Bill Bakes for the Blog!

Don't interrupt me when I'm getting my bake on!

To begin, make sure you have the necessary ingredients.

First, you'll need to add ~1.5 - 2cups chocolate chips, 1/4 cup butter (cut into cubes), and one 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk into a large glass bowl. Set this aside.

In a mixing bowl, add your favorite box of cake mix (I used Betty Crockers Chocolate Fudge here, but have also used Funfetti and Yellow cake mix before), 1/3 cup vegetable oil, and 2 eggs.

Put the glass bowl containing the chocolate chips into the microwave on HIGH for 45 seconds.

Remove the bowl, mix with a non-stick rubber policeman or wooden spoon. Re-heat the mix in 45 second intervals in the microwave until this is fully mixed and smooth. Its very easy to burn chocolate, so stick to short intervals and you should be ok. This usually fully melts in approximately three 45 second cycles.

Time to set the oven to 350F, allow it to pre-heat for at least 10 minutes.

While melting the chocolate chips, start to mix the cake portion by hand. This is best done using a large rubber policeman and folding the batter onto itself. This will eventually form a VERY thick batter. I would not suggest using an electric mixer for this as it will likely get stuck.

And voila! This will be the base for the snack. Continue to fold this onto itself until the resulting batter is smooth (no visible dry cake mix left).

Using a 13x9x2" well greased or non-stick glass/metal pan, place 2/3 of the cake mix batter into it and spread evenly across the bottom.

Next, pour the molten chocolate mixture on top of the batter and try to get it to spread evenly across the top.

Using the remaining 1/3 cake mix, make several "balls" or "disks" to place on top of the chocolate. Try to spread these evenly across the top.

This is the final result before baking. I've used several small balls of dough before, but I prefer the "disks" better as they tend to spread better during the bake. Place this into the oven for 20-25 minutes. This is done once the cake portions on top start to lightly brown.

This is the final result. Aptly named "Can't Leave Em' Alone Bars" they combine the texture of brownies with a smooth creamy chocolate center. Similar to substituting the cake mix, you can also use white chocolate or peanut butter chips (or others...) to yield the same result for an endless combination of flavors! Enjoy!!

--Bill

The Lady and the Mister

I love how Bill and I can work together for hours on end and then come into a room together and do two totally different things, but still be together. We're still together, but we're doing our own thing. Just a bit of a wind down after a crazy few hours. I like moments like these, but I also love the cuddles that come afterwards.

This afternoon I baked some breads to help him out for his donut day at work, as well as cut up apples for a Jewish Apple Cake, and then when he came home, he helped me out with dinner a little bit. I home-made Chick-Fil-A (a post on that forthcoming), but it was a little messy and I only had one hand available. So Bill helped out but being my plater and chicken-cutter-opener. Quite the official position, if I do say so myself. Not to spoil the next post, but the chicken was amazing.

After dinner was all said and done, though, things picked up fast. Our kitchen was a hectic mess for sure. I didn't really help too much with the Jewish Apple Cake or the cheesecake Bill made, except to be his "getter of things." (See, I have an official position too! :P) When his hands were messy, I got for him. Funny how that works, sort of a "one hand washes the other" deal.

At least I helped cut up the fruit! But that's because I got what was left over and didn't fit on the fruit tray. Honeydew, pineapples, and strawberries are all amazing with Cool Whip on them, fyi. I just learned this. HEAVEN!

We finally got all the cakes done. We're just relaxing while we wait for the cheesecake to cool enough to put in the icebox. (Poll: Am I really the only one to call a refrigerator an "icebox?" Answer in the comments below.)

I hope everyone likes the baked goods we worked hard on!