Satisfying My Sweet Tooth with Homemade Almond Bark

Chocolate and almonds are good for heart health. Really! Almonds help prevent oxidation of fats, which leads to arterial plaque formation and chocolate improves blood flow to your heart and brain (healthyeating.sfgate.com). Does life get any better than this, with a medically-approved excuse to eat chocolate covered almonds? With this fantastic information, I set out to quench my sweet tooth, and on a budget, no less! I used grocery store semi-sweet chocolate chips and whole roasted almonds to make this confection, in my very ordinary kitchen; with mere minutes of hands-on effort; and using just my microwave, a sheet of waxed paper, and a glass bowl.

What I Did
I melted the chocolate chips in short bursts, with vigorous stirring, until the chips were a swirling, melty mass. After roasting the whole almonds, I spread them on a small sheet of waxed paper, followed by spooning the melted chocolate over all.

I tossed the coated almonds from the outside edges, and into the center, until everything was covered in chocolate. I let it sit overnight and that was it. Just to enhance the sense that this is indeed a treat item, after breaking into bite-size pieces I stored them in an empty See's chocolates box. "Make believe" is good.

The Exciting Part: Cost Breakdown

This product was probably the closest in quality to what I made at home. My candy had a higher proportion of almonds (the more expensive ingredient), but perhaps a slightly lower quality of semi-sweet chocolate.

I used about 1/3 cup of bulk bin whole almonds, roasted and unsalted, and 3/4 cup of WinCo semi-sweet chocolate chips. 1/3 cup of almonds weighs approximately 2.67 ounces, and 3/4 cup of chocolate chips weighs 4.5 ounces. My end product weighed about 7.17 ounces.

My almonds cost 75 cents for 1/3 cup, and the chocolate chips cost 63 cents, yielding a total cost for my candy at $1.38 for 7.17 ounces.

The Special Dark with almonds sell for $3.84 in a 12 ounce bag, at Wal-Mart. 7.17 ounces of Special Dark w/ almonds nuggets would cost $2.29, or 91 cents more than my homemade version.

Another way to look at the cost breakdown is this: the standard size Hershey bar with almonds weighs about 1.45 ounces. My product yields about 4.94 standard size bars. My cost per equivalent size bar is about 28 cents each bar. Not a bad deal for this chocolate-loving girl.

You already know that I am trying to stick to a budget and not buy luxury foods this month; making treats with the ingredients that I have in my kitchen is helping me maintain my resolve. I think I have some bags of milk chocolate chips in the pantry. Next time . . . homemade peanut butter cups!

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for the First of March

Friday

• boxed macaroni and cheese (a freebie from a few weeks ago)
• canned green beans
• ambrosia salad, made from sliced bananas, canned pineapple chunks, mini marshmallows, and flaked coconut

Saturday
husband cooks

• rice and lentils
• sauteed canned tomatoes, with cheese
• carrot and celery sticks, with Ranch dressing

Sunday

• baked chicken breasts, in a sauce of onions, canned tomatoes, garlic, herbs, over
• linguine
• cole slaw

Monday

• beef stew, made with beef, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, herbs, potatoes, canned peas
• garlic toast

Tuesday

• hot dogs wrapped in scratch biscuit dough, with homemade honey mustard
• canned green beans
• canned corn
• cookies

Wednesday

my son's fiancee was over for dinner

• baked ham, with homemade cranberry mustard
• brown rice
• steamed carrots
• slaw with cabbage and celery
• garlic toast
• pumpkin pie

Thursday

• leftover ham
• leftover brown rice
• canned green beans
• blackberry-rhubarb sauce
• pumpkin pie

March, already! I am so anxious for spring, this year. It's been colder than usual in our area, so more soups, stews and other wintry meals. I baked a pumpkin pie this week, even. When I went out to the garden, yesterday, I could see the rhubarb poking through the soil. That prompted me to dream up some yummy rhubarb desserts. Just a few more weeks and that is a distinct possibility. All of those thoughts of rhubarb mean that I need to finish what is in the freezer. Rhubarb sauce will feature heavily for the next couple of weeks. Did I mention, I am so looking forward to spring.

What's been on your menu lately, and what foods are you dreaming about on these early days of March?

Have a wonderful weekend!