Ice Cream Cake, Crescent Rolls, Anniversary, Internet

The title is random because this post is going to be random...And, um, my brain is random...need I remind you, dear reader?!
-Zach and I celebrated our five-year anniversary last Thursday. Well, we didn't do anything on our actual anniversary, but on Friday we did. We went to one of the BEST burger places I've ever been to. For me, it is tied with In-N-Out. It is called Five Guys Burgers and Fries. It is definitely reminiscent of In-N-Out with it's simple menu and fresh ingredients. I highly recommend all burger lovers to check it out. Also, we did baptisms at the temple. Then, ate ice cream cake (which I made and will add the recipe at the end), opened presents, and watched The Importance of Being Earnest(my present from Zach).
-On the subject...well, sorta...In-N-Out is coming to Utah (again.) Read this article from the Deseret News for proof. It will be perfect for us because there is going to be one at Jordan Landing (10 minutes away) and another just announced in Centerville (where we want to live eventually.)
-My internet has been down since the weekend...and before that, I hadn't had the computer on since last Wednesday. Consequently, when I checked my email today, I had 43 emails. I'm sure for popular people (since I am actually NOT popular OR cool at all) that happens in a day or less. But, still.
-I made Buttery Crescent Rolls yesterday...They were/are heavenly if I say so myself. I promise I'm not trying to brag. I am always surprised when things turn out so good for me.
Buttery Crescent Rolls
2 pkgs (1/4 oz each) active dry yeast
2 cups warm milk (110° to 115°)
6 ½ to 7 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
¼ cup butter, melted and cooled
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
Additional melted butter, optional
-In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in milk. Add 4 cups of flour, eggs, butter, sugar, and salt; beat until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.-Punch the dough down and divide in thirds. Roll each portion in a 12-inch circle; cut each circle into 12 wedges. Roll up wedges from the wide end and place with pointed end down on greased baking sheets. Brush with melted butter, if desired. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 400° for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. Yield: 3 dozen. Taken from Taste of Home Grandma’s Favorites, Lynne Petersen.
-I made an ice cream cake which is supposed to imitate Dairy Queen's ice cream cake. I have to admit, it was pretty close and very delicious. Although it made way too much and Zach and I ate it all ourselves (not in one sitting btw). It is actually pretty straightforward.
You need ice cream (I used chocolate on the bottom and vanilla on top), Cool Whip, Oreo cookies, and fudge sauce.
Layer 1: Spread softened ice cream until smooth and flat in bottom of whatever size cake pan you like.
Layer 2: Crushed Oreo cookies.
Layer 3: Fudge sauce at room temperature.
Cover and place in freezer until hard.
Layer 4: Spread softened ice cream as thick as you desire.
Place in freezer until very hard.
Layer 5: Mix equal parts of ice cream and cool whip. Spread over top of cake.
Place in freezer until frozen.
-So, this is a long and probably tedious post. Maybe next time will be lighter reading.

Cookies You Can Make When You Can't Decide What Kind You Want

I wanted to make some cookies yesterday. I always make the same kinds of cookies with the same great recipes. BUT...I wanted something new. I found this recipe on allrecipes-which is my absolute favorite online resource for yummyness. This did NOT disappoint.
Like I have said before, oatmeal cookies are kind of my nemesis. I can't get them soft. Anyway, these are amazing. Zach loved them and he's not crazy about my oatmeal cookies, usually.

Baker's Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies
1 cup flour (I used half whole wheat, half white)
1 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder (if you use whole wheat flour, put in a little extra)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanillla
6 squares semi-sweet baking chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used chocolate chips, not chopped)
-Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder and salt; sat aside. Beat butter, sugars and peanut butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing until well blended after each addition. Stir in chocolate.
-Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls of dough, 2 inches apart, onto ungreased baking sheets. (I used a medium cookie scoop.)
-Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool 1 minute; remove from baking sheets to wire racks. Cool completely.
I totally forgot that I was going to take a picture and post it...I will try to put up the picture later. :)

Hot Fudge and Spiders

First of all, I made hot fudge sauce from scratch Sunday night and it is delicious. It is perfect over vanilla ice cream! Here's the recipe (from Betty Crocker cook book):
1 can (12-oz) evaporated milk
2 cups (12-oz) semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla
Heat milk, chocolate chips and sugar to boiling in 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly; remove from heat.
Stir in butter and vanilla until mixture is smooth and creamy. Cool about 30 minutes or until sauce begins to thicken. Serve warm. Store remaining sauce covered in refrigerator up to 4 weeks. Sauce becomes firm when refrigerated; heat slightly before serving (sauce will become thin if overheated).

Second noteworthy item...Tuesday night we had the most ginormous spider in the house that I've ever seen. I tried to get a picture with my phone, but it didn't work out. Anyway, I think Zach was actually a little nervous to kill it. However, being the braver one (by A LOT), he did the deed and it was nasty. I'll spare you the details...you would thank me if you knew what happened. :) I hate spiders! Especially nasty huge ones that are inside my house. Ironically, over the last two days I have killed five or six other spiders...luckily those ones weren't that big or nasty. I just don't know why we have to get so many inside! Now, I just freaked myself out...I thought I'd try to find a photo of the spider online... well, I didn't and now I think I'll have trouble sleeping tonight. Oh well.

Thanks for listening...BYE

Lemony Lusciousness

Okay, so the picture may not show the lusciousness of it, but this Lemon Bread is delicious. It is just the right amount of lemon and sweet and rich! Oh, and easy.

Lemon Bread
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp lemon juice
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
Glaze:
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
-In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and lemon juice. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into creamed mixture alternately with milk. Pour into a greased 8x4x2 loaf pan (I used a 9x5 loaf pan).
-Bake at 350 for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Combine glaze ingredients. Remove from pan; immediately drizzle with glaze. Cool on a wire rack.

This bread makes me think of a light, fresh, sunshiny day! Perfect for this time of year.

Deluxe Marshmallow Bars

Deluxe Chocolate Marshmallow Bars

3/4 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp baking cocoa
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional, I didn't use nuts)
4 cups mini marshmallows
Topping:
1-1/3 cups (8 oz) chocolate chips
3 tbsp butter
1 cup peanut butter
2 cups crisp rice cereal

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until fluffy. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa; add to creamed mixture. Stir in nuts if desired. Spread in a greased 15x10x1 pan(a cookie sheet.)
Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes. Sprinkle marshmallows evenly over cake (I used a little extra); bake 2-3 minutes longer. Using a knife dipped in water, spread melted marshmallows evenly over cake. Cool.
For the topping, combine chocolate chips, butter, and peanut butter in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until melted and well blended. Remove from heat; stir in rice cereal. Spread topping immediately over bars. Chill. Yield: about 3 dozen.

*These are seriously delicious. When they were all gone, Zach said, "I wish we had more." Try them! Yum.*

For the road...we'll be back

So don't miss us too much! Bwahahaha. It's a joke, I know you won't. :)

Banana Bread

3 ripe bananas
1 cup sugar (I use ¾ cup brown sugar and ¼ cup white sugar, it’s yummy!)
½ cup butter, room temperature
2 eggs, well beaten
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ cup walnuts (I do choc chips sometimes)

Mash bananas and set aside. In a large bowl cream sugar and butter together. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas. In a separate bowl sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to wet ingredients and stir together. Stir in nuts. Place in two greased, 9x5 inch loaf pans and bake at 350° for 25 minutes. Reduce heat to 275° and bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Essential Mormon Cookbook, Julie Badger Jensen

**Sorry, no picture. This is THE BEST banana bread recipe I've tried. It always turns out perfectly moist. Zach likes it with chocolate chips, I like it with pecans. Either way, it's delicioso.**

Chocolate Decadence

I was eating chocolate chips out of our "chocolate lover's size" bag of Nestle Tollhouse semisweet chocolate chips on Thursday and this recipe caught my eye. It is decadent with thick, sweet cream on top and gooey center. And it was even more amazing because it was easy! PS: Sorry the picture is a little blurry.

Chocolate Decadence with Sweetened Cream
2 cups chocolate chips, divided
3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 cup flour
1/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350. Line 9 inch round pan with foil; lightly grease.
Melt 1 cup of chocolate chips in microwave (1 minute, stir; then, 15 seconds at a time; stir until smooth.) Cool to room temperature.
Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until creamy. Add eggs; beat on high for 2 to 3 minutes. Gradually beat in flour alternately with milk. Stir in remaining 1 cup chocolate chips. Spoon into prepared pan.
Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Lift cake from pan using edges of foil; remove foil and top with sweetened cream.
*Sweetened cream: Beat 1 cup heavy whipping cream, 2 tbsp powdered sugar, and 1/2 tsp vanilla in chilled bowl until soft peaks form.

Note: the cream whips A LOT better if you use a chilled bowl (metal works even better.)

Also, here are a few pictures that we've taken recently. Formco's new building is REALLY nice, the pictures I took don't do it justice at all. Kirby, the owner, showed us a few of the special things about the building and talked with us for about an hour. A "smart" thermostat system is installed and each of the employees will have a key code that will allow them access to certain parts of the building. They are moving in, officially, Friday or Saturday.
And, Sami is growing so fast. When she's on the floor (or in our laps) she's constantly moving. As you can see, she rolled to her tummy on her blanket and then pushed herself to her crib and then rolled to her back again and then pulled the bear that's bigger than she is onto herself.