Holiday School Gifts

We have a big, amazing team that work with Corinne at school. So, I was having a hard time deciding how to send them nice holiday greetings. I decided on the treats and packaging above. The treats are rolls melted on parchment for 5 minutes at 300 degrees with a pretzel pushed on top when they come out. They are easy and yummy. I put them in cellophane bags and created the bag topper. It is like a greeting card, folded in half with one side printed upside down so it fold correctly. Then a staple or two to hold it in place and TA DA. They were a well received little treat.

Holidays are coming

I guess I am due for a another regular sort of update entry in addition to a recipe.

It has been a while. School is going great for Corinne. The long holiday weekend was hard for her. I am not sure what we will do over Christmas break.

I have been working out while Corinne is in school. The place I am going the instructors are mean to you and for some reason that is keeping me motivated. They push and I like it. I feel great and can do 10 pushups. You have to start somewhere.

We hosted Thanksgiving again this year. I love having everyone over for turkey day. Kevin grills / smokes the bird perfectly and I think all the side dishes are fun to play with. This year I made rolls from scratch and put things we are thankful for inside them. I may post that recipe sometime. It was fun to open a roll like a fortune cookie and everyone read a thankful thing.

I surprised Kevin for his birthday and took him to the shooting range and to see "Harold and Kumar" in 3D. I had never held or fired a gun before. It was a whole new experience. We had fun, and I killed a bear :)

We also found and decorated the world's most perfect christmas tree of the weekend. I smile every time I look at it.


Happy Birthday, Kevin. I love you!

Happy Birthday, Kevin

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting



Yield: 18 cupcakes

For the filling:
~2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
~1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
~2 tablespoons butter, softened

Frosting:
~8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
~4 tablespoons butter, softened
~1/2 cup peanut butter
~2 cups powdered sugar
~1 cup cool whip

1. Prepare Filling: In bowl, with mixer on medium speed, mix confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, and 2 tablespoons butter until blended. Shape mixture into 18 balls. Set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (or get your cupcake maker out). Line 18 standard muffin-pan cups with fluted paper liners.

3. Prepare boxed brownie mix as directed on package.

4. Spoon batter into each muffin-pan cup, about 1/4 full. Have your assistant (Corinne did an awesome job) drop 1 peanut butter ball in center of each cup and top with enough batter to cover the ball (2/3 full total). Bake cupcakes 30 to 35 minutes (20 minutes in the cupcake maker) or until toothpick inserted in cupcake comes out clean. Immediately remove cupcakes from pans and cool completely on wire rack.

5. When cupcakes are cool, prepare frosting. In large bowl, with mixer on medium-low speed, beat butter, cream cheese, and peanut butter until smooth and blended. Add powdered sugar slowly, incorporating fully after each addition. Add cool whip and beat until smooth and creamy. Frosts cupcakes. I did put the frosting in a ziploc and cut the corner to get the lovely piping you see below.