Have you ever wondered what $3,000 of groceries would look like?
It's hard to really get perspective...I took all but the first seat out of our 15 pass van....
Just in case a new blog reader would think I spend $3K a month on groceries...no, they are not all ours. We coordinate a United Natural Foods co-op. LOL
Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.
Finally, some book winners. Thanks for your patience. You have one week from today to email me with contact info. Either email me at our family email or at dschoosingjoy@gmail.com , rather than the old yahoo one. I actually CHECK this one because it pops up right by my google reader. I had to go with the "one week" thing because books were backing up. Any books that have been unclaimed within a week will be re listed. With the exception of the singles book, Arielle picked numbers and then I went to see who had won.
Here you go:
*When God Writes Your Love Story* - I said I would give any singles who entered priority, then parents of singles....we had two singles enter. This is a no brainer! I'll send a copy of this book to BreAnne (my babe) and Ruth Russell. Bre and Ruth, email me your mailing addresses and I'll have these shipped from Amazon.
*I Do Again* - This one goes to Hope of Reflections of Hope
*The Love As A Way of Life Devotional* - Darci - dkoski@roadrunner.com
*For Couples Only* - Jodi at Snapped!
*Intimate Issues* - Because of a very generous publisher and a postal glitch, I have several copies to give away of this title. These copies go to Connie (from Kelly's giveaway), Bobbie Jo from Just Me Bobbie Jo , Kris from Just as I Am, Yvonne from Grateful for Grace, and Holly from Household Six . This one made me chuckle. I think Arielle was tired of "choosing numbers" and so went 3, 4, 5, or whatever....but then I realized all but Yvonne are military spouses....PWOC sisters...yep...doing my part to stir things up in the military. ::snort::
Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.
Today was our weekly milk run. I bought 4 gal from United. Some members of my family are resistant to organic milk. ::snort::
We picked up 12 gal at Sams - a few gallons less than usual as Mike is gone.
Cashier - Big smile. "You must have a daycare."
Me - "No, I have a family."
Cashier - "Get a cow!"
We laughed hard.
Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.
I apologize. We had a big United co-op last night. That took time in the afternoon to prepare for....
Our late hours were filled with phone calls to family and looking for plane tickets.....today has been school, drama, getting a passport application signed for Jared before Mike leaves, recyclying (all those boxes) and PWOC Bible Study tonight. I'll pick winners tonight and get them posted.
Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.
I first heard about this dessert from online friends long before I lived near a Bennigan's restaurant. When we were assigned in San Antonio, Mike and I would often drop by Bennigan's for this dessert. Imagine my surprise to hear that the restaurant has gone bankrupt. I began to search for the "official" recipe when Nolan asked for it for his birthday. We had attempted to make this at home before with varying degrees of success. Mike and I pooled what we'd learned. We are happy with these results.
I'm in a quandary about how to post this.....The recipe is from the Bennigan's cookbook - but some of the ingredients are things we couldn't easily find in town (fudge packs, ice cream cone dip), and the amount of ingredients in the recipe didn't add up....so here is the link to the recipe on line and below is what we actually did. Jared and Arielle pulled this off while we birthday shopped.
Gather Ingredients
1/2 gal Rocky Road Ice Cream
1/2 gal Dutch Chocolate Ice Cream
6 oz Hot Fudge (we used Smuckers)
Twix Candy bars (3 C chopped)
Magic Shell (couple bottles - we used whichever one it is that has pure vanilla and no preservatives)
6 oz Fudge Covered Graham Crackers (we used HEB cookies, Keeblers would work)
4 oz Newman O's (Famous Chocolate Wafers/Oreos)
1/3 C Butter
Steps:
Chop Twix bars.
Make Crust Mixture (below - I'd double what they say).
Let Ice Cream soften for 15 min.
Line big Pyrex bowl with plastic wrap!
Use 1/2 - 2/3 of crust mixture to line Pyrex bowl.
Layer into bowl in following order:
1 C Rocky Road
1 C Dutch Chocolate
1/4 C Hot Fudge
1/2 C diced Twix
Repeat until all ice cream is used or bowl is full.
Cover with plastic wrap, use your hands to press down firmly to push out all air pockets.
Place bowl in freezer for 30 minutes.
When ice cream is firm, remove plastic wrap, cover with fudge and hard shell, top with remaining crust mixture, press to form an even layer.
Cover with plastic wrap. Freeze for 12 hours.
{In the original you now slice the cake, dip each slice in cone dip and crust.... we found the above easier}
Invert bowl on platter.
Let sit until you can remove the ice cream/crust - this is where having lined the bowl in plastic wrap pays off BIG TIME. We tried it years ago with no wrap and the crust wouldn't come out nicely.
Put each slice on a plate and drizzle hard shell over it.
Death By Chocolate Crust Mixture
In food processor or blender crush the chocolate covered grahams and Newman O's.
Melt butter and add to the cookie mixture.
Use 1/2 - 2/3 mixture to line Pyrex bowl. Reserve some crust mixture to top dessert.....as mentioned above, I think we'll double this in the future. BUT it was VERY rich as is. LOL BTW none of us eat or like Twix bars - but they were the missing touch in our past attempts. LOL
For more recipes check my Recipe Index.
Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.
Please check the text box above for updates on Mike's father. He has had a small stroke. We had hoped he'd be home by now. He's currently in the ICU and I believe we are all waiting to hear what the doctor has to say tomorrow.
Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.
