Wow, an entire month and 1/3 of my summer has already come and gone! What have I been doing lately? Well, I"m not entirely sure of that myself! My summer so far has solely consisted  of well.......... almost nothing! I mean besides some things that just always happen! I have had a couple of babysiting jobs, and I have gone on more bike rides than I have in my entire life, but besides stuff like that, nothing really extra special! Oh well, theres still pretty much two months left of summer and maybe some truly amazing things will happen!! Who knows? One exciting thing though, my family is considering hosting an exchange student and I am excited about that! I will keep you updated though, hopefully school comes soon! I can't wait to go back to school shopping!
<3 Iced Tea 

Summer Is HERE!!!

Summer is FINALLY here!!!! So far, my summer has been pretty boring!!!! But hopefully things start happening!!! I cant wait until school starts!!!

Friends <3

I have no friends...... NO ONE.......... But I guess thats what you get when you switch in and out of school about 4 times a year. but I am a VERY people oriendted person and I am supposed to be around people practically all the time but now I am never around people and I lay in bed awake at night wondering why I had to leave school. I mean I was so happy....... But Oh well.
</3 IcedTea

Summer is approaching and I can't wait!

I found this recipe on a little blog called the hungry poodle... I am always looking for a new brownie recipe and this brownie looked especially good! When I get back to th States I will have to make some of these brownies!!!


The original recipe doesn’t call for nuts, but to me it’s not a brownie without nuts, so I added whole pecans on top before they went into the oven. I think nuts are better when they go on top of a baked good; when they are chopped up and stirred into the dough, they tend to stew rather than roast.
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used Ghirardelli Bittersweet chocolate chips)
2 T. unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 T. low-far sour cream
1 T. chocolate syrup (I only had fat-free fudge sauce and that worked fine)
1 large egg plus 1 egg white
2 t. vanilla extract
Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8″ baking pan with foil so that it comes out over the edges on all four sides (you’ll need two long pieces of foil, folded to fit neatly into the pan) and press it down so that it’s smooth. Spray the foil with nonstick spray.
Whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl. Melt the bittersweet chocolate and butter together in a large bowl in the microwave, stirring often, until melted. Let cool slightly.
Whisk the sugar, sour cream, chocolate syrup, egg, egg white and vanilla into the chocolate/butter mixture. Fold in the flour mixture in 3 additions with a spatula, stirring only until just combined.
Pour batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Tap the pan against the counter to remove any bubbles. Bake until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs attached, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. Do NOT overbake.
Let the brownies cool completely in the pan, about 2 hours. Lift them out with the foil and cut into 2″ squares.
Makes 16 brownies



< 3 Iced Tea

SPRINg < 3

Spring is on its way and I am soooo excited! here in Mexico it feels like Spring but its not the same as seeing the little mystery flowers in your backyard bloom and seeing buds start to appear on the trees!
<3 Iced Tea

IM BACK!!!

I can't believe that I am finally back!!! It just feels so normal that its weird! We have only been here for about 4 days but already it feels like an eternity! Back into spanish mode! Oh Joy! haaahaa!
We have not had to eat any of the casa food and I dont think that we are going to the entire time that we are here! We have gone to the mall a couple of times and we have eaten out quite a bit! But that is already stopping... I am here all day and there is absolutely NOTHING to do! We literally just sit around! I guess that if my mom and dad let me then I will have plenty of time to work on my blog! haahaaa! I will try to keep you updated!
<3 Iced Tea

Mexico!

 

My Dad, Mom, sister and I are going to Mexico!!! I am SOOOO excited to go! I cant wait!!! This will probably be my last visit! :( Im SOOO excited, but I am nervous too! I dont know if I am even going to swim but I might!
<3 Iced Tea

Mint Oreo MilkShake!! YUMM!

This combines mint flavor and a touch of malt to make a very tasty milkshake. Using mint Oreos is a great variation on the traditional Oreo milkshake recipes.

Ingredients:

• vanilla Ice Cream
• Malt Powder
• Mint Oreos
• Milk
• Green Sprinkles (for garnish)
• Whipped Cream (for garnish)

Directions:

• Fill your blender with vanilla ice cream. Make sure you do NOT pack it down.
• Add a tablespoon or 2 of malt powder, and 9-10 mint Oreos. Add milk until it fills the cracks and crevices about 3/4 of the way to the top of the blender. If you like thick shakes you can add more milk as you start to blend.
• Blend until smooth, adjusting the milk or ice cream as needed until the shake is the consistency you like
• Pour into glasses and top with whipped cream and sprinkles.

I got this recipe off of a cute little website!!!!
<3 Iced Tea

Spring is on it's way and I cant wait! Little green buds are sprouting up everywhere! I started a little green house and I am so excited to see them all grow. I pretty much only planted flowers. I am going to plant them all around the yard and watch them flourish.

Sparkles!!

I love love love sparkles!!!

Summer On its way...

Summer is on it's way! And I can't wait! I hope that this summer will be a little bit like last summer. Full of things to do but still relaxing and fun! I hope that have time to make some popcicles and some cool sorbets!
<3 Iced Tea

Black Bean Brownies

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups soft-cooked black beans, drained well (hs: canned is fine)
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ cup (granulated) natural coffee substitute (or instant coffee, for gluten-sensitive)
¼ teaspoon sea salt
4 large eggs
1½ cups light agave nectar

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line an 11- by 18-inch (rimmed) baking pan (hs note: or jellyroll pan) with parchment paper and lightly oil with canola oil spray.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a glass bowl in the microwave for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on high. Stir with a spoon to melt the chocolate completely. Place the beans, 1/2 cup of the walnuts, the vanilla extract, and a couple of spoonfuls of the melted chocolate mixture into the bowl of a food processor. Blend about 2 minutes, or until smooth. The batter should be thick and the beans smooth. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the remaining 1/2 cup walnuts, remaining melted chocolate mixture, coffee substitute, and salt. Mix well and set aside.

In a separate bowl, with an electric mixer beat the eggs until light and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the agave nectar and beat well. Set aside.

Add the bean/chocolate mixture to the coffee/chocolate mixture. Stir until blended well.

Add the egg mixture, reserving about 1/2 cup. Mix well. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Using an electric mixer, beat the remaining 1/2 cup egg mixture until light and fluffy. Drizzle over the brownie batter. Use a wooden toothpick to pull the egg mixture through the batter, creating a marbled effect. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the brownies are set. Let cool in the pan completely before cutting into squares. (They will be soft until refrigerated.)

Makes 45 (2-inch) brownies.

I found this recipe on 101 cookbooks which is like a journal thing.... its pretty neat!

 

I got this recipe off of TasteOfHome website and these brownies just look AMAZING to me! It probably doesnt help that I am a caramel addict! I havent actually made them YET (emphasize yet) but I will make them someday! And then I will post and tell you how they turned out!

 

Prep: 20 min. Bake: 35 min. + cooling

Yield: 24 Servings

Ingredients.... 20 35 55               \\Ingredients

-2 cups sugar

• 3/4 cup baking cocoa
• 1 cup canola oil
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup 2% milk
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts, divided
• 14 ounces caramels
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

Directions

• In a large bowl, beat the sugar, cocoa, oil, eggs and milk. Combine the flour, salt and baking powder; gradually add to egg mixture until well blended. Fold in chocolate chips and 1/2 cup walnuts.
• Spoon two-thirds of the batter into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat the caramels and condensed milk over low heat until caramels are melted. Pour over baked brownie layer. Sprinkle with remaining walnuts.
• Drop remaining batter by teaspoonfuls over caramel layer; carefully swirl brownie batter with a knife.
• Bake 35-40 minutes longer or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with moist crumbs (do not overbake). Cool on a wire rack. Yield: 2 dozen.

Nutritional Facts 1 serving (1 each) equals 376 calories, 18 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 43 mg cholesterol, 189 mg sodium, 51 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 6 g protein.

YEAH!!

I have FIMALLY figured out how to change everything on my blog!!! (I know I am a bit challenged!) Seeing as it was all right infront of my eyed the entire time! I have not been on this blog for SOOO long! and in that immense amount of time I have joined Pinterest. There are so many good recipes and craft ideas on there and its so addicting! I probably spend too much time pinning brownie recipes.... but who ever knew that there was SOO many!?! My life has changed SO much from the last couple of posts and its wierd to think that when I was writing those I didnt know what would be  going on in my life now... wierd to think about!
-Iced Tea