Easy Chocolate Peppermint Fudge

Dec 14 | Holiday Recipes, Homemade Christmas Gifts, Recipes

Chocolate Peppermint Fudge

Chocolate Peppermint Fudge

Now here’s a Christmas fudge recipe that will be great for gift giving!  I think it would pair nicely with this Homemade Peppermint Bark!

I’m afraid I’m getting a reputation for only making easy things, but really, if you have to add extra things to your already full calendar, why spend a lot of time creating? It’s the thought that counts, right?  Anyways, this recipe is so easy, it only calls for four ingredients. That, my friends, is how you impress on a budget and use minimal effort and time. 🙂

How to Make Homemade Chocolate Peppermint Fudge

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 packages of 12 oz Wilton Dark chocolate candy melts
  • 1 tsp peppermint extract
  • 1 1/2 cans of sweetened condensed milk
  • 6 candy canes, crushed

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Spray an 8×8 or 9×9 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
  2. Pour the candy melts and the sweetened condensed milk into a large microwave safe dish.
  3. Add in the 1 tsp of peppermint extract.
  4. Heat in the microwave for 1 minute and stir. Heat for another minute and stir again. Heat again in 20 second increments stirring until completely melted.
  5. Immediately pour the melted mixture into the baking dish and sprinkle with the crushed candy canes.
  6. Allow the chocolate to cool at room temperature. Once it’s cool, place the baking dish in the fridge, covered, to allow the fudge to completely set.
  7. Cut into 12 large squares or 24 mini squares.
chocolate peppermint fudge
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Chocolate Peppermint Fudge
Ingredients
  • 2 packages of 12 oz. Wilton dark chocolate candy melts
  • 1 tsp peppermint extract
  • 1 ½ Cans of sweetened condensed milk 14 oz cans
  • 6 candy canes crushed
Instructions
  1. Spray an 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
  2. Pour the candy melts and the sweetened condensed milk into a large microwave safe dish. Add in the 1 tsp of peppermint extract.

  3. Heat in the microwave for 1 minute and stir. Heat for another minute and stir again. Heat again in 20 second increments stirring until completely melted.

  4. Immediately pour the melted mixture into the baking dish and sprinkle with the crushed candy canes.

  5. Allow the chocolate to cool at room temperature. Once it is cool, place the baking dish in the fridge (covered) to allow the fudge to completely set.
  6. Cut into 12 large squares or 24 mini squares.

Chocolate Peppermint Fudge 2

I sure hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!

Easy Homemade Peppermint Bark

Dec 13 | Holidays, Holiday Recipes, Homemade Christmas Gifts, Recipes

homemade peppermint bark

Homemade Peppermint Bark

One of my favourite things to give as gifts is homemade edible goods.  In my mind, it’s the perfect little something.  It’s a treat as well as a gift that won’t take up room in the recipient’s home!

Today’ I’d like to share this recipe for Peppermint Bark.  Not only do I love it because it’s tasty, it’s really simple to make!

How to Make Homemade Peppermint Bark

INGREDIENTS:

  • 270g Bag of Milk Chocolate baking chips
  • 225g Bag of White baking chips
  • 1/2 tsp Peppermint Extract
  • 12 Candy Canes

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Place the candy canes in a food processor and crush. Or place them in a ziploc bag and crush with a rolling pin.
  2. Line a 9×9 pan with parchment paper.
  3. Melt milk chocolate ships in the microwave by heating at 50% for 1 minute and stirring until smooth. Pour milk chocolate chips into the [an and level.
  4. Place in refrigerator for 20 minutes.
  5. Melt white chocolate chips in microwave by heating at 50% for 1 minute and stirring until smooth.
  6. Add peppermint extract to the white chocolate chips, stir.
  7. Pour melted white chocolate chips into the pan on top of the milk chocolate and level.
  8. Sprinkle crushed candy canes over the white chocolate.
  9. Place in refrigerator for 20 minutes.
  10. Break apart into pieces and put the pieces into gift bags for gift giving!
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Peppermint Bark
Ingredients
  • 270 g bag Milk Chocolate Baking Chips
  • 225 g bag White Baking Chips
  • 1/2 tsp Peppermint Extract
  • 12 Candy Canes
Instructions
  1. Place the Candy Canes in a Food Processor and crush or place them in a Ziploc bag and crush with a rolling pin.
  2. Line a pan with parchment paper.
  3. Melt milk chocolate chips in the microwave by heating at 50% for 1 minute and stirring until smooth.
  4. Pour melted milk chocolate chips into the pan and level.
  5. Place in refrigerator for 20 minutes.
  6. Melt White Chocolate chips in microwave by heating at 50% for 1 minute and stirring until smooth.
  7. Add peppermint extract to the white chocolate chips, stir.
  8. Pour melted white chocolate chips into the pan on top of the milk chocolate and level.
  9. Sprinkle crushed peppermint over the white chocolate.
  10. Place in refrigerator for 20 minutes.
  11. Break apart into pieces and put the pieces into gift bags for gift giving!

What is your favourite edible gift to give?

How to Turn Store Bought Pasta Sauce into Delicious Homemade Sauce

Sep 14 | Recipes

Expecting company for dinner? Impress your guests and be a kitchen superstar by turning store bought pasta sauce into homemade sauce in 5 easy steps!

Expecting company for dinner? Impress your guests and be a kitchen superstar by turning store bought pasta sauce into homemade sauce in 5 easy steps!

Making homemade pasta sauce does not have to be difficult. Especially if you “cheat” a little by using store bought jar sauce along with some other fabulous ingredients. That’s how my dad does it and it’s always delicious! I’m here today to give away his secrets so that you can turn a jar of store bought pasta sauce into a mouthwatering “homemade” pasta sauce.

Here’s how to turn jar sauce into homemade sauce in 5 easy steps:

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 jars pasta sauce – I like the “plain” ones with only basil added best.
  • 1 lb cooked ground beef
  • 2 cups shredded zucchini – optional, but I like to add because it adds some veggies in “disguise”
  • 1 large carrot – shredded
  • 1 can mushrooms – optional
  • 1/2 an onion – chopped
  • 1/4 cup Italian Dressing
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
  • 1 tsp parsley
  • 1 tsp basil

Expecting company for dinner? Impress your guests and be a kitchen superstar by turning bought jar sauce into homemade sauce in 5 easy steps!

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Cook ground beef and chopped onion together in a large pot until meat is cooked through.
  2. Shred zucchini and carrots while beef is cooking.
  3. Add the zucchini, carrots, mushrooms, sauce, dressing and spices to the cooked ground beef.
  4. Stir together.
  5. Simmer over low heat for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Serve over spaghetti noodles (or any pasta you like) or use in other dishes like lasagna. I usually like to freeze half of this batch for later use as a quick and easy meal. Bonus!

Expecting company for dinner? Impress your guests and be a kitchen superstar by turning bought jar sauce into homemade sauce in 5 easy steps!

Print
Homemade Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
  • 2 jars pasta sauce - I like the "plain" ones with only basil added best
  • 1 lb cooked ground beef
  • 2 cups shredded zucchini - optional but I like to add because it adds some veggies in "disguise"
  • 1 large carrot - shredded
  • 1 can mushrooms - optional
  • 1/2 an onion - chopped
  • 1/4 cup Italian Dressing
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
  • 1 tsp parsley
  • 1 tsp basil
Instructions
  1. Cook ground beef and chopped onion together in a large pot until meat is cooked through.
  2. Shred zucchini and carrots while beef is cooking.
  3. Add the zucchini, carrots, mushrooms, sauce, dressing and spices to the cooked ground beef.
  4. Stir together.
  5. Simmer over low heat for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce

Sep 2 | Recipes

Smooth, velvety, and lick your lips delicious, this Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce is the perfect topping for ice cream. You’ll never buy store bought hot fudge again! 

Smooth, velvety, and lick your lips delicious, this Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce is the perfect topping for ice cream. You'll never buy store bought hot fudge again!

This recipe is my husband’s personal favorite. He loves hot fudge sauce!  He’s even convinced me on several occasions to get hot fudge instead of my usual caramel when we stop at Dairy Queen or McDonald’s for an ice cream treat.

This hot fudge sauce is so easy to whip together and once you make, you will never go back to store bought!  You can use it immediately or store it in the fridge until you are ready to use it. (Heat it in the microwave before serving).

Here’s how to make homemade hot fudge sauce:

hot fudge sauce
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Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce
Ingredients
  • 3/4 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
  • 3/4 cup Sugar
  • 1/8 tsp Salt
  • 1 tbsp Butter
  • 1 cup Heavy Cream
  • 1/2 tsp Vanilla
Instructions
  1. Melt chocolate chips by heating them in the microwave for 30 seconds then stirring and microwaving again until chocolate is melted.
  2. Transfer to a sauce pan over low heat and add butter, salt and sugar.
  3. Add cream in small amounts until desired consistency is reached.
  4. Stir frequently until heated, but not boiling.
  5. Remove from heat and add vanilla.

Prefer Caramel Sauce? Check out my two ingredient Slow Cooker Caramel Sauce Recipe here!

I’ad love to know what flavor of ice cream is your favourite? How about your favourite Sundae topping?

5 Easy and Healthy Breakfasts for Hectic Mornings

Apr 28 | Recipes

On hectic, busy mornings, breakfast doesn’t have to be unhealthy. Here are five quick, easy and healthy alternatives to cereal or toast.

Mornings can be such a crazy, hectic time.

Especially if you’ve got kids that go to school, you have to be at work or any of you have an early morning appointment or activity.  It can be a real struggle to get everyone dressed, fed, packed and out the door to your event/school/work in a timely fashion.

Even on days when we don’t have to be out early, I know it can be SO tempting to pull out the cereal, or make a piece of toast and call it good. Plus, who has time to get creative in the kitchen for breakfast? We want quick, easy AND healthy, but usually compromise on the healthy end of things…

But it’s honestly easier than you think to make healthy breakfasts that are delicious and nutrient rich, keeping tummies fuller, longer.

Here are five easy and healthy breakfasts that are perfect for hectic mornings:

On hectic, busy mornings, breakfast doesn't have to be unhealthy. Here are five quick, easy and healthy alternatives to cereal or toast.

OATMEAL

I used to despise oatmeal. But as I’ve grown older and found recipes I like, oatmeal is one of my favourite things to make for breakfast. I’ve got two recipes that I like to switch up.

homemade instant oatmeal packets

The first being Homemade Instant Oatmeal packets. I love the fact that I can whip up a whole bunch of packets (just like buying them from the store!) in no time and have breakfast on hand for quite a few weeks. My second favourite oatmeal is this Overnight Oats.

Both of these oatmeal recipes are very versatile when it comes to adding toppings that you like. I’m a big fan of adding raspberries or strawberries. Nut butters, nuts and seeds would also be great additions.

SMOOTHIES

Smoothies are delicious and so satisfying! Not to mention a breeze to put together. Currently our favourite combination is frozen strawberries, banana, yogurt, protein powder, and either juice or water. Sometims I like to add spinach or kale, or frozen berries, or frozen peaches.

This Tropical Pineapple Peach Slushie might also be a great dairy-free option:

Pineapple and Peach Slushie

What’s your favourite smoothie combination?

EGG TOAST

My husband’s most common breakfast request is egg toast. It’s a notch up from plain scrambled eggs or plain toast. 🙂 To make it, I simply scramble up some eggs with some milk and a touch of salt and pepper. Then I divide the eggs between some whole grain toast, then top it all with some shredded cheese.

FRENCH TOAST

Not the quickest breakfast on the list, but it’s still quite easy to put together! Plus, this french toast is perfect for freezing leftovers, then popping in the toaster. We like to top ours with butter, real maple syrup and sometimes fruit and whipping cream. French toast is also a hit with me because of the egg mixture it’s coated in, giving it more protein than pancakes or waffles.

Easy French Toast

FRUIT SALAD WITH GREEK YOGURT

If I could just eat fruit for breakfast, I would! I love, love a big bowl of fruit salad. But to give it more protein, thus making us fuller for longer, I serve it with some Greek yogurt. I can’t quite do plain Greek yogurt yet, so I usually buy vanilla flavoured yogurt.  As for the fruit salad, I just cut up what fruit we have on hand. Which is usually apples, strawberries, bananas, oranges and sometimes berries or mango.

What are your quick and easy healthy breakfast ideas?

Peanut Chicken Pasta

Mar 7 | Recipes

This Peanut Chicken Pasta is a favourite of ours for a quick and tasty weeknight dinner. It’s a hit with everyone!

I realized the other day that I haven’t made one of our favourite dinners in a while so I thought I’d do it up, then give you the recipe! It’s perfect for my peanut butter loving husband and daughter. I happen to love it too because it’s tasty and I feel like it’s fairly healthy. Plus, it’s easy, that’s my motto in life I think. Especially when it comes to cooking. 😉

I hope you enjoy one of our family’s favourite dinners, Peanut Chicken Pasta:

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Peanut Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
  • 2 Chicken Breasts diced
  • 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 Cup chicken bouillon or broth
  • 2 Tbsp honey
  • 1 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup peanut butter
  • 1 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp ginger powder
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes optional
  • 1 green or red pepper
  • Pasta of your choice or rice
Instructions
  1. Prepare pasta or rice.
  2. Cook chicken in a skillet.
  3. In a bowl, whisk together the chicken broth, honey, soy sauce, peanut butter, cornstarch, ginger, garlic and optional hot pepper flakes.
  4. Pour mixture into skillet with chicken, stirring constantly until thickened.
  5. Add green pepper until heated.
  6. Serve over hot pasta or rice.