Growing up, I LOVED having hot chocolate at my best friend’s house because it was the best. Her mom made her own mix and stored it in the pantry. It was always there and it was always so so yummy. I don’t know why it took me so long to get the recipe from her and start making it myself! First, it tastes SO MUCH BETTER than the store-bought hot cocoa, and second….it’s way cheaper to make it yourself. It took me less than 5 minutes folks. I’ve decided I’m going to gift hot cocoa for neighbor Christmas gifts this year. Cute, seasonal, and yet doesn’t break the bank! Okay, so the picture above is actually chocolate powder before it’s mixed with everything else, but I thought it was rad-looking so I made it my main photo. The actual color of the mix once everything’s been mixed together, will look like this: HOMEMADE HOT COCOA MIX 1 8 quart box powdered milk (for me, my powdered milk uses 3/4 cup powder to make a quart of milk, so this ended up being 6 cups powder for me 1 l...

This Pumpkin Cheesecake is insanely smooth, pumpkiny, and delicious with a gingersnap crust and a deeply rich and smooth chocolate ganache top!  A keeper for sure! Can I give you guys a  True Confession  moment? Facebook is sucking the life out of me. (That wasn’t the confession.  Wait for it.) And in SO. MANY. DIFFERENT. WAYS.  First of all, I’m on there all the live long day because of doing stuff for the blog.  My blog is a business, and Facebook is a serious extension of that business.  It brings me a lot of page views which brings me a major chunk of my income.  Plus, it’s the main way I keep in touch with all of my blogging friends who are basically the best co-workers that anyone could ever ask for. Here’s the thing though . . . for all of my love of FB because it allows me to feel like I’m not the only adult on the planet when I’m home with the kids . . . it is also where I receive 99% of my mean, rude, downright awful comments....

This Fool Proof Pie Crust is seriously so easy, moist and delicious!  Step by step photo tutorial! True confession:  I don’t like pie crust. Don’t tell anyone.  And don’t throw things at me. I just feel like . . . okay, I just feel like it’s not that delicious, and compared to the fillings of the pie, it’s just not worth it.  I mean, my desserts need to be worth it. I think the root of the problem is that made from scratch crusts are best, they are tricky, and therefore I don’t make them. However!!  I just recently tried America’s Test Kitchen’s Fool Proof Pie Crust, and OMG. Let’s talk about why it’s so good.  First, there is a little bit of sugar in there which really adds something for me.  Second, it comes together so easily.  Like it makes me feel like maybe I should have been a pastry chef.  It’s  that  convincing of a pie crust.  Finally, it’s delicious.  I made an amazing pie in it that I’m going to sh...

Say hello to your new favorite one skillet chicken dinner that’s topped with a lemon garlic butter cream sauce! I used thin chicken breasts but this recipe would be delicious with boneless chicken thighs too! Hello, hello to my new favorite creamy, garlicky, lemony, delicious skillet chicken! You guys, i’ve gone completely head over heels for todays meal (I totally didn’t mean for that to rhyme. As many of you have probably guessed, I have a love for white meat chicken. It’s no dark meat for me. But the good news is that today’s chicken dinner is totally customizable to your chicken needs. Boneless skinless chicken thighs, sure, why not! *Applause* you’ve only just waited half of FOREVER for me to bring you something that could be made with something other than boneless skinless chicken breast. This one skillet chicken recipe is my go to chicken dinner of the  week  decade. Obvi, this recipe requires just one pan. Which means, we make the chicken and th...