MAPLE WALNUT CAKE!

This is beyond easy, and SO good.

1 yellow cake mix

1 cup of water

1/3 cup of butter soft

3 eggs

1/2 cup of maple syrup

1/2 of chopped walnuts

mix all ingredients, pour into greased bundt pan (I used a giant donut pan!) and bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes. Let cool IN pan for 10 min, turn out on to plate and cool for an hour or so.

Glaze

1.5 cups of powdered sugar

3 tbsp of soft butter

1.5 oz of cream cheese...1/3rd of a cream cheese square

more syrup...add a tablespoon at a time... and mix, add more syrup and keep mixing till you have a thick glaze texture. Once it's thick and gooey pour it over the top of your cake! and throw a few more nuts on top :) ENJOY! soooo moist and so good!

Peanut butter or Marshmallow filled eggs....

Who doesn't love peanut butter and chocolate?!?! well I know I do!

try these!

One bag of Chocolate Chips

one tub of Chocolate cake frosting

about a tsp of vanilla

some peanut butter

some fluff (if you want to try this kind)

and Chocolate flavored Almond back with a little shortening...

Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave, for about 1 minute and stir till smooth, melt for an additional 10 second intervals till smooth.

Next put the cake frosting into the micro and zap it for 20 seconds thats all

mix the frosting and the choc chips together, add a drop of vanilla. stir well, throw in the fridge for 30 minutes.

on wax paper, drop spoonfulls of the chocolate mixture. then flatten them with a spoon. in the middle of the chocolate, drop a dab or peanut butter (or fluff)

Fold the chocolate over the peanut butter (or fluff) shape into an egg, and put in FREEZER for 30 minutes.

Melt the 2 tbsp of shortening and chocolate almond bark over stove top, about 8 minutes......till smooth. Dip each egg into the melted chocolate, set on wax paper to "set"..... or put in fridge, goes a lot faster!

One tip....the marshmallow ones tasted great, but were NOT easy to work with...very gooey, and messy...WORTH IT, but messy!!

These are pretty sweet, and rather rich tasting, but you can handle it!

ENJOY!

Banana Crumb muffins

So while I was on facebook, one of my very best friends, Amy, posted a pic of these scrumptious looking muffins she made. She called them Banana Crumb muffins...so well...being pregnant and all, I WANTED ONE!!! But, it's not polite to invite yourself to someones house for a muffin...so I decided to bake some of my own!! Here is what I ended up throwing together!!!!

For the Muffin

4 ripe bananas, mashed

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1.5 cups of flour

3/4 cup of sugar

1/3 cup of veg. oil

1 tsp vanilla

For the Crumb

1/3 cup of brown sugar

2 tbsp of flour

some cinnamon (to taste)

and 2 tbsp of room temp butter

mash the bananas, mix in the egg and vanilla, sugar and oil

then mix together the dry ingredients, and fold the dry into the wet mixure. just until blended. Don't over mix.

Scoop it in to muffin cups/or greased tins

mix all "crumb" ingredients together then cut in the butter till you get crumby looking stuff. sprinkle some of that over the tops of the muffins

THEN Bake at 375 degrees for exactly 20 minutes. no longer, no less!!!

ENJOY!!!

THE MOOSE!!

So this moose has been wandering by the highway here in town.....So I HAD to take a pic of her! she was so pretty :)

Cookies and Cream Fudge

I love Cookies and Cream anything.........so why not fudge!

1 1/2 Bags of white Chocolate chips

20 oreo cookies chopped into big chunks

1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk

pour milk and chocolate chips into sauce pan, over medium heat, stir constantly till smooth.....remove from heat fold in broken oreo pieces, and spread into wax paper lined 8x8 baking dish, and throw in the fridge for 2-6 hours.....the longer the better obviously, but usually I can't wait!! Turn out onto cutting board remove wax paper and cut into bite sized pieces! ENJOY!!!

SORRY INTELLIGENDER!!!!

IT'S A GIRL!!! Better late than never...I just wanted to update this...and say...Intelligender, was wrong :) Ultra sound at 20 weeks confirmed we are having a little princess! we are in shock still, since we truly were expecting a boy...not based on the intelligender test, but we just really thought it would be another boy. So.....on to choosing little girl names, and letting intelligender know they were not right this time around :) It was still fun to take the test!

Really Chocolatey Chocolate Chip Cookies!!

Ok..these are for a REAL chocolate lover.... So good!!!

In this photo I used White Chocolate chips, because it was all I had...NORMALLY I use regular choc. chips!!

• 1/2 cup butter softened


• 1/2 cup shortening


• 1 cup white sugar


• 1/2 cup brown sugar


• 2 tsp vanilla


• 2 cups flour


• 2/3 cup of cocoa powder


• 3/4 tsp of baking soda


• 1/4 tsp salt


• 2 cups chocolate chips (regular or white, peanut butter chips etc..)

preheat oven to 350.

beat butter , sugar, eggs, and vanilla till fluffy. Add in the rest of the ingredients (except the choc chips)....mix well, then fold in choc chips. this is a much stickier batter than regular cookie batter.

Drop by spoonfuls (or smaller or larger!) onto cookie sheet, bake for 8-1o minutes. I bake for closer to 8 minutes so they are still a bit gooier in the middle. Let cool on sheet for 2 minutes, then cool on wire rack completely.

Once cooled, you can go ONE STEP FURTHER.(or not)....I dunked mine in Candy-Qwick! it's just like coating them in chocolate, but candy qwick is fast and easy!!! messy, but easy! Let them set till hard, SO GOOD, nice hard outer shell bite into gooey goodness!! ENJOY!!

you can ALSO add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts if you like, I'm not a nut fan, so I don't :)

More Ice cream....Other flavors!!

Strawberry/Raspberry/Blueberry Ice Cream

1 cup of sugar,
2 cups of heavy cream
1 10oz bag of frozen strawberries (or whatever fruit you wish!) you can use fresh fruits, but chop them and freeze them, makes for a smoother ice cream when blending!!!!

Throw in blender and Blend away till smooth, pour in air tight container and freeze over night!!!


Vanilla
2 cups of Heavy Cream
1 cup of sugar
1 tbsp of Vanilla
whisk real good, air tight container, freeze!

************* to make Chocolate, just add in 2 tbsp of Cocoa Powder!!!!****

Banana One ingredient Ice cream!!!
Chop up 5-6 bananas
Freeze
once frozen solid, throw in Blender, with a splash of milk, or more depending on the consistency you like.....blend away, banana ice cream!!
If you love bananas, this is a VERY HEALTHY SNACK!!!!!!!!!!! my kids LOVE IT!
Will be great in the summer!!!!
**you can leave out the milk and this is a FAT FREE, DAIRY FREE,ARTIFICIAL SUGAR FREE snack!!!!!! ***it will have a thicker consistency but still refreshing!


ENJOY!!!

Heath Bars in your own kitchen...by YOU!

First of all I am pregnant so when I see some of these crazy things I JUST HAVE TO TRY AND MAKE THEM!!!! So....here is the pic....recipe will follow....

WAY TOO time consuming, but still easy...if that makes sense....and a bit messy.

2 bags of chocolate chips
4 sticks of butter (i never said it was good for you!)
2 and 2/3 cups of sugar
1/4 of light corn syrup

use some more softened butter and grease a big cookie sheet. set aside

in a Big sauce pan, Melt butter, then add all ingredients (NOT CHOCOLATE).....bring to boil, and let boil stirring CONSTANTLY!!!! This is key, you don't want it to burn!!! Stick in a candy thermomter, and let it rest there, till temp reaches 290 degrees. you will see it turn a light golden brown color.....keep stirring.... Once it looks dark enough to you, remove from heat, and pour CAREFULLY INTO COOKIE SHEET!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT'S HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Once in cookie sheet wait about 30 minutes.....use a knife and score the size of your candy bars in the toffee...... then let it set totally.....about 2 hours. once it is set, you will be able to break it out of the cookie sheet.

First piece is the hardest to get out...some will shatter into little pieces...still tastes good to eat!!!

Then melt your chocolate chips only half a bag at a time in a double boiler....once melted nicely dip each piece of toffee into it...set aside on wax paper and throw in the fridge....Let it set for a few hours....the longer you wait the better they taste....SO GOOD! :)

HOT PIZZA DIP!

If you like pizza at all, you will love this fast, easy, and tasty dip!

Take one 8oz block of cream cheese at room temp, put in bowl. miz in a cup of shredded mozzarella cheese, and throw in a little cheddar too.... some italian seasoning, finely chopped pepperoni, finely chopped black olives, finely chopped onion (1/2 a small one), finely chopped mushrooms.....mix all together. Spread into a pie plate, top with some pizza sauce out of a jar, top that with more shredded cheese, and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes at 400 degrees! serve with tortillas! or crispy french bread pieces! SOOOOOOO DARN GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AND Of course, these are the add in's I used...you can use whatever you want, sausage, chicken chunks...you name it! so versatile! Enjoy!!

Home Made Ice Cream..Sans the Ice cream maker!

I always wanted one...an Ice cream maker that is....so finally one day I splurged...and spent $3.00 for it at the Goodwill.....what a waste...once you have that, you needed Rock salt, and it didn't have the recipes and .....etc... Annoyed. it's still sitting in my attic. SO....I thought...what the heck...why can't I just make ice cream and FREEZE it over night....

Then I had that concern..why does it have to be "churned" constantly...well so it doesn't all settle at the bottom and so on. so...I finally just DID it.....once I mix up my ingredients, I seal it in a nice "lock and lock" container (any tupper ware or sealable container will do, just love lock and lock!) shake it like a nut case...and throw it in the freezer...if Im home in about 2 hours...I shake it again...then leave it for overnight freezing....The next day, READY TO SCOOP!!!

Here is my recipe for COFFEE ICE CREAM!!! By far the best I have made YET...I will soon add on to this the other flavors :)

1 cup of milk
1 cup of sugar
2 tbsp of Instant coffee
2-3 cups of Heavy cream
a pinch of salt... literally a pinch
and If you wish, you can use caramel sauce and drop in a couple tbsp for some added sweetness.

Mix it all up really good, till you don't hear little sugar granules anymore. Then put your top on the container, and shake it really good! Throw it in the freezer over night and enjoy....IF YOU THINK of it..after about 2 hours..shake it again.

I reccommend tasting it any ANY POINT!!!! you won't be able to wait for it to freeze, but I promise you it's WORTH it!

Once you scoop this into your bowl, you will be SO proud of yourself, and amazed that YOU MADE THIS GORGEOUS CONCOCTION!!! GOOD LUCK!

IT'S A......................

IT'S A BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!WOOOOHHHOOOO!!!! So sorry to those of you who were pulling for a girl!!!! We are just as excited about another baby boy!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) Thank you INTELLIGENDER WHAT A FUN TEST!!!! Now, we wait a few more weeks for the ultra sound and confirm that Intelligender is right!!!!!!! THANK YOUUUU!!! WOOOHOOOO FOR BABY BOYS!!!!!!!!



NOW TO WIN YOUR OWN CHANCE AT A TEST!!! COMMENT HERE OR ON MY FACEBOOK PAGE! AND i WILL CHOOSE A RANDOM WINNER!!!! GOOD LUCK!

WWW.INTELLIGENDER.COM
WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/INTELLIGENDER
WWW.INTELLIGENDERBLOG.COM
WWW.TWITTER.COM/INTELLIGENDER

LOOK WHAT CAME IN THE MAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IT'S HERE!!! My husband and I are more than excited! We will be taking the Intelligender test tomorow morning!!!!! Can't wait to post the results!! Then we wait for the ultrasound to confirm it!! NO to answer your questions, Intelligender is not 100% accurate, but neither is ultrasound. If you read the box, they are VERY confident in the accuracy, and it is just as accurate as ultra sound!! Soooooooo Less than 24 hours to BABY BOY OR BABY GIRL!!! AND Once I give my results, I am going to choose A RANDOM reader to win one for themselves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BUT you must comment on TOMORROW'S POST!!!!! Stayyyyyyyyyyyyyy Tuned!!!

www.intelligender.com

INTELLIGENDER GIVEAWAY DETAILS!!!!

Hey everyone!!

I am MORE than excited to announce this!!! In the next week I will be getting a package from Intelligender!! It will have the famous Intelligender at home Gender Prediction test in it! I get to take the test, and give you all my in depth review about it all!!!!!!!!!!

Once that happens, I will run a giveaway for all of my readers for YOUR OWN CHANCE TO WIN ONE AND ANOTHER EXCITING PRODUCT!!!!!!!!!

Who doesn't love FREE!!! And to be able to find out your baby's gender as EARLY AS 10 WEEKS PREGNANT!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! HOLY COW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My husband and I are so excited, we cannot even stand it!!!!! Check it all out!!!

Follow them on Twitter, like them on facebook, and go directly to their site!!! THIS SITE IS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This company is amazing!!!! and their products are the coolest!

www.intelligenderblog.com

www.facebook.com/IntelliGender

www.twitter.com/IntelliGender

And don't forget to suggest their pages to your friends!!!!!!

ULTRA SOUND!!

So I am 12 weeks pregnant and I was able to have an ultra sound!!! heart rate is going strong at 172 bpm! and I am starting to feel pretty good these days, alot LESS tired, and wayyy less sick!! Here is a peek at the ultra sound! I had to cut and paste to take out all of my personal info....but here you have it!!!! Healthy Baby in my belly!!!! yaaay!! I am sooooooooo excited to find out what the gender is...being that we have two boys already, it would be exciting to have a little girl...But, honestly we'd love another boy just as much!!!!! but we STILL can't wait!!

So much so, that I am veryyyy excited to tell you about this test they have out, it is called Intelligender, it is an at home gender prediction test!....it's been all over the TV and news...and a few people I know have done it! and it has been accurate for them!!!! you can take it as soon as 10 weeks, so I'M READY TO TRY IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.intelligender.com/

Give it a look see!! you will be obsessed!!!!

Happy New Year!!!!

Welcome 2011!! I can't wait to see what you bring us!!! I have not written much because...Morning sickness has set in.....or let me re-phrase this...24/7 sickness.....all day, all night........not good...

Desperate, I drink gingerale (I HATE soda)...and my husband got me sea bands....most people wear them on a cruise for sea sickness...or in cars for motion sickness... They are actually advertised for those reasons, AND for morning sickness...and Chemo patients can wear them.... They are these little elastic wrist bands with a little nubby thing on them, and it is accupressure....where they are positioned on your wrists it eases the morning sickness feeling.....AND IT WORKS! I live by them, and refuse to take them off!!!! Here is to wishing for the second trimester!!!

check out http://www.seaband.com/