The Aqua Owl

I made these sweet little treats for my Cooking Club this past week.  My girlfriend, Debra had a small family emergency and we stayed home. I was stuck with 14 of these lovely chocolates... I pawned 6 off on Debra, I ate one, Trey ate several, and we have 3 left... Anyone want them?  Today?!  :-) The cups took me several tries to perfect. I bought the mold at Michael's. The candy chips were also from there. You had to get just the right amount of chocolate into each little mold cup. The chocolate decorative toppers, also from Michael's, were a cinch! The mousse recipe: 3 cups whipping cream 1 1/2 cups Nutella 4 Tbs. coffee 1-2 Tbs. Kahlua 1 pint raspberries for decoration First bowl: Whipping cream, hand blender, 6-7 minutes on medium, stiff peaks form Second bowl: Nutella, warm coffee, Kahlua...mix together Fold the whipped cream into the Nutella mixture until a rich mousse is formed. You end up with a beautiful mousse. I piped mine into each chocolate cup and smo...

I love my job. Being a stay at home Mom is beyond wonderful. I don't feel that way all day, every day. I would say I actually feel blessed in intervals of 30 minutes a day right now. It's hard, it's stressful, it's aggravating and exhausting... but I am raising my two beautiful babies, and for that I am very lucky!! The down side is: no vacation pay, no sick days, little adult interaction. The upside: mornings in my jammies (sometimes whole days in my jammies!), singing songs, creating masterpieces with markers, cooking, playing, snuggling, hearing "I love you" all day long, having great lunch time conversations, watching them grow - mentally, physically, emotionally.   And, making fantastic memories! Leighton and I took over the kitchen for a few minutes this morning. We made Giada's Mixed Berry Jam. 1lb of strawberries (cleaned, greens cut off and quartered) 1 pint of rinsed blueberries 5 raspberries (because that's all we had left, lol!) Fresh squ...