Recipe: Fudge Dream Bars

This was something that I made my mom for Mother’s Day. I chose to do an easy dessert partnered with the Iced Oranges, so I decided to make brownies!

I was a little skeptical when I first started to make these. I thought they were going to turn out really cake-y and dry, but trust me, I was in for a shock. The finished product was extremely fudge-y. In fact, at first I wasn’t completely sure that they were done.

Aside from their extreme fudginess, I have to say that they were also really, really sweet, which means that I wasn’t as crazy about them as I thought I would be. I love fudge-like brownies, but the sugar content in these was astronomical, even for me. I definitely think that was the biggest down side to these, and in fact we didn’t finish all of them because of that. My guess is that the icing may have put these over the top.

They were pretty easy to make. They were pretty much like your standard brownie except you didn’t use unsweetened baking bars, but rather unsweetened cocoa.

That being said, don’t take my word for it. Try them yourself! Below is the recipe.

“Fudge Dream Bars” (from Chocolate Treats)

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

4 eggs

2 cups granulated sugar

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon salt

For bars, preheat oven to 350. Grease 13x9 inch pan. In medium saucepan, blend 1 cup butter and 1/3 cup cocoa. Cook over low heat, stirring until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

In large bowl, beat eggs with mixer on medium speed until blended. Add granulated sugar, flour and cocoa mixture; beat until well blended. Beat in vanilla and salt.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Transfer pan to wire rack to cool completely.

¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

4 cups powdered sugar, divided

2 to 4 tablespoons milk

For frosting, in medium saucepan, combine ¼ cup butter and 1/3 cup cocoa. Cook over low heat, stirring until melted and smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl.

With mixer on medium-low speed, gradually beat in 2 cups powdered sugar until blended. Beat in 2 tablespoons milk. Gradually beat in remaining 2 cups powdered sugar and enough remaining milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until frosting is smooth and spreadable.

Spread frosting over bars in pan. Cut into 32 bars.

Rating: C

Black Hair: Motions CPR Treatment Shampoo

I finally finished this product after purchasing it awhile ago, and I thought I would write about the results I've gotten from it.

Perhaps it's a "Motions" thing, but again, this product was less than impressive. The shampoo bottle claims that it is meant to help repair and strengthen chemically treated, curly, or frizzy hair. I think I've gotten some of the frizziest hair after using this product. I also didn't get the "CPR" effect (CPR meaning clinical protection and repair) to work out. My hair seemed to break off about the same as if I were using any other product, if not a little bit more.

The thing I can say about this product is that it did do a little better job in the "cleaning" department than the conditioning shampoo did. It stripped my hair of the dirt a little bit better (although it took a lot of shampoo for the full affect) and it had a better and stronger smell than the other shampoo did. I suppose all in all I felt cleaner using this product than I did using the other product.

I wouldn't recommend this product. I simply did not feel as though it did what it was supposed to do for my hair.

I would like to clarify something about this post and the last "Black Hair" post I did. Just because I don't recommend them or they don't work out for my hair doesn't mean they won't work well for your hair. It all depends on the type and health of your hair. For example, the conditioning shampoo worked great when my hair was in horrible, horrible condition, but now that I have it healthier, I've realized that it simply does not fulfill my needs and it is a horrible product for me. Again, though, it could be a fantastic product for you depending upon your hair type.

Black Hair Product: Motions Lavish Conditioning Shampoo

This area of my blog is probably more for me than anyone else (which is perfectly fine), but I figured if I'm going to try and remember which products do and don't work for my black hair, then I might as well share it too in case anyone else wants some insight.

I decided that I would start taking the health of my hair and scalp a lot more seriously since I realized after my last relaxer how much damage I had done to it by not giving it the proper time and treatments that it needs. However, this raised the question of what treatments do I need exactly and what products work the best for me? Unfortunately, while my hair takes on the appearance (mostly) of black hair, it doesn't necessarily act like black hair all of the time since I'm also half Caucasian (aka some products are too much for my hair and create a film of nastiness or some products just don't react like they should). Thus, I have a somewhat unique challenge of finding what works and what doesn't.

About a week after my last relaxer I was left with a scalp that flaked, burned (excruciatingly painful), and itched...badly. My hair was also dry and I could tell at the roots that if I didn't do something I was going to be left with a lot of bald spots. Thus, I began to examine everything that I was using and see what was good and what wasn't. (And for the record- my hair is A LOT healthier right now than it had been for years)

This brings me to this entry's topic- Motions Lavish Conditioning Shampoo. I can still remember when I bought this shampoo for the first time. I bought it in my second year in college (a different bottle mind you, but same product) and I thought it was a conditioner at first until it got all sudsy on my head. I was very impressed with the results at the time. My hair was left VERY soft and moisturized, just what my rats' nest was looking for. Ever since then I swore by this product--until now.

After taking this month to examine the results of this product, I've come to the conclusion that is actually a very poor product for my hair. Granted, it does a great job of actually conditioning my hair and doesn't strip my hair like other shampoos do. However, that's just the problem. It does too good of a job, and it doesn't really feel like it leaves my hair clean. It doesn't have a powerful perfume smell either, so I'm left with hair that still smells the same as before I had stepped into the shower and with almost the same feel, but a little silkier, which can sometimes feel more slimy than anything. Hence, you can see why I don't exactly feel clean after using it. Often times, I resort to using other shampoos to actually do the cleaning and then use this shampoo as a "pre conditioner", which isn't necessary when you have a good conditioning routine.

Between the light and not overly appealing smell as well as the lackluster clean it gives, I have to say that I rate this product pretty low (maybe a D). I definitely won't be buying it again.

Recommend? No.

Recipe: Risotto-Style Peppered Rice

My problem with this recipe was that it wasn't risotto. It didn't have the texture of risotto, which is the creamy, rich flavor. The melted cheese tried to cover it up, as did the chicken broth, but I still wasn't a huge fan. I also thought it needed more salt. I simply wasn't all that pleased with the outcome.

Taste grade: C-

It was easy to make, and it was done in about 4 hours. I enjoyed watching it get done, especially when I added the cheese. However, the appearance and actually cooking of it far outshines the final product, in my opinion.

Cook grade: B+

Here's the recipe:

Risotto-Style Peppered Rice (from Slow Cooker: Appetizers, Soups, Stews, Sandwiches, Sides, and Delicious Desserts, 2005)

1 cup uncooked converted long grain rice
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (optional)
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) fat free chicken broth
4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeno peppers, cubed*
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 teaspoon salt

Place rice, bell peppers, onion, turmeric, and red pepper, if desired, into slow cooker. Stir in broth. Cover; cook on low 4 to 5 hours or until rice is done.

Stir in cheese, milk, butter and salt; fluff rice with fork. Cover; cook on low 5 minutes or until cheese melts.

*I used 1 1/4 cup of shredded pepper jack cheese.

Over all grade: C

Recipe: Greek Chocolate Mousse Tartlets

I was also very disappointed in these. These little buggers were a b*%&# to put together. It was an hour and a half from hell, and quite frankly, for results that were average at best. There was a lot of clean up, a lot of waste, and a lot of work in making these. All I have to say is- lesson learned.

Cook grade: D+

They were horrific to make. The only thing that I can say is that I learned what "baking beans" are and I earned a little bit of experience with pie dough.

Taste grade: C

I thought the taste was average at best. I just was not impressed at all. Even after I had gone through all of the trouble of making them, I had a strong feeling that this was going to be the case. I think I also over worked the pie dough since the crust was pretty hard when I tried them. Also, the yogurt in the filling makes it taste like liquor is in it, which I did think was pretty cool.

My mother suggested these should actually be made into bite-sized tartlets rather than the 4 inch ones that I made/was suggested in the recipe. If that's the case, I would serve these at a party after dinner with coffee. They could be served at a small party even as 4 inch tartlets with coffee, but for all of the trouble, I again stress small party.

If you really want to torture yourself, here's the recipe:

German Chocolate Mousse Tartlets (Appetizers, Finger Foods, Buffets, and Parties, 2009)

Crust:

1 1/2 cups (6 oz) plain (all purpose) flour
2 tbsp (unsweetened) cocoa powder
2 tbsp icing (confectioners') sugar
1/2 cup of butter

Filling:

7 oz white chocolate
1/2 cup of milk
2 tsp powdered gelatine
2 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs, separated
9 0z or generous 1 cup Greek (US strained plain) yogurt

Preheat the oven to 375. Sift the flour, cocoa, and icing sugar into a large bowl.

Place the butter in a pan with 4 tbsp water and heat gently until just melted. Leave to cool, then stir into the flour to make a smooth dough. Cover with clear film (plastic wrap) and chill until firm.*

Roll out the pastry and use to line six deep 4 in loose-based flan tins (tart pans).

Prick the base of each pastry case (pie shell) all over with a fork, cover with greaseproof waxed paper weighed down with baking beans and bake blind for 10 minutes. Remove the baking beans and paper, return to the oven and bake a further 15 minutes, or until the pastry is firm. Leave to cool in the tins.**

Make the filling. Break the chocolate into squares and melt in a heatproof bowl (double boiler) over a pan of barely simmering water. Pour the milk into a pan, sprinkle over the gelatine and heat gently, stirring, until the gelatine has dissolved completely. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate.

Whisk the sugar, vanilla extract, and egg yolks in a large bowl, then beat in the chocolate mixture. Beat in the yogurt until evenly mixed.

Whisk the egg whites in a clean, grease-free bowl until stiff, then fold into the mixture. Divide among the pastry cases and leave to set.

Drizzle melted chocolate over the tartlets to decorate. ***


*I left the dough in the refrigerator for about an hour.

**Lentils or dried beans can be used instead of baking beans. I used risotto rice, although, I wouldn't suggest this since a bunch of steam/smoke came flooding out of the oven when I opened it after 10 minutes.

***I used semi-sweet chocolate.

Over all grade: C-

Recipe: Chicken with Lemon and Garlic

I was not impressed. I thought it was extremely quick and simple to make, however, I thought the finished product wasn't all that hot. I mean, it was OK, but I didn't go wild over it. It may have also been better had I not substituted some of the ingredients for others (particularly, I put in onion instead of the shallot that it called for). Over all, I think it needs a bit more to it before it is perfected.

Cook grade: A-

There weren't too many ingredients, and the cooking instructions were pretty straight forward. There also wasn't a lot of clean-up. It was very quick and easy. Also, it was very therapeutic during the beating of the chicken to make it thinner. I highly suggest it after a stressful week, haha.

Taste grade: C+

I think the taste was very simple and almost bland. However, I think it has a lot of potential to grow into something better.

I think I would serve this for a small meal. The book suggests serving it as tapas. I would tend to agree.

Here's the recipe:

Chicken with Lemon and Garlic (from Appetizers, Finger Food, Buffets, and Parties, 2009)

8 oz skinless chicken breast fillets
2 tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp paprika
juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
salt and ground black pepper
fresh flat leaf parsley, to garnish
lemon wedges, to serve

Sandwich the chicken breasts fillets between the two sheets of clear film (plastic wrap) or baking parchment. Bat out with a rolling pin or meat mallet until the fillets are about 1/4 in thick.

Using a sharp knife, cut the chicken into strips about 1/2 in wide.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy frying pan or wok until it is very hot but not smoking. Add the chicken strips, shallot, garlic, and paprika and stir-fry over a high heat for about 3 minutes, until the chicken is lightly browned and cooked through.

Stir in the lemon juice and parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a warm platter and serve immediately with lemon wedges, garnished with flat leaf parsley.


Over all grade: B

How could you go wrong with pizza?

So, the other day my family and I went to this pizza/pasta/salad bar in the Union Deposit area (next to Panera's where the old Lonestar Restaurant used to be). We had seen ads for it on TV a few times and figured, why not? Well, when we got there, let me tell you...a red flag should immediately go up if you have to pay for your meal before you even get to see the food.

First impression upon walking in? This place is a dump.

And my first impression proved correct. It was dirty and disgusting. The place was set up in a cafeteria style setting. It didn't look clean. It was being run by a couple of high schoolers at the time, which don't get me wrong, I usually don't care. However, it was obvious they didn't exactly have a vested interest in the clientele. I could tell the food was out for awhile judging by the discoloration and the lack of freshness. The food that I did eat was gross. The sauce was worse than the crap you usually get at the school cafeteria. I even gave the salad a chance. Disgusting. The vegetables tasted almost like mildew and were clearly not fresh. The only thing that I felt was edible were the breadsticks, and even those were a bit too chewy and stale for my liking.

Over all, I would NEVER recommend this place. Definitely a thumbs down.

Not-so-scrubbing Bubbles

So, I've decided to take a couple of minutes today and write a couple of entries-one about something I dislike and one about something that I like. Well, here it goes!

Product: Scrubbing Bubbles' Toilet Cleaning Gel

My Experience: Well, a few weeks ago, my mom had bought this to try since she was trying to do away with the traditional Clorox tablets we usually use. I finally got around to using it about 2 weeks ago. After two weeks, here is my take: it sucks.

For starters- it doesn't clean! The Clorox tablet that we traditionally use was great at keeping the bowl clean. Every now and then you had to go through and quick clean it, but over all it was really great at doing its job. However, Scrubbing Bubbles fails me on this end. After two weeks, my toilet bowl looks horrible and it just does not keep things clean.

Also, I was kind of surprised at how you use the product and the size of it. Usually tablets are a pretty big round disk. This is a subtle, small, clear round gel that you stamp on the side of the bowl. The applicator has stopping niches to indicate when you stop applying the gel. Perhaps because it is so small is the reason why it doesn't work.

The only thing that I will say about this product is that it is a great deodorizer. Every time you flush it gives you a nice fresh scent. Also you can't really notice it in the bowl visually. Other than those, I think they are the only pros to this product.

I would not recommend it and will most definitely be breaking out the Clorox tablets again.

My first impression: Horrible

I went shopping in New York....&co.

I know, I know, long time no write. I apologize. However, I have plenty of things to update on, including my venture to New York and Company a couple of weeks ago which is in fact the topic of this post.

First of all, I LOVE New York and Company. I love the clothes like nobody's business, and since I was in need of some office clothes and NY&Co has some good business casual items I decided to venture on over and see what they had to offer.

My impression? WTF?!

Pros: The displays were phenomenal (as always), giving me some great ideas, and the clothes were trendy and classy (as always).

Cons: This is where this particular shopping experience differs from all of the others. I went to try on some (ok, a lot) of clothes. The one thing I hate about this store is that the sizes are in even numbers and sometimes if I pick my size, the clothes still don't fit right, so it's always good to try the things on first (but then again, that's clothes shopping 101). One of the sales reps asked if she could hold a fitting room for me. I let her take my clothes while I shopped around. No problems. I went back in the fitting room when I was done and was asked if I would be interested in opening a NY&Co charge card (I'd save 20%, yadda, yadda, yadda). I respectfully declined. I did my thing, tried on my clothes, and filtered out the good ones and the bad. When I came out I was asked (again) if I would like to open a charge card. Once again, I respectfully declined. As I was walking out I noticed there was a sale on dress pants (buy one get one free). I decided to look some more, found a couple and went back to try them on. I was cringing the entire way there hoping I wouldn't be asked about the stupid charge card...AGAIN. I had a fitting room opened for me, charge card mention-free, and did my thing. When I came out, the same sales rep who had already asked me twice asked me a THIRD time. This is where I really started to get peeved. First of all, if I said no the first two times, I'm not gonna say yes the third. I don't believe in spending more than I have, which takes away my need for a charge card. Quite simply, if I couldn't afford the clothes, I wouldn't be buying them. I found it insulting because I had to wonder if it looked like I just couldn't afford the clothes. I find that extremely offensive. Then, after declining for a third time I went up to the register to pay, where I was pitched to for a FOURTH time. I told the woman, "No" and that I had already been asked three times. She continued to pitch me the same "you'll save 20%!" offer. I told her again "No" but much much much more sternly. Finally, it was dropped.

This experience really discouraged me. I am not interested in being harassed to sign up for a charge card that I don't want. I find it offensive when I'm asked several times because it makes me feel like they are implying I can't pay for the merch. As I said before- if I can't pay for it, I don't buy it. Simple. I don't want the stupid charge card. All I wanted was the clothes. Hassle-free. After that experience I will be staying out of that store for awhile.

So here's the "Schtick"

My next product review: Glaceau's VitaminSchtick (makers of Vitamin Water).

First impression: Delicious.

A few days ago during my late night run to Wegmans, I encountered a bin full of chapstick, and not just any chapstick- VitaminSchtick. The packaging looked pretty cool and because I was in desperate need of chapstick and it was conveniently located at the front of the store on my way out, I picked one up (Fruit Punch flavor!). Here's my review:

Pros: The smell is AMAZING. It has a smooth feel when applied, too.

Cons: It never cured my chapped lips!! After it wore off, I was right back to square one- just as chapped and scrounging for something that worked. After looking at it, I realized it was more of a sunscreen for your lips rather than a chapstick. I guess I'll just have to try it on in the summer for the full affect.

Over all I would rate this product as horrible as a chapstick. Regardless, though I still keep using it because I love the taste/scent/feel when applied that much.

And I guess that's the "schtick".

Photo source: mariiammm.tumblr.com