sweet saturdays

I am in love with Saturday mornings, in case you didn't know. There is no better time of the week, in my book. The peace that comes from waking up to smiley children tugging on my arms, rather than being so rudely jolted from quiet slumber by an alarm clock screaming at me to 'GET UP' from my warm, cozy bed. Having 5 people moving through the house, lazily greeting the day, instead of me and the 3 kids scrambling to get out the door, fully clothed, and belly's reasonably full, on time. Having the WHOLE day to with it whatever we like, instead of having our time mapped out for us in minute and hour increments. Oh, how I love Saturday mornings. So much potential.
Okay, I realize I sound a little dreamy, but really, the sentiments are sincere. You may think I have romanticized Saturday's a bit too much...perhaps because this was the first Saturday in a long, LONG time that we have had very few obligations. And it has been wonderful. After I got home from the T-Ball team mom meeting this morning, I sat on the couch and just hung out. No TV. No cleaning. No prying children apart from a toy they both desperately clung to. None of that. Just chillin' out with my husband. So nice. So very, very nice.
Thankfully, a very minor thumb boo boo kept me from delving back into my obsessive bow-making hobby of late. Instead, I chose to bake. We are going over to play with Wendy and Al tonight, and between Wendy and I, there is usually always a home-baked goody to indulge in. As I recall, last time it was she who made brownies. But let's face it- it's not like I really need a reason to bake. I didn't need to think twice about what to whip up-- my sticky bars were calling to me from the pantry. Okay, they really aren't MY sticky bars...I kind of altered a Paula Dean recipe that you can find HERE. My family is not big on nuts in food, so I switched it up a little. I thought I'd share it here, in case you are interested. Okay, I have some yummy bites of goodness calling my name.  Enjoy folks! And enjoy this lovely saturday with your family.

*I should mention that I changed this recipe around to suit my family's needs.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups light brown sugar
• 2 cups self rising flour
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 tablespoon Vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon Almond extract
• 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup butterscotch chips
• 1 cup white chocolate chips*

Preheat oven to 350, and grease a 13x9 baking dish.

Mix together first 3 ingredients, then add in next 3 and stir well. Fold in coconut and chips until well blended.

Pour batter into pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Cool completely before cutting.

* Original recipe called for 1 cup pecans, which we substituted for white chocolate chips, since the Nelson's don't like nuts in baked yummies.

A word to the wise--- I have learned here that even if you use the toothpick rule, you might need to make an exception-- this scrumptious treat is meant to be chewy, so fight the urge to put it back in until the toothpick comes out completely dry. That probably means you've overcooked it. Happy baking~