Happy Sweet Week - Gearing up for Valentine's Day

It takes some effort to dig out of the snow, if you haven't yet, and prepare for Valentine's Day. We actually have a few reasons why we celebrate. We've got young kids, birthdays and school parties this week, so you can understand our house is happy Heart Day is coming. I know others don't feel the same and that's fine for them, but try not to rain on our Valentine's Day parade. 

Here are a few things you might consider doing this week to make it more fun for everyone:

1. Share some chocolate. Who doesn't enjoy getting special treats every now and then? Besides, it has to last you until the furry guy comes in April. 

2. Share some wine with someone over 21, preferably your spouse, significant other, or a friend. 

3. Can't or don't drink? Try sparkling cider, it'll do the trick. 

4. Take a bath. Who gets to do this anymore? It's totally indulgent and really worth it to relax. Why not make it ultra luxurious? Light a couple candles and play some soft music while you soak. 

5. Make hot chocolate and throw in some marshmallow hearts. You can make your own with this recipe, I have no idea if they're good. I just thought they'd be cool to try. I'll be too busy with school party/birthday celebrating, so I'm trying the bagged stuff.

6. Enjoy a romantic getaway. Seriously. You can do it even this late in the game. Pick a spot and go. Too busy? Take five minutes one early morning and stare out at the quiet snow with a loved one. 

7. Send a selfie. Draw an 'I love you' sign. Hold it up. Snap a pic. Send it to your sweetie and see what happens. 

8. Hug or kiss somebody you love. 

9. Hug yourself. Do it. Then take a selfie and share it with all of us here. It'd be funny!

10. Smile. Share. Be Happy. Repeat.

Chocolate-Caramel Covered Pretzels and Other Festive Foodie Gifts

This is melted chocolate in a cup…

And this is more…

I have my good friend Debbie to thank for the idea. She gave us these delicious homemade dipped pretzels a couple years ago, and I dreamed of making them ever since. 

This was our year. I really wanted to make something homemade for my child's teacher, and realized it might be fun to give a gift from our kitchen since we love food and cooking—when we have time and it's not an ordeal to get the right ingredients. I even love the occasional culinary challenge, but these days simpler is better. 

I bought gift tins at the craft store a few weeks ago. Then I searched for recipes and eventually narrowed it down to three to five possibles—and changed even those a couple days before the big cook-off. 

I drove out in the snow to a local baking supply store, thanks again to my friend for the idea to go there. It was so much fun to see all the packages of milk, dark and white chocolate, and the sprinkles, sanding sugar and caramel. YUM!

I bought the ingredients and my family all participated in creating these festive goodies. Within 24 hours we made these chewy and delicious Chocolate-Caramel Covered Pretzels, Super Sugar Cookies and Strawberry Oatmeal Bars. 

The stars must have been aligned, or maybe I should consider it a Christmas Miracle because this just doesn't happen any more. We don't usually have enough time, energy, resources and participation to make something like this happen. So, this year's holiday bake-off and  gift giving goes down in the books as a special event. If we're lucky, we'll repeat it again sometime in the future, or even next year. But, for now I'll sit back and enjoy one of the sugar cookies we didn't give away because it wasn't quite round enough, or some other reason, say thanks for our foodie success, and try not to think of how much more we need to finish before Santa Claus comes to town. 

Enjoy the Holiday Season!

Judgement Day: Last Meal Cravings (Babble) has me thinking

Let me first say that you can check out the inspiration for this post over here at Babble.  

I like where she starts. The author's not sure if Judgment Day is tomorrow, probably not, but why eat salad for your last meal when dessert is so much better? 

Okay, I’m listening. And drooling.  

As for due diligence let me say that every once in a while a day spent indulging in desserts sounds pretty good - please exercise moderation though and not make a habit out of it. (Note: this is a case of do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do, and I'll explain why next.)

I recently noticed my intake of cake and ice cream increased. This came closely on the heels of our second child's birth. Now I try not to go overboard, but every once in a while a girl's gotta go crazy. In any case, I went to out for a milkshake run last week - we ate all the cookies - and I noticed that my sweet tooth seemed insatiable. In an effort to pull myself out of feeling bad about how I was Jonesing for shakes despite the number of ice cream trips we’d taken that week, I parked three blocks away. Yes, a whole three blocks. My spirits buoyed, I ordered the Choco Fudge bevies and headed home. So, I say try hard to moderate, but if you have extenuating circumstances like job stress or kids at home, feel free to disregard this advice. Now you know why this blog post caught my attention. 

Take a look and see what you think. Although, there’s some babble about a veggie breakfast plate or something, but you can skip past that. I recommend the Chocolate Dipped Pecan Cake, Smores Ice Cream Sandwiches and Apple Dumpling Cinnamon Rolls. Yum!

That’s a great place to start. I’d add my Grandma’s Georgie Porgie, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Cheesecake, Tiramisu and a dozen other desserts. What would you eat?