Last Saturday was the first Saturday in a long time that I didn’t have a photo shoot or a project slated for the day. Should I have set a project? Absolutely. I love a project. The bathroom is mocking me with it’s sheetrock walls, crying out “Please give me the attention I deserve. You have abandoned me for so long.” The thought crosses my mind. “Maybe today is the day I put another layer of mud on the joints,” but I turn a cold shoulder and cheer Steve on at his basketball game instead.

Saturday afternoon found both Steve and Hunter sleeping. So Hallie and I went to work in the kitchen. We started with a new recipe (I’ve had the goal of trying a new recipe every week and thus far have been quite successful) Oreo Balls. I’m not a huge fan of Oreos- a little dry for my liking. But Steve loves them. They turned out great. A little rich, but what do you expect when you throw oreos with cream cheese and more chocolate! We used white chocolate (red) and milk chocolate, and you can mix it up by using mint oreos, or nutter butters.Here’s the recipe:
1 pkg Oreos
1 pkg cream cheese- soft
2 bags of chocolate chips

Mix Oreos in a blender until very fine.
Put ground oreos and pkg of cream cheese in a large bowl. Use the back of a large spoon to mush and blend them together until it forms a soft and moist blend that is sticking together.

Use a 1 tsp measure to make round balls. Put on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper. Put pan in fridge for about 30-45 mintues for balls to harden a bit.

Melt choco chips in the microwave in 30 sec increments so it doesn’t scorch. Dip the balls and let harden! Store in refrigerator.
Not only was Hallie my helper in making the balls- but before we blended the oreos, she served as president of quality control- making sure several Oreo passed strict taste standards. Notice the way she eats it. Untwist, eat frosting, devour cookie.

We were having so much fun making Oreo balls we decided to make another treat. By this time Steve’s senses brought him to the kitchen, and he joined Hallie’s staff of quality control. Next on tap…Muddy Buddies. One of those treats we both care for a great deal, but never seem to make because the blasted box of Chex I buy to make muddy buddies with never stays in the cubbard long enough to make the treat. And Chex aren’t even that great by themselves, you have to pour so much sugar over them just to call it breakfast. Steve offered his helping hands and made sure each one was covered in the appropriate amount of powdered sugar.

This meant I had two hands free…which meant I could start making something else…
Blueberry spice muffins. What started out as one batch of muffins for Sunday breakfast ended up being much more. As we started making them we started thinking of people we would like to take some to. So the batch was doubled. And then another person came to mind, so we tripled. That’s a lot of muffins.

Of course as a member of quality control by the end of the muffins, my stomach just hurt. Three hours, and 1,500 calories later we ended up with a whole lot of Oreo balls, a large batch of Muddy buddies and more than three dozen muffins. And even with a stomachache, I couldn’t keep my hands off the muddy buddies.

Note to self: Wait a while before making that treat again!