Chocolatey Stacks of Goodness

Our PTO held a luncheon for us the other day.  The dessert table is always my favorite part of the event.  Good stuff.  Always.  Yesterday however, there was something new.  Reese's stuffed Oreos.  No, that is not a typo.  It's a Double Stuff Oreo with a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup stuck in the middle and then dipped in chocolate.  I didn't have one (I'm a slow eater and they were all gone by the time I got to dessert), but all of my friends around me did get one and said they were amazing. 

They looked pretty simple to make so this morning I purchased some supplies at HEB and get to work.  Turns out they are even easier to make than I thought!  The dipping was incredibly easy because the Oreo filling acts like a glue that holds everything together.  Hardest/most time consuming part was untwisting the Oreos.

For each 10.5 oz bag of snack size PB cups you will need one 15.35 oz package of Double Stuff Oreos and a 1/2 pound of melting chocolate.  Simply sandwich a PB cup between 2 Oreo halves and then dip the stack in melted chocolate, put it on parchment paper-covered cookie sheet and allow it to chill for about 15 minutes.  That's it. 

I'm thinking these are going to be my "Go-To-Dessert" this holiday season.  So easy.  So rich.  So yummy. 

Something else to think about...

Recently I ran out of time in the morning (or just hadn't been to the grocery store in awhile... I really can't remember) and found myself purchasing a 'tray lunch' from school. 

Amazingly this was the best choice offered that day. 

Pretty terrible, huh?  And I didn't even take a chocolate milk!  I can't believe we feed our students food like this.  No wonder ADD and ADHD are on the rise, along with childhood obesity.

I will refrain from commenting on the 'beige-ness' of the meal (an indication of just how processed everything is) and the fact that they are trying to pass corn off as a vegetable, instead of the starch that it really is.  I won't however neglect to mention the fact that it tastes like plastic.  All of it. 

In response, here is an article I found referenced on All Points Blog.  The title - Lunch Line Re-Design.

Basically, a simple re-design of the standard school cafeteria layout can strongly influence the food choices students make.  Interesting...

White Trash Divas

We had July's Dinner Divas meeting last night and it was themed ... White Trash!

Everyone had to dress the part and bring a 'white trash' dish to share.  I struggled with that part.  I don't like many processed foods, particularly processed meats and don't do much packaged food. 

I put a plea for ideas/help out on Facebook and was overwhelmed (in a good way) at the responses.  The suggestions ranged from 'Easy Cheeze' (the stuff in a can), to Spam, to fried chicken, to potato chip casseroles, to jello molds/salad and even things like chitlins and tripe.  I ended up taking my cousin's idea and bringing the components for Frito Pie.  (Homemade chili though, not the canned stuff.  I just couldn't bring myself to go that far). 

I also was perusing Foodgawker and came across this fabulous blog post featuring 'Gourmet Potato Chips' - potato chips painted with caramel, then dipped and chocolate and finally sprinkled with bits of Heath Bar.  

The only tedious part.

They need about 30 minutes to set.

Then they get dipped in the chocolate and sprinkled with Heath Bar bits. 

These are super easy, they use processed foods and are chock-full of calories and fat. Yep, they meet the 'white trash' food criteria!  They ended up being a huge hit.  I didn't I even got to eat one. 

Here is our spread for the evening:

Cheetos and DingDongs were very popular...

as were the fried chicken strips you can kind of see in the top right corner. 

Grilled wieners with ketchup, but no buns.

Dipped Chips, served in a cheap Tupperware container.

And for dessert:

Dirt Cake complete with trashy fake flowers. 

Drinks included wine coolers, Jungle Juice (purple Kool-Aid w/ vodka) and of course it wouldn't be a white trash party without the boxed wine...

We played several ridiculous, but incredibly fun games.  I even won one of them!

Here is my fabulous prize:

You know, sadly, these brought back memories. 

Thanks, Mom.