Milk Chocolate Truffles

This recipe is from ehow.com...just in time for Valentine's Day...

3 1/2 tablespoons salted butter

1/4 cup confectioner's sugar

2 egg yolks

1/3 cup heavy cream

12 oz. milk chocolate

Melon baller or small ice cream scoop

Additional confectioner's sugar (optional)

Cocoa powder

Soften the butter by bringing it to room temperature or heating it for a few seconds in the microwave. Add ¼ cup confectioner's sugar and mix it together until creamy. Add the egg yolks and beat until it's thoroughly mixed.

Chop the chocolate into small pieces and mix it into the butter, egg yolk, and sugar mixture.

Bring the cream just to a boil over medium heat in a small saucepan. Stir constantly while you heat the cream to prevent burning.

Pour the boiling cream over the pre-mixed ingredients and stir thoroughly until the chocolate is completely melted.

Place the mixture into the refrigerator to solidify it completely. This will take about 2 hours. Chill the melon baller or ice cream scoop in the freezer while you wait.

Put about a cup of mixed cocoa powder and confectioner's sugar in a bowl. For a fairly sweet coating, use a 1:1 ratio of cocoa and sugar. If you want the traditional bittersweet coating, use straight cocoa powder. Adjust this to suit your taste.

Use the chilled melon baller or ice cream scoop to make balls of the chocolate filling, and roll in the cocoa and confectioner's sugar mixture. You can put the bowl of filling inside a larger bowl of ice to keep it chilled while you work. If it becomes too soft and sticky, return it to the refrigerator for 15 minutes before continuing.

• Store your truffles in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
• You can use any kind of milk chocolate, but baking chocolate is the highest-quality milk chocolate readily available. Milk chocolate chips or (plain) milk chocolate candy bars also work well. If the truffles are too sweet, you can reduce or eliminate the confectioner's sugar or use semi-sweet chocolate instead.
• To make flavored truffles, add 1 teaspoon flavoring extract or 1 tbsp. flavored liqueur to the filling before adding the hot cream. For a Mexican twist on this recipe, add 1 teaspoon cinnamon to the filling before you pour in the hot cream.

Chicken Noodle Soup

This is a family recipe for the magical soup that will cure what ails you!

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

3 carrots, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

8 cups prepared chicken broth (there are low-sodium options)

½ teaspoon black pepper

3-4 cups cooked chicken, chopped

6 oz egg noodles

salt to taste

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and saute until tender, about 5 minutes.

Add the chicken broth and pepper; bring to a boil. Stir in the chicken. Add the noodles. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the noodles are tender, about 10 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Veganaise Cole Slaw

1 cup Veganaise 

1/4 teaspoon celery seed 

2 tablespoons sugar 

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar 

1 teaspoon ground mustard 

16 oz bag preshredded cole slaw

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Add a 16 oz bag of preshredded cole slaw and toss well. Chill to blend the flavors before serving. This cole slaw also makes a great topping for BBQ sandwiches.