Double Decker Candy Bar Rice Krispy Treats

This is a great way to use up leftover Halloween candy and share with friends.

Double Decker Candy Bar Rice Krispy Treats

6 Tbsp. butter
2 (10 oz.) bags mini marshmallows
2 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt
12 c. rice krispies
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
1 c. chocolate chips
30 pieces mini candy bars (snickers, milky way, twix), cut into pieces

First, you are going to make 2 separate batches of rice krispy treats.  First batch will be bottom layer, covered with chocolate and candy bars and then covered with second batch of rice krispy treats.  It's easier to work in two batches instead of making both at once.

In a saucepan, heat 3 Tbsp. butter until melted.  Add in 1 (10 oz.) bag of marshmallows and stir constantly until melted and smooth.  Once melted, stir in 1 tsp. vanilla and pinch of salt and remove from heat.  Stir in 6 c. rice krispies.  Pour into greased 9x13 pan (with as squared an edge as possible like a cake pan) and press firmly into pan.  (I found using my silpat makes this job the easiest.  You could also try wax paper or parchment paper.)  In a microwave safe bowl, heat chocolate chips and coconut oil for 1 minute.  Stir until smooth.  (This will feel a little more liquid-y than you think is right.)  Spread chocolate over first layer of rice krispy treats.  Sprinkle chopped candy bars over top of melted chocolate.

Prepare next batch of rice krispy treats, using same directions as bolded above.  Spread over candy bars and press firmly into pan.  Allow to cool completely.  Once cool, flip out of pan and cut into squares.

Pecan Pie II

This year for Thanksgiving, I volunteered to bring a pecan pie and while this one is super easy and tasty,  I decided the "food holiday" should be celebrated with a made from scratch pie.  It's another Ree recipe from her holiday cookbook.  The brown sugar addition to this pie over my original makes it very rich and delicious.

Pecan Pie

This picture at this link shows pecan halves in the pie, but Ree actually uses a heaping cup of finely chopped pecans.  Really just a matter of preference, but I did like the chopped pecans.

Smoked Turkey

Jason and I have become a pretty good team of coming up with good ways to doctor up meat and get it ready for smoking.  We made it this year for our Sunday school Thanksgiving lunch and for family Christmas.  Usually I don't care for turkey because it is so dry, but this has been moist every time!

Turkey Brine

3 c. apple juice
2 gallons water
1-½ c. salt
2 c. brown sugar
4 fresh rosemary sprigs
orange peel from 3 oranges
5 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tbsp. tri-colored peppercorns
5 bay leaves

In a LARGE pot (we use a turkey fryer pot), bring all the ingredients to a boil.  Once boiling, turn off heat and allow to cool completely.  Then chill.  Once chilled, fully submerge turkey in brining solution for 16-24 hours.  Keep in fridge.

When preparing to smoke, remove turkey from solution and rinse with water.  Dry turkey completely, inside and out and rub down with herb butter recipe below.

1 stick butter, room temperature
peel of one orange, sliced into very thin strips
2 rosemary sprigs, stripped and finely minced.
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

We then stuff the cavity with the leftover oranges, whole garlic cloves, and rosemary sprigs.

Jason smokes in big green egg using soaked pecan wood chips.  Cooking time varies based on temperature and size of turkey.

Dill Deviled Eggs

I don't really have an exact recipe for these, but I love dill in deviled eggs.  I really enjoy traditional southern style deviled eggs, but I decided to mix it up a bit for our Easter lunch.

Dill Deviled Eggs

6 hard cooked eggs
mayo
splash of red wine vinegar
fresh or dried dill weed

Slice eggs in half and scoop out yolks into a bowl.  Add mayo until consistency you like your eggs.  Put in a splash of red wine vinegar and add dill.  I think I used 1 tsp. dried dill.  You'd use more if you were using fresh.  Fill yolks and chill until ready to serve.

Champagne Punch (Mocktail)

I was first introduced to this drink through my last job and a party we were hosting.  I got The Bun some regular white grape juice this week and the flavor reminded me.  This is a deliciously refreshing drink...not very sweet like most punches.  I am a punch lover!  I know you should sip punch, but in the privacy of my own home, I am a punch gulper.  This one is no exception.  I thought I would share it because it would be a great New Year's punch if you were planning a party.

Champagne Punch (Mocktail)

2 bottles Welch's sparkling white grape juice, chilled
1 (1 liter) bottle ginger ale, chilled

Stir ingredients together.  Freeze some mixture in ice ring, if needed.  Serve well chilled.  Double as needed.

Four Layer Delight - Pumpkin

One of my all time favorite desserts is Four Layer Delight.  This reminds me of a pumpkin version of that, although very different in layers.  The layers aren't as defined, but trust me, there are four layers of yummy goodness!!  I think this may be a new family favorite.  I made it to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family.

Four Layer Delight - Pumpkin

1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
3 eggs
1 box yellow cake mix
1 c. chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, etc.)
3/4 c. butter, cut into pieces
1 (12 oz.) container cool whip
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix pumpkin, milk, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and eggs.  Pour into 9x13 baking dish.  Sprinkle cake mix evenly on top.  Do not mix.  Next sprinkle nuts on top of cake mix and dot with butter pieces.  Bake for 1 hour.  Allow to cool completely.  Once cooled, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar together until smooth.  Stir in cool whip and beat until well incorporated.  Spread on top of cake.  Refrigerate.

Pilgrim Hats

I was originally asked to bring Granny's Cut Out Cookies to our Thanksgiving lunch for the kids, but I took creative liberty and decided to make these little gems instead.  They are super easy to make and definitely something older children could help with.  Here's what you'll need:

Pilgrim Hats

Keebler Fudge Stripe Cookies
Marshmallows
Chocolate chips
tube of yellow decorators icing

Place cookies, stripe side down onto wax paper.  In microwave, carefully melt chocolate.  Use toothpicks to dip marshmallows to coat in chocolate.  Place on top of cookie.  Allow chocolate to set.  Pipe a buckle onto hat.  (My store didn't was out of yellow tube icing, so I just bought some white can icing and colored it myself.  Then I used a ziploc bag to pipe onto hat.)

I was also asked to bring Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding for the adults.  I won't change that up and will definitely be taking that.

Strawberry Cake

Another shot of a cake I made for Sunday school baby shower that shows
the color of the cake in daylight.

This recipe is like driving a new car.  It isn't until you have a particular car that you start noticing them everywhere on the street.  I originally saw this recipe in Paula's magazine in May/June 2008 issue.  I've saved it waiting for the right time to make it.  I have also seen a variation of the recipe on Southern Plate.  She uses plain cream cheese frosting instead of one flavored with strawberries, so I decided to stick with my original recipe.  This is my contribution to Easter lunch on Sunday.  Here in this town everyone is crazy about Edgar's strawberry cake.  And I definitely am a huge fan, but I have also discovered Ashley Mac's strawberry cake and it is my most favorite.  BUT, I think this strawberry cake can hang with both of those and it is much cheaper!!!  My version definitely looks homemade, though!  :)
Strawberry Cake

1 box white cake mix
1 (3 oz.) box strawberry flavored instant gelatin
1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed
4 large eggs
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/4 c. water
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease 2 round 9 inch cake pans.  In a large bowl, combine cake mix and gelatin.  Add pureed strawberries, eggs, oil, and water; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth.  Pour into prepared pans, and bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Let cool in pans for 10 minutes.  Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.  Spread Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting in between layers and on top and sides of cake.  Garnish with fresh strawberries, if desired.

**I had a lot of frosting left over because I always worry about putting too much in the middle layer.  Don't be shy of using plenty in the middle layer.  There will be enough to go around.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 c. butter, softened
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed (you'll actually only use 1/4 c.)
1/2 tsp. strawberry extract (I just used vanilla)
7 c. powdered sugar

In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese until creamy.  Beat in 1/4 c. strawberry puree, reserving remaining for another use.  Beat in extract.  Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until smooth.

Note:  For pinker frosting, add 2-3 drops of red food coloring to frosting.  I didn't do this because I liked it's natural color.

**I also prefer strawberry cakes cold, so I have this one in the fridge and will serve it cold.  It's the only cake I like that way!

Bunny Rolls

I saw this on the internet today and thought it was the cutest thing.  I wanted to share it in time for Easter.  Let the kids help!!  Here's what you'll need:  1 can of refrigerated cinnamon rolls.  That's it!!  My rolls weren't rolled in circles like most rolls are so I had a little bit of an extra headach to fix mine.  Here's what to do:  (Don't know why some of these are turned the wrong way.)

Unroll your cinnnamon rolls (or if like me, use a knife to cut them like a rolled cinnamon roll would be...and a knife works best...I tried it different ways including rolling like a snake)  Cut off a tiny piece to form the tail.  Place in U-shape.

Cross one side over the other.

Repeat and cross for a second time.

Roll tail into a ball and place in the spot left for the tail.

Bake according to package directions.  Watch because you could probably bake them less than the given time.  I think I did mine about 10-12 minutes.  Ice while still hot.

Baked Eyeballs

Picture from Pilsbury website

The second part of our weekend consisted of My Buddy and Skittle coming into town to celebrate Halloween.  Several years ago, I picked up a Pillsbury Halloween cookbook from the grocery store and always thought the ideas inside were fun.  The Dish Washer gave me a hard time about this one, but it is all about children using their imaginations!  I thought it was fun.

Baked Eyeballs

Hot Cranberry Punch

Where, oh, where to begin? You probably thought I was never coming back! The Bun is a little over 7 weeks from being "cooked" and to say that I have been pre-occupied preparing for him is the understatement of the year!!!

I guess we should back up to Thanksgiving! We spent Thanksgiving with The Dish Washer's family and certainly had plenty to eat! If you could have seen the pan of dressing that we were eating out of...YUM! Biggest pan I have ever seen. I took the Apple Dapple Cake that Tossie shared with us. I actually made it the Sunday before for our church wide Thanksgiving meal and made it in my pretty bundt pan. I decided the next time around, I would make it in a 9x13 so that the icing could really soak down in the cake. It was much better that way!!! Tos said that is how she always makes it too. Click on the recipe to see the picture of the bundt pan cake. I also made her Sweet Potato Casserole, which everyone loved!

Then came busy December...
Somewhere in between, I also made Chicken and Biscuit Dumplings so have now added a picture of that. My friend and her beau came over for a Christmas gathering and she brought her Taco Soup. It was very good! She's not known for her skills in the kitchen so I was very proud of her domestication! I made Symphony Brownies to go with dinner and had her some White Trash as a parting gift.

We've been to Atlanta to cheer on our favorite football team. ROLL TIDE! Then we went to Vegas to attend the National Finals Rodeo. One last trip before The Bun. WHEW!! I'm tired!

Mom and dad came up to see The Bun's room one of those weekends and she was wanting to try a frittata out of Southern Living. I hope to post that soon.

I guess that catches us up to Christmas! For my family's gathering Christmas eve, I made Goody Girl Championship Potatoes and Lady's Green Beans. Other things on our list of goodies besides the turkey and dressing was ham, Waldorf salad, macaroni and cheese, squash casserole, sweet potato casserole (the same mentioned above), pea salad, devilled eggs, cake, cookies, and more cake! Man there was a lot...I'm sure I am leaving something out!

Christmas day we hosted The Dish Washer's family at our home. With all the eating, we decided just to do heavy snack foods. We had dips and chips galore, mini pulled pork bbq sandwiches, twice baked new potatoes, and desserts coming out the wazoo including chocolate chip pound cake and Granny's Cut-Out Cookies. I also made a cheese bite that I plan to share soon and a lemon poppy seed cake that I have had on my mind since reading about it.

I also made this punch to serve and it was first time to make and try. Man this was soooo good and I am not typically a fan of hot apple cider. This has the warmth but a much different taste. It was in my handwritten cookbook that I have mentioned on here several times.

Hot Cranberry Punch

2 c. pineapple juice
2 c. cranberry juice
1 c. water
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. whole cloves
1-1//2 sticks cinnamon
pinch of salt

Put brown sugar, cloves, cinnamon and salt into percolator basket. Pour juices and water into percolator. Allow to hat for about 10 minutes or until perked. Remove basket. Can be refrigerated when cooled and reheated.

**I didn't have any cloves, so I just use two whole sticks of cinnamon instead.

Be looking for those other posts with the new recipes spread out over the next few days.

Tri-Colored Pasta Salad

James Spann has taken over my TV for the night, so I thought I would give an Easter food blog since I haven't done that yet. We had a great Easter with The Dish Washer's family, and as usual, had way too much to eat. While the big girl were hunting Easter eggs, I got to love on Little Brother, who I am renaming The Burrower because he LOVES to burrow his little face into the elbow fold of your arm. Then he will pull a free arm over his head to block out the light. It is the funniest thing! We had ham, macaroni and cheese, peas, hashbrown casserole, grape salad, green beans, devilled eggs, dinner rolls and sweets-a-plenty! In addition to making the hashbrown casserole, I also made this pasta salad. It is really very good and is a recipe of my mother-in-law. She made it once when I went home with The Dish Washer...we were still dating. I've had the recipe ever since, but she also included it in the handwritten cookbook she gave me one Christmas.

Tri-Colored Pasta Salad

1 bag tri-colored pasta
1 pint Miracle whip
1 c. water
1/2 c. vinegar
1 c. sugar
1 medium onion, grated
1/2 tsp. celery salt
1/2 tsp. tumeric
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
4-5 eggs, boiled and chopped

Cook pasta according to directions, drain well. Mix miracle whip, sugar, onion and seasonings well. Add water and mix well or whisk to blend. Add vinegar. When dressing is well blended, add pasta and eggs. Cover and refrigerate, stirring occasionally. Refrigerate overnight.

Peeps Sunflower Cake

How cute is this cake? And let me tell y'all, it is SUPER EASY!! Here's the recipe. The picture above is the one I made. I think it is very close to the magazine's version that you can see at the link. The only difference is that my chocolate chips are all the same size. Last year I was gifted the magazine Taste of Home by Super Social Worker. A dear friend of her's that absolutely loved recipes and cooking passed away. I was honored to be the recipient of her remaining magazine subscription. This cake was in there and I have had it on my mind this whole time...anxiously waiting for Easter peep season.

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

Well Christmas has come and gone and we'll do it all over again in 12 months. We had a great Christmas with our families, and in fact will do a little more celebrating today and tomorrow. This is a recap of all of the food we ate:

The Dish Washer's Family (2 gatherings)

Ham
Dressing
Three Bean Salad (I found the recipe and will post later.)
Cranberry Sauce
Sweet Potato Casserole (more like a souffle)
Peas
Crockpot Macaroni and Cheese
Grape Salad
Strawberry Pretzel Salad
Bread
French Silk Pie
Lemonade Pie
Pound Cake
Peppermint Cake
Fudge
Yummy Cheese dip and chips for after we opened presents

I didn't have to take anything! My mother in law had all of the food, but she did allow me to help her the Saturday night before our Sunday gathering. I also got to go to their church's Christmas dinner theater that night and we had French onion soup, salad, prime rib, baked potatoes, dinner rolls and cheesecake! Writing all of this food really makes me feel guilty for eating so much! :)

We also got to participate in Family Communion this year because they changed it from Christmas eve to the Sunday before Christmas. Their church does it where each family goes in as a group one by one and participates in The Lord's Supper together. There were 17 of us from This Dish Washer family there. It was very special.
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Crockpot Chicken Spaghetti (YUMMY!)
Green Bean Casserole (made by The Dish Washer and not your mama's)
Salad
Bread
Leftover desserts from above gathering

This was our gathering on Christmas day. We were able to bring the green bean casserole. When I make it, I usually use the traditional recipe. When The Dish Washer makes it, he adds this and that to it and it is so good, but unfortunately there is no recipe that goes with it. He is good at that kind of thing. I am a pretty strict recipe follower. There isn't even a picture of the casserole because my battery died. Hopefully Kim will share her recipe for chicken spaghetti for later.

My Family (Christmas Eve)

Turkey
Ham
Dressing
Giblet Gravy (that turned out very good this year!)
Cranberry Sauce
Sweet Potato Casserole
Squash Casserole
Macaroni and Cheese
Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad
Strawberry Pretzel Salad
Lady's Green Beans
Pea Salad
Devilled Eggs
Dinner Rolls
Four Layer Delight
Sausage Cheese Dip (for munching)

WHOA NELLY! That is a lot of food! There were certainly a lot of mouths to feed, so honestly I don't feel like I overate like I could have. (Maybe I am just trying to justify it in my mind.) :)

I made this salad, the Four Layer Delight and the Sausage Cheese Dip. I have added several pictures to the recipes if they didn't already have a picture. I forgot to take pictures until we had already fixed our plates, which is why you have "after" shots.

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

2 c. crushed pretzels
1-1/2 sticks butter, melted
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
3/4 c. sugar
1 (8 0z.) carton Cool whip
2 (3 oz.) pkgs. strawberry Jello
2 c. boiling water
1 (16 oz.) pkg. frozen strawberries, sliced
1 small can crushed pineapple

Preheat the oven to 400. For the crust, mix the pretzels, butter and 3 Tbsp. sugar. Press into 9x13 baking dish. Bake for 7 minutes and set aside to cool. Beat together cream cheese and 3/4 c. sugar. Fold in cool whip. Spread over completely cooled crust. Refrigerate until well chilled. Dissolve the Jello in the boiling water; cool slightly. Add the strawberries and pineapple, and pour over the cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate until serving time.

White Trash

Tomorrow is our Christmas supper club with Sunday school. We will be playing Dirty Santa and I decided to make one of our gifts. This would allow me to also have something to give our hostess and her family. This recipe made so much that I would be able to have those two gifts plus two more that I plan to give to our neighbors. I stuffed a lot in each container, but I could have made even more smaller packages. Y'all try this if you are looking for a yummy gift to give for Christmas this year.

White Trash

2 c. rice chex cereal

2 c. corn chex cereal

2 c. cheerios

2 c. salted peanuts

2 c. plain M&Ms

1-1/2 pkgs. white almond bark

In a large bowl, combine first 5 ingredients. Melt almond bark according to package directions. (I used the double boiler directions this time.) After melting, quickly mix all ingredients with almond bark. Once thoroughly mixed, lay out on wax paper to cool. Break apart to package.

**Note: Not made by white trash! (I think!)

Candy Cane Bark

We are back from Disney World and exhausted! As soon as we got back into town, we had to leave again to cheer our team on to victory! So glad we didn't miss out on that. Today we had our supper club, and all we took were the drinks. I would have loved to make something, but I just couldn't find the time. Now, we are trying to get back into our regular routine, in addition to trying to decorate for Christmas. It has been raining here this afternoon and we didn't want to bring home a wet tree, so we have put that off for one more day. Hopefully the weather will be better tomorrow because I am really ready to put our tree up! The Dish Washer is Clark Griswold when it comes to lights on a Christmas tree. I love it! We usually have to plug the lights into a surge protector.

We ate a lot at Disney, but nothing out of the ordinary as far as junk food is concerned. (Well, I guess the deep fried snickers I had counts as extraordinary!) I did get to see the cheerleaders come down the street for the parade. The group was much smaller than I remembered it being twelve years ago. The crazy thing is a little girl that I used to babysit was in it this year, so reliving the glory days didn't work...I felt really old!

Now that Christmas is right upon us, 'tis the season for goodies!! I first had this when I was working in a retirement community. We made it for the residents one day and it was so incredibly easy and good. I've even thought it would make a good tea/after dinner mint.

Candy Cane Bark

1 package almond bark (Cand-i-Quick)
1 box candy canes, unwrapped and finely crushed

Melt almond bark according to package directions. Mix in crushed candy canes and pour onto wax paper in a thin layer to cool. Break into small pieces and package.

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One year at church we had a Christmas program called "Candy Cane Lane." I was Candy Cane Jane! Anyway, our director gave us a framed copy of the story of the candy cane. Here it is:

"The Candymaker's Witness"

A candy maker in Indiana wanted to make candy that would be a witness, so he made the Christmas candy cane. He incorporated several symbols for the birth, ministry and death of Jesus Christ.

He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy: white to symbolize the virgin birth and the sinless nature of Jesus, and hard to symbolize the Solid Rock, the foundation of the Church and firmness of the promises of God.


The candy maker made the candy in the form of a "J" to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to earth as our Savior. It could also represent the staff of the Good Shepherd with which He reached down into the ditches of the world to lift out the fallen lambs, who like all sheep, have gone astray.

Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain, the candy maker stained it with red stripes. He used three small stripes for the blood shed by Christ on the cross so that we could have the promise of eternal life.

Unfortunately, the candy became known as the "candy cane" - a meaningless decoration seen at Christmas time. But the real meaning is still there for all who "have eyes to see and ears to hear." We pray this symbol will again be used to witness to the wonder of Jesus and His great love that came down at Christmas.

Christmas Ornament Dough

Before

Drying

Ready to Deck the Halls!

Have you ever seen an orange Christmas tree? When we went home last month for the family cookout, we did an early project for Christmas. I can't wait until December, as I originally planned, to share them with you in case you wanted to make them. Mom made Christmas ornament dough and we all decorated ornaments. It was so much fun, and especially for three of us, brought back LOTS of memories of when we were crafty, little girls.

Christmas Ornament Dough

4 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. salt
1-1/2 c. water

Mix together all ingredients and knead for 10 minutes. Roll out dough and cut with cookie cutters. Use a drinking straw to create a hole in top of each ornament for hanging and carefully place cut dough onto cookie streets. Bake at 250 for 1 hour or until ornament is completely dried and hard. Cool completely on baking pan. When ornaments are cool, let kids (or in our case, big kids) paint them. Use lengths of ribbon for hanging.

Paint with acrylic paint and once completely dried, seal with Modge Podge.

**Note: This recipe is only for making decorations, not eating.

Brew-Ha-Ha Punch

My Buddy (his mama and Deese, too!) just left my house for a quick visit. We had a little bit of time to buy wood from the lumber yard (aka Jinga blocks) and check them out with the cash register before he had to leave. I also fixed us a quick dinner (Reuben Casserole) that I had promised a while back. It was very good. Click on the recipe to see what change I would make for next time.

Halloween is just around the corner. When I was in high school, a group that I was a part of hosted a Halloween party for some kids. I can't remember now which group that would have been (maybe Key Club?), but I was assigned to make punch for the party and was given this recipe to use. It is really very good and I just love the name of it. Click here for some more cute Halloween treats over at Picky Palate.

Brew-Ha-Ha Punch

2 c. sugar
2 quarts water
2 envelopes lime drink mix
1 can pineapple juice
1 quart ginger ale

Stir sugar and water until sugar dissolves. Add other ingredients and chill.

Brunch Punch

Hasn't this weather been great?! I love being out on the porch this time of year. Tomorrow is another breakfast day at work, and I'm not cooking a thing!! I'm not in the cooking mood tonight. I can hardly believe it myself, because I really have some fun things to try. I can't very well not show up with anything and then partake in the breakfast goodies, so I am taking the easy way out. I've decided to take Brunch Punch.

Brunch Punch

1 (46 oz.) can pineapple juice
3 c. orange juice
2 c. cranberry juice
3/4 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. lime juice

Combine all together and stir until sugar is dissolved. Chill well and serve.

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I may not be in a cooking mood tonight, but Monday night I made the Sweet and Sour Pork Medallions. I have added a picture. Now I am off to watch Top Design...I caught the replays this weekend and while I was watching, I thought "holy cow, I've seen her before." She went to my school, so I am now cheering on the hometown girl.