Holidays with Ferrero Rocher

Christmas isn't Christmas without some delicious and decadent Ferrero Rochers.  I am thrilled to have been able to team up with Ferrero Rocher to bring you this fun holiday post!  I wanted to bake something incredible and so I called upon the best baker I know my sweet friend Andrea.  We baked two delicious recipes, they were quick and easy and most importantly...so yummy! Hope you all enjoy! 

Above: We used a recipe from Cookies Cupcakes & Cardio, you can find the recipe: HERE

 The second recipe is from Nigella Lawson Chocolate Nutella Cheesecake! Get the recipe: HERE What we did was add crushed Ferrero Rocher's to the top and then decorated with them as well!

It was so hard not to eat them all as we were baking ;)

Once all the goods are out of the oven, pop some bubbly, get dressed up and share the sweets with the one you love :)

Enjoying my own #FerreroMoment with my Mr.

Big love & thanks to Ferrero Rocher for sponsoring this post!

Lots of love,

Anna

XO

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Domesticate Me // Rainbow Cupcakes

When I started this series I wanted it to be honest and actually help other domestically challenged people like me.  A place on the web where you can come learn a trick or two and see what not to do.

At the beginning I knew there would be some ups but mostly a lot of downs.

Remember my mention to the bunt cake massacre of 2009? Well, I give you the rainbow cupcake massacre of 2012.  Visually more appealing, same ol' mess.

I not only burnt these innocent cupcakes but I also...forgot the Pam...again.

I wish I was making this up.

I'll start from the beginning...round one.

I found this recipe a few years ago from this blog, it's such a fun idea to swap in the normal ingredients for some diet pop.  Head over there to see the rainbow cake!

Ingredients:

Cake mix

Diet Sprite or ginger ale (1 can per cake box)

food colouring

frosting

 (yup, that's it! follow the photos for the directions!)

What I learned (round one):
1. Food colouring, oh man does it ever stain (my fingers were Ty-dyed)

2. So as you saw above I forgot the pam, I thought I was okay with the non-stick pan and all but nope.  Then I burnt them (the fancy yellow mix tricked me, it looked like it was still doughy but was cooked...the extra 5 minutes did those poor rainbow cakes in)...and THEN I realized instead of pouring 255mL into the mix (one can per box) I put in 355mL.  Sticky burnt paste. Oh what a glorious texture.

3. To remove food colouring from counter use Mr. clean magic eraser (woah works wonders!)

4. I now understand the importance of planning ahead and measuring.  TIP: Pick your base colour this bowl should have more than the others, the second colour a little less. Turns out I was wrong to make all the bowls equal (see below). Sounds like a no brainier...but yes I did not anticipate this, I crossed my fingers hoped for the best...living and learning. 

and so...onto round two

 I wasn't taking any chances this time, so hello cute little cupcake cups!

 already learning from round one, same patterns and proper amounts!

 yayy!

Baking instructions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees for 18 minutes (safe bet: follow the boxes instructions is

What I learned (round 2):
1. Don't worry if things don't turn out the way you hoped.  It's a learning experience and every mistake will get you closer to perfecting it the next time!

I'm about to get after school special on you all....Learn with me, grow with me & we'll soon be domestic goddesses..and with that my domestication continues ;)

Hope you all enjoyed this

Lots of love,

Anna

xo

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Domesticate Me // Banana Chocolate-Chip Muffins

The domestication continues with one of my favorite snacks/desserts: Banana ChocChip anything! This was supposed to be banana bread but I couldn't find the proper baking pan so I opted for muffins.   This is probably the easiest recipe you can get, my friends mother gave it to me a few years back and although it's fairly easy...I have yet to perfect it.

Things I learned / Note to self...for next time:

1. Check to make sure the oven is empty before you pre-heat....

2. PAM...do not forget the Pam, this is a mistake I seem to always make no matter how many times I remind myself "don't forget the pam" "don't forget the pam"....yeah, I forgot the pam.  Thankfully I used Mama T's brand spanking new non-stick muffin pans and they were amazing! Those suckers poped right out...not like my bunt cake massacre of 2011...yikes.

3. Cupcake pans are a surprising pain the rear to wash

4. Toothpicks are a necessity to checking when done (see image below..."ouuu" "ahhh")

5. It's probably a good idea to slow down the mixer and then add the flour to avoid winter in your kitchen

6. I never knew how to effectively remove the mixture from the wisp thingy <-- wispy thingy, that's legit right? I sure know what I'm talking about ;)....SO...lower the mixing bowl then turn the mixer to high speed and all the excess mixture just flies right off. Easy Peasy. Thanks Mama T!

NOTE! BAKE TIME: The cake recipe said one hour so I thought 30 minutes would be best for muffins. They were a lot a bit well done for my taste I'd recommended checking at the 20 minute mark and go from there...I guess I took my "you don't have to stand right by the oven" rule too from this post a bit too literally and left thinking..pshh, I got this! No. No I didn't.  Well, there is always next time!

Hope you all enjoyed! xo

Quote of the day: 

"All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt" - Charles M. Schulz

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Domesticate Me // Chicken & Potatoes

My "Domesticate Me" series has officially begun! This is a series I have been talking about doing for ages & after the Christmas Cookies edition I knew come spring I had to get my butt into gear! So Voila!

First off I need to tell you that when it comes to cooking and baking, well let's just say I definitely didn't get blessed in that area.  Seeing that I love to eat, work at Dine.TO and come from a long line of amazing Greek cooks (my mom & grandma..seriously amazing) I decided forcing myself to cook at least one thing a week would slowly teach me the basics that frankly by my age I should know (for shame!).

What you will need:

Chicken...and Potatoes....(who would have thunk it?)

Sweet Potato (to mix it up...oh snap)

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Powder

Oregano

Olive Oil

Lemons

Chicken Base (Don't forget this...like I did...oooops)

Things I learned / Note to self...for next time:

1. When your grandmother says add the juice of a lemon...this probably just means one or one and a half...not three...(yowza that's lemony!)

2. Oregano...it's fun...but don't go overboard, it`s not Christmas.

3. If you are trying to achieve that nice golden layer to the dish...BROIL is what you are looking for!!....Do not keep baking it in the oven with the lid on hoping it will miraculously look fabulous in ``another 5 minutes``.  So...to recap after cooking time...take the lid OFF and broil for about 5 minutes.  Broil = nice golden glow.  

4. Monitoring the food...this always kind of stressed me out...I felt like I couldn`t take my eyes off it for even one second.  Basically me at the kitchen having a stare down competition with the oven.  It`s okay to answer the phone, write a text, leave the room...really it`s okay!!

5. To kill the overkill of lemon...boil some hot water add chicken base and pour it into the...into the...bowl? Pot? Serving dish? [frantic call to my best friend Georgia] According to her "It's a cooking pot that turns into a serving dish...its transferable" You get what I'm trying to say!

The Domenstication (yes I just made up a word) has begun...! 

Hope you all enjoyed :) xo

Quote of the day: 

"Write down your ideas. Refine them. Make what you want crystal clear" - Marie Forleo

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