I used to think that people were either really into Valentine's Day or really against it, but now I know that you can just be happy to eat chocolate and drink wine with someone you like a lot (although let's be honest, I think that's what life should look like every day of the year).

To celebrate Valentine's Day without being too cheesy, I decided to make some chocolate truffles (sounds impressive, super easy--exactly what I'm looking for in a recipe) and put them in cute little handmade bags for a festive truffle trade! It's like a cookie swap, but a little more lovey-dovey.

Chocolate Truffles

Ingredients:

• About 12 ounces of semisweet chocolate chips
• One cup of heavy cream
• 4 tablespoons of butter
• Toppings: cocoa powder (sweetened), powdered sugar, melted white chocolate

For the package:

• Tulle
• Tissue paper
• Ribbon

Instructions: 

1. Place the chocolate chips in a large bowl.
2. In a saucepan, heat the cream and butter over medium heat and stir until it begins to boil gently.
3. Remove from heat and pour the cream mixture over the chocolate chips. Stir until completely melted and smooth. Cover and place in the refrigerator until it hardens (overnight is fine).
4. Remove the truffle mixture and use a spoon or melon baller to scoop out bite-size truffles. If you want, you can use your palms to roll each one into a smoother ball, or you can just leave them uneven.
5. Cover with powdered sugar, cocoa powder, or a drizzle of white chocolate. Keep any extras in the refrigerator.
6. You can pack them up in cute little bags by using some tissue paper and tulle--I cut two pieces and crossed them before putting the truffles in the center. Then I bunched it all up and tied everything with a red ribbon.

I love chocolate and red wine--it's such a classic pairing. I'm really into Matanzas Creek's Sonoma Coast Merlot these days. If you make some truffles this Valentine's Day, let me know!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Matanzas Creek. The opinions and text are all mine.

We've talked about my love/hate relationship with eggs here before. I eat them almost every day, for a really long time, until the inevitable morning where I scramble a few and just stare at them. It's a fact-- you can only eat eggs so many days in a row before needing a break. You can make a smoothie or grab a Larabar or do whatever quick, easy breakfast usually takes the place of your eggs, or you can make Paleo avocado toast.

Yeah.

It's not fair that Paleo doesn't include bread, I get it. Especially when Instagram is exploding with sexy photos of toast piled high with avocado and all the fixin's. But if you toast up thick slices of sweet potatoes in olive oil or ghee, you might not even miss it (that much). 

Ingredients:

• One large sweet potato

• One avocado

• One to two tablespoons olive oil

• Lemon or lime wedges, sesame seeds, crushed red pepper, and/or sliced green onions

• Salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste

Instructions: 

1. Carefully cut the sweet potato into relatively thick slices. Season with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

2. In a large pan, cook the sweet potato slices over medium-high heat until they are fork tender and browned, about 10 minutes on each side. You can also roast them on a sheet pan at 425 for about 15 minutes, or throw them in the air fryer for 10-15, flipping halfway through.

3. Slice an avocado and layer or mash onto the sweet potatoes. Top with sesame seeds, green onions, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, and lime juice.

I have always wanted to be the kind of person who cooks for the week on Sunday evenings. I've done it once or twice but never seem to stick with it. Since I'm doing The Whole30 this month, and because I had an early meeting yesterday morning, I decided to whip up an easy Paleo breakfast that Rob and I could each grab on our way out: Paleo omelette muffins!

This one is great for Sunday cooking because it gives you an opportunity to get rid of whatever vegetables you might be about to throw away (which means the recipe can be different every time you make it). This time I used an onion, carrots, celery, and some leftover squash from a previous dinner. Throw in a little ham and you're ready to go (although you could use bacon or sausage or just leave the meat out completely).

Ingredients: 

• One onion, a few stalks of celery, four carrots, several handfuls of greens, and/or any other vegetables in your fridge
• One or two tablespoons of olive oil
• 10 eggs
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Optional: breakfast sausage, bacon, ham, etc.

Instructions: 

1. In a large pan, saute the onion and other veggies. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
2. In a bowl, whisk eggs together until combined well. Pour eggs evenly into each tin of a muffin pan (only about 3/4 of the way full).
3. Spoon your veggie mixture into each cup.
4. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes, or until the eggs are firm. Place in a container and refrigerate until ready to eat, then pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds to a minute and enjoy!