The BEST Rice Krispie Treat Recipe EVER

So to some, rice krispie treats may seem pretty simple, a basic thing to make.  Well not me.  Rice krispie treats can be bland, dry, too hard. But this should not be an issue for anyone who reads this blog…..so all three of you!!

I have perfected the rice krispie treat.

Yep.

It is a pretty big statement for sure, but I can say with confidence that this is the truth.

They are delicious.  Amazing really.  Some people out there may not be able to handle them, as they can be more decadent, but if you are a rice krispie treat fan….well you will never go back.

I figured all this out from trial and error and feel these are perfect.

The secrets: (full recipe below)

1. Use 6 tablespoons of butter, rather than 3 tablespoons 

(This may seem like way too much and I am not trying to be all Paula Dean with butter.  The first day you eat them, you may think they seem like there is too much butter on account that they glisten!  But they will taste amazing.  And on day 2 or 3, you will be happy that the extra butter is in there because the rice krispie treats will seem as fresh as day 1.)

2. Use the 16oz bag of marshmallows.  Yes, the ENTIRE bag. 

(you will thank me later.)

3. Use a smaller pan (I suggest something around a 13 x 7.5) rather than a 11 x 17 

(I think we can all agree a thicker rice krispie treat is better than a thin one any day….can I get a hell yes?!)

4. Add stuff to your rice krispie treats, plain treats are out.  Ideas below.

5. Use a nonstick baking spray (the one specifically for baking) on the bottom of the pan, and also on the metal spoon you will use to press the treats down into the pan.

And the biggest secret of all:

6. Only melt ¾ of the 16 oz bag of marshmallow, save the rest to MIX in after the rice krispies have been mixed together.  This gives you semi-melted chunks of marshmallow in your rice krispie treat!

BOOM.

Your mind should have been blown.

And with that, I would suggest adding toppings or other “mix ins”!

In this case we used blue sprinkles because I made them for a frozen movie night!!

But I have made others, here are some:

(Note: if they have a crust, I do use a larger 11 x 17 pan as otherwise they are almost too big!)

- Sweet and Salty: I made a crushed pretzel crust* and baked that for 6-10 minutes at 400 until set and let cool and then add the rice krispies on top of that.  Then I drizzled melted chocolate over top. I mean, come on.

- Smores: Graham cracker crust, rice krispie treats and chocolate on top. *Or a layer of fudge that has harden inbetween the graham cracker crust and rice krispie treat.

- The Turtle: Drizzled Carmel, chocolate and then nuts on top of the rice krispie treat.

- Oreos – crush and mix in oreos into the rice krispies

- Your favs – Just mix in or add on top you and your kids favorites!  Sprinkles, mini (any candy), chocolate chips….whatever!

If you try this, let me know what you think! 

Recipe

6 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter

16 oz bag mini-marshmallows

6 cups of Rice Krispies

13 x 7.5 (ish) size pan

Non-stick Baking Spray

Whatever Mix In’s you want!

- Melt 6 tablespoons of butter (in chunks) in a microwave safe container with ¾ of the marshmallows.  (melt in 30 second intervals, stirring in between each interval so not to over cook everything.)

- Once melted, mix in all the rice krispies.  Stir and coat thoroughly and work quickly. (rice krispies covered with a perfect marshmallow blanket!)

- While still warm, stir in the remainder of the marshmallows. (I had to work fast here, so no time for more pictures!)

- Use the baking spray to spray the bottom of the pan.

- Put the rice krispie treats into the pan.

- Spray the back of a large metal spoon with cooking spray and push firmly down the treats until they are nice and firm. (you could use plastic wrap too, but we never seem to have that.)

- Don’t forget your toppings!!

- Let sit out for a bit to come together, then enjoy!

 You are welcome.

*Pretzel Crust:

- 1 ½ C. crumbled pretzels

- 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

- 2 Tbsp. packed dark brown sugar

- Bake at 400 for 6-10 minutes

Henry, No. Henry, Stop That. Henry, Listen to Me. HENRY NO!

So let me preface, like any parent feels the need to do, by saying overall Henry is a really really GREAT child.  (Just wait for the but…) He is funny and laughs all the time.  (keep waiting…) He so incredibly sweet and will always usually give out hugs and kisses when asked. (wait for it….)  He LOVES to help and he is an awesome little helper.   BUT (oh, there it is) he doesn’t always listen and has a big temper when he doesn’t get his way. And while he does listen at times, this is a growing problem and the lack of listening is becoming more and more frequent.

Now, I am sure most parents of kids older than mine are saying “yeah, that is just a toddler. Why are you writing a long blog post for something that is normal?!”

Well, because I don’t know how to get my child TO listen.

I wrote a post awhile back that talked about multiple things, one being the frustration of extreme independence and not listening. HERE (#5)

As I mentioned in the post I feel like I am constantly saying NO.

Henry, NO.  Put that down! NO, Get away from that! DON’T touch that!! You will get hurt!  Don’t stand on that!  Don’t put that up your nose/in your ear! Henry, STOP IT!!!

I don’t know about any of you, but sometimes always feeling like the “bad guy” or saying “NO” all the time can wear on you a bit.  Though terry tells me to get use to it, it is part of being a parent, I just want him to listen more, especially with important things like running away from us, getting into stuff that is dangerous for a 2 year old, or doing things that are unsafe. (and believe me, Henry likes to do things that are unsafe)

Now that Henry has really started talking more (He is saying SO much and talking in sentences and actually trying to say words…WOOHOO!!!) his independence aka stubbornness is growing and he is not listening as much as he once was.  Everything, and I mean EV.ER.Y.THING. IS….NO.  ME. I DO IT. NO. MEMEMEMEME.   He is also big and can reach nearly everywhere and wants to touch and get into everything.  And he does stuff and gets into stuff even when I ask him to stop.

Henry, stop turning the lights on and off! (as he laughs)

Henry, put the phone down! (as he refuses to even look at me and proceeds to keep pushing buttons on the phone.)

Henry, do not stand on the table! (as he jumps and purposely falls into my arms when I go over to get him down.)

Henry, stop!  Get back here! (as he runs away and I am chasing him….which is a sight)

Henry, get out of the trash!  It is yucky!  (as he proceeds to pick out pieces of trash)

Henry, you need to listen!  Look at me and listen and play with this cool toy (as he ignores me and continues with what he is doing)

There is NO denying this child is stubborn, I mean look at his mom and dad, and extremely curious and into everything.  And while I want him to have independence and do things on his own, I also need him to listen.

Perhaps this is all normal and I just need to continue with what I am doing and he will grow out of it.  The "he will grow out of it" statement seems to be a common thing with kids.  

But I want to try to get him to listen better.

I have tried getting down on his level.  I have tried quietly saying “no” or “no thank you”.  I have tried explaining why he needs to listen.  I have tried time outs.  I have tried yelling.  I have tried ALL of the above at once just to stop him from doing one thing.  Sometimes after trying everything or saying NO 22 times he will stop (though goes back to it later).  And sometimes it takes me physically removing him from what he is doing, which means Baby Hulk comes out and Baby Hulk no like when I say NO.  Baby Hulk SMASH and hit mommy and fall to the ground screaming.

Obviously, we have some communication issues.

I totally get that he just turned two and that we need to teach him and reinforce good listening.  But HOW do I do that?!?! 

I think I just don’t know the best way to communicate with Henry.  T & I talk to Henry pretty much like we talk to each other.  I know I have had to get use to changing the inflection of my voice and trying to be quieter because I can be loud….Terry and I can be loud.  We get excited and talk loudly and laugh loudly and we forget sometimes and talk loudly to Henry.  So we are working on softer tones, not baby talk, but I more rhythmic talk for things that are good and a more stern tone with things that are bad.  But yeah….that doesn’t always work!!

Maybe I need to stick to one way to correct him….which is hard with two parents with two different styles and whom he listens to differently depending on which parent it is.  Maybe he is bored and just very very active and we need to bring in his focus on different things so he is constantly doing the productive stuff instead of getting into everything he shouldn't.  Maybe I need to teach him when to listen, though I don’t know how to do that!

Do you have a stubborn child who doesn’t listen?!?!  How do you communicate with your kids?  How do you get them to listen and focus?!

I have seriously started looking for books on Amazon, but lets be real....I won't read those ;-)

And So It Begins……Selling Stuff For Your Kids (Not to be Confused with Selling Your Kids for Stuff)

Today when I dropped Henry off at school (which ended up going so smoothly, I think we are getting this down….YAY!) I was greeted by a series of forms in his cubby.  Since he only goes one day a week, I am use to this and the sheets are usually just miscellaneous things we throw away.  As I left I skimmed through to see a magazine from the library, a flyer from a portrait company, and a Little Caesars fundraiser form?!!

Yep.  So it begins. 

My name is Jenn and I have a kid in “school” which means, like every other parent out there, I now fall into the category of annoying parent selling overpriced items on behalf of their kids to raise money for their school.

Sigh.

Now don’t get me wrong, I know this is a fundraiser and to help raise money for his daycare and it is a small daycare and I am MORE than happy to sell.  But for me, I am not a fan of asking others to buy things from me.  (One reason I am not selling Tastefully Simple anymore!!)

I actually worked at the Kidney Foundation for a year and a half right out of college and it was event planning and fundraising.  I hated asking people/companies for things.  It just makes me uncomfortable and it is not in my nature.  I think I am more like “No, you don’t want to donate 1000 plates?!?!  Oh, that is OK, I will just buy them and for way more than they are worth….i am sorry for the inconvenience.”  Obviously you can tell why this job and I didn’t work out.

Yeah, I have pushover written all over me when I ask for stuff, especially from strangers.  And asking friends or family makes me even more uncomfortable. 

But now I am a parent.  I understand it is good for his school, and when he gets older HE can go around and ask people.  But right now, I am the mom who gets to bring the form into work and make a sign to put in the kitchen area and feel all uncomfortable about it.  Infact today someone asked me and I said, “well the cost for 3 pizzas in a kit is $19 but you can get 3 hot and ready for $15.” 

JENN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!  THAT IS NOT HOW YOU SELL STUFF!!  Ugh.

Unless no one sells more than 4 kits I think we are out of getting a week’s worth of free tuition for Henry….sorry buddy!

Mom and Dad….I am also sorry for making you sell all those chocolate bars for so many years while I was in school!!!

So do you sell things for your kids school?!  Do you feel as awkward as I do about it or do you embrace it and go door to door and sell?!?!  

I wish I was comfortable enough going door to door but I would have major anxiety doing that....though if I was forced to, I would do it for Henry.  But only Henry!

Talk to Me – Crying At Bath Time

So over the past week Henry has developed a fear of baths.  It is to the point where last night just saying “do you want to take a bath” brought on tons of tears.  And I had to actually get in the tub with him while he was crying almost uncontrollably while he squeezed me so tightly, just to rinse him off as he hadn't had a bath in over a week. 

This was Henry about 5 minutes after his bath yesterday….still crying :(

Later with his wild hair, that I am sure still had soap in it...

just wanting to lock arms with me and cuddle but acting like nothing had happened.

As you may have seen in a previous post, Henry is going through a little phase. (That seems to have gotten a little better in the last week.)  But I think this is unrelated to that.

Now we have never given him a bath every day as he has sensitive skin and we just never felt he needed it.  But now that he is outside more and going to school one day a week, we have upped baths to a few times a week.  A couple weeks ago he was fine.  He LOVED bath time.  He loved splashing and getting me all wet.  He loved his toys.  And some days I would drain all the water and he would still be sitting in there.  And while he has always HATED getting water poured on his head, we try to avoid that and just use a wash cloth to rinse his hair; it has never been a reason for him not to want a bath.  Also, nothing has happened to him in the bath where he fell under water or anything like that to spur this fear.

Then a week ago he stood up in the bath and pointed down to himself and squeaked.  Before I could realize what he wanted he was peeing in the tub.  He then got, what I assume was embarrassed, and started whining because he peed in the tub.  Of course I sat him on the potty and nothing and he went back in.

Then a couple days later Terry gave him a bath and he did the same thing except this time he got a little more upset about peeing in the tub and kept wanting to sit on the toilet but was getting upset on the toilet.

Then for the past three days we have tried to give him a bath.  First I tried and he was all excited for bath.  We put his toys in, got undressed, and I put him in the tub.  And as soon as he was in the tub standing he started pointing to his himself like he had to pee.  So I put him on the toilet, but nothing.  So I put him back in the tub and tears….lots of tears.  I tried for a few minutes to get him to relax and nothing, he just wanted OUT.  So then the next day Terry tried, thinking maybe it was me or it was a new day and he would be fine.  Same thing.  He pointed at himself and cried.

So that brings us to last night.

Now, we thought for a second, perhaps it hurt when he pees….but he is fine ANY OTHER time he pees so we don’t think it is that.  We are wondering if he is becoming more aware of peeing and he feels like he needs too when he is in the bath but because he isn’t potty trained he doesn’t quite get it and that is why he is rattled, slightly scared when he does pee in the tub.  If he is around the house with no diaper he hates if he accidentally pees on the carpet.  You can tell he is trying to control it, but can’t just yet.

Or perhaps he is just a toddler and he has this fear for whatever reason and as quickly as it came on it will go away. 

We did buy soap crayons and tried those yesterday and they didn’t work.  He just grasped to them while crying.  We have thought about trying to bathe him in a swimsuit or swim diaper to see if that helps.  And perhaps just an inch or two of water.  However, we will most likely not try for a few days as we do not want to perpetuate this fear anymore by forcing him to get in the tub when he is noticeably upset.  We will most likely just give him a sponge bath for the next week or so and slowly try again later.  I also haven’t tried the swimming pool yet this summer so I am not sure if he has a fear of all water or just the tub.  I might try this weekend to get insight to that.

However, I must ask….have you ever had a child who was scared of getting a bath, especially when they were OK with it before?!?!

Just Because I Want to Share Her Cuteness With the World!

My cousin sent me pics of her beautiful daughter today and I thought I would share!













Some one is bored.....

Um, This TOTALLY Makes Up For Yesterday…And Then Some!!!

Today one of our clients brought in a few of his grand children. They chilled out in our office while he was in a meeting. I gave them some highlighters, crayons, paper, pencils and other office supplies. A little while later they came back and gave me this adorable card!!

Folks, THIS. MADE. MY. DAY. I loved it!

In case you cannot read it clearly the front says “Thank you so much” and the inside says “You Rock”, “P.S. Your So Sweet” and “ Thank you pretty lady (I would write your name if I new it.)” Hehehe….I think I prefer pretty lady instead of my name!!

Seriously, this is beyond precious and so thoughtful!! (this is so being hung up in my cubicle!)