catching fireflies fun and unique gifts

a twist on hot chocolate

A firefly fan forwarded me this delectable recipe from the King Arthur Flour website and I think these are quite clever.  A great treat to make for your neighbors or office mates.

Fudge on a stick? Swirl these blocks into a mug of hot milk and enjoy luscious hot chocolate. In need of a creamy chocolate fix? Nibble the chocolate blocks directly from the stick.

• ½ cup heavy cream
• 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk (1 1/4 cups)
• 3 cups semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (chopped chocolate bars or chips)
• 3/4 cup unsweetened baking chocolate
• wooden sticks

• 4 ounces heavy cream
• 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk (1 1/4 cups)
• 18 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (chopped chocolate bars or chips)
• 4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
• wooden sticks

1) Line an 8" x 8" pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

2) Heat the cream and condensed milk over low heat until steaming. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate; allow it to gently melt.

3) After about 10 minutes, return the chocolate mixture to low heat to completely melt the chocolate. Whisk vigorously until the mixture is thick and shiny. Add a few drops of flavoring oil if you like; hazelnut, coffee, or vanilla are popular flavors.

4) Pour the chocolate mixture into the pan; shake the pan gently to level. Sprinkle with cocoa, if desired. Set aside overnight to slowly set up.

5) Run a knife around the edge of the pan and turn out onto a clean cutting surface.

6) Slice into 1 ¼" cubes. Heat a knife in hot water and wipe dry before each cut, for smoothest cuts.

7) Stick a wooden stick into the center of each block.

8) Roll in cocoa or crushed peppermint candy, if desired.

9) Wrap in waxed paper, parchment, or plastic wrap to store.

Yield: about 3 dozen blocks. Thanks Ellen for sharing these tasty gems with me. Like to get creative in the kitchen?  We love finding & sharing scrumptious recipes. Don't miss out on our future finds... simply sign up to receive these blog posts in your email in box.

a chocolate lovers torte

Instead of the traditional pumpkin pie, my sister-in-law showed up with this fancy treat on Thanksgiving. 

Flourless Dark Chocolate Cake - Chef Robin Gourmet Cooking Demos

1/2 cup butter

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate

3 eggs, whites & yolks separated

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup sifted baking cocoa (Hersheys Special Dark)

caramel topping

cinnamon ice cream

Heat oven to 300.  Coat a non-stick tart pan with cooking spray.  Melt chocolate & butter together in glass bowl in microwave, on high, 1 minute, then stir.  If still lumpy, microwave 10 seconds at a time, stirring after each time.  When smooth, set aside.

Whip yolks & sugar together until light yellow.  Add butter/chocolate mixture and sifted cocoa powder to egg yolks & sugar, mix thoroughly.  Whip whites with clean beaters until they reach stiff peaks.  Gradually fold whites into chocolate mixture.  Pour batter into pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until middle is just set. 

Cool on wire cooling rack.  Serve with cinnamon ice cream & caramel

For ice cream:  Take a gallon of Breyers vanilla ice cream and soften it, add 1/4 cup ground cinnamon, mix completely and refreeze.

ummmmmm - so delish!  Thanks Becky for treating my taste buds to this tasty dessert.

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spooky spider treats

I was tooling around the web to find some spooky treat recipes for our party this Friday and came across a healthier version of these spiders, but I thought they'd be much tastier dipped in chocolate... because what isn't better dipped in chocolate?

 

For these tasty spiders you'll need:

pretzel sticks

Ritz crackers

peanut butter

m&ms

chocolate chips

Crisco

 

Make peanut butter sandwiches and stick 8 pretzel halves in them for the legs.

 

Melt the chocolate chips with a dollop of Crisco and dip the sandwiches in them, then add the m&m eyes.

 

Set them in the refrigerator until they harden, then serve them up on a spooky platter... cobwebs optional.

Happy Halloween!

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how do you like your pumpkin seeds?

Since Steve & I are having a pumpkin carving party this Friday, we'll end up with loads of seeds to roast.  So that has inspired me to seek out some different options and maybe create a medley of these crunchy fall treats.  Here are a few that look good to me...

 

Pumpkin Pie

• 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds, rinsed and dried
• 6 tablespoons white sugar, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Spread pumpkin seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toast for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until dry and toasted. Larger seeds may take longer.
2. In a large bowl, stir together 2 tablespoons of white sugar, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pumpkin seeds and sprinkle the remaining sugar over them. Stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar melts, about 45 seconds. Pour seeds into the bowl with the spiced sugar and stir until coated. Allow to cool before serving. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Garlic Lovers

• 3 cups pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon seasoned salt

     Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the pumpkin seeds, butter, garlic powder, salt and seasoned salt until the pumpkin seeds are evenly coated. Spread in an even layer on a cookie sheet.
2. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes until toasted. Cool completely on the baking sheet, then transfer to a serving dish.

Cinnamon Sweet

• 4 cups pumpkin seeds, rinsed and dried
• 1/2 cup margarine, melted
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup white sugar, divided

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Combine the pumpkin seeds, margarine, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl; stir to coat the seeds. Spread the seeds in a single layer in a 10x15 inch jelly roll pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes; stir and return to oven for 15 minutes more; remove from oven and sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar over the seeds; stir to coat. Return to oven and bake another 15 minutes before removing again to sprinkle with remaining sugar and stirring. Bake another 15 minutes. Allow to cool before serving. Store leftover seeds in an airtight container.

Hot & Spicy

cups pumpkin seeds
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven 225F. Rinse pumpkin seeds until all the pulp and strings are washed off. In a medium bowl, combine Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, melted butter and salt. Add the seeds and stir until coated. Spread out on a baking sheet and bake 1 to 2 hours, until crisp, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.

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a perfect time for some pumpkin cake

One of my favorite things about fall... all the special pumpkin flavored goodies - including this tasty pumpkin cake my friend made the other night.

PART 1: 1 yellow cake mix 1/2 c. butter 1 egg Take out 1 cup cake mix, set aside for Part III. Mix remaining cake mix, butter, and egg. Press in bottom of 9 x 13 inch greased cake pan. PART II: 2 c. pumpkin 3 eggs 2/3 c. milk 1/2 c. brown sugar 2 tsp. cinnamon Mix all together, pour over 1st layer. PART III: 1 c. cake mix 3/4 c. sugar 1/4 c. butter Crumble and sprinkle over top. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes.

a hot sandwich in a second

When I saw this clever product offered by a company in the UK, I immediately inquired to see how we could land some in catching fireflies.  I couldn't wait to try it out and it totally works!  I kept my sandwich somewhat skinny with a few pieces of shaved turkey and a cheese slice.  The toaster didn't completely melt the cheese, however it saved me from cleaning a pan and still delivered a tasty lunch- which is always a good thing in my book.

Another awesome kitchen must-have from the same company is this pizza mesh.  I'm not a huge frozen pizza fan, however the sample guy at Costco lured me in to purchasing a Palmaro's thin crust pack and holy cow... after baking it on this - I am hooked!  This mesh even makes day-old pizza taste  better than it did the first time around.  And it also works the same magic on frozen potato products ---oh-so-tasty!

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dressed up birthday brownies

Thanks to all of you who came out on Saturday to celebrate our 9th birthday!  In addition to the sweet sale, we also passed out these sweet treats.  Nothing dresses up a Costco brownie better than a squirt of whipped cream and a juicy raspberry - a super simple way to make an everyday snack look oh-so-fancy.

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pretty pasta dish

Saw this delish looking recipe in my Six O Clock Scramble Recipe Book and thought it'd be perfect to serve since tomatoes are so tasty right now.

Fettuccine with Melted Brie and Tomatoes

1/2 pound Brie cheese
4 large ripe tomatoes sliced or diced
1 cup fresh basil leaves cut into strips
3 cloves of minced garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
16 ounces of fettuccine

optional other sauteed vegetables like...

zucchini
summer squash
onions
peppers

Remove rind from the Brie. Tear into small pieces and place in large serving bowl.  Add the tomatoes, basil, garlic and oil to the bowl.

Saute other desired vegetables in olive oil and add to the bowl.

Cook the pasta accordingly until it's al dente.  Drain and immediately toss the pasta with the rest of the ingredients until the Brie has melted.  Serve immediately and enjoy with a nice salad and garlic bread.  Yummmm! Just had left-overs of this dish tonight and it's still fantastic the 2nd time around.

However, I do need to bring home a bar of magic soap as my hands smelled like garlic, onions and basil for many hours after making the dish:)

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an apple treat in 40 seconds

So I was in the mood for some hot caramel & apple slices, but didn't want to put the whole caramel dip container in the microwave... so I put a dollop on top of my apples with a few crushed pecans and threw that in the microwave for 40 seconds.  To my surprise after that short of time, the apples were cooked and my treat turned into a tasting like a warm caramel apple pie.

What a delicious surprise!  This may be my new favorite quick-fix fall treat... and it's even 'sorta' healthy.

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for butterfinger fans

If your looking for something sweet to add to a lunch box, but don't want to commit to turning on the oven, these super tasty treats are the perfect solution. 

I found this simple recipe in our No Bake Recipe book. Makes 2 dozen

Butterfinger Bars

Ingredients 

3 cups cornflakes, crushed
1 16 oz jar crunchy peanut butter
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup corn syrup
2 cups milk chocolate chips

Directions 

Grease 9x13 pan with butter
Heat peanut butter, sugar and corn syrup over low heat to melt.
Stir in cereal.
Pat into 9x13 greased pan.
Melt chips and spread on top.
Let chill for 20-25 minutes before cutting into bars

I found by storing them in the fridge, they taste the most like Butterfingers... but really I'd eat chocolate & peanut butter at any temperature :)

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