Hello, heartburn!

I have had ridiculous heartburn all day, so I decided this afternoon after my P-Chem test (which I ROCKED, by the way! More on that later), I needed to quash it with some dairy. Dairy neutralizes the acid in your stomach somewhat. Or something. I've never really had problems with heartburn before, so I could be spouting nonsense, but I could have sworn I heard that somewhere.

Anyway, quashing it with dairy turned into a trip to the store, since I am all out of everything but soy milk, which is too sweet for me to drink on its own. And a trip to the store had me walking out with graham crackers, another bag of nuts, and some sweetened, condensed milk. Curiously, those were the missing ingredients I needed for 7-layer bars.

The recipe I've used in the past is for a 9" x 13" pan, and I only had an 8" x 8" and a 11" x 15", so I used the bigger one and came up with something similar on my own. It's not totally perfected, but it wasn't bad.

Delicious Seven-Layer Bars!!


1 c. (+ 2.5 Tbsp, because I wanted to use up the last of the butter in the fridge) unsalted butter.
1 package low-fat honey grahams, crushed
1 package cinnamon grahams, crushed
12 oz. chocolate chips
11 oz. butterscotch chips
2 oz. walnut chips
2 oz. sliced almonds
~ 5.5 oz. sweetened coconut
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk.

They're a little sweet, even for my taste. I think next time I would opt for unsweetened coconut, if such a thing exists. Probably more nuts, to cut the sweetness a little bit. And maybe mix the condensed milk with some regular, unsweetened stuff.

Melt the butter. Make sure you butter the bottom and sides of your pan. Mix the rest of the butter with the crushed graham crackers. Spread that layer on the bottom of your pan and pat it down. Top with a layer of chocolate chips. Add some butterscotch ones. Then sprinkle with nuts. Add the coconut, and top everything off with a can of condensed milk. Pop in the oven at 350* for 25 minutes, or until the edges start to brown.

Yum!

Things I would change:

• not use so much butter next time. The crust is not quite crispy enough for me. 
• cut the sweetness somehow, without taking away any of my precious butterscotch chips. 

And that is all. Because they are super delicious. 

About that test that I totally rocked - Definitely finished it in under half an hour. I feel really good about it! Like, probably better than the last one I took, that I got a B on. Bonus!

I had an appointment with my awesome new adviser today. I could hypothetically be out and done in two semesters if need-be, but I think I'm going to wait and do it in three. Not super interested in overloading myself - especially this late in the game. My course load for next semester is totally reasonable (15 credits, though half of them are 400-level courses). Another programming class, Linear Algebra, Mathematical Structures, Applied Statistics, and my German course. I talked to her about petitioning for the financial aid nonsense ASU is trying to stiff me with, and she didn't really give a hint as to whether or not I would be successful, but did offer to help me with completing the paperwork which was pretty awesome. 

I invited Kris and Dave over for dinner this Saturday. I am in desperate need of a back massage, and hoping I can con him into bringing his table over here. <3 

I'll finish things off with the picture that made my morning. 

Ciao!