A bit of Heaven!!

I'm not one to put alot of recipes on our blog, in fact i've never done it before, but with this recipe it was love at first bite! Oh, they are delicious. I gave Alisha, my sister "The World-Wide Ward Cookbook" (found at your local Costco) for her birthday and so I looked through it for a minute before I wrapped it and found this recipe so i wrote it down (would that be considered re-gifting). She called me this week and said that she had made a yummy recipe from the cookbook that was fabulous and come to find out it was the same recipe!! Good minds think alike huh! I also took a few pieces of this recipe to my Mom and she called me later that day struggling to save a few for my Dad! On to the revelation of what kind of recipe it is....drum-roll please....

Layered Mint Chocolate Brownies

Brownie
1 cup butter, melted
2/3 cup coco powder
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
Mix butter, coco and sugar well. Add eggs (one at a time) beating well after each one. Stir in flour. Spread into a greased 9X13 pan (I used my pampered chef bar pan and it turned out well). Bake on 350 for 25 minutes. Let cool completely.

Mint Frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 pound powdered sugar
1-3 Tbsp milk
1/2 tsp mint extract
green food coloring
Mix butter and powdered sugar. Add only enough milk to make a smooth consistency. Add mint extract and enough food coloring for a light green color. Frosting will be thick. Spread over brownies. Refrigerate until firm (i thought this step was silly as I could let it just sit on the counter for a bit, but it is necessary).

Chocolate Topping
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter
Melt chocolate chips and butter in microwave for 2-3 minutes. Stir well to combine. Pour over the cold, frosted brownies. Refrigerate until topping is set and hard.

So they are a bit of work, but they are so worth it and they turn-out looking impressive too! If you make them, let me know what you think!!
Oh yeah, and if I were better at the recipe posting, i would have taken a picture of them...sorry!

February's Update

It doesn't seem possible that we are already into March...although i won't complain because we're yet another month closer to warm weather and being able to go outside without taking half an hour to get bundled up! We are doing well, just trying to keep up with"Mr. Busy Body" aka Noah. He is getting so big and is so active. It seems like overnight he went from a little boy who just took everything in to a little boy who now has to be into everything...he keeps me busy and on my toes, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I love to see him figure things out and the smile that comes across his face as he does.

Noah has had ear infections since early December and antibiotics wern't helping. Given Clair's history with horrible ear infections and problems our pediatrician referred us to an ENT to consider having tubes put in. Noah did so well letting the Dr's check his ears and run their pressure tests, which he of course failed. In a last ditch effort, the Dr. wanted to try ear drops for a week and then re-check and re-test his ears. After 10 days we went back and Noah's ears had cleared up perfectly and the infection was gone as well as the pressure on the ear drums. Both the Dr. and I were so surprised and elated that he wasn't going to need surgery! Our prayers were answered and our little guy is completely healthy!

Really...need i say more?

This was our first day of swimming lessons! I will admit, the water was cold, but he did great! By the end of the lesson, his lips were purple and he was shivering, but all in all he enjoyed it and so did I. Clair and I love the water so it's important to us that Noah enjoys it and is comfortable getting in and swimming on his own. It's also alot of fun having Taylor in the class. Her and Noah are such good buddies and don't see each other as much as they used to, but they are always excited to be together when they are. If anyone is interested in taking lessons in Spring with us (the parent-tot class), let me know because we would love to take classes with you!

Noah has become my little helper. He has an infatuation with the laundry i've folded (he enjoys un-folding it), the vacuum, and the dishwasher. Maybe he'll grow-up and have a cleaning business, who knows, but i love having him at my side wanting to be in the action and helping me out even though it takes me four times as long to get anything done! I can't say it enough how he has enriched my life and makes me a better person. I LOVE being a Mom. Call me biased, but i think he's the cutest kid ever!