no bake nutella cheesecake*

Hello friends!! Yes, I am still alive! I am sure you all were wondering, since I took a 66 day break. I cannot believe it has been that long. Man, time flies when you are having fun (a.k.a. being crazy). Here is a quick update of what I have been up to for the last couple of months.

*The hubby and I went decoration shopping crazy and pretty much revamped our whole living room! Our colors are a subtle lime green, turquoise blue and brown. We also got a new bed and some cute decor for our extra bedroom, and it is seriously a million times cuter than our master! We are still using the furniture my mother-in-law got for 50 bucks at a yard sell when Landon was like 20. We're pretty cool like that.

*The whole month of February I taught cooking classes to every home at work! We made some custom calzones and red velvet chocolate chip cupcakes! The students did SO awesome, and their baking skills were killer! Each and every batch of cupcakes came out PERFECT! Oh, and their calzones! Their calzones looked seriously pro and could easily be served in a legit Italian restaurant!

*My newest hobby kept me busy for the last month or so. My new favorite channel is HGTV and I am obsessed with House Hunters. I was introduced to this channel when my hubby discovered it on our channel lineup, and he is probably regretting that decision at this point. Why, you ask? Because we are MOVING! It inspired me to want my dream home, and when I looked up houses in our area I discovered that we can easily afford my dream home! I am so excited I could cry! It took the hubby some convincing, but once we went and looked at our options I got him on my side real quick :). We found a house that won our hearts, put in an offer, and they accepted! So we put our house up for sale on Monday, and had an offer in by Tuesday night! I am so excited to be buying a brand new, never been lived in house in Spanish Fork, which is where we currently live. We are hoping to close at the end of April, so this month is going to be crazy with packing again. It has only been 6 short months since we moved last.

Do you want to know the highlights of this house, all in which are things that I have never had the luxury of experiencing since my very own home ownership??

1. There is a PANTRY!  A pantry people! Like, the things you put your food in! My whole married life my food went in every last inch of every last cupboard.

2.  The kitchen has granite countertops! And an island topped with granite countertops! Oh, how I love granite countertops!

3.  The house has AC. AIR CONDITIONING my friends! No more swamp coolers for me! No way, jose!

4.  There is a master bathroom with a walk-in closet! Currently my clothes are in the extra bedroom, the other extra bedroom, and the coat closet. The hubs gets the closet in our room because I'm nice like that :).

5.  Last, but not least, there is a huge big yard for Tankers to run in! And there is a door to the backyard, which means we won't have to carry him out every single time! It doesn't currently have a fence, but that is the first thing we are doing. Other than a fence and putting grass in the backyard (the front is already landscaped), we don't have to do a thing! We have always bought project houses in the past, so this is going to be weird.

Anyway, I have been quite occupied and my blog has certainly suffered! I don't think I have put up one new recipe from my "new" menus, that we have already been using for 2 months! This is bad news. But I am going to get to every single one of those, plus some others. Although, I do have one confession. I was in such a non-blogging funk that I made lots and lots of things and didn't even document the process! I deeply apologize, but I promise there is still lots of things to come.

These no bake nutella cheesecakes are not only amazing, but perfect for pretty much any occasion, whether it be fancy or casual. I made them for Valentine's Day for the students, and I have had many requests for the recipe since then, so here you go all ya'll!!!

No Bake Nutella Cheesecake
from My Baking Addiction

beef & broccoli*

It is no secret my love for Chinese food. I found the perfect location in my new hometown of Spanish Fork to lease that would be ideal for a Panda Express. I told my hubby that we are going to be franchisees. Although he isn't a Chinese food fanatic like me, he agrees that this would be a great business venture. Now, who wants to be my financial lender? Any takers?? I'm sure I would only need a couple million :). Ok, maybe only in my dreams...

This broccoli beef is so good it is crazy! I have never used baking soda in a marinade before, and I am not sure if my reasoning is correct, but I like to believe that it is used to tenderize the beef. If that is not it's purpose, something in that marinade surely is doing the trick because this beef will melt in your mouth! I just love this dish and think that I need to sneak it into the husbands diet somehow so that I can eat it more often. Any ideas of how to accomplish this are definitely welcome!

Beef & Broccoli
from Rainy Day Gal

red velvet chocolate chip cupcakes*

No better way to ring in the New Year (I know I'm a bit late) then with an absolutely divine dessert! These little babies were dessert for the students last week, and were an amazing little treat (a.k.a. the last amazing thing we are going to eat for 3 months) for me and my staff before we started in on the Biggest Loser. I was excited that there were a couple left the next day so that I could devour one just before the weigh-ins. You may call it cheating, but I call it just another part of my cupcake top - or as everyone else calls it "muffin top".

Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
from Gingerbread Bagels

thai chicken tacos*

These tacos are TO DIE for! They are one of many new additions to my new menus that we are about 3 weeks into right now, with 2 weeks left to go. There are so many new amazing recipes that I need to share with you all, but I think that these are my very favorite so far. The marinade is so amazing, but the icing in the cake is the cabbage slaw. You HAVE to make the cabbage slaw! It is crunchy, tangy and sweet. Really, the only word to describe this whole dish is simply amazing.

Thai Chicken Tacos
from Better Homes and Gardens Magazine

peppermint fudge cupcake jars*

Are you in need of a last-minute neighbor or co-worker Christmas gift? Well don't you fret, because I've got your back! Not only are these little jars adorable and look so festive, but they are amazingly delicious! I have given these jars away for gifts for two years straight! I just love their presentation, but even more I love knowing that they not only look great, but taste great, too.

Peppermint Fudge Cupcake Jars
from Our Best Bites

stuffing*

Ok people, STOP what you are doing and pay attention! Because I am about the share with you one of the greatest side dishes known to man. Remember when I told you that I was going to share with you my stuffing recipe here? Well, I'm not going to. Because my stuffing that I created was absolutely nothing compared to the amazingness that I am going to introduce you to now. This stuffing has been served by the amazing Executive Team at my works' Christmas party for two years running, and it is honestly my very favorite part of the whole event! So much so that I ate it for breakfast the next day. Judge me. I don't even care :).

Growing up I was obsessed with my Grandma White's Thanksgiving stuffing. It really is the bees knees. I LOVE dry stuffing - which hers was dry, and honestly couldn't have cared less about "wetter" stuffing. Even Stove Top stuffing is too wet for me. Well, this stuffing that I am sharing with you today is not dry and normally wouldn't be my "type". Yes, I now have a "type" of food I guess. Anyway, this stuffing was out of my comfort zone, but when this stuffing was presented to me I dug in and tried to be open-minded. It blew me away! The flavors and spices and BUTTER - oh my goodness gracious. It is pure stuffing heaven. 

Stuffing
from Glen Zaugg (master stuffing-maker)

peppermint kiss brownie bites*

Happy December! I cannot believe it is almost Christmas! This year I think we are going to be scrooge's and not even put up a tree. Not because we don't love our Christmas tree, but because right now our front room is still bare, and it would practically be the only thing in the room. It seems like a lot of work for it to just sit there all by its lonesome, without even any furniture for us to sit in to admire its beauty. We are buying each other couches for Christmas, however, so our room will soon not be so bare and next year I will definitely be more festive!

And I swear this year I am going to buy new tree decorations after Christmas when they are on sale! I have told myself that I was going to do this the last 2 years, but I think the hard part is where you won't even get to use them for almost a year. Doesn't make the shopping as much fun as if it would if you were to buy them right before. But this year is the year.

I am in LOVE with these peppermint kiss brownie bites! Only mine didn't really turn out to be 'bites'. I didn't make mine in a mini muffin tin, but in a regular-sized muffin tin. I made these for dessert for the students, and dessert is a really big treat since they only get dessert about once a week, so I figured they were appreciate a bigger 'bite'. And man, they did not disappoint! I could eat one of these every single day, especially during the Christmas season! You must make these for your next Christmas party or family get-together, or maybe just because it's a Tuesday. Whatever your reason, it's a great one if you have one of these little guys in tow!

Peppermint Kiss Brownie Bites
adapted from Picky Palate