

These go perfectly with a cup of coffee ... which you should have on hand
since you had to make coffee to go in the bars!

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crafting with blendy & becky: vbs crafts

In June, I did a ton of crafting (all without Blendy) ... because I helped with VBS at my church, and I worked in crafts! We made one or two crafts each day, depending on the time. I had an absolute blast with the 18 kids who were part of the crafts camp! My official role at VBS was to be the special buddy of an autistic girl. She participated in crafts, so I did, too, and in the process got to know some really cool kids.

I'd forgotten how much I enjoy being around kids. That sounds strange coming from someone who works at a school, but I'm not really around the young ones much. (That's not to say I don't enjoy the older ones ... you know I do!) When I quit helping with Awana at my parents' church two years ago, I was really burned out, and though I missed the kids, I knew it was time for me to step back. My experience with VBS reminded me just how great kids are! While I'm not ready to work in children's ministry on a weekly basis, I will definitely keep helping with VBS!

So during VBS, I made a lot of crafts, but I only got pictures of two: a tissue paper cross and prayer hands. I won't go into great detail on how to make these crafts—this post is basically just to prove that I did complete a craft project in June! (You can see my other crafting projects here.)

The tissue paper cross is pretty simple. You cut a cross shape out of cardboard, use a hole punch to make a bunch of holes, and stick tissue paper through them. Or you could just buy the kit from Oriental Trading!

The prayer hands are also ridiculously simple...but you'd probably have to buy hand cutouts somewhere. You just paint them (see how artistic I am???), and when they're dry, glue each hand to one side of a clothespin. Then you can hold prayer cards (or recipe cards) in them. Once again, here's an example from Oriental Trading.

Our July craft is going to be bath bombs, and Blendy will be doing this one with me. Stay tuned!

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single at the wedding

My cousin married his high school sweetheart last Friday night. And for the first time in a very long time, I experienced only a twinge of wistful I-wish-I-had-a-man thinking while celebrating the joining of two lives.

I think the difference in my attitude at this wedding, as opposed to nearly every other wedding I've attended since I became of marriageable age more than a decade ago, stems from the fact that I am currently single by a deliberate, conscious choice. This will come as a surprise to many of you: not so long ago I was dating a really great guy, and then I chose to end it. The reasons aren't important to share; let's just say I'm completely confident in my decision and leave it at that.

As I watched Nate and Abbie say their vows, I thought about their love for each other; I thought about how Abbie lights up when Nate is in the room; I thought about my own single state. And I acknowledged, deep inside where I've always wondered if I'd ever find love, that I don't want to get married without the kind of love that Nate and Abbie share.

People marry for all sorts of reasons, and love doesn't always factor into the equation. But I know now that it needs to factor into my equation. And here's why: one of the things I learned about myself as a result of my failed relationship is that I really am okay being single. In fact, I rather like it, and I'm not going to give up the freedom I enjoy as a single, childless woman unless it's for the right guy. And if I'm okay being single, why on earth would I marry someone I didn't love? 

Rather than wallowing in self-pity, lamenting the fact that I don't have a man, I am going to continue to embrace the life God has given me! And while I will keep praying that God will one day grant me the husband and family I have longed for, I'm also praying that He will use me just as I am, providing me with the opportunities, friends, and relationships that I need in order to thrive as a single thirty-something.

So back to the wedding: Nate and his bride were joined in a beautiful service, I had a great time catching up with family, and now life is continuing as usual. And you know what? I think I'll be just fine :-)

I neglected to get a picture of the bride and groom, but I did take a few of my sister and me! This is right before we left for the wedding.

It was like 100 degrees outside. No breeze. In the sun. I was hotter than I've been in a very long time!

But still, despite the heat, we were glad to be at the wedding!

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june media roundup

I've done a few of these media roundups before, and it's time for another one! Sometimes I feel like all I do is read (some of you probably feel like all I do is read, too—after all, that's mainly what I write about!), but in between reading all of those books, I have been listening to some music and watching some TV and movies. Here are a few of the things I'm enjoying—or eagerly anticipating—right now:

"Forever Reign" by One Sonic Society
Every so often, I come across a song that gets completely stuck in my head. This is one such song! We sing it in church sometimes, and I recently downloaded it. Right before my gallbladder surgery, I was pretty nervous, and I was singing this song in my head to try to calm myself as they put me under. When I woke up, it was still running through my head ... and it's been there on-and-off ever since!



Tyler Perry movies
These two movies could not be more different—except that they both star Perry! I'm looking forward to both of them.

Madea's Witness Protection

I have a soft spot for Tyler Perry movies. Especially Madea movies. Madea is an acquired taste—the first time I saw Diary of a Mad Black Woman, I thought Madea was completely over the top and ridiculous—but once you grasp the humor, you're in for hours of laughter. My sisters and I are eagerly anticipating Madea's Witness Protection, which comes out this Friday. Does it look stupid? Yes. But it also promises two hours of Madea goodness. Hallelujer!

Alex Cross
I'm not going to embed this trailer because it's a bit graphic, so if you want to watch it, go here. So at first I wondered if Tyler Perry could really pull off the role of Alex Cross—made famous by Morgan Freeman in Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider. Well, 38 seconds into the trailer, I forgot all about my concerns ... because I was screaming "Matthew Fox!" at my screen. Matthew Fox is the villain, and not in the seems-like-a-good-guy-but-is-really-kinda-bad way that he was in Vantage Point. He completely CREEPED. ME. OUT. And made me really want to watch this movie. Come October, I'll be in the theater.

"Beautiful Things" by Gungor
In yearbook class, we always listened to music. Oftentimes, it was Michael Bublé or One Direction ... and Joey, the editor, got far too many song picks. On one of the last days of school (after Joey had already graduated and gone back to China), Tori picked this song. It was the first time I'd ever heard it—at least that I can recall. I fell completely in love. It's definitely my favorite song of the moment!


Dawson's Creek
I'm halfway ashamed to even admit to watching Dawson's Creek. I realize I'm 14 years late to the party, and I really wasn't even interested in watching it when it originally aired. Then it showed up on Netflix, and I watched the first episode. And the second. And the third. As Blendy says, it's like crack—so addictive! In the week following my surgery, I watched the first three seasons. Since I've been back at work, I've been watching the episodes at a more reasonable pace, and I'm currently at the beginning of the fifth season. And let me just say, I'm totally in the Pacey-Joey fan club. Dawson ... is just annoying.

Drop Dead Diva
Could you ask for a more ridiculous concept? I'm not sure: Deb is a model who gets into a car accident, and Jane is a lawyer who gets shot ... both on the same day. Through a mixup, Deb dies, and her soul is placed in Jane's body. So Jane is really Deb, but no one knows except Deb's best friend Stacy and her guardian angel Fred (who has now been replaced by guardian angel Luke). Here's the kicker—Jane works at the same law firm as Grayson, Deb's fiance. The longer Deb remains in Jane's body, the more like Jane she becomes.

Drop Dead Diva is simply a fun summer show! It's currently in its fourth season on Lifetime, and while it's not a show I can't miss an episode of (like, say, Fringe), it's a fun way to pass an hour. The cases are never super-serious, the cast has chemistry, and the characters are multi-dimensional. The first three seasons are streaming on Netflix. Check it out!

The Bachelorette
I blame my sister for my Bachelor/ette addiction. I thought the franchise was incredibly stupid and a waste of time ... until one evening when I showed up at my parents' house while Val was watching DeAnna's season. I was hooked. Do I "believe in this process"? No. But it's sure entertaining to watch! We have weekly Bachelorette parties at my parents' house ... sometimes Dad even joins in the fun! 

This season may be my favorite ever—current Bachelorette Emily isn't messing around, and she's not afraid to send guys home when she knows they're not right for her, even in the middle of a date or before the rose ceremony. And the guys are so fun! She's down to her final four guys, and I'm fairly certain I know which one will be going home next week. Of the three that will remain, all seem to be great guys. Of course, I'd rather have Sean than see Emily have him, but that's not very realistic, is it? Check out his Twitter bio. This guy's not going to have any trouble finding a woman if Emily lets him go! (Speaking of Twitter bios, Arie's absolutely cracks me up. So true!)
So that's what I'm watching/listening to/anticipating. What about you? Any movies, music, or TV shows I should check out?

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crafting with blendy & becky: book page flowers

For our May craft, Blendy and I decided to make these book page flowers. I wasn't sure at first if I could make them—we've already established that I'm not naturally very crafty!—but they were surprisingly simple. I couldn't believe how quickly I picked it up, and soon I could form the petals without really thinking.

Rather than give you step-by-step instructions, I'm just going to point you to the site I used. Their pictures make following the directions incredibly easy.

Before we could start making the flowers, I had to decide which book I was willing to tear apart ... not an easy task for someone like me who loves her books! Then I remembered this book. I got it through Vine, and their rules stipulate that reviewers can't give possession of the products received to anyone else, though they can dispose of the product after a certain amount of time. Well, I still had the book on my shelf, and there was no chance I'd ever read it again ... so making book page flowers out of it seemed perfect!

Like I said before, you should go to this origami instruction website for directions, but here are a couple things I learned from making my flowers:

Make a template, then trace as many as you can onto a piece of paper. I found that when I was just measuring (say 4" x 4"), I often wasn't quite accurate ... so each petal of my flower was a slightly different size. Tracing a template eliminated that problem.

Also, use pencil, not pen (as I did), to trace the template. If I didn't fold the petal perfectly, I often had a little black showing through.

At first, the flower making was slow going, but soon I could complete a flower in about 15 minutes. It's perfect busy work while watching a movie or chatting!

Here are my completed flowers on top of the book I "sacrificed" for this project. (Side note: I helped with VBS at my church this week, and one of the daily lessons was on sacrifice—how Jesus sacrificed his life to save us. The teacher did an illustration using q-tips and money showing that not everything we are asked to give up is a sacrifice ... and I think this book would fall under that category!)

I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do with the flowers—I guess I'll put them out as decoration somewhere. Aren't they cute?

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i'm free!

This blog has been woefully quiet for the last several days, and if you follow me on Facebook, you know why: yearbook. It has completely consumed my life ... to the point where I spent TWELVE hours working on it yesterday. But today at 6 p.m., I submitted the final page ... so I'm free! It seems crazy to not have to think about yearbook anymore. After work, my evenings will be mine again! So what will I do with them?

• Clean my house. I went straight from a week of lying on the couch after surgery into two weeks of intensive yearbooking. I did manage to do the dishes a couple of times, but that's it. My house is a complete wreck—it's bad enough that even I am getting sick of it! (And if you know me well, you know I have a high tolerance for "clutter" ... I think it's in my genes!)
• Mow my lawn. It's been two weeks since Blendy was kind enough to mow for me, and I'm sure my neighbor—the elderly man who lives in Grand Island and keeps a house here as a weekend getaway—would appreciate it if my lawn was a respectable height, rather than the jungle it resembles now.
• Finish up the posts I've started. I still have to tell you about my May craft project (it's super cute!) and finish writing my April & May goals update. I also have a fabulous recipe to share!
• Read. I know: I'm always reading ... but I've gotten way behind. I did manage to read and review Glamorous Illusions on time, but for the first time ever, I missed a tour deadline! The review was due yesterday (a Sunday ... really?), and I haven't even cracked open the book yet. I have another two reviews due on Friday. So I guess I'll be doing a lot of reading for the remainder of the week.
•  Exercise. It's really amazing how out of shape you can get in just three weeks! I went for a walk and bike ride on Saturday—my first exercise of any type since surgery. When I got home, I was exhausted and totally winded. So I really need to get back out there!
• Check out Saving Hope. All I know about it is this: it stars Michael Shanks and Erica Durance. And that's all I need to know to give it a shot. (Actually, it had me at Shanks ... Lois Lane is just the icing on the cake!)

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