Homemade Valentine's Day chocolate

As you may have figured out by now, we do like to eat healthy.  So I am always on the lookout for fun, healthy, yummy snacks and treats for our family.  I learned about making some awesome healthy chocolate a couple years ago, so now it has become tradition for me to make some for Valentine's Day.

All it takes is 3 simple ingredients.  Cocoa, coconut oil, and honey (or your choice of healthy sweetener).

1 cup cocoa powder, 3/4 cup honey, 1/2 cup solid coconut oil, and 1/2 cup melted coconut oil.  Pulse until just blended, if you over mix it may separate.

Pour into a mold, or a wax paper lined pan and place in refrigerator until solid.

Be sure to taste it for quality control. :)

This chocolate needs to stay refrigerated due to the coconut oil.  But it is SO tasty!!!

My littlest Valentine. :)

Rachael Ray weekly menu planner- meal one

Baked buffalo chicken with blue cheese salad

8 chicken thighs (about 2 pounds)
1 onion cut into 1/3 inch rings
1/3 cup buffalo sauce, plus more for serving
1 TB olive oil
salt and pepper
4 oz container blue cheese crumbles
6 TB sour cream
2 TB fresh lemon juice
2 cup chopped celery
5 oz bag mixed greens

Preheat oven to 400. In a large bowl combine chicken, onion, 1/3 cup buffalo sauce and olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a foil lined rimmed baking sheet. Bake, stirring the onion and turning the chicken halfway through, until the onion is softened and browned and the chicken is cooked through, about 35 minutes. Meanwhile, in a salad bowl, whisk together the blue cheese, sour cream and lemon juice; season with salt and pepper. Add the celery and mixed greens and toss. Top the salad with the baked chicken and onion. Serve with more buffalo sauce on the side.

This meal was very simple to prepare, and did not take much time or planning ahead to do.  Which is great for a quick dinner in a pinch, especially if you are craving some hot wings but want something a bit healthier.

Rather than bake it in the oven, I decided to cook mine in a skillet on the stove.  It took a little less time to cook that way.

Mixing the blue cheese, sour cream, lemon juice, salt, pepper and celery.

Voila!! The finished meal!!

It was very tasty, we both liked it.  The rating system we are going to use is 5 stars.  One star being the lowest rating, and five stars the highest.  Both Ron and I gave this meal 4 stars.  We would've given it 5 but we felt the blue cheese was a bit overpowering.  It was hard to really taste the other flavors too.  So I think if I use a bit less blue cheese next time, it will be a 5 star meal! :)

Valentine's for the grandparents

Dad, if you are reading this, don't tell mom about.  Let her be surprised. :)

I posted on my Ida & Mae Facebook page the other day asking for ideas for crafts I could do with my kids. One gal posted a link to a blog with a very cute idea using the kids handprints.  So I went and bought some of the washable paints and we did this yesterday.  I did two sets of these, one for each set of grandparents.  I hand wrote messages to them around the kids handprints.  I think they will like them!  I mailed them out today.

What fun crafts do you do with your kids for Valentine's Day?

Following Rachael Ray's menu planner for a week

I am very excited to give this a try!  I've always wanted to do it, and now I am going to!  And I will take photos and blog about the whole experience.  I subscribe to Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine.  I have made several of her recipes and they have all been great.  I just received the March issue last week and I really liked all the recipes that were listed in the weekly menu planner.  So I am going to tear out the shopping list and buy everything I need for it this weekend and start the first meal on Sunday.  Here is the list of meals I will make:

Sunday- baked buffalo chicken with blue cheese salad
Monday- chicken and orzo soup
Tuesday- beef and mushroom tacos with avocado salad
Wednesday- stewed white beans with spinach and bacon
Thursday- orzo risotto with spring greens
Friday- tilapia with bell peppers and parsley-spiked couscous
Saturday- peppers 'n' potatoes beef skillet supper


Yummy!!  I will blog about each meal I make with photos included, and of course the recipe and our reviews of it.

Just as a disclaimer: I am not receiving any compensation from Everyday with Racheal Ray for doing this, I just simply wanted to do it for myself and share it with you all. :)

We have a winner!!!!

The winner is Jamie Noiles!  Who said: My summer color usually ends up being plums.Last year thats all I had really.This year I am going to try yellow.


Congratulations Jamie!!  Send me an email with your mailing address.  idaandmae@gmail.com

We reached 100 fans on FB! {Time for a giveaway!}

It was hard for me to decide which piece to giveaway.  I usually do rings or earrings, but this time I decided to splurge a bit and giveaway a vintage recycled necklace!  Yes, I am!  This necklace is more of a choker length, it is 13 inches at the shortest setting, and 16 inches as the longest setting.  The necklace is vintage costume jewelry and I added a rosette to it.

So here is how you can enter to win it!  First, you MUST be a Facebook fan of Ida & Mae, so if you aren't yet, go ahead and "like" my page!  Then come on back and enter to win. :)

Now that you are a Facebook fan, all you have to do is leave a comment answering this question: what color do you have the most of in your summer wardrobe?

One entry per person.  I will draw a winner on Monday, February 7th.  Have fun!

Me wearing the necklace at The Strawberry Patch fall barn sale.

Come check out Frostings blog! {I'm doing a featured giveaway!}

If you like hand stamped jewelry, you will love Natasha's work!  I've seen her at a couple craft shows here in Tennessee.  I picked up her business card and found her blog and Facebook page.  And today I am featured on her blog along with a giveaway!  So come on over and check it out and be sure to enter to win!


One of Natasha's beautiful pieces.