Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pudding

Ok let me just tell you right off the bat: there is no cookie dough in this pudding. 

BUT don't be disappointed! I was skeptical that pudding could just...taste like chocolate chip cookie dough. But it really really does!! 

Brown sugar, vanilla, and a little bit of butter help flavor this silky smooth pudding in a way that is seriously like you're eating cookie dough in pudding form. And chocolate chips help (although I'm a weirdo who prefers to not have chocolate chips in my cookie dough, so I mostly just ate the pudding chip-less. Michael thinks I'm crazy.)

Speaking of Michael, he was also pretty skeptical when I told him about the pudding. He wasn't too sure about it. But then he took a bite...and another....and another. And he said, "Ah...I get it." 

So he gets delicious cookie dough pudding. So do I. So will you!

Graham Cracker S'mores Cookies

As we know...I've made S'mores Cookies before. I made those Chocolate Insomnia Copycat Cookies not that long ago, and awhile back I even stuffed some s'mores inside of cookies. But Michael asked me to make some cookies for him to bring to work, and for some reason he suggested I make s'mores cookies. So I decided to make a new version.

I decided to keep it OG with these cookies. A chocolate chip cookie dough with a BUNCH of ground graham crackers in it is the base (and ohmygawwwd that dough is insanely delicious) and then there are chocolate chips and mini marshmallows to bring the trinity of summer desserts together!

All the yumminess of a s'more...without quite so much of a mess. Or need for fire.

I'm the messiest eater ever. And s'mores are messy to eat for anyone-so for me it's double the messiness. I usually have stuff smeared all over my face and need a wet napkin with me to aid in the clean up. These cookies don't require such up-keep.

Also, Michael's coworkers love love loved them. Of course. And gobbled them up and told their significant other's that they needed to step up to my level.

Mission accomplished. 

Weekly Meal Plan Menu (June 27-July 3, 2016)

This week’s meal plan was brought you to by:

The Spiffy Cookie | Foodtastic Mom | The Pajama Chef | Big Bear's Wife | The Cooking Actress | Pies and Plots

Something Saturdays (6/25/16)

Last Saturday I finally heard/saw the cicadas. Ick. We also had dinner with Michael's dad and stepmom at Gasoline Alley. It was really good and super fun! Then we went over to my (2nd) cousin's house because my (3rd) cousin Emily was in town and they were having a birthday part for her sister, obviously another cousin of mine, Audrey. We only stayed for a bit but it was fun, as always. Sunday I went to my grandma's and spent a little time with my family. Monday was mine and Michael's 1 YEAR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY! The bakery we used for our wedding cake, Tiffany's Bakery, were nice enough to make us 2 little cakes (that were 2 of our wedding cake flavors--both white cake with vanilla buttercream, but one had strawberry filling and the other had vanilla custard filling) for us to enjoy! Just as delicious as I remembered :) And Michael was able to get out of work at a decent hour so we were able to go out to dinner. We went to Darby's, Michael had never been there and I'd only been there once at my bachelorette party. The food was tasty and we had a lovely time.

Otherwise I just worked a lot this week. And then we had dinner with Emily last night! And today we're helping Michael's mom move into her adooorable new house!

I CAN'T HANDLE adooorable baby Dory in this clip from Finding Dory! This clip made Michael agree that he'll go see it with me :P We haven't seen it yet though so no spoilers!

{No Bake} Chocolate Hazelnut Tart--Chocmeister Review

I love Peanut Butter & Co. It is well documented. So when I heard they were coming out with chocolate hazelnut spreads...I nearly jumped up and down, I was so thrilled! And, lucky lucky me, they sent me a jar of their new Chocmeister Dark Chocolatey Hazelnut Spread to play with!

Before I tell you about all the deliciousness you are presently gazing upon, let me give you the 411 on Chocmeister Chocolatey Hazelnut Spreads. First of all they come in 2 varieties, milk and dark chocolate. And they're made with 25% LESS sugar and 50% MORE protein than the leading chocolate hazelnut spread brand. Which is pretty amazeballs. And, as someone who immediately tried some: it tastes even better! The hazelnut flavor really comes through and it's perfectly delicious. Just the thing to eat on toast, with fruit, or ya know...in a perfect no-bake tart.

It's summer. My favorite season. I love it. And it's hot-which I'm totally cool with but maybe we don't reeeeally want to use the oven if we don't have to, you know? That's why I wanted to make you guys a super decadent no-bake dessert. And the Chocmeister Dark Chocolatey Hazelnut Spread was so rich and had such a great hazelnut flavor that I knew I wanted to play that up. And I DID. This tart seriously just embodies chocolate and hazelnut-in every way.

First, we have a chocolate cookie + hazelnut no bake crust: tastiness. Then I made a ganache with the Chocmeister and heavy cream. And topped it with chopped hazelnuts. You chill the entire thing and it...is...just...perfect. The texture of the filling is so silky and perfect and the crust and hazelnuts give you a bit of crunch. So good. SO SO GOOD. 

1 Year

1 year ago I married my absolute best friend and favorites person on the planet. And it's been the best year yet.  I've never been happier or more in love with my Michael. Marriage is awesome <3

For more wedding pictures and a recap of the day:

Wedding Prep 06.20.15

Wedding Ceremony 06.20.15

Wedding Portraits 06.20.15

Wedding Reception 06.20.15

Weekly Meal Plan Menu (June 20-26, 2016)

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

This week’s meal plan was brought you to by:

The Cooking Actress | Pies and Plots | The Spiffy Cookie | Foodtastic Mom | The Pajama Chef | Big Bear's Wife

Something Saturdays (6/18/16)

I had a pretty good week! Saturday was awesome-Michael and I went to Columbus for an early wedding anniversary trip, and we got ice cream from Jeni's TWICE (both the first and last things we did there). We also went to the zoo (so much fun! Even though it was a CRAZY hot 90-something degree day, it was still a blast) and had dinner at Local Roots (I adored their bison burger! Michael was sad though because we had just seen bison at the zoo, lol.) It was exhausting, but awesome. Sunday we just spent in relaxing and getting a couple things done because...Michael went back to school again this week and his schedule is gonna be craaazy (even for him) for a bit. I miss him already :( But it's just for a short time! Tuesday was exciting because I went to help Michael's mom with her new house! They just got into it so I helped clean and move some of the boxes over from the old house. It was also my first time seeing it in person and I love love loved it. I think they'll be really happy there. And we wound down the evening eating pizza on the porch: me with Michael's mom, sister, best friend, and his brother's girlfriend. It was so nice. I pretty much sorted out our pre-qualification stuff for a house, so now I have a decent idea of what we can afford and I feel ok about it. However, then we got some bad news that (as a result of the university and, specifically Michael's advisor's incompetence) Michael wasn't actually allowed to be taking one of the classes he's taking this semester so it means that he'll be having to fit it into a different semester, making whatever semester that will be much harder than it was going to be and completely mucking up the schedule. And this is the 2nd time they've mucked him up in a manner similar to this (last time it extended his graduation date by 2 SEMESTERS. Oh bye money. And about a year's worth of living. Nice knowing you.) So we were pretty stressed and mad about that whole situation.

But it's Father's Day weekend! Yay! What are your plans? My dad is on a vacation with his family (my grandparents and aunt and uncle) in Hawaii so I'm not seeing him, but Michael and I are getting together with his dad tonight, which is always nice :)

No-Knead Crusty Bread Rolls

I've been craving a particular kind of roll. The kind that is crusty on the outside and chewy on the inside. This is the absolute perfect recipe for that sort of roll. AND it's sort of super easy to make (and no knead)! WE'RE IN A WIN-WIN SITUATION HERE, PEOPLE!

You combine some ingredients in a bowl. Let it rise (either in a warm place for a few hours or in the refrigerator overnight and then a warm place for a little bit if it's not risen enough). Form rolls. Let them rise for just like 30 minutes. Bake. THAT'S IT. And then you have the most gorgeously rustic rolls that are all crusty and chewy and JUST LOOK AT THE AIR POCKETS. They're perfect for holding little bits of butter.

They also lent themselves to Michael's caveman sensibilities--you can just grab them and tear into them like the savage he is. Or, you can be a lady* like me and cut them in half and butter them before delicately** eating them.

*In spite of etiquette classes and countless reprimands from my parents...I don't eat like a lady.

**shoving into your mouth whole.

Quick Raspberry Ice Cream

I'm sort of in love with the pretty pretty shade of pink this ice cream is. Like...the pictures don't even do it justice. It's LOVELY. And it's all just from raspberries-no artificial coloring or anything like that. Speaking of ingredients, this recipe only uses SIX ingredients and it's completely no cook, no churn, and egg free! It's insanely quick and easy and you'll never believe HOW GOOD it is.

The ice cream is super creamy and silky and deliciously refreshing. I made the ice cream for Michael (because it's raspberry, so of course it's for him). It always makes me giggle when we order at restaurants and-with dessert for example-Michael usually orders something pink (strawberry or raspberry) and I usually get something super rich and decadent, and they always try to bring us out each other's food. Apparently I eat like a man and my hubby likes pretty pretty girly food :P

The point of the story is...Michael love love loves this ice cream. In all it's pink glory.

Look....all you have to do is blend together a few ingredients, then whip some cream, fold it all together, freeze it, AND THAT'S IT. Now you have this dreamy ice cream for yourself. It's pretty much the perfect thing to enjoy on a hot summery day. 

Weekly Meal Plan Menu (June 13-19, 2016)

It's summer, we're way too busy to sit and brainstorm what to cook this week.

Which is where our weekly meal plan comes in to save the day!

This week’s meal plan was brought you to by:

The Pajama Chef | Big Bear's Wife | The Cooking Actress | Pies and Plots | The Spiffy Cookie | Foodtastic Mom

Something Saturdays (6/11/16)

Hello hello! Lots of stuff going on, Last weekend's wedding went great-it was so beautiful and things largely went smoothly. Monday, I toured a venue with a bride whose wedding is in September, which was fun! Tuesday, Michael and I met with a financial advisor to start our house hunting progress--it could've gone worse but I also didn't exactly hear what I wanted to hear lol. So we'll see what happens with that, my boss' husband might give us a 2nd opinion, but regardless I think we can work with it. Yesterday I did my first ever, completely by myself wedding (my boss is on vacation)! It actually went really well, I had a ton of fun! I may have worked too hard out in the heat and sun/not drank enough/not ate enough though because I didn't feel well at the end of the night. But, oh well lol!

And today Michael and I are celebrating our 1st wedding anniversary early with a trip to Columbus! We plan to go get some Jeni's, then go to the zoo, and then dinner (not officially decided on the where of that yet). YAY!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Stuffed Rice Krispie Treat

Sometimes you bake a giant chocolate chip cookie (like...even by my big-cookie-lovin' standards). And sometimes you form a rice krispie treat around it. And then you have an inception treat--a delicious ccc within marshmallowy rice krispie goodness.

Now I'm gonna tell you right now--even I don't advise that you just have a mega-giant ccc stuffed treat. I'm gonna firmly advise that you cut that thing into wedges. It's the smart thing to do. Your tummy will thank you. Plus...it makes eating it much easier. As much fun as it is to have a "I'm gonna need a bigger mouth" moment....seriously. You'd need a bigger mouth.

And then you get to comfortably bite into a crunchy-yet-gooey krispie treat exterior and be met by a chewy chocolate chip cookie. And I'm a big fan of having it slightly warmed up, so you get an extra gooey factor. But that's just me.

Chocolate & Salted Caramel Swirled Meringues

Remember how we made that creme brulee last week that used 4 egg yolks? Remember how I said I had the perfect way for you to use those leftover egg whites? HERE IT IS!

Gaze upon the most glorious meringues of all time:

Crisp and light and airy and chewy--these are facts about meringues. And they're even better when you swirl dark chocolate and salted caramel in them and top them with a bit of sea salt. It's like magic. 

They were so magical (and the recipe made so many) that I felt I needed to share them. I gave some to a bride I met with (whose wedding was on Saturday, actually) as well as my boss, Val (and her husband, Darrin-who was pretty stoked to be getting gifted with treats). Val & Darrin loved them, as did Michael, as did I.

Really-there's no reason to make any other kind of meringue cookie, in my opinion. Because once you go caramel and chocolate...you don't go back, ya know? Sometimes we spoil ourselves.

Weekly Meal Plan Menu (June 6-12, 2016)

Hihihi Summer-lovin' peoples! I present to you...FOOD!

This week’s meal plan was brought you to by:

Foodtastic Mom | The Spiffy Cookie | Big Bear's Wife | The Pajama Chef | Pies and Plots | The Cooking Actress

Something Saturdays (6/4/16)

OHMYGOSH. Can we just talk about the long weekend?? It was already set to be busy but then we got a big surprise Saturday morning--the doorbell rang and I ran to get dressed (cuz it was hot and I was wearing like...underwear lol) and then when I opened the door I was shocked to see MY BABY BROTHER!!! Josh flew home (from training in Texas for the air force) to surprise all of us! I was so so happy and Michael and I were able to spend the early afternoon with him (he showed me how to use the workout machine in my gym and we all got lunch). Then we went to Michael's sister's graduation party which was so fun! Sunday was my cousin's graduation party and my brother was there so we spent all day there: from 1 until 9-10ish. It still wasn't long enough but it was so good to see him and spend time with the rest of my mom's family as well. Josh had to fly back to Texas Monday morning but Michael and I still went over to my grandma's house for her Memorial Day party. We only spent a few hours there but it was so nice-and we got to meet my cousin's new baby (who is TOO CUTE and such a chub!)

I then spent the next couple days getting stuff done. Thursday I got lunch with my friend Angela, then I went to work. Yesterday I had a couple meetings with brides and also the rehearsal for today's wedding that I am working. Wish me luck!

Salted Caramel Crème Brûlée

This is the most delicious creme brulee of all time. SERIOUSLY. Like...puts any other creme brulee I've ever had to shame. Because it's made extra rich with salted caramel sauce IN THE CUSTARD. And there are tons of gorgeous vanilla bean flecks (yes, that's what those little black dots are) AND the sugar on top is VANILLA SUGAR that is caramelized into that sugar crust that makes a creme brulee...a creme brulee. Next level stuff right here.

When you think about it--salted caramel creme brulee just MAKES SENSE. Since the sugar crust is just caramelized sugar-it's a natural progression to up the ante by cooking salted caramel in the custard. And then you have the richest, creamiest, most delicious and flavorful creme brulee of all time!

Let me walk you through Michael's experience of first trying this recipe:
"So the cream"--("custard" I interrupted him, "it's sort of like pudding,") "is caramel?"
"It's vanilla custard but with salted caramel sauce in it."
"And the brulyy"--("you mean the sugar crust?") "is made with vanilla sugar?"
"Yes..."
"What are the black dots?"
"Vanilla bean flecks."
"Oh."

And then he ate a bite and made a "Mmmmm" sound, and then, as if it took effort to speak, "This is very rich. But veryyy gooood."

True.

The day that I made these, Michael and I went to dinner with his dad, stepmom, and aunt and uncle. I-in a rare turn of events-was the only one who didn't order dessert, and I told them it was because I had salted caramel creme brulee waiting for me at home. Then Michael asked if I had tried any and I snorted, informing him I'd had 2. Everyone laughed and he said that it's always great when I make delicious things and then they're all eaten before he's even home to try them. To which I indignantly replied that there were 5 more at home! And he looked at me and said, "And tomorrow 2 more will be gone." And I was like, "Well...yeah...they're not super filling!" Michael then informed me that creme brulee is not supposed to be a meal.

I firmly disagree :P