Dark Chocolate Toffee Truffles All 'I Love Lucy' Like...

In our adventures in chocolate, we're always looking for ways to play with all the goodies we have available to us through Velata. #bestjobever ? 

We think so!

In a few weeks, we'll be participating in a charity event where we've been asked to provide 200 samples of something chocolate. Of course, we want to take the most perfect bite for the attendees to experience and so the hunt began and after searching hundreds of recipes and ideas, we decided on a list of a few we will be testing over the next few weeks.

Last night was test #1 of my version of a chocolate truffle. I have 3 words for you. Oh. My. Geez. 

My husband decided that they weren't right for the event, but would be perfect for birthdays, holidays, work events, Tuesdays and pretty much any time in between. He LOVED them and expressed it in a variety of words only true foodies would understand. 

As is the theme here in the kitchen, we like to make our recipes not only deliciously amazing, but simple! We believe that anyone, no matter the kitchen skill level, should be able to confidently make our dishes and this one, definitely falls into that territory. 

The only fear you may have with this one is what your scale may say the morning after your try to get chocolate drunk on these babies. They are ridiculous.

Enough talk though. Let's dive right into the madness...

Dark Chocolate Toffee Truffles

Shopping List:

Kitchen Needs:

Small saucepan

Rubber spatula

Small ice cream scoop or melon baller

2 Small bowls

To begin, put saucepan on stove top and turn on medium heat.

 Pour in Velata Belgian chocolate disks and heavy cream and stir until melted and combined.

Take off of the stove and stir in your vanilla extract.

(Pssst...that's all the 'cooking' it takes. Uh huh...yep!)

Pour chocolate mixture into a small bowl, cover and place in refrigerator for 3-4 hours to let it set.

(Note: Let it be known now that I HATE when a recipe tells me to let something set. If I''m making it, I want to eat it now, not in 4 hours! But trust me, this one is worth the wait so whip it up and then go watch a movie or play with your kids and then come back.)

Now that you've been nice and patient, take your chocolate out of the fridge and grab that scoop.

I couldn't find mine, so I used a spoon here. It works, but the baller or scoop would be much easier. 

Also, pour your toffee bits into your second bowl and have it ready for coating your truffles.

Your mixture should look something like this now...

Slowly scoop this creamy chocolate mixture from the bowl so it fills your scoop. Flip the ball over into your hands and roll into a nice, round ball. You will get chocolate on your hands here, hence our 'I Love Lucy' like comment in the title. Don't fret though. 

We condone you licking your hands when you're all done.

(Sort of looks like I committed a horrendous crime, doesn't it? Well, I guess in a way I did. For my waistline anyway, but I digress....)

Once you've rolled the chocolate into a ball, toss it into the bowl of toffee bits and roll it around, pressing gently to help the bits stick to the truffle. 

Place on a plate and continue until you run out of chocolate.

Guess what?

You're all done! You may choose to put these back in the fridge to get cold and set back up or just go for it. Either way, you are going to hate me for giving you this recipe, and for that, I apologize now.

The glory of these beautiful confections is that you could use any of our chocolate choices and any variety of toppings to roll them in. 

In fact, we'd love to hear what combination you might back from our Caramel Milk, Milk and White chocolates. We may just pick yours, give it a try and give you a shout out here in the kitchen!

Stay tuned for more as we narrow it down to decide what we will be serving at the chocolate festival.

Until then...

HAPPY EATING!!!

Dark Chocolate For Days...

Yesterday was my husband's birthday, and as per blooming tradition in our house, I was tasked with cooking one of his favorite meals and his birthday dessert.
In the past, we just grabbed something from the local grocery store, but as my love for cooking grows, and with it my knowledge, I find great joy in being the one to bake this special treat for my family. I think this statement says it quite well...

So I started scouring Pinterest for the perfect recipe. My husband is a huge chocolate lover. We tend to blame it on his mother's love of chocolate milk while he was in utero. ;)

Because of this, I'm always on the hunt for the perfect chocolate something. In my search, I stumbled across a basic recipe for a dense, gooey chocolate cake, which is right up my alley.

Of course, I couldn't leave well enough alone, so I used it as a guide to whip it into my own creation.

It is such an easy recipe and turned out pretty slammin' if I do say so myself. It was definitely a show stopper. I hope it becomes a recipe you are brave enough to try and strong enough to resist eating the whole thing. (Truth? I almost ate a slice for breakfast this morning) :)

P.S. If dark chocolate is something that scares you or you don't love, it may be because you haven't had good dark chocolate. Bad dark is very bitter and bland. Good dark is smooth, not bitter and delicious. It's like, fancy pants chocolate that happens to be full of antioxidants and good stuff for your body. Practically a health food if you ask me. ;)

Ultimate Dark Chocolate Cake

 with Velata Dark Chocolate Fudge Sauce

Shopping List:

1 box of dark chocolate cake mix

1 small package of instant chocolate pudding mix

2 cups sour cream

3 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil 

(TIP- if you're out of vegetable oil, you can substitute for equal amounts of butter)

1/2 cup water (or cold coffee if you want a mocha flavor)

1 bag of Velata Dark Chocolate- chopped into pieces (the food processor is a gem here!)

Fudge sauce ingredients:

1 bag of Velata Dark Chocolate

1/3 cup of melted butter

3/4 cup of milk

1/4 cup of light corn syrup

Kitchen Needs: 

2 9" cake round pans

whisk

mixing bowl

small saucepan

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a mixing bowl, combine sour cream, water (or coffee) eggs and oil.

 Combine well and then stir in your cake mix and pudding mix. 

Then, stir in chocolate chunks

This mixture will be thick, but that's just how you want it.

Pour equally into 2 9" cake pans and bake for 30 minutes until knife comes out clean from the center. 

Note: by clean, we mean no batter comes out with the knife. It may have some melted chocolate from the Velata on it and that's okay. Just no batter.

Once done, set on a cooling rack and let cool completely.

While cakes are baking, prepare the fudge sauce.

In a small saucepan, melt corn syrup and chocolate together until well combined. Next, pour in butter and milk and stir well, keeping it at a rolling boil for 5 minutes. Rolling boil means it keep the sauce boiling, but not going all crazy. :)

Then, remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Once cakes and sauce have cooled, place one cake layer on your serving plate. 

Take your fudge sauce and spoon it on top, covering it well. Let that goodness fill the crevasses and overflow the sides if you would like. This is what we like to call an 'organic' looking cake. ;)

Top with the second layer and repeat by pouring the sauce over the top making sure it falls over the edges and down the side of this delectable cake.

Now, here is where you can get a little funky if you'd like. My girls begged to top this with chocolate chips even though I think it was just fine without them. Since they were helping make daddy's cake, I let it slide. :) But choose your decoration of choosing. You might add some chopped nuts, powdered sugar or maybe even some more chopped Velata chunks. The choice is yours! You can't go wrong.

This cake can be served right away or placed in the refrigerator and served cold. I had it both ways and I loved how the chill factor made it even more dense and chewy, which is the way I love my cake.

It was a big hit with the birthday boy and with the rest of the family as well. A simple recipe with simple ingredients even the most unsure cook could master.

Happy Eating!

If grilled cheese could be on steroids...this would be what it looked like.

Everyone loves a good grilled cheese. This time of year, I'm longing for crisp Fall days, bowls of tomato soup and  gooey goodness between 2 toasted slices of bread to dip right into it with.
But gone are the days of a slice of American between 2 slices of white and here to stay are the days of culinary masterpieces memories are made of.
Today we bring you, the Grown Up Grilled Cheese....

Grown Up Grilled Cheese

Shopping Needs:

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/4 red onion, sliced

1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup artichoke hearts, sliced

1 tablespoon Velata Santa 

Maria BBQ Artisan Rub

4 slices artisan bread

2 slices prosciutto 

(bacon will work as a replacement is prosciutto is unavailable)

1/2 cup baby spinach

2 slices Gouda cheese

Preheat Velata Raclette Tabletop Grill with cast aluminum grill top on high for 30 minutes.

· Drizzle olive oil on smooth, flat side of grill top, and heat for 3 minutes.· Drizzle olive oil on 

grill top, and heat for 3 minutes.

· Place sliced vegetables on grill top, and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon Santa Maria BBQ 

 Artisan Rub. Cook for 6-8 minutes (or until softened), turning regularly.

· While vegetables are cooking, toast bread slices on grill top (6-8 minutes).

· Place cheese slices into two Raclette Pans below the grill top. Heat for 2-3 minutes 

 (or until melted).

· Place prosciutto and spinach on grill top, and heat for 30 seconds on each side.

· Transfer prosciutto, spinach, and other vegetables to a slice of toasted bread, and cover 

 with melted cheese.

· Place top slice of bread on your sandwich and grill for 1 minute.

I think this is one of those recipes that showcases just how awesome the raclette really is. Put it in the middle of your dining table, lay all your ingredients out around it and let each person customize their Grown Up Grilled Cheese in any way they'd like. Extra veggies or no veggies. Extra cheese or just enough. Everyone gets to create it just the way they like and you aren't standing over a stove taking orders. 

Perfection!

Now here's our question for you!

What kind of soup do you think would pair best with such a super sandwich?

Happy Eating!!!

(P.S. If you haven't seen it yet, we now have a button up there on the right that let's you request one of our catalogs! Don't be shy! We'd love to send one your way. :) )

Fork and Knife Not Necessary- Border Burgers and Hand Pies

Are you ready for this? It could possibly be one of the most perfect weekend meals to end summer on. 

We didn't want to just give you one recipe for the weekend though!

 We asked on our Facebook page which recipe you wanted and feedback told us you deserved both! :)

So get your grocery list ready, because we're going hands on today!

Here are our recipes for Stuffed Border Burgers and S'mores hand pies!

Stuffed Border Burgers

They're ooey, they're gooey, they're delicious!

Shopping List:

1 lb of ground hamburger per 4 people

Romaine lettuce

Flour tortillas

Sour cream

Santa Maria BBQ Rub 

Velata Fiesta Queso Cheese 

1 can of Rotel tomatoes and green chiles- heat level of your choosing. We chose mild for our kiddos.

Kitchen Needs:

Small bowl

Medium bowl

Raclette

Spoon

Spatula

First, get that raclette warming. Turn it on high and then start prepping your burgers.

In your medium bowl, combine your hamburger meat with 2 tbls of your Santa Maria BBQ rub.

 Now, we know it says BBQ, but here in the south, it's a straight up delish taco seasoning. Maybe because we like our BBQ a bit on the sweet side, who knows. But I digress....

Once well combined, grab a small handful and a thin patty in your hand. Remember, these will be stuffed, so you'll be adding a second layer of burger on top. Don't feel like you're being stingy with the meat. It will come together.

Grab a spoonful of your Fiesta Queso and place it into the center of the burger, pressing it out so it's at least half an inch from the edges. Forming another thin patty of meat, place over the cheese and seal the 2 patties  by pinching the meat together. Place on a plate to rest while you put together the rest of your burgers.

Now it's time to throw those bad boys on the raclette while you prep the rest of your ingredients. Big tip here: DON'T PRESS YOUR BURGERS WITH A SPATULA! Big grilling no no. Unless you want dry burgers, keep your hands off and let them work their magic. Flip them over one time to finish and you'll be good as cheesy goodness gold.

Once you've flipped your burgers, go ahead and start throwing your tortillas on the griddle side to warm through. Warm tortillas are the best!

While burgers and tortillas are doing their thing, grab your small bowl and mix 1/2 cup of sour cream with a tbls. of your Santa Maria BBQ rub. (P.S. this little mixture right here would make for a killer addition to a 7 layer dip! Just sayin')

Now, it's time to start assembly.

Grab your warm tortillas and spread a little extra Fiesta Queso love on one side. Why? Um, cause it's cheese.

Top with some fresh romaine and a spoonful for your Rotel tomatoes.

On the other tortilla, spread a generous spoonful of your now amped up sour cream. Throw the burger on and then put together. That is it! Yep, I know, another super delish recipe that was so easy you just can't believe it, right? ;)

The best part? This right here folks....

It is juicy. It is messy. It is rated 5 napkin worthy! The hubs loved it and so did the kids. In fact, the one who's deeming herself as picky all of the sudden, was heartbroken when I told her I didn't make enough for seconds. Lesson learned!

Imagine the possibilities if you took this basic recipe and switched it up with our other rubs or cheeses?

If you try something new, be sure and tell us about it!

And now...to dessert!

This dessert would be a great one to let the kids in on. It's simple and safe outside of placing and removing from the oven.

S'Mores Hand Pies

Shopping List::

Premade Refrigerated pie dough

Marshmallows (small will work best)

Velata Chocolate disks (we used milk, but any would be delish!)

1 egg, beaten

Cinnamon

Sugar

Kitchen Needs:

Round cookie cutter

Cutting Mat

Pastry brush

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Unroll pie crust and using your round cookie cutter, cut out as many circles as it will allow. If you need to, combine the scraps, re roll out and cut more. Don't let any go to waste.

Place 3-4 marshmallows on one of your dough circles. In our pics here, you'll see we used a large marshmallow and cut it in half. It's what we had so it's what we used. :)

Next, grab a chunk of your favorite Velata chocolate and place it on top. 

Place another dough round on top and use a fork to crimp the edges together. If you got a little marshmallow or chocolate crazy (I wouldn't blame you), you may need to stretch the dough in your hands first to make sure it will fit. 

Take your beaten egg and using your pastry brush, coat the entire top of your pie. Then, sprinkle with a little sugar and cinnamon. This part is what is replacing the graham cracker part of a typical s'more.

Place in your oven and back until crust is golden brown. Remove and let cool for just a couple of minutes.

Now, once you crack open these babies, you'll notice your marshmallows have all but disappeared. No worries though! They've just blown up and melted away into this stringy, caramelized goo that's coated the inside of your pie.

What we loved about these hand pies was that not only were they easy, but they were light. This is why we feel like they are the perfect dessert to follow those monster Stuffed Border Burgers.

"Wait? Where's the picture of the inside? Of you eating them? I don't understand?"

Um...yeah....about that....

HAPPY EATING!!!!!!!!!!!

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1 Minute Molten Lava Cake Recipe

Abby & Kate show you how to make super yummy 1 minute Molten Lava Cakes with your Velata fondue warmer dish.

These 2 girls love being in the kitchen, and apparently, also in front of the camera. :)
Click on the recipe link below to watch their video. Includes ingredient list and instructions (and some silly along the way)

1 Minute Molten Lava Cakes

"I can't have a blueberry for a daughter..."

Oh good ole' Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Classic, right? 

While we all know that you can't ACTUALLY turn into a blueberry by eating the delicious little fruits, I'm pretty sure my daughters are trying their hardest this week! Blueberry season is here!

As the end of summer winds down and I try to squeeze all the fun in that I can, I find myself trying to do so in the kitchen. I've let them both help out over the last couple of days and have more of a say as to what's cooking.

After a late wake up this morning, I asked them what they'd like to have for breakfast and the consensus was pancakes! I didn't want to make any ole' every day pancakes though. I wanted something special.

Remembering we'd picked up a quart of blueberries from the store this week, I knew just what kind of special pancakes we were going to whip up and exactly what was going on top.

So today, I'd love to share with your our recipe for Blueberry Sour Cream Pancakes with Fresh Blueberry Sauce. (Don't let the sour cream part scare you. It makes for quite the divine pancake!)

As with any of our recipes, they may sound fancy pants, but I promise, they're easy enough for any kind of cook! 

Blueberry Sour Cream Pancakes with Fresh Blueberry Sauce

Kitchen Needs:

2 mixing bowls

Fork or whisk

Small saucepan

Raclette, turned on and preheating at high

Fresh Blueberry Sauce:

Shopping List- 

 1 cup of blueberries

1/4 cup of sugar

2 Tbls. of water

2 teas. of cornstarch

1 teas. of lemon

In a bowl, combine lemon juice and cornstarch and set aside.

In a small saucepan, combine berries, water and sugar and bring to a boil. 

Add lemon juice mixture, stir well and let boil for another couple of minutes.

Take off heat and set aside while you make the pancakes.

Blueberry Sour Cream Pancakes:

Shopping List- 

1 cup of blueberries 

1 cup milk

3/4 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

To begin, in a bowl, combine all your dry ingredients and mix well to break up any clumps.

In another bowl, combine your wet ingredients well.

Once well combined, pour your dry ingredient mixture into your wet ingredients and gently stir together until it comes together. Don't get crazy here. Over mixing will make for not as yummy pancakes. Be gentle and make sure all the flour is broken up and wet. 

Once that's done, toss the berries in and again, gently mix well until they're evenly distributed.

"Wait! Is that it?"

 Um...yes. What were you expecting? To have to milk a cow or find Madagascar vanilla beans from a specialty store? I told you this one was easy! 

Now it's time to make some pancakes!

Using an ice cream scoop, pour a scoopful onto the griddle side of your preheated raclette. If you don't have a raclette, well, you need to get one. While you wait for it to get to you, you can use a skillet or non stick pan.

Once you start seeing small bubbles on top of the pancake, it's time to flip. 

This recipe will yield 12 fluffy, berry filled pockets of delight, err, I mean pancakes. 

If you wanted to go all crazy like, you could top these bad boys with a drizzle of white chocolate! Go big or go home right?

Happy Eating!

It's. Just. That. Good.

Turning Your Minutes Into Memories

This last weekend, in celebration of my Mother In-Laws birthday, I decided to make everyone dinner and dessert. It's so much easier, and cheaper, than taking every one out, plus you always end up having the whole discussion about where we should go that would make everyone happy. Good times.

What I settled on is one of those recipes that has become a 'go to'. You know the ones I'm talking about, right? The recipes that you're pretty sure you have all the ingredients to and seem to please the masses. This is one of those dishes. Even better...I get to use the Crock Pot. (insert angelic singing here)

It's summer time in Oklahoma which means it's HOT! Not only that, but our electricity rate is almost tripled in the evenings, so using the stove is out of the question x2. This means the crock pot gets it's time on the field.

What I possibly love most about this dish is that it takes few ingredients and then morphs them into a huge pot of awesomeness. If you're a family on a budget, have a large family to feed or working on weekly meal plans where you can eat now and freeze half for later, this will be one to hang on to. Prep is impossibly simple and a it makes a little go a very long way. 

It also happens to incorporate one of my favorite spice rubs. I've tried the recipe with and without it and the with is 10x better with than without. 

When I served it at the aforementioned birthday dinner, it was a hit! It fed 3 kiddos and 6 adults. A few of us had seconds and maybe thirds (what? Don't judge me). Once all was said and done, we had enough to bring home and the 4 of us to have again for dinner the next night. Yes. It's just that good. 

All that being said, are you ready for me to quit talking and get to the good stuff? Of course you are. :)

So let's do this! Here is my recipe for the slammin' crock pot cream cheese chicken. Happy eating!

Darn Good Crock Pot Cream Cheese Chicken

(A Mexican themed meal)

For the Crock Pot:

3 Frozen chicken breasts (not thawed)

1 jar of your favorite salsa (we like Pace Chunky)

3-4 Tbls. of Velata Santa Maria BBQ Artisan Rub

1 block of cream cheese, softened

2 cups of Minute Rice

1 can of black beans, drained

To serve on the side:

Sour cream

Velata Fiesta Queso or Shredded Cheddar

Fresh Cilantro

Lime wedges

Tortilla shells or Tortilla chips for shoveling this goodness

into your mouth. :) 

Prep:

Place frozen chicken breasts into your crock pot and pour jarred salsa on the top, covering the chicken.

Place lid on and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4.

(Psst....that's all you have to do until you're 30 minutes from being ready to serve! I know, right?)

30 minutes to meal time:

Remove lid and pull out your chicken. On a cutting mat , shred your chicken using 2 forks.

Place the chicken back into the Crock Pot. Add Minute Rice and beans an stir well.

After 10 minutes, add softened cream cheese and stir.

 It will melt much easier at this point if you cube it before you throw it in.

When it's time to serve, use tongs or a slotted spoon to mix your dish well making sure the cream cheese gets Incorporated thoroughly.

Now stop.

Yes, Stop. 

At this point, this magical mixture of goodness will NOT look pretty. It will look like the hot mess that it is. 

But it will be a tasty hot mess. I promise! Don't be hard on yourself. You've done nothing wrong. It's all good!

Time to serve:

Above I shared the things we like to top this chicken recipe with when we eat it.  We will sometimes eat it on  chips, like nachos, or inside warm flour tortillas as soft tacos.

Let's be honest though, it really won't matter what you put it on, it will be good.

I know this sounds like a lot of hub bub over a crazy simple recipe, but it's well deserved.

I'm excited to see you all try it in your own kitchen and let me know what you think!

Be sure to leave your comments below or come visit us on our Facebook Page for more recipes, kitchen tips and fun!

Happy Eating!

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