Mmm Fudge

Yesterday, Jason visited his cousin in Rome and while there ate some fudge that his aunt had made. So, in addition to the three books he brought me to read, he also brought me the recipe for the fudge. Well, since he said that the fudge was so good, I made it today. I think we are going to take it with us to our Journey group tomorrow. I am also thinking about making some more to take to school tomorrow. We'll see, because I also have made granola and I oatmeal cookies today and I still have to cook dinner. It doesn't take long to make though, so we'll see.

Without further ado, fudge.

Yvonne's Fudge Recipe
1 lb. Confectioners Sugar
(3 1/2 cups for those of you who would like to know and whose husbands come home with a 2 lb bag)
1/2 cup cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter or margarine (melted)
4 tablespoons of milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans (I don't really like nuts in things, so this is optional. I added some chopped walnuts on the top of half of the fudge after I put it in the pan for those who like that type of things)

Directions: Combine all ingredients except nuts and vanilla in saucepan. Stir. Heat on stove until mixture turns from dull to shiny (it will also get thinner). Add vanilla and nuts (optional) and stir. Remove from heat and pour into buttered pan to set.

There it is. Easy as can be. I'm sure it will taste as good as it looks.

Zenni Optical Review

Well, I finally got my glasses from Zenni Optical, and I have to say I am pleased. I ordered three pairs. One metal framed similar to the ones I already had, one rimless titanium framed pair, and a plastic pair that I got tinted lenses for. I really like all three pairs. I think my biggest fear was that the lenses would be too big and I would look like I had bought my glasses in the nineties. I genuinely like the shape and style of all of my glasses. I also received good customer service from Zenni Optical. After I placed my order, they sent me an email making sure that what I had entered in as my prescription was correct. They probably wouldn't do this for everyone, but since one of my eyes is nearsighted and the other is farsighted, they wanted to check and make sure that I had entered in all the numbers correctly. I emailed them one more time when I hadn't heard that the glasses had been shipped after a little over a week. They emailed me back within 24 hours to tell me that the glasses had been made and were on their way to California and that once the arrived in California I would be given a tracking number. A few days ago, I got an email with the tracking number. Strange thing about that was that I never actually got to track my package (I personally think it has something to do with USPS and not Zenni). When I checked last night, my package info had been entered in, but the package wasn't in the system yet. So, I was pleasantly suprised to find my package in the mail today. Each pair came with a plastic glasses case and a glasses cleaner. My prescription changed just a little, so I don't think it is going to take me long to get used to my new pairs. All in all, I am pleased. I don't think I will have to order any more pairs, because I genuinely like all of the ones I got. I can definitely reccommend Zenni Optical for inexpenisve, but still nice glasses.

Homemade Granola

Since this is my last week of freedom before school starts back, I am using my time doing all sorts of things that I don't usually do during the school year (I am hoping to do more cooking during this school year, because I will have a lot more time). On my list today is homemade granola. Jason bought a huge thing of yogurt and we have a ton of fruit, so what is better with that than granola? I used a new recipe website to find an easy granola recipe. I picked it, because I had everything in my kitchen already. I am going to need to buy more oatmeal soon, because I have gone through a huge thing in about two weeks. The website I used is called Tasty Kitchen. People can post recipes. There were numerous granola recipes, but I chose to make Basic Granola. From the smell of what is cooking currently, I think this recipe is going to be a winner. I already ate some of the uncooked granola and it was excellent. So, here is the recipe.

Basic Granola

Added by angelinthekitchen on July 30, 2009 in Breakfast

Prep Time 5 Minutes Cook Time 45 Minutes

Servings 8

Difficulty Easy

Ingredients

• 4 cups Old Fashioned Oats
• ½ cups Chopped Pecans
• ¾ cups Slivered Almonds
• ¾ cups Brown Sugar
• ¼ cups Water
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• ½ teaspoons Table Salt

Preparation Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line two large sheet pans with parchment paper.

2. Combine oats and nuts in a large bowl.

3. In a small, microwavable bowl, combine sugar, water, vanilla, and salt. Microwave on high 2-3 minutes, or until sugar is dissolved and the mixture resembles maple syrup.

4. Pour syrup over oats and stir until oats and nuts are coated.

5. Divide mixture among the two pans and spread into a thin, even layer.

6. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until golden and a bit crispy.

(You can stir the mixture occasionally so that it browns more evenly and the nuts don’t burn. I also rotate my pans between oven racks a few times during the baking process.)

7. Let cool completely before storing in airtight containers or resealable bags.