Homemade Butter Finger Bars

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! I know that I’m a little late in the day, in fact it’s only still Valentines for the Western hemisphere. It’s plain old February 15th in Europe right now. Good thing that I’m giving you a non-Valentines specific treat! I spent the first half of my Valentine’s Day flying around the country. It’s a very exciting month in the Wilde household!

This weekend I spent packing up boyfriends house for his upcoming move to the east coast. We spent hours going through bins and bins of toys. Fabulous 1980’s toys! Everything from Ninja Turtles to G.I. Joes to Batman. It was a very Toy Story 3 kind of weekend, deciding what would move and what would be sent to the big Thrift store donation truck. Packing up old toys is hard! You get distracted and find yourself setting up the G.I. Joe base, when you should be deciding whether astronaut Raphael should be donated or not (donate).

So, while you may have spent your weekend heading to a romantic dinner or cooking something delicious for your favorite person, I spent it in a basement, playing with toys! Boyfriend was able to pick and choose his favorites and we set aside a big box (okay, five boxes) to take to the collection center. A big box (5) of G.I. Joe trucks and Batcaves, ninja turtle action figures and micro machines was on its way out of the house, so sad.

Fate intervened and a text message came to boyfriends phone. A friend saw us driving around town and was harassing boyfriend for ignoring him. A friend, with two kids. Kids who like toys! Perhaps boyfriends friend would like the toys? The return text message… Yes! Friend would love the toys! Hooray, the toys will have new kids to play with them! Such a Toy Story ending, everyone is happy. Except boyfriend, who wants to break open the boxes we packed and play with the toys.

Cinnamon Rolls

When I was little, I loved the weekends. Wait, my love of the weekends was not because I wanted to sleep in and I didn’t have to go to school. No no. I loved school. I loved doing homework. I loved practicing my flute. I was a big ole nerd, just not the briefcase carrying, coke-bottle glasses kinda nerd. I was a secret nerd, but now is not the time to discuss my secret nerdiness, perhaps another time. Now we are talking about the weekend!

The weekend meant enjoying a warm breakfast with my family. Mom and I would toil in the kitchen as dad read the morning paper and brother played computer/video games in his room. I would toast slice after slice of bread or watch the bacon get all crispy (then forget it and it gets burnt). Mom would make everyone omelets or cook up dippy eggs. Dad would clip coupons and brother would slaughter monsters, or something like that.

Sometimes, I would take control of the whole breakfast situation. This meant heading to the fridge and pulling out a tube of dough. I’d proudly rip off the label and crack the tube on the counter top. As the dough exploded from its cardboard prison it would let off an amazing aroma of cinnamon and yeast. I always thought the raw dough looked delicious, mom suggested I didn’t eat it, please.

Cinnamon rolls were always my favorite and I preferred when we got the tube of seven, rather than the tube of 5. Sure, the tube of 5 meant bigger cinnamon rolls, but the tube of 7 meant leftovers! I’d have one right out of the oven, then try to sneak back later in the day to get another. Sometimes I’d be too slow and brother would have eaten them all, blast him!

Now I get all the cinnamon rolls. I don’t have to share. I’m greedy with the cinnamon rolls, so here’s the recipe. You have to make your own, I ate all of these and there aren’t leftovers.

Be sure to stop by Candy Challenge 2011! (see it up there?  Below the banner?)  This is where I'll link all of my candy recipes for this year.  This is also where you must add your challenges.  Got a candy you want me to try and make?  Post a reply and consider the gauntlet thrown! 

Mustard-Glazed Chicken

Sometimes a girl gets a little busy. So busy that she hasn’t had a haircut since July. So busy that her car registration has been expired for a week and she hasn’t been able to go to the DMV and get new plates. So busy that she has to go to the dollar store and buy milk (yes, they sell milk! And boxed brownie mix…). Yes, life tends to pile up around here. Although I consider today a big win, because I put the dishes in the dishwasher, then I turned it on. Boo-yeah, clean dishes.

And even the haircut isn’t that bad. When I moved from Colorado to Connecticut, I spent two fabulous weeks visiting friends, family and boyfriend in Buffalo. I like going to Buffalo in the summer, it’s so nice out. I spent time in the garden with my mom, well, she gardened, I rolled around the lawn with the dog. I went for a long bike ride along the Niagara river with my dad, then we ate our weight in ice cream. I went to my brothers new house and saw all of the work that he’s put into it. Dude knows how to handle a table saw, I was very impressed. I know how to put together Ikea furniture.

The most hilarious time was going to the salon with my mom. When I first got home she mentioned that she had a hair appointment and perhaps I would like to get my hair done too? But why? You don’t like my hair? It’s so pretty. When was my last haircut? Ummm, right before my thesis defense… in August… of 2008. That’s right, two whole years since my last haircut! When I arrived at the salon the stylist asked what I wanted to do with it. I suggested that we cut off enough so that my mom didn’t think I looked like a homeless person anymore. Stylist laughed, but she thought I looked like a homeless person too. At least she complimented my jeans.

So I figure I have at least another year and a half before I really have to get another haircut. In the meantime I’ll try to head to the grocery store. This dinner, while delicious, was made out of necessity. I had a half bag of carrots in my fridge, leftover from making chili. I had some chicken quarters, purchased and frozen three weeks ago while on sale. Everything else you need to make this meal will most likely be located in your pantry. Feel free to use dried herbs, I know I did!