Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Oreo Pie

Yeah nothing in that title says gross. Every single word makes me start to salivate. It's just as good as it sounds too. Now this was the first time I made it and normally I wait until the second time so my appearance is better, but people wanted it and its just too good not to share!

Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Oreo Pie

Ingredients:

* 1 bag Oreos (I like to use just regular stuffed Oreos)

* 1 cup butter, divided

* 2/2 cup packed brown sugar

* 1 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream, divided

* 1 bag dark chocolate chips

 Directions:

* Finely crush the Oreos with a food processor or blender. Stir crumbs together with 8 tablespoons melted butter until well combined. Press into the bottom and sides of a pie pan. Freeze crust for 10 minutes until set.     Best. Crust. Ever!

*Combine remaining 8 tablespoons butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture begins to bubble. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Slowly whisk in ¼ cup heavy whipping cream until smooth. Cool caramel about 15 minutes. Pour the caramel over the Oreo crust, then return to freezer for about 30-45 minutes until just chilled and set.

*Place chocolate chips in a glass bowl. In a saucepan, bring 1 cup heavy whipping cream to a simmer over medium-high heat. Pour the cream over the chocolate chips and let sit for 5 minutes, then whisk until completely smooth. Pour the chocolate over the caramel and freeze for a final 30 minutes, until just chilled and set. 

*TIPS: The chocolate layer is a super thick. Its super good, but super rich. I would almost cut it in half, but its personal preference. If you like thick, rich chocolate go for the whole bag! 

**Make sure the pie is laying flat in the freezer. haha Mine tilted some so the caramel all went to one side. 

***Also, freeze the pie. haha They say you can refrigerate it, but its a lot easier to cut if its frozen. 

****I would probably let the caramel bubble for longer than a minute because mine was runnier than what I wanted.

*****OH, and use a spring pan or a tart pan if you can. OR maybe put down some wax or parchment paper to help get it out of the pan. Its tough, but nothing can keep me from chocolatey goodness.

*Before serving, sprinkle the top with a flaky sea salt.

Makes: 8-12 servings.

National Puppy Day!

Yeah yeah, I know I am a day late, but when do I ever post anything on time. haha At the Pogue house we have 3 puppies all cute and different in their own ways.

 Buttercup is the mom of the three. She deals with them annoying her all the time. She has also mastered the puppy dog look!

Dash, aka Dasher, is a ham. I mean just look at that picture. His attitude of not caring and being lazy makes us laugh all the time. We have found him using Buttercup's butt as a pillow, curling up on Curt's lap, and so much more.

Then there is Walter, or Little Walter, and he can just about get away with anything. He can be the most annoying, but then he does something super cute to make up for it.

Walter lays on Buttercup constantly. That or he is curled up by her stomach when they nap. Another reason that makes her the mom.

They realized if they shared the pillow they would both have a soft bed. Dash is nice and lets Buttercup have it most of the time.

Our Puppies!

You Know You're An Adult When......

Curt and I have found ourselves saying things we never thought we would EVER say, but it has happened.

So, you know you are an adult when....

1. You go furniture shopping and enjoy it. (Remember those times you kept asking...can we go home yet?!)
2. You have planned your work for outside the house when Spring hits. Yes, you make a list of things to do and are excited to get them done.
3.  You have a sudden interest in growing a garden. Its so weird, but growing plants become something you can't wait to do.
4. Two words enter your mind....SPRING CLEANING!
5. HGTV convinces you that you need to knock down a wall or two and you both have completely rearranged the layout of your house in your head.
6. You take walks together.
7. Your Pintrest board focus moves from clothes, wedding stuff, nail ideas, and makeup to house ideas, cleaning help, clean eating, and future kid ideas.
8. You make a budget. 
9. You see how people raise/discipline their kids and talk about how you will or won't do what they are doing.
10. You get home from work and talk about how tired you are from working all day. haha

Easter Decorations!

This last weekend was so nice I got in the Spring mood which means Easter decorations! We don't have that many, but its still fun to bust them out and decorate. Its just so much fun! Here are a few of ours.

 I don't even remember how I ended up with this. I think it was a college decoration that was passed to me. :)

This decoration cost me $3.38 at Walmart. Go look! These are just table decorations that were $0.99/each and the grass is like $0.38/bag. Super cheap, yet cute!

 I just love our coffee bar which is why I had to put some Easter decorations there. haha

I got these boxes for $1 each at Walmart too. They are just so cute and are easy to place anywhere. Now I just have to try to keep Walter out of them...

Have you put your decorations up yet?!

Meringue Cookies

OH MY GOSH! If you have not tried these cookies you NEED too. They are super easy and super delicious! They are only around 20 calories each so you don't have to feel bad eating 5 at a time. Really 5 or more of these cookies equals the calories of 1 other cookie! haha

 They are light and fluffy and you can flavor them however you want! Seriously a win-win!

You start by adding white distilled vinegar to the bowl.

Then add a pinch of salt.

Add 4 egg whites and mix until it is foamy, about 1 minute.

 This is what you want it to look like.

With it still whisking, add the sugar slowly.

Let it whip for a little bit then add your vanilla.

I have other flavorings so I decided to add marshmallow too. I cannot wait to try my other flavors!! If you are looking for flavorings like mine I got them off of amazon ($4 each probably - I can't really remember) , but that's because I live in the middle of nowhere. Larger stores with baking or cake decorating supplies will carry some!

You want to whip until they form stiff peaks. This is what it looks like in the bowl. If you can tip the bowl upside down and nothing moves your good to go!

 You are ready to bake! Use parchment paper or spray your baking sheets with nonstick spray to help get them off. Some recipes will have you just drop the batter on the baking sheet (pictured above) or you can pipe it out (pictured below). Its up to you. Both work just fine. I liked the piping method only because it was a lot faster and you can make them prettier if you want. I obviously did not spend much time on presentation. haha

 You want them to be browned all over. Don't take them out until then, otherwise they will turn sticky and they are super hard to eat. If you can wait for them to cool, I think they taste even better!

Meringue Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp white distilled vinegar
• a pinch of salt
• 4 egg whites
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla or any other flavoring you want

Instructions

1. Wipe out your mixing bowl and whisk with a paper towel. This way you can make sure there is no grease. It will just help make the meringue.
2. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
3. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with a non stick cooking spray.
4. Put the vinegar, salt, and egg whites into the mixing bowl.
5. Mix on medium speed until foamy. It will take about a minute.
6. Once it is foamy, add the sugar in a slow, steady stream into the mixing bowl.
7. Put mixer on high speed and mix for a few minutes.
8. When you start to see it firm up, add your flavoring. Then continue mixing until stiff peaks form. Roughly it will take about 4-5 minutes of mixing for this to occur.
9. Put into a piping bag and pipe onto sheets or just use a spoon and scoop onto the baking sheet.
10. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until browned all over.

First Grilling of the Year

It's that time of year again! To celebrate Spring and Curt's new promotion I grabbed his favorite meal...Pork Chops! Oh they were perfect.

What an awesome sight to see. No snow, the sun is shining, and the grill is out!

We couldn't forget the summer sausage. That stuff is absolutely delicious!

Yummy veggies too!

 Walter was loving the warm weather and was exploring the backyard.

What a little cutie.

The finished product! Grilling is the best. I'm so glad we can grill again!!

Have you busted your grill out yet?

2 Minute, 3 Ingredient Donuts!

YES! You read that title correctly. You can make these donuts in 2 minutes with only 3 ingredients. They are a LIFE SAVOR! I love donuts. Yeast donuts being my favorite and making them homemade can be difficult and time consuming. I have attempted to make homemade yeast donuts and they turned out okay actually. My problem is when I'm home and I want donuts, I don't want to wait 2 hours to eat one. I learned this little trick from my 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Wilder. So if you know her you already know where I am going with this!

You need:

* Pillbury biscuits or any kind of biscuit dough

*Cinnamon

*Sugar

Any of the biscuits work. I would stay away from the ones that have chunks of butter in them, but then again....butter makes things delicious. Ahh what the heck, have fun with it! OOOHHH Brilliant idea...maybe I'll try it with their cinnamon rolls next time. **Enter super excited face here!!** Stay tuned for results.

 

 These are the biscuits I used. These are big and take awhile to cook. A few minutes on each side. Just make sure they are a dark, golden brown and your good. If you want to cook them even faster, get the little biscuits! I took a few out when they were golden brown, but I'm weird and like it when these are gooey. I have my whole life!

 All you do is open the can up. Poke a hole in the center and fry. Put them directly into a cinnamon, sugar mixture from the oil and you are done!

Delicious, warm cinnamon sugar donuts in 2 minutes!