Bonus Post: Liebster Awards

I was just nominated by Alyssa from Create Imagine Dream.  I'm sending a huge thanks her way!

The Liebster Award is given to new bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers.

As part of the receiving the Liebster Award, there are a few rules:

1. Say "thanks!" to the Liebster Award nominator on your blog and give them a gracious link back

2. Answer 11 questions from the nominator

3. List 11 random facts about yourself

4. Present the Liebster Blog Award to 11 other bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers, or who you think deserve to be noticed.  Don't forget to leave a comment on their blog so they know about it!

5. Copy and paste the blog award onto your blog, show off that bling!

Questions for me:

1. Why did you start blogging? I read blogs all the time.  It started when I began wedding planning and I continue to use them as a great source for home improvement projects and recipes.  I wanted to get some of my knowledge into the ether.  Also, my husband is a sports fanatic.  This provides a nice distraction when all our local teams are losing. :)
2. What is your favorite thing to blog about? I love blogging about weddings, mostly because I have already been through it.  Recipes and home improvement are newer to me, but I really enjoy those too.  Non-answer, I know.
3. What is your favorite color to wear? Purples.  Most purple colors look good on me in the summer and winter.  There aren't too many colors that I can wear all year.
4. What is your favorite food (and if there is a blog post, what is the link)? Breakfast food!  I made these for Mr. Bear a few weeks ago and they were phenomenal!
5. What is your goal for your blog?  I'd love to get a steady stream of followers who really enjoy and share my information.  I'd love to know I'm a helpful blogger!
6. Who is your blogger crush (you know the one that you constantly check because you want to be just like them)? Honestly, my friend Steph at Will Work for Shoes and Vodka.  She is a personal friend, so I might be biased, but she has an awesome voice for blogging and I always love her crafts and recipes.  I don't know how she finds enough time in the day to do it all1
7. What is your favorite thing to do on a Saturday afternoon? Doing new or interesting things in the city we live in.  I also do really enjoy watching movies and napping :)
8. Heels or Flats? Depends.  My office is really casual, so I usually wear flats.  I love wearing a great pair of heels and getting dressed up though!
9. What is your ideal vacation? Mr. Bear and I really want to make our next really big vacation a tour of Europe, but I love just laying on the beach.
10. What is your favorite movie?  Cold Mountain and Atonement (I swear I'm not depressing in real life :) )
11. What advice do you have for a new blogger?  Build up your content by posting regularly, when I know what days you post, I will check in regularly!

 11 Facts about Me:

1. I graduated college a semester early
2. I have a Bachelor's of Science in Business Administration, Finance
3. I work for a department of my company that builds eCommerce websites
4. My dream is to make it onto Jeopardy!
5. Throughout high school I taught people of all ages how to play tennis
6. I've sprained my ankle at least 4 times.  The very first time I sprained my ankle, I was standing still and shifted my weight.
7. I've never sprained my ankle doing anything athletic
8. I have never had a Twinkie.  When Hostess announced it was going out of business, Mr. Bear and I spent about 3 hours with some friends trying to track one down.
9. Growing up, I lived in 3 different houses in the same town.
10. My friends hate playing board games with me.  They are convinced I cheat or read all the cards ahead of time.
11. I met my husband in the 1st grade :)

Questions for my nominees:

1. What inspired you to start blogging?
2. What is the worst thing you have attempted to make for a blog post (craft, recipe, etc.)?
3. If you could go anywhere in the world, money is not an object, where would you go?
4. What is the stupidest thing you have ever done/said?
5. What is your dream job?
6. How do you decide what you will blog about?
7. What is your goal for your blog?
8. What is your current profession?
9. What advice would you give to new/er bloggers?
10. What are your favorite blogs to follow?
11. What is your favorite pair of shoes?

I only have one nominee so far:

Steph @ Will Work for Shoes and Vodka

Weekend Recipe: Chocolate Scotcheroos = The Best Rice Cereal Treats You've Ever Had

The weekend is finally here!  What a week!

Yesterday was a friend of Mr. Bear and mine's birthday.  We are celebrating by going to a baseball game tonight!

Although I won't be able to bring any treats into the stadium, I wanted to share a recipe I've made for our friend in the past.  He was recently diagnosed with celiac disease so I always try to make something gluten-free, but ever so delicious.  Dessert is usually the most difficult since SO many desserts have flour in them, but do I have a dessert for you!

I introduce you to the Chocolate Scotcheroo!

(Image courtesy of ricekrispies.com since I didn't get a chance to take picture of them the last time I made these delicious morsels)

The Chocolate Scotcheroo is like a Rice Krispie Treat taken to the next level.

When I was a kid, my mom ONLY made her rice cereal treats this way.  I was later disappointed to find out that not everyone makes such delicious rice cereal desserts.

The recipe contains corn syrup instead of marshmallows (which is good for gf followers since some marshmallow brands can be subject to gluten cross-contamination).  It also contains the 2 secret ingredients that make them ever so delicious, peanut butter and butterscotch.  Even if you don't like butterscotch, you will love these!  The peanut butter, chocolate and butterscotch blend together so nicely into an ooey gooey goodness, you'll blink and they'll be gone.

Chocolate Scotcheroos

  Ingredients

Original recipe makes 24 bars

• 1 cup Light Corn Syrup
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter (can use crunchy, but I prefer creamy)

• 6 cups crispy rice cereal (If making gluten-free, be sure to get the gluten-free Rice Krispies.  Traditional Rice Krispies contain malt which has gluten)
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup butterscotch chips

Directions

1. Cook corn syrup and sugar together in a large pan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Bring mixture just to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter; mix well. Add cereal; stir until evenly coated.
2. Pour into greased 13x9-inch pan and pat into place.
3. Melt chocolate and butterscotch chips together in saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. Spread over cereal.
4. Cool at least 45 minutes, or until firm. Cut into bars.

• PREP 20 mins
• COOK 10 mins
• READY IN 1 hr 15 mins 

 

Tips:

• Make sure to just bring the sugar and corn syrup to a slight boil.  Do NOT boil for a long time.  If you boil for any length of time your bars will be very hard to eat once they cool. 
• In the summer it can get hot, and the chocolate can melt if left out.  You can put these in the fridge for a short period of time to re-harden the chocolate on top, however, be aware that the corn syrup hardens too, so make sure you let it warm up a bit after pulling out of the fridge so you will be able to chew. :) 
• Spray cooking spray into measuring cup for adding corn syrup, that way the corn syrup slides right out of the measuring cup

**Update**

• If making gluten free, make sure to use gf butterscotch chips.  Nestle's is NOT gf but Hershey's is.  I almost contaminated a whole batch because I bought Nestle's instead of Hershey's.  

-Danielle

Welcome to my Blog!

Welcome to my new blog!

I'm Danielle and my husband, Mr. Bear, and I were married in July 2012.  Our first year of marriage has been wonderful, and I hope to share tips and tricks I've learned (and continue to learn) along the way.

Look for posts on topics ranging from wedding planning tips (my friends are all getting married now :) ) to recipes and tips for home ownership.

-Danielle