My mom would make this for my family when I was in High School. My favorite memory of Bark was when my mom put the pan out on the deck to cool and after an hour, she brought it back inside with a quarter of it chewed off and squirrel footprints over the rest of it. I bet it was a taste of heaven for the squirrel. Every time I take a bite of these, I immediately warp back into late 90's Christmas time, chilling on the couch with my brother. Good memories. I love that taste and smell can give such wonderful flashbacks.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 cup brown sugar
Box of graham crackers (amount changes with size of jelly roll pan)
12 oz bag chocolate chips

optional:
1 cup nuts


Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cover a jelly roll pan with foil, and spray with cooking spray. Place graham crackers on the foil.

In a saucepan, melt 1 cup of butter (two sticks) and add 1 cup of brown sugar.

Bring to a boil and boil 3 minutes. Pour the mixture over the graham crackers.

Bake the caramel and graham crackers in the oven for 5 minutes at 400 degrees.

Remove from the oven. Sprinkle 12 oz. bag of chocolate chips over the caramel graham
crackers. You may need to return the pan to the oven briefly to melt the chocolate chips. Smooth over with spatula. Top with nuts if desired.

Refrigerate to harden chocolate. (I like to cover mine and stick it outside since I usually make this in the winter)

Break into chunks of "bark."

Brrrrrrrr! England is bone chillingly cold! And when our only source of transport is Sweet Pea's stroller, these blustery, rainy winds are frigid. Too bad Graco doesn't make a "push-chair" (as the Brits would say) with a heater. This soup is inspired by a minestrone from my old local Italian restaurant that I would frequent in college. It's easy to make and heart-warming with veggie pasta combo. Even our anti-veggie one-year-old gobbled this up.

Ingredients:
1 Tbs olive oil
1 small diced onion
1 small zucchini diced
1/2 cup frozen cut italian green beans
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 can diced tomatoes (14 ounce)
1/2 cup carrot, shredded
1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach
1 cup small shell pasta
2 Tbs minced fresh parsley
1 1/2 tea dried basil
1 tea salt
1/2 tea ground red pepper flakes
1/2 tea dried oregano
1/4 tea dried thyme

Directions:
Pour round of oil in bottom of the pot and sautee garlic, onion, and green beans for about 5 minutes

Add broth, water, can of tomatoes (with juice), carrots, spinach, pasta, and spices; bring to a boil and let simmer for 20 minutes.

Sprinkle some shedded parm or cheddar on top. Enjoy!