two for the price of one...

So today is your lucky day. Two recipes, for the price of one. And since I don't charge people to read my blog, I am sure you are completely unamused by my use of cliches. So onward!

The tin above contains two wonderfully delicious, simple and impressive holiday treats. The first uses Hershey's Hugs, M&M's, and wreath pretzels. The second uses rolos, pecan or walnuts, and wreath pretzels.

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees. Line pan with parchment paper. Lay out wreath pretzels. Put a rolo or hug in each wreath. Bake for about 5 minutes, checking with the back of a spoon to ensure they are melted. Remove from oven. If using hugs, place on M&M on top, pressing the chocolate into the shape of the wreath. If using a rolo, press in your nut of choice.

I place the entire pan, which is not hot due to low cooking temperature, in the freezer for about 5 minutes. Remove from freezer, pick up parchment paper and shake treats gently into a bowl. You may also lift them off one by one but they are pretty resilient!

Makes a great gift, looks beautiful on the table, and kids go gaga for those sweet little numbers!

Two more sleeps till Christmas eve!

G.G. Olga's Little Whipper Snappers

Oh yeah, I so have my hand in a big bowl of these right now! Want to know how to make them? I will call this recipe, G.G. Olga's Little Whipper Snappers! Yes many people have a version of this recipe, and no, this is not her specific recipe. This is one I created from reading a few recipes on the Internet. I made it a few times with her so I know two things. 1. They need no baking. 2. they only include oyster crackers, oil, dill and ranch dressing packets! So here it goes:

G.G. Olga's Little Whipper Snappers

3 9-10 oz. bags Premium oyster crackers
1 cup vegetable oil
4 tsp. dill weed
2 packets Hidden Valley Ranch Packets

Mix everything together, sans the crackers. Stir or whisk. Add oyster crackers and slowly fold into sauce. Make sure crackers are evenly coated. Place in air tight container for two hours. I leave them uncovered for 1 hour to let them dry a bit!

Sooooooooo good!

A Christmas Treat!

Adara's Crazy Ass Christmas Trail Mix

1 bag red and green marshmallows
1 bag butter twisted pretzels
1 bag butterscotch chips
1 bag chocolate chips
1 bag peanut butter M&M’s
1 bag raisins
1 large jar peanuts

Mix all ingredients together. Divide into individuals bags or serve in a party dish!

so close...

We are in our new place, with most our stuff put away. Very little is left in the old apartment, and what is, Chaz will move on Tuesday since he is on break. Wednesday I will clean the apartment and leave the keys for the carpet cleaner. I will have to go back to do a check out but I can't wait to be done with it! I am liking our little basement apartment, but I have been enjoying the freedom of having my own place so we'll see how long I last! lol...our goal is to save some money so if we stay her for a while, we will hopefully leave in a stable position but I do look forward to the day we find a place to call our home, whether we buy or continue to rent. I just feel so blessed and thankful to have family that are supportive and allow us this opportunity! I will tell you one thing I will not look forward to and that is moving! Yuck!

So with Christmas right around the corner, we are fairly settled. Our silver tinsel tree adorns the corner, and most our presents have been wrapped with care. This week will find us enjoying family and friends, doing a bit of baking, and finishing up in the apartment! 2010 has been simply wonderful, and more than I could have asked for but I am ready and excited for a Happy New Year!

la la la la la LALALALLALLALALLALALALLA!

So yesterday was a total mess for me! Ah, the stress! I would like to add that being sick never makes anything look good, beside maybe a cup of mediocre chicken noodle soup. Alas, I am feeling much better. I talked with my husband, and like always, he brings me back down to earth. In those moments of stress, everything seems SO FRICKEN HARD AND COMPLTELY UNOBTAINABLE…and then the fog lifts, and you realize you completely freaked over really nothing at all. I say nothing at all because no one died, no one was hurt, and my family and friends are healthy and abundant…I just wish someone would move my apartment for me, and finish my final, and wash my clothes, all so I can wrap my Christmas presents and watch Christmas Vacation…I am selfish!

So yeah, back to reality!

We now have a new little Durgin running around the house. Her name is Kea and she is an all white 10-year-old cat. She was within 24 hours of being put down so we made the quick and exciting decision to take her in. She has a bit of a limp so we will see what the vet says on Tuesday, but her and Faith seem to be growing on one another, which is hard to believe since Faith is a HUGE, SPOILED Princess.

My final is due Friday at 5. I imagine that once that is submitted, and I can spend a great deal of the weekend unpacking, I will go into next week with a clear, and organized head. Additionally, the next two weeks at work are casual which means jeans everyday! Woot woot! Really, what more could I ask for…Oh, I know! The ability to handle stress better!

For some reason, I am not really in the holiday spirit. It could be because I don’t have my own tree up. I have been so busy moving, I have not wrapped my gifts. I am suffering from a nasty cold and thus have little energy and am living in a fog. I have been stressed, and run down, and it just is not very fun. I imagine things would be different, if I were getting ready for the holidays in my little apartment, where everything was put away and organized, and I could decorate and enjoy my free time. Now my free time is consumed by homework and unpacking and trying to make myself rest to get rid of this cold. I am not really happy, in fact, I am in kind of a funk. Tonight I am going to will myself to wake up feeling better. As much as I try to be a relaxed, carefree individual, sometimes I just can’t help it.

Here is to a brighter tomorrow!

in the olden days...

What does one do when there is no Internet? You could go back in time and ask your however old self (back to a time when Internet was not a part of our everyday lives), or you could just experience a 4 hour long outage on a Sunday evening when your Case Study needs to be submitted by midnight. Happy Monday!

In addition...

This past weekend, I began to paint the basement apartment at my grandma’s in an attempt to prepare for our pending move over there. I realized two things during this endeavor. 1. I hate painting and 2. I suck at painting. Made for one hell of a good time!