Week 9: Chocolate Bark vs Thin Mints

Ok, we all know how exciting Girl Scout Cookie Season is! It's practically a national holiday, in the Merlo House. On family Sundays, we can smell a girl scout coming from a mile away, which prompts us to position ourselves on the couch in a way that provides a straight shot view to the front door, so we can catch the flash of green as a the young scout walks by with her wagon.

My first encounter this year prompted me to a bit of self talk:

Hmmm...this isn't a whole food.  It's a snack.  You're not buying snacks this year.

 Which quickly turned to:

Honestly, I don't care if it's a "whole food" or not...I'm getting cookies!!  

So....I cheated.Then I felt guilty for cheating....so I reached for another shiny, silver sleeve and felt better ;)

But seriously, I knew I wanted to try to get back to homemade stuff. So, I made a family recipe for chocolate bark. Man...it never disappoints.

Funny thing is, the night I made the bark, my parents surprised me with some "Get Well Thin Mints"!! The whole house had been sick, and they couldn't have chosen a better encouragement....because....honestly, there's no comparison. And I'm so grateful that they dropped off those cookies, because Girl Scout Cookie Season is only once a year.

Hmm...wonder how long it'll take Hallmark to establish Opening Day as a holiday worthy of giving and receiving greeting cards? I'd buy some..and send them to my mom and sisters.
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Recipe for Bark

2 sticks butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
12 oz chocolate chips
1 box graham crackers

Preheat oven to 350.
Line cookie sheet with foil, then graham crackers
Heat butter and brown sugar to boiling.
Spread sugar mix onto graham crackers.

Bake for 10 minutes.
Turn off oven.
Spread chocolate chips over top, and return to oven just to melt.
Spread chips with a spoon, then refrigerate at least 3 hours.
Break into pieces.

Week 7: Chocolate Covered Strawberries for Dummies

If you're a pro in the kitchen, don't read this...this tip may seem obvious to the typical Kitchen Pro.

For V-day we tried to make chocolate covered strawberries...who doesn't?  :)
So, I pulled out my double boiler, dumped the chocolate pieces in (threw a few--or more-- in my mouth), and waited for it to melt.

It wasn't melting to my satisfaction, so I decided to add some whole milk into it. Perfect!
Then, the sadness came...the chocolate wouldn't stick to the berries! I frantically called my cake-pop making, chocolate dipping, sweets creating sister, Corinne.

"Why isn't it sticking??! I added milk and---" 

"---Oh, you added milk? That's a problem. Don't add any sort of liquid."

It was all the chocolate I had, so I made it work.  I basically dumped the chocolate on the berries.  They were edible that night, but definitely not great.

The next night, I found some random chocolate morsels in my pantry, and decided to try again.  This time, I followed Corinne's advice and simply microwaved the chocolate.  First 30 seconds, then stir.  Then in 10 second increments  till completely melted.  

They were PERFECT!!

Maybe next year I'll try a pretty white chocolate drizzle?  I'll be sure to call Corinne, first ;)

Week 6: Hubby's Homemade Salsa

It's a running joke in my family that Justin wishes he'd married a hispanic girl......so he'd have a hispanic mother-in-law to cook for him.  And, yes, he did say that to my mom one time.  And, yes, we all still make fun of him for it. 

Obviously, I'm about as "white" as they come...so I don't have any hispanic-tendencies in the kitchen.  So, when I decided to make salsa for a snack this week, I knew I needed to take the role of Sous Chef.

So, our guest Chef is none other than the Hubster.  

He throws in a few:

jalepanos (most seeds removed)

Tomatoes

Cilantro

White and green onion

Salt and pepper

The Good: It's so fresh-tasting!!

The Bad: I can't recreate it...

The Ugly: He always makes it WAY too spicy (luckily, he's figured out how to fix that, for me)

Week 5: Microwave Peanut Brittle

For Christmas, the adults on my side draw one name to buy a gift for, but, in order to still have fun buying for everyone, we all buy a gift from the Dollar Store for everyone.  I sort of cheated this year--I didn't get my "dollar gifts" from the Dollar Store....most of my dollar gifts this year were Pinterest ideas that cost me $1 (or less) to make.  This peanut brittle was Dad's gift! And the day after Christmas, I received a text from Dad that read--and I quote:

"Um, yeah. that peanut brittle you made me? Gone. Birthday is Feb 4. Just saying..."

He was a happy camper, this weekend:

Since we'd made it before, we had a few ideas for some improvements.

Chelsey's Idea:
1. Have Justin take it out of the microwave, while I'm prepared with the next mix-in.
Justin's Idea:
1. Put parchment paper in the bowl, before microwaving.
Bria's Idea:
1. "Learn how to maneuver the kitchen like a pro, while I hang on your legs, because my molars hurt!"

It was a group effort, but well worth it!  Even Justin, a self-proclaimed non-sweet eater, says we should make it more often!

Here's the link: Microwave Peanut Brittle

The Good: Well, it was a repeat request, so it must be good, right?
The Bad: Microwaving things probably isn't the best for us....
The Ugly: I never come out unscathed...at least this time, it was a minor sugar burn.

Week 5: Soft Pretzel Bites

It was my birthday, this week, so I chose a snack for ME :)  Didn't take me long to decide what I'd make! Pretzels! (why is the word "pretzel" so hard to spell, everytime??)

Oh. My. YUM!!!

Not only do these babies TASTE de-lish!!...They SMELL incredible, while toasting in the oven!!!

Seriously, make them now. Here's the link: Soft Pretzel Bites

Here's how mine turned out:

The Good: TASTE-to-the-double caps-EEEEE! TASTY!!
The Bad: The entire time I made them, I thought they were ruined.  It just didn't "feel" right....
The Ugly: Makes a huge mess...definitely a nap-time project! (I won't make that mistake again <tries to brush dough out of Bria's hair>)

Week 4: Oatmeal Banana Breakfast Muffins

This week I wanted to try something that would count as a snack, but also serve another purpose of a treat for when I have company. I'm always looking for new morning treat ideas to serve for Monday's discipleship group (discipleship: women getting together to encourage one another to live lives that bring God glory)---treats that have at least a smidgen of healthy qualities. 

This is a keeper. 

From this.....

.....to this....

....to THIS!

The Good: No flour or oil! High Fiber! A Grab 'n Go breakfast! Bria-Approved!

The Bad: "The food processor is a beast to clean," -My OCD Side.

The Ugly: Um....they're messy because they're crumbly [in such a heavenly way!]. (I'm really reaching for an "ugly" here)

Recipe found here: Oatmeal Banana Breakfast Muffins

Week 3: Yogurt-Covered Berries

Yuck.

You win some, you lose some.
This was definitely a "lose."

I found the recipe for these deceivingly-yummy-looking Yogurt Blueberries on Pinterest, which we all know is RARELY misleading (riiiiight.....).  I was shocked at how nasty they were.











The Good: I didn't waste much money...(yes, I'm really grasping for a "good" here...)
The Bad: They were way too tart!
The Ugly: They were impossible to bite, because they were frozen. And thawing for even a minute made them a sloppy mess.

Have you tried these, and liked them? Surely I did something wrong....

week 2: Kettle Corn

Man, did it feel good to snack on healthy food, this week.  Not only because of the obvious...but more importantly because Bria and I snacked healthily TOGETHER--I was a good example...whoop! whoop! <pats self on back>...J/K....no, but really....  

Usually, around 3pm, Bria and I have a snack, and it was awesome that this week, it was healthy each day---oranges, apple and almond butter, raisins, string cheese, peppers, etc. 

Then, the weekend came...I got the MUN-CHEEEEEESE.  So, I turned to a friend's recipe for kettle corn on the stove top (using my most favorite kitchen appliance ever... my Whirley Pop):

Throw this all in at the same time, and stir....

1/3 Cup Oil 

1/4 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cup Popcorn Kernels 

Sprinkle with salt, and viola!  Yummy, sticky, crunchy goodness!!!

It definitely did the trick....and had whole grains!  (Just ignore the massive amount of sugar, please)

Tawny is my fellow Kettle Corn Fanatic

The Good: Yum. Delicious. Bon Appetit!

The Bad: Loads of sugar

The Ugly: The oil randomly splattered and burnt my arm :(

week 1: Apple Chips

I love the feeling of a fresh start that comes with a New Year....I wanted to do something extreme, so I thought, "Ok, no snacks for a year." I quickly realized how ridiculous that was. But the endeavor to not purchase any snacks for our family seemed much more manageable. 

 (read about that decision here http://chelseyharlan.blogspot.com/2012_12_01_archive.html)

Here's week 1...Apple Chips! 

Boiling the apples smelled divine....I referred to it as an edible potpourri :)

After the apples dried out in the oven, they shriveled right up!

The finished product.

The Good: They are perfectly sweet....naturally! Perfect to reach for, when I get the afternoon sweet tooth!

The Bad: It was tricky to get them thin enough....I need to go even thinner. Time to whip out the mandolin!

The Ugly: The skin made Bria gag (Me, too, but I fought the urge to squish it out of my mouth through my lips, like Bria did....)

The VERY SIMPLE recipe came from here: 

http://www.paleoplan.com/2009/12-03/better-than-store-bought-apple-chips/. 

1. Boil apples in unsweetened apple juice and a cinnamon stick. Pat dry.

2. Cook in oven (at 250° F) on a wire cooling rack, until dry (30-40 min)