Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds – My Easy Recipes!

I really enjoyed making these.  They are fun to make and delicious to eat.

I roasted almonds in the oven (I used my little toaster oven).  The aroma of roasting almonds is quite good:).  That also meant it was ready to be taken out of the oven.  So that’s what I did.  And, I set them aside to cool.

 Time to melt chocolate:

Endangered Species Chocolate is what I used (the brown wrap one).  My daughter is an animal lover.  Her diet includes no animal products or by-products.  She is passionate about them and is determined to be their voice.   (I am making this for her.)

Next step:  I started my double-boiler.  I heated enough water in the pot so that it wouldn’t touch the base of the second pot with chocolate pieces to be melted.

I kept the heat on low because the chocolate melts fairly quickly.

All melted! Looked rich & creamy!  I turned the heat off.

Next, I added almonds into the melted chocolate and stirred the chocolate to coat the almonds.

Roasted almond & melted chocolate…irresistible!  I wanted to try one so badly.

I placed wax paper on a cookie sheet.  Then, I scooped out almonds from the pot and spread them in a single layer on the wax paper.  I got a spoon to start separating these guys.  After that, I placed these almonds in the fridge so that the chocolate around these almonds will solidify.

They stayed in the fridge for about 15 minutes.

It was time to coat them with cocoa powder.  You don’t have to do this part, but the cocoa powder adds to the flavor.

I mixed in a bit of raw cane sugar in the cocoa.

Then, I got the chocolate covered almonds from the fridge and dropped them in the cocoa powder mix;  I used a spoon to gently fold the cocoa powder over the chocolate covered almonds.

Last thing I did was to place the almonds from the bowl into a colander.  I shook the colander to get excess cocoa off the almonds.  And, then I stored them in a plastic container.  All done!

My daughter will love this.  She will be coming home soon from the animal shelter…I’ll surprise her!  This is one of her favorites!  I’m glad I made these for her.  I feel good!

 

Serving size of almonds from http://www.livestrong.com:

The USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory says that 1 oz. of whole, shelled almond kernels contain 163 calories and about 14 g of fat.  They’re also a nutritious source of protein and fiber, with 6 g of protein and 3.5 g of fiber.

1 oz. is standard serving of almonds.  That’s equal to one handful or about 23 whole, shelled nuts.

Endangered Species Dark Chocolate Bar serving size:

!/2 a bar, calories: 250; total fat: 18 g; cholesterol: 0 mg; carb: 20 g; Fiber: 5 g; Protein: 4 g

My recipe:

1 – Endangered Species dark chocolate bar (use any brand you like)

1 – Cup Almond

2 – Tablespoon Nestle Toll House Cocoa Powder (use any brand you like)

1 – Tablespoon raw cane sugar (option: use white granulated sugar or powdered sugar)

1.  Heat oven to 300 degrees.  Place almonds in a baking pan and bake for 10 – 12 minutes.  Take out of the oven, and let them cool.
2. Place wax paper on a cookie sheet and set aside.  In a small bowl add cocoa powder and sugar and set aside.  Have a colander handy.  Have a storage container set aside also.
3. Break chocolate bar into pieces, and melt in a double boiler.  (Please refer to pictures above).
4. Add almonds and stir to coat.
5. Scoop them out on the wax paper and gently spread them in a single layer.
6. With a spoon separate the almonds from each other.
7. Place the almonds in the fridge for the chocolate to solidify.
8. Break the chocolate almond pieces…thin chocolate layer breaks apart quickly.
9. Put all of the chocolate covered almonds into the cocoa powder sugar bowl.  With a spoon fold the cocoa powder mix to coat the chocolate covered almonds.
10. Place all the cocoa powder coated chocolate covered almonds in the colander, and gently shake to get excess cocoa mix off them.
11. Place these coated chocolate covered almonds in a storage container.

Enjoy!!

…thank you for visiting my blog…until next time:)

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My Recipe: Buffalo Boneless Chicken Wing Balls

These Buffalo Chicken Wing Balls are seriously yummy!  Sauces I used were Original Anchor Bar Wing Sauce and Tabasco sauce.  That’s it!

1. I chopped up chicken breast.  I chopped it when they were not thawed all the way, but still a bit frozen.  It’s super easy to cut and chop the meat when it’s not completely frozen.  Need a sharp knife for sure!  I, then, added the wing sauce and Tabasco sauce in the chicken, and marinated the chicken for an hour.

2. Then I filled an ice-cube tray with the marinated chicken and covered the tray with aluminum foil, and placed it in the freezer for an hour.  The chicken meat somewhat soldifies…let’s say semi frozen. Not rock solid!

3. After an hour, I took the ice-cube tray with the chicken out from the freezer, and unwrapped the foil .  I scooped out semi-frozen chicken balls one at a time and dropped them in the flour mix (recipe below).  Coated them well, shook off excess coating, and dropped them in heated oil.  Medium to low heat.  Fried 4 to 5 balls at a time.

      

4.  Fried them for 3-4 minutes until golden.  Put them on paper towel to soak oil.  Then for the grand finale…

  

5.  I dropped the fried chicken balls in the sauce mix, and gently stirred them in the sauce to coat well.  I arranged them on a plate and…

  

…It was time to eat them!  Delicious!

Ingredients for above recipe:

2 Chicken breast semi frozen, cut in tiny cubes (chopped)

1 Cup Original Anchor Bar Wing Sauce (use more if you want extra saucy wing balls)

1 Teaspoon Tabasco Sauce (optional). Use only if you want extra heat!

 Marinate for the chopped chicken breast:

4 Tablespoons Anchor Bar wing Sauce

1 Teaspoon Tabasco Sauce

Flour Mix:

1/2 Cup White Flour

1/2 Cup Corn Meal

1/2 Teaspoon ground black pepper

Mix all three ingredients and you have the flour mix.  I add no salt because the sauce has enough in it.

And there you have it!  It’s easy and yummy!!  These boneless wings are not as high in calories because the flour coating is not heavy as in store-bought frozen ones or the ones from the restaurants.  The coating is thin, you can actually see the pink chicken underneath before it’s fried.  Eaten fresh it’s light and crispy to taste!  I love this recipe…hope you will too.

…enjoy now! ..until next time.  Thank you for checking out my blog.

My In-A-Hurry-Fried-Rice

Super easy 4-step recipe. Took me less than 30-minutes to make!

I’m stir-frying all vegetables together

1.  In a large frying pan stir-fry mixed vegetables (I used frozen),  onion, frozen shelled edamame (or any type of kidney beans), tricolor bell peppers with garlic powder and salt & black pepper in pure olive oil. Already looking & smelling good!  Once the veggies start to char a bit, turn stove off.

2.  In a small pan, add roasted unsalted cashews in pure olive oil.  Keep stove heat at a low.  Sprinkle salt & black pepper over the cashews. Stir until the sides darken (this darkening is not uniform but will taste yum!).  Turn stove off.

Dropped cashews in the pan. See the low heat. They cook very fast. Keeping an eye on them!

Sprinkled salt and pepper – a pinch each

Browned…not uniformly. It’s done!

3.  Cook Uncle Ben’s Parboiled rice according to the package. Or any rice. I’ve made this with Basmati rice, Brown rice and Black rice.  They all taste great.  Serve each item separately like shown below on a plate.  I, however, mix it up in a pan on low heat until well heated.

Serve just like this or…

…Mixing it all together for a great tasting dish!

4.  Scoop the fried rice on a plate and enjoy!  You can always add fish, chicken, beef or tofu.  You can pan fry, bake or grill them!  My husband wanted the original version: vegetarian (this recipe is also vegan).  I, however, added 3-oz Rotisserie chicken breast to my dish.   And now, I’ll tell you a secret —  I added my favorite hot sauce to my dish!  Tabasco!  And, I loved it!

Ingredients for one serving:

(For cooking steps, please see above instructions with photos)

Frozen Mixed Veggie – 1/4 Cup

Frozen shelled Edamame – 1/4 Cup

Onion (roughly chopped) – 1/2 of a medium size

Garlic Powder – 1/2 teaspoon

Roasted Cashews Unsalted – 1/8 Cup (about 8-10  cashews) (do not add salt if using salted)

Rice – 1/2 Cup Cooked

Salt & Pepper

Nutritional Value (one serving)  without the chicken:

Calories: 257; Fat: 9.9 g; Carbohydrate: 33.4 g; Fiber: 3.7 g; Protein: 17.7 g

With 3-oz Rotisserie chicken added to this dish:

Calories: 392.5; Fat: 15.2 g; Carbohydrate: 33.8 g; Fiber: 3.7 g; Protein: 38.2 g

…Will be knocking on your door soon…hugs!  And, thanks for checking out my blog.

Whole Wheat English Muffin with Avocado

Love eating this:)…it’s good food! Healthy & yummy!
My sister and I frequent Trader Joe’s  for some of our food shopping.  I love a lot of their products.  On one such venture, my sister suggested I try their whole wheat English muffin.

I loved the taste of it when I tried one the very next morning with avocado slices.  My sister loves to eat this for her breakfast!

Take an English muffin and toast it.  Smear cream cheese, plain, chives or sour cream onion.  The one I made this morning, I used Brie.  Cut avocado in half.  Save half for next time:). Take pit out & place cut side down on a plate and cover with plastic wrap.  Peel & slice the other half.  Then layer them on the two muffins.  Slice fresh tomatoes, and layer over avocado slices.  Must add onion for that great taste.  It’s morning and I’m eating raw onion!  But on this it really tastes good because I only add a little bit.  Salt and pepper and a bit of lemon juice squeezed from a fresh lemon.  Juice it right over the onions!

I love that this is a hearty breakfast.  It’s high in protein, high in complex carb and high in potassium.  And, it is packed with good fat.  I totally enjoyed every bite of this breakfast.

Recipe:

1 – 1 whole wheat English Muffin toasted

2 – 1 Tablespoon Cream cheese or Brie 1/8 wedge (Soy cheese is a good option if you do not want dairy product)

3 – 1/2 Fresh avocado, peeled & sliced

4 – 1/2 Roma tomato sliced

5 – 2 thin slices of red onion

6 – 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

7 – Salt, pepper

Layer everything from #2 to #7 (in this order) over the muffin sides.  Enjoy!!

Nutritional Information:

Calories 414; Fat 23.5g; carbohydrate 32.5g; protein 15g; Cholesterol 30mg; potassium 425mg

Next blog …coming tomorrow!!!

Hello All!

This is my very first blog post!

I’m blogging because I’ve been craving to do it.

I’m blogging because I have been thinking about having a space of my own!

Lastly, I’m blogging because I’m giving a home to all things I love doing!

Happy blogging to me 🙂  Can’t wait to see what happens in one year from now (4/28/15).  So exciting!!!