A couple of years ago, I did a fancy little meal for the hubster for Valentine's Day. You can check it out here. Via this blog post, I'm informing him that the fancy little meal will not be happening this year. We just have too many irons in the fire...my mom had another heart attack Thursday night, my nephew (27 years-old) had a heart attack Friday night, I made a quick trip to Birmingham (flying back and forth), we did not close on the new house on Friday, we've had to reschedule several deliveries and utility services, we have lots of meetings going on with the hubster's business and have got to get some business travel scheduled. He will be lucky if he gets a PB&J with the crusts cut off!
Since I couldn't prepare a special meal for us, I decided to make a quick and easy dessert for Valentine's. Much like Sandra Lee, I'm all about shortcuts and foods being "semi-homemade". Sometimes, it's just the way it is.
I chose these little cream puffs to make because they are easy...and right now, I need easy. I rolled out some store-bought puff pastry...
....cut the sheets into small squares, baked them for the required time and let them cool on a wire rack. I then sprinkled the puffs with powdered sugar...
...and topped them with whipped cream and grated chocolate.
See, easy peasy. They taste very light...you can eat 1, 2 or 10 and not feel guilty! :-)
I made up a few for the blog and saved the rest of the pastries in a baggie to decorate tomorrow evening. I also plan to add some chocolate syrup and just to make it healthy, add a few sliced strawberries.
There is one very important thing I do need to share. When you are grating the chocolate, hold on to the chocolate tightly so that it does not slip...you might accidentally grate your knuckles if your grip slips a little! Now, I'm not saying that's what happened, I'm just saying it COULD happen! ;-)
I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day!
Since I couldn't prepare a special meal for us, I decided to make a quick and easy dessert for Valentine's. Much like Sandra Lee, I'm all about shortcuts and foods being "semi-homemade". Sometimes, it's just the way it is.
I chose these little cream puffs to make because they are easy...and right now, I need easy. I rolled out some store-bought puff pastry...
....cut the sheets into small squares, baked them for the required time and let them cool on a wire rack. I then sprinkled the puffs with powdered sugar...
...and topped them with whipped cream and grated chocolate.
See, easy peasy. They taste very light...you can eat 1, 2 or 10 and not feel guilty! :-)
I made up a few for the blog and saved the rest of the pastries in a baggie to decorate tomorrow evening. I also plan to add some chocolate syrup and just to make it healthy, add a few sliced strawberries.
There is one very important thing I do need to share. When you are grating the chocolate, hold on to the chocolate tightly so that it does not slip...you might accidentally grate your knuckles if your grip slips a little! Now, I'm not saying that's what happened, I'm just saying it COULD happen! ;-)
I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day!
Well, I'm completely impressed that you are making anything at all for Valentine's Day considering everything you have dealt with these past several days! I do hope that your mom and nephew are on the road to healing and won't have any more complications. And I'm definitely glad that you grated that chocolate and were able to keep all of your fingers ;) Hugs to you, dear friend! Happy Valentine's Day!
ReplyDeleteThese were super easy...that's the only reason they were made. Anything else was thrown out the window...LOL. Thank you so much! It's been rough on our family and we are hoping that my mom and nephew recover quickly. They are both very tired, which is understandable. Docs are still trying to find out what happened with my nephew. Yeah, the fingers are intact...LOL Love and hugs to you! Hope you had a great Valentine's Day!
DeleteMy goodness, you've got a lot going on! I'm so sorry about your family's medical issues. If it were me, I wouldn't even be making that. I'd shove a Hershey's bar at him.
ReplyDeleteBrenda
It’s been a crazy weekend and week, that’s for sure! The Hershey’s bar did come to mind…LOL. These little things were super easy and they were as much for me as for him! :-) Thank you so much! We are hoping they get over these issues quickly! Love ya!
DeleteWow, so sorry about your mom and nephew, how frightening! These look amazing, I'd love with the strawberries or maybe raspberries!!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! It has been a rough weekend and week. We were all terrified since both heart attacks were pretty severe. With my nephew being so young, his ordeal has been the most scary!
DeleteThank you...they were good...and yes, the raspberries are a great option also. I think any fruit would be good on these little puffs. Love and hugs!!
Good grief, Benita. I'm so sorry to hear about your mother and nephew! I do hope they are both stable and on the way to recovery. I could take a few lessons in coping skills from you....on several fronts.
ReplyDeleteXO,
Rita
Thank you so much! It’s been rough. They are both stable now and are both back at home. Just trying to figure out what happened with my nephew. My mother has had some heart issues, so they know about hers. Andrew’s is a complete mystery! My coping skills are not as good as they used to be. My youngest son put me through the ringer for about 18 years with many hospital visits and surgeries each year. We haven’t had to do those in a while, so I’m a little rusty! :-) It was a scary time. Thank you again! Love and hugs to you!!
DeleteYou do have a lot going on! I hope everything calms down for all involved and you can get back to some kind of "normal". I think you should go out to dinner and just relax tomorrow! We don't celebrate much for Valentine's Day but I am making my son and hubby some baked pasta with heart shaped pasta I found. I also made some gigantic whoopee pies for them :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much AnnMarie. It has been a bit crazy and we are so ready for "normal" How did the pasta dish turn out? Sounds delicious, but of course, I'm Italian and pasta is always delicious. :-) The whoopee pies sound awesome also! Hope you had a great Valentine's Day! Love and hugs!!
DeleteSorry about your mom and nephew. Hope that is all getting better. Sorry you did not close on the house either. Hopefully as the new week starts things will turn around. Keeping good thoughts.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Kris
Thanks so much Kris. Mother is finally feeling better but my nephew is still in serious condition. The house is still in limbo and I don’t do limbo very well at all…LOL. We are hoping next week brings some much needed and much better news! Love and hugs!!
DeleteBenita dear, as I read on FB of prayer requests for these dear family members, my heart sank, for them but also for you. I'm asking God to take care of them but to take care of you and your sisters.
ReplyDeleteSending love and continued prayers, and please take care of yourself,
Dewena
Thank you so much Dewena! We can use all the prayers we can get! It's been a rough week but we are hoping things turn around for next week! Thank you again for all of the love and prayers...we appreciate them greatly! Love and hugs to you!!
DeleteThese look awesome...very elegant. I'll try them for sure.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry about your mom and nephew, prayers being said. I don't know how you even managed to write a post. Sending love, support and good vibes for strength.
Jane
Thank you so much Jane! They were good and so light…not heavy…maybe I overindulged a bit…I called it stress-eating…LOL Thank you so much for the prayers, we appreciate it greatly! Trying to write and do other things takes my mind away from it for a little bit! :-) Love and hugs to you!!
DeleteSo sorry to hear about your mom's and your nephew's health problems. Hope everyone is on the mend. You have a lot going on now. Sounds like lots of phones calls and things to check off a list. Oooh, the cream puffs look yummy! I have some Trader Joe's puff pastry in the freezer...hmmm...have to try this. Sending hugs and prayers not only for your mom and nephew, but you also. xoxo
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Donna! It's been a crazy week. Mother is feeling some better but my nephew is still in serious condition. They are working to get his heart issues resolved, but it is slow coming!
DeleteThese little things were so light, not overly sweet and just perfect for us! Hope you enjoy them if you give them a try! Thank you so much for the prayers, we appreciate them greatly! Love and hugs!!
Holy crap woman! You sure do get it all handed to you at once. I'm so sorry about your mom and your nephew and I'll say a prayer for them. Praying for you as well.... you definitely need a break.
ReplyDeleteI think you deserve as many cream puffs as you can eat.
Love to you and hugs,
rue
It does seem that way sometimes…LOL Thank you so much…we appreciate it greatly! And we definitely need them! I did eat as many as I could…stress-eating…it’s a good thing, right? Love and hugs to you sweet friend!!
DeleteSending you a HUG my friend and prayers.
ReplyDeleteCarla
Thank you so much Carla....we appreciate prayers and hugs and definitely need them! Love and hugs to you!!
Deletethinking of you and your mother and nephew... and making your little homemade cream puffs for valentine's day.
ReplyDeleteyou are simply exceptional in every way.
love and hugs and prayers of healing and strength being sent to you across the miles. bless you darling bean! XOXO♥
Miss T, thank you so much! I’m really a basket case but tend to cover it up pretty well….at least until the breakdown comes. We have been put through the ringer this past week and are hopeful things will improve for next week. Thank you so much for all the prayers, love and hugs…definitely needed and definitely much appreciated! I ate more than I should have of the cream puffs, but I figured I deserved it! :-) Love and hugs to you sweet friend!!
DeleteBenita,
ReplyDeleteI love easy! These look like my kind of special treat.
Sending love and prayers your way...
Judith
Easy works for me...and I needed easy right now. :-) Just a little something special! Thank you so much for the love and prayers...muchly needed and appreciated!! Love and hugs to you sweet friend!!
DeleteAwe...those pastries look wonderful. YUM! Bless your heart...you do have a lot going on sweetie. Well take it from someone that just experiences a mini-stroke....SLOW DOWN! Life if precious. Of course there are something that just cannot be helped for sure. Thank you for visiting me. You made my day! Hugs and blessings, Cindy
ReplyDeleteThank you so much…they were super simple and easy and I do need it right now. :-) I do hope you are recovering well from the stroke as that is definitely not anything to mess with either! And another one of those things that can’t be helped. I enjoyed visiting and will be back again! Thank you for the visit over here as well! Hope you have a great weekend! Love and hugs to you!!
Delete