Vyvacious

Did y’all know today is Women’s Day Off?  Well, I didn’t get the freaking memo.  Otherwise, I’d be chilling somewhere, sipping a cold drink, with my feet propped up.  Of course, I think I may have misunderstood the purpose of this supposed holiday…add that to the fact that I don’t live in Iceland and now I’m just all sorts of confused.

According to Iceland Review…

Today is Women’s Day Off, celebrated regularly in Iceland since 1975. In that first year, 90 percent of Icelandic women embarked on day-long strike to demonstrate the importance of women in the employment market and demand the same work rights and salaries as men.

One of my favorite coworkers is obsessed with Iceland.  Let me rephrase, he really really loves it.  He had a blast when he lived there for several years and says the people there are the nicest.  Well heck, if they have Women’s Day Off, they seem pretty darn nice to me!

But all jokes aside, I think it’s great that Icelandic women are participating in this strike because having the same work rights and pay as men is very important to me (being a woman and all :P).  In fact, I think we should get paid MORE since we women are quite good at multitasking, so really, you have yourself the equivalent of two hardworking men all bundled up in a cute, good looking package.  That’s right ladies, work it ;)

And in honor of women (and men) around the world, let’s take a little time to recognize that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.  While this does mainly affect women (the topic at hand today ;)), it does affect a small percentage of men.  How small you might ask?  Well according to Nelly B Connelly Breast Cancer Center Research Program,

Breast cancer in men is a rare disease that accounts for less than 1% of all cancers in men and less than 1% of all diagnosed breast cancers.

My family and I attended the 2012 Komen Race for the Cure amongst other charity walks.  We enjoy doing various charity walks a year.  I think it’s a great way for our family to bond, it helps support a great cause, we get a little exercise, and it’s a starting example of teaching my younger cousin how to help those in need.

Pictures and a post from the Race for the Cure will be uploaded later but for now, I want to talk about something really important…the baked goods.  Or in this case, the non-baked goods.  Everyone who donated to help me reach my goal of $500 received (or will receive) a delicious baked/non-baked good courtesy of yours truly :)  Guess what, I surpassed my goal so that meant I had to follow through on my promise sooo…

I ran the 5K in my Batman costume :P

I was able to deliver my goodies to the majority of those who donated to me, but I still have a few left, don’t fret if you’re one of those few.  You’ll get something delicious, I promise! :)

In the mean time, here’s the recipe for Double-Layered Chewy Oreo Treats that I delivered to some of my donators.  These are a chewy, irresistible treat that has a consistency of Rice Krispies Treats but uses Oreos instead.  You’ll fall in love.  The only way I forced myself to stop eating these was to package them up all cute and write people’s names on them…and still, I may have lost my restraint a time or two…

Once you take a bite of these, you’ll realize why I had no self control.  I even transported these to my family in Florida and they couldn’t get enough of it…my cousins made me make more for them while I was there on vacation!  We had fun nonetheless though!  If you want to read more about my Florida trip, check out my Magic Kingdom and my Epcot Food & Wine Festival posts :D  Enjoy! :)

Pssst, do you like my cute little Batman tags I attached to all of them? :)  My blog address is written on the back of every one of these babies! :P

Double-Layered

Chewy Oreo Treats

Makes approximately 25

Ingredients:

• 1 box of regular Oreos
• 1 box of chocolate Oreos
• 2 (10.5 oz) bags of mini marshmallows
• 1 stick butter, halved
• 6 oz (approximately) of Ghiradelli’s white chocolate
• 1 tsp of Crisco or coconut oil, etc.

Equipment/Supplies:

• Food processor OR 1-2 large Ziploc bag(s) + rolling pin
• Large microwave-safe bowl (for mixing) & small microwave-safe bowl (for dipping)
• Rubber spatula
• 8×8 square pan
• Parchment/wax paper
• Large knife, spoon, Pam spray (or similar non-stick spray)
• Optional: Styrofoam, cutting board, lollipop sticks

Instructions:

1. Throw the regular Oreos into the food processor and chop until coarse (no large chunks but not to the point of fine powder).
2. Remove, set aside, and repeat with the chocolate Oreos.  If you don’t have a food processor.  Throw Oreos separated by type into large Ziploc bags and crush by hand or using a rolling pin.
3. Prep your pan by shaping a piece of parchment paper to it.  Make sure the entire inside of your pan is covered so that the messy mixture doesn’t end up sticking everywhere!
4. Empty the contents of 1 (10.5 oz) bag of mini marshmallows into the large microwave-safe bowl.  Place the half stick of butter on top of the marshmallows.  Microwave for approximately 90 seconds.  Adjust accordingly, you want the marshmallows to be soft enough that you can stir it into a creme-like consistency but not cooked for so long that the marshmallows start to harden.
5. Immediately throw the coarsely-crushed regular Oreos on top and start feverishly stirring the mixture.  I mean stir like your life depended on it!  You only have so long before the mixture starts to set and you’re left with a very ugly looking mixture :P
6. Once fully incorporated, quickly scrape the mixture into the (parchment paper-lined) pan and flatten with your spatula.  Make sure the mixture gets to all 4 corners of the pan as well as the edges.  Use scrap pieces of parchment paper to smooth out the top layer.
7. Put your pan in the fridge so the mixture can set a little bit before layer NUMERO DOS!
8. Repeat steps 4 & 5 using your second (10.5 oz) bag of mini marshmallows and your coarsely-crushed chocolate Oreos respectively.
9. Remove the pan from the fridge and repeat step 6.
10. Again, place your pan in the fridge to set as you clean your kitchen up a little and do a little dance ;)
11. Remove your pan from the fridge once the bottom of the pan is cool to the touch, about 30 mins to an hour.
12. Pull out your Oreo Treats using the parchment paper and place on a cutting board.



13. Spray your large knife with Pam spray and distribute evenly using a paper towel.  This helps the knife to not stick to the treats, this helps to make a cleaner cut.
14. Cut your treats, like so.



15. Then cut perpendicular to your previous lines so that you end up with squares, like so.



16. You can stop here for bite-sized Double-Layered Chewy Oreo Treats or you can continue for a cute treat-on-a-stick version.
17. Simply melt your white chocolate chips in a small microwave-safe bowl.  Add the small amount of Crisco, coconut oil, etc. to help thin out the consistency for better dipping.  Stir the mixture briskly to ensure there are no lumps.
18. Dip one end of the lollipop stick into the chocolate and push halfway through the Oreo Treat.  Place the treats on a piece of parchment paper.  Once done, put these in the fridge for 10-15 mins to firm up.
19. Due to the weight of these babies, it was hard to completely cover them in white chocolate so I opted for a white chocolate cap so that the Oreo treat could really shine.  Take the treats out of the fridge and dip the tops of them into white chocolate.  Now would be the time to embellish these cuties with sprinkles if you wish.  Either set them back down on the parchment paper or stick them upright in a piece of Styrofoam.  Place the treats back in the fridge for 10-15 mins to firm up once again.
20. Remove and store in an airtight container at room temperature.  Storing these treats in the fridge will cause them to get hard and potentially go stale.

Just as a note, please excuse my crappy picture quality. I’m still using my iPhone 3 until my upgrade becomes available :( I’m trying to figure out a workaround, but until then, please bear with me. Until next time, y’all! :P