Mint Truffles or Balls de la Creme de Menthe

Everyone sufficiently stuffed from their holiday eating? Yes? Too bad, because I have one more nommy.

Now if you don't like mint, you're off the hook. This one isn't for you, my friend.
If, however, you are like me and could survive solely on a diet of mint chocolate chip ice cream (especially if it has chewy fudge chunks instead of chips - yum), then you might want to keep reading.

I found a recipe for mint balls (There is NO way to make that sound less dirty. Balls = funny word) in my holiday cooking/baking magazine. I was all, "I should make these." Upon examination, the recipe called for some serious microwave usage. And you know, I don't have one. Usually I wing it when a recipe calls for microwave time and just use the toaster oven or stove top, but I wasn't going to chance this. So it was a no go.

But then HOLD THE PHONE. My parents have a microwave! Score! So the pictures below detail the mint balls in making. In Michigan. At my parents' house.

First you mix the inside ingredients. It takes a lot of powdered sugar. LOT.

Then the recipe called for adding nuts. Who puts nuts in their mint balls? That's crazy talk. I love nuts with chocolate, caramel, and ice cream, but NOT with mint. Never. So I added baby chocolate chips instead. It looked like this:

Then you make them into tiny balls. Like this:

And this (I am working on photographing manually while adjusting my aperture. If this interests you, cool. If not, then it probably looks like another boring picture of balls.):

Lastly, here is where I cried a lot and begged someone else to finish it for me it got tough. I had to dip each of those little buggers into a chocolate concoction that I had created. Pain in the butt.

But then again, I got to eat them and it was pretty much as delicious as mint chocolate ice cream, so all is good.

So good, in fact, that I might bring home my microwave from work (a co-worker gave it to me when she retired, I didn't purchase it) next holiday season and make these bad boys.

I'm quite proud of all my bravery this holiday season. I tried at least five NEW recipes, which is a bunch for me. And all were a success!

Anyone else try out a new recipe? Or maybe a family favorite?

Imagine

In the spirit of the holidays, I wanted to share my NEW favorite Glee moment (keep in mind that I am on season one and if you tell me ANYTHING I will quit you forever). This particular scene is from a practice with the students in the school for the deaf.

Glee, Season 1

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays, Everyone!

Thanks for stopping by to check out the blog. I hope that your holidays are wonderful.

Preachin' to the Choir

"So the next song we're going to sing is Silent Night...Okay, Sally? Sally? OMG, I hate it when this happens. She's such a drama queen."




***In reality, this little choir has been perched atop the piano at my grandma's every Christmas for my entire life. I love them, but apparently they are starting to age, as all good things do.

White Christmas

I know.

I'm sorry.

It's been way too long without a post. My tens of readers, I apologize.

I left for Michigan on Saturday and as I write this I am sitting, enjoying the morning sun, and looking at everything all snow-covered outside. So pretty. Especially for a girl who lives in PHX and there isn't a snowball's chance in hell for snow when she returns...

I really don't have much to post at the moment. I can tell you that I made toffee with chocolate, crackers, and nuts...but did I take pictures? No.

And after a good five minutes, I figured out how to turn on the Blue Ray thing and listen to Christmas music on Pandora on the T.V. Go me.

So all is good here. I'm going to have some breakfast and maybe do a little crafty or a little bakey.

Hope you all are doing well. Any fun holiday plans?

Today's Fortune & Health Advice

So this means I can eat Chinese food all the time? I was just waiting for permission. Good to know that it will keep me healthy.

Roam If You Want To. Roam If You Will.

There are few things that can get me heading east (read: to Scottsdale). One of those things is Lush and the other is Harry & David. I love these stores with all my heart and so we make the trek a couple of times a year. You might remember last time we went I shared some pictures of the city. So it was time. To brave the east side AND holiday traffic AND holiday shoppers. I thought you might like to see some more pictures. If not, stop reading. That's okay. I won't be upset.

The first shot is of Ghetto 1. Ghetto 1 protects this fine city from hoodlums and their shananigans. Not so intimidating during daylight, but much more frightening at night when they have the wrong apartment window and instead of shining it in the meth lab upstairs from you they shine it in your window. I mean, not that I experienced that for real. Just guessing.

Ghetto 1 was a familiar sight my first few weeks in the city when I lived with a friend. Bless her heart for taking me in. Bless us both for surviving.

Below are some neat buildings. I just liked them. And the blue sky, that's pretty nice, too.

This is one of my favorite buildings. I decided I'm going to live there. I dig all the glass.

Just looked ritzy and perfect with the palms lining the street and the mountain centered.

Jeremiah's dirty window.

That's about it, peeps. Just a more downtown-ish view of PHX.

Anyone else have a Ghetto 1 that keeps an eye on the ground below?

p.s. I am not sure why two of the pictures are HUGE. I don't really care. They're two of my favorites, so maybe I'm unintentionally highlighting them.