Cinco De Mayo Party Ideas

Churro Cupcakes

Little Mariachi Pinatas / Party Decor

Super Fresh Tacos for your guests

DIY Streamer Decorations

Letter + Cacti Balloons + Taco Pinatas!

Rainbow Sodas! For the kids and the Designated Drivers!

Home Made Margarita Mix

Tequilla Glazed Lime Cookies

Yes, please! Churro Bites from Angel Food Cake!

Carrot Recipes - Just In Time For Easter!

I wanted to share some Easter Related Recipes that were all rather unique and uncommon, especially when you are thinking of carrots! I let the Easter Bunny inspire me when I compiled this recipe round up, and I hope you enjoy them! Click on the images to links to find the sources. 

Caramel Pecan Carrot Cupcakes by Garnish and Glaze

Carrot, Tomato, Coconut Soup Via Green Kitchen Stories

Moroccan Carrot + Quinoa Salad by Happy Hearted Kitchen

Balance Hormones With A Carrot A Day via Empowered Sustenance 

Cinnamon Carrot Chips with Honey Yogurt Dip via In Sock Monkey Slippers 

Yummy Heart Chocolates - Makes A Great Gift!

I had SO much fun creating these heart chocolates. I made them in several varieties, and I am going to tell you how each one turned out! I used the highest-quality ingredients, mostly from the baking aisle and craft stores (for the heart mold and sprinkles). These turned out so well! 

 These would be the perfect Valentine's Day gift for someone who loves sweets but is hard to shop for! These aren't super expensive to make, like some seasonal recipes are, either! 

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INGREDIENTS:

Silicone Heart Mold - Ghirardelli Chocolate Chips - Ghirardelli White Chocolate Melting Chips - Andes Mint Baking Pieces - Chopped Walnuts - Heath Baking Pieces - Festive Sprinkles

*Note - do not use almond bark or candy melts for this method*

For best results, use a spoon to place toppings in heart mold. Let's begin the fun! 

Here are my "toppings" from left to right. 

Heath - make sure to only use a light, single layer of these or they won't all stick to the chocolate.

Andes - My favorite! Fill with Andes about 1/3 of the way.

Sprinkles - Look best on white chocolate, rather than milk.

Chopped Walnuts - Use only a light layer, similar to Heath.

Larger Sprinkles - use a single layer for best results.

*The prettiest ones were the little nonpareils (tiny ball sprinkles) in a single layer*

Now, melt the chocolate! I used a double boiler method (explained here - but do not add any butter). I used a shallow, medium pot and filled it about 1/3 of the way with water. I placed two 2 Cup Pyrex measuring cups in the water for a double boiler. Melt 1 package each of the milk chocolate and white chocolate in separate cups. Slowly melt the chocolates, and stir frequently. They should be smooth and move easily. 

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Once your melted chocolate is smooth, remove the cups with an oven mitt, and place them onto a towel near your work space. Get a little bit of chocolate onto a spoon, and begin adding milk chocolate to half of the hearts...

And, white chocolate to the other hearts. Be careful not to get chocolate everywhere, so your end result is prettier.

Carefully, slide the hearts onto a baking sheet or cutting board to transport them into the freezer. 

Here they are after being in the freezer for less than an hour! Make sure they are completely cooled and hardened before you move them. 

One of my favorite parts was removing the fresh chocolates from the molds and seeing my creations! I liked most all of them, and think they would look adorable packaged up all cute for Valentine's Day! 

Strawberry Muffins with Pink Icing

I wanted to make something with strawberries for Valentine's Day and here they are! The muffins don't need the icing, but it sure made them cute. I used mini muffin tins, and they were perfectly bite sized. These muffins were very moist, so make sure you cook them thoroughly. 

STRAWBERRY MUFFINS FROM SCRATCH 

2 C. all purpose flour

1/3 C. sugar

1 T. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1 t. cinnamon

2 large eggs

1 C. milk

1/4 C. vanilla yogurt

1/2 t. vanilla extract

1 1/2 C. fresh strawberries, hulled and finely chopped

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Mix all ingredients except for strawberries. 

Here is my muffin batter before I added the strawberries and sugar. 

Below, I pureed the strawberries and added them to my batter. I also added 2 drops of food coloring to enhance the pink color for the photos :)

Bake the mini muffins for 15-18. Now, make your icing. 

I made a simple icing in my food processor. Add all ingredients, and process until combined. Scrape sides to incorporate any extra ingredients. Pour into smaller bowl to spoon onto muffins. 

ICING INGREDIENTS -  Original Recipe

1 Tbsp Butter - 1 C. Powdered Sugar - 1-2 Tbsp milk - 1/4 tsp vanilla - 2 tsp. fruit - Food Coloring

Thanks for stopping by! These were even great the next day. Enjoy! 

Ghirardelli Candy Making Recipes

I love the Ghirardelli baking products! I only use their chocolate chips in my brownies or cookies, and I am now looking into making some candy SOON. I was super happy to find lots of gorgeous photos and recipes on the Ghirardelli website! 

Below, are their Chocolate Covered Strawberries - Football Themed! 

And, the No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars

Chocolate Covered BACON!

And, their Cherry Almond Cheesecake On A Stick!

Basically, everything is better when it's covered in CHOCOLATE! See all of their recipes HERE. 

What's For Dinner Tonight? Caesar Salad + Onion Ring Chicken Fingers Recipe

Let's start with the Caesar Salad! Check out my favorite ingredients, below.

CAESAR SALAD INGREDIENTS:

Organic Romaine Lettuce, Marzetti Supreme Caesar Dressing, Hormel Bacon Pieces, NewYorkBrand Texas Toast Cheese & Garlic Croutons and Fresh Grated Parmesan Cheese. This has been my go-to recipe for a few years now, and it's so good! Mix all ingredients, adding dressing last. Top with a little bit more cheese. 

TIP:

Use the dressing sparingly at first, stir salad with a large spoon, and then see if you need more. The dressing is pretty strong, so you don't need much!

Next, is one of my favorite new recipes! Onion Ring Chicken Fingers. These are good beside the salad, or cut up inside of the salad. 

ONION RING CHICKEN FINGERS INGREDIENTS:

6-8 Organic Chicken Tenders

1/4 Cup Dijon Mustard (I mixed two types together)

1 1/2 Cups Regular Bread Crumbs

1/2 Cup French's Fried Onion Pieces (That's why I call them Onion Ring Chicken Fingers)

And to season breadcrumbs, I added a bit of garlic powder, salt, and pepper. 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.) Preheat oven to 450F. Spray metal rack with non-stick spray (I use the rack from my toaster oven). Set the rack onto a foil-lined baking sheet.

2.) In one shallow baking dish or Pyrex, add mustard. In a second dish, mix bread crumbs,  seasonings, and French's onions. 

3.) Prep the chicken. Dip each side of the chicken into mustard. You want just a light coating of mustard, or the breading will end up squishy instead of crisp, so use a fork to remove any excess. 

5.) Next, coat each side of the chicken tenders in the breadcrumb mixture. Transfer to metal rack. Try to leave a little bit of room between each piece.

4.) Bake 12-15 minutes, flip and then bake another 5 minutes or until done and crispy, with no pink inside of the chicken. 

Serve with ketchup or BBQ sauce. These are so good! 

Black Bean and Bacon Chili Recipe

This is my absolute favorite chili recipe ever! Bobby's mom gave it to us a few years ago. She also adds some mushrooms, for added taste and lower carbs.

Here are the ingredients:

3 (28 ounce / large) Cans of Diced Tomatoes - do not drain

2 Lb. ground beef (the more lean, the better)

1 Lb. Bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces

2-3 Onions, diced

4-5 Cloves of Garlic, chopped

2 Cans Black Beans, drained

1 Can Kidney Beans, drained

2-3 packets of chili seasoning

Small amount of olive oil for sautéing onions

HOW TO:

In a large (approx. 7 quart) stock pot, over medium heat, sauté onions until almost soft in just enough olive oil to coat onions. Pour about 1/4 of the seasoning packet to coat onions. Stir. 

Add garlic.

Add ground beef and the rest of the first seasoning packet. Cook until browned, draining is optional. 

Add tomatoes, (drained) beans, last seasoning packet, and any other ingredients you would like. 

Simmer for 30 minutes - 1 hour, as long as you can stand :)

Stir and serve with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, and oyster crackers and enjoy!

You will definitely have lots of leftovers, and may want to cut this recipe in half. The chili stays good in an air tight container in the fridge for about 5 days. 

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoy this tasty recipe! 

The Best Banana Bread Ever!

I absolutely love how this banana bread recipe turned out! Super moist, lots of walnuts, nice and sweet! I used this recipe, and made a few small changes to make my life easier. This recipe makes a 9 x 13 cake pan, or two loaf pans.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups sugar
1 cup butter, softened
3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. table salt
5 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1-2 cups walnuts (opt.)
1/2 cup milk
5-6 bananas (ripe to overripe)

ALSO:

Large mixing bowl - this recipe is rather large. 

Spatula to scrape bowl. 

BAKE 

350 degrees for 

45 minutes in a 9x13 pan

(or) 50-60 minutes in 2 regular loaf pans (or) mini loaves for about 35 minutes. 

This is how you will make the delicious bread:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use non-stick spray in 9x13 pan, two regular loaf pans, or approximately 18-20 mini loaf pans. Cover with foil the last 10-15 minutes so edges don't burn. 

Melt butter and let cool slightly, so eggs aren't "cooked" when added. Mash bananas in a large mixing bowl. Add sugar, butter, eggs, milk, and vanilla, and beat until fluffy and well-combined, about 2 minutes. 

Next, add flour one cup at a time to reduce any possible mess. Add baking soda and salt, and continue to mix until well-combined, and no flour lumps are visible, while scraping sides of bowl. Lastly, add walnuts and beat a little longer until well-combined. That's it! 

Throw that bread in the oven and bake as directed above, depending on what pan(s) you use. This would be amazing for giving as gifts in mini loaf containers, since the recipe makes so much. 

This bread was SO good!