Easter leftover cookies

My husband and I wanted chocolate chip cookies so we mixed up a crazy batter of Ghiradelli dark chocolate chips, leftover Easter candy pieces and marshmallow peeps torn limb from limb.

They are awesome.

Chocolate covered strawberries

I had some strawberries in the fridge.

I have Ghiradelli 72% dark.

I have a child willing to assist.

We made chocolate covered strawberries. We had just started cutting and melting chocolate when the neighbor boy showed up on our doorstep with a valentine for our daughter.

He always wants to help. He is very good at measuring and following directions but every time I give him a knife, he cuts himself. He's going to be 8 in a few months.

I gave my daughter-- almost a year older than neighbor boy-- my chef's knife and she wielded that like a pro. The smaller knife she normally uses, I gave to neighbor boy.

They cut chocolate. They melted it in a Le Creuset tiny saucepan. We added fresh ground cinnamon. We dipped our strawberries and then seeing we had A LOT of chocolate left, we dipped AGAIN.

They are in the fridge now.

Dark chocolate chip pancakes

We've low on groceries, so my meal plans for this week need to be creative. I whipped up these incredible pancakes for lunch. They are dairy-free, and the eggs came from a local farm.

Mix until moistened and fry 'em up:
- 2 eggs, whisked
- 1 1/4 cup unbleached white flour
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup old fashioned oats
- 3/4 cup vanilla almond milk
- 1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk
- 1/4 cup Bolthouse farms berry smoothie
- 2 tablespoons agave nectar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground sea salt
- 3/4 cup sliced almonds
- 1 cup Ghiradelli dark chocolate chips, 60% bittersweet

STRAWBERRY SAUCE
Boil:
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups frozen strawberries
- 1/4 cup strawberry preserves
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon marmalade

Monday lunch

It's Monday and another hectic one...

It's the wee one's only day at school this week, a snow make-up day where they show them movies (so why make it up??). She wanted to pack. I can't blame her. Lunch choices right now stink.

• Berry Berry Fruitable juice box by Adam and Eve
• half a sandwich from the Target café: ham and swiss with the swiss peeled off, a layer of Nayonnaise soy mayo (vegan), and added some lettuce
• some veggie pirate booty (also vegan)
• a small piece of dark chocolate
• fruit snacks, that must have come from her girl scout leader because I have no idea how they got into the house

That's the closet thing I've ever packed to the "standard American diet" lunch.

On chocolate

I regularly (every couple months) splurge on some good dark bittersweet chocolate from Wegmans or Target. I'd love to splurge on Godiva or Chaudun, but we deal.

Last week, I opened the Lindt Black Currant bar (pictured). Delectably sweet from the fruit and crunchy from the almonds, but still maintaining the dark, bittersweet flavor.

Tonight, I opened the Ghirardelli Expresso Escape. They got the coffee blended so smooth into the chocolate...

But yeah, I pay $3 a pop for some of these, but they last for about four servings (2 for me and 2 for my hubby) and they satiate me much quicker than a Snickers. And I love exploring flavors... Another favorite is the vegan dark chocolate with candied dried ginger... but I can't remember the name.

For me, buying the splurge items is cost effective because when I don't get the flavor I am after, I eat other things trying to find it. So, one square of quality bittersweet chocolate versus...

Well, I'll be honest. I resisted opening the chocolate, and first I ate two slices of lunchmeat ham that my mother-in-law brought for lunch. When salt didn't do it, I ate the last croissant (also from my mother-in-law). Then I finally relented and opened the chocolate.

Which is better for my budget and my waistline?

Had I opened the chocolate in the first place...