Thursday, May 7, 2009

Just Call Me Martha

I'm sure by now most of you know that I'm not much of a baker. I've made some attempts at bread, which have been favorably received, but I am not one to bake on a regular basis, nor do I have the desire to. When Owen came home from school with a notice saying that his class was going to host a Mother's Day tea and that I needed to bring a tray of goodies, I immediately thought "no big deal, I'll just swing by the bakery and pick up something yummy!" But what I failed to realize immediately was that one of Owen's little buddies has severe allergies, and whatever I brought in had to be completely nut free. Yikes. I wasn't confident that I could find something nut free/made in a nut free environment so I decided that I had better make something myself. How hard could it be? I decided on Rice Krispie Squares, seemed simple enough. I've never made them before (I know, seriously?) but I had all the ingredients on hand which made it the perfect choice from a grocery budget stand point (yes, I'm on a strict food budget...more on that to come).

The marshmallow melting went smoothly enough, nothing burned. Then I mixed in the Rice Krispie's and stirred until I thought my arm was going to fall off. Mr. Rice Krispie said to add some vanilla to the melted marshmallows, but thankfully he said it was optional, because I forgot. Yes, there are only 4 ingredients, and I forgot one of them. Nuff said. The kids are 5, they won't notice. Oh....but the mom's, darn it, I forgot about the other mom's. They are probably all homemakers extraordinaire, they will all know that I suck at even the simplest "baking". I may have to spike their tea.



I had thought ahead, though, and lined the pan with plastic wrap that I had sprayed with Canola so at least the removal from the baking pan wasn't a nightmare!

As I was pressing the whole schmoz into the pan I realized that I was crushing all of Rice Krispies. Boy you need to press hard, I was manhandling the stuff and it still wouldn't go nice and flat like the picture. Oh well, my squares have character.


But now what. How the heck do I get the remainder out of the sauce pan? I mean, it is like glue. I put it back on the burner and then as soon as some melted I would quickly eat it before it could harden again. My stomach hurts now and there is still lots left in the pan! This is a process people! So this is my question to you. Is there some secret that I'm missing out on on how to clean the damn pan?!!!


Ah, maybe I should just chuck it....

6 comments:

  1. Ha, ha, ha, ha ,ha, you are soooo funny. Just soak it in hot water!!! We can't make goodies for school, it alllll has to be packaged goodies. Did you know to buy enough cupcakes from Costco for a whole class would cost me $50??? No I didn't buy them, had to get something cheaper, much cheaper. I love rice crispy squares, we should make some of those soon.
    We all send big hugs!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Heheh, that's funny!
    I've never made them on the stovetop before, I always do it in the microwave. I usually put a good amount of dish soap in the bowl and fill it with hot water...let it soak for half an hour and then scrub. Good luck! And good for you for thinking of that poor little kid with allergies!

    ReplyDelete
  3. That was so funny! Thanks for the laugh! And seriously never,you have never made rice krispies? Warm soapy water is all you should need. (I am assuming that you do not have a dishwasher at the rental, gee I need to get over there soon!)
    Seriously though, good thing you are one of the best knitters ever! You should have knitted a tray of rice krispies that would have been funny!

    ReplyDelete
  4. How is it possible that you have 2 school aged children and you've never made rice krispie squares before?

    I make them in the microwave too. And to clean out the bowl, I just give it to Stefan or the kids along with a spoon. They do a fantastic job.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Shannon, you are aware that Martha Stewart is a convicted criminal, right? ;)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I have tears in my eyes from laughing at your story, Shanny. You are truly a good writer! Like I said before, you should write a book! I agree with the other posts...I also use the microwave to melt the marshmallows, etc. (using a big glass bowl) and yes, you can just soak your pan in warm soapy water to get rid of all the leftover sticky stuff. I have a yummy recipe for Mars Bars squares...much easier than using marshmallows...it's in the recipe book I made you for Christmas...Love ya! xxx

    ReplyDelete