Heavenly Chocolate Mousse Bars

Thank you, Betty Crocker, for e-mailing me this easy and delicious recipe.
It is my new favorite.

1 pouch Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix
(1 stick of butter and 1 egg that is called for in the cookie mix)
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 pkg. (80z.) cream cheese
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup whipping cream

1. Make cookie dough as directed on package. Spread in bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch pan. Bake at 350F for 12-15 minutes or until light golden brown; cool.

2. Microwave 1 cup milk chocolate chips uncovered on high for 1-2 minutes or until melted and smooth. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat melted chocolate into cream cheese. Beat 1 cup of whipping cream with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Fold the whipping cream into the chocolate-cream cheese mixture until well blended. Spread over cooled cookie base. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until set.

3. Microwave 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1/2 cup whipping cream on 1-2 minutes until the chocolate is melted; whisk until the mixture is smooth. Spoon and spread the warm chocolate ganache mixture over the mousse layer evenly. Refrigerate until set. Cut into bite sized bars.

Snow Cone Anyone?

This morning we awoke to SEVERAL inches of new fresh powder snow. The boys were so excited. They quickly dressed in their snow gear and went out to play. After a couple of hours, they came into the house to share with us their new use for the fresh powder. They had made snow cones! They had filled a cup with snow and poured root beer soda over the top. Voila, snow cones! C has proclaimed them to be "delicious" and has eaten three today.

Sugar High

It has become a kind of tradition in our house that IF the CFO is unable to make it home for dinner the CEO's get to eat crepes....for dinner. I haven't decided whether or not this makes me an irresponsible mother or just a really cool one. Since I had these as a kid, for dinner, I am leaning towards cool.

Our Recipe:

2 eggs

1 c. flour

1 c. milk

1 T. oil

1 T. sugar

Mix the ingredients together until you get a very thin pancake-like batter. Drop about 2/3 c. on a greased hot pan, swirl it around. Cook until golden brown on both sides then remove to a plate. (I finally got smart this year and decided to get TWO hot pans going at the same time ---the cooking part can be a little time consuming.) Our dinner approved crepe toppings:

powdered sugar and lemon juice (butter optional)

The kids assemble their own, and this is where I feel a little irresponsible, it becomes a plate

full

of

sugar.

"Hey, go easy", I say quite sternly!

Experience has taught them to go easy on the lemon juice. Then they roll them up and devour them at rapid speeds. Inevitably, a contest will begin between C and E to see who can eat the most. (C holds the record of 5 crepes.) This behavior finds powdered sugar escaping the crepe and finding it's way to the table, chair, floor, clothes and on the face of mainly this child:
E is, at least, TRYING to use his manners and contain the powdered sugar by leaning heavily over his plate.
C on the other hand..... It looks like he can't hide his powdered sugar addiction any longer. We should hold an intervention next week. Anyone know of a 12-step program for Powdered Sugar Addicts?

Restaurant Review: The Royal India

The CFO and I tried a new restaurant this past weekend. Some friends in the neighborhood suggested this restaurant after we told them how much we LOVE indian food.

We ordered :

Vegetable Samosa for an appetizer: veggies wraped in bread and deep fried

Basmati Rice

Vegetable Korma: a sweet coconut curry dish

Lamb Saag: a creamy spinach dish

Chicken Tikka Masala: grilled chicken pieces in a creamy tomato sauce

Plain Naan: flat bread

Raita: cucumber sauce to cool the taste buds

Everything was super delicious especially the Chicken Tikka Masala. Always a favorite. I really could have licked the bowl and my plate clean. Luckily I was full so I saved the CFO some embarassment. In fact there were some leftovers that we got to take home. We had finished all of our rice, but when the waiter brought the box back to the table they had filled it with more rice......FOR FREE! Worth the trip right there.

My plan was to take pictures at the restaurant, but I must have been too excited to be out of the house and I forgot. I was planning on taking a nice pic of the leftovers. But, that didn't happen either.

This is what you get instead:

We enjoyed the leftovers just as much as the original meal.

The Royal India is in Bountiful. They also have another location at 103rd South. If you go, order a Mango Lasse and tell me how yummy it is.

PS. can anyone tell me if there is a spell check?