It’s cookout season wahooo! BBQ’s, cookouts, pool parties . . . must be summer! *raise your hand if it’s summer 24-7-365 where you live* We’ve been invited to a couple of outdoor gatherings for the upcoming 4th of July holiday weekend, so I thought today I’d share with you how to be the best guest to any bbq!!! You’ll be fully prepared for the food and the fun!
It’s kind of essential to have your own ‘signature’ dish to offer up at any potluck themed gathering and for me it’s this incredible guacamole recipe! It’s tangy and creamy and the party will be buzzing with qossip on who brought the guac!!!
Smores, kabobs, and corn on the cob are all great options to bring and to make over the fire pit! Ahem, the fire pit is the best part! If you’re the one hosting the party, guests can plate up a yummy kabob and then nom on smores afterwards! With this portable fire pit you can bring the party with you anywhere! So if you’re headed to a bbq this summer or having a get together of your own, remember that fire pits and smores are all ya need for a grand ol’ time!
What’s your signature dish that you bring to get together’s and cookouts?
Happy Cinco De Mayo everyone!!! Today is a day for celebration, music, and culture … and FOOD! Today I’m sharing with you the BEST Cinco De Mayo recipes including a Spicy Watermelon Coronarita and homemade Churros!!!
Hold on to your chonies because these are crazy delicious!
SPICY WATERMELON MARGARITA – CORONARITA
In a blender mix 2 shots (per serving, yes this is strong like bull) of tequila, a shot of orange liqueur (I used Bahama Mama’s peach slushy from Ralph’s), the juice of a teeny lemon wedge, 1 tablespoon of jalapeno juice (straight from the jar baby), and a handful of watermelon wedges (frozen for extra slush!). Once blended, pour into a TALL glass but not before rimming it with salt, and top it with half a Corona (or the whole thing get wild!), and drink with responsibility. <—- disclosure because I’m a mom so I’m everyone’s mom.
This is truly one of the BEST coronaritas I’ve ever had! Yes this was the first one I’ve ever made, but it won’t be my last 😀
HOMEMADE CHURROS – IN FIVE MINUTES OR LESS!
I got this recipe from Pinterest and she’s brilliant because it took me all of 3 minutes to make these and they’re DELICIOUS! Crispy, sweet, cinnamon-y, and buttery!
This is SO easy and you’ll be nomming on these in minutes! I thawed out some frozen Sara Lee frozen food cakes, cubed them and then fried them up! Immediately after, I tossed them around in a sugar and cinnamon mixture (1 cup sugar and 1/4 cup cinnamon) and then didn’t even wait for them to cool off before DEVOURING them! So so so good!
I hope you have a happy and safe holiday weekend, please TAG me when you make these scrumdillyumptious recipes and let me know what your Cinco De Mayo plans are!
One of my favorite holidays, I love learning about the history, the culture, and the stories behind some of my most coveted recipes!
Ever since I started bootcamp last week all I’ve been craving is sweet rice, fried rice, loaves of bread, slices of bread … ya know, carbs. All the carbs!
So what better way to indulge in all of my favorite comfort foods than to make them from scratch, at home, as a healthier alternative! Today we’re making guilt free Spanish rice and to say it’s fulfilling is an understatement.
“I just want all the carbs!”
What you’ll need:
2 cups brown rice
cumin
black pepper
chunky sugar free salsa
vegetable broth
Flavor God’s Everything Garlic
green onion
red onion
coconut oil
garlic
Method:
In a small sauce pan sauté red onion, green onion, and garlic in coconut oil. Add 3 cups water and 4 cups vegetable broth and 2 cups brown rice. We are almost doubling the usual amount of liquids it would take to make rice because, brown rice. For me it just wasn’t fluffy enough and if you’d like it fluffier than just add in more liquid.
Then toss in 1 Tbl spoon cumin, black pepper to your taste, dump in the salsa, and season to your liking. Bring all of that to a rolling boil, stir once, cover, and lower the heat. I allow the lid to sit just slightly ajar so that some steam can escape. It takes about 20-30 minutes depending on how fluffy you like your rice.
Enjoy!
I topped this with some sriracha and avocado, whipped up a mix of shrimp, garlic, grape tomatoes, green onion, lemon juice, and vegan butter and TADAAA! The world’s yummiest dinner! And it’s so satisfying and healthy! You’ve got your protein, your healthy fat, and your good carb! Do it!
My next recipe will be a pizza you won’t be able to resist, so let me know if you try this! Is there an indulgent recipe you’d like me to try and make a healthy version of?
Today’s the day of green pancakes, green beer, pinching, and Irish kisses! In honor of my partial heritage … I’m half Irish ya know … I decided I’d make some shortbread yumminess with a twist of holiday, and a festive mason jar that you can give away or keep for yourself!
If ever you needed a reason to drench everything in whiskey, here’s your chance.
Notice the bottle of Jameson, it’s drunk and should go home, but before I get into the debauchery of our dessert dish, I’ll share with your my St. Patrick’s day munchie filled mason jar! I got this festive jar at Target for $0.99, yes under a dollar for this cuteness and I filled it with the world’s softest and most sugary sprinkled cookies I could find because, time saver.
Keep it for yourself or take it in to work or school and give it to someone as a gift, a sort of Valentine’s Day-esque kind of exchange and it’ll be sure to make them smile … I mean, it’s a sugar cookie! 😀
Moving on to the drunken story part of it all, these are Drunken Leprechaun Balls, I got the recipe from Pinterest and it’s rich like a fudge and creamy … like a shortbread dipped in powdered sugar and drenched in whiskey would be. Side note, these cookies are not minor friendly, you don’t cook the alcohol out at all, in fact you can really taste the whiskey in them which is awesome for adult whiskey lovers, not so awesome for 21<ers.
The taste of these reminded me of Italian wedding cookies except less crunchy and more tipsy! I’m sure you can make these without the alcohol, perhaps a sugary substitute or milk would work? Turn to Google if you want to recreate these for your family or the work place and let me know how they turn out! P.S. yes that would be a light up four leaf clover necklace, because why be at a bar if you can’t glow in the dark.
To see me make these live and in action, here is the video on my YouTube channel! Please Subscribe if you haven’t, more recipes to come on our Pinterest DIY-not series 😀
I hope you have a happy and safe holiday, as a mom it’s my duty to tell you not to drink and drive and to not let your friends do it either, so I’ll step off my soap box now and give you a half Irish green hug. Green like the color not green like the clean.
What are you doing today or this weekend to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Do you have a tradition like green pancakes or green beer? Let me know xx
When I hear ‘Netflix and chill’, my ideal scenario looks a lil something like a bottle of vino, a cheese platter, assorted chocolates, and a rom com. Yes a romance comedy y’all! Not necessarily my fiancé’s idea of the phrase but hey, today is all about how to properly Girl’s Night!
Step 1: Call up all your best girls (or text, who even calls anymore)
Step 2: Stock up on your go to beverage … I either grab for vodka or wine and one of my favorites right now is a buttery white wine, La Crema.
Step 3: Snack time. The usual suspects are an assortment of cheeses, butter crackers, and some fruit for the wine like pomegranate seeds or blue berries! Don’t forget the chocolates, pairing wine and chocolates is one of the yummiest combinations – preferably ones with almonds in them nommms!
Step 4: Eat, drink, be merry, repeat.
Girls night, date night, time by myself to read or draw, this combination is hands down my preferred method of winding down the day … I mean cheese and wine! All your missing is the bread and ice-cream!
What is your favorite snack/beverage combo for a Netflix and chill night? You can never have too many treats to choose from!
Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope you’ve been enjoying all of the themed recipes and videos that I’ve been posting lately, all in the name of love! Well this is for anyone who thinks today’s celebration is more of a corporate holiday … anyone who thinks today can suck it … and anyone who loves oreos. And brownies!!! We’re making “Bleeding Oreo Brownie Hearts” because everyone deserves a reason to love Valentine’s Day. Even if it’s for desserts and ‘the day after’ chocolate sales!
Imagine a brownie filled with oreo cream filling … yes it is just as mouth watering as it sounds! We ate 6 of them! SIX and zero regrets were had. Your mission should you choose to accept: make these, eat these, thank me later!
For the brownie part I just got a box of brownie mix (family sized) and made it according to the directions. I sprayed a 10×16 brownie pan with oil, lined it with parchment paper, and then sprayed it again just to make sure the hearts didn’t stick once I removed them. No one wants a crumbly broken heart, in life nor in theory.
Let the brownies cool before taking a heart shaped cookie cutter to it, and in the meantime make your oreo filling, the ‘bleeding’ part of it. You’ll need:
3 cups powdered sugar
ABOUT 1/2 vegetable shortening
5 tablespoons hot water (you will eye ball this when you make it)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Red food coloring
1 teaspoon sugar
♥ Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and save adding in the water for last. Start with 4 tablespoons of hot water and if your mixture is too thick then add in 1 tablespoon at a time until you get the desired consistency. Which is pretty thick yet smooth, like an oreo filling would be.
Once you’ve added the red food coloring (I used about 7 drops) you get this really pretty pile of sweetness! I had about half a cup of this just from taste testing! Note: This makes a lot of filling, enough for 2 batches of brownies if you’re using it in this ‘sandwich’ style.
Once your brownies have cooled, take your cookie cutter and remove the shapes until all of your brownie pan has been used up. The brownies will be fairly thin, this is a good thing though because you’ll be stacking them once they’re filled.
Spread a dollop of the filling between two hearts and then close the heart sandwich by placing the other half on top (smooth side down). Continue with this until you’ve used up all of your heart brownies. You can make the filling part as thick or as thin as you’d like depending on your sweet tooth preference.
The combination of these two flavors is indescribable, you have to make them for yourself and indulge in order to believe me. It’s a cream filled brownie and the cream is OREO FILLING! Did I say that part enough? Ha! Try it, so so so good!
I paired this deliciousness with a “Sour Kiss” cocktail, keeping with the whole ‘Valentine’s Day Shmalentine’s Day’ theme here. It tastes like sour patch candies in a glass! Mix together an ounce of each of these ingredients and enjoy!
Sour Kiss Cocktail: Vodka
Grenadine syrup
Blue curacao liqueur
Sweet and Sour Mix
Limes
Here is my Pinterest DIY-not Valentine’s Day episode, and if you missed my Galentine’s Day post you can read it here!
What are your plans for this weekend ?!
Go enjoy these recipes and Happy Valentine’s Day from stupid cupid <333
Office holiday parties, gingerbread house making parties, ugly sweater parties … you’re being invited to SO MANY parties! You’re going to want to bring something to contribute to each of these gatherings and I have you covered! I learned this practice from my mom who would always say that when you go to someone’s home you bring something to gift the host with. Here are two things you can bring to your next holiday get together that is sure to be a crowd pleaser!
Sweet potatoes au gratin with a spicy chile twist! This is a wonderful side dish to bring if you like the idea of combining the richness of comfort foods with the sweetness of the season. Think sweet potato pie minus the whipped cream BUT marshmallows included! Ummm yumm!! Thank you Bobby Flay! I’ve taken his original recipe and put my own little twist on it!
What you’ll need:
3-4 large sweet potatoes
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon chipotle puree
Fresh ground black pepper
Pink Himalayan sea salt
mini marshmallows
square glass pan or ramekin cups
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Separate the chipotle peppers from the oil and place in blender and slowly add in the oil until you blend it to the consistency you like. Add the puree to a bowl and whisk in the heavy whipping cream, salt, and pepper. Set aside. Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into thin rounds and begin layering them into your ramekin cups or glass dish. In between the layers spread an even layer of your chipotle cream mixture, sprinkle a few marshmallows on top, and continue this layering step until all of your potato wedges are gone. Bake in the oven for 1 hour or until the cream is absorbed by the potatoes. ENJOY!!! *note, do not cover this as I learned it will spill over and cause smoke alarms to go off. OR if you do cover it, simply place a cookie sheet beneath your glassware or ramekin cups*
It’s decadent, rich, and comforting! This sweet potato au gratin recipe is perfectly savory!
Next up, we’re putting a spin on the traditional hot cocoa drink, I present to you, the world’s BEST adult version, the “spiked hot cocoa latte”! That’s what I’m calling it any way because it has coffee, liquor, AND cocoa! So you’ll all be super keyed up on caffeine, and able to enjoy a night of dancing under the mistletoe! You’ll need to borrow your host’s stove top for this one, but trust me, you’ll be everyone’s favorite by the end of the night! Ha!
What you’ll need:
1 package hot cocoa mix of your choice (1 per cup)
1 tsp Cacao liqueur
Peppermint schnapps
Coffee of your choice
White chocolate chips
Mint chocolate chips
1 cup milk of your choice
Peppermint candy for garnish
Whipped cream
Method:
Make your coffee how you usually do and set it aside (I used my french press). In a small sauce pan add the hot cocoa mix, the milk, and a hand full of both the mint chocolate chips and the white chocolate chips. Warm over low heat and stir until melted and combined. Fill your mug halfway full with your coffee, then add in the hot cocoa mixture until almost full, leaving enough room to add in the liquors. Add in the cacao liqueur and enough peppermint schnapps to almost completely fill the cup. Mix together and top off with whipped cream until your heart is content. Garnish with a candy cane and ENJOY!!!! *if you aren’t of drinking age, please enjoy this drink just the same sans the alcohol!*
I hope you give these recipes a try, they are so yummy, so decadent, and so festive! Give them a go at your next party and TAG me in your squad photo!
What is your go-to potluck dish? Pigs in a blanket? Chips and dip? Tell me!
See you later this week with a ‘how to pack when you’re headed home for the holidays’ post!
Ok let me just preface this by saying that this attempt was a total fail! The beautiful photo above was actually taken by MrsJpvan2 and it just looks delicious and beautiful right? Well my panna cotta was totally delicious … and totally ugly!
I fully set out to create this yummy scrum-dilly-umptious dessert that my daughter loooves, and instead ended up creating a disaster. Full video of said disaster, tears and all here or watch the video below!
So a couple of things, 1) have proper ramekins and not a bundt. This will all make sense soon, and 2) measure things properly and don’t eye ball them like I did. Again, this will all make sense. But first:
I got this super yummy recipe from epicurious and if you’d like to see the original post click here, their description of it is much better than mine considering they properly prepared it. So I gave it a go, not having the correct measuring cups and also ahem not having mini ramekins.
Method:
Sprinkle the gelatin over the 2 tablespoons of water and let it thicken in a small saucepan for about a minute. It will begin to gel up. Then dissolve the mixture over low heat for about another minute and remove from heat. In another saucepan boil together the half and half, sugar, and cream – this takes about 7 minutes or so. Remove the pan from the stove and whisk in the vanilla and gelatin mixture. OK OK, then you’re SUPPOSED to divide the mixture amongst 8 1/2 cup ramekins, cover, and chill in the refrigerator for 4+ hours.
OK OK, soooo I didn’t have ramekins and knowing what those were at the time was like trying to pronounce it … not happening. So instead I used a bundt cake mold and chilled the mixture in it over night. The next morning it was … how do you say … a disaster!
It fell apart, it flattened, it sunk just as fast as my heart did when I lifted the bundt mold. But the AMAZING and redeeming fact is that it tasted incredible! Minus looking at the hideous blob I had before me, the taste was spectacular! Light, creamy, sweet, and I made a raspberry topping to go with it.
For the topping I just took a package of raspberries and boiled them with some honey and coconut oil until it looked right and tasted right. I plopped it on top and walllaaa! It was boyfriend tested and kid approved! HA!
Try this recipe out for yourself, I know you’re go at it will be much more successful than this. I really am a wonderful cook/baker I promise, it just I swear when the camera is on it becomes a semi-disaster!
What have you made that was a disaster to look at but a party to your taste buds?!?!?!
Just in time for the weekend, you know what that means…Cocktails, the ones with fruit! I am so excited to have my partner in crime and Hapa sister, Miya, guest blog for us this week! She is my other Hapa half from our channel Hapa Hour, and today she shares with us her refreshing and healthy twist to the every day cocktail. ————-
I’m hosting a girl’s afternoon this weekend! It’s supposed to be another hot week so I wanted to create a refreshing and more ‘healthy’ version of the cocktail. Since I’m not a fan of really sweet drinks made with artificial flavors, I chose to use real fruit and fresh ingredients to blend together.
I’m picky with my alcohol choices and usually get the best quality possible, to avoid those much anticipated morning headaches we all love. Even just one drink from cheap alcohol and I wake up feeling like, I ran a marathon – in the sun – all day – all while drinking a dozen mixed drinks! No bueno.
I’m not particularly a vodka drinker but I recently found one that is actually mush tastier than your traditional vodka AND it’s the healthier choice! VEEV, an acai liqueur, hand crafted from acai-berries and other natural ingredients. It is the key ingredient in today’s mixer. So here’s what I made for the girls, it was a hit!
Combine the fresh strawberries, pineapple juice, lime juice, and ice – and blend together in a blender or ninja for just a few seconds.
Add in the 1 fluid ounce of VEEV
Keep the cups in the fridge for 10 minutes before serving. Can be garnished with mint or a lime wedge, and VOILA!
This drink is so easy to make and your guests will love it, I promise. Whenever I make this drink I feel instantly glamorous and grown up … like I’m in an episode of Sex In The City or something. Well you know what I mean!
Enjoy and please remember to drink responsibly and be a good friend, don’t let anyone drink and drive 😉
It’s kind of essential to have your own ‘signature’ dish to offer up at any potluck themed gathering and for me it’s this incredible guacamole recipe! It’s tangy and creamy and the party will be buzzing with qossip on who brought the guac!!!
