Kitty Deschanel

Here is what they are supposed to look like: Here's mine: As mentioned previously, I am not a patient cook. Therefore, mine look like this. Instead of waiting for everything to cool and carefully drizzling chocolate on top, I decided to simply combine the coconut, chocolate, and caramel into one tasty topping. It may not be as pretty, but it tastes good (and this was ready to eat much faster!) Hey, Kitchen Pig! That's not for you! Sorry, but Kitchen Pig's second cousin is this guy. See the resemblance? I don't want to take any risks by letting him eat so close to midnight! There is a comment from someone who made the original (pretty) recipe, complaining that these cookie bars are too messy. For that poster, I photographed the above and below post-cooking images. Ooooooh, so messy! Whatever will I do?! Baby. You can find the original recipe here . Thanks BakingBites!

Sexy Nerd and I make this for breakfast at least once a month. It's quick, easy, and delicious, though we agree it tastes a bit more like french toast than a pancake. We've served it to company and it is always a success. Here is the 2 person recipe, which should be made in a small pan, like a 9x9 or a loaf pan. If you use too large of a pan, the batter will spread out too thin to puff up! Combine the following ingredients in a bowl or blender: We've made this using nonfat and lowfat milk and they seem to work equally well for this recipe. (or Whisk, whisk, whisk!) Now, you can either let it sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes or you can refrigerate it to have for breakfast tomorrow. Ten minutes before you are ready to put this into the oven, take your pan and get it nice & buttery. Don't skimp on the butter or you won't get the nifty, bubbly effect while it's cooking. Instead, you can look forward to chipping this off your pan for the n

What do these ingredients, (minus one kitchen pig and a stack of background junk mail) combine to make? *Reading the title to this post is, of course, cheating, you cheater. Ooey Gooey Rum Cake! Mine is topped with marshmallow creme, which is my obsession of the past few days. This cake is quick, easy, and fat free * ! *The accuracy of this claim has not been verified by LambAround. Until proven otherwise, just go with it! Never mind what that box of Devil's Food Cake mix says in that silly nutritional information column. The folks at Jiffy are crazy! Yum, yum, yum...and perhaps even a little dirty looking. Here's the quick, easy recipe: 1. Combine the cake mix, pudding mix, 1/4C rum, 1/2C water, and 2Tbs ground flax seeds. 2. Pour into a greased pan, (I used a loaf pan, but I suppose other pans would work just as well) 3. Bake at 350F for approximately 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out only slightly gooey. As this is an egg-free cake, I see no reason at

These are perfect when you're craving a quick, sugary treat. They work equally well in a toaster oven and a convection oven. Best of all, compared to eating an entire bag of Oreos (something I have never  done), they're quite healthy. What's that, you say? You already know how to make s'mores in the toaster oven? Well then, sit back and enjoy the ooey-gooey marshmallowy photos. (And if you're someone who works with me, please keep the "I've seen her polish off an entire bag of Oreo cookies" nonsense to yourself.)  Step 1: Put desired amount of graham crackers on a toaster oven/convection oven-safe pan.   Looks like it's time to clean this pan, Sexy Nerd Optional 1st step, which is Sexy Nerd's favorite: Spread peanut butter on each graham cracker (I'm not much of a peanut butter fan - WHAT?!? - so I skip this step.) Cover with yummy marshmallows. Top with chocolate chips. Place in the toaster o

The reason I decided to make taco salad for dinner was so I could take a photo of the awesome tortilla taco salad shells I make for my blog. I've heard that you should always be sure you have all the ingredients you need before you begin making a recipe. I discovered halfway into cooking that Sexy Nerd had eaten the last tortillas. Taco Salad Recipe Serves 3 Step one: Heat a little olive oil in a pan and cook some meat. In this example, we are having steak. Step Two: Add 3/4 C of marinade. No marinade? Use the juice of 1 lime, cilantro, garlic, and 1/2 C of salsa. Reduce heat and cover. We did have marinade, but only because I found it in the clearance isle at Target. Cut up 1 head of romaine lettuce, 2 tomatoes, and dice an onion. Toss everything together in a large bowl. Add 1/2 a can of kidney beans and 1/2 a can of corn to the bowl. I always rinse my canned vegetables first, as I've heard it reduces their insanely high sodium con

This scrumptious recipe can be found here . To be honest, I'm not sure that I've ever actually been to Denny's. I'm more of an I-Hop kinda gal. When I find an "I-Hop-Style French Toast" recipe, I'll be sure to post it here. For now, this is some tasty french toast! I started by mixing everything together. "Why use a Tupperware container instead of a mixing bowl", you ask? You'll see soon enough!   Next, I needed some bread. "Will this recipe work without Texas toast", you ask? Technically, yes, it will. However, it would almost definitely be better if you use Texas toast, or at least some kind of a white bread. If you're on a health kick, use whole wheat. Although, if you were really dedicated to a healthy diet, would you be making french toast? Good bread, by the way. I get mine at the dollar store!  From what I can tell, the only difference between the dollar store version and the $4 version is that these

This is a wonderful cold weather drink, especially in our house, which I keep at a brisk 60F during the winter (Sexy Nerd loves 60 degrees - our agreement used to be 50!) I make this every time Sexy Nerd puts up our Christmas lights. He's starting early this year. It seems a bit unfair to Thanksgiving, but here we are. Our $5 Crock Pot is working hard! LambAround's Best Hot Apple Cider (approximately 8 servings) Make a simple syrup by bringing 1/8 C water and a 1/4 C sugar to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and add 1/8 tsp each of allspice, cinnamon, and ginger . Whisk well and let simmer for 5 minutes before removing from heat. In a separate pan, bring the following to a boil: 2 C water , 1 can frozen apple juice , 1 cinnamon stick , 9 allspice berries , 9 whole cloves , 1 sliced apple , and the zest of 1 small orange . Add 1/2 of your simple syrup and whisk well. Transfer your mixture from step #2 to a 2.5 quart slow cooker set to low heat. Fill to the top

What on earth could this crazy contraption be? Something to hold yarn? A medieval torture device? Some newfangled pizza slicer? Super-whisk? NOPE! Surprise, surprise! It's a croissant cutter. And for only $4! Damn. It's times like this that I wish I liked croissants. *Update*   I made croissants so that I could test this croissant cutter out. I will never make them again! What a pain!!!

You know how some coleslaw recipes are too goopy or too dry or too "blah"? My Sexy Nerd used to insist he hated all coleslaw...until he tried this. Not too goopy or too dry or too blah? Check! Thanks to food blogger Reeni, whose Honey Lime Dressing recipe inspired this. It helped jazz up my usual coleslaw recipe with tangy sweetness. The shredded coconut and pumpkin seeds elevate it above the coleslaw slop you get from KFC. Not that their coleslaw slop isn't tasty (actually, SN insists it is not at all tasty), but we're going the homemade (with love!) route with this coleslaw recipe. Easy Coleslaw Recipe for People Who Hate Coleslaw Ingredients: 1/3 C Miracle Whip or mayonnaise 1/3 C sour cream or plain yogurt 1 Tbsp honey 1 Tbsp brown mustard 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar 1 Tbsp lime juice 1/3 of a green cabbage, shredded 1/3 of a red cabbage, shredded 1 large carrot, shredded 1 celery stalk, diced 1/4 C shredded coconut, toasted 1/4 C pum

Sexy Nerd loves this and wants me to make it every day. I think it's okay, though I do love that it's quick and easy, as well as a great way to use up leftovers. Using a large, shallow dish cuts the baking time significantly. You can use something thicker, like a loaf pan, but it will take extra time to heat through. There are no measurements for the ingredients - just throw in what you have on hand, in the amount you think will taste best. When I make this, it's all vegetables. When you-know-who cooks it, the recipe is meat, meat, and more meat!                                        Mix and Match Pizza Casserole A Clean Out the Fridge Recipe Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. All of the ingredients, like the pasta and the ground meat, should be cooked and ready to eat before they go into the pan. Layer the following, in order, starting at the bottom of the greased pan: Ingredients: 1. Pasta or a mixture of different pastas (I like to use whole wheat macaroni +

Have you noticed every blog has posted a Starbuck's Pumpkin Spice Latte copycat recipe lately? This one is different. I promise! It's so good that I've been making a regular one with my breakfast each day and another decaf pumpkin latte every evening. At work, I shared the recipe with two patients last week! When those pumpkin latte recipes started popping up, I couldn't wait to try them. They all had the same problem though - too much time and effort. Ummm, I want a pumpkin spice latte recipe that I can actually pull off before work in the morning, when my brain is still mostly asleep. Have you seen what some of these other recipe creators expect you to do? Boil down 3 cups of sugar until you have a simple (yeah right) syrup, shave fresh cinnamon from the stick you got from the farmer's market this morning, and have a unicorn spit into the mixture. Who has time for all that? Easy Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe (for LAZY people!)    Serves 2 Ingredients 1

Did SNL ever make an Easter version of that Christmas song? You know, like "I don't care what your mama says, Easter is full of chee-er". Or something like that. I'm rambling because it snowed last night and is still snowing this morning. Even though it's my day off. Apparently, the weather doesn't care that I purchased the Bossypants audio book and have been planning for 2 weeks to listen to it while walking today. I suppose technically there's no reason to cancel my walk and stay in my pajamas all day just because of a little snow... It's probably icy though. Better not chance it. On to the Easter goodness! "Peep! Peep!" What You'll Need (makes 10 super-cute Peeps nests) 7oz melted chocolate chips (approximately 1 1/4 cups) 5oz Fiber One bran cereal (or similar)(Chinese Noodles should work just fine as well) 10 Peeps chicks 20-30 Jelly Beans Not a photo of worms in a bowl, I promise! Combine the melted chocola