Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake

Nothing makes me happier that a successful party.  I love cooking for people, from full out plated dinners to just finger foods. It makes me happy when people enjoy my food.
This past weekend I hosted a party, and I made a numerous amount of food, but this this post I'm going to highlight dessert!
I have apparently been living under a rock, I don't know how I've never managed to have Nutella before. I've known about it for quite a while and how everyone loves it. I've even served it to small children with strawberries, but I've never actually tried it before. Holy cow, I didn't know what i was missing!!

I love chocolate and hazelnut together, and Ferrero Rochers are my favorite so when I came across this cheesecake I knew it was something that I HAD to make.

This Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake was a hit! Everyone loved it and it is so simple to make with just a few ingredients. This is a no bake cheesecake, just whip up the ingredients and chill it in the fridge until you're ready to serve!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cups Oreo Crumbs

1/2 Stick Butter, melted

3 8oz Packs of cream cheese, room temperature

1 1/2 Cups Nutella

Topping:

3/4 Cup Nutella

1/4 Cup chopped hazelnuts

10-12 Ferrero Rochers

Directions:

1. Combine Oreo crumbs and melted butter and press into the bottom of a buttered spring form pan. Chill in the freezer for about 10 minutes.

2. Cream together cream cheese and Nutella with a hand mixer and pour over chilled crust. Return to freezer until firm.

3. Spread remaining Nutella over top of cheese cake, sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts and line edges with Ferrero Rochers. Keep chilled until ready to serve.

Adapted from http://www.littlesweetbaker.com/

Breakfast Casserole

I'm sure you've heard breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right? I live for breakfast, I can eat breakfast food any time of the day and be a happy woman.

I've recently discovered this wonderful thing called a breakfast casserole. They are so easy to make and there are tons of different variations you can make.

The possibilities are endless!

My husband is a meat lover, so my go to is a sausage and potato breakfast casserole. I make one almost every weekend and it lasts all week to bring left overs to work.

Frozen ingredients are quick & easy.

 I usually buy bags of frozen peppers, onions and hashbrowns so I can whip this casserole up at any time.

 I saute the peppers and onions until they are soft and then set them a side.

 Next I brown up the sausage, drain, and they combine with peppers and onions in a casserole dish.

 I  add the still frozen hashbrowns to the sausage mixture and then move on the the eggs.

My secret weapon!

 A couple of years ago I watched my mother make some omelettes for family who stayed over. I noticed she was putting the eggs into a blender before putting them into the pan. At first I thought it was just a quicker way to scrabble all those eggs. Little did I know it would change the way I made eggs forever.

I will NEVER scramble eggs by hand EVER AGAIN. Even when it's just scrabbled eggs for myself. Whipping them up in the blender makes them so light and fluffy. I use the single serve attachment for my Ninja when I'm just making a few eggs, but when I make the casserole I pull out the big guy.

I add all my eggs and a nice amount of salt and pepper to the blender. I hit the blend button and just let it go for at least 30 seconds. You're looking for a nice frothy finish. Pour it over the sausage and top with cheese.

 I give it a quick stir before tossing it in the oven just.

Once it's set, pull it out of the oven, slice it up and devour!

I'm a huge fan of hot sauce on my eggs so i topped mine with some Chipotle Tabasco.

What's your favorite breakfast combination?

INGREDIENTS:

You really can't go wrong here, add whatever you like! Here's what I used...

1 lbs ground sausage

1/4 C frozen chopped onions

1/4 C frozen chopped peppers

2 C frozen hashbrowns

18 eggs

Shredded cheese

Salt & Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Saute onions and peppers over medium heat until cooked through, set aside.

2. In the same pan brown your sausage. I like to sprinkle salt & pepper in while it is browning.

3. Once the sausage is cooked, add it along with the cooked onions and peppers to a 13x9 baking dish. (you'll wan't to grease this first)

4. Scramble your eggs! I throw mine into my Ninja Blender and whip them up until they are nice and frothy. I also like to add more salt & pepper to the eggs while in the blender.

5. Pour the eggs into the baking dish and top with cheese. Give it a little mix and throw it in the oven for about 30 minutes or until the center is set.

6. ENJOY!

Monday Musings

May is a new month and hopefully that means May is a new me.

I am always so hopefully that I can turn my life around, make a better me, be happier and more active. Then two days pass and I've lost all ambition to do so, and I say I'll start tomorrow, or the next day or the next week.

I need to stop starting tomorrow, I need to start now.

This is going to be a busy month,  among all the things I have to do this month I have projects I want to complete and a workout schedule I was to stick to. (Which I am already failing at)

Saturday I spend the morning the the DMV to switch over my name, unfortunately I have to go back because I need power of attorney to change my registration. Another thing to add to the to-do list!

After the DMV I met up with my friend Hannah for cocktails at 11AM. 

Hey, it's five o'clock somewhere right?!

Cute box with a Candle inside.

She's getting married next July and she asked me to be in her bridal party! I am so excited to share her day with her. She was my Maid of Honor in my wedding.

More motivation to get my booty into shape!

I need to start writing out that to-do list or nothing will ever get done this month!

Until next time xoxo,

Tuesday Thoughts

Did you even just wake up and wish you were someone else?

Different Job, different house, different lifestyle?

There are so many things I could change about myself if I could.

My problems is that I CAN change them, I just have no ambition to do so. 

I am stuck in a rut in this mundane life I am living.

There aren't enough hours in the day to do what is needed to be done.

It's not very encouraging.

Maybe I need to set smaller goals. Maybe I need to force myself a little harder.

Maybe I need to start living a little more.

Honey Dijon Garlic Chicken

I try to step out of the normal quick easy dinners I also make, Tacos, Meatloaf, Spaghetti. Most of the time when I try new recipes they are hit or miss. Some times I like it, and the hubby hates it. Others he loves it and I couldn't care for it. This was a quick easy recipe that's good in both our books!

I adapted the original recipe from Rasa Malaysia I only changed the amount of garlic I used, and didn't exactly measure the amount of honey.

You can really use any type of chicken you want here, but I had some tenderloins in the freezer so that's what I used. The honey Dijon garlic sauce would taste really great on a nice pork chop as well!

I served this with a box of Pasta Roni, which I totally forgot I needed to make until after the chicken was cooked! Whoops!

Honey Dijon Garlic Chicken

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken
Salt & Pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons honey
3 teaspoons Dijon Mustard
1/4 cup water
Pinch of salt

Directions:

Heat up a large skillet on medium heat and add 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Mean while sprinkle chicken liberally with salt and pepper on both sides. 

Fry up the chicken until cooked on both sides and remove from skillet.

Add the remaining olive oil to the pan and stir-fry the garlic until slightly browned. Add the honey, Dijon Mustard, water and salt. Stir to make sure all is combined. Let sauce reduce just a little. Add the chicken back to the skillet and stir to make sure the chicken is all coated and reheated if necessary.

Remove from heat and serve. Making sure to spoon all the extra garlic pieces and sauce onto the chicken!

(Read more at www.rasamalaysia.com)

From MISS to MRS!

I AM MRS. WALSH!

The past few months since my last post have be crazy busy. The holidays came and went, my bridal shower, finishing touches on all the wedding details and finally the WEDDING AND HONEYMOON!

I don't have many pictures to post since it's only been a week and a half so my photographer hasn't sent my any proofs yet.

First Dance

We went to Sandals in Ocho Rios, Jamaica for our Honeymoon and it was such a good time! Nothing but relaxing poolside with drinks in our hands!

Dinner at Kelly's on the Dock

Sunset during dinner

It sucked come home to 50 degree weather and going back to work!

Now that the wedding is over we have a few things on our to do list, house hunting is our next step! I've been trying to do some research and man oh man is there a lot that goes into, it's going to be a though journey!

Until next time! xoxo

Product review: Albertini Intl. Devine

This stuff is amazing. I got it back in my August Glambag from Ipsy. It was one of those products that I let sit around for a while before I actually got around to using it. I have very dry skin and I use this in the shower and it really does help to make my skin stay hydrated all day.

There are two ways you can use this, you can apply in the shower and wash off, or you can apply to damp skin and leave on. I have used it both ways and they  work equally well. I mainly focus this product on my elbows and upper arms. Since my wedding is in four months I decided I really need to get a handle on my skin care. I have elephant elbows and this stuff really smooth's out my skin and lasts all day.

I work at a desk all day so a lot of the time my elbows are brushing up against my desk and the skin gets worse, but not when I have used this stuff in the morning!

It has a consistency of a very thick hair conditioner which really seems to lock in the moisture. I am not sure where to find this product in stores so I think I will have to make use of Ipsy's 20% off code (IPSY15) and order this product full-size once I run out.

Oh how I've missed yoga!

A few years back I started going to a yoga studio. They had a promotion that for your first month you could come an unlimited amount of times for only $50! An AMAZING price, since normally it's $150 for an unlimited month! After my first class I was in love. I tried by best to go twice a week to the Yoga 101 class, I even went on a Sunday morning!


I loved yoga, but I didn't love the price, so I had to stop going to the studio. I had tried a few videos at home, but it just wasn't the same as being in the studio. It's been well over a year since I've been to a class and recently I've been wanting to go back. I just can't swing the that price tag!


Of course I was on Pinterest yesterday looking at yoga related things and came across a YouTube channel that has a #30daysofyoga series! You can find it {here}Yoga with Adriene will probably be my new obsession.


I watched in introduction video to the 30 days of yoga, and since I haven't been on the mat in over a year I decided to try the {yoga for complete beginners} she recommends to get back into the swing of things. Adriene has a way of making you feel like you're actually in a studio, and I was able to get really into it and myself. Completely different that other videos where I just wasn't motivated enough to do the whole practice.


I think I will try a few more of her beginner videos before I jump into the 30 days of yoga series. I will post about my journey once a week after I start!


How many of you are into Yoga? Do you follow any YouTube channels that are your favorite?

Halloween was a bust!

I was so disappointed in Halloween this year! I live in a two family house, and I was expecting a lot of children! When I was living in my old place (it was an apartment complex) I never got a single trick or treater. So, after talking to my downstairs neighbor I was pretty excited. She had mentioned that last year there were so many kids she ran out of candy!

I did my make up to look like a cat and borrowed some ears from my neighbor to complete the look!

My nose was quite itchy with all that eye liner on my face!

Since Halloween was on a Saturday this year I figured kids would start showing up around 2pm. Well my bell did ring at 1:30PM I was excited. Look who it was! The HULK! Aka my nephew :]

Sweetest HULK around!

Unfortunately the bell didn't ring again for 3 hours. I got one group of kids and that was is! Now I have all this candy to myself!

There were fireworks though, and really close to my house.  It was a nice way to end a bummer of a day.

Perfect view from our living room window!

Although it wasn't a total waste of a day and candy! Mike and I had the whole house to ourselves, pulled the couch up close to the TV and played Jurassic World Lego with the bowl of candy at our feet!

How was your Halloween? 

Product Review: Primer, Foundation, Concealer

Revlon Color Stay Foundation, Loreal Magic Lumi Primer, E.L.F. HD Lifting Concealer

I've been in the mood lately to do a full face of make up whenever I go out, even when I'm not going out and just lounging around the house. Now if I could just manage to get out of bed early enough before work to do the same that would be awesome! Never going to happen!

These 3 products are new to my collection, well except the Revlon Color Stay. I've actually had this for months and hated it the first time I used it. I just couldn't get myself to throw it away because it was on the more expensive side of the drugstore foundations. But when I moved I thought I actually had thrown it away and went out and bought a new foundation because I was completely out. Two days ago I was rooting through a box we have yet to unpack and there it was, staring at me, so I decided to give it a second go and I actually really like it this time.

I did buy the wrong one though, so this might be the reason I didn't like it initially. It is for combination/oily skin types and I and definitely more of a dry skin type. I did not realize that there were two different types when I purchased this though.


I found this foundation to be a little thick, but I purchased the Lumi Primer and I've seen some YouTube Beauty Gurus mix it in with their foundations so I decided to give it a try, and its perfect! The coverage is nice and it doesn't seem to flake with my dry skin.


As far as the concealer goes, I liked it. The applicator didn't really seem to transfer much product, but I think it did a pretty good job covering my under eye area. It didn't seam to crease, which is good!I've never been able to master covering my dark circles, but I also don't use concealer as often as I could. Practice makes perfect!

Eyes: Where the light is Palette (Kathleen Lights & Color Pop)
Lips: e.l.f. matte lip color in Tea Rose




Have you tried these products? What are your opinions? Any other products that work best for you?

Product review: Olay Regenerist

Olay Regenerist Luminous tone perfecting cream moisturizer. 

I've been using this moisturizer for a while now and I love it. 

After putting it on, my face feels like velvet. I have seen some changes in my skin, I definitely see that it is color correcting. Which is a great thing because I do have a lot of redness in my face.  It does help to lock in moisture in my face. Especially after using a drying face wash. 

I do have dry skin and this moisturizer seems to do a good job of keeping me from looking dry and flakey all day. 

Sunday Funday

Sunday was a pretty good day for me. Mike and I woke up decently early and were up and out of bed by 9:30am! I made myself the most perfect egg to go on my jumbo bagel, it was delicious. It also looked like an egg pancake and I was able to flip it perfectly and didn't make a mess. Go me!

After breakfast I did a little tidying up in the kitchen and threw our new glasses from the wedding registry into the dishwasher so we can start using them. :]

Saturday night we ran out to Game Stop before picking up some Mexican food for dinner. I am a huge Jurassic Park fan, I can watch those movies all day everyday and they will never get old. So naturally when I found out they were coming out with Lego Jurassic World, I needed it.

After I finished tidying up, we moved our love seat to about 2 feet in front of our TV, got a blanket to snuggle and played Lego Dinosaurs for about 2 hours before it was time for Football.

Since I'm not a HUGE football fan like Mike is, I decided it was a good time to run out to Target and get a bunch of things I didn't need and the two thing I did need.

New Sweater from Target



 

It was a good thing I opted for a basket instead of a cart at Target, I wanted everything and I was lucky I was limited by the basket or I might have just gotten EVERYTHING.

Fall table cloth



When we moved in, the previous tenant had offered us his fridge, kitchen table and washer and dryer for $300. It was something we couldn't pass up because we only had  a table and it would have cost us upwards of $2500 to buy everything new. Unfortunately the table is always sticky. No matter what I used to try and clean it. It really needs to be sanded and refinished, but until then I got this cure table cloth for the fall.


After Target, we decided to go out and visit my Maid of Honor at the bar she was working at for a few drinks. Out of 3 rounds, we only paid for 1 because everyone else in the bar was buying! Then it was off to Mikes parents house to eat some chili dogs and watch some football.


We were going to call it a early night, and left his parents house at 8:30pm. When we got a block away from our house we decided we wanted to go for a cruise. Even though we were exhausted already, we decided to go down to the beach. As fun as it was to go on a little mini random adventure, it was FREEZING. Neither of us were clothed approximately for the window and cold sand. We walked up by the water for a little bit, the moon was almost full so it was very well lit and very pretty. I found a perfectly shaped shell! By the time we got back to the car I couldn't feel my toes because of course I was wearing sandals at the end of October. We were both so extremely tired by the time we got home we both knocked out as soon as we hit our pillows.

Longbranch Beach

Wedding Stress

I never thought that I would be one of those brides and couldn't get their sh*t together. We've been engage for a year today, and in 5 months from today I will be freaking out with nerves because it's the night before my wedding.

Last October I thought I knew exactly what I wanted for this wedding. I have been "planning" it for years. Within the month I had everything picked out and organized. Eleven months later and almost nothing is the same. That's normal, I know, for brides to change their minds a million times until they find the perfect everything. The issue that I'm having is that it's really starting to get close to the point where I need to have everything set in stone and ordered, forcing me to make a decision on everything. This is giving me stress to no end because I have changed my mind so many times that I am worried I will find something I like more after I've placed orders and made deposits.




I've already gone through an incredible amount of stress with my wedding pictures because I didn't do enough research first and I didn't go with my gut. Ever since I've been paying so much attention to detail to the point where I'm more concerned what my guests are going to think about the way this or that looks and not with how Mike and I like everything.




I am making some progress and I am slowing getting things ordered and making final decisions. Current stressor is getting the invitations ordered and ordering they with enough time to get them made and delivered to me by January 1st. Which means over the next week I need to finalize my guest list, get a count on invitations and contact the company.




My biggest concern is whether or not the RSVP cards are going to say "__ Beef __ Chicken __ Fish" or the actual names of the food that we are choosing. I guess it would really be no big deal if I listed the names of the food and if I pick something else then so be it. Most people probably wont remember what they ordered anyway. I wish I was able to just give them the option at the table, but that would cost me an extra $1,000.




Until next time! xoxo

Cajun Chicken & Rice

I've come to realize that most of the time when I cook dinner, it's always the same thing or some variation of it. Spaghetti, tacos, meatloaf, take out. I guess I'm just afraid of trying new things because I am a picky eater, and Mike doesn't like anything that doesn't have meat as the main ingredient.

I have a bunch of chicken cutlets in my freezer so I hopped on Pinterest and got some ideas for what to do with it. I ended up with a Cajun Chicken and Rice dish.

I don't have Cajun spice on hand so I had to mix up my own, it's fairly simple and uses some staple spice cabinet spices.

After combining the spices and chopping up the chicken breast I mixed the two and threw them in a pot to brown.

After the chicken browned I removed it and added some frozen peppers and onions to same pan and sautéed them.

Mean while I was cooking up a box of Zataran's Spanish Rice with added Rotel.

Once the rice was cooked, I added everything together in the same pot.

Added a few handfuls of cheese and mixed everything together.

It was very spicy! But it was good :] Mike and the roommate gobbled it up.

 

This recipe is extremely flexible!

Ingredients:

Cajun Spice mix

Any type of rice - cooked to directions.

Chicken breasts - diced.

Onions & Peppers - fresh or frozen.

Cheese  - any variety.

Directions:

Toss the diced chicken in the spice mix. Cook rice according to directions on package. Brown until cooked through and remove from pot. Sautee onions and peppers in the same pot the chicken was in. When rice is cook combine all ingredients and enjoy :]

Mikes new ride!

It's been a long time coming. There have been a few different ideas thrown around. None of which I thought would actually manifest into something real.

But here it is, the beautiful 2015 Challenger Scat Pack.

It was actually a spur of the moment type of deal, usually buying a new car takes a while to do some research, take a look at a few different models, maybe a few test drives.

Within a week  the thought was in Mikes head and the keys in his hand. I am not going to complain! It really is a beautiful car, and it is 1,000,000 times more comfortable than the last one.

Looking forward to more road trips!

First of which is in two weeks down to Atlantic City for the besties birthday!

Until next time! xoxo

Trying to make the house feel like home.

I stopped into a TJ Maxx for the first time ever the other day, and boy was that a mistake! That store is amazing! I went in to look for a piece of wall art for my living room and $100 later I left without one.

I picked up a pair of earrings that screamed wedding to me, but I'll probably never wear them.

I also picked up some Fig Balsamic Vinegar that will be really good on a Caprese Salad. :]

I am a huge candle person. If I don't have a candle burning in at least one room in my house while I am home relaxing for the day, doing chores, or just watching TV I am not a happy person! While this candle smells delightful, I hate the way it burns. One of my biggest pet peeves is when a candle does not burn properly. This is a 3 wick candle and it does not burn all the way to the edges. Although because of this, I do believe that it is giving me a longer burn time. So I am not completely unhappy.

I have also been meaning to pick up some new throw pillows for my couches and found some really nice ones. I feel like my living room is soon going to look too nice for my couches and I will feel compelled to buy new ones!

Until Next Time! xoxo

Wedding shoes!

I stayed home sick on Tuesday and I got a nice little surprise! The doorbell rang and I honestly had no idea who would be ringing my bell or who even knew I was home. The I realized it was the UPS man and I remembered by wedding shoes were supposed to be delivered! I had totally forgotten.

I am in love with them, which is a good thing because I wore them for a good 8hrs and they look worn so I might have an issue if I was trying to return them. They were pretty comfortable, but I also wasn't on my feet for the whole 8hrs. I did have a small blister the next day, but that was expected.

Need to break them in a little more, but I also don't want to wear my wedding shoes "out".

I am also having such a hard time trying to decide what to do about my invitations! The Etsy shop that I want to get them from will be closed the month of December and I am worried if I want for our Food tasting in Early Nov, that we wont get the invitations back in time to be mailed early Jan.

OuttheBoxCreative at Etsy.com

I've got some serious thinking to do and soon!

Until Next Time! xoxo

Another thing crossed off the list!

Monday night some of my bridesmaids and I went to David's Bridal and I picked the perfect dress for them!

All of the girls really liked it, and we're going to try to find a nice belt so we can add a little glam. 

Apparently Vera Wang takes longer to ship and at least two of my bridesmaids wont be getting their dress in until 18 days before the wedding!

I hope that the dresses fit well and that they only really need to worry about length. I still need to figure out a shoe for everyone. I'm thinking I will just let them pick their own black shoes, since it's a long dress you wont really be able to tell they are wearing different shoes.

I am so happy with this dress, and all my girls looked great in it! We're just waiting on two girls to place their orders and we will be all set.

The guys are also in Vera Wang. All of the grooms men will be in grey, and Michael will be in black. With ties to match the bridesmaids. There is still a possibility that Michael will be in grey as well, but I'd like him to stand out, and he does look good in black! 

Here are two ideas:

I have some time to make a final decision on the guys. They have it so easy!

Until next time! xoxo

**Please note that none of the pictures in this post are my own.

We are officially moved in!

Our living room.

Today is the first day of October, and I'm hoping it is a good start to many things.

Today we are officially finally moved in to our new place. Everything is out of the old apartment, the walk through went well and our keys are returned.

Rent is due to my dad today, so I guess that really makes this whole move official.

All that's left to do is unpack EVERYTHING! There is an entire room filled with boxes right now and I don't even know where to start because of course nothing is organized in there and stuff is just everywhere. Got to get a move on tonight, especially with the kitchen so I can actually use it like it's supposed to be used.

Planning on tacos for dinner tonight. First real meal in the house that wont be out of the freezer or take out box. Just need to remember to take the beef out of the freeze on my lunch break!!

Until next time xoxo



Game day meal planning.

Yesterday was our first Football Sunday in the new apartment. It was just the two of us, so I didn't go all out. Just a tray of cheese and crackers. I also didn't have any dishes or pots and pans unpacked yet, so was another factor.


Mike got a call last night that his friend wants to spend the night Saturday and do Football Sunday with us. This weekend is also going to be when our new roommate will be moving in. So Sunday looks like it will be an eventful day!


More people means meal planning! We've never hosted a game day before, usually we go over someone else's place. We have a lot to do to get the place ready to have company over. Especially since we have to go over to the old apartment tonight and tomorrow night to finish up over there. Then it's on to finishing unpacking here!


Just ordered a few things on Amazon to finish up the place. Mostly new things for Sterling's tank that we needed and an air mattress for if anyone wants to spend the night since we have a spare room.


My father is supposed to finish up the floor in the spare room tonight, I can't want until the place it finally finished.


That reminds me. I need to take a trip to Bed Bath & Beyond to try and find a certain piece of artwork for my living room wall!


Here's what I'm thinking for Sundays game day menu:

• Pepperoni Dip
• Cheeseburger sliders
• Honey Siracha wings
• Salsa & Queso dip
• Possibly some sort of cheese and crackers

I know it's not a lot of food, but there will only be 4 of us. I don't want to go over board!

Until next time!