The week in preview and Better Than Thin Mints.

What do you make when you need a quick and easy treat?  Maybe a last minute play date is occurring in your home or someone stopped over for coffee.  Maybe you forgot to make a treat for school/girl scouts/karate/whatever tomorrow.  Or maybe it is just 4:00 and the chocolate/cookie/salty craving just hit.

This has been my go to treat since Dave brought the recipe home typed and printed out by an ER doctor in Madison when he was a pediatric intern.  I couldn't quite figure out why exactly an ER doctor was passing out a recipe...in the ER...  Well, after trying these little bites of heaven, I do understand.  Once you try them, you want to spread the word!  You'll want to tell everyone "You will NOT believe this!"  These are so easy and seriously awesome.

Now just to be prepared for what ever treat requiring event that may pop up I always have on hand these ingredients.

One bag of milk chocolate chips

Two rolls of ritz crackers

Peppermint Oil.  This is not peppermint extract, that won't be powerful enough.  

This is the oil.  You can get it at baking stores like U Bake, but not usually at the grocery store.  This stuff is powerful, resist the urge to lick your finger if you spill a bit because you will regret it.  It is so potent it makes your eyes water.

My addition is a pinch of sea salt

Melt the bag of chocolate in the microwave stirring after every 20 second interval until smooth, but not hot.  Add just 2-3 drops of the oil.  Be careful here, I have had to throw away a whole batch when I added too much.  Just dip the ritz and sprinkle on a little salt if you want.  I like them cooled, so I pop them in the fridge.  It makes about 45 little happy nuggets.

The week in preview

Superbowl Sunday:  My favorite chili with cheese, sour cream, and fritos of course.  I will buy naan from the grocery store and my go to treat for dessert.  The chili recipe is in one of my first Avocado and Beer Facebook posts if you are interested.  I must have made this 100's of times.

Leftover Monday:  Chili again, this time I may add some noodles or make a box of corn bread.

Tuesday and Wednesday:  Last week's pork ragu had me thinking about my last favorite slow cooker recipe, so I have a hankering for that brisket!  French dip sandwiches with sweet potato fries and either broccolini or beans.  This is in an earlier post on Blogspot too.

Thursday:  Skillet ziti and salad.  Got this one from Cooks Country.

Friday:  I never got around to making the Baked Cod with Crunchy Lemon Herb Topping because of the whole well issue.  So now that what ever wire was on the fritz is unfritzed, I'll make this with fingerling potatoes and asparagus.