Hot Chocolate Truffle Balls

No joke...these things are delicious.  First I'll tell you how to make them...and then we can talk about the endless possibilities!

Get 2 12oz bags of semi sweet chocolate chips
1 pint of heavy whipping cream
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons of sugar if you like it sweeter

Mix it all together and microwave in 1 minute intervals, stirring in between...I think I did 5 minutes
Put it in the fridge for 2-3 hours to firm up
Scoop mounds onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet...I know this seems obvious but make sure it fits in your fridge!
Put in fridge for 30 minutes
Roll into balls and wrap in plastic wrap
Put in freezer until ready to use

That's all!  I'm thinking of doing some variations next time...using the Andes mint chocolate chips or peppermint.  Maybe a bag of one of those and a bag of semi sweet.  Who knows! 

If you want hot chocolate, heat up a mug of milk...2 minutes worked for me, plop a ball in and stir.  Mocha?  Add coffee.  I'm so picky about my mochas and stopped making them at home because I couldn't get it right but these are great!

I also think these would be great dipped in harder chocolate and eaten plain.  Or put in a little plastic treat bag with a cute spoon and a mug as a gift!  The possibilities are endless!

I can't stop eating.

Seriously.  I don't know what to do with my time so I look up recipes and make them.  I used to hate cooking.  I still prefer crock pot meals as I tend to stress out doing multiple steps at once but I have found a few things I can whip up without the 8 hour wait time.  One of course is the chicken cream cheese poppers that I had for about a week straight.  Another variation of these, cooked a bit differently are the chicken jalapeno pinwheel poppers.  I found a basic recipe and changed it and added to it.  While I'm at it, I'm just going to double it as well.  The original batch was gone in an hour...with only 2 of us!  Ok so here's what you need-

2 blocks of cream cheese
6-10 chopped up jalapenos...depending on how much you like them.
2 big boneless skinless chicken breasts cooked and shredded...I cooked mine in jalapeno juice
2 tablespoons of sugar...I know...strange
2 tablespoons of garlic powder...or more or less...whatever
2 tubes of the crescent rolls in the tubes
Mix up all the stuff...except the crescent rolls...duh

Roll out the rolls, split each package in half so you have 4 rectangles and pinch the seams together where it would have split into triangles.

Spread even amounts of your mixture on each rectangle, roll up longways, cut each roll into 16 pinwheels.
Place onto greased cookie sheet.
Cook at 375F for 13 minutes.
Eat until you explode...seriously.


YUM.

Our holiday card

Picture In Landscape 5x7 folded card

Put your photos on your Christmas cards this holiday.

View the entire collection of cards.

Delicious but...

Dinner was amazing last night!  It should have been for all the effort it took!  I'm really going to stick to crock pot meals from now on!  This is what I made.
I was going to even use real crab but it would have been $30 just for the crab instead of the $6 for the fake stuff.
I couldn't find wonton wrappers so I tried the spring roll wrappers.  Didn't work so well.  It still tasted fine but they wouldn't stay together when frying them and exploded.  Because of this I only used half of the stuff and the rest is in the fridge waiting on actual wonton wrappers.
To go with them I wanted Pad Thai noodles with shrimp.  I found this kit.  Score right?  Maybe...but the kit only has 2 ingredients.  You still need to scramble an egg, fry up the shrimp, cut up onions (ok I admit, I skipped those) and then mix the stuff together at different times .  I know it sounds easy to a common cooker but to this girl...not so much!  I guess what matters is that it was DELICIOUS!  I even had leftovers for lunch today! Double yay!

What's in YOUR shower?

Ok, I caved.  With so many of my friends trying the "no poo" thing, I decided to join the cool crowd.I haven't gotten bottles to put the stuff in so I just mix it in the shower but it works.  I'm trying baking soda and water for shampoo and apple cider vinegar for conditioner.  So far so good.  Nothing has worked so far with my dry itchy scalp so hopefully this will!  The only downside is having to smell the vinegar in the shower!  I HATE the smell of vinegar.  Luckily when it dries, it doesn't smell!  I'll let you know how it goes.

Root Beer BBQ pulled pork

Lately, I have been obsessed with my crock pot.  I mostly do chicken stuff, enchilada soup, tortilla soup etc.  I decided to try pulled pork and found an interesting recipe.  Cook the pork in root beer first (or Dr. Pepper or Coke-it holds the flavor so use the soda you like!) Drain the soda, shred the pork (so easy as it will be super tender!) and add BBQ sauce!  Yep...that's it.  Yum!

My new boots!

I finally got to wear my new boots!  I love them.  I don't even remember the last time I owned boots!  My legs are usually too big for them but these are adjustable so they work.....and how wonderful that they have OWLS!!  I went on Sammy's fieldtrip to the pumpkin patch yesterday ,as photographer, not chaperone(smartest decision ever) and it was so nice to just walk and not worry about puddles!  Fun actually!

 

Not so busy days

Being jobless has it's benefits.  No longer am I trying to figure out when to fit various activities into my already jam packed week...now I try to figure out what to do with my spare time!  So far my days have consisted of-

Morning dance parties(because I don't care if I miss the bus...I can drive the kids to school!)
Movies...like Annie! 
Aimlessly wandering around Target...ok that hasn't changed
Volunteering at the school...this week I'm going to wear a sign while trying to raise money.
Fieldtrips...I can finally chaperone!  And by this I mean, tag along but have no responsibility...ahhh the glory of signing up late.

Of course, I still need me time.  I decided to spend this time doing something healthy...like HOT YOGA!  I've always wanted to try it!  Today, while waiting for Karla to be done in the dentist, I signed up for a 10 class trial, and then took a nice long walk...to McDonalds but that's beside the point. 

Another fun benefit is being able to walk by the old workplace and giggle at the tired overwhelmed faces of the employees.  Mean? Maybe.  Do I care? Nope.  I never claimed to be nice.

By the way...I bought myself some cute owl rainboots today!  Just thought you'd like to know.

Have some freaking compassion!

I know I know. I need to get over it. I'm over the losing my job part. Actually quite happy about that part. It will force me to try new things. I am still bitter though about my money! While I did a good job at spending some of my FSA money, I still had $1000 left. $700 of which was already taken from my checks. I thought I had 5 months to spend it. Suddenly I had 2 weeks of which I was working the whole time. You can't even leave me in the system to give me time to use it?! I forgot. Business needs come first. Clearly having me in the system would have made the company crumble right? So now, I'm out that money and I get to pay out of pocket for all of the stuff I had planned on using the FSA for. Compassion goes a long way folks.

Starting new...

I found out yesterday that I'm losing my job.  I've been there for 6.5 years!  They think I'm a great manager, promotable even!  The issue?  I can't close 2 nights a week.  It just doesn't work for my family.  I can do it when needed, and always have figured something out but that's not good enough anymore.  I understand they have expectations.  I get they have a business to run and don't want to bend the rules.  I really get that.  What I don't get is why it has worked for so long to work around this...and not just for me but for other managers as well...and suddenly it's not ok.  How can I be good enough to promote but not good enough to bend the rules to keep?  I know I can find better, something that will give me the income I need and works for my family but right now it's really stressful losing my job and thus my insurance right before Christmas. 

To top it all off, all this stress and being sick for 2 weeks has caused me to get shingles while I'm still fighting off a sinus infection.  I feel like I've been hit by a bus.  I have my alarm set to take meds 7 times a day!  15 total!  I don't even like taking tylenol so this is not fun.  I'm hoping in 7 days I will have nothing wrong with me.  I figure I have one pill going after virus' and one going after bacteria's...it's bound to get everything right? 

Chicken puffs again!

They were so good, I made them again! I have 2 points to make and I'll be done.

A) I am terrified of those pressurized cans! I have a mini heart attack every time they pop.

B) The leftover chicken mix makes an excellent chip dip! Seriously. I'm chowing down now.

And now I'm going to make a drink to make this meal even better. Midori and 7-up? Yes please!

Time to eat!

Last night I tried a recipe that I've been eying for awhile! It was absolutely delicious and the kids couldn't get enough! I don't think there is ever a meal (other than macaroni and cheese or hot dogs) that the whole family loves! Bonus for me (the non cook) it was super easy!
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Champion-Chicken-Puffs
I will admit, I used the wrong stuff (biscuit, not crescent roll) so it looked nothing like the photos but it was great anyways!


And then dessert! Duncan Hines brownie mix, cooked as cookies instead, with frosting between 2...brownie sandwich!

I need a new sewing machine.

Seriously. This dang thing keeps jamming, flipping out and doing just plain nonsense. I'm sure none of it could be operator error so I'm going with need a new one.:) That's all. Exciting aren't I?

I'm going pallet crazy!

How many times have you heard that? Never? I have a new found love of pallets! As soon as my pallets arrive from my supplier (aka step dad) I will be making a couch! We have lived in our house for over a year with no couch. Every time we have the money, we decide something else is a better choice to spend money on...you know like a new X Box. It's not just a money saving thing...holy cow I love all the pallet furniture! I have seen sofas, beds, coffee tables, kitchen islands, shoe racks, book shelves, etc. I love it all!! Call me crazy (and I know you do) but how could you not want this in your house?!
http://www.shelterness.com/diy-sofa-with-built-in-storage-made-of-6-pallets/
Seriously...somebody be excited with me!

Perfect Coffee?

I'm sure you've seen the perfect iced coffee recipe posted all over Facebook from The Pioneer Woman blog. I love iced coffee and I'm on a budget so I thought why not! I wasn't brave enough to use a whole pound...and I didn't have a pot big enough so I went with half. I had a few casualties...like forgetting to close the spigot when I poured the coffee into my drink dispenser, but I did it! I know this shouldn't be a shock...after all its letting coffee sit in water and then pouring it in another container. Not rocket science. I tend to mess coffee up at every chance I get. I decided to read up on the site Ree originally found her recipe from. I'm interested in the physical differences, not just the flavor. I've heard that cold brewed coffee is less acidic and while I don't generally have stomach issues, that can't be a bad thing with the amount of coffee I drink! It's a great article and definitely worth the read!
http://www.imbibemagazine.com/Iced-Coffee-How-To
If you want to head straight to the always entertaining Ree, and skip the coffee knowledge
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/06/perfect-iced-coffee/

As a side note, I use sweetened condensed milk in my hot coffee and it's delicious!

Move on...

That's what I keep telling myself. It's not that I hold grudges...or maybe I do without showing it. In the midst of every angry moment I think to myself, what will be the consequences and am I ok with them. Yes? Carry on with the outburst.:) Sometimes, it's just not worth it. I deal with the anger and hurt and those people never know...usually because they are too self absorbed and clueless to figure it out on their own. Every once in awhile though, it has to come out. It may mean losing a friend...acquaintance maybe...friends aren't lost over small things. Who knows. What I do know is that I let it out to get over it and move on so I tell myself, those are yesterdays feelings. Get over it. Today is a new day and I am happy!

Caramels...part 2

I love homemade soft caramels. More than most things. Yes, I am one of those people that will spend $1 on ONE caramel. Last month, a girl came to work with caramels her mom and her had made. I about died. I told her she had 2 choices-bring me the recipe or make me caramels every week. I was so excited that I looked up a recipe on Google. It turned out as a giant hard caramel rock. The kids enjoyed licking it but not what I had in mind. The next week she brought me a baggie of caramels along with the recipe. I ate all of the caramels and lost the recipe (of course) Luckily I had read it so this time I searched for a similar one...and maybe found a winner!

http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/desserts/classic-soft-caramels/

It is currently cooling in the dish but from what I picked off of the spatula, it is delicious!!! It took 20 minutes! This could be dangerous. As soon as they are cooled I'll let you know if you should run out to the store for ingredients!

Why the name?

2 things you should know about me...although if you're even reading this, you most likely know.

1. I LOVE OWLS. A lot.
2. I've always wanted to learn Swahili. Random, I know. It most likely will do nothing for me in the grand scheme of things but I have always thought it would be so great to know Swahili!

Kulala Bundi is "sleeping owl" in Swahili. I don't know if it's grammatically correct because, again, I don't know Swahili...but it's the words, arranged how I liked them best. I like it. It is very ME. I didn't want a cheesy name, I wanted awesome and heck yes I got it!

Getting started

I want to start posting my crafts I've done, or things I want to do. I keep finding awesome things to make and then I forget where I found it! Or I make something once and lose the directions. Clearly organization is not my strong point. I'd like to say I'm working on it but that would be a lie. Maybe I like the chaotic way my mind works or maybe I just don't have time. At least I'll have one place to search through now.