Amy Jones Chocolate Covered Peanuts...

First, Amy Jones is phenomenal.  This tiny woman speaks to my soul!  She sees my "deer in the headlights" crazed, panicked look, and completely understands.  That is rare.  Because I don't want to be "fixed" - I just need someone who understands - and then maybe even says "Candace, are you suuuuure you want to do all of that?"  Don't we all need a little understanding?  So that is what she does for me.  I hope that I have somehow been as a good a friend to her as she has been to me.  Amy Jones is good stuff. 

(See this is where I would normally start the recipe, but because I adore Amy Jones so much and miss her because she moved to Anderson, I feel the need to give her the 2nd paragraph too.)  So back to how fabulous she is ... She is a little thing - full of spunk and has this recurring habit of downplaying what she can get done.  While we really don't want to have to get anything done, life happens and man can she move it move it!  So back to the recipe...  Around this time of year, several of us are very lucky to receive a bag or two full of these little gems.  (Some of us hide the bags from our husbands so we don't have to share....) I wonder who would do that?!  ha ha ha ha!

Here is what you need: 
(Important note - while you see two blocks of chocolate almond bark and two bottles of peanuts here, I only used one of each for this recipe, because it makes THAT much.)

Ingredients:
1 large bottle of dry roasted peanuts - Great Value Brand works superbly - save those pennies!
1 block of chocolate almond bark

Tools:
1 crocky (aka crock pot, slow cooker)
1 crock pot liner
Some wax paper or parchment paper (or in a pinch, tin foil will work too.)

Now, it is important to note here that Amy Jones swears she has not made this recipe in her crocky before - and my memory is short and vague, so I still tried it and it works like a CHARM, I tell ya!

Chop up the chocolate almond bark - with a BIG and SHARP knife.  Find a man, if you can, because this is man work.

Now, comes the tricky part - to get your chocolate quickly melted like the picture below - and because I was in a hurry, I put my big crocky insert into the microwave (and turned off the turntable.) Microwave at 30 second intervals for about 3 minutes to get the melting process off to a fast start.  Then I transferred the crocky insert back into the crockpot bottom and turned the temp to the "warm" setting and it stayed nice and melty the entire time!  (Yes, that is a crock pot liner you see here - I am a smart girl.)

When your chocolate is nice and melty like this, start adding in the peanuts.

Yum!

(Do you like my pale blue spatula?  My mom bought these for the two of us from Jennifer Birdsbill's Dove Chocolate Tasting Party - you get two in a pack.)  Want to host a Dove Tasting Party?  Let me know - our girl, Carrie Michlig would LOVE to come to your house and tempt your friends!  It is divine!

So back to the peanuts...

Give it a good stir...

When it looks like this - you are reading to start dipping...

I used a plastic spoon because I thought the chocolate covered peanuts might slip off the spoon better.  That didn't happen - so use whatever spoon you like best.

So you dip and drop, and dip and drop... onto waxed or parchment paper, not on your counter...

And drop and drop and drop...

Ready to see just how smart I am?  Watch this...

Oh yeah, baby!