Grey hair don't care

This isn't typically a beauty blog but I really wanted to share my hair transformation because I am obsessed! While I mainly like to talk about good foods and ways to maintain a nice household, some parts of maintaining a nice household included maintaining a nice me! I have recently lost 15 pounds and was feeling my hair needed something a little fresh. I decided to go to the best hair colorist around at Wink salon and dared to try the grey look. I didn't want to look like a grandma but more of a grey blonde which I call "icy blonde" and it turned out perfect! It is the perfect mix between edgy and fabulous! 

I hope to inspire anyone who is looking for the same color options! Try it! You will look fabulous! 

Peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough brownie cake

I have been looking around for new cake recipes since I made that strawberry cake a few weeks ago and it was such a huge hit! I found this heavenly dessert on life love and sugar (http://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/2014/03/26/peanut-butter-cookie-dough-brownie-layer-cake-recipe/) I did frost mine a little different than the original version but oh my was it an amazing dessert! The woman is a genius! It's perfect for a fancy get together or to impress some guest. I HIGHLY recommend serving it with ice cream. You'll need it or a glass of milk! Just looking at it makes my mouth water! 

The original recipe doesn't frost the whole cake. Hers is a little more visually appealing but I would argue and say mine taste better!

Ingredients:

Brownie:

1 1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 cups sugar

1 tbsp vanilla

6 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup special dark cocoa (you can use regular)

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

(If you don't want to make your own brownies you can use the box mix with 2 boxes of brownie mix)

Cookie Dough:

1 1/4 butter, room temperature

1 1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup peanut butter

1 tbsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour 

3-4 tbsp milk

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Chocolate ganache:

12 oz semisweet chocolate chips, divided

 1 cup heavy whipping cream, divided

Peanut butter frosting:

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup peanut butter

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3-4 tablespoons milk

2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Let's get started! First we want to make our brownie layers. Make sure you give your self enough time for the brownies to cool completely before assembling. 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease 3 cake pans.

In a bowl, mix oil, sugar, and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time until well combined. In a separate bowl mix the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add the flour mixture to the egg mixture until completely blended. (I recommend adding it in 3 parts). Pour the batter evenly into the 3 pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until tooth pick comes out clean. Set pans out to cool for 10 minutes, then transfer the brownie layers onto a cooling rack to finish cooling off.

Now for my favorite layer, cookie dough! Cream together the butter and sugar until well blended. Mix in peanut butter and vanilla. Slowly add in flour until well combine. Add milk to preferred thickness. Stir in chocolate chips (I added a little more than 1 cup)

Once the brownies are cooled it's time to assemble! Start preparing half of the chocolate ganache. Take 1/2 cup whipping cream and place it in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for about 1 minute or until boiling. Take 6 oz of chocolate chips and black them in a bowl. Pour the hot whipping cream over their chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap for 5-7 minutes. Stir chocolate until a nice thick chocolate layer. If chocolate is not thick, continue to let it set.

Okay now for layering! Take your first brownie layer and place it on a plate. Take 3 tbsp of chocolate ganache and spread it over the cake. Then take half of your prepared cookie dough and spread it over the ganache. Now place your second layer on top of the cookie dough. Take another 3 tbsp of ganache and spread it over the cake (think of the ganache as yummy chocolate glue) take the remainder of the cookie dough and spread it over the ganache. Top with your last brownie layer. 

This looked good enough to eat by its self! The original recipe would have you pour chocolate ganache on the top and pipe some frosting on top. I wanted to go a different approach and boy was it yummy! I would recommend doing it either way! 

I let the cake sit in the fridge while I made the frosting . 

Cream together the butter and shortening. Mix in peanut butter and vanilla. Slowly add powdered sugar until well combined. Add milk to desired thickness. 

Spread frosting on all sides of the cake.

Take your remaining heavy whipping cream and microwave it until boiling. Pour it over your remaining chocolate chips.

Drizzle the chocolate ganache over the peanut butter frosting. 

Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving and get some vanilla ice cream!

This dessert is certainly going to

Impress! Enjoy!!

Low Carb Buffalo Ranch Chicken Pork Rind Nachos

I have been experimenting with new ways to eat low carb foods that are more than just meat and cheese (as much as I love tuna fish... having it everyday for lunch can be a little tiring...)

I made the regular beef pork rinds nachos which were awesome and it got me thinking. What other kind of nachos can I make? and then it hit me. Buffalo chicken nachos! We found  this buffalo chicken packet in the grocery store last week and grilled some chicken with it. It was the perfect amount of spice with out being smothered in hot sauce. I decided to bake the chicken and shred it over the pork rinds and boy was it a great idea! You can use any type of buffalo sauce but I recommend the pouch (you can find it in the isle with the sauce mixes and crockpot mix packets)

Ingredients:

2 bags of pork rinds

1 lb of chicken (I get the tenderloins already sliced)

1 packet of buffalo chicken seasoning

3/4 cup sour cream

1 cup mozzarella cheese

1 cup chopped lettuce

3/4 cup chopped tomatoes

3/4 cup ranch dressing

Directions:

Cook with chicken by the directions on your buffalo seasoning packet. Ours called to heat the oven to 350 and bake for 30 minutes. Since I used thinner sliced of chicken breast, I found I only needed to cook it for 20 minutes. Slice through the chicken to make sure it is fully cooked.

Before.

After.

Take your pork rinds (I used a bag of salt and pepper and a bag of hot) and spread them out on a baking sheet.

Start shredding your chicken and placing over the pork rinds.

You can put as much or as little cheese as you want. If you are on the Atkins diet, you can eat tons of cheese so load it up!

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes to melt the cheese.

Now start adding your toppings. I smothered sour cream over top then added the tomatoes, lettuce, and drizzled ranch over top.

You cant certainly change up the toppings too. For hotter nachos try adding jalapenos!

Enjoy!

Baby Shower Games!

No one likes a boring baby shower! And some one the games can be the same boring games every year... so for the shower I just did I decided to change things up a bit. I have done this for a bridal shower and it was really fun! It's really easy too!

The basics of the game are to line up the bags spelling baby shower or the baby's name. In each bag there is something that begins with that letter you could find in the babies nursery or something a new mommy might need. There are many ways you can fill the bags. Here are a few examples!

B - Bottle, Bib, Binky, Blanket

A - aspirator, apple sauce, A&D

B - Bottle, Bib, Binky, Blanket

Y- Yellow rubber ducky, yarn

S - socks, slippers, shampoo

H - hat

O - onsie, oil

W - wipes

E - enfamil, ear dropper

R - rattle

Have fun!

Strawberries and Cream Pudding Cake

I have made a few versions of this dessert and  this one might be the best yet! It is a perfect light dessert for any event! I originally made the dessert for a baby shower with the pink and white. It would made for a great bridal shower treat as well! I promise this is a dessert you want to try!

Ingredients:

1 small container of strawberries

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup powder sugar

1 large container of whipped cream (or 2 small containers)

2 packs of cheese cake pudding and milk to prepare it with

1 box vanilla wafers

Strawberry pound cake (you can make your own cake or purchase it already made)

Directions:

Ig you are going to make your own strawberry cake. Start with the cake so it can be completely cooled before assembling. Normally I like to make all my cakes from scratch. Since I was pressed for time I used a strawberries and cream pound cake that was already made at Kroger and it was PERFECT for the dessert and it saved me so much time!

After you have decided on your cake, prepare your pudding and set aside. 

In a medium bowl blend your cream cheese while slowly adding the powdered sugar. I like to add the powdered sugar in 3 parts to prevent it from flying up. Once the powdered sugar is mixed in, fold in half of the whipped cream an set aside (this will be referred to as the cream cheese layer)

Now we can start layering!

I cut up the strawberry cake and places a layer on the bottom and topped it with the cream cheese layer.

I then sliced up some strawberries and layered them on top of the cream cheese layer.

On top of that I laid down a layer of vanilla wafers and lined some up along the wall of the trifle dish.

I then poured the cheesecake pudding over the vanilla wafers.

On top of the pudding. I sliced up some more cake and layered over top. 

Take the remaining whipped cream and place over the take.

Finish the dessert with some sliced strawberries on top!

Place in refrigerator until ready to be served! Its pretty and taste amazing! Enjoy!

Raspberry Party Punch

This is the perfect punch for a bridal shower or baby shower! Or even a birthday party! While I am sure you can spike the punch, this particular version is alcohol free. It is easy to make and delicious!

Ingredients:

2 qt Raspberry sorbet

2 cans frozen pink lemonade

1 2 liter ginger ale

Directions: 

Start with preparing the frozen lemonade. Mix the appropriate amount of water and place in a punch bowl. It is okay if it is not fully thawed out. As it melts it will keep the punch cool. Then place the raspberry sorbet in the bowl and the full bottle of ginger ale. I sliced lemons and placed it in there for a cute accent and little rubber duckies for the baby shower! So yummy!

Mel and Tonys Babyshower

I have done many baby showers and bridal showers, but this might be my best one yet! My soon to be sister in law is having a baby girl in October so we threw her a shower. Two of her friends helped, and together we had a killer party! The food was great, the decorations were cute, and there were tons of presents! There are a few key things to consider when throwing a baby shower. I like to start with the decorations for the set the mood for the baby shower. I went to Burlington and bought different onsies on sale and strung them around the house. It was so cute! A new mommy can never have enough onsies either!

I also took some paper and made a cute little banner in the kitchen!

We had a few activities going on as well. In the dinning room we set up a diaper signing station where the guest could write a message for the mommy and daddy to be. We had some really funny messages and pictures!

For games we did the bag game that I love to do for baby showers and bridal showers!

You spell out a word (Baby Shower, the Babies name, etc) and in each bag is something to do with a new born baby or something you would find in a nursery starting with that letter. For example, in the B bag was a bib and S bag there were socks.

You can find out how to make your own bag game here!

We also did the Chocolate game where you melt a chocolate candy bar in a diaper and have guest small the "dirty" diaper and try to identify the chocolate!

For prizes we gave away these cute homemade cookie mixes!

Find how to make your own jars here!

One of the girls made cute popcorn for favors. She took some pink melted chocolate and drizzled it over the popcorn with little tags that say "someone is about to pop"

By the front door we also had a thumb print station and a onsie signing station. We took 2 different paints for thumb prints to make a tree to put in the babies room.

One of the girls painted this cute sign we put on the door. I found the circle papers at micheals on sale!

For our family members I made these precious tags for them to wear, They were a huge hit!

Here is the Mommy to be, Mel, in hers!

And one of our grandmas to be!

And of course me with my Auntie tag!

Now we cant forget the other most important part of a baby shower... THE FOOD!

And boy did we have some food! We decided to do something easy since we had about 20 ladies there and we made a taco bar. We had everything from shredded chicken, beef, beans and all the toppings.

I also made my stuffed mini sweet peppers (Click here for recipe) My bean salsa (click here for recipe) and guacamole from scratch !

On our side table we did a littler dessert bar.

We got some cupcakes, "it's a girl" Hershey kisses, strawberry pound cake and a trifle.

The trifle cake I made was AMAZING! The basics of the cake are similar to my cream cake trifles I make. This is an easy recipe to make. No baking required and is always a crowd favorite! (click here for the recipe)

We also had a little drink station with Margaronas and an alcohol free punch. Both were equally delicious!

Click here for Margarona recipe. Click here for punch recipe. 

Overall the baby shower was a huge success. Everyone had a blast and loved the decorations and food! I will certainly use some of  these party decorations and recipes again! Hope these can be used at your next shower!