Week 7: Chocolate Covered Strawberries for Dummies

If you're a pro in the kitchen, don't read this...this tip may seem obvious to the typical Kitchen Pro.

For V-day we tried to make chocolate covered strawberries...who doesn't?  :)
So, I pulled out my double boiler, dumped the chocolate pieces in (threw a few--or more-- in my mouth), and waited for it to melt.

It wasn't melting to my satisfaction, so I decided to add some whole milk into it. Perfect!
Then, the sadness came...the chocolate wouldn't stick to the berries! I frantically called my cake-pop making, chocolate dipping, sweets creating sister, Corinne.

"Why isn't it sticking??! I added milk and---" 

"---Oh, you added milk? That's a problem. Don't add any sort of liquid."

It was all the chocolate I had, so I made it work.  I basically dumped the chocolate on the berries.  They were edible that night, but definitely not great.

The next night, I found some random chocolate morsels in my pantry, and decided to try again.  This time, I followed Corinne's advice and simply microwaved the chocolate.  First 30 seconds, then stir.  Then in 10 second increments  till completely melted.  

They were PERFECT!!

Maybe next year I'll try a pretty white chocolate drizzle?  I'll be sure to call Corinne, first ;)

Week 6: Hubby's Homemade Salsa

It's a running joke in my family that Justin wishes he'd married a hispanic girl......so he'd have a hispanic mother-in-law to cook for him.  And, yes, he did say that to my mom one time.  And, yes, we all still make fun of him for it. 

Obviously, I'm about as "white" as they come...so I don't have any hispanic-tendencies in the kitchen.  So, when I decided to make salsa for a snack this week, I knew I needed to take the role of Sous Chef.

So, our guest Chef is none other than the Hubster.  

He throws in a few:

jalepanos (most seeds removed)

Tomatoes

Cilantro

White and green onion

Salt and pepper

The Good: It's so fresh-tasting!!

The Bad: I can't recreate it...

The Ugly: He always makes it WAY too spicy (luckily, he's figured out how to fix that, for me)

Week 5: Microwave Peanut Brittle

For Christmas, the adults on my side draw one name to buy a gift for, but, in order to still have fun buying for everyone, we all buy a gift from the Dollar Store for everyone.  I sort of cheated this year--I didn't get my "dollar gifts" from the Dollar Store....most of my dollar gifts this year were Pinterest ideas that cost me $1 (or less) to make.  This peanut brittle was Dad's gift! And the day after Christmas, I received a text from Dad that read--and I quote:

"Um, yeah. that peanut brittle you made me? Gone. Birthday is Feb 4. Just saying..."

He was a happy camper, this weekend:

Since we'd made it before, we had a few ideas for some improvements.

Chelsey's Idea:
1. Have Justin take it out of the microwave, while I'm prepared with the next mix-in.
Justin's Idea:
1. Put parchment paper in the bowl, before microwaving.
Bria's Idea:
1. "Learn how to maneuver the kitchen like a pro, while I hang on your legs, because my molars hurt!"

It was a group effort, but well worth it!  Even Justin, a self-proclaimed non-sweet eater, says we should make it more often!

Here's the link: Microwave Peanut Brittle

The Good: Well, it was a repeat request, so it must be good, right?
The Bad: Microwaving things probably isn't the best for us....
The Ugly: I never come out unscathed...at least this time, it was a minor sugar burn.

Week 5: Soft Pretzel Bites

It was my birthday, this week, so I chose a snack for ME :)  Didn't take me long to decide what I'd make! Pretzels! (why is the word "pretzel" so hard to spell, everytime??)

Oh. My. YUM!!!

Not only do these babies TASTE de-lish!!...They SMELL incredible, while toasting in the oven!!!

Seriously, make them now. Here's the link: Soft Pretzel Bites

Here's how mine turned out:

The Good: TASTE-to-the-double caps-EEEEE! TASTY!!
The Bad: The entire time I made them, I thought they were ruined.  It just didn't "feel" right....
The Ugly: Makes a huge mess...definitely a nap-time project! (I won't make that mistake again <tries to brush dough out of Bria's hair>)