Piggy Banks, Shopping

Yesterday morning we emptied all our piggy banks in which we save coins all year long and took them to the local supermarket where they have a coin counting machine. Bit late this year, but as they are now charging 11.6 cents on the dollar, I think we won’t do that again I don’t think its worth $20 to save us the effort of having to roll up tubes of coins. In the UK it used to be so much easier with bags for each coin, but here you have to roll them into tubes. I have a small collection of 9 piggy banks, not all of them in use of course, and some of them are elephants, not pigs. Its one of those things one starts collecting accidentally.

That done, we went and bought Costco, at least we paid out so much money, I thought we had. We nearly turned round and went home it was so difficult to park. Haven’t been there in a while and needed to stock up. A friend once called it the $300 store, I think she was right. I spent a whack on pills which, although cheaper than in the pharmacy, still amount to a lot of money when you buy them in bulk like that. We also bought all kinds of chicken, steaks, lamb chops and chocolates to name a few items. They do some of the best lamb there and I love their lamb chops which, of course, we had for supper last night. Still got some in the freezer though. One thing they had was a coin counter, but as it was $247 we decided not to bother LOL

We watched the new Celtic Thunder album Celtic Thunder Christmas last nigh and thoroughly enjoyed it. I had been wondering whether I wanted to buy it and checked on Amazon.com and it is only $13.99 which is very reasonable so I am going to order it. You can too by clicking on the link above.

We have to go grocery shopping this morning - we didn't buy enough yesterday!!! - it is even more important to get there early at the moment because the stores are very crowded although I am not quite sure why grocery stores are at the moment, surely people aren't shopping for Christmas groceries yet? Still got a couple of weeks to go. I already mentioned how busy it was at Costco, but there people were probably shopping for presents.

I saw these being made on Good Morning America yesterday and thought they looked easy so I got hold of the recipe to share with you. I am not sure if I would bother to decorate them with candy cane, I might leave that off.

Lauren Brennan's Brownie Cheesecake Peppermint Bars

Recipe Courtesy Laurie Brennan

Servings: Over 8

Check out Lauren Brennan's dreamy peppermint bar. This tasty dessert is as easy to make as it is enjoyable to eat.

Ingredients

1 tube refrigerated sugar cookie dough 1 family-sized box brownie mix 2 (8oz.) packages cream cheese 2 1/2 cups white chocolate chips 2 teaspoons peppermint extract, divided 4 candy canes, crushed

Directions

Make brownie batter according to package directions, but add 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract. Bake according to package directions and set aside to cool.

Spray a 9-by-13'' rectangular pan with non-stick cooking spray and spread cookie dough along the bottom, creating an even layer. Bake cookie dough according to package directions, until edges are golden brown. Set aside to cool.

Once brownies have cooled, remove any hard edges and discard (or eat!). Scrape the rest of the baked brownies into a large bowl. Combine brownies with cream cheese to create a thick mixture that is generally uniform in color. Scoop this mixture onto the baked and cooled cookie dough. Smooth the top.

Over a double boiler, melt white chocolate. Gently stir in 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract. Spread melted chocolate over the cookie-brownie mixture, sprinkle with candy canes and let cool. Once chocolate has hardened, cut into bars and enjoy!

Have a great day