A Sweet New Beginning: Crepe Suzettes

 I don’t think that it’s any big surprise that the book “Julie and Julia” by Julie Powell was a big inspiration for my blog. Ironically I read it right before I stumbled upon The Found Recipe Box at an antique show. I immediately connected with Julie for many reasons, but mainly because she was at a point in her life when she felt lost and was facing some big life decisions. At the time I was unemployed and Ryan and I had put our plans for the future on hold, including starting a family. It felt like someone had pushed the pause button on our lives.

But reading Julie’s book helped. She wrote about her situation with blunt honesty and humor. She creatively worked her way through a challenging time and accomplished huge goals that she had set for herself. I felt empowered and encouraged as I turned the pages of her book and when the little lost recipe box came into my possession; I knew it wasn’t by chance. However, when I contemplated starting the blog, I didn’t want to just copy what Julie had already done. I wanted to take those recipes and share my own stories. And I didn’t want to set a timeframe in which to complete the project.

Well, here I am, three years later, and still nowhere near completion. But that doesn’t matter because I’m not giving up. Life has changed a lot in the past three years: I’m working full time and I have a beautiful little girl who gets all of my attention during our waking hours together – and she is at that age where she is constantly exploring and into EVERYTHING so my eyes rarely stray far away from her general vicinity. This leaves little time to do much else other than make dinner, do laundry, clean and pass out. 

The newest little cook in the kitchen: Chef Lucy

But once again, I find myself in search of a connection. I found work after two years of unemployment, but it was a huge step back from where I was and I’m not even in the same field. There are days when it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the stress of barely getting by. Once again, we feel as though our lives are on pause. It reminds me of the summers we used to spend in Florida visiting my mom’s family when I was a kid. My dad, brothers and I would swim in the Gulf of Mexico together and would challenge ourselves to tread water as long as we could. We’d paddle out until we couldn’t touch, then beat our arms and legs against the current and constant waves until our muscles burned and we felt as though we’d sink. Then, just before our tired appendages gave out on us, we’d let go and float on our backs, letting the salt water hold our exhausted bodies up until we were ready to dive back in.

I’m ready to dive back in. And once again, I’m looking to Julie for inspiration.

I rarely re-read books. In fact, I think the only book I’ve ever read more than once is “To Kill A Mockingbird,” (my all-time favorite). But I’ve started reading “Julie and Julia” again and already feel like I’m sitting down to lunch with a very close friend who I haven’t seen in many years. There is a quote from the book that I underlined the first time I read it and have gone back to re-read several times already:

“So that night I made my New Year’s resolution, better late than never: To Get Over My Damned Self. If I was going to follow Julia down this rabbit hole, I was going to enjoy it, by God – exhaustion, crustacean murder, and all. Because not everyone gets a rabbit hole. I was one lucky bastard, when you came down to it.”

Julie Powell

Luckily, I have not had to experience the crustacean murder, but I can relate to what she’s saying here and she’s right, not everyone gets a rabbit hole. And I’m so very, very thankful that I am one of the lucky few who do.

When I made the spreadsheet of all the recipes in the box, I tagged a few that I would like to make and dedicate to Julie Powell for her inspiration. And I’m honored to post one of those recipes now: Crepes Suzettes. Crepes were one of the recipes Julie struggled with and, after lots and lots of practice, eventually mastered. After making these, I can completely understand her frustration with the delicious little devils – they are nearly impossible to flip! After several attempts, I ran out of batter and had to give up, but regardless of how mutilated my poor little crepe was, it was still heavenly to eat.

Not quite round, but it works

 I did make a slight change to the recipe, however. We were at a festival this summer and saw banana/Nutella crepes and the combination had been swimming in my head ever since, so I had to try them. If you get a chance to taste these, don’t pass it up. They are truly divine. 

Crepe Suzettes (with bananas, Nutella and whipped cream)

So thank you Julie, for having the courage to share your story. I know that’s not easy. But hopefully you know how much that means to all of us out there looking for the right ingredients to turn this little thing called life into a delectable five-star meal.

And I also want to give a special thank you to all of you who have stuck with me through this journey. It means the world to me to have you share in this adventure and I love hearing your stories! So thank you, thank you, thank you! Hang in there, we have a long way to go. 

When Autumn Won’t Let Go: Apple Turnovers

Last January, when we brought Lucy home from the hospital, the wind chill was 25 below zero. I never truly despised winter until that moment, when I had to step into the piercing cold with my brand new baby girl. Every piece of the car creaked and cracked in the cold on the drive home and I think it took the entire 20-minute trip for the engine to completely thaw out.

But this year, we’ve had a very temperate winter. Back in October, the meteorologists started saying, “Enjoy this weather folks, it will be the last nice weekend of the year.” Up until a couple of weeks ago, they were still staying that. We’ve been seeing temperatures in the 40s and even a few 50s all the way into January. For those of us who were seriously considering packing our bags and moving south last winter, it’s pretty nice. But for those who are longing to pull their skis out of the closet, go sledding, or are ready to drill a hole into the ice and go fishing, it hasn’t been a good season.

In honor of the lingering autumn weather, I made a fall favorite: Apple Turnovers. Topped with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream, these delicious pockets of molten cinnamon apple are the ideal combination of hot and cold – a perfect complement to our unseasonably warm weather. Lucy’s new favorite treat is apple slices, so she was able to enjoy the pre-cooked ingredient, while Ryan and I savored the sweet and soothing finished product. Without looking at the calendar, one bite of these and a glance out the window would make you think it’s time to start carving pumpkins and planning a Thanksgiving menu rather than exchanging Valentine cards.

For Lucy’s first birthday, we gazed across our bare, brown backyard and reminisced about the weather one year ago – bitter cold, three feet of snow on the ground, near constant will chill advisories. Maybe you’ll get to go sledding on snow next year, Lucy, instead of dry grass and piles of leftover autumn leaves. But remember to enjoy this nice weather, because this still is winter in Minnesota and it just might be the last nice weekend of the season. 

A Forever Friend: Frozen Lemon Dessert

 The week before Memorial Day, my family had to say a very unexpected goodbye to a very special friend. My parents’ dog Sage lost his brief, but heroic battle against an illness – whose cause is still undetermined – only days before I returned home for the holiday weekend.

Ever since I was a baby, my family has always had a dog. And during that time, we’ve had some incredible dogs, the kinds of dogs that easily transcend from being the family pet to a member of the family. Every one of them left a paw print on my heart, but there are a few who were so special, there’s no other way to describe them than as a “forever friend.”

I already introduced you to one of those special dogs, Buck, who was our very first Flactcoated Retriever. Well, Sage (also a Flatcoat), was another one of those dogs. When he fell ill, I kept the highest of hopes that he’d recover quickly so he could keep spreading his special kind of joy to the world. But when I heard from my parents that he had lost his valiant fight, I was in shock. I couldn’t believe I’d never bury my face in his soft ears again, never hear him “woo woo” at me when I walked in the door, never cuddle up next to him, scratch his head and literally feel him radiate happiness. Sage, like Buck, was the kind of dog who not only left a paw print on your heart, but also a gaping hole in it when he left. He was one of those dogs who was truly man’s best friend – a friend you’d long to see at the end of a rough day, a friend who would make all your worries wash away, a friend who you’d remember forever. I still get a pang of sadness when I think about Buck. And I know it will be the same years from now when I remember Sage.

You didn’t have to be a dog lover to appreciate how special Sage was; even people who weren’t all that fond of flying clumps of dog hair, sloppy kisses or barking loved that dog. There was something about him that just changed the mood in the air when he walked into a room. It was as if he had special powers and could just emanate happiness (for all you Twilight fans, he was basically like Jasper and had the power to change your mood). And you couldn’t help but chuckle when you watched him clumsily run across the yard – his legs flailing about, ears flapping in the wind, tongue hanging out and a look of childlike giddiness spread across his face. Graceful he was not, but that dog truly knew how to enjoy life.

So when I dove into the box in search of a recipe to make in his honor, I knew it had to be something pretty special. It took some digging, but I eventually found the perfect dish: Frozen Lemon Dessert. This worked on several levels.

First, one of Sage’s favorite treats was ice cubes. Not because he liked to eat them, but because his favorite pastime was making a mess and next to tearing up Kleenex or digging holes in the yard, these proved to be perfect tools for accomplishing his goal. Whenever he got one, he’d carry it into the dining room and chew it into pieces, which he then left to melt on the floor. You’d think we’d learn to stop giving the dog ice cubes right? Not when you saw the look of pure bliss on his face as he bounded off with the coveted treat tucked into his lips. How can you deny him such happiness?

So the fact that it was a frozen dessert was a perfect choice for Sage. Second, he was the sweetest dog I’ve ever met. Honestly. He could turn even the bitterest moment into something heartwarming. And that’s just what this dessert did to the lemons. On their own, lemons make your mouth pucker and choke, but mix them with a little sugar and whipped cream and your lips curl right into a bright smile.

This is a pretty simple dessert to make and doesn’t take much time at all. I only made one change and used graham crackers for the crust instead of the vanilla wafers. After a short time in the freezer, it was ready to serve. Each bite filled me with warm memories of Sage and left a cool hint of lemon on my tongue. It was the perfect way to honor his memory. As a tribute to him, I even thought about leaving chunks of ice cubes on the floor, but the warm temperatures would have quickly melted my memorial and left only a big mess to clean up. And that just isn’t as much fun to do when Sage wasn’t the one who made it.

Murphy agrees that this is the perfect tribute to Sage

I miss you so much, Mr. Sage. I still can’t believe you’re gone. I keep hoping to wake up from this terrible dream and hear you in the background when I’m talking to mom and dad on the phone chewing your squeaky ball and annoying the bejesus out of everyone within ear shot (he could chew those obnoxious toys for hours and never get bored, it’s amazing he didn’t go deaf).

Sage and his favorite squeeky ball

But as I said when Buck died, life can be cruel sometimes and insanely unfair. Such a sweet life certainly didn’t deserve such a tragic and untimely end. You touched many lives though, and your love lives on in all of us, especially my sweet Dorie who I know misses you more than any of us. You will always be my friend, Sage, forever and ever.

Sage & Dorie

Sucking the Last Juices From Summer: Individual Peach Dumplings

 

Technically, it may be fall, but in the Twin Cities the past week or so has felt like summer. Last week we even had temperatures in the 80s for a few days. If it wasn’t for all the bare trees and leaves piling up in the yard, you’d think we were still making our way through the summer months.

All of these warm, sunny afternoons have left me craving those delectable summer treats and when I dove into the box to find a recipe to satisfy my taste buds, I came out carrying a pamphlet for Colorado peaches. The pages contain several different peach recipes, but as soon as I made my way to the store and discovered how hard the fuzzy summer fruit would be to find, I decided to settle for just making one…if I could ever find fresh peaches.

One afternoon, Murphy and I began to make the rounds of all the local grocery stores in search of the main ingredient. Finally, at our last stop, we discovered a heaping pile of beautiful autumn-colored peaches. And they just happened to be from Colorado – how fitting! The smell floating up from the mound of ripe fruit was intoxicating and was the perfect match to the blue skies and rising mercury outside. 

A Door County Excursion: Fresh Cherry Cobbler

Once again, I apologize for the delay in posting. My laptop died and this time could not be revived. While it is out being diagnosed for potential repair, I spent the week convincing my 10-year old desktop to accept the software for my scanner and camera. After hours of persuasion, it finally accepted the challenge. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it enjoys its new role and continues to chug along.

Now that I’m finally up and running again, I can share my adventures in Door County, WI. My husband and I made the trek across the state of Wisconsin last weekend to attend a family reunion. I was excited to see family I haven’t seen in years, introduce Ryan to this beautiful area, and also to indulge in some of my favorite Door County treats.

Farmers Market and a Backyard Party: Creamy Fudge Sundae Pie

This past weekend I finally made it to the Mill City Farmers Market in downtown Minneapolis. If you have a chance to stop by one Saturday morning before they close in October, I highly recommend it. Not only do they have great fresh fruits and vegetables from local farmers, but you can get ground buffalo, fresh baked bread, honey, beautiful flowers, woven goods, hear live music, and even see a cooking demonstration.

The Mill City Farmers Market

Making the Rounds with Rhubarb: Popular Rhubarb Cake & Rhubarb Dessert

I apologize for the lack of posts lately, this summer has gotten busy and I’ve fallen behind a bit. But I promise to catch up this week and I have some great recipes to share!

I have to admit, I’m not a fan of rhubarb. But when a friend handed me an armful of green and red stalks from her garden few weeks ago, I knew it would be a great opportunity to share more recipes from the box. Aside from all the learning experiences in the kitchen and eating great food, sharing the recipes with friends and family is one of my favorite parts of this project. I knew that all that rhubarb would go a long way, especially since I don’t eat it.

First Public Appearance: Chocolate Joy Cake, Milk Chocolate Cake, Cherry Torte, Swedish Shortbread & Blueberry Muffins

I apologize for the delay in posting my recap of The Found Recipe Box’s first public appearance. It’s been a crazy week and my scanner decided it didn’t want to work for a while!

Last Monday night, I did a presentation about The Found Recipe Box project for the Visual Journaling Collective at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. There were about 25 people in attendance at the meeting, including two very special guests: my husband and my mom. I got a surprise the week before when I found out my mom would be coming to help me bake and to watch the presentation. She was a huge help in the kitchen and it meant a lot to have her there because there was a lot I had to thank her for (click here to read about how she got me involved in art). 

When You Need Chocolate…Fast: Chocolate Outrage Snack Cake

An opportunity arose this week for me to travel to Florida to visit my grandmother. I couldn’t pass it up. But a last minute change in plans also meant that I needed to scramble to get other tasks wrapped up before my trip. My biggest challenge: to complete my submissions for the Loft Literary Center’s Mentor Series.

One of the things I love about living in the Twin Cities is being so close to the Loft. I have access to writing classes year-round, I can be a part of an inspiring and supportive writing community, and I can attend readings from some of the most influential authors and poets. For a writer, walking into the Loft is like opening the doors to Utopia. Among the opportunities the Loft provides to the Minnesota writing community is their annual Mentor Series in Poetry & Creative Prose. There are three categories to which you can apply: poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction. Four writers are chosen from each category to work with two mentors (who are nationally acclaimed writers in that category) for one year. This is my third year applying, however, this year, I decided to up the ante and apply in two categories: poetry and creative nonfiction. The deadline is April 30th, but I’ll be in Florida that day collecting pecans out of my grandmother’s backyard to make a pecan pie, so I needed to pull a few late nights and get my submissions completed early. And, I am happy to announce that as of noon today, I officially handed over my packets containing 17 pages of poetry and 18 pages of creative nonfiction to the Loft office. Now I guess I need to think about packing since I leave tomorrow.

Last minute schedule changes are something that everyone can relate to. And quite often, they affect our meal plans. But I was happy to find a recipe in the box that accommodated a hectic lifestyle: Chocolate Outrage Snack Cake. This is actually a microwave recipe from a Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate Chip package. I’m not sure of the exact date this recipe was published, but it was quite a different baking experience than the 1930’s recipes I have been making. From start to finish, this dessert can be made in about 15 minutes. I’ve never used the microwave as a baking tool and I have to admit that I was skeptical of how this would turn out. But I was pleasantly surprised when I took a bite. This dessert is basically a gooey chocolate chip oatmeal cookie bar. I’d recommend eating it when it’s still warm because it literally melts into your mouth and chocolate flows into every nook and cranny from the tip of your tongue all the way down your throat. Yum! It definitely makes you stop and take a moment to enjoy the chocolate indulgence before you run off again in ten different directions. 

Speaking of which, I need to pack! I’ll be in the car for almost three days each way so I need to collect a stack of books to read (I’m one of the few lucky people who can read in the car). Now which ones do I choose…?

I have one more recipe to post before I go, but then I won’t be able to post again until the first week in May. I will be updating The Found Recipe Box page on Facebook though! (If you haven’t become a fan yet, be sure to check it out.) Maybe I’ll even come across a recipe box in Florida that needs a home. I’d love to have recipes for all of that amazing southern cooking!

Filling in the Holes: Jelly Roll

Spring is in the air which, at my house, means that birds are building nests and the dog is digging holes. Neither bodes well for the resale value of my house. Now that the weather is nice, Murphy insists on spending the entire day outside. It’s fine when he’s lounging on the deck in the sun or running under the phone lines as the squirrels run back and forth above his head, chuckling to themselves about the stupid dog below. But he gets bored. He wants me to sit outside with him all day, which I could easily do if I had a stack of books by my side, but there are things to do inside the house. In attempt to cure his boredom, he digs holes. Deep holes. All over the yard.

I’ve invented a game to keep the dog occupied and give him such much needed exercise. Well, it’s not so much a game as it is me standing in the middle of the deck and throwing rocks. A previous owner of the house used landscaping rocks to edge the deck. I hate them. Murphy loves them. He’s even tried to eat them, twice he was successful. As I was leaving the house on my first day of work at my last job, he puked one up. Not a good start to the day. But even more than eating them, he loves to chase them. So, from the middle of the deck, I throw rocks. Some towards the driveway, then some towards the other side, all the while Murphy thunders across the deck, back and forth, chasing rocks. He doesn’t care about catching them, he just loves the chase.

The other day, while we were playing this game, I noticed a Chickadee clinging to the side of my house. I was happy to hear the sweet call of the songbird, but I wasn’t happy to see he’d taken a page out of Murphy’s playbook and was set on destroying my house. Because when he flew away, he revealed a large hole in my siding where the cute little bird once sat. After further investigation, I learned that he had been hard at work pecking away the siding and whatever was behind it to create a little nook inside of which he intended to build a nest. And after everything I’ve done for the birds! I even purchased a special squirrel-proof feeder for the front yard and diligently refill it year round. Perhaps this is why Ryan calls them “freeloaders.”

I set Ryan to work on figuring out a way to patch the hole and I escaped to the kitchen. We spent the Easter holiday with his family and I offered to bring dessert. Ryan made a special request for Cranberry Bars and I also made a Jelly Roll. There was a variation on the back of the Jelly Roll card for a Calla Lily Cake for Easter Dessert, but I took a pass on this challenge. I decided that I wanted to use the Whipped Cream/Cream Cheese frosting instead. Aside from trying to roll the cake without breaking it, it’s really easy to make and doesn’t require much time (the baking time is only 15 minutes). And here’s a tip: you don’t need to worry about cracks that occur during the rolling process if you frost the cake – it covers them all up!

Both desserts were a hit, but I think the Cranberry Bars came out in the lead (if you haven’t tried these yet, I highly recommend them. They keep getting rave reviews! And the author of the card even wrote “very good” in the top corner.). But once the meal had been eaten and desserts devoured, it was time to come home and deal with the avian problem. A small piece of wood wedged under the siding seemed to do the trick – at least until we’re able to get the house re-sided or the Chickadees make friends with a Woodpecker and convince him make an even bigger hole. Now I just need to invest in a tennis ball launcher, customize it to throw the rocks in my backyard and then I’m all set. That would hopefully keep Murphy busy long enough for me fill the holes he dug, cover them with sod and keep them safe until the sod attaches to the existing grass. Hey, I can dream can’t I?

The Woman Behind the Box: Cheesecake Squares

Since this recipe box has come into my possession, I’ve often wondered about its previous owner. Who was she? What was her favorite recipe? Why was the box sold at an antique show instead of being passed on to a family member?  This month, I am going to answer those questions, even if the answers are only my imagination.

I am a member of the Visual Journaling Collective at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. The organizer of the group, Roz Stendahl, is also the creator of International Fake Journal Month. What that means is that for the month of April, you keep a “fake” journal. Create a character, write stories about that person’s adventures, draw from his/her perspective, and live in someone else’s life for a month. You never know where it can lead. A story that a woman started last year turned into a book and is now in the process of being published!

April is also National Poetry Month and NaPoWriMo. The later was created to honor the former and is a challenge to write one poem everyday for the month of April. April is going to be a busy month, because I’ll be taking on both of these challenges. I did this last year also, but wasn’t able to truly put my heart into it. I had recently lost my job and thought these projects would give me something positive to work toward, but early in April, my grandfather became sick and I traveled with my parents to Florida to help take care of him and my grandmother. We were there for about two weeks then needed to come home to take care of some things, but planned on heading back down. I was only back in Minnesota for about a day when I got the call that my grandfather had passed away. The next morning I was on a plane to go down for the funeral and ended up staying another two weeks to help my grandmother. Needless to say, I just didn’t have much mental energy to spend on creating a character for a journal or writing a poem everyday. Somehow, I did see both projects through to the end of the month, but this year I look forward to enjoying them a little more. And I have big plans for my fake journal. 

Like I said, it’s time to start learning more about the previous owner of the recipe box. So, for the month of April, I will be keeping a journal from her perspective. I’ve already concluded a few things about her: she liked to entertain and when invited to parties, she always offered to bring dessert. As I’ve said before, she was a woman of my own heart and had an insatiable sweet tooth. But I don’t think the similarities end there. I have felt strongly connected to this box and perhaps that is because I am more like the woman who filled it than I ever imagined. Hopefully over the course of the next month, I’ll be able to put some more of the pieces together and eventually even put a name and a face to this mysterious woman.

In her honor, I began the first day of the month with a recipe I believe she would have chosen for a festive event: Cheesecake Squares. And I shared them with people who also consider April a special month: my poetry group. The weather in Minnesota has been incredible – a snowless March, 80 degree temps today – and this cheesecake matched it well. It is light and fluffy with just a hint of fresh lemon, it tastes like summer sunshine. And it got a thumbs up from everyone in the group, in fact, they even made a special request that I make it again. I told them that when raspberries are cheaper than $5 for a tiny container, I’ll make the cheesecake and serve it with fresh fruit. That is the only topping that would complete this dessert; I think anything else would take away from its airy freshness (that’s saying a lot coming from someone who thinks that chocolate goes with everything). 

 Who knows, maybe this year I’ll be the one turning my story into a book that gets published. To give that dream a little extra help, I’m tacking a picture of a book with my name listed as the author onto my vision board. And inside, I’m adding a special dedication page with this message:

To the woman who owned The Found Recipe Box before me: thank you. I never could have done this without you. It has been an incredible journey and I’ve had you in my heart every step of the way.

Love Is… : Marzipan Valentine Dessert

 

 

When I was a kid, I remember my dad cutting out the “Love Is…” cartoons from the paper and giving them to my mom. They were stuck to the refrigerator, taped inside the cabinets, and tacked to the cork board in the kitchen. To this day, every time I see one, I think of my parents.

Love is a lot of things. Easy is not one of them. No matter what kind – romantic, family, or friendship – love takes work. It requires compassion, understanding, and forgiveness. Love can’t be one-sided, but instead must be a collaboration of hearts and minds. Love can make you feel enchanted and as if you are floating through the clouds or it can leave you in a crumpled heap on the floor drowning in your own tears. Actually, love is a lot like cooking.

I cook alone. Well, except for Murphy who sometimes stays curled up on the floor at my feet waiting for handouts. But this weekend, I had the opportunity to share my Found Recipe Box cooking experience with a good friend. My husband and I traveled to Milwaukee, WI to visit friends from college. While the boys were at a basketball game, my friend Ginger and I took on the challenge of making Marzipan Valentine Dessert. This recipe consists of a homemade sponge cake, marzipan and whipped cream.

The sponge cake recipe instructs you to bake the cake then cut it into the shape of a heart. Since this recipe was printed sometime in the 20's, 30's or 40's, they didn’t have the luxury of fancy cake pans already in the shape of hearts. I cheated and used one of those. However, I chose a pan one-size too big, which caused the cake to be thinner than the recipe suggested. Ginger and I decided we’d make some adjustments later and moved on to the marzipan.

After creating a concoction that we weren’t sure was actually marzipan and several unsuccessful attempts at trying to load the sticky mixture into a pastry bag, we were finally able to pipe an edging around the outside of the cooled cake and place another heart in the middle. It was messy and dripping down the sides but we thought, hey, who cares….we made a sponge cake and marzipan from scratch!

We topped the cake with homemade whipped cream and strawberry jam (our cake didn’t have a second layer and filling due to it being so thin) and when the boys got home from their game, we tasted our creation. It may not have been the most beautiful cake ever baked, but it surely tasted divine. And while I was savoring each bite, I thought of love. Love can be messy sometimes too, but when we tackle it together, the outcome can be as delicious as a marzipan sponge cake made from scratch. 

The next day my parents drove up from Illinois to meet Ryan and me for lunch. I feel lucky that my parents are still together and that I’ve had such great role models for my own marriage. Like every marriage, they’ve celebrated great joys and faced hardships. But they’ve traveled that road together and when they’ve come up against a wall (like a thin cake that can’t be split into two layers as the recipe instructs), they’ve made adjustments and come though to the other side with something as good, if not better, than what they originally aimed for.

I don’t see Valentine’s Day as a day to celebrate only romantic love, but family and friends as well. And don’t forget your pets! While Murphy was at camp (that’s what we call the kennel because he gets to play with his friends and it’s his most favorite place in the whole world) he made us a Valentine card. He’s such a talented dog. 

This weekend, I celebrated love and realized that it is a lot of things: a cuddly Golden Retriever, a wonderful husband, friends who stand by you no matter what, parents who are not only role models, but also your best friends, and scrumptious cake. And together, they are the ingredients for a lifetime filled with love and happiness.

A Snack to Add to Your Lineup: Cheerios Crunch

 

 

No matter which team you’re rooting for, or even if you just watch the Super Bowl for the commercials, every fan agrees on what makes a Super Bowl party a true winner: a great lineup of food. And just like with an NFL team roster, your food menu needs a wide range of talent to be successful. While digging through the recipes in the Found Recipe Box, I discovered just the thing to add to every menu. And best of all, it fits the requirements of any good party snack: easy to make, great tasting, and guests can grab a handful every time they pass the bowl. Introducing your next party MVP: Cheerios Crunch.

This recipe only has three ingredients and can be completed in about 15 minutes. The author of the recipe writes, “This is a delicious snack that tastes like caramel crunch.” I couldn’t agree more. I was skeptical at first, but after I popped a few pieces into my mouth, I was a huge fan. And every time I walked through the kitchen I grabbed a handful for me and threw a few pieces on the floor for Murphy (who figured out this game quickly and just sat in the kitchen staring at the bowl waiting for me to walk back through and sprinkle more on the floor for him).

So when you’re planning your gathering for Sunday, be sure to consider Cheerios Crunch for the guest list. It’s sure to be a crowd pleaser and won’t take much time out of your day, or money out of your wallet, to make. And if you need a break from all the pre-game chatter on the TV, flip the channel to Animal Planet and watch Puppy Bowl VI. Every year Murphy spends the afternoon trying to figure out a way to climb into the television and play with all the puppies. I wonder if he’ll give up that quest this year and just focus on trying to telepathically spill the bowl of Cheerios Crunch onto the floor instead.