Heaven for less than Seven!

All the Homemade Chocolate Covered Strawberries you can eat.... for less than $7!

I walked into the grocery store yesterday to see organic strawberries on sale for $1.99. I was inspired! Who doesn't LOVE chocolate covered strawberries? I swoon anytime I see them! I rarely can afford to buy them, and I found that making them myself can not only save me money, but allow me to eat as many as I desire! Three is never enough, right!?!

So, the strawberries were $2 and I got a block of gourmet chocolate for less than $5! I melted the chocolate in a bowl that rested in a pot of boiling water (I don't have a double boiler), dipped the berries in the hot melted chocolate and placed them on a wax paper lined baking sheet. Once they were all dipped, I put them in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to chill. We ate nearly all of them very quickly, with the help of our good friends Eliza and Aaron. We were in heaven!!! This treat is so easy, inexpensive and absolutely DIVINE! I urge everyone to go get some strawberries while they are in season and treat yourself to heaven!

Sleeping Beauties

MMMMM Meringue Cookes!

These Sleeping Beauties were made with Heath Bar pieces! Wow!

 Meringue cookies have always intrigued me. I finally got to make them for the first time about a year ago. These heavenly little cookies go to bed when you do. They actually "cook" over the course of several hours in a shut off oven that started at 350 degrees and is turned off when the cookie sheets go in. When you wake, they are crispy and chewy little delights. Yep, they're crispy AND chewy. Texture perfection if you ask me. I got the recipe from a this cool cookbook that includes a diverse mix of recipes compiled by my great aunt's church. There are so many interesting and wonderful recipes contributed by the good southern folks that attend Nacoochee United Methodist Church in the quaint little town of Sautee Nacoochee, in Northeast Georgia. Here is the tasty recipe by Carole Miller. I imagine that Carole has quite the sweet tooth.. like me!

Sleeping Beauties 

2 egg whites

2/3 cup sugar (I used a little over 1/3 cup and that was plenty!)

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips 

1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Beat whites to peaks; add cream of tartar, then the sugar, a little at a time. Stir in chocolate chips, pecans and vanilla. Drop on foil or parchment lined cookie sheets. Put in oven, turn off and leave overnight or for at least six hours. (Supposedly) makes 55 servings.... I haven't gotten that many, but my servings aren't so small. 

Trying to be lazy about giving the recipe, I took a picture of it on the page in the book. It looked great in this post! Then, I realized that I could be violating copyright laws. It's a small town church cookbook, but still... What a moral dilemma! Since I typed almost exactly what the recipe said, I guess I felt it was necessary to mention that the "Spirit of The Sautee-Nacoochee Valleys" cookbook was published and printed by Cookbook Publishers, Inc in Lexena, Kansas in 2000.

What's For Dinner - B-for-D!

Oh, the good ol' fail-safe Breakfast-for-Dinner! It saves the day when it's 7:00pm and you have no meal planned. Here are a couple of ways we have enjoyed it, tonight and last Friday.

Tonight, it was..

 Fried eggs, baked turkey bacon and garlic potato pancakes.

And Friday, we had..

Home grown kale, sauteed in white wine and garlic. We poached the eggs in the pan with the kale. They were slightly overcooked, but delicious nonetheless. It's served on top of crispy homefries and onions.

  

*These yummy, healthy meals were almost completely free range and organic. It tastes better!*