Luck of the Irish Dessert Squares

I have one more exam and a final and tons of homework to finish by next Thursday so this quick break will likely be my only post until after my final. And I have so many things to do the rest of next week after finals so I don't know when I'll be able to catch up with all of you.

I found this recipe at Hersheys.com and made it for a family Memorial Day BBQ (along with Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake). It was cloudy and rainy, like most of the spring and summer days have been this year in Utah, but I pretended we needed a cool dessert. This one is very simple to throw together, although not so simple to cut into pretty pieces when it hasn't had time to be refrigerated long before you have to snap a photo and run with the food to the party.

Luck of the Irish Dessert Squares

CHOCOLATE CRUMB CRUST (recipe follows)
1 (3-oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. cocoa
1/4 c. milk
5 c. frozen non-dairy whipped topping, thawed (about 12 oz.), divided
1/4 - 1/2 t. peppermint extract
Green food color
Mint leaves (optional)
Prepare CHOCOLATE CRUMB CRUST.

Beat cream cheese in medium bowl until fluffy. Gradually add sugar, beating until well blended. Add cocoa alternately with milk, beating until smooth. Gradually fold in 3 cups whipped topping; spoon mixture over crumb crust.

Stir together remaining 2 cups whipped topping, peppermint extract and food color in small bowl; spread over chocolate layer. Cover; refrigerate about 6 hours or until set. Cut into squares. Garnish with mint leaves, if desired. Cover; refrigerate leftover dessert. 6 to 9 servings.
CHOCOLATE CRUMB CRUST: Combine 1 cup graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa and 5 tablespoons melted butter or margarine in small bowl; stir until well blended. Press mixture onto bottom of 9-inch square pan.



Night of Awesomeness

You can play some music related to the post while you read. And just for the record, Alexander suggested the title when I couldn't think of one.

I took the kids to Acoustic Explosion at BYU. I was the oldest one (by far) and my children were the youngest ones minus one baby that was there. I wanted to go because The Lovecapades were playing and I've only heard them online and their lead vocal singer, Colin Rivera, was the MC at BYU Unplugged that I went to a few months ago. When we got there, but before we found a spot on the lawn, I spotted Ruth, one of the young single adults from our old Spanish ward so I went to say hello. She introduced me to her boyfriend, who it turns out plays with The Lovecapades. How fun!

The show opened with a group called MayDay. I couldn't find anything online about them.

If you look really hard, you can see Ruth and her musician boyfriend in the right upper corner on a bench. Accidental spy cam.

Then Steven Stucki played.

Then the Lovecapades were up. Lots of fun!

Then we ran from BYU to Guru's in Provo to see J.Wride. Do you remember my blog post about them? It was the first time I got to see them live.

Clay Summers opened.

I won't post J.Wride's music since I did before, but it's great. They were energetic and it was fun to watch them jammin. Elisa said they were her favorite of the night. If you look hard, you can see a poster for Nikki Forova on the board behind the guys. Happy listening!