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:

Berry Passionate Lemonade Smoothie Recipe

Hola Amigos! It's been a little while since I made a smoothie and even though holiday flavors like cinnamon and peppermint should be on my mind while the snow falls outside, I can't help but thinking that in other parts of the world it's sunny, toasty hot and summer is on it's way! I guess you can take a girl out of the Tropics but you can't take the Tropics out of the girl!

This is a super easy and refreshing smoothie. Something different if you want to try new sweet flavors and add a bit of "zing to your swing" this season.

The color is absolutely beautiful, reminds me of Caribbean's pink sand and the flavor delicious! It's also low in calories so you can still look amazing and in great shape for Christmas while enjoying a cool looking beverage!

Top it of with some fresh whipped cream, a few sugary sprinkles and strawberries for a festive look!

Make it even healthier by adding some wheat germ or flax seeds! See those little specks floating around? Wheat Germ! yumm!

Before I close this short but sweet post I want to thank all the sweet comments and emails I've gotten from you my friends since around Thanksgiving and been unable to answer. Due to health problems I haven't been able to get to my computer or blog at all! I hope and pray things get better as the weeks go by and come back and have fun with all of you!. In the meantime, please hang in there with this your blog. I will try to pop a few times a week to say hi to all and drop a little recipe or two.

Keep the shopping going my sweeties and enjoying the holiday cheer always keeping in mind that everything tastes better with a Pinch of Love!

Besitos,

Lizy

Berry Passionate Lemonade Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 (6 oz) Chobani Passion Fruit Yogurt, frozen

3/4 Cup Lemonade, chilled

1/2 Strawberries, frozen

1 tsp Wheat Germ (optional)

Fresh Whip Cream and Strawberries for garnishing (optional)

Directions:

Add all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Top with Whip Cream and Strawberries for a pretty presentation if you want. Enjoy!

Prep Time 3 minutes                                                                       Serves 2 (4-6oz) Cups

Sharing my Tropical Holiday Smoothie at these Fabulous Parties:

Fresh Cherries and Hibiscus Holiday Sauce Recipe

Hola Amigos: Today I'm mixing it a little bit and sharing with you a twist on side dish eaten by all throughout the holiday season, Cranberry Sauce. This year since I'm not hosting any of the holidays for family and friends, just my guys I get creative freedom when it comes to dishes and do things outside the can.

We only serve or eat cranberry sauce of juice when we have guests or we are sick, lol. This time of the year coincides with summer in my country so we instead of cranberry juice we have Hibiscus Cooler or "Saril" very popular drink around the holidays there. As refreshing and vibrant colored as Cranberry Juice Cocktail only a bit spicy since we add ginger to the infusion! Anyway, it is this Hibiscus Cooler concentrate infusion what I have used to prepare the base of this sauce.

It's not only good by itself, but goes great with ice cream, cake, pancakes anywhere where you use sauce you could use my plain Hibiscus Sauce.

To make it more festive and to resemble the whole cranberry sauce thing, I made a little cherry reduction with some sweet Moscato and mixed it all up!

The result made me skip dinner because I just got a bowl of my favorite ice cream and pour this still warm over it and at it all! Oh my guys! this stuff is addictive!

You can taste the sweetness and tartness of the hibiscus with notes of ginger and a bit of the Moscato on every cherry bite! yumm

I made enough of the hibiscus sauce to use for future recipes and this particular combination makes about 1 1/2 cup of goodness to have with your turkey or ham.
Thank you so much for visiting the blog today! I hope you enjoy this recipe a little bit our of the ordinary but delicious and easy to make. Remember my friends, everything tastes better with a Pinch of Love!

Besitos,

Lizy

Cherry and Hibiscus Holiday Sauce
Ingredients
For the Hibiscus Infusion and Sauce
1 Cup Hibiscus Flowers
6 Cups Water
1 Inch piece Ginger, peeled
1/2 Cup Corn Syrup
8 TBSP Sugar
1/4 Cup Fresh Orange Juice
2 TBSP Cornstarch
Directions:
In a large saucepan, bring 6 cups water to a rapid boil. Add hibiscus flowers, remove from heat and cover with a lid for about 20 to 30 minutes.
Using a large colander, separate the infusion from the flowers, but do not discard the flowers. They will be use to prepare something delicious soon.
Add 2 cups of the infusion, ginger, corn syrup and sugar to saucepan on medium high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
Combine orange juice and cornstarch and add it to the infusion mix, continue cooking until the mix begins to boil, reduce heat at cook for abut 5 more minutes until the sauce coats a spoon. It will thicken a bit more as it cools.Remove and discard  ginger piece and  remove the sauce  from heat.
For the Cherries
1 Cup Fresh Cherries (could be frozen too), pitted
4 TBSP Moscato wine
1/2 tsp Orange Zest
In a small hot saucepan, add wine, cook for about 1 minute until the alcohol evaporates. Add cherries and orange zest. Cook until  the wine reduces to almost nothing, about 8 minutes. 
Add Hibiscus sauce to the fresh cherries, mix until everything is well blended. Serve and Enjoy!

Prep Time   20 minutes                           Cook Time 13 minutes                            Serves 2 Cups

Sharing my Delicious Creations at these Fabulous Parties:

The Chicken Chick, Under the Table and Dreaming, Coastal Charm, Between Naps on the Porch, The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen, Cooking for the Seven Dwarfs, A Pinch of Joy, Create with Joy, The Tumbleweed Contessa, Kathe with an E, Feeding Big, Home Stories A to Z, Hun...what's for dinner?, Our Table for Seven, The View from 510, Mandy's Recipe Box, Nap-Time Creations, Chef in Training, Pint Sized Baker, Lady Behind the Curtain, Ducks'n a Row, Fluster Buster, The Taylor House, Ginger Snap Crafts, Diana Rambles, Sweet Haute, Juggling Real Food and Real Life, My Turn (for Us), Craft Dictator, Tatertots and Jello, Rain on a Tin Roof, Huckleberry Love, Craft-O-Maniac, Skip to my Lou, Say Not Sweet Anne, Alderberry Hill, Boogieboard Cottage, Mad in Crafts, Frugality Gal, Carrie This Home, Smart School House, Kleinworth & co, Homemade Ginger, Memories by the Mile, All She Cooks, Kitchen Meets Girl, My Girlish Whims, Pink Box Recipe, The Best Blog Recipes, Artsy Fartsy Mama, Craft Dictator, Sweet Haute

Bacon and Cheese Cornbread Recipe

Hola Amigos! For the next couple of weeks it's most likely we will be eating a lot of  corn bread! All kinds of cornbread, some spicy, some sweet, some that are hard as a rock and best fed to the birdies in the yard, corn bead in  stuffing, in muffins you name it! This is my super easy and savory recipe with a twist from all the other corn breads you will have these season.

There is no flour measuring, no creaming of the corn or using the can stuff, just mix a few ingredients, most of them in your pantry at this moment, bake and enjoy.

It has the things my guys love to no end, bacon and cheese! I added the things I love a bit of smokiness spicy and broccoli! I know it's different, but so good!...believe me when I say this was one veggie that wasn't picked out of the plate like it happens almost on regular basis here by my little one

Give this Corn Bread a try and mix in the elements you love the most, if you are not a fan of broccoli, leave it out and substitute it with your favorite one or add corn! This is a very flexible recipe and that's what I love about it, gives you the foundation for you to do it your way and make it your own.

Thank you for your visit today, I hope you include this quick recipe as one of the many holiday dishes you will have this season! Remember my friends, everything tastes better with a Pinch of Love!

Besitos,

Lizy

Bacon and Cheese Cornbread Recipe
Ingredients:
2 (8.5 oz) Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
1 (8 oz) Package Cottage Cheese
1 Cup Cheddar Cheese
1 TBSP Chipotle in Adobo Sauce
4 Eggs, beaten
4 Strips of Bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 (8 oz) Package Frozen Broccoli 
1 Small onion, chopped 
1/2 Cup Butter + 1 TBSP extra
Directions:
Pre-heat oven at 350 degrees. Melt butter in a 9 x 13 inch pan. 
In a medium skillet melt 1 TBSP butter and saute onion until transparent. Remove from skillet.
Mix all the ingredients and add saute onions. Add this mix to the previously buttered baking pan. Bake for 45 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm and Enjoy!

Prep Time 5 minutes                                                                 Bake Time 45 Minutes                          

Sharing my Savory Corn Bread Recipe at these Fabulous Parties:

The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen, Between Naps on the Porch, Feeding Big, Watch Out, Martha!, A Southern Fairytale, The Gunny Sack, Our Table for Seven, Hun...What's for Dinner?, Chef In Training, Home Stories A to Z, Nap Time Creations, Mandy's Recipe Box, Sugar Bee Crafts, Cozy Little House, Ginger Snap Crafts, My Sweet Mission, Lady Behind the Curtain, A Bright and Beautiful Life, Gina's Craft Corner, Sweet Haute, The Brambleberry Cottage, Lamberts Lately, The Mandatoy Mooch, What's Cooking Love?, Katherine's Corner, The Crafty Blogstalker, Saving 4 Sx, A Glimpse Inside, Made in a Day, Simply Dream and Create, Consider me Inspired, Artsy Fartsy Mama, Living Well Spending Less, Gingerly Made, White Lights on Wednesday, The Girl Creative, The Answer is Chocolate, Becoming Martha, The Best Blog Recipes, Tidy Mom, French Country Cottage, My Turn (for Us), Juggling Real Food and Real Life, Home Maid Simple, 504 Main, The Shabby Nest, The Pin Junkie, The Craft Dictator, Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons, Not Your Ordinary Recipes, Living Better Together, In the Kitchen with Jenny, The 36th Avenue, Today's Creative Blog, Cheerios and Lattes, Made from Pinterest, Twigg Studios, Nifty Thrifty Things, Flamingo Toes, Life on Lakeshore Drive, I Should be Mopping the Floors, Will Cook for Smiles, Titi Crafty, 2 Crochet Hooks, My Mixing Spoon, Under the Table and Dreaming, The Chicken Chick, Create with Joy, The Tumbleweed Contessa, Kathe with an E, The Taylor House

Happy Halloween and 1-2-3 Vamonos!

Hola Amigos! Happy Halloween to all! I hope this day is full of sweet candy, happy faces and smiles!
It has been a year since I started my journey into blogging and it has been one of the most challenging but rewarding experiences in my life!
I've met a lot of great people from all over the world. each one of them with their own stories told through their blog's posts in the case of my bloggy friends and through the emails and comments I received from my readers.

I can say with all confidence today I have a great group of friends thanks to this blog.

I have challenged myself trying to come up with new and creative ideas for you, sometimes I was successful and sometimes it was a total disaster, but that is life, we just pick up and we keep on going, right?

Today I want to thank all those who read my posts, those who took their time to leave a comment, those who tried my recipes and those of you who have become my friends!

I've  also realized that after writing for a year I need a little bit of a break to regroup my thoughts, get my energy back and come up with new recipes and easy crafts worthy of all of you! I'm really not ready to tackle Christmas yet, lol!

But enough of me! This blog is and has been about you! So Happy Halloween, enjoy and again THANK YOU!!!

Besitos,

Lizy

DIY Halloween Ghost in the Mirror

Hola Amigos! Sharing with you a quick craft I made last year in the also known as the Before Blogging Days!, not as many pictures but this craft is so easy that not as many are needed anyway!

What I Used: You only need 3 things to make this craft. Head to your Dollar Store and get yourself a framed mirror, a printed image from your computer, preferably black and white and some Oven Cleaner.
How I did it: Take your mirror apart, set the frame aside. On a kitchen towel or old rag, place your mirror upside down (reflective side down) leaving the dark side exposed. Spray some oven cleaner over it and let it sit for a couple of minutes. I tried several times and with the particular oven cleaner I used it took me 15-20 minutes for it to work. Using a soft towel or old rag (a disposable one because you won't be using this one again) wipe some areas of your mirror, not everything, leave some areas with the dark backing so when you turn it around you could still see your own reflection, like a mirror. Make sure it's dry and with no residue of cleaner before you continue with your craft.
Cut the printed image to fit your frame and put it right behind the mirror already  on the frame. When you turn it around you will be able to see the printed image coming from behind the still reflecting mirror. Cover it up with the back (stand) of the mirror and you are done! Enjoy the spookiness.

Show as much or little of the image as you want. I happened to like just the edges so I can appreciate Miss Borden's face better. I'm really fond of her. maybe because we share the same name (Lizbeth)  and actually I think she was innocent of what they accused her.

Too bad they didn't have an "Agent Gibbs" or the people at the  CSI  L.A. unit to investigate and clear her name. She has a place of honor on my living...lighting is very bad there..I can't get a decent picture, so I apologize.

I guess we are ready now to start singing that creepy nursery rhyme....Lizzie Borden had an Axe.....I'm not going to sing the whole thing because I don't want to scare you guys too bad, lol. Hope you like my little project and you try it this Halloween....can't get any easier than this for $1 or so! Have a healthy and productive First Week of Fall!

Besitos,

Lizy

Sharing my Little Ghost in the Mirror at these Fa-BOO-lous Parties:

The Blackberry Vine, Feeding Big, Rain on a Tin Roof, Setting for Four, Huckleberry Love, Say Not Sweet Anne, The Gunnt Sack, Coastal Charm, Ladybug Blessings, Chef in Training, Mandy's Recipe Box, Home Stories A to Z, Our Table for Seven, Under the Table and Dreaming, DIY Home Sweet Home, Mad in Crafts, A Southern Fairytale, Jembellish, Sugar Bee Crafts, Nap Time Creations, Memories by the Mile, Cozy Little House, The Well Crafted Home, Ducks'n a Row, The Everyday Home, The Shady Porch, Ginger Snap Crafts, Lady Behind the Curtain, Fluster Buster, This Silly Girl's Life, Trendy Tree House, Kitchen Meets Girl, SNAP, 733 Blog, The Real Housewives of Riverton, Polkadots on Parade, Someday Crafts, We Like to Learn as We Go, My Girlish Whims, Smart School House, The 36th Avenue, 52 Mantels, The Mandatory Mooch, Sweet Haute, Saving 4 Six, Lamberts Lately, What's Cooking Love, A Handful of Everything, Live, Laugh, Rowe, the Crafty Blog Stalker, Katherines Corner, The Best Blog Recipes, The Best Blog Recipes, Craftionary, Tidy Mom, The Girl Creative, One Tough Mother,Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons, 504 Main, Craft Dictator, Do Small Things with Love, Diana Rambles, Sara Howe, Planned in Pencil, Living Better Together, The Jenny Evolution, Shaken Together, The Pin Junkie, Frugal Fit Family, Tatertots and Jello, Serenity You, Classy Clutter, Who Needs a Cape, Cheerios and Lattes, Too Much Time, Twigg Studios, Life on Lakeshore Drive, WCFS, Your Homebased Mom, Mommifried, The Thriftiness Miss, Under the Table and Dreaming, Dear Creatives, Flamingo Toes, I Should be Mopping the Floors, Frugal Foodie Mama, Between Naps on the Porch, Made in a Day, Made from Pinterest, DIY Showoff, My Love 2 Create, Six Sisters Stuff, Carrie This Home, DIY Show Off, Bowdabra