Cowgirl Chocolates

Foodbuzz sent me a sample of Cowgirl Chocolates and all I can say is anything that combines chocolate and spice is right up my alley!

As far as mailing a cute gift this (above) is just the outer package.

Unwrap and you get this cute little box.

Not only are those colors oh so pretty, the chocolates are color coded according to their flavor, and they also tell which are hot and mild, something very important to know.

Here's the handy little cheat sheet as to what you're eating. My favorite is the red raspberry which you can see me eating below. The beginning flavor is all chocolate and the heat kicks in after a few seconds, but like I said, who can beat chocolate and spice.

I shared some with my neighbors and my friend gave it to her husband without telling him about the heat. He stuck the whole thing in his mouth and I asked about the spice and he said "huh, oh there it is" as he got a little red:)

The nice thing was though that the spice was not overbearing, it just added a nice touch. I've had other spicy chocolates that were hard to eat and we mainly used them as gags for our unsuspecting friends and family, I know we're mean. These were great though.

For anyone that knows me, I wouldn't mind finding these in my stocking, hint, hint.

Meatloaf with a Kick!

Adapted a recipe from Everyday FOOD magazine to make meatloaf with quite a kick!

Mixed together ground beef, egg, chopped onions and red peppers, cajun seasoning (I believe it was McCormick brand) and bread crumbs.

TIP - Cheap way to get bread crumbs and use up your bread ends - put them in the food processor and make bread crumbs! I used multigrain and whole grain bread ends.

Put down half of meat mixure on baking dish.

Remove casing from chorizo sausage and place on bottom half of meatloaf.

I spread the chorizo so it wasn't quite so spicy all in one bite, though to make it even less, you could use less chorizo, mix it in or not use it at all.

Put the rest of the meatloaf mixure on top and spread chili sauce over it.

Finished product fresh from the oven.

My favorite part are the crispy end bits:)

Served it up with green beans and a whole grain mixture (from Trader Joes).

Adults liked it, my oldest son and daughter ate it but my pickiest wasn't thrilled, but when is he ever:)

As far as cutting costs - both the lean ground beef and the chorizo were from ALDIs along with the onions and the green beans (frozen) and the red peppers were from produce junction.

You could also go healthier and use ground turkey of course.