Pink Mimosa Punch With Fruit Filled Ice Ring

This post is sponsored by SheSpeaks, Inc. and Simply Orange Juice Company.

Festive holiday parties aren't complete without something bubbly to sip on, right? This delicious Pink Mimosa Punch is an easy to make champagne drink that can be made in minutes and is a crowd pleaser at parties! Add the beautiful Fruit Filled Ice Ring to your punch bowl to up the wow factor!

 Holiday parties and entertaining seem to fill every weekend this month, so I make sure to stock up at our local Sam's Club! They have all the brands I love and in convenient larger sizes perfect for parties! I always buy juice, like Simply Orange® juice and Simple Lemonade® to have stocked for quick cocktails {and mocktails for my kiddos} along with quick items to make a cheese tray like dried fruit, flavorful soft cheeses, and my favorite, Member’s Mark salted mixed nuts.

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Oreo Marshmallow Snowman Treats

Looking for the perfect holiday treat for shipping to friends or serving at Christmas parties? These easy Oreo Marshmallow Snowman Treats are sweet and tasty and take only minutes to make! 

 My helpers loved making these treats and eating them too!

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101 Cookies for Santa Recipes

Christmas is only a few days away and I have been busy making last minute treats for our friends and family. My girls and I are most excited though about baking cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve. Every year we come up with a different cookie to bake {and eat} and of course, Santa always eats his whole plate full of cookies and the girls just love it! To help you find the perfect Cookies for Santa recipe this year, I put together this list of 101 delicious cookie recipes! Be sure to comment below and tell me your favorite!

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Grandma's Japanese Cheesecake

Christmas brings back lots of wonderful memories and of course reminds me of my family that is no longer with us. My Grandma passed away after a courageous battle with cancer a couple years ago. We were lucky enough to share many Christmases together including Ava's first Christmas. 

My Grandma was Japanese and introduced me to so many delicious Asian foods that I still enjoy with my family today. One dessert that I was never able to make with my Grandma was Japanese Cheesecake. So for Inka Tour's 24 Days of Christmas Around the World, I decided to represent Japan and share Grandma's Japanese Cheesecake with y'all.

This cheesecake is different than your traditional rich and thick cheesecake. Japanese Cheesecake is light and airy. It puffs up like a souffle and has the look and texture of a sponge cake. I line the bottom of mine with raisins which gives it that flavor of rice pudding. 

I know Grandma would have loved it and I am sure you and your family will too.

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Hot Cocoa Truffles

This content is sponsored by Stephen's Gourmet Hot Chocolate and Mom It Forward Influencer Network, but views and thoughts are my own.

I don't know about y'all but sippin' a cup of hot cocoa while looking at Christmas lights is one of my very favorite things to do during the holiday season! Growing up my family and I always drove to different farms and churches and walked around to see the beautiful light displays for Christmas. Of course, it wasn't complete without a cup of hot chocolate to sip on while we enjoyed the lights and each other's company. 

Now I am a Mom and I have passed on this favorite tradition to my kids. We love Christmas lights and y'all know we love hot cocoa! Stephen's Gourmet is my favorite brand for rich hot cocoa and today I am sharing these delicious and decadent Hot Cocoa Truffles made with cocoa mix, marshmallows, and melted chocolate chips. They are an easy no bake treat to make as gifts for the holidays! 

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The Ultimate Moana Gift Guide

Christmas is around the corner and if you have Disney kids like I do you are probably searching for the perfect unique gift for them! My daughters' favorite Disney movie is Moana and they love just about anything to do with the movie. We even had a Moana themed farewell pool party when we left Louisiana at the end of the summer!
 

I have put together a list of my favorite homemade unique Moana gifts for you from all my favorite Etsy shops. Scroll down to see all the one of a kind Moana gift ideas and then enter to win your favorite!

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Christmas Family Fun | Printable Bucket List + Santa.com

It's my favorite time of year and I am loving this fun holiday season! Every year my husband, kiddos, and I try to do all our family holiday activities and traditions in December. So I decided I would put them all together in a Holiday Winter Bucket List so we can print it and check them off every year - and you can too! Scroll down to print your own copy!

My pretty girls in their Christmas PJs.

Another thing I love about this time of year, of course, is everything to do with Christmas and the jolly guy himself, Santa! I found this awesome new site, Santa.com and I am loving all the fun features available. How cool is it that you and your kids can interact with Santa himself?!

Emails, texts, and even written notes are all part of this unique webpage along with a Santa blog and free printables!

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Crock-Pot Loaded Mashed Potatoes

Thanksgiving this year was different than any other. Since Ashton is in school and we just moved to Texas, we decided to stay home for Thanksgiving instead of spending the holiday with my family in Florida. This was a big change for me especially since it was the first time in my life that I did not spend Thanksgiving dinner with my parents. But thank goodness for modern technology and video chat! The girls and I saw them and wished them well, then we all spent a chill day at home watching parades and movies and of course, eating. But just because it wasn't our traditional Thanksgiving didn't mean we did not celebrate and cook a big meal! 

I made all my favorites including Crock-Pot Ham, roasted turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, and something new this year, Crock-Pot Loaded Mashed Potatoes. 

We gobbled down our dinner (ha!) and enjoyed leftovers for over a week! I swear I never get tired of eating Thanksgiving turkey!

These loaded potatoes are a breeze made in the Crock-Pot. It saves oven space and time and you simply just cook them, mix them, and serve when dinner is ready! 

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Caramel Apple Cookies

Christmas cookie baking makes my heart so happy especially when I bake with loved ones and share the treats with others! Cookie exchanges are such a  fun way to try other cookie recipes and share your own with fellow foodies and dessert lovers! These Caramel Apple Cookies were a fun creation I came up with in my kitchen when I was playing with all the fall flavors I love- caramel candies, tart apples, apple cider, and of course, cookies! These delicious holiday themed cookies are soft and chewy and filled with gooey caramel and tart apples on the inside!

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25+ Cabbage Recipes to Warm You Up This Winter

December is almost here and if you are like me you crave warm hearty soups and comfort food in this cold weather! One of my favorite fall and winter veggies to use is cabbage so I put together this mouthwatering list of 25+ Cabbage Recipes to Warm You Up This Winter for you to enjoy! Time to get cooking!

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Grinched Eggs | The Grinch Who Stole Christmas Party Food

It's Movie Monday again and that means we are sharing another tasty recipe inspired by this month's move theme! This month's theme is Winter & Christmas Movies and I knew right away I wanted to do a Grinch inspired recipe from one of our favorite holiday classics, How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

 

My kids and I enjoy Dr Seuss books and the movies inspired by them and this hilarious tale is a Christmas favorite! I like both the cartoon version and the Jim Carrey Grinch movie and I wanted to make a appetizer perfect for nibbling while watching the movie. Grinch themed parties are also popular during Christmas season too and green Grinch recipes are fun to make and eat!

After some taste tasting, I created a simple but fun recipe: Grinched Eggs, my green take on Deviled Eggs. 

My kids love em' and got a kick out of the green eggs and filling. Even better, they take only a few minutes to make and are a hit at parties! 

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Gobble, Gobble Turkey Shaped Vegetable Platter

It's almost Thanksgiving and I wanted to share with you this adorable Turkey Shaped Veggie Platter we served at our family Thanksgiving dinner a couple years ago. Boursin had sent me their yummy cheese dips to serve and I decided to make a kid friendly presentation with the vegetable dippers. All you need is a round platter or chip and dip tray like I used and start with the dip and use your imagination for the turkey and feathers. Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving.

Gobble, gobble.

Ingredients: 

• 1 vegetable dip or spread {I used Boursin Garlic and Herb}
• assorted veggies cut into bite size sticks such as mushrooms, peppers, and broccoli

Directions: 

1. Spoon dip into a small bowl. This will be the turkey "head".
2. Add veggies to look like arms and legs and the face.
3. Set on a platter and arrange rows of brightly colored chopped veggies behind the dip on a platter to look like the turkey "feathers". 
4. Serve and enjoy!

 

 I made my Baked Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms filled with Boursin cheese and they were a hit, as always!

Who can resist a good stuffed mushroom?!

 Flavored Boursin cheese was the perfect spread for veggies and crackers.

Such an easy and delicious appetizer!

I spy my Dad's famous Lobster tails for Thanksgiving dinner!

 We are a family of foodies, for sure!

 We have our hands full but we wouldn't have it any other way! Happy Thanksgiving.

Thanks for sending the holiday goodies and cheese spreads for us to sample,

 Boursin and Houseparty. 

As always all opinions are my own. 

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Soy Sauce Brined Turkey

Last year for Thanksgiving I was luck enough to be chosen to host a Kikkoman sponsored Houseparty called Brine A Juicy Bird! They sent me lots of goodies included their soy sauce, which I have grown up using, along with recipes for delicious Thanksgiving creations. We decided "what the heck let's try it!" and made a Soy Sauce Brined Turkey for our Thanksgiving meal. And guess what?! It was AMAZING! Tender, juicy, flavorful, and delicious! I love cooking my turkey this way now and it is so easy- who knew?!

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35+ Messy But Good Marshmallow Treats

Happy November, friends! 

I love everything about the upcoming fall holidays and making treats 

with my family is one of my favorite things. Sticky, sweet marshmallows are one of my top choices for holiday goodies so I put together a collection of over 35 of my favorite Messy But Good Marshmallow Treats to share with y'all today. 

Hope you enjoy these recipes as much as we do for the holiday season!

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Candy Corn Cheese Pizza and Halloween Recap

Happy Halloween! 

Even the rain can't dampen our mood today!

We have had a fun filled weekend at the Zoo Boo, costume parties, and pumpkin patches and tonight we finally get to go trick or treating in our new neighborhood! I made this quick and easy Halloween themed pizza for my kiddos tonight before we went out. This extra cheesy pizza crust is covered in 2 types of cheese to resemble one of our favorite fall candies: candy corn! 

Here's our 2017 Halloween Recap...

 Pumpkin patch family portrait. 

 Sweet Stella Rose with her pumpkins. 

Our annual pumpkin painting happened last night and it was messy fun as always!

Ashton carved a Wonder Woman themed pumpkin this year {no surprise}!

 Halloween day free scary face pancakes from IHOP!

 We had fun attending lots of Halloween events this week and my little monsters

 loved the crafts {and candy too}. 

 You know me and Starbucks- we had to try the Zombie Frappuccino. It tasted like frozen apple juice and as you can see my kids didn't share all that well.  

 Our pumpkins are out and our new home is all decorated for Halloween visitors! 

Time to trick or treat! Even the rain can't stop a family of superheroes! 

Ingredients:

• 1 large pizza crust {I used Mama Mary's 12 inch}
• 1/4- 1/2 cup pizza sauce, to taste
•  1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded 
• olive oil, for drizzling

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Place pizza crust on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. 
3. Spread on pizza sauce.
4. Add shredded mozzarella cheese to the center making a circle. 
5. Fill in the rest of the pizza with shredded cheddar cheese.
6. Bake for 7-10 minutes or until golden.
7. Slice and serve. 

 Place pizza crust on a baking sheet and preheat oven to 425. 

 Drizzle with olive oil then spread on pizza sauce.

 Add shredded mozzarella cheese to the center making a circle. 

Fill in the rest of the pizza with shredded cheddar cheese.

 Bake for 7-10 minutes or until golden.

 Slice and serve. 

 

 My kids got a kick out of the candy corn inspired pizza and it was the

 perfect fast dinner to serve before a busy night trick or treating!

Happy Halloween from our superhero family!

Stay safe and have fun!

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