Recipes

Judy’s Chocolate Kahlua Cake

Ingredients you’ll need for this delicious & easy to make cake!

Judy’s handwritten and scrapbooked recipe, something I will always treasure.

Grease & Flour the Pan

When all the batter is in the pan tap the pan 3 times to even out.

Serve with Judy’s favorite Moose Tracks ice cream or my favorite Vanilla Bean ice cream.

RECIPE: Judy’s Chocolate Kahlua Cake

1 Duncan Hines Devil’s food cake mix

1 Small instant vanilla pudding mix

1 Pt. Sour cream

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup Kahlua

2 Eggs

12 oz bag Semi sweet Chocolate Chips

Place mix in bowl & whisk in the pudding mix. Add all other ingredients one at a time except chocolate chips. Mix with electric mixer. Add chips to the mix before spooning into the bundt pan that has been sprayed with pam and then coat with flour. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool on rack for 20 min. Then invert pan on rack so cake will slide out. Cool completely before dusting with powdered sugar. I also like to drizzle with chocolate syrup. Judy serves with Moose Tracks ice Cream, I like Vanilla Bean.

I wanted to share this recipe with you in memory of my dear friend Judy. It was a cake she brought to every event and party. Back in my scrapbooking days (if any of you from those days are following along you will remember this cake and Judy well) This cake is so decadent, rich and fit for a chocolate lover. So very Judy! You would think it took forever to make and had a million ingredients! She found out our oldest who didn’t like cake loved this cake, and she started making it for his birthday every year! One year she surprised me with the recipe! Not something she gave out freely:) It’s a recipe I will truly cherish along with her cranberry crush (I’ll share another time). I will be caring on her tradition by bringing it to parties and events. Judy was one of the classiest, talented, full of fun ladies I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. I feel very blessed to have shared many scrapbooking, shopping, birthdays and holidays with this beautiful person. Judy passed away last week and I will truly miss her. We shared a lot of the same loves and had even more in common. She was a mom of boys too, and yet so girly like I am. She loved a beautiful home, decorated every holiday perfectly and loved to entertain to the fullest. She treated her friends like family and made everyone feel special. Judy just might own more pairs of shoes then me…. well maybe not!:) We sure did have fun shopping for them together and we might have several of the same pairs, we even wore the same size! She lived her life to the fullest and was one tough cookie, the last few years she gave a good fight while still looking chic! To live until your 80 is amazing to do it with her class, chicness, strength and love is a gift to all those who knew her!

I will miss you Judy Lewis until we meet again my sweet friend. OX, D’Arcy

I know she would have pure pleasure knowing her cake will be enjoyed by many, so please make it, enjoy it and share a piece of Judy with your family. OX

3 Ingredient, Quick & Easy Appetizer Perfect for the Holiday’s

Step 1 & 2 &3
unroll the crescent pack and use one section of 4 per each block of cream cheese. stretch dough out just a little and pinch the triangles together.
next: place cream cheese in center and cover with dill.

Step 4
cover the block of cream cheese with the crescent roll leave end unsealed and cut off a 1/2 inch strip from each end then pinch together the ends like shown. I really press everything together until smooth.

Step 5
cut strips into 10 smaller rectangles. Use the 10 pieces to create pedals and balls. Or create your own design. Brush with egg white if you wish. Step 6 repeat with other block of cream cheese and remaining 4 crescents.

Step 7 place in a baking dish and bake at 350 degrees until golden brown. ( the egg white wash helps it brown golden)

Step 8 serve warm with crackers.

Step 9 Spread it on a cracker of your choice. This goes quick and doesn’t last at parties. It take about 15 mins to prepare and 15 min in oven (depending on oven)

Hello Beautiful’s!

I hope you had a wonderful week. I know I love when we get an extra week from Thanksgiving to December. It really does help you be more prepared for the Christmas season. With all the Holiday parties fast approaching, I am sure you will be attending one or two that requires you to bring a dish or appetizer to share. I wanted to share with you our families fast and easy appetizer! Crescent dill cream cheese spread. You’ll whip this up so fast and people will think you slaved for hours. It’s been a favorite in our home for twenty something years and I always have the ingredients on hand so I can whip it up on a moments notice! A great tip if you have visitors popping by.

You’ll need:

1 can of crescent rolls

2 cream cheese blocks

Dill seasoning

and 1 egg for egg whites, brush on top before baking

9×9 baking pan

butter or spray to grease pan

Follow the steps above. I love you can pre make a day or two before hand (Non- baked) stick in fridge. Bake right before you’re heading to party.

I hope you’ll try this yummy dish for one of your Holiday parties and stop back by here and tell me how everyone liked it! Here’s to a perfect and easy Holiday season! OX, D’Arcy

Thanksgiving Dining Tablescape

Vintage silverware, gold and silver china, gold and silver accessories, woodland accessories, bristle trees, bottle trees, place settings, antlers, woodland.

Vintage pearl& gold silverware {Similar HERE} & {HERE}, gold and silver china, {SIMILAR HERE} gold and silver accessories, woodland accessories, {SIMILAR HERE}&{HERE} bristle trees, bottle trees, {HERE}&{HERE}place settings, antlers, woodland place card holders, layered table clothes{SIMILAR HERE} &{HERE} and gold dipped steam wear glasses {SIMILAR HERE} {HERE} adorn our table top.

Our kitchen coffee & coco bar. Who doesn’t love a warm drink in the winter?

Happy Thanksgiving from our home to yours!

I wanted to share our Thanksgiving table setting with you. It’s not the traditional Fall feel with leaves and pumpkins, I went with a winter white, silver, and gold theme. It feels elegant and warm don’t you think? To give it a Thanksgiving feel I picked up this fun silver pheasant from Target and added antlers and wooden details. TIP: for adding layers to your table-scape find items around your home that work in your color/theme. Pay attention to heights, find items from low to high, but not too high that you can’t see around it. I love pieces that are general and don’t scream a certain holiday so you can use them more often. Items like glass, mercury glass, and solid colors like gold, silver, white, and red (red works for Christmas, Valentines day and Summer). Pieces that give your table a glow like candles, votives, and candle sticks are great pieces to collect. Another TIP I love to share is layer your tablecloth, this works great if you don’t have the perfect size for your table. Here I used a large plain white tablecloth that fits the table and to add a pop of design. I used the gold stripe tablecloth that was meant for a smaller table but you would wouldn’t notice it doesn’t fit the table because of the layering. I also like to layer different tablecloths of different sizes if you don’t have one that fits! Just remember they need to be in the same color family for it to work. Our table is for 8, yet I always buy everything in sets of 12. I do this in case anything breaks or if I have extra people we can make a kid table for 4 at our kitchen island. It is also because I am a little bit of a collector….(my boys are going to hate me when I die!)

I just love collecting things to entertain and make life beautiful, I can throw any kind of party on a moments notice because of the pieces i’ve collected over the years! So If you’re wanting to build your entertaining collection keep following along with me. I plan on sharing more of my entertaining tips and collections with you as I have had so many of you ask for me to share this part of my life. Would you like a list of my basic entertaining starter kit? This would be the must have items and then be able to build from that. *If so please leave a comment below.

I love Thanksgiving and spending time with family and friends over good food and I know you do too! So next time make it a beautiful experience and share your love over a beautiful designed table, there is no better way to show off the hard work you spent in the kitchen. TIP: You can build your perfect table-scape weeks before to take the pressure off.

May you have a beautiful Thanksgiving, yummy food and a great time with your family and friends. We’ll be having a Friendsgiving as all of our family is out of town. OX, D’Arcy

PS: Are you excited for Black Friday or do you stay home and put up Christmas? This is my first year not in retail for the Holidays and I can’t tell you how excited I am! I’ll be staying home to decorate and enjoy my family. I will be shopping a little online and I can’t wait to share with you all the deals I found this week for Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday! My DEAL post will go live tonight at MIDNIGHT!

This post may contain affiliate links. All opinions are my own and I appreciate your support.

October Favorites

October Favorites!

I am a little late to the game on posting October Favorites! But better late than never right? October was a crazy month and It’s one of my favorite months too! (maybe because it’s my birthday month?) Anyway posting a monthly round up of my favorite things from that month featuring anything I loved, from fashion to podcast I am listening to. On Instagram it has been a popular posts of mine so I thought I would share a more detailed favorites from the month here on the blog! This will be a NEW monthly post (hopefully closer to the end of the month)! This will feature any random things I loved through out the month including products I used up! October brought us all the Fall feels with cooler temperatures and pumpkin spice starting to make its way into everything! So here is what made its way into my heart, home and body this last October!

October Favorite: Fall Fashion

One of my favorite things is dressing for fall! I love the layers and finding fun pieces. This jacket I found last year at Nordstrom rack and am linking a (similar one DEAL Here and Here) pants and sweater are linked in photo below.

all black outfit, fall outfit, fall vibes, photos,

Fall leaves are gorgeous this time of the year and perfect for stunning photos! Loving all the Fall vibes. Outfit details: Sweater {here} {similar here} black jeans {similar here} Another October Favorite: over the knee boots {similar here and Here}

On my Instagram I shared this post with my feelings on aging, read it here. October is my birthday month and I always enjoy the beauty of Fall and the feelings you get from the cooler temperatures and color change. Outfit details: Duster {similar here and here}, distressed jeans {similar here and here}, tee shirt {here}, and another one I love {here}, plus a killer deal {here}. Let’s not forget these supper cute booties {here}, October favorite for Sure! My leopard cardigan made the cut as well for a October favorite {here}, and this Sweatshirt {here}, plus these pj’s {here}.

October Favorite Books

One of the books I read Wildchild is my months fav! I couldn’t put it down! Here are a couple more books I read: Good, Better, Best by Sue McCarthy, Audacious by Beth Moore and The Participation Game by Norty Cohen. I love to read and I love a real book to hold, not a fan of my kindle except for travel. How about you? I normally don’t get 4 books done in 1 month either but being a teacher you read when the kids do! I enjoyed each book and was excited to learn business techniques, more about faith and a book for the joy of reading and taking you somewhere different with a story line you could relate too. What are you reading? On my nightstand right now is Joanna Gaines book (I have had since she released it! Maybe a year or two?) In my school bag is The Career Code.

A book about the photographer, model and magazine world. Was such a fun read I couldn’t put it down!
A quote from the book Wildchild that I loved and couldn’t have said better! ” Style makes you different, fashion makes you the same!”

October Favorite Products

I used up, well maybe my hubby helped a little! Wink wink! Loreal Revitalift Intensive Overnight Mask: wear in the evening after cleaning face. really moisturizes but feels really thick. Glo Hydra Radiance Moisturizer: daily moisturizer that makes your skin really glow, almost dewy, I would purchase again. Hyaluronic Acid Anti Aging Serum: Use after your toner & helps even skin tone and tighten skin, I think my skin looked clearer (not that I have any kind of acne) just fresh looking. Revision Skincare Retinol Complete: use this at night only and after serum, I used around my eyes and smile lines. I feel like it helped reduce the lines. I think it’s a smart product to use in your late 30’s to 60’s. If you have been following you know how important skin care is to me and that I am always trying new products out to see what works and what doesn’t. I try to share my results with you over on Instastories and every so often I’ll do a beauty routine or round up over here on the blog. Please let me know on what social platform you want me to post results?

New here? I am 47 and nobody ever guesses my age:) some of that I can thank my mom… The other is because of my skin care routine. I do a face mask twice a week (used to be once a week until I learned 4-5 months ago you should do two a week! I use a cleanser, everyday and a scrub maybe 3 times a week, I do use a toner, then a serum, retinol is new to my routine and only at night and I finish with a moisturizer. At least one night a week I sleep with vaseline all over my face because Utah is so dry! I am sharing this with you so you can understand my routine and know I try a product out for the whole month sometimes two before I share it. I want you to know I support products I love and I am not always sponsored by the product. What’s your favorite product? Will you be trying one of my October favorites? Please let me know below!

October brings the most beautiful sunrises. This photo was on my morning drive alongside the lake.

October Favorite Podcasts

I am listening to and can’t get enough… I don’t even listen to music in the car anymore!

Favorites List:

The Influencer Pod: Cast if your an influencer or in any kind or marketing its a must!
Joel Osteen: Christian.
Style Collective: Great if you’re self employed.
Wit & Wisdom: Also great if you’re self employed.
Pop Fashion: You guessed it Fashion based.

My October Favorite Random Things

This month I adored this lipstick (here), my favorite blanket to snuggle up with (here), and my favorite seasonal mug (here), both I used to snuggle up and watch Hocus Pocus at least 25 times during the month of October! My favorite NEW TV shows: God Friended Me and A Million Little Things!

And now the really good stuff! Fall means comfort food, homemade soups, mac and cheese, chicken pot pie and yummy pastas! Here’s my easy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe (here) and I will continue to share our families favorite dishes with you since its some of my most engaged posts. Below is my oldest son Hudson’s easy Spicy Rigatoni Recipe! Your gonna love it, and it’s so very easy!

My Sons Easy Spicy Rigatoni Recipe:
For a quick and easy throw together meal that feels like you slaved in the kitchen. You’ll love this Spicy Rigatoni Recipe. Our family loves Buca di Beppos Spicy Chicken Rigatoni. One day Hudson my oldest decided he was going to recreate it, in a fast college student way! He did and it is really yummy.

You’ll Need:

1 box rigatoni Our Favorite HERE

1 16 oz jar of your Favorite Marinara sauce (we like garlic and basil) It’s WHOLE30 HERE

1 16 oz jar of your favorite Alfredo sauce but your only using about 10 oz (we like this one HERE)

1 half pint heavy whipping cream using 1/2 off the container (we like this one HERE)

1 small bag of frozen peas

2 tablespoons of fresh minced garlic

1 tablespoon of crushed red pepper HERE

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup parmesan cheese to top off HERE

Optional Add Ins: 3 Grilled chicken breast cut thin and pan fried or grilled.

In a large pan bring to boil water for pasta and follow direction on box. In a medium sauce pan pour in jar of Marinara sauce, add about 10-12 oz of the Alfredo sauce and 1/2 the container of the cream let simmer and add in all the seasonings. Don’t add peas to sauce until very end (about 1 min to sauce) right before you drain pasta and are ready to dish up, you want the peas to be warm but still have a little crunch. Plate pasta, cover in sauce and top with parmesan! So good and dinner in less then 20 minutes! Serve with a salad and garlic bread!

My favorite pasta serving bowl (HERE) and the best strainer (HERE)

Did you do anything from my Fall bucket list HERE?

I hope you had a beautiful October and enjoyed my list of my favorite October things! I also hope you try a couple of them maybe this November. I can’t believe it’s already the 2nd week in November and I have some exciting things planned for the blog. I love November and the reminder of all the things we should be grateful for. I will be sharing my gratitude list, easy way’s to give back and some fun shopping guides for the up coming Holiday season. I will also post shopping guides for my Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday picks along with Holiday outfits, a couple of our favorite Holiday recipes and of course my Thanksgiving table scape and peeks at some Holiday decor! So stay tuned as I have exciting things to share! Have a beautiful week! OX, D’Arcy

THIS POST may contain affiliate links. All opinions are my own. I only promote brands that I truly love and believe in! Thank you for the support!

Recipe for Chocolate Kahlua Cake

Happy Monday Beautiful’s!

You guys asked for this recipe when I shared a photo of it on Instastories. So here’s a little background on how this yummy little treat made it into my recipe box. Back in the days when I did scrapbooking retreats, I had a dear friend Judy make this to die for cake and would bring it to the party! Everyone in attendance would rave and would silently be hoping for it at every retreat. We were blessed with this cake every time Judy came.

This cake is so decadent and rich, if you’re a chocolate lover you’ll think you died and went to heaven. My oldest son adores this cake and Judy would be so sweet to make it for him on several birthdays.

One year we were delighted when she shared the recipe with us and now I can share it with you.

Nobody thought by the taste that it could be a box cake mix and so easy to make! I am so happy I could share it with you and hopefully it becomes a family favorite for you too.

Judy’s Chocolate Kahlua Cake

1 Duncan Hines devils food cake mix

1 Small instant vanilla pudding

1 Pint sour cream

1/4 cup oil

1/2 cup Kahlua

2 eggs

12 oz bag Semi sweet chocolate chips

Place mix in bowl & whisk in pudding mix. Add all other ingredients one at a time except chocolate chips. Mix with electric mixer. Add chips into mix before spooning into greased and floured bunt pan or mini bunt pans.

Bake at 350 for 50 mins depending on oven, then cool on rack for 20 min.

Then invert pan or pans on rack so cake will slide out, cool completely before dusting with powdered sugar.

Serve with vanilla bean ice cream, or with Judy’s favorite: moose tracks ice cream!

My mom was in town for her birthday (she always travels out for both our birthdays, hers is the 12th and mine is the 20th) the boys made her make this recipe! Nothing like making you own birthday cake! HEHE… I am finishing up Whole30 and didn’t want to be tempted….so no cake for me! I hope you enjoy the rest of your week and let me know if you tried this recipe. OX, D’Arcy

A couple of my favorite Baking tools from Amazon Here, Here, Here, and Here

Fall Bucket List 12 Must Do Fall Activities

white kitchen, marble, super white quartzite counter tops

Bath and Body Works Fall candle collection, my favorite is leaves. Costco Fall flowers & candy corn make it feel like fall! My shirt is by Trunk old, similar here & here.

Hello Beautiful’s! You know how much I love Fall (it’s going to be my Birthday month!) and how much I love to do & enjoy all things Fall! So I thought it would be fun to do a Fall bucket list to share with you, since you loved my Winter bucket list last year (If you missed that check it out here!). I hope it inspires you to get in the spirt of the season and check a couple things off the list as well! OX

PUMPKIN PATCH – Well of course, an annual event around year! Even if my kids are big and over it! I still drag them out for a family day (normally it’s bribed with food). I always have a large assortment of pumpkins on our porch, steps and entryway. So this is a great time to have everyone pick a verity and help decorate!
HAUNTED HOUSE– A perfect date with the family, my boys will be really into this! I haven’t been to one since high school, so wish me luck!
A day in front of a fire with a cozy blanket, a cup of tea, a candle burning and a great book!
Go on an OUTDOOR HIKE, where the colors are stunning and the air is crisp!
Go to a COLLAGE FOOTBALL game! We have to go support Auston Tesch #53 for Weber state at least once a year! It’s always fun and last year my mom was here to go support him too!
Take a FALL DRIVE where the leaves are in full glory. I love grabbing a warm drink and taking a drive with my hubby to see the color’s. It’s fun to grab a meal out and make it a date. When we lived in California, we would go with the entire family,(my mom & my sister) to Oak Glen and pick apples, boy do I miss those days.
Make a HOMEMADE PIE, I haven’t made a pie from scratch in a few years. I used to love making apple pies, when we had so many apple trees in California! (I need to plant a couple apple trees)
JUMP INTO A PILE OF LEAVES and get a cute picture! I will wait for my boys to rake all the leaves up! hehe
Make a big POT OF CHILI (my veggie chili recipe is below) and watch Hocus Pocus! I mean what is fall without watching Hocus Pocus at least 10 times!
Create a FALL WARDROBE CAPSULE, these wardrobe capsules have been all the rage, (have you heard of them?) with fall being most peoples favorite time to shop, it’s a great time to create one for you. Help yourself to get inspiration and pick out classic pieces to build your wardrobe for Fall.
Spend the WEEKEND with GIRLFRIENDS in PJ’S watching HALLMARK MOVIES. Of course we’ll do face mask, drink wine and eat all kinds of yummy food! Who’s ready for a sleep over?
Enjoy a FIRE ON THE DECK making s’mores, under cozy blankets enjoying the crisp fall air! I will be decorating my back deck for fall this year! Unfortunately it’s a short season here in Utah, So I have never decorated the back deck for fall. This year we are going too spend more time wrapped in blankets enjoying the crisp air.

Corn Maze Fun: Outfit details- Cardigan old: similar here & here, Black tee Here, Shoes similar here, Camo moto pants, Old: Similar here and here here

Louis Vuitton, fall nails, purchase color here and Starbucks. Three of my favorite things!

My Easy Veggie Chili Recipe: (slow cooker) So easy you’ll make it a ton!

1 large can of chili beans and sauce

1 can each of pinto, kidney, red beans drained and rinsed

1 large can of tomato sauce

1 can of crushed tomatoes

1 cup of water

1 each of a red, yellow, green bell peppers, washed and chopped

1 large onion chopped and browned

4 cloves of garlic chopped browned

1 tablespoon of butter (for browning onion and garlic)

1 tablespoon of chili powder

1 tablespoon of onion salt

1 tablespoon of kitchen bouquet (browning seasoning)

1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

crushed red pepper seasoning to taste

shredded cheese (for topping)

Brown the onions and garlic in the butter, then add everything (except cheese) into the crockpot on low in the morning and come home to a yummy meal! You can brown turkey or meat of choice with a chili seasoning packet and add that, but you’ll need another can of tomato sauce. Serve with corn bread, fritos or soda crackers!

Extra toppings optional: sour cream, green onions, hot sauce I hope you try it and let me know what you think. It’s a family favorite around here!

As promised I shared ALL the weekend sales on my instagram stories under Shopping!

I picked some of my favorite things and shared the deals, so go check them out!

Thank you for stopping by and taking the time out of your day to spend a little bit of time with me. If you have any question, please remember to leave a comment. I love helping my friends out! OX, D’Arcy

Best Homemade Salsa Recipe

All the ingredients for a big batch of home made salsa. Makes 3 quarts

Fresh Veggies from the garden.

chopping all the veggies, I cut everything in this size.

Green chilies, Green salsa, garlic, oregano, onion salt

Everything is cut up and all ingredients in the pot, before cooking!

salsa as it is cooking down.

After cooled pour into blender and blend for a minute, or to the consistency you want.

chips served with the salsa. Add cheese to one for a variation.

Finished salsa without cheese

Salsa with cheese

Homemade Salsa recipe:

12 fresh tomatoes

Or 3 cups tomatoes

1 bunch cilantro chopped

2 7oz cans Green chili peppers chopped

1 12oz green chili salsa

1 large yellow onion chopped

1 bunch of green onion chopped

2 or 3 jalapeños chopped

2 large tablespoons Oregano

2 Large Tble spoons of Onion Salt

2 lrg Tble spoons of chopped Garlic

Add All ingredients into large pan and bring to boil on stove top, stir and then let simmer on low for about 1 hour. Let cool, this takes a couple hours. Then pour into blender and blend until consistency you like. Pour into containers and chill.

I like to serve 1 bowl with cheese and 1 bowl without, with your favorite chips!

Perfect for Large crowds & football season!

We’ve been making this recipe since I was a kid. My mom got this recipe from a dear family friend and we’ve enjoyed making it ever since!

I hope you will enjoy it as much as we have! OX, D’Arcy

Happy tee, I showed you how I cut the neck out of my tees to make an off the shoulder tee, in my instastories. These cute Happy tee’s are made local here in Utah. I was wearing this tee when I was sharing recipe on instastories and got a ton of questions on it, so I wanted to give you the link to purchase these cute tees HERE. Go check them out, it’s a woman owned company and she makes darling tee’s.

Check out my Fiesta bar cart styling perfect for serving that chips and salsa! View Bar cart in more detail HERE.

How to make the BEST Banana Bread!

Something you may not know about me? I love to bake, and after sharing some of the things i’d been making on my instastories, I got an overwhelming response to please share recipes. I love to give you what you want, so I made a new category here on my blog to share Recipes. It’s under Lifestyle in the drop down and I hope you’ll try the recipes I share. I will be sharing family recipes and ones I have created. Bare with me as I promise my food photography will get better!

I love to entertain as you know, and I’ve been cooking and baking since I was so young! I won the BEST apple pie in the 3rd grade and would have been one of those kids vying to be on today’s Baking kids championships, had we had those then! My time it was country fair and school baking competition, Boy times have changed! Not that I am a fancy baker (I am not) I just love to bake good basic’s!

Once Upon a time, years ago I put on scrapbooking retreats and I cooked all the meals, 3 meals a day plus snacks. The ladies always raved about my food and wanted me to create a cookbook and while I said I would, I collected mine and my families recipes, but I never put that book together! Maybe one day I will, but until then i’ll be sharing my favorites here! My plan if all goes well, is to share a recipe with you every Monday. So here’s goes my first Monday Recipe, My Grandma’s Banana bread or muffins recipe, with a couple of improvement’s! My grandma Mercer made this bread every Christmas and sometimes we’d get lucky and get it for a family gathering throughout the year. I started making this bread when I got married and giving out to our neighbor’s, Ups, mailman and friends for Christmas. I’d make 24 loaves! I’d save every brown spotted banana and threw it in the freezer. At first my hubby would question all the bananas taking up all the freezer space, but now nobody say’s a thing! They get really excited if they see them defrosting in the sink!

My Boy’s are terrible… They’ll each eat a loaf in a day if i’d let them! When I make a batch I alway’s make multiple batches. If making for my family i’ll do 4 batches, and make two trays of muffins and 4 medium loaves, then i’ll freeze 1/2. When I make at Christmas i’ll make 8 to 12 batches and make some medium loaves and the rest mini loaves to give as gift’s.

My Grandma’s recipe called for 3 overripe banana’s, I do 4 and I make sure the bananas have been frozen and then thawed. This makes for the most moist banana bread you’ve ever have. I also added chocolate chips or nuts, my grandmothers was just plain banana bread. You can leave out the Chocolate chips or the nuts if you wish, the main recipe won’t change.

Recipe: Best Banana Bread with Chocolate chips

2cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 overripe bananas

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted & cooled

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For a variation add chocolate chips ( 2 cups) walnuts or pecans (1 cup)!

powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease your muffin or loaf pan’s. Mash the bananas with a fork in a small bowl and then whip them, set aside. in large bowl add butter, eggs, vanilla beat well. Mix dry ingredients, fold in the banana’s and chocolate chips or nuts or both. Pour batter into loaf or muffin pans. Give the pan a good rap on the counter to get rid of air bubbles! Place in oven, oven’s all range in heat temperatures so time could vary, so I say start checking in 45 min but could go as long as 1 hour. Test by sticking a toothpick in center, if comes out clean, it’s done! Makes 1 large loaf or 2 small loaves.

I hope you enjoy one of my families favorite treats! Ox

Remember I am not trained in baking or cooking in anyway, I am just a wife and mom cooking for family & friends. Please let me know if you tried the recipe and how they turned out! OX, D’Arcy

3 Way’s to entertain with ease!

{Dress} here and similar Here, here here. {Shoe} here and similar here {bar cart} Vintage but Similar Here and here {glasses} Here and Similar here {home} target $3 bin Sold out Similar here {ring} sold out, similar here and here

Hello Beautiful’s,

I want to share with you 3 easy way’s to entertain with easy! You know how much I love to entertain and I love quick impromptu small gatherings. I found some easy way’s to make for a “pop over visit”for a girl’s night or a Couple’s date night!

#1 Make it simple, you can have a great night without having to slave in the kitchen. I love having people over for drinks and a simple appetizer or one of my favorite’s is, Dessert and drinks after having dinner out! This allows you to keep it simple and not have to take a lot of time to prepare.

#2 Being Prepared! Having a few entertaining piece’s you love. Pretty glasses, a great serving tray or bowl. Even having a bar cart (even if you don’t drink) It makes serving easy, yet keeps your theme in check! View some of my favorite past bar cart tips Here, here and here!

#3 Keep the drink and food easy! Paring a great champagne or Prosecco with a fruit patter or my favorite Strawberries and homemade fruit dip! (my family’s favorite & it’s quick!) Recipe below! If you want to serve a cocktail, I alway’s suggest a specially cocktail ( find out what your guest alcohol choice is) create a drink around that! Say it’s vodka, you can make a Moscow mule and serve with a cheese and cracker platter or a great crudite’s platter. Serving 1 kind of drink helps you to enjoy your company and not having to act as a bartender! I love drinks I can make in a pitcher! Sangria, Rum punch, Vodka lemonade, Mojitos.

Entertaining doesn’t have to be expensive or hours of time! Some of my most favorite get together’s happened spur of the moment! This is why being prepared is key! I can have friends drop over at any time and I can easily throw something together. Here is a list of some of the things I like to alway’s have in my pantry and fridge, this helps you entertain quick and with ease.

Assortment of cheeses (even cream cheese or boursin, these make a great veggie dip)

Assortment of crackers and nuts

Fresh fruit and veggies

A bottle of wine, vodka, Rum

Club soda or La croix

Having these items on hand, really helps for throwing a quick and yummy platter together fast! Who doesn’t love to snack on these! As for the drink’s I found if you have these staples you can create something, even if it’s a wine spritzer with fresh fruit!

Strawberry dip recipe:

A jar of Marshmallow fluff

A Block of Cream cheese

A teaspoon of vanilla

mix all ingredients together, serve in pretty bowl with strawberries. Yum! (it’s great to dip strawberry in champagne first, then in dip!)

I hope you throw a fun and easy get together soon! OX, D’Arcy

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