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

chocolate cupcake w/ peanut butter frosting and nutella ganache*

Say that fast 10 times! These cupcakes are nothing short of AMAZING. They are melt in your mouth peanut butter chocolate gooey goodness! We made these for parent conference this last weekend and they were a hit. I had a slight meltdown because the frosting started falling off some of the cupcakes, but with some quick thinking I stuck them in the freezer and they were good as new.

I was worried the recipe for the frosting didn't make enough, so I added some whipped topping to the frosting and it still tasted so yummy! The frosting alone I could literally eat for a week straight. This is my new favorite frosting recipe. I don't know what it is, but add flour and granulated sugar instead of powdered sugar to your frosting and you will have the lightest, fluffiest, most delicious frosting which strongly resembles whipped cream. There is a frosting that we have made before that said that after you cook your flour and milk to put it through a sifter. This recipe did not say to do that and it turned out just as good, maybe even better, than the sifted recipe. So you can skip that annoying step and get just as good results! Sign me up!

Also, the nutella ganache didn't thicken up like I thought it would, so I added some chocolate chips and covered it for 5 minutes while the nutella and cream was still hot, then uncovered and stirred. That thickened it up nicely so that I could coat my cupcakes more easily and not so runny and messy. If yours thickens up like a normal ganache, then don't fret about the chocolate chips.

Chocolate Cupcake w/ Peanut Butter Frosting and Nutella Ganache
from Made Famous By

Chocolate Cupcakes
**This recipe will also make an amazing cake**

1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix
1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tin with paper liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, eggs, vanilla and water. Beat for about two minutes on medium speed until well combined.

3. Using a large cookie scoop, distribute the batter between 24 muffin wells.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 18-22 minutes or until the tops of the cakes spring back when lightly touched. . Allow cupcakes to cool inside muffin tins for about 10 minutes.

5. Remove cupcakes from muffin tins and allow to fully cool on a wire rack. Once cupcakes are cool, take a little of the middle out to prepare them for the stuffing. 

Assemble them like this: Fill them with the peanut butter frosting with Reeses, put a layer of Nutella Ganache on the top of the cupcake (stay away from the edges), frost the cupcakes with the peanut butter frosting, drizzle with nutella ganache, then cut a reeses in half (I did fourths) to add it to the top.

Peanut Butter Frosting
*Adapted from the best frosting EVER!*

5 Tablespoons Flour
1 cup Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 cup Butter
1 cup Granulated Sugar (not Powdered Sugar!)

1/4 C Peanut Butter

6 Reeses Peanut Butter cups (chopped)

Directions

In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk and heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. You want it to be very thick, thicker than cake mix, more like a brownie mix is. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. (If I’m in a hurry, I place the saucepan over ice in the sink for about 10 minutes or so until the mixture cools.) It must be completely cool before you use it in the next step. Stir in vanilla.

While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. You don’t want any sugar graininess left. Then add the completely cooled milk/flour/vanilla mixture and beat the living daylights out of it. If it looks separated, you haven’t beaten it enough! Beat it until it all combines and resembles whipped cream.

** Reserve a cup of the frosting when you are done making it and add the chopped up Reese's Peanut Butter cups to it. Use this mixture to put in the hole you made in the cupcakes then frost the cup cakes with the regular frosting.

Nutella Ganache

2 C Nutella
2 C Heavy Cream

Put the Nutella and heavy cream in a bowl and heat it in the microwave for 1 minute. Take it out and stir it. If it is not melted enough heat it for another minute.

-alyssa*

easy homemade ice cream without a machine*

Yes, you heard me right. Homemade ice cream WITHOUT a machine! Music to my ears. Ice cream is one of my favorite foods - maybe my favorite but I'm not ready to make it official. I dream about ice cream all day. I have not met an ice cream I didn't like. Well, I'm not a huge fan of the ice cream at Sizzler. And one time I got a cheap kind from the store that I didn't care for. However, did I eat them? Yes, of course I did! It's ice cream!

This ice cream is so easy to make! It has a different texture than your typical ice cream, but it still comes out creamy and delicious. I was pleased with it's simplicity and it's overall taste. I think I would still prefer ice cream that was made with a machine, but since I do not own a machine this is definitely a great alternative that I will be taking advantage of on a regular basis I am sure!

I made two different kinds of ice cream my first go round. My first ice cream was a Nutella chocolate chunk ice cream. The second was a Girl's Scout Thin Mint ice cream. Both very tasty. My favorite of the two would have to be the Nutella chocolate chunk, but I am a new found Nutella fanatic.

Easy Homemade Ice Cream Without a Machine
basic recipe from Kevin and Amanda

2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 can sweetened condensed milk
any add in your little heart desires!

Whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks. Add your flavors, topping, and mix-ins to the sweetened condensed milk. Then fold this mixture into the whipping cream. Freeze and enjoy!*

Nutella Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

 Whip your whipping cream to stiff peaks.

Mix 1/4 cup nutella with 1/2 cup chocolate chunks (melted chocolate spread out on wax paper and chilled in the fridge until firm, then break into chunks) with the sweetened condensed milk.

Fold mixture into the whipping cream and freeze.

Eat up!

Thin Mint Ice Cream

 Beat whipping cream until stiff peaks.

Combine sweetened condensed milk with 1 cup Thin Mints or Grasshopper cookies.

Fold mixture into whipping cream until well combined.

Pour into container and freeze.

Enjoy!*

Sound too easy to be true? Well, it is definitely easy, but it is also true! Imagine the possibilities...

-alyssa*

no bake nutella cookies*

As you may have noticed, I LOVE Nutella (since this is my THIRD Nutella recipe in less than 2 weeks)! I am now starting to think that anything and everything tastes better if it has Nutella in it, on it, or around it! For years the students have talked highly of Nutella and I dare say most of them have an obsession with it, and I never understood it - but now I think I surpass their Nutella addiction. Which is a bad thing, because it really is quite expensive, it's not the best thing for me, and I seriously spend tons of time just THINKING about Nutella! NO LIE! I could eat a whole jar to myself easy!

Sarah was telling me that she was going to make these cookies over the weekend and that she would bring me some on Monday, but I am going on vacation so I would have to miss out. That did not fly with me. So today we had an employee council meeting and it was our turn to bring lunch, which meant no better opportunity to whip up some of these cookies! They are SOOO good! Sarah said that at her house she mixes 1/2 Nutella and 1/2 peanut butter, which sounds even more amazing! I think I'm going to have to test this out to decide for myself :)

No Bake Nutella Cookies
from Gingerbread Bagels

Yield: approx. 24 cookies

Ingredients
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, diced
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup Nutella
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups quick cooking oats

Directions
Measure out 3/4 cup of Nutella in a small bowl. Set aside. In another bowl, measure out 3 cups of quick cooking oats. Set aside. Have the vanilla extract ready too.

Line a couple of baking sheets with waxed paper. You’ll scoop the cookie dough mixture onto these baking sheets.

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, unsalted butter (that’s been cut up into pieces), milk and unsweetened cocoa powder.

Bring to a boil and stir frequently. Boil for 2 minutes. Make sure you boil for the full 2 minutes or your cookies will be too soft.

 
Then add in the Nutella, vanilla extract and quick cooking oats. Stir everything together.

Using a cookie scooper, scoop the cookie mixture onto the wax paper. Work quickly!

Let the cookies firm up and then enjoy!

 -alyssa*

nutella cream pie*

OH MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS! This stuff is truly the definition of AMAZING!  I cannot believe that I lived without ever trying Nutella until a mere couple weeks ago. There are so many awesome recipes that I have been missing out on, and I think this one is a prime example of the incredible things that could be made!! We are doing the biggest loser at work and I don't know why I am voluntarily making irresistible goodies like this, but I don't regret it. It is another one of those things that have changed my life!! For those of you that aren't huge Nutella fans, you will still like this I promise! It is so rich, creamy, fluffy, crunchy, chocolatey, AMAZING! I could go on forever about this dessert because it really is THAT GOOD!

Nutella Cream Pie
from Gingerbread Bagels

Crust

1 package Oreo cookies
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted


Nutella Cream Filling

4 ounces cream cheese, softened (1/2 block of cream cheese)
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup Nutella
1/2 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy whipped cream


Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


To make the crust:

Grind the Oreo cookies in the food processor. Put the crumbs in a large bowl and add the sugar. Mix everything together. Pour in the melted sugar and stir to coat all of the cookie crumbs.
Put the crumbs in the bottom of a 9 inch pie plate (I obviously did mine in a huge cookie sheet, because I made it for all of the students). Press the crumbs into the side of the pie plate and then into the bottom. Bake the crust at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Once the crust is done baking, cool completely on a cooling rack. DO NOT pour in the Nutella cream filling until the crust has completely cooled.


To make the filling:

In a large mixing bowl with the paddle attachment, (a handheld mixer works fine) mix together the softened cream cheese and powdered sugar. Then add in the Nutella and milk. Mix until all of the ingredients are combined. Pour the Nutella mixture into a bowl and refrigerate while you make the whipped cream.

To make the whipped cream:

In a large mixing bowl with the whisk attachment, (a handheld mixer works too), pour in 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and mix on high speed. Slowly add in 3 Tablespoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Whip until stiff peaks form (until the whipped cream is firm)


To assemble the pie:

Add 1 cup of whipped cream (you can use Cool Whip, or whip your own - which is my suggestion) to the Nutella mixture. Fold the ingredients together.

Pour the Nutella Cream Filling into the cooled pie crust.

Place in the freezer until the filling is firm. It will take a while to firm up, don’t worry. Once the pie is firm, cut into slices and enjoy!

If you like, top with the remaining whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

How amazing does that look?? I beg you to make this for your sweetie on Valentines! It would be the perfect dessert and I promise they will LOVE it!!! Let me know how it goes :)

-alyssa*

nutella banana crepes*

We attempted to make these for breakfast this last Monday, not realizing that the kids were out of school and would be coming late to breakfast. Unfortunately there was no way the bananas would have lasted that long without going all brown and nasty, so we had to come up with a plan B. It was a sad day, but we will be serve them again and the kids will love it! They are obsessed with Nutella! I had never actually had it until a couple of weeks ago. I don't know why, but it has never appealed to me. Then one day I tried it with an animal cracker. I have truly been missing out on something that is amazing and it has been right under my nose for 3 years now. For those of you that have also never had the Nutella experience, this is the goodness in a jar!

Speaking of 3 years, I have been working at Heritage for exactly 3 years on Wednesday, January 26th (same day I get to go see the Jazz take on the Spurs! GO JAZZ!!). I was talking to the husband yesterday and told him that Heritage is probably the best thing that ever happened to me (next to him of course :). I cannot think of a better place to work or better people to work with. I LOVE my job!!!

Anyway, let's talk Nutella banana crepes. I attempted to make strawberry crepes a couple of months ago for the first time, and the crepes turned out ok but the cream cheese filling I had made wasn't my favorite. I'm still looking for a good recipe for a cream cheese filling, so if you have one please do share! This recipe for crepes I used today said to whisk the flour with the eggs, and then add the wet ingredients. DON'T DO THIS! I would add all of the wet ingredients, and then sift in the flour. I did it according to the directions and it resulted in a lumpy batter. No matter how fast I whisked, the lumps would not come out. It still tasted good, but you will have a much smoother batter this way.

Nutella Banana Crepes
crepes by allrecipes.com

Yield:  8 crepes

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. butter, melted
8 tbsp. Nutella
2 large bananas, sliced

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and eggs (please see my tip above). Gradually add in the milk and water, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.

Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side.

Let crepe cool for about 5 minutes, just so the Nutella can spread easily. Take 1 tbsp. of Nutella and spread it right now the center of the crepe. Take some of the banana slices and place them on top of the Nutella.

Then roll it up like a taco. Dust the crepe with powdered sugar. You can also top it with some whipped cream or a drizzle of chocolate syrup! Mmmmm..

If you are a crepe lover (like me), a chocolate lover (like me), and a banana lover (like me) you will LOVE these! And they literally took me about 10 minutes. I had one for dessert tonight. Shouldn't have because I'm doing the biggest loser, but I have ate good all week and I needed just one little treat. I figure it was probably better than a big piece of chocolate cake!

-alyssa*