At 22 years old, I feel a bit ashamed to admit that I still receive an Easter egg from my mum, and my grandmother..and my boyfriend. Needless to say, I always find myself with too much chocolate after Easter, I usually follow two strategies (depending on how I feel): Eat ALL the chocolate in a matter of 2/3 days (telling myself I should get rid of it before starting the “after Easter diet”) Store the chocolate in some container and forget all about it (i.e. letting it go to waste) Obviously, neither of these strategies are effective and/or clever, so I thought that this year I might turn my extra eggs into chocolate barks! Adding dried fruits, candies or pretzels makes the chocolate much more interesting and worth storing in a container and eating it a little bit at … [Read more...]
St. Patrick’s Day Party Food!
I just love the colors that are associated with St. Patrick's Day. Who doesn't love rainbows, glitter, pots of gold, and lots of greens!?! For your St. Patrick's Day Party this year, how about you serve up these healthier party foods that your guests will love! Menu: Rainbow Vanilla Pudding topped with Homemade Whipped Cream Shamrock Mini Pizzas Rainbow Fruit Plate Rainbow Pudding adapted from Kid's Kitchen Ingredients 3/4 cup sugar 1/3 cup corn starch 1 cup 2% milk 2 cups whole milk 1 egg 3 egg whites 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 teaspoons vanilla extract gel food coloring (Americolor) - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet 1 cup heavy whipping cream 1 teaspoon powdered sugar 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract How-To Stir … [Read more...]
Banana, almond & pecan breakfast parfait
Going back to school or work after the holidays is a very hard thing to do, for some reason Christmas holidays pass more quickly than any other holiday and it sometimes seems impossible to find the motivation to complete your everyday tasks. One routine I find hard to get back to is breakfast. During the holiday is all about late morning breakfasts, pancakes and comfort food, so when I am back to my 15 minute breakfast routine I need to make sure that something very special is waiting for me in the fridge. This year I came up with this "indulgent yet not so bad for you" breakfast parfait, made with maple caramelized almonds, Greek yoghurt and roasted bananas. It's super easy to put together and can be prepared in advance and stored in the fridge, just make sure you add the … [Read more...]
Chestnut, chocolate & pears cookies
Being Italian, eating chestnuts during the holidays is a must, whether it’s roasted chestnuts that I picked up in the woods with my family, chestnut paste on toast or chestnut flour in baked goods, I think that nutty sweet flavour just makes every food taste cosier! The combination of chocolate chip cookie (i.e. one of the cosiest food in the world) and chestnut taste absolutely awesome! Brown butter and pear just make everything more nutty and flavourful! Chestnut flour is naturally sweet so these cookies contain less sugar than most chocolate chip cookies, pears also keeps them chewy on the inside while the outside is nice and crispy. Inspired from the Top With Cinnamon Cookbook Recipe (makes 15 cookies) Ingredients 5 oz butter 1 cup chestnut flour ¾ cup + 2 … [Read more...]
8 Easy Kitchen Hacks for Busy Moms
This post is sponsored by Sears. All opinions are my own. It's the holidays, it's the end of the year, and the kids are home for Winter Break. What will all of us busy moms do to stay merry and bright?? How will we remain sane until they go back to school in 2016?? I have 8 Kitchen Hacks that will, at least, keep our kitchen more organized and tidy while the kids are home non-stop for two weeks. /1/ Want to make a quick and easy breakfast using only your waffle maker?? Try making cinnamon rolls or hash browns in your waffle maker! Easy clean and no piles of dirty dishes. /2/ Next time you bake brownies, use a plastic knife to cut brownies and never have a gooey-gooey, crumby mess again. It works, I promise. image via /3/ The kids will surely be in and out of the … [Read more...]
Holiday Parties Made Easy and Yummy with King’s Hawaiian and Walmart
(Sponsored) This blog post was sponsored by KING’S HAWAIIAN® Holiday at Walmart but the opinions are all my own. Are you ready for the holidays? ‘Tis the season of festivities, and I can’t wait to plan a holiday party with friends and family. My first rule is to make sure that preparation and clean-up is simple and easy! I want to be able to enjoy the party and not worry about the food and mess. We usually invite families with a mixed age group, and, therefore, the menu has to be appetizing for everyone. To minimize the holiday stress, I rely on King’s Hawaiian and Walmart to help! The party planning begins with a quick trip to Walmart. My one stop go-to store for all my holiday needs! I grab a cart and get ready to conquer my holiday shopping list. The list is simple and … [Read more...]
