If you want to give something a little out of the ordinary (and I can think of a few brothers-in-law who wouldn’t even think twice about it), you could try your hand at some chocolate covered bacon, which, truth be told, is actually quite delicious. If you’re packaging it up, make sure you put parchment paper between the layers so the chocolate doesn’t all stick together.

There’s also always the old standby of chocolate covered strawberries, though these might do best as something to serve at a party as opposed to packaging up for gift giving.

And who says the whole chocolate covered treat had to be edible? Try these chocolate dipped spoons for a great and easy stir-in for coffee or hot chocolate — the chocolate melts into the hot liquid with no muss, no fuss, and they’re great for gift giving with a tin of hot chocolate and some cute mugs.

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

There are many variations of the trifle, with no one being “the only way” to do it. Traditionally they’ve been made with sponge cake, pudding or custard, and fruit, though more contemporary trifles also contain gelatin, liquor and whipped cream.

One of the more modern methods of creating a trifle uses the convenience of prepackaged cake mixes and whipped topping. If you don’t have a lot of time but still want to “wow” your guests or family, try this easy version of a chocolate trifle the next time you’ve got a dessert assignment:

Easy Chocolate Trifle
from cooks.com

1 pkg. chocolate cake mix
1/2 c. strawberry preserves
1 c. sliced strawberries
1 (4 oz.) container Cool Whip
1 (3.5 oz.) pkg. chocolate instant pudding

~ Heat oven to 350 degrees.

~ Grease and flour rectangular pan, 13 x 9 inch. Bake and cool cake. Cut into halves. Freeze half for future use.

~ Cut remaining cake half into 1 inch pieces. Arrange half in 3 quart glass serving bowl.

~ Spoon 1/4 cup preserves over pieces; sprinkle with 1/2 cup strawberries. Spread with 1 cup whipped topping.

~ Repeat with remaining cake pieces, preserves, strawberries, and whipped topping.

~ Refrigerate until chilled. Prepare pudding. Spread over trifle. Refrigerate 4 hours. Serve cold.

[image: flickr]

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

PerfectSmoothie.com has a lot of great tips for making, well, a perfect smoothie! Their four vital tips to make a smoothie are to use frozen ingredients, choose “super foods,” use a high end blender, and make it healthy. They also offer information on the health benefits of having a smoothie every day.

Chocolate Strawberry Banana Smoothie
from PerfectSmoothie.com

Add contents to blender jar in the following order:

2 cups of soy milk (or dairy milk)
1 whole scoop of chocolate protein powder (1/4 cup)
1 banana (preferably frozen)
1/2 cup of chocolate syrup
6 strawberries (preferably frozen)
4 cubes of ice

~ Blend until perfect consistency is achieved.

~ As an alternative to the chocolate syrup you can use any type of chocolate ice cream, sorbet, pudding, or non fat yogurt.

[image: flickr]

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

In the video above, she shows how she makes chocolate bark, or chocolate slabs, that can be used for desserts or just served on their own.

She starts out by melting chocolate over a double boiler on the stove before pouring the chocolate over some plastic wrap on a sheet pan. I’ve never poured melted anything on plastic wrap but apparently it holds up pretty well against the heat!

She then sprinkles some chopped nuts and dried cranberries over top before drizzling melted white chocolate over it all. It looks really pretty and would go great as a gift for friends or as a fancy dessert.

She uses up the leftover melted chocolate by dipping washed and dried strawberries in it and drizzles the berries with more melted white chocolate.

She finishes up the segment by cutting up the chocolate bark with some round cookie cutters and sandwiching some chocolate mousse between the rounds. For such a quick process it really ends up being a beautiful dessert!

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

During the summer months I try to avoid dessert recipes that require turning the oven on, but I make an exception for this one! We like ours topped with strawberries and peaches.

Chocolate Pizza Pie

3/4 c. butter or margarine
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 1/2 c. flour

FILLING:
10 oz. chocolate chips
1/4 c. whipping cream
8 oz. cream cheese
GLAZE:

1/4 c. sugar
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 c. pineapple juice
1/2 tsp. lemon juice

Mix butter, sugar and flour and press in pizza pan. Bake at 300 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Melt chocolate chips and whipping cream in microwave, then beat cream cheese into the mixture and spread on top of crust. Place cut up fruit on top (strawberries, peaches, grapes, etc.) Mix sugar, cornstarch, pineapple juice and lemon juice and drizzle on top.

[image: flickr]

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

Yes, chocolate for breakfast – and it’s actually good for you!

I had the opportunity to try some Antioxidant Indulgence cereal recently and am very happy to report that it was delicious! Because of its health factor I was expecting it to be vitamin-y or at the very least bland, but the crunchy whole grain flakes perfectly carried the dark chocolate flavor, and the real strawberries and Goji berries had the usual condensed, sweet flavor of dried fruits. The kids even loved it!

Like I said, the cereal is made with dark chocolate, strawberries and Goji berries which are all touted as great sources of antioxidants, which provide a boost to the body’s immune system and help neutralize free-radicals. It’s also low-fat and high in fiber (6 grams per serving) and is made with all-natural ingredients, providing 16 grams of whole grains per serving and is a natural source of vitamin C, niacin, iron, magnesium and selenium.

It’s one of three new cereals in the Natural Living line, which also include Omega-3 Harmony and Artisan Inspiration.

Each 10 oz box is about $4 and can be found at most grocery stores, including Whole Foods, Vons, Safeway, Albertsons, Ralph’s, Wegman’s, and Publix.

[image used with permission from Organic Milling]

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

This is a fast and easy treat to make for a Fourth of July picnic or barbecue. An added bonus is that you can get the kids to do it and keep them occupied while you finish preparing the rest of the meal!

All you need are some cleaned, fresh strawberries, blueberries and white chocolate (or substitute vanilla chips if you don’t like white chocolate). Melt the white chocolate in the microwave in one minute increments. Make sure the strawberries are completely dry and lay them on wax or parchment paper.

Either dip the strawberries halfway into the white chocolate (you still want to be able to see the berry!) or, after it’s cooled a bit, put the white chocolate into a piping bag or a plastic baggie with a corner snipped off and pipe in lines over the strawberries. Let the the berries sit on the paper until the chocolate is completely set and then arrange on a plate or platter. Sprinkle the blueberries into and around the dipped strawberries and enjoy!

[image: sxc]

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

My favorite month of the year! Ok, not really – but any month that you get to celebrate with candy is a good one.

Emily’s Chocolates, which I’ve written about before, are also celebrating candy month and the start of summer with their yummy dark chocolate-covered berries – strawberry, blueberry, and cherry.

The strawberries – my favorite – are especially sweet and we all know how perfect strawberries and chocolate are together!

[image used with permission from Emily's Chocolates]

Post from: Chocolate Bytes