Oh gosh.  Have you had these before?  If not, get to your kitchen asap and make them!  3 ingredients and some time are all it takes. 

They make a good gift- for the ones you love, maybe, on this Valentine's Day?  If you're boycotting Valentine's, show yourself some love and make them anyway.  I make these most every year for Christmas for the past 8 years, and they're always a hit.


Oreo Truffles are so easy and are no-bake, so they're pretty quick.  One batch makes about 4-5 dozen truffles, depending on the size you want them.  I like mine a little smaller (they're rich) and ended up with somewhere around 60 truffles.  If you have kids around, recruit them to roll the dough into little balls.  I am sure they'll love it. 



Oreo Truffles

1 package Oreos (approx 36 cookies)
1 block cream cheese, softened
1 bag chocolate chips or about 10-16 oz chocolate almond bark

In a food processor, chop up the Oreos in batches, until you have fine crumbs.  Mix together the Oreo crumbs and the cream cheese until smooth and combined, and you have a thick, dark paste. 

Roll the dough or paste into 1" balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper or parchment paper.  For best results, place in refrigerator for approx 30 minutes to firm up. 

Meanwhile, melt chocolate over a double boiler or in microwave, stirring occasionally. 

Dip balls in chocolate until covered and return to cookie sheet to cool.  Eat and enjoy!

For Christmas, Drew surprised me with a trip to Savannah, GA and a stay at the Forsyth Park Inn.  We took this trip a few weeks ago and had a wonderful time!   The Forsyth Park Inn is a bed and breakfast, and their owner made some wonderful breakfast treats each morning.  Among them was this granola- soft, lightly sweetened, and a variety of textures and flavors.  I've already made two batches and we're devouring the granola like it's the only thing in the house.  I think I like it better than my previous stand-by recipe, which contains more sweetener and less salt.  I have actually tweaked the recipe a bit, and am posting my version below.

The Lovely Forsyth Park Inn

Forsyth Park Inn Granola
the adapted version

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup flaked coconut
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Place oven rack in center position and preheat oven to 375.  Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.  If using foil, lightly oil.

Toss together oats, nuts, coconut, and salt in a large bowl.  Whisk together oil and honey and stir into oat mixture until well coated.  Spread mixture in pan and bake, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes.  Stir in cranberries and cool completely on a wire rack.

Makes approx 5 cups.

Notes

• The original recipe was doubled and made 10 cups.  There is no way I could store all that at one time, so I halved the recipe.  
• The original recipe called for 2.5 cups (1/2 lb) sliced almonds.  Halved, that'd be 1 1/4 cups.  I instead decreased it even further to be able to add walnuts, which I am pretty sure was included in the granola I ate.  
• The original recipe also calls for 1 cup each raisins and cranberries.  I omitted the raisins altogether and just kept the halved amount of cranberries.  This would also be great with any other dried fruit.  

I am a real nerd, as evidenced by the fact that I got really excited when I saw Molly Wizenberg's book in Ollie's for something like $3.99.  I immediately snatched it up and held it close to me like a child clutching a favorite toy in a crowded room.  I was able to make my first recipe from its collection last week, and it's a good, solid soup to add to your own recipe rotation.  It's all vegetable and greens, so there's a lot of healthiness packed into the soup pot.  The soup takes a while to make, but is easy to prepare and pretty economical.  I topped it with some homemade croutons and served with a little more toasted bread, and also topped with some parmesan cheese and olive oil, as Molly suggested.

I noticed that between Orangette's blog site and the book, the recipe has changed slightly.  I made a half recipe of what was found in the book, which is found below.  I will link to the actual Orangette site so you can compare.

Ed Fretwell Soup (Italian Greens Soup)
from Molly Wizenberg, aka Orangette

1/2 pound of dried white beans - such as cannellini (approx 2-3 cans)
2 large clove of garlic - peeled and smashed
3 fresh sage leaves
Water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onions - finely chopped
2 stalks celery - finely chopped
4 medium carrots - sliced into thin rounds
1 medium zucchini - trimmed, halved lengthwise, sliced into 1/4-inch thick half-moons
2 cups chicken broth
Approx 6 oz Swiss Chard - stocks discarded and leaves coarsely chopped
Approx 6 oz green cabbage - trimmed and coarsely chopped
1 14-ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes, drained and chopped
1/2 tablespoon sea salt
Finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano


Sort through and rinse beans.  Place in a bowl, cover with an inch and a half of water and let soak 6 hours or overnight.

Place beans in a Dutch oven and cover with cold water. Add garlic and sage, then bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about two hours. Add more water so that there is always at least an inch over the beans.  Remove the garlic and sage leaves prior to adding the beans and their cooking liquid to the rest of the soup.

Meanwhile, heat oven over medium heat in a large (at least 8 quarts) pot. Add onions, carrots, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 15 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer for about 1 hour. It won’t look like there is enough liquid at first, the greens and vegetables give off more liquid as they cook. After about an hour, add the beans and any liquid. Simmer another 30 – 60 minutes. Add salt to taste, and serve.

Notes

• I made this in stages because of my schedule.  I soaked the beans and prepared them, and on a separate day made the soup.  
• Cannellini beans are also known as white kidney beans.  If you can't find those, sub in Great Northern or Navy beans.  
• If you use canned beans, make sure you drain and rinse them.  You'll also need to add more water to the soup

1I love the Superbowl, but sadly it's more for the parties and food than it is for the actual game.  You'll always find me in the kitchen hovering around the food table rather than hunkered down in front of the tv.  I'm still narrowing down what I will be taking to the party I've been invited to (thanks, Davis's!), but below are some previous posts that would make some good Superbowl party choices:

Chex Mix Original Recipe- great for snacking in front of the TV, and a real upgrade from any pre-packaged snack mix.







Pizza Inn Chocolate Chip Pizza- nice, handheld dessert-y decadence








Baked Jalapeno Poppers- Individual serving sizes, and a tastier, lightened up version of the original.  Yes, Please!









PW's Restaurant-Style Salsa- It'll make around a half a gallon, and I wouldn't be a bit shocked if you still didn't have any left over.










Baked Mozzarella Sticks- Like the poppers, these are lighter but better than the fried original!







Pimento Cheese- Perfect dip/spread, sandwich ingredient, or burger topping. 







Should your party be healthier or you're trying to accommodate specific diets, here may be a couple to try:


Roasted Red Pepper Hummus



Salad Pizza-this was a classic from my childhood, and while not entirely diet food, it's nice and fresh.










Cauliflower Cocktail- so weird because it has the taste and texture of shrimp cocktail, but it's great!







So tell me, do you have an awesome dish that'd be perfect for a Superbowl party?  Post in the comments below- link or recipe is a bonus!  Best of luck to your team and your cooking!