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{FOOD} Nutella Sandwiches

April 23, 2013 By Carrie Leave a Comment

I’m a real fan of Nutella, and I’ve been known to have it for breakfast, lunch, or a snack. I’m often trying to find new ways to enjoy this chocolate hazelnut treat and today, I found a new way to enjoy it…and still get a little nutrition in, too. (But really, who am I kidding…it’s just a tiny bit of fruit, not really a super healthy treat!)

Chocolate Nutella Sandwiches!

Have you seen those little mini ciabatta rolls in the bakery section of your local supermarket? All I did was toast these lightly, add some Nutella and then top the Nutella with some fruit.

Nutella with strawberries, Nutella with bananas, Nutella with apple slices…I may have tried them all. I think my favorite was the Nutella with strawberries, but they were all super tasty.

Filed Under: Baking Tagged With: apples, bananas, chocolate, ciabatta, easy, food, hazelnut, nutella, recipes, sandwiches, strawberries

{ENTERTAINING} Rustic Place Card Holder

April 15, 2013 By Carrie 2 Comments

Adding rustic and natural elements to a table setting is something that I love. Even though I’m not necessarily an “outdoor girl”, bringing in elements of nature into my home is something I find comforting and calming. So, I created these very simple rustic place card holders that you could use for your next party. This look will work well for a party for adults, or for a fairy or woodland party for kids. It’s a very versatile look that you can alter to fit your event.

instructions:

1. After you’ve collected everything you need (and you most likely have everything you need in your house/yard), take your three 4″ sticks and arrange them in a design that would give you two sticks side by side and one sticking out towards the back. The top of all the sticks need to be together. It may take a little finagling, but you’ll get it.
2. If you prefer, you can add some hot glue to the top pieces to secure them a bit more. I didn’t use any for mine, however, and they’re holding together just fine. Wrap your twine or string around the top of the sticks until they feel secure.
3. Next, you’ll need to add the “shelf” that your place card will sit upon. Again, you can choose to use a bit of hot glue here. Then, secure more tightly by adding twine or string.
4. Add your place card, and you’re done!

Moonlight & Mason Jars - Monday Night Link Party

Filed Under: Entertaining, Uncategorized Tagged With: birthday, DIY, easy, entertaining, fairy, parties, party, rustic, table decor, woodland

{FOOD} Salted Caramel Frozen Hot Chocolate

March 29, 2013 By Carrie 1 Comment

It’s nearly April and that puts me in the mood for all things related to spring. Flowers blooming, the leaves returning to the trees, even the dreaded spring cleaning. While we had an extremely early spring last year, it seems that winter chooses to hang on a bit longer than normal this year. Case in point, this picture from last week:

Not so springy, huh?

So, the other day when my kids and I were digging around the kitchen looking for something to eat, we came across a box of Starbucks Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate. I decided that making frozen hot chocolate would be a good way to bridge the fact that there was 13″+ of snow on the ground, and our desire for warmer temperatures.

So, I found this recipe on Picky Palate, and it took all of about 30 seconds to throw together. Seriously, it took longer to make the whipped cream than it did to make the frozen hot chocolate. The Starbucks mix that I used has little pieces of caramel that would melt if you were to add hot milk. This method, leaves you with tiny pieces of ice AND tiny pieces of caramel…it’s a win.

Since a little caramel is good, a LOT of caramel must be better. So, back to the pantry I went, and grabbed my Trader Joe’s Fleur de Sel Caramel Sauce. A little (or big) pool on top of the whipped cream was just was this treat needed. So good.

I absolutely recommend making this with any hot chocolate you have on hand…whether it’s hot outside or cold!

Filed Under: Baking Tagged With: baking, easy, food, frozen hot chocolate, hot chocolate, recipes, simple recipes

{Recipe} Coconut Nutella Truffles

August 10, 2011 By Carrie 1 Comment

I LOVE Nutella. I eat it by the spoonful and I am quite an expert when it comes to this delicious chocolate hazelnut concoction. (Seriously, I am…Klout tells me so!) So, after recently purchasing the new jumbo sized jar of Nutella, I decided that I MUST do something with it, aside from just eating it off a spoon. The recipe I came up with is Coconut Nutella Truffles.

These took about 5 minutes to throw together, and after refrigerating time, you can have them completely done in less than an hour. Enjoy!

COCONUT NUTELLA TRUFFLES

Ingredients:

1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
3 1/2 c powdered sugar, sifted (plus a bit more for rolling)
1/2 c Nutella
1 cup shredded coconut

Directions:

Cream softened cream cheese in an electric mixer and slowly add in the sifted powdered sugar. Next, add the Nutella. Once this is thoroughly, mixed, turn off the mixer and add the shredded coconut, mixing it in by hand. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. Once the mixture is firm enough, (it should take about 30-45 minutes) scoop into truffles and roll in powdered sugar. You’ll probably want to return them to the refrigerator for a while, they’ll hold their shape better after being refrigerated again.

I hope you’ll give this recipe a try, and if you do, let me know how it turns out!

Filed Under: Baking Tagged With: baking, chocolate, coconut, coconut nutella truffles, dessert, easy, nutella, quick

{Recipe} The Easiest Cherry “Pie” You’ll Ever Make

July 23, 2011 By Carrie Leave a Comment

This is a recipe for a dessert that my mom made all the time when I was a kid and it’s always been a favorite. I love it because it goes together in about 1 minute, and it tastes so good, you’ll probably eat it until you’re sick. (Not that I ever have. Or that I still do every time I eat it.)

CHERRY “PIE” DESSERT

Ingredients:

2 cans cherry pie filling
1 box yellow cake mix
1 stick butter, melted

Directions:

Pour the cherry pie filling into a baking dish. You can use whatever you have on hand, but an 8×8, 9×9, or even a deep pie plate work the best. If you’d like to use a 9×13, use 3 cans of cherry pie filling.
Sprinkle the dry cake mix on top of the cherries. Do NOT make the cake mix using the oil and eggs and then put it on top of the cherries…that would be silly. A mistake that surely no one would ever make. Especially not a middle school girl whose mom once asked her to make this.
Pour the melted butter on top of the cake mix.
Bake in a 350 oven for 1 hour, until the top is nicely browned.
Allow to cool a bit and serve with ice cream!

Another reason that I love this recipe so much is because it’s easy to mix it up a little bit with different variations. Here’s one of my favorites that’s great for this time of year!

Peach “Pie” – Substitute peach pie filling for the cherry filling and sprinkle 1/4 cup chopped pecans on top of the cake mix before adding the butter. If you’re a fan of coconut, you can sprinkle some on top as well.

Enjoy!