Thanks to those of you who came and visited our charity bake sale. We had an absolute blast! It's amazing how great service feels. We were all nothing but smiles, and sometimes tears at how generous and kind people are. It is a great reminder that even though there is a lot of bad and ugly things in the world, that people are legitimately kind and good hearted. There were many times we were choked up when people would hand us $40 for a plate of cupcakes, or a $100's for a plate of cookies. We were all touched and thankful for so many who came and supported this great cause!
If any of you feel inclined to start this tradition in your neighborhood, I would say do it!! It was a great bonding experience for all of us, as well as our kids to work on this project together. We were thrilled when we found out we raised just under $1,000! We can't wait to see if we can do even better next year :) I am grateful for great friends who are so supportive of our crazy ideas! We were so glad our friend Millan and her baby Rodney (from Haiti) could be there to see everyone's support.
We kept losing Blake with all of the people, so someone had a brilliant idea to tie balloons to him so we would always know where he was. I need to do this more often!!
The kids had a fun time on the corner trying to direct traffic to our sale. A few of them even thought if they dressed up in costumes they would get more customers. I think the hot dog costume did the trick :O)
Now..let's talk amazing food! We had seven tables filled with some of the most delicious treats and food we have ever tasted. Several items were huge hits! Homemade wheat bread were some of the first to go, we will have to make several more loaves next year. My friend Camille's Cinnamon Rolls were gone before you could blink an eye. We also had banana bread, chocolate chips cookies, pizza rolls, calzones, chocolate mint brownies, breadsticks and MUCH more!I am excited to share two new recipes that were sold at our bake sale that were BIG hits! First, are my friend Betsy's Cherry Brownies. They are super simple to make, but so moist and delicious we all couldn't get enough.
Cherry Chocolate Chip Brownies
1 box brownies (any brand will do)
1 can cherry pie filling
1 c. chocolate chips
Follow the directions on the brownie box, except omit the water (add the eggs and oil). Then add the can of cherry pie filling and chocolate chips. Bake in a greased 9x13 pan and bake according to the brownie directions (you might need a few more minutes since it is so moist). Once baked, cool until chilled and ready to frost.
Cherry Frosting:
4-6 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 T. softened butter
1 1/2 t. almond extract
Powdered sugar
Maraschino cherry juice (as needed)
Cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the extract and powdered sugar (about 1-1 1/2 lbs.). Add maraschino cherry juice and more powdered sugar until the frosting is a soft and smooth texture. Once the brownies are cool, frost with the frosting.
If you want to be extra fancy, drizzle the top of the brownies with melted chocolate or chopped maraschino cherries.
The second recipe we all loved was my friend Chrystal's recipe for Butterscotch Bars. They are buttery, rich & amazing! The jelly roll sized pan was sold before the first 15 minutes were up. Next year, we'll have to make a few more batches :)Butterscotch Bars
4 sticks butter, melted
4 c. flour
1 c. sugar
Dash of salt
Melt the butter and place in a bowl. Add the flour, sugar and salt and mix together with a hand blender until combined and a little crumbly (it will still be soft though). Press half of the dough mixture into the bottom of a greased jelly roll (cookie sheet) pan (this recipe can be halved and done in a 9x13 pan). Bake at 350 for 7 minutes (it will look slightly underdone, but that is okay). While the crust is baking, mix together in a sauce pan over low heat the following:
2 cans sweetened condensed milk
1 bag of white chocolate chips (divided in half)
1 bag of milk chocolate chips (divided in half)
1 bag of butterscotch chocolate chips (divided in half)
Cook on low the milk and half of each bag of chooclate chips, until the chips are melted smooth. Once the crust is done being baked, remove from the oven and pour the chocolate chip mixture on top of the crust. Sprinkle the remaining crust mixture on top of the choclate layer. You will not be able to cover the entire top and that is okay. Sprinkle the rest of each bag of chocolate chips on top of the crust. Continue baking for another 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit over night or in the fridge until it sets up. Once it is set, cut into squares and serve.
(Our crazy cousin clan with 11 boys & now 5 girls (12 yrs. & under)--we are a noisy bunch to say the least!)
Okay, now for a delicious 
Mexican rice at our house has become a touchy subject until...last night. As each good wife does when you first marry you make the standard recipes your mom used to make. Well, years go by and I finally caught on to the fact that I was the ONLY one eating the Mexican rice at dinner. My husband admitted that he only believes in eating rice that actually has flavor. So I went on a hunt and experimenting to find a side dish that pleased me and his taste buds. Let's just say after some tweaking and adding jalapenos this was delicious. 
