Monday's Meal

Well it is almost 10:30 in the morning and I am way over this day already. It's been terrible.

It might have helped if I had gotten any sleep at all. I had to go to bed late because
#1 - Uniform codes, whether in private or public schools, almost universally require that the uniforms be CLEAN and
#2 - Someone (who shall remain nameless) had not done laundry since Wednesday so she had to stay up until after 1 am so her progeny would not go to school in their skivies.

When I finally got to bed, I couldn't go to sleep. The last time I looked at the clock, it said 5:19. Ugh. So I got at my best approximation about 2 to 2 1/2 hours of sleep.

Over the weekend, we decided to give my new phone a name -- JUNK. It can't get a signal to save my life. Nor its own apparently because Hubby decided they need to replace it. Unfortunately, in order to do that, we have to call them. Which doesn't work when the only phone you have with you during the day is the one that doesn't work. I had planned to use my daughter's phone, but I have no idea in what black hole she has it hidden. So even though I had two phones in my house (three if you count the old one) this morning, I had to get in my car and go to the gas station to call my husband so he could call the company.

And just to make it really fun, the first pay phone stole my fifty cents.

Can you see one of those little cartoon clouds over my head? I think the dogs must, because Rocky didn't even attempt to make a mess for me while I was gone. Dogs have good instincts like that.

So anyhow. All that was to say this is definitely a CHOCOLATE kind of day. Actually it does occur to me that putting my recipes on Mondays would probably dictate that a lot of them would involve chocolate. Mondays are not exactly known for good kinds of things.

If it bothers you that someone might eat chocolate to feel better, then look away, my friends. Cause it ain't gonna be pretty!

These are called Chocolate Revels. Whenever my daughter has to take food to an event (at school or the youth group or whatever), this is always the first thing she asks me to make. The recipe comes from the 12th edition of the awesome Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook (which is further proof of my parent's love cause they bought it for me).

Chocolate Revels

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 cups quick cooking oats
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate pieces
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
2 teaspoons vanilla

Set aside 2 tablespoons of the butter. In a large mixing bowl, beat the remaining butter. Add brown sugar and baking soda. Beat in eggs and 2 teaspoons of vanilla. Stir in remaining flour. Stir in oats. Press about two thirds of this mixture into the bottom of a greased baking pan (they suggest an ungreased 15x10x1 pan, but I always use a greased 9x13 cake pan).

For filling, in a saucepan combine the reserved butter, chocolate pieces, and sweetened condensed milk. Cook over low heat until all is melted and blended. Watch this because it can burn. Remove from heat. Stir in the nuts and remaining 2 teaspoons vanilla. Spread over mixture in pan.

Use your fingers to work the remaining oat mixture into flat pieces of various sizes and dot over filling. I can usually manage to cover the entire surface or most of it.

Bake in a 350 degree oven about 25 minutes or until top is lightly browned. Cool. Cut into bars.