Oh Fudge On a Sheetpan!

Monday night I became aware of what a sturdy sheet pan I had.

I have a love~hate relationship with it now!! I had the pan on a shelf directly over my water heater drying out some marshmallows for an upcoming holiday boutique. Yes, my water heater is in a closet in my condo, adjacent to my kitchen. I always put stuff on that shelf because it is the one place in the house my darling boys haven't figured out how to climb into yet...I do mean YET.
The shelf is pretty sturdy, but I was in a rush and didn't realize I hadn't put the sheet on the shelf completely sound. I turned toward the sink and heard a thunderous crash behind me! The sheet pan had fallen 6 feet and landed side ways on the valve to the water heater. The valve was instantly snapped and 40 gallons of water spewed across my kitchen floor! Out popped the "I Love Lucy" side of Stephanie. I know...the first part was zany enough.

For the next 3 hours I decided I loved the sheet pan... and my 2 quart mixing bowls! The valve opening was so close to the floor that the water still coming out had to be first caught by the sheet pan and then balanced and dumped into the mixing bowls. My kids would grab a mixing bowl full of warm water and dash to the bathtub...it was quite comical! In the midst of all this, my husband came home from work..."Hey Lucy I'm home!" My frilly apron was soaked, my fake eyelashes stuck together and my pearls had fallen in one of the batches of water (I don't wear any of that while I'm cooking, but it sounded right huh?). That continued with soggy bottoms until finally we ended up installing a water heater into the wee hours of the morning. What a wonderful way to spend an evening. Let me tell you, I thought I had clean floors BEFORE the big explosion...but now they are freakishly O.C.D. clean! I can see the Polyanna side of the situation!! See me doing the dance of joy for clean floors. It's really cool.

Needless to say, my holiday budget was largely spent on a high adventure thrilling water heater. I can hardly contain myself. Neither could the old water heater.

I will not let that dampen my spirits!

Holiday budget blown on a water heater or not! There will be fudge!! So here is a recipe I dearly love. In my efforts to help with your holiday budget I have to share this recipe for fudge mix. I know this one has helped us a lot in the past for quick gift to all the friends and neighbors--or me. Amazingly I don't have any in my house right now. It's a great recipe!

Magic Fudge Mix...because life isn't full of sinful enough convenience foods, right?

2 lb powdered sugar
1 cup butter
2 cups cocoa
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla, rum extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of cayenne pepper

Combine all ingredients in a kitchen aid with the paddle attachment until well blended. Divide between 4 quart size bags, (2 1/2 cups mix per bag). I store the bags in the fridge or freezer.

Great gift for the holidays! Mother's Day. Father's Day. Tuesday.

To prepare: Put mix in a microwave safe bowl with 2T water and heat about 2 minutes stirring well. In the mean time line a mini loaf pan (4 inches by 2 inches) with foil then spray the foil with nonstick coating. Pour the melted mix into the foil lined pan and top with nuts or dried fruit if desired. Put in the fridge until set, about 1 hour. Remove from the pan, and take off the foil. Cut into 1 inch squares, yield 2 dozen love bombs. MMM