Bootcamp Avocado-But-Still-Chocolate Brownies

We are having a Bootcamp girls get together night tomorrow. It's a pot luck which is fun. It's also like this weird contest women do to see who can make the best dish. Or maybe that's just me. It's a known fact anything with melted cheese will be in the running for at least top three. Meatballs, devilled eggs, and things stuffed with other things are always big hits. Unfortunately my appetizer skills are pretty minimal. I usually bring out a veggie, pita and hummus tray to shut my hungry friends up. Once the wine starts flowing they usually forget all about food anyways!

So my conundrum for pot lucks is what to bring! And the answer I usually select is baked goods. If it's an all girls party I invariably go to brownies. Bit*hes love brownies. (Lol too much? Sorry!)

I have this bad habit of wanting to put healthy things in my baking. It's mostly me trying to make the world a better place and also to try to justify the eating of brownies on a more regular basis. Today it was avocados I needed to stuff in my brownies. Avocados are super creamy and full of healthy days and antioxidants. They aren't just for guacamole, people! Here's how I made my treats...

Bootcamp Avocado-but-still-Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients
1 avocado, mashed
3/4 cup almond milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1tsp baking powder
1/2 Tsp salt
1 cup Hershey's mini kisses or chocolate chips

1. Preheat Oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 dish.
2. Beat avocado, almond milk and vanilla together until smooth. 
3. Add in dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
4. Add in chocolate chips.
5. Spread batter evenly in pan and bake for 26-30 minutes.

Avocado peanut butter chocolate frosting

Ingredients

1 avocado mashed

1/2 cup all natural peanut butter

2 cups icing sugar

1 Tsp vanilla

1/3 Tsp salt

1. Mix mashed avocado and peanut butter until creamy.
2. Add in icing sugar a little at a time and mix until smooth.
3. Add in vanilla and salt.
4. Frost brownies while they are still warm.
5. Top with chopped Reese peanut butter cups if so desired (who wouldn't desire that?).

Ahoy! It's a boy!

For a girl who doesn't have a baby nor likes to shower that much, I sure throw a great baby shower!

My twin sister, Amanda, is pregnant with a baby boy, so we decided on a nautical themed baby shower. Ahoy, it's a boy! I started crafting about a month ago, so that I didn't have to rush through everything. My wonderful neighbor lent me her hot glue gun which i burned my fingers on approximately 67 times. I made an Ahoy it's a boy pennant banner, food table tent cards, a baby shower bingo game, tissue pom pom balls for ceiling hanging, water bottle wraps, and sailboat sugar cookie goodie bags.

My mom, Lisa and Katie helped to overflow the food and desert tables with deliciousness; the highlights being Katie's pasta salad and Mom's meatballs. I have to say the brownies I baked were top notch - gooey and fudgey - definitely a keeper (will post later).

Amanda got a zillion or so presents that she loved. Not surprisingly, I think she already has all the baby clothes washed and put away! Damon was dressed in a nautical outfit, which was probably my favorite part of the entire day. Here's some a link to my BABY SHOWER BINGO document and some photos...

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Update: The Bacon Saga

I hauled ass after work on Friday to get to the specialty store to buy some Baconnaise. This store has a billion things i would love to own but i went in with a focused mind, determined not to be distracted by all the cooking and baking specialty items that would certainly make my life SOOO much better. I browsed every aisle and shelf and wasn't able to find any baconnaise. I did come across tomato paste in a tube whick KT has been searching for, so i grabbed that. Note: It doesn't even count as a distracted purchase if it's a gift for someone else. After about 15 minutes i put my hrmph face on and hunted down a store employee. Let's replay the convo:

Me: Hi, can you please tell me where to find the baconnaise?
She replies ( in a snotty voice not befitting of my very nicely asked question), "The WHAT?!|
Me: "The Baconnaise", I say again, a bit more slowly with proper enunciation. "It's bacon mayo," I add helpfully.
"OHhhhhhh," she replies, "we don't carry that anymore, they were giving us product with short shelf life."

My draw drops and my eyes start to water and I ask if they are planning on getting more in the future because I'd been really looking forward to trying it and for it to change my life. My voice is getting louder and louder and  I sort of sound like I'm yelling at her. She responds that she doesn't know if they will be stocking it and tries to sell me lemmonaise- it's lemon, it's mayo... it's baconless! I politely decline and head up to the till to buy the tomato paste in a tube. When I get to the till she points out a Dark Bacon Chocolate Bar for sale. Without a moments hesitation and an internally muttered DUH, I grab one. The bill comes to around $13. I think to myself, wow that tomato paste is pricey!

I text message Alanna to let her know I am bringing a fun surprise but that, unfortunately, it's not bacon mayo. I arrive at the cabin and whip out the dark bacon chocolate bar. Someone grabs it and flips it over to read the write up on the back and exclaims, " You paid TEN dollars for this!?" [insert embarrassed smiley face here] We read the rest of the write up and it is rather hilarious and very enticing. We are all giggling in anticipation. We rip open the packaging and I crack the bar into pieces.  One of the girls claims that it smells like beef jerky. Greeeeaaaaaaaat... We tentatively take bites and some make gag faces and others chew contemplatively. Safe to say there weren't a lot of yummy noises and if I had to throw a caption on the scene it would say EPIC FAIL. The bar wasn't horrible but it definitely wasn't a crowd pleaser. Pieces of the chocolate sat on a plate the whole weekend without disappearing... in a roomful of girls. I polished off them yesterday before I left to come home as I felt it was kind of my responsibility. Luckily, my homemade brownies with a layer of marshmallow and chocolate fudge icing were definitely a bigger hit and redeemingly necessary for my self confidence.

Get this though! Yesterday for lunch we had smokies. I was doing up my bun and boy oh boy was I pleasantly surprised to find the jar of bacon mayo had made it to the sauce table. This was the jar that started it all- hiding innocuosly in the cabin fridge, miding it's own business. I slathered my bun up with bacconaise and then threw on some bbq sauce and ketchup as well -I hate having to choose between my favorite sauces. I grabbed a smokie and topped it with some cheese, onions and tomatoes and set out to taste test. Unfortunately, I think I sauced too hard as I couldn't even distinguish the baconnaise in the mix. I had assigned a few otherBacconaise taste testers and, again, there weren't any overly yummy noises being made. I think this is where the baconnaise train stops and I get off. I have a feeling my arteries will thank me.

for the rest of the story click here to read the "it's bacon, it's mayo" blog.