Chocolate Kiss Pie

Looking for a dessert to take to your next dinner party or just a quick "hello" for neighbors?  Here is a recipe that is very quick and easy.  The only real requirement is that you need to give it enough time to set in the refrigerator.  This yummy dessert only requires a few ingredients

1 1/2 cup Whole milk

1 small box 3.6 oz EACH of Devil's Food and White Chocolate Pudding

(I found Godiva brand!!)

1 8oz tub Cool Whip

1 6oz graham cracker crust

1 bag of Hershey Kisses

Pour 3/4 cup of milk into bowl and add chocolate pudding mix.  Whisk for 1 minute.  Stir in 1/2 of Cool Whip and spoon into crust.  Refrigerate for at least an hour.  Repeat the process with the white chocolate pudding mix and stir in the remainder of the Cool Whip.  Layer on top of set chocolate layer.  Refrigerate for addition hour (preferably more).  After fully set and shortly before serving, place unwrapped kisses over the top of the pie.  Serve cold.

Enjoy!

cindy

Chicken Lettuce Wraps Recipe

I work full time outside of the home and last week I came home to the most amazing aroma!  My husband found this awesome recipe online.  It was so good, we had to repeat it again tonight - and it was even better the second time!!  It tastes just like those fabulous yummy appetizers you get at that famous Asian restaurant (clue - the name is on the picture).

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 pound ground chicken

2 cloves minced garlic

1 diced onion

1/4 cut hoisin sauce

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger

1 Tablespoon Sriracha (optional)

1 (8 ounce) can diced water chestnuts

2 chopped green onions

salt and pepper to taste

butter or iceberg lettuce

We started by boiling boneless chicken breasts and then running them through a food processor after they cooled a bit.  Be careful not to overdo it, or your chicken consistency will be too fine.  Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium high heat.  Add ground chicken and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the chicken as it cooks; drain the excess fat.  

Stir in garlic, onion, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger and Sriracha until onions are translucent, about 1-2 minutes.  Stir in the diced chestnuts and green onions until tender, about 1-2 minutes; season with salt and pepper.

Spoon into individual lettuce leaves.  This is also great with tortillas, crackers, or on little slices of bread as a cute appetizer.  Add a kick to your scrambled eggs the following morning!  It reheats almost as good as when you first made it!  

cindy

Saving Money with Greeting Cards

If you're like me, you rush into a grocery store on your way to a party to grab a card.  It could be a birthday card, thank you card, new baby, graduation, whatever.  A card goes with the gift, or in the case of gift cards, a card IS the gift.  The right card is important, but it's always been the "extra" thing.  Recently though, the card has become an expensive part of gift giving.  Some of this can be attributed to the complexity of cards with sound and delicately cut designs, but let's face it - greeting cards are getting really expensive!

Recently, I decided that if a standard greeting card is going to cost $5.00 or more in a grocery store, at least I'm going to find something handmade and unique.  Look no further than Etsy.

Just search "handmade greeting cards" to find over 70,000 listings.  You can find intricate hand cut cards, hand drawn illustrations, funny cards and photo cards.  You can buy them individually or in sets and spend much less than you would at the drug or grocery store.  Here's a few I found (click on the link below the picture to visit that Etsy store):

KCheckCreations

FancyPantsCardShop

BrynnFowlerDesigns

Now if you're like me, about now you are saying - who buys greeting cards in advance??  I did, but as a set of general cards.  You can really save money this way too.  I bought this set of 8 cards of my choice for $20.  Even with the shipping costs added in that is less than $4 a card.  

FoxandBearPaperCo

I don't even have to make a stop on the way to my next party!  As an extra bonus, I don't have to worry about whether the graduate or birthday card recipient will be getting a duplicate card from another guest!

Have a few minutes?  Shop Etsy for a huge selection of unique greeting cards.  Buy from the comfort of your living room 24 hours a day for delivery to your door!  Support small businesses!

cindy