{recetas} Crock Pot Hot Cocoa

I've had a couple cans of sweetened condensed milk hanging out in the pantry for quite some time. I never really knew what to do with them, until I realized nobody was bringing dessert for the pot-luck Christmas party I hosted earlier this week.

I've totally gorged on Christmas cookies and treats, and didn't want to make another pie, cake, or cookies. Plus, I don't really know what to use sweetened condensed milk for. So I asked my mom.

Moms really are the best, aren't they? I swear, mine knows everything. And if she doesn't, she makes something up for me and it sure as hell sounds like she knows what she's talking about.

This crock pot recipe is super easy. Like, pour a few things, stir a few times, enjoy. Yep. That easy.

What you need:

• 12 cups of milk (I used skim)
• 2 cans of sweetened condensed milk
• 3 cups of heavy whipping cream
• 1 bag of milk chocolate chips
• 1 bag of mint chocolate chips
• Reddi-whip (or the store brand, doesn't matter)

I did not say that this was a healthy cocoa recipe. It's not even a little bit healthy. Skim milk is low-fat, though. So maybe that kind of cancels out the sweetened condensed milk and the heavy whipping cream?

What you do:

• Pour everything into the crock pot, except the reddi-whip.
• Stir it up, turn it on high for an hour, or low for 2 hours.
• Be sure to stir every so often, so the chocolate chips melt and don't burn to the bottom of the crock pot.
• Ladle it into mugs when it's hot (or just warm, you decide) and top it with the reddi-whip.
• Yum, yum, yum. Throw in a candy cane if you want to get fancy, but it is super minty already.

Community Education: Truffles

I have to admit that I haven't taken a community education class since I was a little kid. There was a least one summer during elementary school that some friends and I took a few art classes at the middle school across town.

This week, I took a trip down memory lane and took my first community education class in ages. My girlfriends and I have a weekly girls' night. Usually, we spend our girls' night at someone's house enjoying dinner, dessert, and wine. We switched things up a little bit this week and headed to a community ed cooking class: Truffle Making.

I have to admit that community education classes are hit or miss. I truly believe it all depends on the instructor. Unfortunately, we had an instructor that talked at us for an hour and fifteen minutes. Out of a three hour class. She would ask us questions, but that answer them before we were even given a chance!

While I thought the instructor was less than par (and I may be a little picky as I am a teacher), the class was still a hit.

And I got to bring home a box of 20 truffles!

First things first, we mixed chocolate and butter to create the base of our truffles. We then were given the opportunity to add some different flavors: tangerine, caramel, peanut butter. The list goes on.

Then, we learned all about "dressing" the truffles. We rolled our truffles in powdered chocolate, and crushed shortbread cookies. There were toffee pieces and chocolate sprinkles. Toasted coconut flakes and chopped almonds. The possibilities were endless.

And then! We got to dip our undressed truffles in melted chocolate and add some toppings after the fact. I got a little crazy and made a flower.

We laughed, and we created some delicious treats (that I don't plan on sharing). We took a risk and changed our normal routine. While some people struggle with changing their typical routines (me, too), I'm glad we did something different. The change of pace brought up conversations we may not have had sitting in someone's living room.

Go out on a limb, try something new. You just may have some fun.

And if you don't you might end up with yummy treats, and who doesn't like that!?