For those of you who have procrastinated for Valentine’s Day and are not sure what to give as a gift….I have a solution! My DH HATES and I mean HATES Valentine’s but he plays into the whole holiday for me….even though I truly don’t care for it. But I love the holiday only because he proposed on this day 9 years ago and not over dessert but in the desert! Yup, in the desert, in front of a Jeep, at the base of the Sandia Mountains over looking the twinkling lights of the city. So to celebrate I made some easy do-it-yourself (DIY) chocolate covered strawberries at home.
He did this just when I thought that the whole night was over and he was never going to propose. I was wrong. THERE! I said it…..I was wrong. He will be so pleased. Anyway, off on a tangent, back to the gift idea. FOOD! Yes, food is the best gift when you can’t afford to go out and spend a fortune and you can’t spend a fortune to get a unique gift so here is the gift idea….ready for it………
Chocolate covered fruit! Strawberries always come to mind, but hey, oranges are great, blueberries, bananas, just about any dang fruit out there is FABULOUS in chocolate! So here is you pantry list:
- Fruit: Strawberries, bananas, anything listed above
- Chocolate chips or Hershey Kisses
- Toothpicks
- Wax paper
- Cookie sheet or 13X9 baking pan
1. Pour 6 ounces (3/4 cup) chocolate chips or kisses into a microwave safe bowl and melt for 1 minute on HIGH. Stir, and reheat if consistency is still chunky.
2. While chocolate is melting, prick all your fruit with toothpicks. This makes dipping and placing a breeze and cleanup is a snap! Line sheet/pan with wax paper.
3. Start dipping fruit and place carefully on sheet/pan.
*If you want to get creative use a couple different chocolates like semi-sweet and white for fancy designs or different flavors like the picture posted below.
4. Place fruit into fridge for 2-4 hours for chilling and setup (overnight preferred) and VOILA! You have now created a loving gift of food for your Honey Bunny without breaking the bank and who doesn’t just love chocolate on Valentine’s and chocolate covered fruit to boot!
For more last minute foodie ideas that won’t break your bank or require an extra trip to the store feel free to email me at karie@thefivefish.com and I would be more than happy to provide some fantastic recipe ideas. Bet you didn’t have any idea I was a chef!
now I’m hungry. dammit.