t o m a t o e s & t e q u i l a

As you may know, the hubby and I live in Colorado - north of Colorado Springs and south of Denver in a very small town called Monument. The hubby is originally from this area but I am a transplant from Northern California which I miss more than words can say.

I find that one way of dealing with a bad case of home-sickness is to get out and appreciate the beautiful and wonderful things of one's new home. In that spirit, the hubby and I headed down to Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs yesterday to enjoy some unseasonably warm weather and gorgeous views.



I have been to Garden of the Gods several times, but wanted to take some pictures this time to share them with all of you. Essentially, Garden of the Gods is an incredible geological site of vibrantly red sandstone that has been pushed up and now sites completely vertical. The park is pretty large and it is difficult to capture the uniqueness of this site as well as the range of rocks in it with photographs - there is no substitute for the real thing. Nonetheless, these photos are my amateur attempt at capturing something truly beautiful and I hope you enjoy them.

In a mixer, cream butter, cream cheese and vanilla. (I did not use the butter - I don't think you need it. I just add milk one tablespoon at a time until I get the thickness I want)Gradually add sugar and mix until smooth.

Last weekend the hubby and I hosted a Super Bowl party. I found these adorable little footballs on Bakerella.com, a great baking blog that I frequently visit. These are so easy and surprisingly delicious - they were a huge hit at our party. These truffles are super versatile and can be done in all sorts of versions - Bakerella does many variations such as round truffles dipping in white or vanilla chocolate, mint, or shaped like these footballs.

OREO TRUFFLE RECIPE
(bakerella.com)

1 package oreo cookies (divided… use cookie including the cream center)
1 8oz. package cream cheese (softened)
chocolate bark

Finely crush 7 cookies in a food processor or place them in a ziploc bag and crush into a fine consistency. Reserve for later.

Crush remaining cookies and stir in softened cream cheese. Use the back of a large spoon to help mash the two together.

Roll the mixture into 1″ balls (or in this case, form into little footballs about 1 to 1.5 inches long) and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet. (At this point, I put them in the fridge just the help them harden)

Melt chocolate as directed on the package and then dip balls into chocolate, tap off extra and set aside on wax paper covered cookie sheet to dry. You can sprinkle the tops with the 7 crushed cookies for decoration - though I didn't do this part, I just ground up all the Oreos

I made a simple icing of powdered sugar and milk and piped on the football laces. You could really create any design you like and any shape truffle you like.

Refrigerate for about 30 minutes before serving.

Makes about 36 truffles.