Of course my original post was super cute, and I had a few clever nuggets in there, but now it's just too far gone to be very cute...although I may leave some of it here - we shall see.
I made some knock your socks off brownies last night for the hubby to take to work today. I am calling them S'm-oreo's brownies. It's an oreo brownie recipe I have kicked up about 10000 notches. In addition to oreo's, I used chocolate covered graham crackers, and marshmallow fluff - to-die-for. Get ready to drool folks...
I will include the recipe at the end in-case any of you need an insanely good brownie recipe!!I've been baking a lot for many reasons, A#1 when I need to focus on other things I bake, B#2 it helps me use up some of the butter I need to get rid of, and C#3 its lots of fun to do with my little helpers. Before the brownies we made chocolate chip cookies. I have learned that when it comes to homemade cookie dough, I have no control. I also learned that after giving in and eating said cookie dough - you will walk around for a good while feeling not so hot because sometimes you CAN have too much of a good thing.
Tuesday the lady from the moving company came and surveyed the house to see how much stuff we did indeed have. Just one more step along in this crazy military moving life :). Any of you ladies (or guys too) have any good tips on ways to get your stuff ready for the packers?? A friend of mine gave me the idea to go through your kitchen/bathroom drawers, and put all those little things (pencils, notepads, hair stuff, etc.) into plastic zip-lock bags, that way when they get packed you don't end up with 27 pencils all individually wrapped, along with that stray gum wrapper.
We are now at the 3 week mark! I'm getting really excited about being somewhere new now. Of course it's always tough to say goodbye to those that I'm really close to, but I'm hoping to see some of them again...somewhere down the line! We don't have any other really big news around here...just the move and all that goes with it.
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I'll be back soon! :) But for now I leave you with this. Warning: if you're watching what you eat, and don't have superhuman willpower don't make these unless you can remove them from your house ASAP.
Sm'oreo Brownies
Adapted from Ina's Oreo Brownies
1 lb butter
1 lb bittersweet chocolate
6 oz unsweetened chocolate
7 large eggs
2 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp instant coffee
2.5 cups sugar
1 1/4 cup ap flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 pkg oreo cookies
1 pkg chocolate covered graham crackers
1 small jar marshmallow fluff
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Chop cookies and place in bowl with 1/4 c. flour - shake to distribute flour. Spray BIG cake pan with cooking spray.
2. Melt the butter and chocolates in a heavy saucepan until smooth, then let cool slightly
3. Mix together eggs, vanilla, coffee, and sugar
4. Blend in cooled chocolate mixture to egg mixture
5. Mix in remaining 1 c. flour, baking powder and salt. Gently stir in cookies.
6. Pour 1/2 of mixture into pan, then drop fluff by the spoonful onto batter, trying to distribute evenly. Pour the remaining batter on top.
7. Bake for 30 min. Do not over bake. Let cool completely at room temperature, cover, then stick in the fridge overnight to get one amazing brownie!
*this recipe is HUGE it makes 30 big brownies, or 40+ smaller ones. Great for events or a big crowd.
Adapted from Ina's Oreo Brownies
1 lb butter
1 lb bittersweet chocolate
6 oz unsweetened chocolate
7 large eggs
2 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp instant coffee
2.5 cups sugar
1 1/4 cup ap flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 pkg oreo cookies
1 pkg chocolate covered graham crackers
1 small jar marshmallow fluff
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Chop cookies and place in bowl with 1/4 c. flour - shake to distribute flour. Spray BIG cake pan with cooking spray.
2. Melt the butter and chocolates in a heavy saucepan until smooth, then let cool slightly
3. Mix together eggs, vanilla, coffee, and sugar
4. Blend in cooled chocolate mixture to egg mixture
5. Mix in remaining 1 c. flour, baking powder and salt. Gently stir in cookies.
6. Pour 1/2 of mixture into pan, then drop fluff by the spoonful onto batter, trying to distribute evenly. Pour the remaining batter on top.
7. Bake for 30 min. Do not over bake. Let cool completely at room temperature, cover, then stick in the fridge overnight to get one amazing brownie!
*this recipe is HUGE it makes 30 big brownies, or 40+ smaller ones. Great for events or a big crowd.
10 comments:
Those sound awesome, I promised the JO's I'd send something in this week, maybe I'll make them. I haven't seen choc covered graham crackers but can figure something out.
Must try soon!
A tip I swear by when I'm getting ready for pack-out: even if you can't have everything in it's place when the movers show up, at least have everything in the proper room. That way, you don't have one bath mat in with your dishes when you unpack.
Alright, because you specifically ASKED for advice, you know I have to give it. :-)
Preparing for the movers - food for thought / things to consider:
- You'll want to be able to find some certain things quickly when you get to the other side. For example, you do NOT want to have to unpack EVERY kitchen box in order to find the silverware in the very BOTTOM of the LAST box you unpack. Likewise, you'll want to be able to make your bed so you can decide, "I'm tired of unpacking for now, I'll keep working on it tomorrow... now where were those sheets?" To that end, set up an easy-to-find box with the stuff you're going to want right away. You could do this either by getting some big plastic bin at Target and put the stuff in there and the movers will just put some tape on the bin and put it directly onto the truck. Or, if you pack a special box, take a big sharpie marker and label it with big X's (or K's... or Q's... or...) so it's easy to spot in the cardboard jungle on the other end.
More to follow - blogger is telling me my comment is too long.
Other preparations:
- Get the phone number for the Personal Property / HHG QA inspector complaint line and have it readily available or already saved in your cell phone in case there is any trouble. If they mess ANYTHING up, CALL! If you complain at the other end, they're going to ask you, "Well did you call the inspector or report the problem to the personal property office on your packout day?" Hopefully you won't need it, but if you DO need it you don't want to be trying to research what phone number to call while the packers are busy breaking your stuff.
- Beware balloon packing. The packing company makes a profit selling the packing materials they use to the Navy. They should NOT be taking ONE Fisher Price plastic toy, wrapping it in ten pounds of wrapping paper, and filling ONE box with ONE toy. That's just them ripping the Navy off, AND giving you more shipping weight, AND giving you more hassle in unwrapping / unpacking on the other end.
- Have some zip-lock baggies, masking tape, and a sharpie marker handy. If they take anything apart and have hardware (like screws, bolts, washers, etc, or especially those silly little pegs that the shelves of your bookshelves or entertainment center rest on), put them in a baggy and tape them to the inside of the bookshelf or entertainment center. Also label the bag what's in it in case it falls off the piece of furniture, then you know what it's for.
- Have a plan / be ready to take care of the movers. Tell the movers that you intend to take good care of them so that they'll return the favor and take good care of your stuff. Have a variety of drinks (bottled water, soda) available for them and take orders for what they would like for lunch (or at least tell them you plant to have lunch delivered from _______ or you will go pick up lunch for them when they are ready). Go to the ATM the night before and have some cash on hand to give them a tip (IF you feel they've earned it).
- Ask a friend to watch the kids and get a chair ready to camp out next to the truck. When the movers arrive, either you or your husband should plant yourself next to the on ramp to the truck and explain in no uncertain terms to the truck crew that NOTHING goes onto that truck unless you or your husband are there. You or your husband should verify EVERYTHING that goes on that truck has an inventory number on it, and make sure that the inventory sheet has an accurate description of what it is. The movers will complain that you're slowing them down. Your response should be, "Tough. Suck it up. I'm the boss." Now, as I mentioned in the last bullet, balance that out by taking good care of the movers - buy them lunch, have beverages out for them, etc, but STAND YOUR GROUND on the "nothing goes on the truck unless I'm standing here checking it on the inventory sheet" rule. Why do I make such a big deal about this?
1. If you aren't guarding the entrance to the truck, then they are going to start grabbing stuff and tossing it onto the truck because they don't want to wait for you.
2. If it goes on the truck and it doesn't have an inventory sticker on it, then you're never going to see it again.
3. Even if it does have an inventory sticker on it, it still might not show up on the other end, and if it doesn't have a LEGIBLE description on the inventory sheet, then you're not going to have any proof what it was so you can file a claim for it on the other end. (How was that for a run-on sentence?)
When we arrived here in 2004, we had like a dozen numbered inventory items not show up, but the inventory sheet was illegible and we have no clue what those items were (I guess we didn't need them that badly, huh?).
Also when we arrived here in 2004, the queen size box spring for our bed came off the truck... but no mattress. We had to argue with them about whether or not there was actually a mattress in the shipment. The inventory did not reflect a mattress, so they tried saying we didn't have one. We pointed out that the inventory also didn't list a box spring, but the box spring came off the truck, and we certainly didn't buy JUST a box spring WITHOUT a mattress to go with it.
Anyway, take good care of the movers, but watch them like hawks and don't let anything on the truck without personally verifying the inventory is accurate.
All of the above advice is provided assuming a CONUS move in cardboard boxes. If you end up going overseas, then I'll have a whole new set of advice to offer you.
"Blunoz", those are excellent! I'm copying them and saving them for my next move. I would also like to add that the morning of your pack out, grab a newspaper and have it next to your tv, surround sound system, etc (pretty much anything that's expensive... especially electronic) and VIDEO tape a few moments of them working. The date of the newspaper should be showing in the video to prove that the video was taken on moving day. This helped me with my last move when the inventory sheet said "Unknown condition" on our computer, big screen tv, and surround sound system. They showed up at our next duty station completely demolished and had I not had VIDEO of them working I wouldn't have been able to claim them.
Oh, and don't just sign those inventory sheets. Take the time to verify that the items aren't generically marked with "kitchen glassware" if they packed your fine crystal. Don't let "dresses" be labeled for your ball gowns, and definitely don't let "playground equipment" label your child's $500 trampoline. Make them be specific with the high dollar items. You'll thank me if you ever have to use that piece of information. Even though DOD now has a "full replacement policy" doesn't mean you will get reimbursed if you can't prove that you had a trampoline at one time.
THANK YOU THANK YOU for all the moving tips!! I'm printing them all out so that I won't forget! You guys are awesome! :)
SpunkySoul - that is also excellent advice. I forgot about that. Yes, absolutely walk around your house and just videotape EVERYTHING (including your TV and computer actually operating). It can also help you prove that you DID, in fact, have a MATTRESS to go with your BOX SPRING.
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