Andes Mint Cake Balls

I do realize that I post a lot of my baking goods on here... maybe this is a sign that I need to be one of those bloggers that puts countless recipes for pinterest(ers) to find! Well I said this blog was going to be about Joe and I and what we are up to... and I'm sure no one wants to see pictures of Lego Harry Potter (which I have been playing an excessive amount of on my wii) but what I have really been up to is cooking and baking! I have made it my quest to find healthy or healthier versions of yummy recipes for us to eat and so far... I've been pretty successful. However, if you know me... you know I have a GIGANTIC sweet tooth. Saturdays are saved for days where Joe and I go out and get some type of food we are craving whether it be Mexican, BBQ, or this weekend we are having Chinese! I also reserve Saturdays for days where I bake whatever it is I want and I try not to let myself be bothered with making it any healthier. Joe's co-workers get to benefit from this as well because they get the leftovers! Honestly... I wish there were more recipes and ingredient sizes out there where you could make a tiny cake, or only 1/2 a dozen cookies.

Anywho... here is my latest concoction (first graders.... did you find the vocabulary word in that sentence?!)

I have had a hankering for cake balls but I wanted to spice it up a bit... so I made Andes mint cake balls!

 If you have questions on the process of actually making cake balls feel free to ask... but for this post I'll just add the recipe I used at the end!

 In an attempt to make these cake balls SLIGHTLY healthier, I actually baked my cake by substituting the oil and eggs with a cup of Oikos Fat Free Plain Greek Yogurt and a cup of water. The cake turned out very moist!

And now for your adventurous ones out there who love chocolate as much as I do... here is the recipe I used. I'm sure there are several variations out there to make them better, I just came up with this last minute.

• 1 box chocolate cake mix (I used Betty Crocker Extra Moist Milk Chocolate)
• 1 jar chocolate frosting
• 1 package Frosting Creations Chocolate Mint

• 1 package chocolate flavored almond bark
• 1 package Andes Mints (cut into small squares)
• save about 10 mints and finely chop to garnish the tops of the cake balls while chocolate coating is drying.

Bake cake according to directions on box and let cool. After cake is room temperature crumble it up into small pieces and stir in can of frosting with Frosting Creations Chocolate Mint flavor pouch. Stir in cut up Andes mint pieces and roll dough into small balls. (makes about 40) Place cake balls into freezer for 15-20 minutes before rolling in melted chocolate coating. When coating is drying sprinkle with Andes mint garnish!

 

 

Batman!

Being the Batman fans that we are, Joe and I made plans to go to the midnight showing of "Batman: The Dark Knight Rises" with a group of friends. After eating some AMAZING pizza at Mellow Mushroom, we got comfortable in the brand new theater with leather, RECLINING seats!!! The movie was great, however, Joe and I didn't go to bed until 3:45 am! To celebrate the event, we also decided to make some Batman sugar cookies!!! We got to try our skills again at the decorating... and are slowly improving. As I was decorating these cookies I couldn't help but think of Wyatt R. and all the superhero stories he used to write for me to read! I hope you like them Wyatt!

From Sweet Corn... To Peaches... To....... Mountains???

That's right... in 3 months I will have lived in 3 different time zones. Joe and I are moving to New Mexico at the end of August! He applied for another job through the Air Force and got it. He will be re-enlisting for another 4 years and we will be living in Albuquerque! I've been asked how I feel about it and I'm just fine with it! I have yet to discover the southwestern region of the country and moving to New Mexico will give me the opportunity of doing so! I have already mapquested Denver, CO and Las Vegas, NV and they are both within a day's drive. ;)  Also... I've always wanted good Texas BBQ and I look forward to getting it on our LOOOOOOOOONG drive across the state. I got to experience beaches in Georgia and now I'll get to experience mountains and deserts! Of course I will post our new address as soon as we get a new place, until then keep writing to me at my current address in Georgia!

 http://www.mapquest.com/?version=1.0&hk=5-dzcfz9Ur

 

 

Joe's Pictures

Joe's camera takes the best pictures... so here are some from the Kennedy Space Center!

Jacksonville Beach

Like I promised, here are pictures from Jacksonville! And I guess this will answer Gillian's question that I never answered... Yes, my belly button IS pierced. :)

 A view from under the pier. Thank goodness this was here or Brittany and I would have never escaped the heat!

 Coming back from the water. We definitely do know the goof in the background withthe Cheez its.

The boys decided to take a long walk on the beach. If you notice... Brittany and I are significantly more tan than these guys are (that's what happens when you go to the pool!)

 Unfortunately Jacksonville cancelled their fireworks. Luckily Joe managed to catch some pictures of people setting off their own personal fireworks.

 That night we decided to see what kind of night life Jacksonville has to offer. The highlight of my night was when I got stopped on the street and was told that my hair was "fierce". If that doesn't make a girl's Fourth of July a good one, I don't know what does!

Brittany and Eric :)

We at at this place one night. It was featured on "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives." Of course we had to stop here... due to the fact that Joe and I drool over all the food we never eat on the Food Network. We tried fried alligator tail. It wasn't all that bad... a bit chewy though.

Compliments of Brady

I just got two letters from Brady and I thought I would share some interesting facts that he read about Georgia! Did you know.....

1)The state fossil is a shark tooth?
2) Atlanta has one of the best zoo's?
3)The Atlanta Aquarium is the largest aquarium in the world?

Cool!!!! Thanks for sharing Brady, I just finished writing back and I will make sure it gets in the mail on Monday!

Cape Canaveral, FL

As a last minute decision to our Jacksonville, FL trip, we decided to head just a little bit further and go to the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. (We were only a mere hour and a half away from Universal Studios where Hogwarts is, but we just didn't have enough time). Although it was no Hogwarts, the Kennedy Space Center ended up being pretty cool :).

 Joe testing his skills at landing a capsule on the moon

 There were some great pictures from space at the museum!

 I think I would make a pretty cool astronaut.

 Umm... Joe too.

 At the IMAX theater about to watch a film about satellites that take pictures of deep space.

 The first ever space suit made.

 An updated space suit that actually let astronauts leave the aircraft.

 The space suit we use today... this one was Neil Armstrong's. Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon!

Joe took all the pictures at the beach, once I get those on my computer I'll make sure to put up pictures from Jacksonville Beach!

Thin Mints

What do you get when you put together a chocolate shortbread cookie... peppermint chocolate... and a little love and patience?

 That's right... Thin Mints. Like I promised. It really was surprising how much these actually tasted like the real deal!

Beautiful Picture

I wrote to Hannah letting her know that I would add a picture of her painting up onto my blog. See, Hannah, I told you when you gave it to me that it would find a very special place in my living room. :) You should also know that all the way down to Georgia I heard your voice playing in the box, something must have been pushing the button!

cookies, cookies, and MORE cookies

I feel like I should be changing this blog from a personal blog... to a blog solely about cookies. I love chocolate way too much, my first graders can attest to that! Tomorrow we are leaving on our trip to Jacksonville and Brittany is bringing the salty treats, so of course I have appointed myself to bring the sweet treats. My sugar cookies were such a success that I decided to branch out into the unknown and through the inspiration of Pinterest I have done the impossible.....

       Can you guess what these are?

 If you guessed homemade Girl Scout Tagalong cookies... you would be....

CORRECT! (Joe says they are even BETTER than the boxed kind!)

But that's not all! Tonight I will finish my personal favorite, Thin Mints! Oh, don't worry, pictures of finished the delectable treats will be up as soon as they are done.