homemade nutella.

Homemade Nutella.


Ingredients:
1. 3 oz raw hazelnuts
2. 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
3. 3 oz. unsweetened baker's chocolate
4. 3 tbsp agave nectar


Recipe:
1. Place raw hazelnuts on a cookie sheet and roast for about 10-15 mins on 350.  Once done let completely cool before removing the nut's shell. Add cooled hazelnuts to food processor. Turn the food processor on, after a minute or two you'll be left with very finely ground hazelnuts. After about 2-5 minutes, your hazelnuts should be processed into a liquid. Scrape down the sides and the blade and process until there are no lumps remaining. Set aside.
2. Heat chocolate, condensed milk, and agave nectar on the stove top. Stirring frequently until smooth.
3. Add warm chocolate mix into the food processor with the liquid hazelnut. Process for a minute, until it smooths out. Be sure not to over process.

christmas.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We did! Dantae loved his Chuggington train set. And I loved my digital picture frame and VS pjs.

More to come soon I promise..

peanut butter bread.

Peanut Butter Bread.


Ingredients:
1. 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2. 1 cup quick-cooking oats
3. 1 cup sugar
4. 1 tablespoon baking powder
5. 1/2 teaspoon salt
6. 1 cup creamy peanut butter
7. 1 egg
8. 1 cup milk
9. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Recipe:
1. Combine the flour, oats, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in the peanut butter until crumbly. Combine the egg, milk and vanilla; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.
2. Transfer to a greased 9x5x3 loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

friend photography.

I have a friend, Ashley, who has a up-and-coming photography business.  She took pictures of little man last year that I used as Christmas present for the family. Considering my son looks the other way when cameras are pointed at him and the fact that the particular day we went to have pictures done, he decided to cry pretty much the whole time; the pictures came out amazing.

ashleyerinphotography.com

On her blog, ashleyerinphotography.wordpress.com, she was doing a 365 day projects (trying to anyway) where she took photos of someone of importance in her life, one a day for 365 days. I was day 19. I absolutely love the pictures she took of me.

baked lemon chicken pasta.

Baked Lemon Chicken Pasta.

Ingredients:
1. 1 lb. of chicken tenders
2. 3 lemons
3. garlic
4. parsley
5. thyme
6. butter
7. salt and pepper
8. sour cream
9. shredded parmesean cheese
10. olive oil
11. 1 lb. linguine pasta

Recipe:
1. Whisk the juice from one lemon, 2 tsp. dried thyme, 1 tsp. minced garlic, and 1 tsp. sea salt to make a marinade for the chicken. Let chicken marinade in lemon mixture for at least 2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 375. Cook linguine according to directions.
3. In a skillet, melt 4 tbsp. butter with 2 tbsp. olive oil over low heat. When butter is melted, add 2 cloves garlic, minced. Squeeze juice from one lemon into the pan. Turn off heat.
4. Add 2 cups sour cream and stir mixture together. Add zest from one lemon and 1 tsp. sea salt. Taste, then add more salt if necessary. Pour mixture over drained spaghetti and stir together, then pour spaghetti into an oven safe dish. Meanwhile place marinaded chicken into another oven safe dish.
5. Bake both covered for 15 mins. Uncover, check and bake additional mins if needed uncovered.
6. Once done, squeeze a little more lemon juice over the top. Top generously with Parmesan cheese, then chopped parsley. Give it a final squeeze of lemon juice at the end. Serve with garlic or French bread.

taco stuffed shells.

Taco Stuffed Shells.

Ingredients:
1. 1 lb. ground beef
2. taco seasoning
3. 4 oz cream cheese
4. large pasta shells
5. salsa
6. taco sauce
7. shredded mexican "taco" cheeses
8. sour cream




Recipe:
1. Brown ground beef and add taco seasoning (I make my own but a package is fine); add 1/2 cup water and simmer 3 mins. Add cream cheese and simmer until cheese is melted. Blend well. Set aside and allow to fully cool.
2. Meanwhile cook the pasta shells.
3. Pour salsa (about a cup) in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
4. Stuff each shell with the meat mixture. Place the stuffed shells in the baking dish and drizzle top with taco sauce.
5. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
6. Add cheese on top. Cook for about 10 more minutes. Serve with sour cream. (I also garnished mine with black olives.)


Sorry through the rush of dinner and the fact I'm a horrible blogger; I forgot to take pictures. But it was Delicious.

Stumble Upon.

Favorite Friday.

I just love this site. 

So easy to use and provides hours (days) of entertainment.

I've come across many interesting new things. Like petite giraffe's. I stumbled upon a live video of one named Vladimir. Or cute pictures like

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or inspirational messages to brighten my day

Sign up and start stumbling yourself.

It becomes addicting.

creamy, cheesy ham and penne.

Creamy, Cheesy Ham and Penne.


Ingredients:
1. penne pasta
2. 1/2 cup frozen peas
3. 1 can (10 oz) Ro*Tel Original Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies
4. 8 oz cream cheese
5. 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
6. 3/4 cup cubed cooked lean ham


Recipe:
1. Cook pasta. Add peas to boiling pasta when there is 2-3 mins. left.
2. Combine all remaining ingredients. Cook over medium heat until cheese melts and mixture is bubbly. 
3. Stir in pasta and peas.

Found these with the tomato sauces/diced tomatoes.
 (silly me thought they'd be in the Mexican aisle with the green chilies.)

It was delicious. And ridiculously simple.