mock *B* Bars

all through high school, i worked at a well know ice cream store.
it was a little store, and we handmade all the 'dairy treats'.

my favorite of those was the *B* Bar.
every now and then, Dave will surprise me with one from our local ice cream store. (they are good, but they arent homemade.)

so what do i do?
make up a little sketch.
and make my own ;)here is what you need:
dipping chocolate
vanilla ice cream
spanish peanuts
hot fudge (though no need to warm it up)
popsicle/craft sticks
9- 9oz paper drinking cups (next time i plan to use smaller cups... these are just a bit big for me)
and here is how you make them:
put a spoonful (or 2) of peanuts into the bottom of each cup, to cover the bottom. (we only ended up making 9 of these... so you wont need a whole tray of cups) let ice cream soften enough to be able to spoon it into the cups. i put it in a plastic bag, then cut a whole to squirt it out. (like icing) squeeze a layer of ice cream into each cup enough to cover peanuts.

i used a spoon to flatten it a bit.

then add a layer of fudge.

i did the bag thing again... though im sure a spoon would be just fine. add a scoop of peanuts on top of the fudge.
add another layer of ice cream, to cover fudge and peanuts.

(itll probably be dripping by now. thats ok)add another layer of fudge and peanuts.

some will sink in to the melting ice cream. no big deal!add a popsicle/craft stick to the center of each cup.

press them all the way in to the bottom.now... put these in the freezer for quite some time.

i had mine in for about 6 hours.
(until you can squeeze the cups and the feel pretty solid.)

then its time to remove them from the cups.

i dipped them in warm water for a couple seconds, and the cups slid right off!!

put them back on the sheet, covered with wax paper (i didnt do this at first, but should have!)

once the are all decupped, stick them back in the freezer for a bit.

about half an hour. next, melt a ton of dipping chocolate.

cover each bar with chocolate.
then stick them back in the freezer again, just so they get nice a solid again. (dont forget to put them on wax paper!)

they may be a bit drippy and holey like mine, but who cares!

certainly not me :) then when you can hardly wait any longer... eat :)

if you have any leftover (which you probably will... these are huge) wrap them up in foil with the stick sticking out. And eat more the next day ;)

please let me know if you make these, i would LOVE to hear and see how they come out!!

(and here is the recipe without pics, if anyone wants to copy, paste and print it out without all those pics.)

Jen's mock *B* Bars

http://itsmejen.blogspot.com/2010/02/mock-b-bars.html

here is what you need:
dipping chocolate
vanilla ice cream
spanish peanuts
hot fudge (though no need to warm it up)
popsicle/craft sticks
9- 9oz paper drinking cups (next time i plan to use smaller cups... these are just a bit big for me)

and here is how you make them:
-put a spoonful (or 2) of peanuts into the bottom of each cup (about 9 cups), to cover the bottom.
-let ice cream soften enough to be able to spoon it into the cups. i put it in a plastic bag, then cut a whole to squirt it out. (like icing) squeeze a layer of ice cream into each cup enough to cover peanuts. i used a spoon to flatten it a bit.

-then add a layer of fudge. i did the bag thing again... though im sure a spoon would be just fine.

-add a scoop of peanuts on top of the fudge.

-add another layer of ice cream, to cover fudge and peanuts. (itll probably be dripping by now. thats ok)

-add another layer of fudge and peanuts. some will sink in to the melting ice cream. no big deal!

-add a popsicle/craft stick to the center of each cup. press them all the way in to the bottom.

-now... put these in the freezer for quite some time. i had mine in for about 6 hours.
(until you can squeeze the cups and the feel pretty solid.)

-then its time to remove them from the cups. i dipped them in warm water for a couple seconds, and the cups slid right off!! put them back on the sheet, covered with wax paper (i didnt do this at first, but should have!)

-once the are all decupped, stick them back in the freezer for a bit. about half an hour.

-next, melt a ton of dipping chocolate. cover each bar with chocolate.

-then stick them back in the freezer again, just so they get nice a solid again. (dont forget to put them on wax paper!) they may be a bit drippy and holey like mine, but who cares! certainly not me :)

-then when you can hardly wait any longer... eat :)

-if you have any leftover (which you probably will... these are huge) wrap them up in foil with the stick sticking out. And eat more the next day ;)

photo shoot

this is my 400th post.

wow.

ok... moving on.

we had a little photo shoot today.

and when i say 'photo shoot', i mean 'me randomly taking pictures trying to make them halfway decent' for the LBE website.

i'm no professional, that's for sure.

at least my kids are cute.

or at least. i think they are ;)

and thankfully, 'barbie' has my same exact figure... (ha)

so i didnt have to ask dave to take a picture of me in my new adorable apron ;)

and no, LBE is not carrying hockey jerseys.

the little man just wanted his pic taken too.

how could i tell him no?

if you like the aprons and want to see more...

check out the LBE blog.

links away!

bbq chicken ranch pizza.

i got this recipe via rachael ray's show.
this was in a march madness 2009 cookoff.
this recipe got runner up.
i think it should have gotten first.
just sayin'.
Sara Mayer’s Chick‘N Ranch BBQ Crescent Squares

Ingredients
2 tubes Pillsbury crescent rolls
1 1/2 cups hickory barbeque sauce
1 package ready-made chicken strips, chopped
6 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled
2 cups cheddar or colby jack cheese, shredded
1 cup ranch dressing
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon scallions, chopped
1 sandwich-size resealable bag
Yields: 4 servings

Preparation
Heat oven to 375˚F.
Roll the crescent rolls out and place them on a cookie sheet. Pinch 2 sheets together in the middle to create 1 large dough. Bake 8-11 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven and turn on broiler.

Spread the barbeque sauce over dough. Sprinkle the chicken, bacon and cheese over the top. Place the cookie sheet under the broiler until the cheese melts, about 3-5 minutes.
Combine the ranch dressing and chili powder in a small bowl. Pour into re-sealable bag and cut off a small tip at the end of the bag to make a pastry bag. Drizzle the dressing over the top and garnish with the scallions. Cut into squares and enjoy!

Jen's modifications:
None really!! This is my style of food... simple and delicious! The one pictured above only uses one can of rolls (as that is all I had), so it's very simple to downsize the recipe if need be. I also just spooned on the dressing (a bit too much for a half batch i might add), because I was too hungry to put it in a bag to drizzle it. though i have done the bag drizzle before, and it is well worth it ;) enjoy!

he said. she said. he said. reveal 1.

here it is!
the first reveal to our he said. she said. we said. questions :)

dave's answers are in red.
mine in black.
(you probably could figure that out own your own...)
you can tell why i blog and dave does not;)
thanks for being a good sport dave.

-will there be more little jen's or dave's running around in the future :)

Hmmmm.. This seems to be the question that everyone would Love to know ;)

well, if you’ve been reading around here long enough, you may remember a similar answer right here (answer #3 on this page). that answer is still pretty accurate my end of things. we shall see!

-What is the favorite part or your day? Least favorite? Why.

favorite: Movie nights with my sweetie girl because it reminds me of when we were in high school

least: getting up at 6 am every day of the week because id like to sleep in and i cant

My favorite. (besides bedtime…) When dave comes home from work. Im ready for some adult conversation and an extra set of hands.
My least favorite. Those times when ¾ of the kids are whining about something. Or a weekend day without dave.

-If you had a chance to choose a different profession- what would it be?

Fly fishing bum working at a small fly shop in the hills of some small town out west or a professional hockey player

It’s so hard for me to imagine doing anything other than what I am doing right now. Maybe a nurse, or something to do with children's literature. Or a party planner. Or a chef/baker.

-Do you have any lovey nicknames for each other? Or silly?

Sweetie girl

I call dave, sweetie boy. Or boyfriend :) or dork ;)
He calls me sweetie girl. Or sweetie

-What was your most memorable early date?

Because we stated dating in high school we had lots of group outings so I cannot remember our first date by our selves

We really didn’t have 'real' dates. We just hung out and watched movies. Or went to the mall. We were young. The most memorable 'dates' were our dances and proms :)

-What was your first impression of each other, the first time you met?

Jen first saw me at the hockey rink and didn't belive that I was a hockey player when I saw her I thought she was cute

The first time I saw him I thought he was cute. Really cute. (I love to tell this story) It was at the ice area after a high school hockey game (of course) he was sitting at a table eating a personal pan pizza, wearing his letterman’s jacket and a black skull hat. I asked a friend who he was and he told me ‘oh that’s dave h…’ and we argued whether or not dave was on the hockey team (as I knew allllll the players). I didn’t think dave was on the team, but turns out he was a freshman that I had overlooked ;) that’s the 1st time I saw him. I think I met him that night, or maybe the next weekend? But when I officially met him I thought he was very nice and kind, and of course, cute :) And the fact that he was a hockey player put him on the top of my list. I always said I’d marry a hockey player… little did I know as a sophomore in high school that I had met my husband at the ice rink!

Not sure what he thought of me, he had a crush on one of my friends ;)

Answers to more questions later....

Happy Valentine's Day!
xoxo

LBE raffle

Please pop over to my LBE blog sometime over the weekend and consider making a donation to Haitian relief funds, with a chance to with an LBE gift set! (click the button below)

Spread the word...

and email me with any questions!!

Have a great weekend :)

2nd snow day

2nd Snow day today.
(in a bit of order this time...)
(and a lot of pics!)

Eggs for breakfast.
Read books.
Watercolored.

Ate sugar cookies. Or rather, Cohen ate the frosting.Listened to Glee :)
Did file games from aunt lisa.
Watched the Beverly Hillbillies.
(in color)
Worked on laundry.
(it's still going...)
Had a fashion show.
made BBQ chicken ranch pizza for lunch.
(ill add that to my list of recipes to share...) Unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher.
Played some hockey.Made a few valentine’s day gifts.
Got an LBE order (of new product!) in the mail.
In which cohen quickly made friends with whom he affectionately named ‘barbie’.
how do i know this?
well, when i took 'it' to my office...
cohen shouted... "where's barbie?" look at his face.
i think he's in love.
men. geez.Went to goodwill, the mall and target to find lilly some decent -not too much- new tennis shoes.
Had leftovers for dinner.
Blogged.
Ready for bed.

i think tomorrow is back to the real world.
whatever that is ;)
i certainly wont be blogging about my entire day.
that's for sure.
unless you want to hear about diapers, and biting, and runny noses, and time outs ;)
plus... i really dont always take pictures all day long.

(btw... these are all pics from today. lilly just likes to change clothes. a lot.)

snow day.

our snow day today.
(in no particular order)

-went to the drug store to get lotion and crackers.
(at 7:45 in the morning)
-put dishes away and reloaded the dishwasher.
-picked up lilly from a playdate.
-we made white chocolate cherry shortbread cookies.
(i will share that recipe someday...)

(i {heart} shortbread...) -decorated sugar cookies.

(these are for the teachers at lilly's school for conference night)

(unless there is no school tomorrow)

(then they will go to work with dave) -made paula's potato soup.
(ill share this recipe someday too...)-lilly made some shrimp dip.
(this recipe wasnt as good as we thought itd be... otherwise id share)-listened to music.
-stepped out of the 1990's and started twittering with LBE :) -watched MVP with cohen.

(yes. that is a monkey playing hockey movie)

(it is a cute movie.)

(good thing since we watch it at least 3 times a week ;)

(we got it at a garage sale for 25 cents.)

(its VHS ;)-took a little nap.

(i love naps.)

(and no i am not pregnant.)

(im just a girl who likes a nap.)
-shoveled about a third of the driveway.

-blogged :)
-LOST is on tonight!

dont forget about this...
(the drawing is the 14th)

and this...
(im loving the questions!)

he said. she said. we said.

I’m not too big into Valentine’s Day.
Maybe it was the years of working at Hallmark in college?
Maybe it’s just another holiday in which we are lured to spend more money?
Maybe I’m still burnt out from Halloween… and Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and New Years?

Or maybe it’s because I don’t love the idea of pin pointing one specific day to make someone feel special. Shouldn’t every day be about making someone feel special? I think so.

Dave and I have already decided on no gifts this year.
Just a ‘date night’.
Which means dinner and a redbox movie after the kids go to bed.
Though maybe for dinner we will have something a bit more fancy than Subway or Arby’s. Since it is Valentine’s Day and all.

In recognition of Valentine’s Day I will be doing a new mini-series of ‘he says/she says’ posts. And when I say I… I mean we.

You get to determine the mood of this series.
Because you get to ask the questions.

Questions about us.
Questions about our life together.
Questions for us to answer about each other.
Ask one. Ask a few.
Get creative.
Dave and I will each answer your questions.
And we will share here.

Silly.
Serious.

Past.
Present.
Future.

Generic.
Specific.

What do you want to know about US?

Just keep the questions within reason people ;)
This blog is rated PG.

Check back on Valentine's Day to get some answers :)
(and if no one plays along… I’ll make up my own questions!)

My Life People ~Meet Karen!~

Another segment of My Life People!

The 7th segment to be specific...

meet Karen :)

1. How do you know me?

Through IDOS scrapbooking. Found out also my mom knew your dad through work and my nephew was on your dad's baseball team that he coached Key Bank I think. It's a small world.

2. What is your most remembered Halloween costume?
When I was kid it was a homemade cleaning lady costume. Recent one is jack o lantern my niece and nephew made me and witch costume.

3. If you could meet one person in history, who would it be and why?
Vivien Thomas the pioneer Dr. who discovered how to fix heart problems. You can watch a movie about him called Something the Lord Made. The next person would be Mother Teresa. She was so giving and endured a lot.

4. Which girls scout cookie(s) could you eat an entire box of by yourself?
Mint Chocolate or tag alongs or the shortbread cookies.

5. What do you want for your birthday?
Gift cards to Hobby Lobby or Joanns besides good heath for family and friends My birthday is kind of far away right now at the end of July.

My notes on Karen:
In 2001-ish, I started posting on an online scrapping site. I 'met' Karen on that site, and we soon realized that she lived in my hometown! We started chatting through there, and eventually we met in real life. Now I feel like she is a part of my family! Karen is one of the sweetest people that I know. She is a great friend... kind and thoughtful. She is also wonderful to her many nieces and nephews. She is so proud of each of them and loves her job as a professional Aunt :) She is a very dedicated scrapbooker, and she keeps albums for the kids. I think her camera is always by her side :) I don't think I have ever seen Karen without a smile, and she has a wonderful giggle that goes right along with that grin. Even after dealing with some pretty heafty surgeries and recoveries, she keeps on smiling... and I really look up to her for being such a strong person, inside and out! We've visited Karen a number of times, but after looking for pictures to share here... I realized that it has been too long since our last visit!! Once this snow melts we will have to plan another visit ;)

p.s. I hope you have a photo of you as a cleaning lady for Halloween. That is priceless! (and can you believe we've known each other for almost 10 years?? is that right?!?)

conversation with daddy

(conversation overheard between miss lilly and her daddy the other night)

L: Hey daddy. If you can’t read this number I get your ipod.
(shows dave a paper with this number that she scrawled out…)

10000000
0000000
0000000
2

dave studies the number.

D: I’m not sure what the number is past a trillion.

L: I know. A Lillian.


I'm not sure what's cuter.
a. Her saying that a 'Lillian' is a numerical amount.
b. The fact that she already knows how to fix a scenario so that the stipulation works in her favor ;)

a is cuter.
but b is pretty smart ;)

p.s. I’m just sick. Nothing other than that.
(and im feeling better now anyway… )

p.p.s. big change = dave started a new job this week.
(which apparently only seems to be a huge deal to me. no one else really even flinched.)

valentines & bananas & sneak peaks

lilly trimming down her valentine cards.

here is what she picked to use this year.

i love that she was ok with these crafy thrifty printable ones.

she's most excited that she will probably be the only one handing these out in her class.

i like that idea too ;)

why do we love old bananas?

because...

the. best. banana. bread.

that ever lived.

recipe here.

make some.

you'll be happy you did.

oh. that's just a teaser.

of the special recipe we made up.

well, we mocked up a recipe.

we didn't totally invent it on our own.

another sneak peak.
of a little something for the month of february.

don't forget.