If I could live off of coffee and chocolate.....

....I would be a very happy woman. 

Valentine's Day has come and gone.  All of my little Valentine door decorations are put away and St. Patty's Day stuff is up.  The Hubby is still on nights so last night was no different from any other.  I made a fabulous brisket type of BBQ in the crockpot.  I was inspired by an easy peasy recipe I saw on Pinterest, of course.  It called for pork butt and Pepsi.  Sine the thought of Pepsi makes me cringe I used Coke.  Coke Classic....I'm not playing around here.  There was not a good butt of piggie to be found at my local HEB (surprise! surprise!) but I did find a pretty roast.  I cut slits all over the roast so it could soak in all the BBQ goodness, covered it in season salt, poured well over the 1/2 of a bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce that it called for and then a 20 oz Coke.  Cooked it on low for around 9 hours then I sliced it....until I got bored of that and pretty much hacked into little chunks.  Served on warmed Hawaiian rolls....well, I would like to say it was amazing.  Sadly, I didn't get to try it.  The Hubs, T, R and a friend of T's sopped every bit of it up.  Yep.  They each had about 3 or 4 of the little sliders of BBQ awesomeness and told me how good it was.  Success! You can find the pin that I used for inspiration right here. Remember I tweaked it and did NOT use Pepsi, or pork.  Of course, if you are one of those people who actually digs Pepsi, more power to ya'.

I made my handy dandy roasted Brussels sprouts with our meal too.  I know that in most families the words Brussels sprouts elicits moans and groans (and not in the good way) but my kiddos (minus G who eats basically peanut butter and honey sandwiches 24/7) love my roasted Brussels sprouts.  Once they come out of the oven they are devoured and picked at like a pan full of french fries.  They are amazingly addicting and have the super power ability to transform any Brussels sprout hater into a Brussels sprout lova'.  Here's the easiest recipe you will ever have.....
Brussles Sprouts your kids will eat!

• You will need at least 2 (but probably 3 if you have a large family like I do) bushels of Brussels sprouts, if they are sold loosely than grab a good 5 handfuls.  You will thank me later. 
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt (preferably coarse salt)
• Pepper

Told you it was simple....
Now,

• Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
• Wash your sprouts well, cut the ends off, you will not be using them.  Now cut the Brussels sprouts in half, if they are huge monster sprouts, feel free to cut them in thirds.  Dispose of any stray leaves you lost.
• line a rimmed baking pan with foil
• drizzle the pan with EVOO
• lay the Brussels sprouts any way you like, just spread them out all over the pan, cut side up, cut side down, whatev.
• drizzle the Brussels sprouts with EVOO (lightly)
• sprinkle the Brussels sprouts with salt and pepper
• pop in the oven for 15 minutes
• after 15 minutes, shake them around and turn which ones you can
• cook another 15 minutes
• Voila! You are done.  Try to let them cool at least 15 seconds before popping these delish bites into your mouth. Ask T, he saw them on the stove and popped one in before realizing they had JUST come out of the oven. 

You will now have this easy masterpiece to feed the minions....they are caramelized and so yummy.  There will be a few charred leaves, which oddly is one of my fave parts, but feel free to just eat the pretty ones.

While the big kids were outside playing, G and I decided that we would make this divine cake by The Pioneer Woman.  This chocolate sheet cake has changed my life.  No, I am not being dramatic.  Okay, maybe a little. But, you have to try this cake!  Not mine, because I am totally not sharing but make your own and you will not regret it.  The icing that I poured over this cake tastes almost exactly like the one my grandmother made and poured over yellow cake.  I am pumped that I now hold this secret because I have to admit, I really just thought she created it with magic.  I will share the pin where you can find the recipe and then my pictures from our chocolate escape. 

Source: thepioneerwoman.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

G knows that if you help bake, you help taste!



Seriously? How can people exist that don't like chocolate?



It is not really talked about but I have a secret....if you use organic powdered sugar it will not stick to your hips, even if you use a hair less than 1 lb. Promise.



Your cute bow will not save you from stealing my cake batter bowl...



That, my friends, is pure heaven in the making.  Cocoa powder, butter, chopped pecans (that I shelled with my own 2 now-blistered hands), powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. Now, wipe your chin, you're drooling.



yep.



sweet mother of all things holy and chocolaty

There you have the most spectacular and easy to make Chocolate Sheet Cake in the world!   I will post all of our Valentine pictures later because you are now only picturing that cake in your mind. 
Everyone have a wonderful rest of the week!