Chasing MY Life WHEREVER it Leads ME – Page 267 – Chasing MY Life WHEREVER it Leads ME

BAKED EGGS for BRUNCH

This is a GREAT brunch recipe – easy and quick, but looks more complicated and tastes great, especially if you are a dunker, you know the one who like to dunk their toast in their egg yolks and create that ooey gooey yumminess. With this recipe your toast is underneath to absorb all that decadent egg yolk and not lose any flavor to the plate. I like to make them in individual dishes for more “formal” groups. Either way works really well. Hubby likes to top his with some hot sauce them to round out the flavor.

BAKED EGGS
3-4 slices sourdough bread torn into pieces
4 green onions
3/4 cup diced ham pieces (optional)
4 large eggs
1/2 cup shredded cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350˚.
Spray a 1 1/2 quart baking dish with PURE.
Toss the bread pieces with the melted butter.
Line the bottom evenly with torn bread pieces.
Sprinkle green onions and ham pieces (if using) over torn bread.
Sprinkle half of cheese over onions.
With a spoon create indentations into the bread.
Carefully break eggs into wells.
Generously salt and pepper.
Top with remaining cheese.
Cover and bake casserole 15 minutes.
Uncover and bake until whites are set, about 10 minutes more.
Serve with fresh fruit.

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CHEESEBURGER SOUP

The weather has been super gray so I decided to make some soup! Turned out to be some of the best soup ever! I’m making this one again! One of the best parts is that when you’re ready to eat you can doctor it up to your individual liking, just like a real cheeseburger.

CHEESEBURGER SOUP

1 pound organic ground round
1 small sweet onion, chopped small
1 shallot, chopped small
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons butter
3 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons Whiskey Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoon Ancho chili powder
Salt and pepper, to taste
8 ounces Velveeta, cut into small chunks
3 small potatoes, diced
Pickles, Mustard, Ketchup, shredded cheese for garnish

In stockpot add beef and sprinkle with Chili powder. Brown beef, drain well of fat.
Add butter to pan and saute’ onion, shallot and garlic.
Add broth, Worcestershire sauce and beef crumbles.
Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer for 1 hour.
Add Velveeta and blend well.
Add potato pieces and simmer 30 minutes more or until potatoes are tender.
Preseason to taste.
Top with your favorite burger toppings and enjoy.

I found a secret ingredient too. It has become my new go to seasoning. LOVE this stuff!

Day 478 HOUSE from HELL Update

You know how you have a picture in your mind of how a holiday is going to go? I did for Valentine’s Day. I was making Chicken Cacciatore ala Slow Cooker and the perfect Tiramisu cake. We were going to have a nice bottle of Peach Moscato to go with our salad. We were going to have an easy day because of the incoming rain, stay in, watch a movie and enjoy each others company.

Well, Mother nature had another plan!

I had just started the slow cooker with dinner and was sitting down to have my second cup of coffee before I went to shower. The rain started dumping in buckets and the winds picked up beyond belief – so much so that I moved to the other side of the room and away from my favorite windows because the wind was actually a little scary. Tornado warnings started coming across my phone fast and furiously abut that time and then I heard water pouring into my laundry area through the ceiling. If that wasn’t bad enough, water also started pouring in through the window I had just moved away from.

Wasn’t much we could do besides grab a bunch of towels and wait it out. I did call the roofer to put him on alert.

Once the worst was over, hubby went up into the attic to assess the damage and the roofer showed up almost immediately to replace the shingles and fix the roof. That was the easy part.

Fortunately we had just recently bought a new box of contractor heavy duty bags. We then spent yesterday in the attic trying to clean up the mess of wet insulation. Up until now we had pretty much ignored the attic because we didn’t plan on using it, only clearing away around the opening and air conditioning area, but yesterday we found some really odd things up there. The bricks we found were the oddest things. We also found some disassembled OLD, and I do mean OLD cabinets, disassembled bookshelves, old paneling as well as a “roll” of 40 year old linoleum.

Compared to other areas around town that were hit with the “tornado weather”, we got off easy. Just a bunch of clean up and repair, but no real substantial loss besides our time. Seven 55 gallon bags later we called it a day and showered BIG time!

We spent today dealing with the window leak. It’s a 40 year old window that was installed into a brick wall 40 years ago without any insulation or flashing.We have completed the inside repairs and after a bit more dry out will also seal everything from the outside.

Fortunately, we were home when this all happened and were able to get the church pew and great grandma’s quilts away from the leak.

On the up side I was able to get the spice cabinets organized and cleaned up.

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CHICKEN CACCIATORE ala SLOW COOKER

CHICKEN CACCIATORE ala SLOW COOKER

1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 large carrot, finely chopped
2 tablespoons Avocado oil**
Fresh ground salt and black pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
14.5 ounce can stewed tomatoes
1/4 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup beef consomme’
1/4 cup Wondra flour
2 tablespoons tomato paste
PASTA

*Soak the mushrooms in 2/3 cup HOT water for 10 minutes.
*Toss carrots and chicken with avocado oil in slow cooker.
*Generously season chicken with salt and pepper.
*Strain mushrooms through coffee filter lined sieve, reserving the liquid for later.
*Finely chop mushrooms.
*Top chicken with chopped mushrooms, garlic.
*Strain tomatoes into the mushroom liquid.
*Hand crush tomatoes over top of the chicken.
*Whisk together the tomato mushroom liquid, tomato paste and red wine with the flour until smooth.
*Pour wine mixture over chicken pieces.
*Cover and cook on low 7 hours.
*Using 2 forks shred chicken.
*Let stand uncovered 15-20 minutes and sauce will thicken.
*Re-season as necessary.
*Serve over prepared pasta.

**NOTE: I don’t care for the flavor of olive oil, but it is a great substitute for the avocado oil.

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LEMON SHRIMP SPAGHETTI

LEMON SHRIMP SPAGHETTI
1/2 pound spaghetti
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 pound shrimp, cleaned deveined and tails cut off
1 green onion, sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large lemons, zested and juiced (1/3-1/2 cup)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese + garnish amount
salt and pepper, to taste

Prepare pasta per package directions and drain well.
Cut each shrimp into thirds.
Melt butter over medium high heat until sizzling.
Add shrimp, salt and pepper well and saute’ until pink and plump.
Scoop out shrimp and set aside.
Add green onion, lemon zest, lemon juice and garlic blending well.
Add in spaghetti, shrimp and Parmesan cheese, tossing to coat.
Plate, garnish and enjoy!

LINKING TO: CELEBRATE YOUR STORY, CRAFTASTIC MONDAY, DISHING IT & DIGGING IT, NIFTY THRIFTY SUNDAY, SHOW & TELL, SUNDAYS AT HOME, SUNDAY’S BEST, THAT DIY PARTY, JCOOKING & CRAFTING WITH J&J, INPIRATION MONDAY , INSPIRE ME MONDAY , MADE BY YOU MONDAY, MAKE IT PRETTY MONDAY, MELT IN YOUR MOUTH MONDAY, MERRY MONDAY, MIX IT UP MONDAY, MOTIVATE ME MONDAY, PROJECT INSPIRED, SHOW AND SHARE, TUTORIALS & TIP, DIY TUESDAYS, LOU LOU GIRLS FABULOUS PARTY, THE SCOOP, TREASURE BOX TUESDAY, TUESDAYS AT OUR HOME, TUESDAYS WITH A TWIST , CREATIVE INSPIRATIONS, SHARE YOUR CUP , WINTER BLUES WEDNESDAY, WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY, SHOW ME WEDNESDAYS, WOW US WEDNESDAY , CREATIVE CIRCLE, DAGMAR’S PARTY, HOME SWEET HOME, FAVORITE THINGS, GRACE AT HOME, HOME MATTERS, PIN JUNKIE PIN PARTY, TALK OF THE TOWN, BLOGGER’S PIT STOP, HANDMADE HANGOUT, PRETTY PINTASTIC PARTY, SHARE IT ONE MORE TIME, SWAY SHAREFEST, WHAT TO DO WEEKENDS PARTY, BOUQUET OF TALENT PARTY, INSPIRE-BE-INSPIRED, RAE GUN BLOCK PARTY, I’M LOVIN’ IT, THIS IS HOW WE ROLL THURSDAY, FULL PLATE THURSDAY, FOODIE FRIDAY, SOUPER SUNDAY, BETH FISH READS, SATURDAY SPARKS, AMAZE ME MONDAY, INSPIRE ME TUESDAY, SHARE YOUR STYLE, OVER THE MOON

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APPLE FENNEL SALAD

APPLE FENNEL SALAD

per person:

2 leaves radicchio
2 leaves green leaf lettuce
1 green onion, sliced thin
1 stalk fennel, sliced thin, fronds finely chopped for garnish
candied pecans or walnuts
2 tablespoons goat cheese crumbles

VINAIGRETTE

1/2 cup avocado oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon molasses
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pink Himalayan salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced

Whisk all vinaigrette ingredients together until well blended.

Tear Radicchio, green leaf into bite sized pieces.
Add green onions and fennel slices.
Toss with dressing.
Add to bowls.
Top with candied nuts and goat cheese.

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HAPPY HOMEMAKER and MENU PLAN MONDAY week 7 of 2017

It’s week 7 of 2017 and I have to say week 6 was so horrible I want a MULLIGAN! We had a lot of family tragedy this past week with multiple new cancer diagnoses, one of which is very grim, my favorite BIL being entered into hospice for his cancer, the very sudden passing of a dear friend and just plain malaise because of it all. since I still feel so poorly. I’m ready for a GOOD week.

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW & THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

It has been quite gray and cloudy and extremely warm again, but we’re supposed to cool off the next several days and actually have some rain too. If it’s going to be gray and cloudy anyway, I WANT rain!

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE

A scrambled egg, toast and coffee.

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE

The house is quite put together considering how out of it I have been recently.

WEEKLY TO DO LIST & HOUSE PROJECTS

The new tile guy came (45 minutes late) to give us an estimate to complete the master shower this past weekend and it was OUTRAGEOUS!! He’s not even licensed or bonded! and his bid was 3 times as high as any of the licensed and bonded contractors! So, I did some research and we found a product available at home depot that will refresh the existing grout. I’ve been working for several days on cleaning the individual grout lines (and there are a ton of them with the tiny tiles) which I should finish this morning and then I will use the POLYBLEND GROUT RENEW in DELOREAN GRAY. If all goes well, Friday morning we will be showering in there again instead of the spare bathroom!
I also spent some time working in the studio last week and believe it or not am making headway!
Standard cleaning, vacuuming, and laundry.

CURRENTLY READING & TELEVISION / DVR

I’ve been catching up on my cooking shows. I LOVE Guy’s Grocery Games, Guy’s BIG Bite, Valerie’s Home Cooking, Diners Drive-ins and Dives.

I’m also still reading the OKLAHOMA BRANDS series by Maggie Shayne.

CRAFTS & PROJECTS

Hubby actually helped me with several parts of some Christmas presents that are FINALLY in the works. They were supposed to be ready for 2016, but obviously they will be 2017 instead. I’ll be sharing some pictures soon as the ieces come together.

MENU PLANS FOR THE WEEK

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
BREAKFAST	SCRAMBLED EGGS & CHEESE	SCRAMBLED EGGS & CHEESE	FRUIT SMOOTHIE	YOGURT & FRUIT	MAPLE OATMEAL & RAISINS	EGGS in the CLOUDS	BACON & EGGS
LUNCH	FRUIT & CHEESE	SOUP & CRACKERS	SANDWICH	OUT	MEAT & CHEESE	LEFTOVERS	SANDWICHES
DINNER	LEMON SPAGHETTI with SHRIMP	SLOW COOKER CHICKEN CACCIATORE with BUTTERED PARSLEY NOODLES	C.O.R.N.	PAN SEARED LEMON PEPPER CHICKEN and PARMESAN GNICCHI	RECIPE EXPERIMENT NIGHT	OVEN BAKED TACOS and SAKAD	MEATLOAF with PARMESAN MASHED POTATOES & BROCCOLI
DESSERT		TIRAMISU PUDDING CAKE	TIRAMISU CAKE		CHOCOLATE CHIP CANNOLI

SUCCESSFUL RECIPES and their links FROM LAST WEEK

CHICKEN FRIED CHICKEN with PARMESAN MASHED POTATOES and PEPPERED GRAVY

HEALTH & BEAUTY TIPS

HOMEMAKING/COOKING TIP

ON MY MIND

With all the sadness going on in my life right now I have really been thinking about trying harder to stay positive and appreciate life more.

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA

I couldn’t decide which picture was my favorite. The sunset Wednesday night was absolutely beautiful, but I also loved Tuxedo in the neighbor’s palm tree.

INSPIRATION

Be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday and with Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

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CHICKEN FRIED CHICKEN with PEPPERED GRAVY and FAMILY FAVORITE MASHED POTATOES

I included two pictures. The top picture was last night using thinner chicken steaks and the bottom picture is an older one using thicker steaks. Both, are great with this recipe. I’ve update the recipe to make a crisper coating.
CHICKEN FRIED CHICKEN
2 large boneless chicken breasts
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup Wondra
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 eggs
1/2 cup Panko crumbs
2-4 tablespoons butter (enough to keep chicken from burning~add as necessary)

Rinse and pat dry the chicken breasts.
In a shallow glass pan, pour buttermilk over chicken 1-2 hours prior to cooking.
Make sure to coat chicken well and turn at least once during soaking.
Drain, but do NOT rinse the buttermilk off.
In a medium sized fry pan melt the butter over medium heat. As butter melts and begins to very slightly sizzle, prepare breasts.
In a shallow pan mix together the flour, salt and pepper.
In another shallow pan whisk eggs until well blended.
In another shallow pan add Panko crumbs.
One at a time, dredge each chicken breast in flour mixture, then egg mixture and then Panko crumbs.
Add to sizzling butter.
Cook 4-6 minutes each side depending on plumpness.
Keep chicken warm.

PEPPERED GRAVY
3 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons Wondra flour
1 1/4 cups whole milk
3/4 cup whipping cream
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Black pepper + (to taste)

Melt butter into bottom of pan you just cooked the chicken in.
Scrape up any of the chicken pieces and mix into new butter.
Add flour slowly, stirring until absorbed by butter and golden brown.
Slowly add first the milk and then the cream.
Stir constantly until thickens.
If necessary sprinkle in more Wondra until desired thickness is reached.
Serve over chicken and mashed potatoes.

FAMILY FAVORITE MASHED POTATOES
4 large Yukon potatoes, peeled & quartered
4 ounces Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
1 small bunch green onions, sliced thin
1/4 + buttermilk
4 tablespoons butter
salt & pepper to taste

Boil potatoes in salted water until fork tender.
Drain.
Mash all together salt and peppering to taste.

CHICKEN PARMESAN LASAGNA

CHICKEN PARMESAN LASAGNA

3 chicken breasts
2 cups Italian bread crumbs
5 eggs
1 cup flour
24 ounces marinara sauce
15 ounces ricotta
Barilla oven bake lasagna noodles
2 cups mozzarella
2 cups parmesan
Avocado oil
Basil

Preheat oven to 350°.
Cut chicken breasts in half width wise, pound to 1/4 inch thick and season with salt and pepper.
Dredge chicken in flour, beaten egg and then in bread crumbs.
Heat oil in a cast iron skillet and fry the chicken on both sides until golden, 3-4 minutes per side. Set aside.
In a bowl, whisk one egg into the ricotta, then set aside.
In a casserole dish, spread ⅓ of the marinara on the bottom, top with lasagna noodles overlapping with each other.
Spread half of the ricotta mixture on top of the noodles and layer with chicken pieces.
Top the chicken with ½ cup of mozzarella and ½ cup of parmesan.
Continue layering in the same order and top with remaining cheeses.
Cover with foil and bake for 45-60 minutes uncovering the lasagna for the last 10 minutes of baking.
Sprinkle with fresh basil and enjoy!

HAPPY HOMEMAKER and MENU PLAN MONDAY week 6 of 2017

It’s Monday, AGAIN and ALREADY! Seems like the weeks are flying by. Didn’t we just have Christmas? I hope you had a great weekend and fun with the SuperBowl. Being so close to the actual event, we didn’t leave the house for several days before. The last time I was out was Friday morning and there were ALREADY some WILD and LARGE tailgating parties going on making traffic a nightmare. We went to a specific bakery last Wednesday and ended up in HUGE traffic. Little did we know the FALCONS were staying in the Westin Hotel around the corner. That was when we decided to stay home for a few days!

My team made it to, but not through the playoffs so the Falcons are who I was rooting for this year, unfortunately they failed in overtime – so many records set and broken this year! We grilled some hamburgers, made a salad and snuggled in for the game. I did not know that Luke Bryan was going to open with the National Anthem, but was glad since he’s one of my favorites.

I watch the SuperBowl as much for the commercials as the game most years. I actually kept track yesterday of my “new” commercial favorites:

Skittles “Round Robin” Katie
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s STRIKE – loved the Terminator references.
Buick with Cam Newton
Terry Bradshaw TIDE
Wendy’s other guy’s frozen beef
SuperBowl babies
Audi Soap Box Derby
Peter Fonda Biker Easy Rider – though so few people probably even got the reference
Melissa McCarthy KIA
Mr. Clean
Western Snickers

I also thought Lady GAGA did a great interesting performance during Pepsi’s halftime performance. Loved the round keyboard. I also loved her hello to her mom and dad.

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW & THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

It has been gray and dreary the past few days, but at least we got a little rain yesterday and this morning. I don’t seem to mind gray and dreary when it’s accompanied by rain. We are supposed to warm up during the daytime this week too.

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE

I haven’t been a breakfast eater for most my life even though I know better. I’ve been trying to get better about it so today I’m having coffee and a scrambled egg with toast.

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE

I’m happy with almost all of it. We did have a MAJOR problem with the contractor hired to refinish the master shower with porcelain tile paint last Friday and Saturday. It was supposed to be a 1 day job, that he turned into 2 and then didn’t even finish because of a miscommunication on HIS part despite the exact verbiage HE used on HIS estimate. He now claims that “Refinish Tile walls” means to clean up after he removed the old finish. Now we’re trying to get a “REAL” tile guy in to finish the job. Don’t know yet, but figure it will end up costing us double in the end. The estimate/contract are specific enough that we could win a case against him, but it isn’t worth the time to fight and in the end the work still needs to be completed. So far every CONTRACTOR we’ve experienced here is like your worst nightmare from the TV commercials.

WEEKLY TO DO LIST & HOUSE PROJECTS

MONDAY 2/6

some phone calls and appointments.
Vacuuming
Mopping
Laundry

TUESDAY 2/7

finally get the sand ordered for leveling the backyard. Hoping to have it delivered on Friday so we can get it accomplished over the weekend.
work on the Studio has been SLOW, just not enough space to work in since I had give up the closet to storage and some of the wall space to furniture from the spare bedroom so I get frustrated and walk away. Eventually, LOL probably the next house, though I will keep plugging away and I will get it handled.
EBAY

WEDNESDAY 2/8

Re-take on last week’s celebratory lunch. Last week’s try was just plain awful. It started with showing up at one of our favorite restaurants to find it was completely gutted and gone and then the whole day went downhill from there so we’re going to try again this week. We’re thinking of maybe going to the zoo while the weather is nice or the Natural History Museum if it’s raining.

THURSDAY 2/9

Grocery Shopping
Some more EBAY

FRIDAY 2/10

COOKING & BAKING a few new recipes

SATURDAY 2/11

Work on backyard

SUNDAY 2/12

BBQ and movies

CURRENTLY READING & TELEVISION / DVR

BIG BANG THEORY *NCIS, NCIS LA, NCIS NEW ORLEANS
CHICAGO MED, PD, FIRE * PURE GENIUS
WHEN CALLS THE HEART * GRIMM
BLUE BLOODS * BONES
THIS IS US * SCORPION
THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE * GOLIATH
DESIGNATED SURVIVOR * BULL
MADAM SECRETARY * Z-NATION

ETC……. I’m sure I forgot a few… Thank goodness for DVR’s!

I’m starting to go through the bookcase and pack a few things up, but I’m saving out some favorites with bookmarked recipes for making soon as well as a few new reads.

MENU PLANS FOR THE WEEK

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
BREAKFAST	YOGURT & FRUIT	SCRAMBLED EGGS & CHEESE	FRUIT SMOOTHIE	YOGURT & FRUIT	MAPLE OATMEAL & RAISINS	OUT	CARAMEL CINNAMON APPLE FRENCH TOAST
LUNCH	FRUIT & CHEESE	SOUP & CRACKERS	SANDWICH	OUT	MEAT & CHEESE	LEFTOVERS	SANDWICHES
DINNER	ROASTED PEPPER BEEF GOULASH	TWISTED PEPPER STEAK	C.O.R.N.	CARAMELIZED LEMON and GREEN CHILE VERDE WHITE FISH	MEXICAN COBB SALAD with JALAPENO RANCH DRESSING	CHICKEN MARSALA	LAVERNE DEFAZIO POT ROAST
DESSERT			CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER VOLCANO CAKES

SUCCESSFUL RECIPES and their links FROM LAST WEEK

KENTUCKY HOT BROWN
CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER VOLCANO CAKES
LEMON MARSALA CHICKEN & SHRIMP with ARTICHOKES (recipe this week)
CHOCOLATE CHERRY TRUFFLES

RECIPE FINDS TO TRY LATER – I’m also going through and taking new pictures as I merge the old blog with the new website.

Peach Crisp ~ Country Style *Steak Tips with Red Wine Pan Sauce
Salted Caramel Bars *Slow Cooker BBQ Steak Tips
Cherry Pineapple Upside Down Cake *Asian Braised Short Ribs – Slow Cooker
Butter Caramel Dip *Roasted Lemon Chicken
Slow Cooker Green Beans *Chicken Imperial
Bacon Wrapped Apple Chicken *Salmon with Pineapple Salsa
Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie *French Onion Soup for Two
Beef, Barley Mushroom soup *Country Pork Stew
Apricot Pork Tenderloin *Brussels Sprouts Salads
Butterscotch Fruit Dip *Chocolate Martinis
Red, White and Blue Meatballs *Pink Velvet Cake
Cheesy Bacon Dip *Cream of Chicken Soup
BBQ Peach Chicken Wings *Cheesy Hash Browns
Ham and Egg Grits

HEALTH & BEAUTY TIPS

HOMEMAKING/COOKING TIP

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA – NOT THIS WEEK

This is what the contractor left us with claiming the job was done. Thank goodness we have a second shower until we can get a new contractor in to do the job properly.INSPIRATION

Be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday and with Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

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CHOCOLATE CHERRY TRUFFLES

These luscious chocolate truffles are perfect for your sweetheart this Valentine’s Day.

Chocolate definitely stirs deep emotions and has inspired many a story. In the movie “Chocolat” the mystical heroine, Juliette Binoche, uses chocolate alchemy in her truffles to stir the long dormant desires of neglectful husbands and gently coaxes shy and reticent lovers together.

I can’t promise these truffles will do the same thing for you, but I do promise they’ll melt in your mouth and leave you craving another.
CHOCOLATE CHERRY TRUFFLES

11 ounces QUALITY white chocolate, broken into pieces
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon cherry Jell-o**
CandiQuick or Melting Wafers for decorating
Sprinkles for decorating

In a small saucepan, heat whipping cream until warm.
Add butter, stirring until melted.
Stir in Jell-o.
Add in chocolate pieces, stirring quickly and constantly until smooth.
Refrigerate for at least an hour until it begins to harden.
When hard, scoop into balls on parchment paper lined baking sheet that fits in your freezer and freeze for about 30 minutes until VERY firm.
Once firm, melt chocolate until smooth and creamy – about 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds using the microwave.
Use a small flat spatula or spoon to dip each ball in chocolate and place on wax paper to dry.
Sprinkle with decorations immediately while chocolate is still wet.
Keep refrigerated.

**NOTE: for non-Valentine holidays change up the cherry flavor for some variety. Also good with peach, raspberry and pineapple or any combo you can come up with I’m sure.

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER VOLCANO CAKES

I have made these using Nestle’s chocolate and also using QUALITY chocolate. While the quality chocolate does cost a bit more, you can SERIOUSLY taste the difference. Do yourself a favor and splurge for this decadent dessert. They also work with Nutella instead of peanut butter.

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER VOLCANO CAKES
14 ounces QUALITY semi-sweet chocolate, broken into pieces
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup sugar
4 Large eggs
4 Large egg yolks*
1/2 cup flour
1 heaping cup of peanut butter, chilled
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 400°.
Butter muffin tin REALLY well and sprinkled with sugar.**
Using a double boiler melt butter and chocolate pieces together until smooth. Stir constantly.***
When smooth, turn off the heat, remove from burner and let cool a bit.
In a large mixing bowl whisk together the 4 eggs and 4 egg yolks until well blended.
Add sugar and then flour, whisking until smooth.
Whisk in the cooled chocolate mixture.
Fill each muffin tin halfway.
Add about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the chilled peanut butter to each muffin cup.
Evenly top each muffin cup with remaining chocolate mixture. DO NOT OVERFILL.
Bake 14 minutes or until top center crust bounces back when gently pressed.
Carefully pop cakes out and garnish with powdered sugar.
Serve warm with vanilla ice cream for complete decadence.

*NOTE: I save the whites for omelettes or to add into the dog’s food
**NOTE: I like to use my mini cheesecake pan that you just push up the bottoms for the individual cakes. It makes it much easier to get the cakes out without breaking them open.
***HINT: Make sure the water level in the pan is NOT touching the double boiler. If it does it could scorch your chocolate mixture.

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