Beer me, Honey.

When it comes to Valentine's Day, I would say we're the "in-between" type. We don't get all dolled up and go out for a $200 meal and wait 2 hours to be seated for mediocre service. We also don't ignore it all together. We typically do cards, a meal at home and (hopefully) I'll get flowers. The kind from the tent at Kroger, and that's perfectly fine with me. They cost less and usually last longer!

This year, as mentioned before, we hit up St. Arnold's Brewery. If you're in Houston, give this a shot. Cheap Saturday entertainment. The weather was iffy, so this was perfect. They offer a "tour" for $5 on Saturdays at 1pm. FYI - the "tour" is a 30 minute spiel about their beer followed by 4 8oz tastings. You can bring in your own food and utilize their picnic tables, if you get there early enough. We've learned a few things in going. First, you can buy a bigger glass (pint=$6) and bring that back for more beer. Who doesn't need that??? Second, you can bring in anything!!! This time we picked up Chili's To Go, but next time I'm packing a picnic. Third, if you like the dark ale type beers and you bring your own glass, get a Designated Driver. Trust me. We had one and I'm glad, even though I only had 3 of the "lighter" beers.

Later that afternoon, once my slight beer buzz wore off, Bridget and I made truffles. Jason is not a chocoholic so I think I'll be bringing them to work to avoid eating all of them myself. Bear, however, had them for breakfast. Next time I'll send them home with him. I've wanted to make the cake truffles for a while now, but went for something a bit easier this weekend. These were SO easy! The recipe was in the Fall edition of the Kraft Magazine (this magazine is free, so sign up online).

Chocolate Truffles adapted from Kraft

• 1 8oz pkg cream cheese (I used the 1/3 less fat kind)
• 2 8oz pkgs Bakers Semi-Sweet Chocolate Squares
• Vanilla & Almond Extract (or any other flavor you might like)

Beat cream cheese with electric mixer until smooth. Melt 1 box of chocolate squares in the microwave (30 sec increments, stirring each time) or over a double boiler. Stir the chocolate into the cream cheese. I divided the mixture and added about 1/2 t vanilla extract and 1/2 t almond extract to each, just to change the flavor. Refrigerate until firm. Roll the mixture into about 1 inch balls, place on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper. Melt remaining chocolate and roll cream cheese balls in chocolate, placing them back on the wax paper to dry. Top with chopped pecans or sprinkles. Refrigerate for about another before serving.

Recipe Exchange

Ok, I'm pretty late on this. The deadline was last Sunday. Only a week late, right? I do have a good excuse - I fell on my rib cage and was really sore most of last week! I'm finally feeling a little better. I want to apologize to my recipe giver...I had great intentions. Until I came in contact with a two foot wide wooden bench.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup firmly packed light-brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (I just realized I forgot the salt...hmm...)
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/2 cup lightly salted butter (or margarine) melted & cooled
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 package (11.5 oz) jumbo or regular-sized
  milk-chocolate chips (about 2 cups) (I actually did 1 cup milk chocolate chips, and 1 cup chopped Hershey's Dark Chocolate Bar)
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 400F. Grease 12 muffin cups. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugars, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, stir together milk, eggs, butter, and vanilla until blended. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients; add milk mixture and stir just to combine. Stir in chocolate chips and optional nuts.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups; bake 15 to 20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in center of one muffin comes out clean. Remove muffin tin or tins to wire rack. Cool 5 minutes
before removing muffins from cups; finish cooling on rack. Serve warm or cool completely and store in an airtight container at room temperature.

They tasted fantastic! I was worried about the dark chocolate, but it was a hit. I think. Jason managed to share one with me and then have another on his own, so I guess they were good!

Master Baker!

Well, not really. I'd say I'm more of a...OK baker. But, I took the Master Baker Challenge for March head on! The challenge was to make something using your favorite Easter candy. I don't really have a favorite. I try not to discriminate when it comes to candy, I give them all equal share in my stomach. :-) So I asked Jason for his opinion and he replied "those malt-ball things that are shaped like eggs." Perfect - my sister, Lindsey, had a birthday on Thursday and those are her favorite candy...so it made for a great birthday treat.

Now...what do I do with them? After much searching online, I found a recipe for Whopper Brownies. Of course, one main ingredient was 1/2 cup instant malted milk...and I did not read that until I was about halfway into the whole process. At that point, I said forget it and just left it out. Since I really don't know how they should have tasted, I can only say that they did taste pretty darn good!

Whopper Brownies adapted from aaa-recipes.com

• 11 1/2 oz milk chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup instant malted milk (I left out)
• 1/2 t baking powder
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 cup Whoppers (or Robin's Eggs) chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 and grease and 9*13 pan. Melt the chocolate and margarine over low heat, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Beat in sugar, vanilla and eggs. Stir in remaining ingredients except the chopped Whoppers. Spread the batter in the pan and sprinkle with the chopped Whoppers. Bake for 30-35 minutes, cool completely.

The best of both worlds

I love ice cream. It is my favorite thing to eat. I'm on a diet, but Friday while we were walking around the Strand in Galveston, my father-in-law mentioned ice cream and, well, I melted. I proceeded to eat a cup of Pistachio Almond Blue Bell ice cream and I loved every fattening bite of it.

A few years ago, my in-laws bought me an ice cream maker for Christmas. I was one very excited person! I can say, though, this is where Jason and I disagree. I think that ice cream should be anything but plain! Who wants boring old Vanilla? Give me Mint Chocolate Chip. Or Tin Roof or some Rocky Road. Anything but plain old Vanilla. Jason, on the other hand, thinks ice cream should be enjoyed in its pure form. Thus the reason I've probably only made Vanilla twice and I made Chocolate for the first time this week. We tend to compromise with Strawberry. But since I was making two batches, I got to pick one of them.

Vanilla Ice Cream from Cuisinart

• 1 cup whole milk (I use fat free)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1-2 t pure vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer or whisk to combine the milk and sugar until dissolved. Stir the heavy cream and vanilla. Turn on the mixer and pour the mixture into the freezer bowl. Let it mix until thickened, about 30 minutes.

Chocolate Ice Cream from Cuisinart

• 1 cup whole milk (again I used fat free)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 8 oz bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate (I used semi-sweet)
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1 t almond extract

Heat the milk until it bubbles around the edges. In a blender or food processor, pulse the chocolate and sugar until it is well blended. Add the milk and continue to blend until smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl and let it cool completely. Stir in the heavy cream, vanilla and almond extract. Chill for at least 30 minutes. Turn the machine on and add the chilled mixture. Freeze for 25-30 minutes.