a delicious weekend

Who loves a girls weekend? Me, that’s who. Some of my very besties from college got together this weekend in Oxford to celebrate my dear Amy’s impending nuptials (we all wore these lovely "brasages" from Miss Ruby Sue's Etsy shop...so darling!). And between the lingerie shower, the shopping and the eating, it was a much-needed estrogen-packed getaway. You should see the chairs I got! Thanks to Anna and Kate for getting them home for me.

It’s been way too long since I’ve posted a Delicious Dish, so this one is practically three recipes in one – the peanut butter fudge and the easy chocolate fudge are both wonderful on their own and would be great basic recpies if you want to add to it and make it fancy. But slap them on top of Rice Krispy Treats, and you’ve got a wonderful sugar coma waiting to happen. If loving these is wrong, I don’t wanna be right.

Peanut Butter Fudge Treats (or Devil Bars, as I have affectionately dubbed them - so good, they're BAD, baby)

(Photo and recipe from that adorable Joy the Baker)

Part 1 - Rice Krispy Treats
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 package (10 oz., about 40) regular marshmallows OR - 4 cups miniature marshmallows
6 cups Rice Krispy Cereal (or any puffed rice cereal)

1. In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.
2. Add Rice Krispies cereal. Stir until well coated.
3. Using buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. ( You may want to line your pan with parchment paper or waxed paper large enough to have flaps hanging over the sides. This will make it easy to pull the giant block of goodness out of the pan when it's done. I just forgot this step. But as recorded in the comments below, some people had trouble with the wax paper sticking to the Krispie treats. A well sprayed pan might just be your best bet!) Cool. Make Peanut Butter Fudge. (*My mom taught me a great trick for pressing Krispy Treats into the pan – wet your hands with a little water and press the batter in. It doesn’t stick! I promise!)

Part 2 - Peanut Butter Fudge
recipe from Alton Brown via Joy the Baker
1 cup butter, plus more for greasing pan
1 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pound powdered sugar

Microwave butter and peanut butter for 2 minutes on high. Stir and microwave on high for 2 more minutes (I didn’t do it quite that long – I was afraid it would burn). Add vanilla and powdered sugar to peanut butter mixture and stir to combine with a wooden spoon. Pour over the Rice Krispy treats in the pan and spread evenly. Let cool in the fridge while you make the Chocolate Fudge. (*Shut the front door with this fudge. She’s not kidding about the wooden spoon – a flexible spatula just won’t cut it. This stuff is dangerous on its own – be sure an acceptable amount gets in the pan and stays away from your mouth.)

Part 3 - Easy Chocolate Fudge
2 Tbsp butter
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 2/3 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla

Combine butter, milk, sugar, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil; cook 4 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in marshmallows, chocolate, and vanilla,. Beat for about 1 minute, or until marshmallows melt and mixture is thoroughly combined. Pour over peanut butter fudge, spread evenly and place in the fridge to harden and cool. Cut into 1-inch pieces or smaller and give to your friends. They'll thank you, sort of.

The only problems I ran into with this recipe were a) getting the whole thing out of the pan, and b) sometimes the layers came apart when I was cutting them up. I’m thinking maybe if I let the whole thing come to room temp before I cut into pieces it might solve the problem. I think I’ll email my new friend, Joy, and see if she can help us out.

Have a great week!

yay yay yay

It’s finally Friday, readers!

I’m heading north to Oxford for my dear friend Amy’s bachelorette weekend, wishing I were taking with me these super fly peacock earrings from Etsy. With or without new ear bobs, I cannot wait to see all my buddies from our college days.

What are your plans? Here's hoping you enjoy yourself!

wish list wednesday

What am I wishing for this Wednesday?

(photo and recipe courtesy of Joy the Baker)

* To not get the swine flu…or whatever we’re calling it now.

* A Viking food processor. A nice little happy, I say.

* To whip up some of these Cinnamon Roll Muffins from Joy the Baker’s adorable blog. Perhaps a new Delicious Dish is in the works… And I'd like to be her friend.

* A piece from J.Crew’s new jewelry collection – so very lovely!

* To become a good amateur photographer.

What’s your wish?

old friends and bookends

We’re back from the Delta!

I mentioned Friday that Kell and I were headed to his 10-year class reunion, and we had a great time. There’s something that comforted me about the fact that most people hadn’t changed at all – just a little older. My reunion is in a couple of weeks, and I can only hope that I have a tad more style than I did in high school. But, we all want that, right? I mean, denim overalls can only get you so far… (Not only did I have some, but I wore them in one of my senior portraits. Don’t judge.)

On another note, I’m trucking right along with my C25K program. However, today I have to run for 3 minutes. 3 MINUTES! Without stopping! That’s twice as long as this last week! I’m not going to lie – I’m a little intimidated. But this is a necessary step to reach my goal, and I am determined to get there…even if it kills me.

Oh, and my phone is on the fritz. Great.

tgif

Happy Friday!

I don’t know about you out there, but this week has seemed looooooong to me. Kell and I are Delta-bound this weekend for his 10-year high school class reunion (how is this possible, by the way?), and I cannot wait to see my college friends. So many Kappa Chis (you know who you are)!

What are your plans this weekend? I hope they’re sweet.

hellenic pride

My dad sent this to me months ago, and I saved it because it makes me smile every time I read it. Just think of the Greeks you know and how true this is… Can’t you just hear Gus on My Big Fat Greek Wedding reading it to you? (The picture is of Patmos, the small town where my family is from.)

Why I am proud to be Greek:

Because nights in Greece finish in the morning.
Because we drink our coffee slowly and not in gulps.
Because flirting is our national pastime.
Because we go out almost every night, even if we are penniless.
Because we respect our grandmothers sometimes more than our wives.
Because we know how to spend better than we know how to save.
Because we never visit others empty-handed...we bring a cake or a bottle of wine.
Because we do not share the cost of gasoline with those traveling with us.
Because the word “filotimo” (helping someone because it is the right thing to do) doesn't exist in any other language.
Because whenever foreigners cannot find a word, they bloody steal one of ours!
Because we always make it, albeit in the last moment.
Because we love and hate with passion.
Because we spend our bad and low times with our friends and family; not with therapists and counselors.
Because Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle were Hellenic and we still quote them!
Because we invented the theatre.
Because we gave birth to Democracy.
Because we jump-started science.
Because we are proud of our culture, not of our wars.
Because when we were building the Parthenon, the others were still sleeping under trees.
Because when others created wars, we created the Olympic Games to stop wars.
Because we don't use ketchup or mayonnaise with our food!
Because we get angry quickly, but forget about it even more quickly.
Because Greek men are not ashamed to cry.
Because we dance when we are sad and party when we are happy.
Because we work to live and do not live to work.
Because 97% of the cosmic stars are named after Hellenics.
Because although we know danger well, we dare.
Because when you shout “adelfi” (brother) in the streets, everyone turns around.
Because “Greeks do not fight like heroes; heroes fight like Greeks.” (Winston Churchill, 1941)
Because we speak loudly and laugh even louder!
No one will love you more deeply than a Greek.

“S’agapo” to all my readers out there!

wish list wednesday

What am I wishing for this Wednesday?

* To learn how to be an Ebay queen. Perhaps I should get the free DVD from the Video Professor.

* A super cute dress to wear to my reunion in a month-ish.

* To know who all reads my blog. Don’t be shy!

* These new boots for fall. MK, you got me thinking about them again…

* And for my dear friend, Claire, to have a perfect birthday! I miss you like Junior Mints!

What’s your wish?

breakfast, anyone?

I adore these Jimmy Dean breakfast commercials. Here's the new one that makes me giggle out loud... ("And Mars is down...")



How much do we want to work in this ad agency?

zoom zoom

Kell and I got new wheels!

You know we’re Honda people, so we went with a sure thing. If you’re in the market for a new car, go to Patty Peck Honda in Ridgeland – they are really wonderful.

I tried a new recipe this weekend, thinking it would be perfect for a new Delicious Dish, but it ended up being one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever made. So you’ll have to wait even longer until I find one that does not taste so vile – can you handle it?

Enough about me…how was your weekend?

is it fall yet?

When summer is over (and to me, it’s over once school starts), I’m immediately ready for fall though the temp outside seems to disagree. I’m completely jazzed for football season, pretty trees and perhaps a sweater here and there. How about you guys?

On a different note, I am going steady on my Couch to 5K program. I even bought real running shoes and socks yesterday, and I’ll admit, they make a world of difference. Many thanks to Fleet Feet for their amazing service and for not making fun of me when I couldn’t speak the runner lingo.

TGIF!

wish list wednesday

What am I wishing for this Wednesday?

* To see Julie & Julia!

* Some matte nail polish – h-o-t this fall!

* To meet baby Alex Cougle! Thank heavens for little girls!

* One of these adorable house pillows from Olive’s Etsy shop. Think if I asked her pretty-please she’d make one for my new house? Plus, her name is Olive! What’s not to love?

* To be able to wiggle my nose and have a spotless house.

What’s your wish today?

weekend run-down

It’s Monday again, readers! How was everyone’s weekend?

First and foremost, I am so proud of my hubby! He's training to run a half marathon, and he's inspired me to start a Couch to 5K program! Whaddaya think? Can I handle it? Sure hope so.

Now here’s the run-down on my weekend... (Get it? Run-down? And I've got a picture of a runner? I'm so clever.)

The twins went to the vet Friday to get groomed, and poor little Charlie didn’t take it so well. He was so stressed that he burst a blood vessel in his little eye! Poor wittle guy.

I watched Rachel Getting Married and LOVED it. Anne Hathaway is absolutely brilliant; I cannot say that enough. Watching her as Kym, the crazy addict sister of Rachel (who is of course getting married), I completely forgot how glamorous she is on the red carpet. She totally pulled off “junkie.” I’m now following her on Twitter!

Saturday – nothing. Really. Like, I went to the grocery store. That’s. About. It.

Sunday we had Supper Club at Lake Tithelo with all our buddies and their pups – after the eyeball incident on Friday, we decided to shield the twins from any undue stress. Anyway, we had a great time and can’t wait to do it again!

PS…Have you seen Kim’s new blonde hair? PLEASE bring back the black, Kimmy!

Have a great Monday, my friends. And if you see Kim, please tell her how much we loved her as a brunette.

go dawgs

Check this out…

My alma mater made the top 20 (we're #18 of 100!) in Forbes’ list of America’s Best College Buys! In fact, three Mississippi colleges made the list; Mississippi College was #24 and Millsaps was #39! Sorry, Rebs, y’all missed out.

This weekend, I’m planning on doing a little painting. What are your plans? I hope they’re fun ones!

wish list wednesday

What am I wishing for this Wednesday?

* Kimmy K’s new workout video, Fit in Your Jeans by Friday!

* For Kimmy and Reggie to reunite!

* A new statement necklace…perhaps like this one? Don’t we love how the owl’s little “eyebrows” are little leaves?

* For Jeff or Jordan to win the Big Brother Coup d’Etat!

* That 5:00 would come a little faster…

monday again

Happy Monday, faithful readers! I hope everyone had a great weekend.

After the 8+ hours in the Atlanta airport, I did finally make it home. Being stuck in an airport terminal is not something I particularly enjoy doing, but there is something interesting about how the would-be passengers get to know each other – like the lady going to a family reunion in Terry, MS, who interrogated me about having children…or another lady (who sounded Jamaican) going to visit her sister in the hospital…or the old man who bought his wife a chocolate milkshake since she couldn’t walk all the way to Starbucks. We even found ourselves rallying around a young man headed home for 2 days before he left for 15 months for basic training. It’s extraordinary how unlikely, uncomfortable situations bring strangers together.

But, being stuck in one place did give me the opportunity to finish I’m Down. I heard of this book by reading Jen Lancaster’s blog. I usually howl with laughter at anything she reads, so I trusted her implicitly with this recommendation. I have to say, it was not what I thought. Mishna Wolff is a white girl in a black neighborhood whose dad believes he is black, too. The stories she tells about her dysfunctional childhood – her home that is always being “remodeled,” her dad forcing her to play basketball or run track, her “smart” school attended by only rich kids – are as funny as they are sad. The whole time I was reading this book, I kept thinking, “how can this child ever turn out to be normal?” I suppose “normal” is relative, especially when you turn your childhood into a memoir. I give it a B+.

Now I’m into The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, recommended to me by my impossibly witty and darling friend, Laura Merrill. This book is written epistolary-style, completely of letters between the main character and her friends. So far, so good. Review to come!

PS - I'm now on twitter! I can't guarantee how long I'll do it or how often or interesting my tweets will be, but let's give it a shot, shall we?

wish list wednesday

What am I wishing for this Wednesday?

* To learn how to be an Ebay queen. Perhaps I should get the free DVD from the Video Professor.

* A super cute dress to wear to my reunion in a month-ish.

* To know who all reads my blog. Don’t be shy!

* These new boots for fall. MK, you got me thinking about them again…

* And for my dear friend, Claire, to have a perfect birthday! I miss you like Junior Mints!What’s your wish?