Two Things I Should Never Make Again. At least not again this week.

First, NWDealMamma pointed out that with all these free or nearly free Honey Bunches of Oats with Chocolate Clusters, the best thing to do is make Marshmallow treats with them. Just follow the directions for Rice Crispy treats, but use this cereal instead. Holy Smokes. So very good. Kiki came home yesterday and was so surprised that there were any left. I had to admit that it was a whole new batch, because we had eaten the one she was referring to. Truly, they are much better than I expected.

Second, when I got a phone call reminding Kiki that she needed two pans of brownies for Wednesday night church and I realized that she wouldn't even be home in time to get ready, let alone make brownies, I used our good friend Google to save the day. I knew I had a whole bunch of boxed cake mixes from a clearance sale and I wondered if there was anything I could do with those. Sure enough, the best brownies ever created resulted from that cake mix. I found it on Allrecipes.com and there were hundreds of comments praising their glory. Some said that they've been making them for 20 years, so I might be the only person alive to just discover them, but here's the recipe for any other ignorant cooks like me (Becky). Just kidding, but then again if you don't know Roger Miller then I doubt you knowledge of this as well.

It was super easy and way faster than it looks and I had all the ingredients on hand.

FYI - in place of caramels and evaporated milk you can use a 12oz jar of caramel ice cream topping. Also, any flavor of chocolate cake and chocolate chips work well. I used Devils Food and regular chips and no nuts. These are even better the next day.

Chocolate Caramel Brownies
Submitted by: Barbara Hodge Rated: 5 out of 5 by 128 members
Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 30 Minutes
Ready In: 45 Minutes Yields: 15 servings

INGREDIENTS:
14 ounces caramels
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 (18.25 ounce) package
German chocolate cake mix
1/3 cup evaporated milk
3/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup chopped pecans
2 cups milk chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS:
1.
Peel caramels and place in a microwave-safe bowl. Stir in 1/2 cup evaporated milk. Heat and stir until all caramels are melted.
2.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) Grease a 9x13 inch pan.
3.
In a large mixing bowl, mix together cake mix, 1/3 cup evaporated milk, melted butter, and chopped pecans. Place 1/2 of the batter in prepared baking pan.
4.
Bake for 8 minutes.
5.
Place the remaining batter into the fridge. Remove brownies from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Drizzle caramel sauce over chocolate chips. Remove brownie mix from refrigerator. Using a teaspoon, make small balls with the batter and smash flat. Very carefully, place on top of the Carmel sauce until the top is completely covered.
6.
Bake for an additional 20 minutes. Remove and let cool.