Happy Pi Day! Mint Chocolate Pie

I really enjoy making themed desserts. So when I was reminded that today was Pi Day, I knew I had to make a pie. Never having made any sort of pie before, I wanted something easy. Also, since I get off work at 8, I wanted something fast that I didn't have to bake. In honor of St. Patrick's Day on Monday, I went with a Mint Chocolate Pie. Celebrating two holidays with one dessert: effective.

Ingredients:
(I was in a rush and forgot a picture...oops)

24 Cool Mint Creme Oreo cookies
1/4 cup  butter, melted
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup milk
8 oz  thawed whipped topping
1/4 - 1/2 tsp mint extract
1/4 cup chocolate syrup
1 cup Andes Mints Creme de Menth Baking Chips, divided (or 1 cup chopped Andes Mints)

Directions:
1. Make the cookie crust by crushing the mint Oreos into a fine crumb. I would recommend using a food processor or blender, because while banging them with a rolling pin is a stress reliever, you end up with a more rough crumb. But if you need to get a little aggression out, throw those Oreos in a ziplock bag and bang away. 
2. Using your hands, mix the crushed Oreo crumbs and melted butter together. I was lazy, and just did this in the pie pan. Saving the environment, one unused dish at a time.
3. Press the crumbs onto the bottom and up the sides of a 9 or 10 inch pie pan. Try to make the crust 1/8 inch thick all around. Perfection is overrated. Set in the freezer as you make the filling. 

4.Make the pie filling in a large bowl by mixing the softened cream cheese, milk, sugar and cocoa powder with a hand mixer. Mix until the mixture is completely smooth. 

I used my green bowl, because it's festive.

5. Mix the mint extract and the whipped topping, and then gently fold into the cream cheese mixture.

It should end up looking like this.

6. Remove pie crust from the freezer and layer 1/2 of the pie filling onto the crust.  
7. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the Andes Mint baking chips. 
8. Layer with the rest of the pie filling and top with chocolate syrup and remaining Andes Mint chips.
9. Freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight. 20 minutes before serving, remove from the freezer and let sit out to gently thaw. This makes the pie much easier to cut and serve.

Nerdy decoration optional.

This was really rich, so I'd recommend cutting it into small pieces. I cut mine into 12, and that seemed like the perfect slice. Also, I think it would be better with fudge sauce instead of chocolate syrup. The chocolate syrup was kind of runny, even after being in the freezer all night. Maybe even add fudge to the middle layer with the Andes Mint chips. I also thought about substituting Bailey's for the milk to make it more Irish, but since I was taking it into work, I saved that idea for next time. Because I will definitely be making this again. It was excellent. And nerdy. 

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

I love homemade cinnamon rolls. My dad always makes some for Christmas morning, and I wanted to try them out for myself. I really wanted an overnight recipe, because I am not a great morning person and waiting that long in the morning for cinnamon rolls just seemed like too much work. I found two recipes that I liked, from here and here, and combined the two to make some really great cinnamon rolls.

I actually made these again at my in-law's house for Christmas morning, and they loved them and requested that I be there every Christmas to make them again. These are so tasty, that it's hard to eat just one.

Ingredients:

 Dough:

1 tbsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
4 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 

1 tsp kosher salt
4 eggs
1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter 

Filling:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp cinnamon

Frosting:

3 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp lemon juice

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, sprinkle the yeast over the water, allow to bloom for a few minutes, then whisk until smooth. 

2. Whisk in 1/2 cup of the flour. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm spot for about 30 minutes.

3. Add the eggs, sugar, butter, salt, and remaining 4 cups flour to the yeast mixture. With the dough hook, knead on medium speed until smooth, about 8-12 minutes.  Add a bit more flour to reduce stickiness if needed. This makes my stand mixer really warm, so be prepared for that. 

4. Cover with plastic wrap, set in a warm spot and let rise until doubled, about 2 hours.

5. While dough is rising, prepare filling. Take 2 tbsp of the stick of butter and set aside. Beat remaining butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon together until combined and slightly fluffy, about 1 minute. It will be pretty thick.

6. Butter a 9×13 baking dish. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface.

7. Roll out into a rectangle about 15×10 in.

Or a lumpy oval. Same thing.

8. Spread filling onto dough. The easiest way I found to do this was to just use my hands. You'll get a little messy, but you'll smell yummy like cinnamon!

9. Roll the dough up length-wise.

10. Cut your rolls. I just use a knife, because I don't care if they're a little smooshed. Dental floss cuts through dough as well. You can cut the rolls to your liking. This will make 12 small rolls, 10 medium ones, or 8 large rolls.
11. Place in buttered baking dish.

12. Melt the reserved 2 T butter and brush on top of rolls. 

13. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight.
14. The next morning, remove from refrigerator and let rise until half again as high, about 1 hour.

16. Preheat the oven to 350. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.

15. While baking, prepare the frosting. 

Whip cream cheese and butter together, then add in vanilla and lemon juice. Add the powdered sugar slowly until it's all incorporated.

 

Beat on high for about 5 minutes until it is light and fluffy.

16. Once rolls are out of the oven, immediately frost using half the frosting. This will melt and slide down into the rolls.

17. After they have cooled a few more minutes, frost again with remaining frosting. This step isn't entirely necessary, but it makes the frosting look nicer.

And those are my cinnamon rolls! They're a little work, but sooooo worth it. They are giant and soft and cinnamony, which is everything a cinnamon roll should be. They also make my apartment smell amazing. They're best served warm, but I've been known to pull of pieces straight out of the fridge and eat them. These are great for a get-together, because you can prep everything the night before, even the frosting. Then just pull them out and let them rise, and pop them in the oven and bake!

Book Review: Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

I had this book checked out from the library for about 4 months. It took me that long to read it. I read the first 300 pages in about a week, and then left it for 3 months. The book was interesting, but I just couldn't convince myself to get back into it. The only reason I did was because of a friend who insisted that I had to read it with her. I am really glad I picked it back up though. I'm also really happy to be done with it. It's really long! Like, forever long. But worth it, I think.

This book cover is stupid.

 

The book isn't what I normally read, which I think is why I had such a hard time getting into it. But once I started it again, I was hooked. The characters were just so well developed and appealing. I wanted to know what happened in their life and how their story ended. After going through so many struggles, the story ended up being beautiful. I will say that one of the reasons that I had such a hard time reading it was because of the character of William. He was just so repugnant, and I had such a hard time reading about how he enjoyed raping Aliena. That was difficult for me to get over, and was so repulsive to me. It was at first hard for me to grasp that he never got nicer, and never really grew up. But I realized that would be incredibly true to his character and that there really are people like that in the world.

The architectural and historical aspects were incredibly interesting to me, and I greatly enjoyed reading about them. I do like a good historical fiction, which I think is why I may have liked this book. Overall, I would recommend this book to someone who would be dedicated enough to finish it. The story spans over so many different characters and generations that a reader really has to get into the story and relate to the ideas in order to enjoy it. I'm glad that I read it, but I don't think it will be one that I read again.

Still Not Easy

Now that I'm done with my third week of trying to reduce my sugar intake, I have noticed a difference in what I'm eating. I crave oranges instead of Snickers bars, and I am seriously in love with my blender and the smoothies it makes. I still have a bad habit of just eating things that are on the break table at work, just because they're there. I need to get me some better willpower when it comes to sweets.

I also have a pretty intense love of baking, which is not helpful to cutting out sugar. I made these Snickerdoodle Bars for Chris, because he loves snickerdoodles, and took some in to work. I ended up eating quite a few of them. And with 2 cups of brown sugar in them, they aren't exactly they healthiest. But they were soooo good.

I have been eating a lot of fruit, but not as many veggies as I would like. I found this recipe on Pinterest for spinach ice cubes, which sound and look super gross, but are actually super handy. Basically, I took a bag of spinach and some water and blended them together:

I found the easiest way to do this for my blender was to add a little spinach, then some water, and then more spinach, and a little more water. I originally just added all the spinach to the blender with a little water and tried to blend it, and ended up having to take some out and blend it better.
Then, pour the mixture into two ice cube trays:

They look so appetizing.

 And freeze! Chris now considers these ice cube trays "forever unclean", but I loved it! I added these to my smoothies instead of the regular ice cubes, and they barely changed the flavor at all. Even Chris didn't notice a big change. And by blending them beforehand, there weren't any awkward errant leaves floating around my smoothie.

Smoothie with spinach: Not really a difference

I also tried adding cucumber to the smoothies, but that flavor really overpowered the fruit. It didn't taste bad, just a lot like cucumber. I've switched from vanilla yogurt to a mix of plain and greek yogurt with some honey added for sweetness. I drink one of these pretty much every day after I work out, and I really do feel kind of amazing afterward. Which is probably because of the workout and not the smoothie, but that's ok.

My goal for the next couple weeks is to not eat any of the treats left out at work. I've been bringing an orange in with my lunch every day, and hopefully I can just stick to that instead of grabbing for the chocolate covered pretzels that are on the table (sweet AND salty? Irresistible). I think if I can stick to that, my sugar intake will be way better and become more manageable. Wish me luck!

Book Review: Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson

I actually started reading a different book this week and ended up just returning it to the library without finishing it. It was The Midwife: A memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times. I just couldn't identify with the writer and didn't like her writing style at all. Some of her stories were interesting, but her complaints about her work just got repetitive. I was disappointed in the book, so I decided to read one that I knew I would like.

I read Jenny Lawson's blog over at http://thebloggess.com/ and have for awhile. I love how honest she is about her anxiety and struggles, as well as her dry sense of humor. Also, her haunted dollhouse is seriously my favorite and you should look at it if you haven't. It's incredible. I also really enjoy memoirs and short stories, such as those by David Sedaris. I like reading those little moments in someone's life that they find important enough to write about, particularly when they're funny. Which is why I knew I would probably love Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson.

Purchase her book here.

I knew that I would like her book after reading about it on her blog, and it didn't disappoint. Her stories even made me laugh out loud at times, and usually when I read something funny I just do that weird thing where you snort extra air out instead of actually laughing. I will say that her footnotes and prefaces got a little repetitive just because there were so many of them. Her chapter on her pregnancy and miscarriage were poignant will still being amusing, which is hard to do. I also liked that it gave me a little more insight on one of my favorite bloggers.
I would say that if you read her blog, and like the way she writes there, then you'll probably like this book. If you don't  like a more casual writing style and prefer your writing more structured, then this is definitely not the book for you. This story about a Beyoncé the Metal Chicken is in the book, and I'd say if you find this story amusing, you'll probably like the rest of the book.

This is HARD!

So for an update on my quest to eat less sugar: It's still a far off goal. This thing is difficult! I have been eating a lot more fresh fruit, which is definitely helping. I've noticed myself craving more oranges than chocolate. However, it's been hard to resist all the leftover Christmas candy that's laying around. I've also noticed that I eat more processed sugar while I'm sitting in front of the television or my computer. So my other goal of reading more books will hopefully help cut down my intake further next week. 

I tried two new recipes this week. One was for Banana Oatmeal Muffins, which I ate two of for breakfast every morning instead of my usual sugary breakfast cereal. I wasn't hungry for most of the morning, which helped me to resist all of the treats that my coworkers bring in. I really enjoyed them, and will probably make them again. Granted, they did still have some sugar in them, particularly in the chocolate chips, but I like to think they were more healthy than bad.

I also tried the Oatmeal Smoothie recipe that I've seen floating around Pinterest for awhile.
Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

 5 ice cubes

5-6 frozen whole strawberries
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt 

1 banana 

1/2 cup uncooked oatmeal

1 tablespoon honey 

1 cup orange juice

Directions:

Place ice and raspberries in the bottom of blender, and all other ingredients on top. Whir until completely smooth. This makes two pretty large smoothies.  

I'll bet you can't guess which one is mine and which is Chris's.

I really enjoyed this as a breakfast smoothie. I had one each morning after I worked out, and the oatmeal in it really made it more filling and sustaining. I used orange juice instead of the coconut milk and strawberries instead of raspberries, because that's what I had in my fridge. Even Chris liked the smoothie, and he hates oatmeal. What a weirdo.Who doesn't like oatmeal? He even specifically requested that I make it one morning.

 

Overall, I'd say that there has definitely been progress. I'm at least eating much healthier, even if I haven't cut back that much on sugar. All the fruit I've been eating has made me crave processed sugar less. I've even been drinking orange juice, and I used to hate orange juice. Now that all my Christmas candy is almost gone, hopefully the progress will be a little more next update.

Book Review: The Borgia Series by Sara Poole

In keeping with my New Year's goals, this will be the first of many book reviews that I post. I'm not really sure how to write these, because I don't want to give away the plot, but I will do my best to give my reaction to the book as well as including the parts that I liked best. This week I read the Borgia Series by Sara Poole. I had read the first two books awhile ago, and requested the third one at the library. I reread the first two and ended with the third one yesterday.

Purchase the book here

I loved the first one when I originally read it, and still liked it the second time around. It was a new spin on the usual historical fiction genre. The story of the Borgia rise to power is told from the viewpoint of his poisoner, which lent a dark and interesting twist to the story. The character interactions show depth, and the darkness of Francesca's mind gives an intriguing look to such a turmoil filled time in history.

Purchase the book here

The second book continues the storyline of the first by bringing back the antagonist and introducing the new challenges for Francesca as the poisoner to the pope. I would say spoilers, but since it's historical fiction, that part isn't really spoiled. The story goes further into depth on Rome and the pope, which was a great touch and introduced the Lux as a side storyline. I enjoyed this book as well, and didn't find it too predictable.

Purchase to book here

The third book was my least favorite, and was kind of a disappointment, The story took the Borgias out of Rome and the storyline just became too expected, A problem that comes with too having read too many books is that it can be very hard to surprise me an I often guess the surprise twist before it happens. That was the case with this book, as I had anticipated who the assassin was and the mother's death way before they were announced. If you've seen the TV show, Dexter, then the mother's death and the impact that it had on Francesca are completely expected. I did really like the development in Cesar and Francesca's relationship, which was a healthy way for the book to move along. It's not necessarily a bad book, but it was definitely not one that I would rave about to anyone.

On a side tangent or rant, I'm really tired of all of the new books coming out that are a part of the series. Nothing is more irritating to me than reading a great book, getting to the end, and realizing that I'm going to have to way until May to get the next part.  My best example of this is the Bloody Jack series by L.A. Meyer. I started collecting those when I was in high school, and loved them. 10 books later, I've outgrown the series and really just wish it would end. It's frustrating to see more and more books coming out and being tied to the series that I don't even really connect with anymore. But I still want to know how it ends! The same goes for more famous authors, who have series with 17 or 18 books in them. There's absolutely no way I'm starting those series. I don't have time to catch up on them, and I don't want to have to commit to reading more. What happened to just writing one really great book? It's annoying to me, and I'm irritated by it.
This series is one of those that needs to end. The first book was great, but I can just tell that the more it gets dragged out, the worse the books are going to be. In the second book, in the questions with the author section, she said she could easily see Francesca starring in twelve books. I'm pretty sure I groaned out loud.

Ok. Deep breath.


Rant over.

Overall, I would still recommend the series. I still love the first book, and even enjoyed the second one. The third book, while predictable, was a nice change away from the first two by taking the characters out of Rome and seeing how the interact in a different environment. The characters are appealing and charismatic, and the stories keep your interest. They were a fairly quick read, as I finished each of them in a night, which makes them great for a fast escape to a historical world.