Dessert Make-over

I love to cook and I love how forgiving recipes can be. I'm not a very good rule follower when it comes to culinary design. I like to bake as well, just not as much as cooking. Better said, I like to eat baked good.

As you may know, rule recipe following is necessary when it comes to baking. Its literally an exact science. If you're anything like me, you sometimes throw caution to the wind regardless of this truth. Maybe you are more fortunate, but this usually doesn't work out so well for me. Slow learner.

I recently threw said caution to the wind and made some bars for an event at our home. I tasted one that afternoon purely for testing purposes. Quality control people!

They were not so good. Too dry and way too crumbly. I would have been cleaning up crumbs for the next month. No good. So......here's what I did:


So I have no idea where I got this idea from. I am fairly confident I am not stealing borrowing it from anyone, but you never know...

First, I crumbled up the whole pan into small pieces and pressed them down a bit.

And then I poured sweetened condensed milk over the top. Oh no she didn't! Oh yes, I did. Homemade sweetened condensed milk at that, thank you Pinterest. If that sounds weird to you, trust me, works like a charm every time. I am a professional and I have done this before. This little trick has never failed me and I have messed up quite a few pans of yumminess in my short life.

Then, of course, I added more chocolate chips. This also works like a charm every time. With anything :)

Then I re-baked it at about 350 for about 20-30 minutes, keeping an eye on it. This time around, you don't want it to be too gooey.

I only took a picture of it on a plate, not finished in the pan, but you get the idea. May not look like much, but it was a delicious medley of chocolate, peanut butter, and oatmeal. So good. Of course, it can't really be replicated b/c I didn't  follow a recipe and I messed it up before I fixed it...hard to duplicate. But, nonetheless, my dessert was rescued and I had a basement full of happy tummys!

So, my advice to you is if you mess up the dessert, don't fret, get out the sweetened condensed milk! Waste not, want not :)  Adding a can of that will also save you money from having the hubs run to the store to buy a ready made cake. 

Happy Tuesday. Go bake something. 

Thoughts for a Tuesday

My thoughts for today, such as they are:

1. When 'take a shower' is on your to-do list, something is wrong.

2. Sarah Jessica Parker (love her) was on Live with Kelly and Micheal last week and she and Micheal were sharing war stories about being parents (or survivors) of twins. It was like my own personal, playroom, therapy group experience. It was a little too encouraging and affirming. On the other hand, I could get used to that! And TiVo allowed me to pause it when the boys were screaming too loud. Quite children, mama's in a meeting.

3. You know that Pinterest saying that goes something like "why do they want to eat EVERY night?" Honestly. Every night? Really? I can't just put out chips and salsa and call it good? When I was single, pretty sure I didn't eat dinner EVERY night. Just saying. And I even considered chips and salsa dinner.

4. I used to travel. A lot. Alone and with friends. That was fun.

5. Why is it that sometimes the last time you see someone is at their wedding?

6. I think coffee tastes better in a mug. Then again, I heat mine up about 5 times every morning, so maybe my perceptions have been skewed...

7. If I did a giveaway, what would you like to receive?

Happy Tuesday!

Favorite Quote Friday...on Friday

This week, I am aware of what day it is. Sort of.

For Favorite Quote Friday, I am giving you something from my eldest little b/c its just too sweet not to share. He says it a lot, so I guess I'm used to it, but its share-worthy to be sure.

When he was about 2 1/2, I was tucking him in for a nap one day when he asked me to pray for him b/c he'd bitten his tongue during lunch and it still hurt. When I finished praying, he looks up at me, cocks his head to the side and says:
"Mama, do you hear that?"
"Hear what, Pook?"
"I hear Jesus running to heal me!!!!"

Too. Darn. Sweet.

All I have to say is that I want childlike faith like that.