Life Enhancments

Happy Monday!

I like to consider myself a pretty organized person and have always been pretty obsessed with trying to maintain as stressfree a day as possible. In my opinon, that starts as soon as you wake up. If you start your day with a clear head then your day is more likely to be smooth sailing from there. I wanted to share with you some things I do every day before I go to bed and before I actually "start" my day. 

My first thought in the morning: COFFEE. Having the coffee maker set up to brew before I even get downstairs makes my morning so much smoother. One less thing I have to do. But before coffee, water. I know you've heard it before but it's important for your body to have water before coffee so when I set up the coffee the night before I also have my lemon water ready for the microwave in the morning (I don't have time for the kettle).

Side note, there are so many benefits of drinking lemon water in the a.m.

• Detoxes
• Great for your skin (antioxidants, vitamin C) 
• Builds up your immunity...Its flu season!
• Enhances digestion

Clean the kitchen before bed no matter how tired you are. This one is huge! Not only does it help me sleep better knowing that I don't have a mess waiting for me but it is also amazing to wake up and cook breakfast in a clean kitchen. 

Now I know you may not have a roomba but let me tell you it is life changing!! One of the best investments you could make. I was skeptical at first but just the same as the kitchen, running the roomba when you go to bed and waking up with clean floors is fantastic. Especially with my husky Perla Blue and her never ending fur that is everywhere.  

Have an idea of what's for dinner the next day. Doing this like some of the other things leaves room in my head for other things. Sundays are all about food. I always try to grocery shop, meal prep, and get ideas for dinners for the week. When I go to sleep knowing what I'm making for dinner the next day gives me a sense of feeling like I at least have it together a little.  

How do I know these things work? Because of all the times when I do literally none of this and feel like an absolute hot mess who's ready to pull her hair out. Ha! Don't do any of these? Try just one and see how it improves your day and night.

Enjoy your day, I hope it moves along swiftly! 

A Chocolate Treat

In my opinion, the month of February is all about decadence. And what's more decadent than chocolate? So just for today lets throw our diets out the window and indulge a little with some chocolate and wine. When it comes to cooking and baking it's absolutely a form of therapy for me. Being in the kitchen is one of my favorite places, put a glass of wine in my hand and I may never leave. 

If you're looking for something delicious to make this Valentine's Day I've got you covered with this super easy and fun Chocolate Pie.  

Heart Chocolate Pie

2/3 evaporated milk

1/2 package chocolate chips

3 tbsp butter

1 cup sugar

2 tbsp flour

2 eggs

2 tsp vanillla extract

3/4 tsp salt

2 pre-made pie crusts

Preheat the oven to 375. Press one of your pie crusts into a greased pie pan.

and microwave the first three ingredients for about 1 1/2 minutes. Make sure to whisk every now and then to prevent it from getting chunky.

Whisk sugar and flour into chocolate mixture, then add the eggs one at a time, then add vanilla and salt. Pour into pie shell.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes and if you're adding hearts add them here and put back in the oven for another 20 minutes.

For the hearts: get your second pie crust and simply use heart shaped cookie cutters and place randomly.

Enjoy and Happy February! 

The Best Brunch Addition

Happy Sunday Everyone!

Hope you've got some champs ready to pop!  Now obviously brunch is the best part of weekends but I wanted to give you something to add that is simply divine. When I was growing up, my Mom would make these French Breakfast Puffs for birthdays and special occasions It was a great tradition. They are so delicious that I wanted to share the recipe with you.

French Breakfast Puffs

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

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1/2 cup sugar  

1/3 cup shortening

1 egg

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1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

6 tbsp melted butter

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a muffin tin, stir together flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg then set aside. In a mixer, cream together 1/2 sugar, shortening, and egg. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to the creamed mixture, beating well after each addition. Fill the muffin tins 2/3 of the way full and pop them in the oven 20-25 minutes.  

Combine 1/2 sugar and cinnamon. Once you remove the muffins from oven dip in melted butter and then into the cinnamon sugar mixture.  

Make these delicious muffins with your kids or for your significant other!

Trust me they are worth it! 

Enjoy your day!