recipe

Christmas in July Frozen Hot Chocolate Bar

It’s almost July, so let’s celebrate with a Christmas in July frozen hot chocolate bar! My hot chocolate bar is always a family favorite during Christmas time, but why wait? Let’s make one together for a Summer family movie night! Crank up your air conditioning, grab your frozen hot chocolate and put on your favorite Christmas movie for a fun Christmas in July movie night with your family and friends.

Frozen Hot Chocolate Recipe: 1 cup of your favorite hot chocolate mix (I make my own with just 2 ingredients. 1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder to 3/4 cups of sugar.)

2 cups of chocolate milk (because we want this extra chocolatey!)

3 cups of ice

In a blender add milk, cocoa mix and ice. Blend until smooth. Pour into glasses. Top with whipped cream, marshmallows (freeze marshmallows for some extra fun!) sprinkles and shaved chocolate.

At Christmas time I make a hot chocolate bar and it’s so fun for the kids (and adults too!) So for the frozen hot chocolate bar, here are a few ideas. Frozen marshamallows. (make sure to bring them out, just before you are serving so they stay frozen.) Your favorite candy toppings. Chopped up peppermints, White Chocolate chips, Sprinkles, and Whipped Cream. (make your whipped cream instead of buying it and add in a fun flavor like caramel or hazelnut.)

Let everyone make their own frozen hot chocolate creation and then put on a Christmas movie and have a fun Christmas in July movie night! Have fun!!

Pumpkin Crumb Muffins (recipe)

To me, there is no better way to start the day, than with a homemade muffin and cup of coffee. That is truly the best thing about the cooler weather. Slow mornings spent baking are my favorite. It’s also the only time of year when I drink hot coffee. (If you know me, you know that I drink iced lattes 99% of the time, but when eggnog hits the shelves, I am there!–let me clarify, I am not into eggnog lattes. Warm eggnog is vulgar. I use a splash of eggnog in my coffee as creamer. It’s honestly something I look forward to all year!) These muffins are (dare I say the “M” word?) so moist and delicious. They will be your family’s new favorite morning treat! So grab a cup of coffee and let’s get baking!

Ingredients:

3/4 of a can of pumpkin puree

1/2 cup avocado oil

1+1/2 cups sugar

2 large eggs (at room temp)

2 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup water

1+1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cloves

1/4 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

For the crumb topping:

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 stick melted butter

1/4 tsp cinnamon and a sprinkle each of; nutmeg and ginger

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line your muffin tins.

In a large bowl whisk together; oil, sugar, eggs, water, vanilla and pumpkin puree.

In another bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together. Flour, salt, baking soda and spices.

Add dry to wet and combine. (I recommend a Danish whisk. They are awesome!)

In another bowl, add the dry ingredients for your crumb topping. Pour in melted butter and with a fork combine so that it comes together in a crumbly topping.

Pour batter into muffin tins and top with crumb topping.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 15-17 minutes depending on your oven.

Fire Roasted Salsa

In our house, we LOVE Mexican food. So much so, that I cook it every single week at least once. I love coming up with new recipes to enjoy not only for our little family, but to share with friends and family. This Fire Roasted Salsa is one I make all the time for company and is ALWAYS gone by the time the night is over. But if there is any leftover, it saves well in an airtight jar in the refrigerator for up to a week.

I call this “Fire Roasted” because….well, I roast the ingredients over the fire. haha. Clever. I know, right?! ;) I’ve done this three different ways, and they all work great. You can either, char them on your gas stove (I put them straight onto the burner.) Or you can put them on the grill, or you can heat them under a gas broiler.

Ingredients

6 Roma Tomatoes

3 Large Cloves of Garlic

1 Lime

1/8 tsp of Cumin

1/4 tsp of Salt

1 Yellow Onion (cut into chunks)

2 Jalapenos (take out the seeds)

2+ Chipotles in Adobo (you can start with 2 and taste and adjust the spice level.)

1 bunch of Cilantro (set aside a few springs to garnish before serving.)

2 Green Onions (to top at the end.)

Directions

Under the broiler, on the grill or on your gas stove, char the: Tomatoes, jalapenos, garlic and both the yellow and green onions. When charred, remove and let cool. Then add all the ingredients including the lime, cilantro and salt and cumin to a food processor. (I use my Ninja.) Pulse until chopped up but still has a nice texture. Then chop up your green onion and put on top and serve cooled.

Get Creative!

This salsa not only goes great with chips ;) but would be good on: eggs, chicken or steak. Get creative. It also makes a great hostess gift! Make up a batch and put it in a cute mason jar. Fry up some homemade chips and wah-la! Trust me, I’ve done this and it is always a hit. If you make this salsa, let me know. I’d love to hear what you think!

xo, Elizabeth

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