Chocolate Bark Treats

Chocolate bark makes a nice treat to have as a quick snack or to give as gifts.  Its very easy to make and there are so many options for flavors and add-ins.  You can even make healthy versions!

I found this basic recipe in the December issue of Health magazine.  The ingredients they had listed are as follows:  3/4 cups dried cherries, 1/2 up unsalted pistachios, 1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger, 7 oz dark chocolate (60-70% cocoa solids) chopped into chunks.

Combine cherries, pistachios, and ginger in a medium bowl.  Line baking sheet with heavy-duty foil, chill pan.  Melt chocolate in double boiler or the microwave, stirring frequently.  Stir in half of fruit mixture and spread into prepared pan.  Using a rubber spatula, spread chocolate evenly onto baking sheet.  Immediately sprinkle remaining fruit mixture evenly over top of chocolate.  Chill about 10 minutes.  Break into pieces and serve.

Now there are definitely a ton of modifications you can make to this.  First of all, you can certainly leave out the ginger.  It can be hard to find and also it can have a strong flavor that you may not want.  No big deal to leave it out.  I made this version minus the ginger and it was great. And when I couldn't find pistachios, I substituted chopped walnuts instead.

I also wanted to make another version that didn't involve nuts, as I've mentioned there are several people in my family with nut allergies.  So I came up with the idea of using coconut (which is a fruit, not a nut) and pretzel sticks to give it a sweet/salty flavor like nuts would have done.

You can also use any kind of chocolate...milk, semi-sweet, even white chocolate.  As long as it melts, you're good.  As for toppings, the possibilities are endless.  Using unsalted nuts of any kind with dried fruit of any kind will help keep it on the healthier end.  You could also probably melt in some peanut butter into the chocolate for a more decadent version.  For other mix-ins, you can use peppermint (great for Christmas), granola or any kind of cereal (hmm, I wonder what fruit loops would be like?), marshmallows and graham crackers for a smores effect...I could go on and on. 

And in 10-15 minutes you have a great home-made treat to share with friends or eat for yourself!

Cornbread Stuffing and Turkey Treats

For Thanksgiving this year, I got to make stuffing for the first time (other than StoveTop from a box).  I searched out many recipes until I found one that I liked at allrecipes.com called Best Ever Cornbread Stuffing.  Actually the recipe called for a pound of sausage but I left that part out. 

I made cornbread from a mix the night before and let it sit out over night to dry out a little. And actually it was honey cornbread so it had a little sweetness to it.  Then the next morning I cut it up into small chunks and combined it with potato bread soft bread cubes.  In a skillet set on medium heat, I sauteed one whole red onion chopped (there were many tears) and 2 cups of chopped celery with a little bit of butter for several minutes until the onions started to become crisp tender and slightly translucent.  Then I added about 2-3 teaspoons of freshly chopped sage. Nice fresh savory piney smell.

 To the bread cubes, I lightly mixed it with 1/4 cup of melted butter to moisten, then added the onion mixture as well.  In a separate bowl, I whisked together about 14 ounces of organic chicken broth and 2 eggs, then also poured that into the bread crumbs and gently mixed together.  The entire batch of bread crumb mixture went into a 9x13 baking dish and covered with foil.  Then into a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes, I removed the foil and put it back in the oven for another 10 minutes to lightly brown the top.

 My whole family loved it!! This is definitely a "keeper-recipe".  If you want to check out the original recipe go to www.allrecipes.com and look up "Best Ever Sausage Cornbread Stuffing". 

I also made turkey rice krispie treats to give as gifts for a few friends and family.  They didn't turn out as nice as the ones in this picture and they were definitely a little bit of a challenge to put together.  Their recipe calls for peanut butter to attach the head to the body but in my family there are a few peanut allergies so I used chocolate frosting instead that was safe for them to eat.  They are very messy to make and to eat but they are a fun treat for the holidays!