"Hot Tamales" Spiked Hot Chocolate Recipe

Hola Amigos! It's a beautiful 15 F today!!!! Oh yes! Beautiful compared to yesterday's bone shattering -16 (feeling like -35 F)! I haven't been out of my little house since Sunday when I went to the store and stock up like I was going to hibernate for months. I don't drive in the snow, so I knew what was coming for me! Truth be told, although I'm a homebody, I like to have the "choice" of getting in my car and drive to the store to get that extra ingredient missing of  a recipe, take a quick trip to my favorite coffee shop or just go browse the latest and greatest at the local dollar store.

I'm serving time in an Ice Cell and turning into a Hot Mess (aka Cabin Fever-itis), but since the only thing worse would be running out of chocolate, I'm celebrating my lock up with this Spiked Hot Tamale Hot Chocolate, and believe me...it is a celebration on a mug for sure!

Nothing fancy here, just a few ingredients with a lot of flavor and kick! Hard to feel when it's so cold,  the extra juice bottles and gallons of milk I got on Sunday, kept in the garage, are frozen!!!! Yikes!

This time I didn't have any whipped cream, or cute marshmallows, or sweet sprinkles, just Peppermint Hershey kisses, melting in the hot chocolate and some extra sweetness thanks to Marshmallow Fluff.

This tastes just like the candy, sweet, spicy and hot! only with a little something extra for grown ups.

Thank You for visiting the blog today! It's always a pleasure to enjoy your company and your comments on each post! We will be looking forward to the weekend when finally this cold front will be gone for good...I hope! Remember my friends, everything tastes better with a Pinch of Love!

Besitos,

Lizy

"Hot Tamales" Spiked Hot Chocolate
Ingredients:
1 Tablet "La Abuelita"
4 Cups Whole Milk
Pinch of Salt 
1 Cup Peppermint Hershey Kisses
4 ounces Tequila
2 ounces Hot Damn Cinnamon Schnapps 
Marshmallow Creme and Powder Cinnamon to top it
Directions:
In a saucepan, bring milk to simmer and add your chocolate tablet, stir until it melts. Add s the pinch of slat and whisk. Add Hershey Kisses to the mix and keep stirring until they melt as well and everything is well combined.
Add Tequila and Cinnamon Schnapps and whisk one more time before dividing the mix into 4 mugs.
Top your hot chocolate with some Marshmallow Creme, sprinkle some powdered cinnamon and a few extra Hershey Kisses. Cheers and Enjoy...bottoms up!

Total Prepare Time: 10 Minutes

Sharing my Sweet Spiked Fiery Hot Chocolate at these Fabulous Parties:

My Snippets of Inspiration, Gina's Craft Corner, Little House Living, Feeding Big, The Princess and her Cowboys, Love Bakes Good Cakes, Lady Behind the Curtain

Holiday Chocolate Flan Recipe

Hola Amigos: One of the best things about the Holiday season is food! Ham, Turkey, Pork, Rice the sides you name it, but what I really love is something I always bake no matter what right around this time, Flan! It's a typical dessert for Christmas and celebrations in many Latin American  countries and the best part is that is super easy to make.

This time I decided to try friend's recipe for chocolate flan that I knew it was going to be a hit since it combines the best of the best, chocolate cake and flan! yumm!!! It takes a little time in the oven, but at the end you get rewarded for your patience with the best dessert ever,  a spongy chocolate cake topped with smooth and sweet custard! oh boy!

Don't worry about perfection with this dessert! It's a rustic one, meant to be eaten in a few bites and believe me, it will!. Since it's a cake you can make it pretty for the few minutes it will be at the table with your favorite icing or whipped cream.

I also added more "manjar" or dulce de leche to mine..you can't never have enough of this good thing!
When slice it's just pretty and delicious, a bite of flan and a bite of chocolate cake! Nothing else to say, just enjoy the goodness.

Now tell me if this dessert is not the perfect holiday and festive ending to a great family meal? To my family is what we all look forward to have sometimes even stealing a slice before dinner is ready!

Do you have a family dish you bake or prepare for the holidays by popular demand, something that reminds you of your hometown, of your childhood or that your family just love when you make it every holiday? I would love to know!

Thank You for visiting the blog today! Hope you give my chocolate flan a try and enjoy it as much as we did! Remember my friends, everything tastes better with a Pinch of Love!

Besitos,

Lizy

Holiday Chocolate Flan 

Ingredients:

1 box Chocolate Cake of your choice

Eggs, Oil, Water needed to prepare the cake according to instructions on the box

5 Eggs

1 Cup Evaporated Milk

1 Cup Condensed Milk, divided

1 Cup Dulce de Leche

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 shot Kahlua (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven at 350 F degrees.

Prepare the cake according the box instructions. Set aside. 
In a large bowl (I use my blender), add and mix well the eggs,  evaporated milk, condensed milk, vanilla and Kahlua.
Use half of the Dulce the Leche to coat a previously buttered baking dish (a 9 inch square or round). Pour the chocolate cake mix and then the flan mixture. Don't panic if at this moment you see the flan mixture sink to the bottom, that is a good thing! Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake in a bath Marie for about 45 minutes or until a fork in the middle comes clean. Remove from oven.
Let it cool for a few minutes and place a plate upside down over the baking dish and turn the plate and baking dish over. 
Decorate if you want with chocolate icing, whip cream and the remaining 1/2 cup of dulce de leche. Enjoy!

Prep Time: 10 minutes                                       Cook Time: 45 minutes                   Serves 8

Sharing my Sweet festive Flan at these Fabulous Parties:

Made from Pinterest, Be Different Act Noraml, Serenity You, Classy Clutter, Twigg Studios, Your Homebased Mom, Angels Homestead, Navy Wifey Peters, Life on Lakeshore Drive, The Tablescaper, Will Cook for Smiles, Flamingo Toes, Frugal Foodie Mama, Create with Joy, My Mixing Spoon, The Chicken Chick, Twelve O' eight, Claire Justine, Love Bakes Good Cakes, Tatertots and Jello, The Best Blog Recipes, Home Maid Simple, The Shabby Nest, Six Sister's Stuff, What's Cooking with Ruthie, Sew Licious Home Decor, Becoming Martha, 504 Main, Nifty Thrifty Things, Suburbs Mama, Smart School House, Ginger Snap Crafts, All She Cooks, Lady Behind the Curtain, Ducks' n a Row, Kitchen Meets Girl, Feeding Big, The Silly Pearl, My Girlish Whims, Memories by the Mile

GhostBusters Halloween Brownies Recipe

Hola Amigos! This is my last Halloween recipe for the season! and how appropriate to end this season of spook with a sweet note to start our week! The first dessert recipe I posted when I started blogging was one for Christmas Brownies, today to close my 1st year of blogging I'm posting another brownie one.

This particular brownies were supposed to be a dirt cake, but I changed my mind at the last minute and made something a little more practical for the kids and hubs to take to work, so they are little bonbon  like brownies dusted in sugar, to give them that ghostly appearance! BOO!

You will get at least 2 dozen of these tasty ghost busters and they are soft gooey with a hint of saltiness inside! It's hard to have just one.

This is a super easy recipe and in no time  you would be enjoying your own. I like the fact that they are not your usual 'out of the box" brownies! An extra personal touch always makes food taste batter.

Thank you for visiting the blog today! I hope you had a fun season with treats, drinks, main dishes and a few tricks as well to bring magic to your home!

Remember my friends, everything tastes better with a Pinch of Love! Have a healthy and productive week!

Besitos,

Lizy

Ghostbusters Halloween Brownies

Ingredients:

1 Bag (10.25 oz) Brownie Mix

1 Cup Instant Oatmeal ( I used Brown Sugar and Maple)

1/2 Stick Butter Melted

3/4 Cup Condensed Milk

1/2 tbsp  Pumpkin Pie Spice

1/4 Cup Salted Peanuts

M&M's or Reeses Pieces

Chocolate Chips

Powder Sugar

Directions:

Heat Oven at 350 degrees,

Grease an 8x8 baking pan. In a separate container mix oatmeal and butter. Add and spread this mix at the bottom of your pan, covering it entirely, Pour condensed milk on top of the oatmeal followed by M&M's and peanuts. Prepare you brownie mix according to instructions and add 1/2 tbsp  of pumpkin pie spice to give it a little seasonal flavor. 

Pour the mix on the prepared pan and top the brownie mix with chocolate chips.

Bake according to instructions , right around 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes semi-clean. Remove from oven and let it cool down a little. At this point you could make a dirt cake or take ice cream scoop amounts out and make balls with your hands. Finish them with a touch of powdered sugar if you want. Enjoy!

Prep Time 10 minutes                                Bake Time 18-20                 Serves 24 little balls

Calling all my Friends at these Fa-Boo-Lous Parties:

Frugal Foodie Mama, SL Under the table and Dreaming, Huckleberry Love, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Watch Out Martha, Carrie This Home, Boogie Board Cottage, DIY Home Sweet Home, Alderberry Hill, Navy Wifey Peters, The Chicken Chick, Lines Across, Say Not Sweet Anne, The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen, Jam Hands, Titi Crafty, Suburbs Mama, Flamingo Toes, Between Naps on the Porch, Coastal Charm, Feeding Big, A Southern Fairytale, Golden Reflections, Pint Sized Baker, The Gunny Sack, Sugar Bee Cafts, Chef in Training, The Blackberry Vine, Nap Time Creations, Hun what's fro dinner?, Our Table for Seven, Home Stories A to Z, Kathe with an E, Love Bakes Good Cakes, The Lady Behind the Curtain, Cozy Little House, Smart School House, Ginger Snap Crafts, Made to be a Momma, My Girlish Whims, The Shady Porch, All She Cooks, Ducks' n a Row.The Well Crafted Home, A Handful of Everything, Lamberts Lately, The Brambleberry Cottage, Live Laugh Rowe, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Saving 4 Six, Pink Recipe Box, The Mandatory Mooch, Sweet Haute, What's Cooking Love?, 52 Mantels, The 36th Avenue, Craftionary, The Best Blog Recipes, Home Maid Simple, Tidy Mom, Diana Rambles, 504 Main, Just Us Four, Practically Functional, Townsend House, Craft Dictator, Living Better Together, The Jenny Evolution, Shaken Together, Today's Creative Blog

Spiked Black Mamba Halloween Cocktail Recipe

Hola Amigos! Some people don't get scared with skulls, bones, witches, zombies or scary stories told at midnight with only the flickering glow of a candle. The stuff that gives them nightmares and keeps them up at night are all around us any given day. I'm talking spiders, bugs of all kinds and snakes!

This post is dedicated to all those with Ophidiophobia or abnormal fear of snakes and it came about because for the last couple of days I've been obsessed with creating a black cocktail for Halloween. How the two relate? just keep reading...if you dare...lol

Black Mambas are Africa's deadliest snakes, if bitten, without the proper antivenom the consequences are mostly lethal.

They are also the longest African snakes, up to 14 feet, yikes! Although having the reputation of being aggressive and hostile, it is actually shy and rather avoid confrontation. But with an increasing population and threats to their natural habitat, they find themselves in human territory and attacks happen. These are preceded by the snake's head and body raising, hissing and then fast and repeated bites injecting large amount of venom each time.

They are also the fastest in the world! developing speeds up to 12.5 miles per hour, imagine that thing chasing you..wow!
Finally contrary to popular believe, they get their name not from the color of their skin, which is usually olive brown or gray, but from the color inside their mouths, a blueish black, which they display when threatened.

My cocktail here is all that..well I'm not sure about being lethal, but it has a bite for sure! It's served in a long fluted glass, to show the beautiful plays of color in the body of our Mamba. It's prepared in no time and at the very top of the flute you can see the "black mouth" ready to strike it's sweet fangs on you!

As for the taste, well it has a bite as I said before, after all there is alcohol in it, it tastes like a dark chocolate spiked almond joy candy bar.

Thank you so much for coming to visit me today! I hope I didn't scare you too much with my snake tale! Sweet dreams and don't let the bed bugs (or reptiles) bite, buahahahaha!

Besitos,

Lizy

Spiked Black Mamba Halloween Cocktail

Ingredients

3/4  Cup Coconut Cream

1 oz Malibu
1/2 tsps Vanilla extract
1/2 tsps Almond extract

Ice

1/2 cup Chocolate Ice Cream Softened 

1 Cup Strong Coffee Cold

1 oz Creme de Cacao (Kahlua is fine if you don't have Creme de Cacao

Corn syrup

Silver Sugar

Shredded Coconut

Black Food Coloring

Champagne Flutes

Directions:

I started by preparing my flutes adding a little bit of corn syrup, moving it around the bottom of the flute and then sprinkling the inside with silver color sugar. Put aside.

Add to a shaker coconut cream and Malibu, extracts  and ice. Shake well.Using a strainer, pour the mix on the prepared flutes. 

Using a clean shaker add soften chocolate ice cream, coffee, Creme de Cacao and a few drops of black food coloring. Shake well and pour the mix on the flutes containing the cream.

Top the cocktail with some black coconut flakes and enjoy.

Prep time 4 minutes                                                                          Serves 2

Slithering my way to these Fa-BOO-lous parties:

Smart School House, Ginger Snap Crafts, Someday Crafts, The Shady Porch, Made to be a Momma, Lady Behind the Curtain, Real Housewives of Riverton, All She Cooks, Polkadots on Parade, Kitchen Meets Girl, SNAP, Ducks'n a Row, Pink Recipe Box, The Well Crafted Home, Live Laugh Rowe, The Crafty Blogstalker, Lamberts Lately, Made in a Day, The Mandatory Mooch, Jennifer Rizzo, Gingerly Made, Sparkles and a Stove, Delish, My Turn (for Us), Simply Dream and Create, The Girl Creative, The Best Blog Recipes, Craftionary, My Life in Pencil, Practically Functional, My Personal Accent, Today's Creative Blog, Sweet Haute, 504 Main, The Answer is Chocolate, Six Sisters Stuff, Cheerios and Lattes, Made from Pinterest, Craft Dictator, Classy Clutter, Sew-Licious, Suburbs Mama, Twigg Studios, Cooking for the Seven Dwarfs, I Should be Mopping the Floors, Create with Joy, Craft-O-Maniac, Frugal Foodie Mama, SL Under the table and Dreaming, Huckleberry Love, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Watch Out Martha, Carrie This Home, Boogie Board Cottage, DIY Home Sweet Home, Alderberry Hill, Navy Wifey Peters, The Chicken Chick, Lines Across, Say Not Sweet Anne, The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen, Jam Hands, Titi Crafty, Suburbs Mama, Flamingo Toes, Between Naps on the Porch, The Stylist Quo, Feeding Big, A Southern Fairytale, Pint Sized Baker, The Gunny Sack, Sugar Bee Crafts, Chef in Training, The Blackberry Vine, Hun what's for dinner?, Our Table for Seven, Home Stories from A to Z, Love Bakes Good Cakes

Pot of Bones Halloween Chocolate Covered Cherries Mini Bundt Cakes Recipe

Hola Amigos! I know we've all heard of a Pot of Gold at the end of the rainbow, but for Halloween the only thing you are going to find is a Pot of Bones...buahhhahhahaha!!!

This is a super easy and tasty recipe because it didn't feel right to have all these Halloween desserts on the blog and non dipped in chocolate...The Irony!

Problem solved! Taking cue from popular valentine's treat, this mini bundts taste just like cherry ice cream covered in chocolate fudge!

I tell you, the minute I finished with the pictures, I ate mine! Amazing so much flavor is coming out of this morsel of goodness.

The chocolate ganache is the easiest glaze you could ever make but the flavor and texture makes this a decadent dessert.

The bones...it just to remind you that the spookiest night of all is right around the corner...better watch whats hiding behind the door and under the bed!

Thank you for visiting the blog today! Hope you are having a great time preparing for Halloween in and out of the kitchen.
And remember my pretties...everything tastes better with a Pinch of Love!

Besitos,

Lizy

Pot of Bones Halloween Chocolate Covered Cherries Mini Bundt Cakes

Ingredients:

1 Small Bag (8.25 oz) Vanilla Cupcake mix

1 Large Jar (10 oz) Maraschino Cherries, chopped (Save liquid!)

3/4 Cup Juice from the Maraschino Cherries

Bag of Bones Candy (got mine at the Dollar Store)

For the Ganache

4 oz Semi-Sweet chocolate chopped (I use Ghirardelli) 

1/2 Cup Cream

1 TBSP Butter

Directions:

Heat your oven at 350F or the temperature recommended in your cupcake mix direction. Prepare the mix accordingly, Usually eggs, oil and water but this time replace the amount of water for 3/4 cup of the Juice of the Maraschino Cherries. Once this is mix add the chopped cherries and gently incorporate them into the mix.

Prepare your mini bundt molds with oil and flour or cocoa (that's what I used) Fill them up 3/4 of  the way and bake according to the instructions 14-18 minutes.

Once done cool them off for 10 minutes before removing them from the mold. Place in a parchment paper  covered cookie sheet. 

In the meantime prepare the glaze by placing the chopped chocolate in a bowl.

Under  medium heat, bring the cream to a boil and add it to the chopped chocolate and add butter too. Whisk everything until smooth and let it cool for a few minutes before pouring a little on each mini bundt. Once they are covered place the decorative edible bones in the center of the mini bundt. The "pot" should look like it's full of them so be generous with each one.

Serve, scare and enjoy.

Prep Time:    6 minutes                          Cook Time:  14-20 minutes                        Serves 4

Carrying my "bones" over these Fa-BOO-lous Parties:

WOM, Frugal Foodie Mama, Carrie This Home, Between Naps on the Porch, The Velvet Moon Baker, Huckleberry Love, A Pinch of Joy, PandP Kitchen, A Southern Fairytale, The Gunny Sack, Coastal Charm, Home Stories A to Z, Twigg Studios, Chef in Training, Who Needs a Cape, Our Table for Seven, Homemade Ginger, Sugar Bee Crafts, Pint Sized Baker, Memories by the Mile, Love Bakes Good Cakes, Cozy Little House, Lady Behind the Curtain, Ginger Snap Crafts, Smart School House, Mom's Test Kitchen, My Girlish Whims, The Shady Porch, Creations by Kara, SNAP, Kitchen Meets Girl, The Mandatory Mooch, Sweet Haute, White Lights on Wednesday, Polkadots on Parade, Pink Recipe Box, House Wives of Riverton, Delish, Made in a Day, Creative Geekery, The Girl Creative, Love and Laundry, A Simple Five, Living Better Together, Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons, 504 Main, My Romantic Home, Tidy Mom, Home Maid Simple, The Best Blog Recipes, Craftionary, The Brambleberry Cottage, Practically Functional, Craft Dictator, Today's Creative Blog, Six Sister's Stuff, The Answer is Chocolate, Cheerios and Lattes, Not Just a Housewife, A Peek into my Paradise, Lamberts Lately, My Personal Accent