Happy Valentine's Day!

Today was a busy and eventful day, to say the least. I "borrowed" this idea from a friend. I ran out and left this little goody in Darren's truck so he had a nice surprise when he got in to go to work, while he and Denver were still sleeping. Then I ran back inside and started making breakfast so that Darren would have a good breakfast to wake up to. I decided on red velvet chocolate chip shaped pancakes and bacon (his favorite). I found the pancake recipe on Pinterest, and decided to try it for the first time. Little did I know how interesting it would turn out to be. I got the batter all mixed up in a batter bowl. The color was nice and pretty and it smelled delicious so I was excited to get started. I decided to use this pancake "pen" that Darren bought me while we were Christmas shopping. It seemed like a good idea at the time so that I could free hand some hearts. I even got a couple of pretty good ones. This is my first free handed heart. It never occurred to me that the chocolate chips would get stuck in the tip of the pen, but they did. And of course, when one got stuck, it didn't occur to me that it was a chocolate chip. I thought the batter might have gotten a little thick and just needed a little "help" getting out, so of course - I just squeezed harder. That turned out to be a really bad move because all of a sudden there was a "pop" and the pen EXPLODED with RED batter. I had red velvet pancake batter everywhere! Seriously... In my hair, on my face, on my shirt and hands, on the counter, my stand mixer, my knife block, the cabinets, the wall...it was seriously disasterous. I went to the sink to get all cleaned up and get some wet paper towels and some clorox wipes and wiped up everything I could see, then hurried back to the (still hot) griddle to finish the pancakes that were on it. I was able to clean up the pen and pour the batter that was left, back into my batter bowl. I poured some batter out of the bowl onto the griddle to try my luck again. These pancakes are straight from the bowl. I think they actually turned out pretty good. The only problem I was having then is the batter that was all over my shirt and getting onto the counter as I leaned over it. I wound up taking my shirt off to finish cooking breakfast. Cute picture, huh? I got the bacon out, put it on the bacon plate, wrapped it in paper towel and popped it into the microwave. When it was done, I got it out of the microwave and went to set it down on the stove while my hand slipped and I spilled bacon grease ALL over my entire stove. Oh, is Valentine's Day over yet? Despite all of my struggles, I was able to come up with a nice Valentine's breakfast for D, without him knowing any different. I just wonder why you don't see stuff like this on the Food Network. I mean, isn't this the kind of stuff that REALLY happens in the kitchen! :) It does in mine, anyway. Denver and I got ready, after Darren left for work and went to see a friend in the hospital and take her some balloons. I made sure we took a picture of my cute boy first. Denver's 1st Valentine's Day! After the hospital, we stopped at my sister's house to see my niece and nephew and visit for a bit. Denver sat in Matt's baby popizan (sp?) chair and LOVED it. He thought he was super cool. He looks like such a big boy! All of our adventures wore him out and he slept through our entire trip to Target. :) I rushed home fed and bathed Denver, and let him play while I made D a nice dinner. I made lemon butter shrimp with heart shaped red and white pasta. This is how it came out... The pasta was super cute. I got it at HomeGoods for $3.99/bag. I was able to get Denver to sleep while the shrimp were in the oven and when D got home this is what he saw... An adorable Valentine pj clad sleeping boy and a yummy dinner. All in all, it was a very busy, very eventful Valentine's Day! Hope y'all had a great one!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We were able to hear the baby's heart beat for the very first time today. Unfortunately, they didn't put sound on this video but you can see the baby's movement. What a wonderful present for Valentine's day - to get to hear our little munchkin! We are so blessed and are so in love with this little person. Hope all of you are having a wonderful day as well. Happy Valentine's Day!

Favorite Ingredient Friday - Valentine's Day Chocolate Edition

Ok, so I realize I am a couple of days late, but things were entirely too busy on Friday for me to get this posted, so here it is today:

I made this dessert, for the guys at my work one day and the WHOLE thing was gone before 9am! A few weeks later, I made it for a cookout that Darren and I went to at a friend's house. It was a big hit there as well. This is super easy, very quick to make and absolutely delicious! Give it a try.

Chocolate Trifle

Ingredients:

1. 1 package fudge brownie mix
2. 1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
3. ½ cup water
4. 1 can sweetened condensed milk
5. 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
6. 1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
7. 1 chocolate bar

Directions:

• Prepare fudge brownie mix according to package directions and cool completely.
• Cut into 1 inch squares.
• In a large bowl, combine pudding mix, water and sweetened condensed milk.
• Mix until smooth, then fold in 8 ounces whipped topping until no streaks remain.
• In a trifle bowl or glass serving dish, place half of the brownies, half of the pudding mixture and half of the 12 ounce container of whipped topping.
• Repeat layers.
• Shave chocolate onto top layer for garnish.
• Refrigerate 8 hours before serving.

Enjoy!