peanut butter cookie dough chocolate balls

The other day my teenager agreed to bring a treat to boy scouts.  I asked him what he was going to make and he gave me a blank stare.  I said I was not going to the store.  If he wanted to bring a treat, he'd have to make it. (Of course I ended up going to the store anyway because I had to get a soccer ball for my youngest son's practice.  But the soccer balls and the treat type stuff are on opposite ends of the store and we were in a hurry. It's a big store.  Also I wanted discourage my son from volunteering me for things without checking to see if it's okay first.)

My husband was against bringing a treat.  I think he never got treats in scouts.  In his day they had to forage for treats in the forest.  Mmmm...bark.

Anyway, my son wanted to make these peanut butter cookie dough chocolate balls.  (First I made him double check that the kid with peanut allergies wouldn't be there.  He's in an older group now so we were safe.)

My teenager took charge and with some (a lot) help from me, we made these. (The cookie dough recipe is a slightly modified version of  this.)

The scouts loved them. This recipe makes about 50 so you might want to half it if you don't have a big crowd to feed.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Chocolate Balls.  (That takes forever to type.)

1/4 cup softened butter (if your butter isn't salted then add 1/4 teaspoon of salt)
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour
2 cups chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate but it's just a matter of taste)
2 T coconut oil (You could use Crisco if you don't have coconut oil but I like coconut oil better.)

Cream butter and peanut butter.  Add granulated sugar and brown sugar.  Beat until fluffy. Mix in milk, vanilla, and then flour. Form dough into balls.  (I used a melon ball scoop.)

Melt chocolate chips and coconut oil.  Dip peanut butter balls in chocolate.  Set on waxed paper.  Keep refrigerated.

The chocolate mixture is also great with strawberries and chocolate molds.

Goblin Valley

I took a hiking class when I was in college.  My plan was to get an easy A. The main event of this class a backpacking trip where we hike out to a place unknown, camp, and hike back.  While I preferred to skip all the hiking and sleep in my own bed, I had to go to pass the class.  I borrowed my brothers Boy Scout pack, stuffed it with food and water, and tied on a sleeping bag. It weighed more than I did. 

On the way to the Cliffs of Insanity San Rafael Swell we drove past a valley full of strange rock formations.  It looked like an awesome place to visit.  My classmates told me the cool place was Goblin Valley but we weren’t going there. We were going to hike through the sandy desert and go up a cliff with ropes.  No one mentioned ropes or climbing or hiking with a pack that weighed more than me or camping in a place that didn’t even have outhouses (which is difficult for people like me who are female.) By the end of the trip I was content with being alive. (And yes, I passed the class.)

My husband goes through this thing every spring where he needs to get out of the house and DO something.  (Yes, it’s necessary to put DO in all caps.  If you know him, you’ll understand.) My idea of doing something involves a book and a comfy couch.  His idea of doing something involves a lot of walking and places without bathrooms.  As soon as he got that look in his eye I knew I had to hurry up with a suggestion before we ended up on a dirt road somewhere in the middle of nowhere.  I suggested the first place that came to mind: Goblin Valley. He’d never heard of it (probably because it has bathrooms) but he agreed to try it out anyway.

I made some reservations for the only hotel nearby that still had vacancies and we made the 4 hour drive (plus a few hours to tour a museum in Price and potty breaks along the way) to Green River, Utah.  But Green River wasn’t exactly what I pictured.  I was thinking cute little tourist town.  Instead we found this.

I didn’t take this picture.  There wasn't anything in Green River that inspired me to figure out how to use my new camera.  This is a picture I found on the Internet of one of the abandoned Green Valley businesses.  I do remember driving past this place.

The hotel we stayed at was also half abandoned.  One building was blocked off because the balcony was falling over.  The floor inside the hall felt like it was about to collapse.   My husband tried to plug in his lamp and got a shower of sparks from the plug.  That was the only shower we got there since the water in the tub oozed from the faucet like mud.  Now we know why they still had vacancies.

While the hotel left a lot to be desired (like clean water), Goblin Valley turned out to be the place of Awesomeness I’d always dreamed of.  The most popular place was the bathrooms.  You should have seen that line.  Everyone wanted to use them. 

Here are some shots of us in Goblin Valley.

Here's me with the Goblins.

Laying down counts as doing something as long as it's outside and there aren't books involved.

A lot of people were playing hide and seek among the goblins.  We played Where's Waldo.

My two youngest sporting their Jr. Ranger badges.
The Jr. Ranger booklets were handy when we were in line for the bathrooms.

The kids loved climbing on the Goblins and exploring the area.  It was like a giant playground.  There is even sand for the kids to play in.

 I would definitely recommend a trip to Goblin Valley, but read the reviews for the hotels before you stay in Green River.  There were a few hotels that looked decent - just not the one where we stayed.  There is also a campground (with bathrooms) next to Goblin Valley.

Making the most of Pinterest

I'm still pretty new at this Pinterest thing but I'm already in love.  My family likes it too - especially when I try dessert recipes.  But my food board was getting cluttered.  I had pins that I've tried, pins I might want to try, and pins I probably won't try (like the ones with vegetables) but like to pretend I will.  It was hard to sort through them all. (Plus I get hungry about half way down the board and have to get a snack.)

Anyway, I created a new board called Food pins I've tried.  I put comments on the pins in case anyone wonders how it worked, how I did it differently, or I need the recipe again.  I also did something similar with my craft and DIY pins. This way I can browse through pins I haven't tried without deleting the pins I have tried.

Happy pinning!

Gopher Wars round one

(If you're looking for a tutorial on how to make the vases/candle holders go here)

Spring is one of my favorite times of the year.   I love seeing green pop up from the ground.  The voles or gophers (depending on the side of my house) have eaten all my tulip bulbs (Curse them). But they did leave the daffodils.  I think daffodils are poisonous - which is why they're still there.

I am going to plant more poisonous plants this year.  I bought a fox glove plant a few years ago and a gopher ate the roots.  The plant died but I believe the gopher did too. It was a wonderful year for my garden.  Last year I looked for more fox glove but no one carried it - much to my horror.  It was not a wonderful year for my garden.

This is a bad picture since I took it through the window.  (The grass is greener from the other side.) You can see how the gophers have torn up our grass. Stupid gopher. The voles are bad too, but they don't wreck as much havoc on my lawn.  

The cat above is not my cat. It only visits sporadically and is the only reason we have any grass left.  The cat below is my cat. (Yes, those are fangs.  Yes they are always sticking out like that.  No he isn't a vampire kitty.  He's far too lazy. He is also scared of gophers.)

So this year I ordered fox glove seeds online. Stray cats are smart enough to not eat the poisonous plants and my kitty is far too lazy to go out that far in the yard.  I haven't seen any gophers yet but I know they're out there waiting for me to plant some juicy potatoes.  I wonder if my local nursery carries deadly night shade...

You keep writing that word...

It's obvious you don't know what it means*.  The English language is weird, my friends, and I don't claim to know all the rules.  There is one little word that is consistently abused and I think we should put a stop to it. I'm talking about the word too. Too is interchangeable with the word also or can indicate when something is more.  For example: too funny. The picture in question is too funny to be called just funny. If you say to funny, people will wonder who funny is.  To is directional. I'm going to the store. I'm writing this to you.

*When I say you, I mean the person on the internet who insists on leaving off an o in their comments.  I'm not mocking you.  Now, if you should tattoo it to your arm, I would mock you.

Permanent Fail

Bwahahahahaha

Kid crafts: Easter luminaries

My son was scared of monsters when he was little so I made a lamp for him that would scare them away. I found the idea for in a craft book we got from the library.  I wish I could remember the name. I do know that it was a Muppet craft book. The lamp has been well loved and he has since passed it on to his little brother.  

I love how it looks when it is turned on so I've been looking for ways to reproduce the effect.  I've been thinking about using round glass dishes for a Halloween project but I really love spring colors so I decided to go with an Easter theme instead.  I'll probably do these again for Halloween anyway.  They'd make really cute Jack-O-Lanterns.

Here's what you need: Tissue paper, glass bowls (I found these at Walmart for 97 cents each.  I'm sure you could find some for less at a second hand store.), Mod Podge (you can also use Elmer's glue mixed with water - half and half.), paint brushes, lights (I'm using lilac scented candles. Those cute little battery operated tea lights would would well too.)

I'm not entirely sure what my little one was doing with his arms in this next picture.  He may or may not have glued his hand to his head.  

Step 1: Paint Mod Podge on the glass.

Step 2: Rip little pieces of tissue paper and stick them to the glass.Cover with more Mod Podge.

My son actually used one big piece for the whole thing.  As long as the tissue paper is thoroughly soaked, it doesn't matter.  I thought the stripe affect was cute.

(My apologies for this blurry picture.  I actually ordered a new camera today! I do hope it arrives quickly.)  

Step 4: Let dry

Step 5: Complain about camera that takes blurry pictures.  Put candles inside and light them.

Step 6: Enjoy!

I'm adding one more picture with some daffodils from my garden.  I got them to stay together by putting a rubber band around their stems.

Like it?  

My child is now a teenager.

Well, it happened.  My oldest child is no longer a child.  He's a teenager - which is weird because kindergarten doesn't seem like that far away. (Okay, that was his little brother.  They all start to blend together after a while.) His favorite song went from Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to something I can't understand and-gives-me-a-headache (played on YouTube over and over and over...).

I knew this day was coming (mostly because he reminded me often) and wasn't looking forward to it.  I've heard that the little person you know and love disappears when they turn into teenagers. So we've been working hard to find a happy parenting place between "Let me wash your face with my spit" and "Wash the table, clean the toilet, shovel the snow, scrub the walls..." (There is a happy parenting place, isn't there?  Please say yes.)

A few months ago, I knew I was going to be gone when he got home from school and I worried he might not be able to get in the house.  He has a key but I knew he'd taken it out of his backpack a few days before and I wasn't sure if the key had made its way back. We have a coded key pad on the garage but the batteries had been dead for quite some time.

Several things went through my head.
1 - He could sit on the porch swing in the snow wondering where I was and why I would leave him out in the cold.
2- He could get sick.
3- He could talk to a stranger.
4- Some other kid could come along, offer him drugs, and drag him down a sad, sad path of destruction that we could have avoided had he been safe inside the house.

I thought a little too much about number 4. Now granted, he's a smart kid.  He's a 7th grader in 8th grade honors math.  But he doesn't always brush his teeth.  Teeth brushing is always a sign of things to come - even if it's just cavities.

Fortunately, we had batteries for the key pad on the garage. Unfortunately, I wasn't sure if he would go over there to see if it worked.  I could leave a note on the door for him but that would be like leaving a note for all the burglars in the area.

Dear Burglars: No one is currently home.  Please help yourself to our stuff.  We also have some nice sandwich meat in the fridge. Oh, and our young son will soon be home ALONE. Please come and influence him for bad. Sincerely: some honest tax payers.

Granted the note would have said something else but notes are so much more than the words written on them.  I wrote a note to my daughter this morning that I attached to the assignment she forgot to take to school today. The words said:  In exchange for the delivery of this assignment (that I already reminded you to take to school), you get to clean out the van. ♥ Mom.  The message says: Stop being a slacker and listen to me. ♥Mom.

A note on the door was obviously a no-go. So I opted to send him a text. Previous texts I have sent consisted of one or two words.  I'm not exactly tech savvy.  (Also the burglars would have been super disappointed to find that our stuff consisted of a PS2, a N64, and a TV from Walmart.) I do know, however, that teenagers have a special text language that consists of removing most vowels and using the wrong homophones.  I wanted to be sure he got my message (this is his future on the line) so I worked hard to use his language. I even figured out how to backspace on my phone so I could use ur instead of your. Hitting send was a proud moment for me.  It meant I was a good mom.  A caring mom.  A mom who would see her child make good life choices and not talk to strangers.

When I got home, I was happy to see him inside and safe.  I asked him how he got inside.  He said he'd put his key back in his backpack so he had no problem. Still under the heady influence of my stellar parenting skills, I asked him if he got my text.  He said no.  The batteries to his phone were dead. Yep, we're still looking for that happy parenting place. I'm hoping we'll find it before our youngest goes to college.