A to Z Dilemma

Now I have a problem,  I have just come across a perfect subject for A for the A to Z blogfest, but it’s all over. Do I write it anyway, or do I save it for next year. I’ll have to do some thinking.

I really enjoyed A to Z this year although I was very busy. I had written all my blogs in advance except for W which I suddenly realised I hadn’t written about two days before it was due. The thing which is hard going is visiting everyone who visits you in the first place, then because I was a minion this year (Spunky’s Soldier) I had to visit my selected blogs on a regular basis, then finally I had to visit other blogs on the list. When I tell you we started with over 1900 of them you can understand this was a bit of a job to accomplish, obviously I didn’t manage to visit as many people as I would have liked, but I did visit a lot and thoroughly enjoyed meeting new people and reading their blogs. Not only that I am thrilled at how my ‘Followers’ number has gone up by leaps and bounds and I am so thankful to everyone who decided to add their name. This was even more fun to me than last year and so I am looking forward to next year already.

It being May I am beginning to tear my hair out because fresh asparagus isn’t available yet. Last year there was too much sun and very little rain, this year it is quite the opposite and we have had lots of precipitation in one form or another, but not too much of the bright, shiny stuff. I guess we have been spoiled in recent years, Barrie’s farm always said Mother’s Day to Father’s Day and in fact they have been opening for asparagus sales a lot early and then extending sales til July 1 or Canada Day. The farm was offering 1 lb of asparagus to anyone who guessed what day they would start selling this year, I said April 28, guess I was way out. One friend of mine couldn't care less about the asparagus but she goes nuts over corn on the cob; mind you, she lives in farm country so easy for her to get really fresh corn. Sadly Matt doesn’t really eat it, so I only buy a couple of cobs at a time when I get the chance.

I was so pleased yesterday, I ordered 3 polo shirts – been trying to find some for a while; they were on special and as a new customer I got a $25 discount so I ended up with the three shirts for $20. Now that is a very good price. I tried one on and they were just the teensiest bit snug, but as I am gradually losing weight, I figure they will be fine. I have had some other polo shirts which I have been wearing for years but which are beginning to show signs of how much they have been worn. This was the colour of one I ordered, papaya, but actually when it arrived, it was a whole heap brighter and much to my surprise, it really suited me. Who knew?

OK, I have gone chocolate crazy this week. The recipe calls for Cool Whip, personally I would use whipped cream stiffened with a little cornstarch. So much better than something synthetic but it is, as usual, your choice. Would you believe I have another chocolate recipe tomorrow. Apologies to Father Dragon.

CHOCOLATE LASAGNA


INGREDIENTS
 
1 package regular Oreo cookies (Not Double Stuff) – about 36 cookies
...... 6 Tablespoon butter, melted
1- 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons cold milk
1- 12 ounce tub Cool Whip, divided
2 – 3.9 ounce packages Chocolate Instant Pudding.
3 1/4 cups cold milk
1 and 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS
1. Begin by crushing 36 Oreo cookies. I used my food processor for this, but you could also place them in a large ziplock bag and crush them with a rolling pin. When the Oreos have turned into fine crumbs, you are done.
2. Transfer the Oreo crumbs to a large bowl. Stir in 6 tablespoons melted butter and use a fork to incorporate the butter into the cookie crumbs. When the butter is distributed, transfer the mixture to a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan. Place the pan in the refrigerator while you work on the additional layers.
3. Mix the cream cheese with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add in 2 Tablespoons of milk, and sugar, and mix well. Stir in 1 and 1/4 cups Cool Whip. Spread this mixture over the crust.
4. In a bowl, combine chocolate instant pudding with 3 and 1/4 cups cold milk. Whisk for several minutes until the pudding starts to thicken. Use a spatula to spread the mixture over the previous cream cheese layer. Allow the dessert to rest for about 5 minutes so that the pudding can firm up further.
5. Spread the remaining Cool Whip over the top. Sprinkle mini chocolate chips evenly over the top. Place in the freezer for 1 hour, or the refrigerator for 4 hours before serving.

Have a great day