Merry Christmas

I had to come home and upload pictures midday, since I took a few too many in the past three days. So here is a teaser of our Jones/Lindblom festivities, and some super cute kids wishing you a very merry Christmas! Oakley bowling

Sophie being adorable And Rockwell being a (blind?) shepherd.

Have I mentioned before how much I love my family?

Killer Brownies

You guys, I have the most delightful recipe for you. I've featured these brownies on the blog before, and got rave reviews again recently when I made them, so I thought I'd share.

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Ingredients:

14 oz package of caramels

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1/2 cup margarine, melted

1 package of chocolate cake mix

1 cup of chopped walnuts

1 package of chocolate chips

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Directions:

1. Unwrap the bag of caramels and add 1/3 cup evaporated milk to them (note that's only half of what's called for). It's okay if you eat one or five while unwrapping.

Heat over low heat, stirring constantly until caramels melt. Keep it warm.

2. Combine cake mix, walnuts, melted margarine and 1/3 cup evaporated milk in bowl. FYI for the nut haters out there, last time I made these I was nervous because the doctor I work with doesn't like nuts. Um, he ate two. Tell snobby nut-haters to nut up and try them anyway. It should look like this: kinda sticky and it just holds together. You might even have some powdery spots, and that's fine.

3. Spread half of dough and press into a greased 9x13 inch pan. And don't be jealous of my pretty counter tops.

Like so, and bake at 350 degrees for 6 minutes.

4. Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over hot crust. It calls for a bag, but I usually only use half-ish. I'm not a huge chocolate person though so do whatever you want.

5. Pour caramel sauce over chocolate chips, and don't try to lick the spoon afterwards because it is hot and will burn your tongue.

Then spread it all nicely, not like the crap-A job I did getting caramel on the side of the pan there.

6. The recipe then says "crumble" remaining dough over the top. Um, I'm a lot too obsessive-compulsive to crumble, so I get my hands wet (so that the dough doesn't stick to my hands) and press the dough into little patties (kill me for using that word) and lay them nicely next to each other.

Just like...

...this. And yes it takes way too long, and would be way easier and faster to crumble. But I like my inefficient way and will continue to do it this way.

7. Bake it again at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. And ta da! Also, they are easier to cut and serve if you let them sit for a while after coming out the oven.

9. Eat lots with lots of milk. They are SUPER rich, but so freaking good. Clearly me and my pointy nose liked them a lot.

10. Thank me profusely for bringing these into your life.

See? I'm a good wife sometimes. I don't cook, but baking is my favorite.

Easy.

I needed to update, and didn't want to try to be clever, and some of my Lindblom family wanted to see these, therefore you get my easy post.

Presenting: more pictures taken by Amanda!

Please cross your fingers with me in hopes that our kids get his dimples.

Pretty sure that Philip was mocking me with my hands on my waist, but it made for a cheesey and cute smile so I'll take it.

Amanda seriously deserves a medal for working with the two most awkward people on the planet and getting some cuteness out of it! She rocks.