Chocolate-Caramel Goodness

So I was feeling a little blah today, most likely because of the gloomy weather we've been having. So I decided to see if this would cheer me up...Keep in mind I'm a little nervous about doing this because as you learned from my previous post I am a frequent follower of recipe blogs. There are some very impressive one's out there so hopefully my first try isn't too embarrassing :)

Last night I made a delicious new creation. Well, I thought they were delicious, I'm still waiting for my boyfriend to tell me what he thinks. Anyways, I got that urge to bake as I have been getting more frequently and found I had a box of Devil's Food Cake that I hadn't used. Now, I don't like cake very much at all. I know what you're thinking...What?! Who doesn't like cake? Well, me that's who. So I got on Miss Betty Crocker's website to see what other creations I could make with this box of cake. What follows is what I found....

Crumbly layer before I put in pan. May have tasted a few bites...

Caramels. Mmm. Tempted to make caramel apples because it came with free sticks :)

The final product. So yummy, You can see the caramely goodness coming out.

Chocolate-Caramel Goodness Bars

adapted from Betty Crocker

1 box of Betty Crocker Super Moist devil's

 food cake mix

3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened 

(I used Crisco because it was all I had. Works fine though.)

2 cups of quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats

1 bag of vanilla caramels, unwrapped

1/4 cup of milk

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, if wanted

(I'm not a huge fan of nuts in desserts so I left these out)

Heat oven to 350 degrees F, and grease pan. In a large bowl beat cake mix, butter, and egg until well blended. Stir in oats until crumbly (see picture). I used my fingers for this step, it's easiest. Now try a taste. You know you want to...Reserve 1 1/2 cups of this mixture. Press remaining mixture in pan.

In 2-quart saucepan heat milk and caramels on medium-low heat, stirring often, until melted. Pour over chocolate layer in pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips and nuts if using on top. Sprinkle reserved cake mixture on top. Bake 20-25 minutes or until caramel bubbles up sides and top looks dry. Run a knife along edges of pan when you remove from oven. Let sit about an hour before you cut into it. 

Enjoy!

My Obsessions

As I sit here eating a Fruit Roll-Up (yes I'm 12) trying to decide what interesting thing to post. It is after all my very first post, therefore it MUST be something extremely profound....so I decided to talk about a few obsession's in my life.

Recipe blogs! My boyfriend can attest to this one, he catches me reading them quite frequently. I have a problem my friends...I won't even try to deny it. On a daily basis I find myself searching through blog after blog reading other people's recipes. Speaking of which, check out these blogs Picky Palate and How Sweet It Is. I secretly pretend that these people are my friends and actually care if I comment on their blogs. And when they respond, it sadly makes my day. So I think it's pretty clear I do in fact have a problem.Which brings us to my next obsession....

Food. I think anyone who's EVER known me, knows that this is an obvious one. I could go on and on about how I love every aspect of it. Thank you God for my fast metabolism and love for working out!! If this were not so, I'm convinced I would be at least 40 lb over weight. Anyways, I love to eat. I love trying new things. And I need to eat often (anyone who's ever known me also knows this is true).

So, on to more obsessions. My boyfriend. Mushy, (I'm well aware of this friends) but true none the less. I mean to have that one person that get's you, even the crazy weird parts of you, is a blessing. And he is just that. Not too mention he knows exactly how to make me laugh even if I'm in the midst of crying. A true talent I'm convinced. Alright, enough about him. I could say more, but I know you're done with all the gushy stuff.

This post is getting much too long...so I'm only going to talk about one more thing. Even though I could go on. (You're welcome.) People watching. Again, I have a problem. But they are just so dang interesting! I will give you a few tips on people watching, because trust me, I'm an expert. My favorite places to people watch are the gym, Starbucks (see above picture), and Panera. So watch out if you spend any amount of time in these places, I've probably been watching you at some point. That was a little creepy...but it's all for the love of people watching! I'm pretty sure that one of these days I am probably going to fly off the treadmill at the gym as a direct result of my obsession with people watching. But thank you to all you interesting people out there, you always make my day.

If you actually read all of this, thank you. Promise it won't be quite so long next time. Got a little excited....