Valentine's Day Twinkies

This year, my husband and I are going cheap on Valentine's Day. He just started a new job taking a pay cut so we didn't want to spend a lot of money on things that we probably don't need. Anyway, I got my husband a 6-pack of a beer he recently tried and really liked (Kentucky Ale) and a bag of shelled peanuts. Just to add a little something extra in there, I decided to make some almond bark covered Twinkies! (Don't worry, I saw this on Pinterest) How good does that sound?

I started out with your average box of Twinkies. (Aren't we all glad they're back?) I shoved a lollipop stick (which I bought at Hobby Lobby) in one end while I kept one finger on the other end making sure that the stick didn't poke through the other end.

Then I melted my almond bark. I always use my double boiler. I used to melt it in the microwave, but when I started doing it this way, I learned it's so much easier. It's VERY hard (nearly impossible) to burn the chocolate and it stays nice and warm and thin. I covered the Twinkies in the almond bark the best I could. Honestly, mine don't look pretty after this step, but as you'll see, that doesn't much matter so I suppose it's pretty hard to mess up.

Then I added a couple pieces of red melting chocolates. I think I added about 10, but the number really does depend on what color you want and how much almond bark you have left. Keep in mind, you can always add more. I made mine a medium pink. Then I drizzled it over the Twinkies.

I added more red melting chocolates to make the color a light red. I then drizzled that over the Twinkies. I added even more red melting chocolates to make a true red and drizzled that over the Twinkies. I decided that was enough, but if you wanted, you could easily start with a really light pink and go to a dark red. To finish them up, I added some pearl sprinkles and red sugar.

I think they turned out pretty good and I really think my husband is going to love them!
Oh! and what did I do with the leftover chocolate you ask? Well, I couldn't let it go to waste so I put a couple handfuls of pretzels on a sheet pan covered with wax paper and separated them to make a single layer. Then, I put the rest of the almond bark in a squeeze bottle and used a fast drizzle method to cover the pretzels. I added some sprinkles and bam! An extra dessert! (This is why diets don't work! Kidding..)

Valentine's Day Breakfast

I'm taking a week off from organizing my house to bring you a special breakfast! My husband and I don't really get a lot of alone time so since my mother-in-law was in town this weekend, we decided to pretend like it was Valentine's Day. We had a great date day (more on that later). For breakfast, we had Red Velvet Pancakes and Heart Bacon.

For the pancakes, my mother-in-law had brought a mix. It even came with it's own glaze. (I added the sprinkles) For the bacon, I just shaped it the best I could and cooked it on the griddle.

This was a great breakfast! and I think it's perfect for Valentine's Day.

Paper Heart Chain

I was online looking for a cheap and easy way to decorate for Valentine's Day when I found this. I looked, but couldn't find the original link (sorry!).

Anyway, it was pretty easy. It only took me about 15-20 minutes.

You Will Need:
scissors
stapler
ruler
8½ x 11-inch paper (I used 3 pieces, but you may want more if you want to make your chain longer)

Steps:
1. Cut your paper like this:

2. Follow the pictures above=Take 2 pieces of paper and staple them together. Bend them down, put 2 more pieces of paper in place and then staple again. Continue until you're out of paper or the chain is as long as you want it.
3. Hang your chain up someplace as a decoration.