My New Favorite Chocolate Bar

 Everything is better with chile.

 Even chocolate. 

Especially chocolate. 

Why is the chocolate gone? I ate it all!

 

 

 Spicy in the sense that the chile adds a depth of flavor and heat to the chocolate, that it would otherwise lack. 

This may be the best chile chocolate I've had. 

Well balanced. 

Very satisfying. 

Good stuff or, depending on my mood, wonderful stuff. 

 Individually wrapped purse size bars within the box. Very handy. 

 I am not a paid shill. 

I do this for free. 

Happy Valentine's Day Toasted Cheese

 If it's Valentine's Day, it's time for chocolate cheese!

But this time, it's toasted!

Yes, on white bread. Don't hate.

 From Aldi's, but it is just as awesome as the chocolate cheese I had last year from Trader Joe's (yes, I know there is a relationship between the two businesses).

 "Specially Selected Cheddar With Chocolate, English Cheddar Cheese blended with rich dark chocolate." Sold in 6.7 oz (190g) blocks.

Chocolate Cheese & Strawberries

I only bought chocolate cheese for the novelty of it. But, it tastes good. If you love dark chocolate, and I do.

Strawberries and Chocolate Cheddar Cheese

Trader Joe's Chocolate Cheddar Cheese.

From the label, "A creamy, mature English Cheddar with rich dark chocolate curls."

A fun February snack.

Old School Brownies

Close-up!

Apparently this is a Hershey's recipe. I actually got it from littleonefb (no idea who she is, now) on a long ago forgotten (by me) message board, a long time ago, and I have been making these quick (well, quick to put together) & easy (so easy even I don't use a mixer) brownies ever since. 

I should probably make altitude adjustments to this recipe, because, for me, they are a combination of dry and crackly, and intensely fudgy, with no middle ground, so to speak. But, I continue to make them, and eat them, and...

Mixing bowl One:

• 6oz (that is, 3/4 C) Unsalted Butter, melted
• 1 1/2 C Sugar 
• 1 1/2 tsps vanilla

Mix.

• 3 eggs

Add, and beat.


Mixing bowl Two:

• 3/4 C Unbleached Flour
• 1/2 C Baking Cocoa
• 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

Whisk together.


Scrape, or as I call it, spoonula, Mixing Bowl One, into Mixing Bowl Two. Mix well.

Bake in a greased 8-inch or 9-inch pan, in a preheated oven, at 350F for about 40 minutes. Let cool on a not-hot burner, or a rack, for 5 minutes. Serve immediately thereafter. 

Serves four. Or more. Just don't touch my quarter of the pan.

Chocolate Sausage

Portioned

Flattened

Almost Ready To Eat

8 oz Ground Pork
1/8 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Brown Sugar
1 TBSP Dutch Process Cocoa Powder
1/8 Salt

1 tsp Vegetable Oil

Mix all ingredients together, except the oil. Heat a cast iron skillet, and the oil, for two minutes.

Portion sausage with a medium size scoop (mine is the Pampered Chef brand). Press into patties. I scoop them into, and press them in, the hot skillet, but, if you'd rather avoid the heat, oh, and the hot oil, you can scoop them onto, and press them on, wax paper.

I cook sausage patties on low - medium low so that the inside of the patties cooks at about the same rate that the outside browns. If you need pretty sausage for a photo, know that the chocolate makes for a beautifully browned looking sausage patty.

I don't have any bread in the house, today, but, if I did, I would have served the chocolate sausage with cinnamon sugar toast. 

Not bad, but it almost tasted like liver, to me. Not exactly the effect I was trying the achieve. If I make it again, and, oh, I probably will, I'll double both the chocolate and the salt. Maybe the chile, too. Not certain about the cinnamon, I may have had that right. The chocolate flavor did come through slightly better once the sausage had a chance to cool.

One downside to chocolate sausage is that I couldn't share any with Buddy (the dog). She was sad.

Chocolate Oatmeal

• 1 TBSP Cocoa Powder (Baking Cocoa)
• 20g, or 1 heaping TBSP, Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 1 TBSP Brown Sugar
• 1 pinch, or shake, Cinnamon
• 1/2 C Oatmeal (Rolled Oats)

• 1 1/4 C Water (You may need less, only 1 C, if you don't live high & dry)
• Pinch of Salt

Mix the cocoa powder, chips, sugar, cinnamon, and oats, together in a bowl. 

Bring water and salt to a boil. Add the mixture to the water. What I do, when I make oatmeal, any flavor of oatmeal, is, I wait for it to try and boil over and at that point I reduce the heat to low, and wait for it to reach my preferred texture, stirring occasionally. 

Stirring occasionally, for the uninitiated, means, when I remember, or when someone says, "Mom, I think you better check the oatmeal."

Smells fabulous while it's cooking, and, to me, it tastes like homemade chocolate pudding. I like homemade chocolate pudding, so this is a good thing. 

You could top it off with milk, if you like to add milk to your oatmeal, or whipped cream. Me? I garnished mine with cinnamon sugar, because that's what makes oatmeal, of any flavor, taste so good.