11.25.2010

Thanksgiving Baking Failure...

My part for Thanksgiving dinner this year was to bring a dessert.  Not the turkey, not a side, but dessert.  Sounds easy, right??  Wrong.  At least for me...

Yesterday morning I was talking to my mom and we were discussing ideas for something I could bring that would be fairly easy and delicious.  Last weekend she had made this recipe for a party at her house and they truly were yummy.  I'm heading to my in-laws today and this dessert seemed perfect.  Someone else was already bringing a pie and I thought to myself, "who doesn't love anything with chocolate??"

I made note of all the ingredients and Ryan and I headed to the store after running a few errands yesterday afternoon.  As expected, the grocery store was packed but we managed to get in and out in a descent time. I had most of these ingredients at home but needed to pick up a few of the items.  We first stood in the baking aisle forever trying to find heath bits o'brickle.  We never ended up finding this exact bag but I think we found something comparable.  The next thing we  needed was eggs and milk.  We wandered over and grabbed a few eggs but couldn't find the milk.  I debated googling Eagle Brand milk but decided against it since 8 million people were standing around so I just grabbed a Kroger brand bottle of 2% milk.  I told myself Eagle Brand must be a specific brand found in Arkansas and that the Kroger brand would be just fine as a substitute.  Big mistake....

1 yellow cake mix
1 egg
1/3 c. butter
1 (14 oz.) Eagle Brand milk
1 c. chopped pecans
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1/2 c. Heath Bits O' Brickle
After following all the instructions I carefully placed the pan in the oven to bake for 30-35 minutes.  I thought it looked a little funny but convinced myself it was fine.  35 minutes later I pulled the pan out of the oven and knew something wasn't right.  I quickly took a picture and sent it to my mom asking her if hers looked like this last weekend.

She was nice and responded that hers was a little browner and that maybe I needed to put it back in the oven.  We wrote back and forth a few times then she just called me. We went over the recipe and decided I had done everything right.  Then she asked me if I had used sweetened condensed milk or evaporated milk because that might have made a difference.  I told her I used 2% milk.  And she laughed.  Then I laughed.  Then I decided that I should have just picked up a cheesecake to bring for dessert.

The first batch.  And yes, it was terrible....


I was then determined that I was going to make something for dessert and wasn't going to give up.  I asked Ryan if he would so kindly go back to the grocery store to pick up Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk and another box of cake mix.  If only you could have seen the look he gave me....

I grabbed my keys and braved the crowds once more.

I came home, popped open a Corona, and pulled out my already washed baking bowls and utensils.... 


I also decided to take pics along the way in case anyone else wants to make this recipe. 


Please note that if you use regular 2% milk it does NOT look like this.  If only I had taken a pic the first go round.  This is what it should look like if you use Eagle Brand milk....


Ready to go in the oven!  Once again, if you use regular milk it is much runnier than this.  I also used chocolate chips this time instead of pecans. 


And here's Benny!  He was always near the action in case I accidentally dropped something....


Right out of the oven... 


And the finished product!  I was actually able to cut these up.  They weren't runny and doughy like the first batch!  And yes, they are delicious.  I may have sampled one or two this morning :)


I also want to say Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!  Ryan and I are so blessed and we are looking forward to spending the day with his family and then my family tomorrow.

11.18.2010

New York, New York!

Ryan and I have always talked about going to New York City around Christmas time and we are actually making it happen this year.  We went last summer and loved every second of it but also want to experience the big city amongst all the holiday lights and festivities.

At this point we have two round trip tickets and a hotel but now we are looking for a few restaurant suggestions.  Dining is very important to us while traveling and we want to make sure we get it right :)

On our last venture to the big apple we had some great recommendations by Militini but we are looking for something new this time.  So far I have a few ideas from a friend of mine from college that actually lives in the city but I would also love to hear suggestions from anyone else!


11.17.2010

Back in the Groove...

My lack of posting on my training for the half-marathon has been reflective of how my actual training has been going...  I can come up with many excuses but I've just simply had a hard time getting my runs in throughout the week.  And because of that my longer runs on the weekend have struggled.  Well, that is all about to change and I think I have finally found my groove and I'm in love with running again.  It's a good thing too because the race is 10 weeks away! 

I have a feeling the cooler weather has something to do with it as I've had some really great runs this past week.  This past Saturday I managed to get in an 8 mile run and I couldn't have done it without my running partner...
He looks a little sad here but I swear he wasn't even one bit phased after running for over an hour.  Did I mention it was raining on our run??  Of course when we started the sun was shining and about three miles into it the rain starts coming down.  I was feeling good so I decided to stick it out.  I'm thankful I brought a towel with me because Benny and I both were covered with mud when we finished!  I also think its time for a new pair of kicks...

Benny and I were feeling good after our run and he gave me a big sloppy kiss on the way home.  I actually think he was licking the salt off my face but we'll just pretend it was a kiss :)


I've got 9 miles coming up this weekend so I hope it goes well.  I'll keep you posted!

11.08.2010

Rudy Rivarly Recap

This past Saturday Ryan and I had a blast rooting for our teams at Kyle Field in College Station.  Unfortunately for me my Sooners did not pull out a win but I can say Ryan left the game with a big grin on his face. Scroll down for a brief recap in pictures....

The weather was awesome and we had a great time tailgating during the day.  Thankfully I had several other Sooners to hang out with :)


I was also excited to meet several OU Alpha Chi's...


These girls were super sweet and they were kind enough to show me the new AXO hand signal. I also discovered that my picture is still on one of the old composite boards in the house so at least I don't feel that old!!


Ryan and I also convinced our new neighbors to come to the game with us.  They assured me they were neutral since they both went to Georgia Tech but I'm pretty sure I saw them rooting for the Aggies on more than one occasion in the game... 



Alison and I!  


Alison and I with our Aggie husbands.  What were we thinking?!?  Haha J/K.  I'm pretty sure they are "whooping" with us in the middle!


Much cuter...


Our annual Rudy Rivalry picture...


One last pic before we went into the stadium...


Another fun game in the books but I'm already looking forward to next year when we dominate the Ags in Norman!!

11.06.2010

Rudy Rivarly

Ryan and I are headed to College Station today for a little Rudy rivalry fun as the Sooners take on the Aggies.  I'll be back tomorrow with an update and pics but click here, here and here to see recaps of our fun little tradition over the years.

BOOMER!!