Pretty Much Perfect

The Perfect Brownie Pan is pretty awesome. If you are unaware of this magical pan then let me fill you in. You pour some brownie batter in this pan and insert a grid before you bake them. The grid not only produces equally cut brownies, but it also gives each brownie a crispy edge and soft center. The pan has a detachable bottom so you can put the pan on a pedestal and then lower the pan's sides so have easy access to all the brownies. AND you can make more than just brownies! You could use it for cakes, rice krispy treats, and cookie bars, the possibilities are endless :) The Perfect Brownie Pan really does make perfect brownies.

See how lovely the brownies look?

Many people are pretty skeptical of "As Seen on Tv" products (and they probably should be). The commercials for these products can be kind of silly and even cheaply made. I can testify that the Perfect Brownie Pan is good. After bragging on this nice "As Seen" product I realized that I can testify for a few more. Note: I didn't purchase all of these products on my own.

The next two items were wedding gifts and they are pretty cool. The one-touch can opener and jar opener. I usually just use my old school can opener because it's quicker, but the jar opener/lid remover really can open things well. The only downside is that it doesn't work on plastic containers and I have trouble opening new apple juice all the time. Good thing I have Cory around to help(after I loosen it, of course).
Next item up is the Ove Glove. While I was still living with my folks, my mom bought one of these. Cory was fascinated with it. He would always want to take things out of the oven for me. My mom gave us one as a small wedding gift and we really enjoy it. You can get a better grip of things in the oven and it's "handy" for Cory when he wants to eat a bowl of hot soup in the living room (and he doesn't want to get a tv tray out or use our coffee table)
This next thing is one of my favorites. It's called the "Chop Wizard" and it chops onions and other vegetables. I hate having onion smelling fingers after chopping them so this saves me from that. It chops food in half the time it would take you do it with a knife. This is better than the slap chop...which I have a version of.

Of course the Snuggie sold me and the Table Mate is the BEST tv tray. It came out years ago. Do you remember the commercial? It can slide underneath the couch so you can have the tray close to you and the top of it can be set at different angles. You can also adjust the height for children to tall adults.
Now you know the "As Seen on TV" products that I endorse. I have some other products that are too ridiculous to even mention. I still have the ShamWow on my wish list. If you've tried it please tell me how it is.

You may also notice the snazzy new computer in the picture above (ok, so maybe like 3 of you noticed). My old laptop finally bit the dust this week. To go along with the title, my "pretty much perfect" (for me) hubby got me a new one and set everything up for me. He even got my itunes transferred and working. Such a swell guy. My old laptop was supposed to be a temporary computer that stayed around for a while. It is too embarrassing to even photograph.

Oh well, I hope everyone has a great weekend. Maybe the bad weather will stay away. AND a Happy Birthday to my bro-in-law, Josh. He turns 30 tomorrow.

I'm still here...

It has been over a month since I have posted on here. I've been kind of bummed and also busy so I'm sorry for the lack of posts (if anyone even cares) :)

Today I'm posting a recipe for Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Icing. I will go ahead and say, "You're welcome" in advance because this is very delicious. I found this recipe online a few years ago and saved it in my recipe folder. I saved it with my sister, Angie, in mind because she loves peanut butter and chocolate. Unfortunately she hasn't gotten to try it but I vow that one day I will to make it for her.

Last week my parents, grandmother, aunt, uncle, and cousin came in town to see my cousin's tennis match. My grandmother's birthday was also last week so I decided to make her this tasty cake. We enjoyed it after a yummy dinner at Full Moon BBQ.

On to the recipe...

The recipe actually has you make a cake from scratch but I have found that some cake mixes tastes just as good and are much easier. Here's what I used for the cake part. (If you want the actual homemade cake recipe I'll email it to you):

One box Devil's Food Cake

3/4 cup water

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1/2 vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

Mix ingredients and pour into three greased 8 inch cake pans. (I used 9 inch pans) Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes. Let cool.

While the cake is cooking you can make the peanut butter icing.

You will need:

10 oz cream cheese; softened

1 stick butter; softened

5 cups confectioners sugar sifted

2/3 cup smooth peanut butter

In a large mixing bowl beat the cream cheese and butter together until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar 1 cup at a time making sure it is well blended. Continue to beat on medium until light & fluffy (for about 3 minutes)

It should look like this and will taste like Heaven.

Next spread it on your cake layers. I actually put a thin coat of icing all over the cake to secure the crumbs and then let it chill for about 10 minutes. After that I put a thicker coat of icing on. Sometimes with darker cakes and light icing you can see some crumbs in the icing.
After you ice the cake put it in the fridge for a while to firm the icing. This will help with the next step which is pouring a chocolate glaze over the top half of the cake.

For the glaze you will need:
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped coarsely

3 TBS smooth peanut butter

2 TBS light corn syrup

1/2 c. half and half

In the top of a double boiler, combine the chocolate, peanut butter, and corn syrup and cook, whisking often, until melted and smooth.

Remove from the heat and whisk in the half-and-half until smooth. Use while still warm.
Pour on the top of the cake and use a spatula to spread glaze to just the edges of the cake's top. The chocolate will eventually start to drip down the sides of the cake. Refrigerate uncovered for about 30 minutes to allow the glaze to set. Allow cake to sit out for a little while before serving.

My cake didn't turn out too pretty but it was very tasty. Make sure you cut thin slices and have milk on hand because this is a very rich cake. I hope you enjoy:)