we HEART teachers!

Maybe its because I am married to one and I see on a daily basis how incredibly committed he is, or maybe its because I realize its a special person that wants to hang out with kids every day or maybe its because these angels really want to make a difference in the world, one child at a time...there are a million reasons and whatever it is, I like to take one holiday to make a special effort to thank the teachers in our lives. Sometimes it Christmas, but its hard to get it together then, so more often than not, for us, its Valentine's Day...because nothing says THANK YOU like red wine and dark chocolate...(and for those of you wondering about me and my cleanse...this is not about me...its about them! : )

So, this year, we did a little more than usual. I made this super easy milk chocolate/dark chocolate/carmel/smoked almond/sea salt loveliness...(recipe below) and some linzer torte cookies (full disclosure: cookie dough magically appeared in my fridge...pretty sure it was the mother-in-law cookie fairy). All went into these cute little boxes that I bought a gazillion of a while back, so all set in the gift box department. With a little ribbon and pink heart tag...pure love...

Easy Chocolate Confection that will knock your socks off

I am pretty sure this flavor combo was inspired by Giada somewhere along the way...she does little turtles which are incredible. This is more of more of a bark or you can slice it all one way and then again the other way for neat little squares that fit perfectly into cute little gift boxes.

1 bag milk chocolate chips (highly recommend Ghirardelli)

1 bag bittersweet chocolate chips (60% cacao)

batch of caramel (store bought or home made; this is a good recipe)

1 cup (or a little more) roasted or smoked almonds--if you use smoked, use less sea salt.

sea salt

On a double-boiler, melt the dark chocolate. While that is heating up and melting down, put a piece of parchment paper down on a cookie sheet and get the caramel ready. When chocolate is melted, with spatula, spread it as evenly as you can on parchment paper. Don't worry about shape but try to get it a rectangular as possible. Let it cool for about 5 mins. Spoon caramel over chocolate in kind of swirly way. Don't be shy. Put tray in fridge and let set. Melt milk chocolate. Chop almonds in a medium chop. When milk chocolate is melted and dark chocolate/caramel is a bit firm to touch, spread milk chocolate on top. Try to even up the edges, but it really doesn't matter all that much. Sprinkle almonds over the top of that...press down gently with your fingers so almonds stay put. Sprinkle ever so lightly with good sea salt. Stick in fridge for a couple hours or overnight until fully set. Break up into irregular pieces or cut into squares and enjoy.

happy valentine's day everyone...I leave you with one last bit of cuteness that came from this awesomeness...