Thursday, July 01, 2010

S’mores Sandwich Bar Cookies from Hershey’s—July Cookie Carnival

We’ve been BUSY!  The drive from Kansas to Utah went well, two LONG days of driving in the car.  This is how the boys were the whole way--

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Bwah!  You believe that?  Come on.  Peace was minimal, but the boys actually did quite well, minus the fact that Taylor is always quite carsick and that yogurt container next to him in the back seat is a barf bowl—he used it frequently the day we left for half that day’s drive, like every 10-15 minutes for about six hours.  Fun, fun.  Had to just keep putting the lid on it until we’d stop so I could clean it out.  Between he and Parker’s frequent stops for potty breaks, and Sam’s occasional loud dismay at being locked in his car seat and the almost constant sound of Wow Wow Wubbzy and Max & Ruby playing on the DVD, we all made it in one piece.

I drove the van with the four boys and Kevin rode in the big moving truck with our friend, Dan.  They got to the house a few hours before we arrived and this is what I walked in to our house and saw---

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We dug our way out and have been unpacking and organizing since Saturday.  Did I mention we’re tired?  Each night my feet are killing me and I almost can’t walk from room to room anymore.  I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned, but this house we were able to buy is, well, HUGE.  I’m talking 7700 square feet huge.  It has two full kitchens, 7 bedrooms, 3 family rooms and a game room and only four bathrooms ;).  It has two big pantries and a gigantic laundry room with a huge island, a table for a sewing machine and tons of cupboards and two big storage rooms downstairs.  There are two fireplaces and a fantastic master bathroom and bedroom.  Oh, it also has a theater room (the only room in the house unfinished).  It is Kevin’s dream to finish that room SOON!   Oh, don’t let me forget the two large built in fish tanks Kevin is also excited about.   The house is on one acre and there are mountains all around us with Utah Lake visible in the distance.   I know, how in the world did we get THIS house?  For one, Kevin is amazing and we worked out many, many obstacles to get this house.  It was a short sale (almost foreclosure), so we got the house for an amazing price.  I don’t tell you any of this description to brag, just wanted you to understand the magnitude of our task to unpack and settle.  Sigh!   And we have company coming in a few days.  Oh, and speaking of company, our Kansas friends, the Rowleys were in town yesterday and stopped by for a short visit.  Great to see them!

There are still boxes in almost every room.  Guess which room has no boxes left to unpack?  The kitchen!  Had to get it up and functioning, for sure, so when I need a break from the boxes, I could bake up a little something.  I didn’t mention, because the house was a short sale, basically, the people here had to get out of the house.  So, I was hoping, but knew it wasn’t going to be, that they’d CLEAN the house.  Nope.  Kinda gross.  That is really the thing that is taking so much time is all the cleaning.  I’m sick of it.  Really.  But lots still must be done.  I’m tired of scrubbing bathrooms, toilets, shower, laundry room floors, etc.  I took a cute picture of the boys all playing inside of some big boxes at the bottom of the stairs, but the picture is embarrassing to me because you can see how dirty the railings are.  Oh well.  It’ll all get done.  We love the house.   So I’ll stop sounding like I’m complaining here.

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Please excuse that our white refrigerator doesn’t match the stainless steel appliances.  We’ll get that replaced at some point.

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We’ll also be getting new bar stools soon.  A few of them are broken.  The house is 10 years old.

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Love this cabinet that I’ve decided to put my cookbooks on.  I don’t have them all out yet.

I had packed up one huge bin full of the kid’s toys and sent it out with the first truck Kevin and Dan drove out in April.  You’d have thought we’d have just won the lottery when Sam discovered the toys after I’d put the bin in the game room. 

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Sam pic

He’s in the big, empty game room.  Future purchases—pool table, ping pong, foosball, air hockey, bowling lane—haha, jk about the bowling, it’s not THAT big.

Get on with those “delicious hot Schmoes”, you say.  Taylor laughs and laughs whenever he sees that part in Toy Story 2 where Buzz Lightyear is talking to Woody about how fun cowboy camp will be “sittin’ around the campfire makin’ delicious hot schmoes.”

The recipe chosen for June for Cookie Carnival was for Hershey's S'mores Sandwich Bar Cookies.  I was able to just get them made just under the wire, although my post will say July 1.

I doubled the recipe and made the bars in a 9x13 inch baking pan.  At first I thought they were going to be underdone and a gooey mess, but after they were substantially cooled, they sliced nicely and are actually really good.  Each of the boys had a piece when they were still gooey, they were completely cooled, but had melty chocolate.  That’s what a Smore is, right?  I actually didn’t take the greatest pictures of them and have decided my photos don’t do them justice.  I froze most of them to share at the family reunion starting this weekend. 

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“Delicious Hot S’chmoes Bar Cookies”, these are certainly perfect for any upcoming July picnics, family reunions, or Independence Day celebrations. 

Taylor and Sam enjoyed helping me make them.  And I loved especially having them unwrap all the Hershey bars!

28 comments:

♥peachkins♥ said...

That's a big lovely house! I hope you get done with the unpacking soon and have plenty of rest!

Kayte said...

Wow, is that a lot of stuff to do all at once! Unpacking, settling in, dealing with everyone adjusting, and figuring out new configurations for new spaces...here's a few extra hugs for when you need them! Lovely home, and the land and views sound beautiful, too.

Phyllis said...

That is a very lovely house!
The closer one sits to the front of the car, the better it is for car sickness. I know because I get car sick,too. The back seat is the worst place for one who gets carsick.

Chrissy said...

Congratulations! The house is beautiful- Mike and I would love to see you and have a tour!!! We're so glad you guys are here!

Fallon said...

WOW what a massive house!! That is amazing. I'm glad you and your family made it safely. Good luck unpacking and getting settled in.

I'm such a s'mores junkie, last year my best friend made s'mores brownies... So good I could of had the whole pan and wouldn't care about the tummy ache ;)

Unknown said...

That's one beautiful house, Katrina. I can't wait to see it all done up!!
I love undercooked, goeey, chocolatey, and those bars look delicious :)

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on your lovely new home. Getting settled is a huge job but you'll get there.
The schmoes look fantastic!

Natalie said...

oh my gosh your house seems incredible!

and those bars...I JUST made them last weekend (post will be up in the next few days) and people went crazy for them! glad you could fit some baking in there with all the unpacking :)

Eliana said...

God bless your new home katrina. It looks amazing from what I can see so far. Can't wait to see what treats you wil be making for all of us to read about from your new GORGEOUS kitchen.

Adventures in Domestic Cooking said...

The house is beautiful!
And the cookie bars look fantastic!

Mary @ Bites and Bliss said...

So far, I'm incredibly jealous of your new house. Three things my dream house would have- a huge living room with a fireplace, big ole' gameroom, and not one..but TWO full kitchens?! That's awesome! :D

Sugar said...

Can't wait to visit you sometime! So happy you're so happy. smooches!

Mimi said...

So glad you made the trip safely, barf bucket and all.
Your new house is incredible. I'm sure that you'll make use of your 2kitchens.
Mimi

Anonymous said...

I'm tired just reading about all of that! Your kitchen looks spotless - great place to hang out and bake to get away from it all!

Maren said...

That house is huge! I really like the kitche, I'm having some real down home kitchen envy. I like the idea of smore bars. They look delish! I enjoyed reading your blog, I'll be checking back!

Valerie said...

Welcome to Utah!!! I hope that unpacking is quick, but it always seems to take longer than you think. I hope you feel right at home in your new neighborhood. Let me know when you're settled in enough to go out for lunch or something so we can meet!

Judy said...

Katrina, what a beautiful house. I didn't know you were moving so far away from Kansas. I hope you have many years of happiness in your new home. You have plenty of room to add to your family. But how in the world do you have any time to blog? Wish I could help.

Jannett said...

Moving is always such fun....love the house... :)

Lisa Ernst said...

Congrats on the big move, and the big new home! All the more room for cooking up great things. It's pretty interesting that you and Anna are moving in to your new homes at the very same time! How cool is that?

Clumbsy Cookie said...

You are defenitly amazing! I can't imagine your drive alone with the 4 boys! Then coming home and finding all those boxes!!! All the cleaning AND you still have time to post! You deserve a statue girl!!! Welcome home :)

Tiffiny Felix said...

First, and totally not related to the cookies, have you ever tried Dramamine? It worked *wonders* for my kids :) Second, I guess I should say you're crazy for baking right after moving, but I made soft pretzels after moving last summer when I didn't have any countertops. Hahaha ;) Guess we've got to keep the troops happy :) The s'more bars sure look yum! :)

Tessa said...

We've moved between states in the past month as well, so I completely understand the box thing! My kitchen was the first room totatlly unpacked as well :-) Glad you were able to make (and enjoy) the s'mores bars!

Kerstin said...

Your new kitchen is so gorgeous! Glad the move is going well!

Diana's Cocina said...

What a lovely kitchen and what a huge home! Delicious looking bars.

Sue said...

Your s'mores look good, and your kitchen looks fabulous!

Laurie said...

I came across your blog a while back- with the name like that, you caught my interest. I have 3 boys after years of having all (4) girls. It is a wild ride! :) Anyway, these bar cookies look wonderful!! We are going to put them our "to make" list. :) Thanks for sharing.

Unknown said...

Hi Katrina! Your boys are cute, your house looks great and your kitchen looks fantastic!!! I can't wait to get started on your trivet.
p.s. your s'mores cookies look pretty darned good too ;)
Renee

John said...

What type of logistic company or courier company you use?