Posted by glscharoun on December 20, 2007 at 7:52 AM
Christmas carols, a cup of
hot chocolate with marshmallows and enjoying time with family and friends --
these are a few of my favorite things about the holiday season. Of course, I also really enjoy all of the baked goodies that are so popular around
this time of year, but wonder how people find the time to make those elaborate
trays of tempting treats.
My team at Value Place
maintains the philosophy of "keep it simple," and I apply those words of wisdom
to my holiday baking. That said, I want
to let you in on a little secret and share with you a super simple but
delicious recipe that you can whip up in a flash. Your friends will never know that you didn't
spend hours over the stove.
This recipe is so easy in
fact, that you could even make it in the kitchen of your Value Place hotel room, as no baking is
required (although, you would need to bring along some of your own kitchen
supplies or purchase them at the local Wal-Mart). The recipe is listed below. Happy baking (or in this case, no-baking)!
White Chocolate Oreo
Truffles
Ingredients:
1 package of regular or mint Oreos
8 oz. package of cream cheese
1 package of white almond bark candy coating
1 package of chocolate chips (optional)
Directions:
In a blender or food processor, grind all of the Oreos until
they look like coffee grounds. Add the
package of cream cheese to the Oreos and blend until smooth. If you don't have a blender or food
processor, you can crush the Oreos in a plastic zip-lock bag and then kneed in
the cream cheese. Line a baking sheet
with waxed paper. Roll the Oreo/cream
cheese dough into small balls and place them on the waxed paper-lined baking
sheet. Put the Oreo balls in the freezer
for approximately 1 hour. Melt ½ to ¾ of
the package of almond bark in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl or over
low heat on the stove in a saucepan. Dip
all of the frozen Oreo balls in the melted candy coating and place them back on
the waxed paper-lined baking sheet.
Return the coated Oreo balls to the freezer or refrigerator until the candy
coating hardens.
Optional Step: You
may wish to finish off the Oreo balls with some chocolate swirls. This step will make your treats look ultra-fancy,
but it somewhat goes against my "keep it simple" motto. Use your discretion. If you have a little extra time, go for
it. Here's what you do: melt ½ cup of the chocolate chips and a
teaspoon of vegetable oil in a zip-lock bag in the microwave. Snip the corner of the bag, and pipe
chocolate swirls over the white chocolate Oreo balls. When finished, return the treats to the
freezer until the chocolate is set.
Store in an airtight container in the freezer until you are ready to
serve.
Do you have a favorite
holiday recipe to share - one that abides by the "keep it simple" rule? Post a comment below and share it with
us. We'd enjoying hearing from you.
From all of us at Value Place, have a
safe and happy holiday. We look forward
to serving you in 2008.
Warm regards,
Gina-Lynne
Scharoun
President, Value Place
Franchise Services
Posted by glscharoun on December 5, 2007 at 11:48 AM
Today I wanted to tell you about a family that
found their solution to an uncomfortable problem at Value Place.
"When we took baby Alexa to a sports grill and
restaurant a few weeks ago for the first time, we knew," said Mom, guest Jemma.
"By the time we had our salads eaten, her little eyes were red and watering and
she was sneezing. The smoke was just too much for her. It really put our Thanksgiving plans in a
bind."
The problem? Jemma told me her mother and her stepfather
were both heavy smokers. While they tended to be considerate around
non-smokers, the retired couple would smoke in their home all day when they
didn't have company around, making the house itself dangerous for baby Alexa.
Jemma had been apprehensive about taking her baby into that environment to
begin with - but once she and her husband saw Alexa's violent reaction to
cigarette smoke - they knew they would have to stay home or stay elsewhere for
Thanksgiving week.
Elsewhere became Value Place in Wichita, Kansas.
"It was great -- close to a highway so we could get
to Grandma's house easily," said Jemma.
"My room had a clean little kitchen, where I could prepare Alexa's
formula and the hotel was very quite. And,
best of all, I didn't have to worry about Alexa breathing in second-hand smoke
around the clock, either."
And the price for a week's stay, Jemma added,
didn't hurt either.
"After buying airline tickets from the Gulf Coast,
a hotel was just out of the question," she told us. "But thanks to Value Place, we were able to visit our
family for the whole week."
"Without any smoke, did I mention that?"
You did, Jemma. Glad we could help you out.
We enjoy hearing about these happy endings. Do you have one of your own? Share with us, below.
Gina-Lynne
Scharoun
President, Value Place Franchise Services
