Frozen Chocolate Mocha Dessert

I tried this new recipe this week, and it is a definite keeper. The recipe is easy, requires no baking, and is delicious! Perfect for a hot day. I only remembered to fold in the whipped cream after I had sprinkled the remaining crumbs on top, so the crumbs got folded in with the whipped cream. That's why mine doesn't have crumbs on the top

Frozen Chocolate Mocha Dessert

Crust:
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat (or in a microwave). Stir in crumbs, sugar, and cocoa. Reserve half a cup of the crumbs. Press remaining crumbs into the bottom of an ungreased 9 inch springform pan.

Filling:
1- 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1 - 11 oz (300 ml) can sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup chocolate syrup
1 tbsp instant coffee dissolved in 1 tsp of hot water
1 cup whipping cream (or 1 envelope of topping)

Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in milk and syrup. Add coffee to mixture. Beat whipping cream until stiff. Fold into cheese batter. Pour into prepared pan. Scatter reserved crumbs on top. Freeze. Drizzle chocolate syrup to garnish just before serving. This is a great make ahead dessert!

After Organizing the Chaos

Remember THIS huge mess? Well, after spending the last week in the basement, that huge mess has turned into this. Ahh...I feel like I can breathe again when I go down there!






The sewing/spare room.



Then I went a little label crazy. I like this so much better than before, though. Now there is a place for everything. I went really label crazy and even labeled some of the dresser drawers in the spare room (where I keep some craft things, manuals, videos, etc.), but my husband wisely suggested that that wasn't the best idea.

And while I was in the mood for labeling, I figured I'd organize a few cupboards and label containers, too.

I also organized and, of course, labeled the space above our coat closet.

I am trying to get to the point where there is "a place for everything and everything in its place." I am slowly, slowly getting there. My next plan is to try implementing an index card system where every single box has a corresponding index card that lists all the contents of each box. That will be a very big project. But for now, I have plenty of other things to catch up on, namely, gardening and yard work. Oh...and experimenting with canning. And...experimenting with sewing. And..practicing the piano...and attempting to keep a journal again. And...reading some of those books I've been meaning to read. And...training to run 10K. Well...you get the idea. Too many things I want to do and too little time!

Menu Plan Monday (July 26)

Last week's menu went smoothly, with only one change. Instead of bbqing hamburgers, I decided to make crepes with blueberries, strawberries, and whipped cream. I'm determined to avoid the grocery store this week if at all possible, so my menu is planned with that in mind.

Here is the plan this week:

Sunday, July 25
Lunch: Leftover crepes
Supper: Grilled Chicken Sandwiches (bbqed), Homemade Onion Rings with Dipping Sauce, Caesar Salad
Note: Since we had these yesterday, I can tell you that the homemade onion rings were so good! This is only the 2nd time I've made onion rings, and I definitely prefer this recipe out of the 2 I've tried. It is very time consuming, messy, and unhealthy, however, so I probably won't make them for a really, really, long time (like next year!).

Monday, July 26
Pasta and Pasta Sauce, Salad

Tuesday, July 27
Shepherd's Pie (new - recipe to come), Salad

Wednesday, July 28
Leftovers

Thursday, July 29
Easy Curry Chicken (my hubby's fave -recipe to come), Rice, Salad

Friday, July 30
Tuna Macaroni Casserole (recipe to come), Salad

Saturday, July 31
Leftovers

Desserts/Baking

Frozen Chocolate Mocha Dessert (recipe to come if it turns out)
Whole Wheat Bread (maybe)
Pita Bread (maybe)

Sorry for the lack of recipe links this week. I'm in a bit of a hurry and don't have time to post them right now. Hopefully I'll get around to posting them later in the week, but for now, I'm off to enjoy the day!

*For more great meal ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday hosted by orgjunkie.com*

Blog Formatting

Hmm...For some reason there is a photobucket message showing on my blog that I have no idea how to get rid of. I don't know how it got there or why it's there. It is annoying me, but I haven't yet figured out how to get rid of it. I may have to change my blog format and design a bit, so bear with me while I get this all figured out. I don't have time right now, but hopefully I'll get around to it in the next week or so.

*Update* I think I figured out the issue. Now I'm just going to play around a bit with the background to my blog until I find one that I like.

Organizing the Chaos

If you were looking for me this past week, you would have found me in my basement tackling this huge disaster. I am nearly finished with organizing all this, so hopefully I'll have the "after" pictures up in the next few days. For now, here are the "before" pictures. What a mess!

Here's the main area with all kinds of "stuff" that needs to be organized.

Office area that needs major help.


I can't wait to show you my "after" pictures. I feel like I can breathe again when I go down there now. Having a big cluttered mess like that just drives me crazy! Well, I must get back to the basement to continue my big project. Meanwhile, if you have a few minutes, feel free to check out one of my favourite organizing websites, The Organizing Junkie.

Menu Plan Monday (July 19)

Last week's recipe highlight was Fettuccine Alfredo with Golden Garlic Bread, which was SO good! I hope to post the recipe for the Alfredo sauce later this week. The sauce was delicious; my only complaint was that it thickened up a bit too much, so I think I'll tweak the recipe slightly to fix that problem. You'll notice we are having lots of salad this week. That is because our garden has produced quite a bit of lettuce, but last week I forgot about the lettuce in our garden and accidentally bought some at the grocery store. Oops. This week is fairly simple because I'm hoping to devote most of my time to doing some serious organizing in my house this week.

Here's the plan for this week:

Sunday, July 18
Lunch: Leftover Homemade Pizza
Supper: Visiting family

Monday, July 19
Easy Cream of Tomato Soup (scroll down on link for recipe), Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Tuesday, July 20
Homemade Buffalo Chicken Fingers (didn't get made last week b/c we still had leftovers, Salad

Wednesday, July 21
Lemon Dill Pollock, Oven-Fried Potato Wedges, Salad

Thursday, July 22
Au Gratin Sausage Skillet (using leftover sausage from freezer), Salad

Friday, July 23
Leftover Sausage Skillet

Saturday, July 24
BBQing Hamburgers (weather permitting), Caesar Salad

Baking/Desserts/Other
Blueberry Cobbler (recipe to come)
Lemon Dessert (recipe to come)
Strawberry Rhubarb Jam (if I have time this week)

*For more great meal ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday hosted by orgjunkie.com*

Golden Garlic Bread

I just tried this recipe (out of a church cookbook) last night to go with our Fettuccine Alfredo. This garlic/cheese bread was AWESOME! I highly, highly recommend this recipe. It's very easy to make and the cheese mixture can be made ahead of time, too. I made half of this recipe, which did 4 pieces of the bread, and I still had lots leftover.

Golden Garlic Bread

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp Italian seasoning
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 green onions, chopped
1 Loaf of French bread (I used sour dough), cut in 3/4 inch slices

Beat together butter and mayonnaise. Stir in seasoning, garlic, cheeses, and onion. Spread on bread slices. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Broil for 3-5 minutes, or until lightly browned and bubbly. Cheese mixture keeps well in the fridge.