italian hot chocolate with homemade marshmallows

italian hot chocolate

3.5 oz Lindt a Touch of Sea Salt Dark Chocolate

2 T Sugar

2 1/2 T. Ghiradelli Cocoa

1 Cup Whole Milk

1 tsp Corn Starch

In a small bowl whisk 1/4 cup milk and cornstarch until smooth. Set aside. Chop Chocolate and set aside. Sift the cocoa and sugar together, set aside. In a small pot heat 3/4 cup milk until bowling. Reduce heat to low, start whisking and add the milk/cornstarch mixture. Add the cocoa/sugar mixture slowly while continually whisking until smooth. Add the chopped chocolate and whisk for approximately 3 minutes. Serve immediately.

Homemade Marshmallows

3 Packages Unflavored Gelatin

1 1/2 Cups Granulated Sugar

1 Cup Light Corn Syrup

1/4 tsp Pink Salt

1 T. Pure Vanilla

Powdered Sugar for Dusting

Combine the gelatin and 1/2 cup of COLD water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and allow to sit while you make the syrup. Meanwhile, combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to high and cook until the syrup reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat. With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the dissolved gelatin. Put the mixer on high speed and whip until the mixture is very thick, about 15 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix thoroughly. With a sieve, generously dust an 8x12 glass baking dish with powdered sugar. Pour the marshmallow mixture into the pan, smooth the top, and dust with more powdered sugar. Allow to stand uncovered overnight until it dries out. Turn the marshmallows onto a board and cut them into squares. Dust them with more powdered sugar.

breakfast cookies

BREAKFAST COOKIES

3/4 Cup Organic Natural Creamy Peanut Butter

2 T. Honey

1 tsp. Vanilla

2 T. Bob's Red Mill Chia Seeds

2 T. Hemp Seeds

3/4 Cup Bob's Red Mill Old Fashioned Rolled Oats

2 T. Mini Chocolate Chips

2 T. Sliced Almonds (crush with hands)

Put the peanut butter, honey and vanilla in a microwavable bowl and microwave for 20 seconds. Stir the mixture until well combined. Add in the remaining ingredients, mix well. Roll the mixture into 8 balls and place the balls on parchment paper. Press the balls flat. Put the cookies in the fridge to set for an hour. Put them in an airtight container. You can store the cookies in the fridge up to two weeks.

frozen hot chocolate

FROZEN HOT CHOCOLATE

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup whole milk

1 cup chocolate milk

1/2 cup hot chocolate mix (you could use any flavor)

1 tsp. vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)

3 cups of ice

DIRECTIONS:

Put all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth! Top with whipped cream, marshmallows, chocolate sauce. Whatever you want.

cotton candy sugar scrub

COTTON CANDY SUGAR SCRUB

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup coconut oil

1 tsp cotton candy flavoring

tiny drop of pink food coloring

DIRECTIONS:

Mix ingredients together! You could use any flavoring you want. I love vanilla and coconut!

Scrub your skin, rinse off with water and pat dry with a towel. It leaves your skin SO SOFT!

fettuccine alfredo

HOMEMADE FETTUCCINE NOODLES:

INGREDIENTS:

3 1/2 cups flour

1 tablespoon fine grain himalayan pink salt

4 eggs

1 tablespoon olive oil

4-5 tablespoons water

INSTRUCTIONS:

Blend the flour and salt together. Make a little hole and drop the eggs, olive oil and water in the center. Slowly mix with the flour. Form into a ball that holds together.

Knead the dough for 3-4 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit for 30 minutes.

Divide the dough into 4 parts. Roll out each part of dough with a little flour. Using your 1 setting on your kitchen aid run it through then go to setting 2 then setting 3.

Put your fettuccine attachment on your kitchen aid and put the dough through. While the water is boiling let the noodles sit on a lightly floured surface.

Place in boiling water for 2-3 minutes.

ALFREDO SAUCE

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups heavy cream

juice from half a lemon

1 1/2 sticks butter

2 cups finely grated parmigiano reggiano

pinch freshly grated nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

Add cream, butter, lemon, nutmeg, salt and pepper over medium-medium low heat. Cook for 3 minutes then remove from heat and add the cheese. Pour over noodles. Cook with noodles over low heat until sauce thickens, about 1 minute.

vanilla milkshake

VANILLA MILKSHAKE

INGREDIENTS:

sprinkles

1/4 cup store-bought vanilla frosting, plus more for glasses

1/2 cup cold whole milk

7 scoops french vanilla ice cream

couple drops of vanilla

pinch of salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

Chill your milkshake glasses in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. Put a few sprinkles in a small bowl. Dip the glasses into the frosting, then into the sprinkles. Set aside.

In a blender, combine the milk, frosting, vanilla, ice cream and salt. Blend until ingredients are mixed together. Pour into prepared glasses. Enjoy!

creamy corn

CREAMY CORN

INGREDIENTS:

24 oz bag of frozen corn

1 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons butter

fresh cracked pepper

pinch of cayenne pepper

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons flour

1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano

DIRECTIONS:

Add frozen corn, cream, salt, sugar, pepper and butter to a pot. Whisk together the milk and the flour. Add to the corn mixture and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the mixture is thick. 8-12 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese.

chicken purse

CHICKEN PURSE

INGREDIENTS:

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 rotisserie chicken

1 tsp herbes de provence

1 tablespoon very finely chopped onion

salt and pepper to taste

2 cans pillsbury crescent rolls-very cold

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine all ingredients except for the rolls. Mix well. Open the rolls, don't pull apart. Keep every two triangles together. Make eight rectangles. Pinch the seams closed.

Divide the chicken and cream cheese mixture into eight parts. Put the mixture into the center of each rectangle. Fold the corners up and pinch together like a purse. Sprinkle with a little more herbes de provence on top.

Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet (I put tin foil on a cookie sheet and spray with pam for easy cleanup). Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

tres leches cake

TRES LECHES CAKE

INGREDIENTS:

Cake:

1 1/2 CUPS CAKE FLOUR

1 TSP BAKING POWDER

1/2 TSP SALT

1/2 CUP BUTTER, ROOM TEMPERATURE

1 CUP SUGAR

5 EGGS, ROOM TEMPERATURE

2 TSP PURE VANILLA EXTRACT

2 TSP VANILLA BEAN PASTE

Milk Glaze:

12 OZ. CAN EVAPORATED MILK

14 OZ. SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK'

3/4 CUP HEAVY CREAM

1 TSP VANILLA BEAN PASTE

Whipped Cream Topping:

2 CUPS HEAVY CREAM

1/2 CUP SUGAR

1 TSP PURE VANILLA EXTRACT

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease pan. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Beat the butter on medium speed until fluffy, about one minute. Decrease speed to low. Gradually add the sugar. Add in the eggs one at a time. Add vanilla. Add flour in slowly. Pour in prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top. Poke holes in the top of the cake. Cool completely. Combine the milk and vanilla for the glaze. When cake is cooled pour over the cake and put it in the fridge to set. Combine the cream, sugar and vanilla and whip until firm. Pipe or spread on cake. Let set in the fridge for an hour.

Enjoy!

peach frozen yogurt

PEACH FROZEN YOGURT

INGREDIENTS:

1 16 oz Bag of Frozen Peaches

3 Tablespoons Honey

6 oz. or 1 Container Vanilla Yogurt

1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until smooth and creamy. About 5 minutes. Serve immediately or put in a container and freeze.

cinnamon scones

GLAZED CINNAMON SCONES

INGREDIENTS:

2 Cups Flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

1 Stick Butter

1 Egg, Separated

3 T. Honey

1/3 Cup Milk or Half and Half

2 T. Brown Sugar

Cinnamon

1 Cup Powdered Sugar

3 tsp Milk

Vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and 1/4 tsp cinnamon. Cut in butter until crumbly, using a pastry blender or two knives.

Separate the egg white and yolk. Set the egg white aside. In a separate bowl, mix egg yolk, honey, vanilla, and milk. Add to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

Form the dough into a ball on a sheet pan covered with a silpat mat. Roll out into a circle about 8 inches in diameter and a half inch thick. Cut into eight equal pieces. Try to handle to dough as little as possible.

Whisk the egg white until frothy. Brush over the top of the dough. Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and some cinnamon over the scones.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. I baked my scone for 9 minutes, but everything cooks faster in Vegas!

Mix together powdered sugar, milk, vanilla and cinnamon (to taste) until a glaze forms. Drizzle over scones after they bake.

raddish kids cooking club

I signed J and K up for a monthly cooking club, to say they love it is the understatement of the year. This program is AMAZING! I am very impressed with how easy the instructions are to follow. They teach you the right culinary techniques, food safety and much more. Each month you will receive new recipes and tools. Cooking is such an important skill to have. It inspires confidence, independence and an appreciation of food. If you have picky eaters, this would be so great for them. They will be so excited to eat what they have cooked themselves! I don't have this problem with my kids, but I know so many kids that do. My favorite part was taking a night off of cooking and cleaning up!

The first recipe that we made from our kit were the Dumplings. I had a great time watching them work together. They are both so different in how they approached the class. Kyler needed everything perfect. He was even telling me that we needed a MEDIUM sized bowl that had polka dots because thats what was in the picture. HAHAHA! So exact in how he takes on the world. Jocelyn on the other hand is not as precise. She is okay with adding a little of her own flare. She added a little to much honey to the sauce and was totally fine. Kai wanted to start over. They added hot sauce instead. Like I said, very different approaches, but so fun to see them learn and grow.

While cooking they learned a valuable lesson on pan heat. The first batch was a little dark. Haha! They were a little frustrated, because it is SO much work to make and stuff those dumplings to have them burn. They turned down the heat and everything cooked up just fine after that. Don't worry, they still ate the burnt ones. My kids don't like to waste food!

If you are interested in joining this club, all of the information is HERE.

valentines day mini cakes

LAS VEGAS/HENDERSON FRIENDS!!

YOUR VALENTINE WOULD LOVE ONE OF THESE MINI CAKES! THEY ARE UNIQUE, DELICIOUS AND PERFECT FOR TWO. 

$30

FLAVORS: Chocolate, Red Velvet, Strawberry Chocolate

DESIGN: Love Birds or LOVE

PICK YOUR FLAVOR, DESIGN AND EMAIL ME: lifeisbymandi@gmail.com

• ORDER BY FEBRUARY 10TH

"Romance is the icing, but love is the CAKE!"

"I love you more than CAKE!"

"I like you and CAKE!"

"I love you like a fat kid loves CAKE!"

"You can't buy happiness,  but you can buy CAKE and that's kind of the same thing!"

"All you need is love, but a little CAKE now and then doesn't hurt."

lemon-rose bath bomb

One of my greatest loves in life is taking baths. I take one almost every night, they are my favorite. So naturally when I found out about LUSH bath bombs I was hooked. They are still the best, but I would need to get three jobs in order to pay for my nightly usage. So, I thought I would make some! The kids and I had so much fun deciding on what combination of oils we would use. Our favorite was lemon-rose. So refreshing and calming! Here is the recipe...dinosaur and lion optional.

LEMON-ROSE BATH BOMB

INGREDIENTS:

1 Cup Baking Soda

1/2 Cup Citric Acid

1/2 Cup Corn Starch

3 T. Epsom Salt

1 tsp. Water

4 tsp. Almond Oil

Zest of One Lemon

10 Drops Lemon Essential Oil

10 Drops Rose Essential Oil

3 Drops Pink Food Coloring

Plastic Ornament Mold

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl combine baking soda, citric acid, cornstarch and epsom salt. Whisk together. In a small bowl combine the water, almond oil, lemon zest and essential oils. Whisk together. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture. Test the mixture with your hands to see if it comes together. If not use a little more oil. Once it is the right consistency press the mixture into the molds. Let it dry in the molds for two hours. After the two hours set them on a paper towel to dry overnight.

*All ingredients are from AMAZON.

grinchy treats

GRINCH HEART COOKIES

INGREDIENTS:

1 Box Vanilla Cake Mix

1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil

2 Eggs

1/2 tsp Vanilla

Green Food Coloring

Powdered Sugar for Dusting

Large Heart Shaped Sprinkles

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat Oven to 350. Mix together the cake mix, food coloring, eggs, oil and vanilla. Chill the dough for 30 minutes. Drop by tablespoon into powdered sugar and roll into balls. Put on a baking sheet and press one heart onto the cookie. Bake for 8-9 minutes.

GRINCHY DRINK

INGREDIENTS:

Lime Sorbet

Sprite

DIRECTIONS:

Put desired amount of sorbet in a glass, fill it up with sprite! Easy and so delicious.

charlie brown thanksgiving

I have never really been a fan of thanksgiving food. I know, I know, I am crazy. Growing up I would always just eat olives, pickles and carrots on Thanksgiving. Not much has changed! Haha! Every year we watch Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and every year I ALWAYS wanted to have what they had for dinner. Popcorn, pretzels, jelly beans, toast? YES! Thats my kind of meal. So the kids and I decided to have a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving lunch today. It was so much fun! They said it was the best lunch they have ever had.

I hope you all have a very happy Thanksgiving full of family fun and a whole lot of memory making!

monster suckers

INGREDIENTS:

2 Cups Sugar

1 Cup Water

2/3 Cup Corn Syrup

1/2 tsp extract flavor of choice (I used strawberry)

2 tsp white food coloring

gummy eyeballs

5 long sucker sticks

DIRECTIONS:

Lay tin foil on the counter spray lightly with cooking spray. Lay five sucker sticks on the tin foil.

Combine sugar, water and corn syrup together in a large pot. Boil until a candy thermometer reaches 300 degrees or hard crack. Turn off the stove and stir in the flavoring and the food coloring.

Moving quickly pour the sugar onto the tin foil. They don't have to be perfect circles because they are monsters! QUICKLY put the gummy candies any place you want on the suckers. Cool completely.

chicken empanadas

INGREDIENTS:

1 rotisserie chicken, shredded

8 oz. package of shredded colby and monterey jack cheese

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1/2 tablespoon cumin

1 tsp. ancho chili powder

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. onion powder

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 packages of refrigerated pie crusts

water

egg

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put your silpat mat on your cookie sheet or spray the sheet with coconut oil.

In a large bowl combine the chicken, cheeses, peppers, spices and cilantro.

Unroll the pie crusts onto a lightly floured surface. Rolling slightly. Cut out rounds using a 4 inch round cookie cutter. Re-roll dough as needed. Repeat procedure with remaining pie crusts, making about 16 circles total.

Arrange 1 round on a clean, flat surface. Lightly brush the edges of crust with water. Place 1 heaping tablespoon of chicken mixture in the center of the round. Fold the dough over the filling, pressing the edges with a fork to seal. Repeat with the remaining rounds and chicken mixture.

Arrange empanadas on the baking sheet. Bake for 15-17 minutes.

the best m&m and chocolate chip cookie

I have made thousands of M&M cookies over the years and I have finally perfected my recipe! It is hard to not eat the whole batch in one day. Enjoy!!

M&M CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE

INGREDIENTS:

2 sticks salted butter

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

2 tsp pure vanilla

2 eggs

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 salt, plus a dash of pink salt

mini semi-sweet ghirardelli chocolate chips to taste

mini milk chocolate baking m&m's to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. I take the butter right from the fridge and stick it in the microwave for about 15-17 seconds. You want it VERY soft, but not completely melted.

Using a hand mixer, beat the butter with the sugars until creamy. Add the vanilla and the eggs; beat on low speed until just incorporated. 10-15 seconds. Don't over mix. You don't want the cookies to be stiff.

Next add the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix until it just comes together. Stir in the chocolate chip and the m&m's.

Roll the dough into balls of your choice. I made tablespoon sized cookies for the kids lunch boxes. They are bite-sized when baked. I didn't want a huge cookie for their lunches. Bake the small cookies for 6-7 minutes. I made other half of the dough regular size. Golf ball size. Bake them for 10 minutes. Do Not Over Bake! Cool on the pan for 5-10 minutes then enjoy!

TIP: If you are not sure about how long to bake your cookies do a test cookie. Make one cookie and bake. This will save you on over or under baking your cookies.

spaghetti and meatballs

Spaghetti and meatballs for dinner AND dessert.  Your kids will love this! This was a huge hit for mine on April fools. I made regular spaghetti and spaghetti cupcakes.  I fooled them good. They really thought it looked like real spaghetti not cupcakes! It's always fun to keep your kids on their toes.

What I love about both of these recipes is that they are so delicious and so easy. If you want to go meatless, don't make the meatballs and you have a easy spaghetti dinner in 30 minutes. I got the cupcake recipe from one of my favorite books, "Hello, Cupcake!", a book full of the cutest cupcakes that anyone can make! I know that your kids will love this idea, surprise them tonight with spaghetti and meatballs two ways! The link for the book is here.  

After dinner my kids made us watch "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs", don't say I didn't warn you! I hope you have a fun family night with these recipes. Happy cooking and baking!

Spaghetti and Meatball Cupcakes

Ingredients:

10 vanilla cupcakes baked in white paper liners

1 can vanilla frosting

Tan food coloring

11 hazelnut chocolates (Ferrero Rocher), unwrapped

3/4 cup low sugar strawberry preserves (low sugar has the best color)

2 tablespoons grated white chocolate

Directions:

Tint the vanilla frosting with the tan food coloring and spread a thin layer on each cupcake. Arrange the cupcakes on a serving platter so that they are touching.

Spoon the remaining frosting into a ziplock bag or use a pastry bag with a wilton 6 round pastry tip. Pipe the frosting all over the cupcakes to make the spaghetti, piling it high and allowing some of the spaghetti to hang over the edges.

Place the hazelnut chocolates and the strawberry preserves in a medium bowl and toss to coat. Spoon some of the preserves on top of the cupcakes. Place 1 hazelnut chocolate on each cupcake and 1 on the platter. Top the cupcakes with the remaining preserves. Sprinkle with the grated white chocolate.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

INGREDIENTS:

SAUCE:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1 onion, finely diced

4 cloves garlic

2 cans tomato sauce

salt and pepper to taste

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp Italian seasoning

dash of freshly grated nutmeg

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

fresh basil, julienned

1 box spaghetti

MEATBALLS:

1 pound ground Italian sausage

small handful of panko bread crumbs

1/4 tsp Italian seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

2 cloves garlic

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cook pasta according to package directions. Make sure to add a little salt to the pot while boiling the pasta.

In a medium bowl mix together the sausage, bread crumbs, garlic and seasonings. Form into golf ball sized balls.

Add the olive oil to a pan over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and cook until golden brown. Remove from heat and keep the drippings.

Add the butter, onions, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning to the pan drippings and saute until soft. About 7 minutes. Add garlic and saute for a minute or so more. Pour in the tomato sauce and sugar. Stir and cook over low heat for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and stir in the cream. Add cheese and a little more salt if needed. Stir in the pasta and julienned basil. Serve immediately.