Nutella & Dark Chocolate

Today, Feb. 5, is World Nutella Day.  This was the perfect excuse for me to create another recipe. Sadly, my first attempt was a disaster.  I tried baking cookies with Nutella, but they didn't turn out at all. That was my first official failed creation.  My recipe creating was on an incredible no-fail streak, so it was about time.  It actually feels good to mess up in the kitchen for once.   

I did, however, use the rest of the Nutella to make a dip.  It would go fantastic with fresh strawberries or bananas, but I will be serving it with graham crackers at a party tonight.  The dip consists of Nutella, Philadelphia (no substitutes!) cream cheese, a splash of half and half, and a dash of salt. I whipped it all up with my nifty KitchenAid hand mixer and stuck it in the fridge to keep chilled before serving this evening. (And no, this stuff isn't low-carb or healthy by any means, so I don't eat any more than a small sample.)

Nutella Dip

Ingredients: 

Nutella

Philadelphia Cream Cheese

Half and half

Salt, to taste

Directions:

Combine equal parts Nutella and 
cream cheese in a mixing bowl.  
Mix well and slowly add  half and half (doesn't take much) 
to make it smooth and creamy.  
Add a dash of salt to taste.  
Refrigerate. Stir well before serving.  
Enjoy with fresh fruit or graham crackers.

Trader Joe's 72% Dark Chocolate is my absolute favorite.  And yes, I've eaten Godiva and numerous imported European dark chocolates, but TJ's is still my favorite.  Meet the beauty I purchased before moving back to OKC....  

17.6 glorious ounces of 72% Dark Chocolate

(cue sound effects:  "oooooooohhhhhh, aaaaahhhhhhh")

 "Hello, Love!" 

 Melt nothing but the best.

    

Dark Chocolate Peanut Clusters 

(Ingredients: TJ's Peanuts and TJ's 72% Dark Chocolate)

I also made...

 Almond Clusters

(Ingredients: Raw Almonds and TJ's 72% Dark Chocolate)

A taste of heaven!

Friends & Food

Our awesome neighbor friends came over last night with a bunch of freshly grilled burgers, chicken, and vegetables.  I made buffalo chicken dip, provided salad greens, and diet coke.  We pretty much had an amazing potluck! Everything was absolutely delicious and we had fantastic company.  I'm so thankful for our great neighbors.  

I thought the buffalo chicken dip was pretty good, but David didn't care for it because he dislikes cream cheese.  In case you're interested, here's the recipe......

Buffalo Chicken Dip

INGREDIENTS:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened 1/2 cup blue cheese salad dressing 1/2 cup Frank's® RedHot® Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce or Frank's® RedHot ® Buffalo Wing Sauce

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese or shredded mozzarella cheese 2 (9.75 ounce) cans Swanson® Premium Chunk Chicken Breast in Water, drained Assorted fresh vegetables or crackers

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2.	Stir the cream cheese in a 9-inch deep dish pie plate with a fork or whisk until it's smooth. Stir in the dressing, pepper sauce and blue cheese. Stir in the chicken.
3.	Bake for 20 minutes or until the chicken mixture is hot and bubbly. Stir before serving. Serve with the vegetables and crackers for dipping.

Hang On Little Tomato

I've officially decided for the millionth time that I'm obsessed with tomatoes.  I may have a huge Vitamin D deficiency and have calcium problems, but by golly I sure don't lack lycopene.  

I made some salsa yesterday that was supposed to be for a dinner party that I'm attending this Saturday night.  It was so good that I have been putting it on everything.  I had it with my grilled chicken and peppers last night.  Today I poured salsa all over my romaine salad that was topped with last nights leftovers.  Delish!  While preparing tonights dinner (100 calorie can of soup and a grilled cheese) I dipped broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots in the salsa.  It was a healthier decision than tortilla chips would have been.  Go Me!  

So, I have officially consumed 32oz of salsa in about 36 hours. I guess I'll be making a much larger and fresh batch for the dinner party.  Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I also had fresh tomato slices with my last several meals.  How crazy is that?  

I like tomatoes so much that I had to mention the song "Hang On Little Tomato," that's on the Pink Martini album.  I LOVE that song.  

Moral of the story:  I LOVE salsa!  I LOVE tomatoes!  

I doubled the recipe, but here it is......  ENJOY!

Salsa

• 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes and green chiles
• 1/4 cup sliced onions
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons sliced jalapenos
• cilantro 

Put all ingredients except jalapeno peppers into a blender. Process for only a few seconds. Do not blend too long. Make sure tomatoes are still slightly chunky. Add jalapeno peppers last and blend for about ten seconds. Let flavors blend for a few hours in the refrigerator.