Apple Pie Chex Mix

Hey Hey Everyone! Go Broncos! That was an awesome game yesterday! Peyton may not be in Indiana anymore, but I'm still a huge fan of his. We're really big football fans in general around here. My whole family has been Colts fans since as long as I can remember, and lucky for me I married a huge Colts fan too! :) Yesterday Hubby and I decided to have a few friends over to watch the games and enjoy some fun snacks I made. We ended up playing some board games while watching the games too. I forgot how much fun Clue is. It was a really great day!

This week most of my recipes will be of the yummy treats I made for our football party. Today's recipe is my Apple Pie Chex Mix! (Find the original recipe here)

This snack is so amazing. It tastes just like an apple pie, only with white chocolate instead of ice cream and it fits in your hand easily :) Plus its a no-bake! All you need is a microwave. First you'll stir up your cereal with the sugar butter and lay it flat. Then top with crushed apple chips and drizzle with melted white chocolate. Pop in the fridge until you're ready to serve!

This stuff is so addicting. It's one of those treats that people might hesitate to try because they aren't a big fan of white chocolate, or they don't really like walnuts, but then they'll finally give in and try a little handful. Then a little more, then a little bigger handful, and before they know it they're grabbing two fistfuls at a time! Ok it's not that extreme, but you get the picture.

Ingredients:

3 Cups Cinnamon Chex cereal

3 Cups Rice Chex cereal

1/2 Cup crushed walnut pieces

1/4 Cup butter or margarine

1/2 Cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 cups dried apple chips, crumbled up

1 cup white chocolate baking chips

3 tsp shortening

Directions:

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix together the two cereals and the walnuts in a large bowl. Set aside. In a 2-cup measuring cup melt the butter, then stir in the sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg and microwave for another minute (or until bubbling). Add in the vanilla and pour over cereal mix, stirring until coated. 

Microwave cereal mix for four minutes, stopping after each minute to stir up the mixture. Lay the cereal flat on the baking sheet and top with the crumbled apple chips. Melt together the white chocolate chips and the shortening for about 60 seconds, or until smooth enough to drizzle easily. Using a spoon, drizzle the chocolate onto the cereal and apples. Refrigerate for at least one hour, or even overnight, before serving. Break apart and enjoy!

These are the bowls I use for this recipe.

This is the best chocolate (I think) to work with:

And just in case you need a baking sheet:

What are your plans for the Super Bowl? Are you hosting a party or attending a party? Or are you like "What's football?" :)

Thanks for stopping by!

**I linked up to a little claireification, serenity now, the country cook, 504 main, kitchen fun with my 3 sons, tidy mom, miz helens country cottage, buns in my oven, 733, cornerstone confessions, coastal charm, nap time creations, cedarhill farm house

I'm co-hosting at the Happiness is Homemade Link Party!

We had another amazing week!! In fact we out linked our very first week....WAHOO!! I love seeing what each of you have been up to! Hope you all had a great weekend, is it just me or do they seem to get shorter and shorter.

MOST VIEWED LINKS

1. Creative & Delicious made this yummy looking Valentines Dessert. I can't wait to dive into one of these!

2. One Creative Mommy made these cute Frozen Valentines gifts for friends. I still need to see this movie, I have herd great things!

3. The Wordy Baker made this delicious looking Cinnamon Raisin Bread, I love cinnamon toast!

4. With a Blast made these White Chocolate Fluff dessert. I love white chocolate and these are on my list to make soon!

IF YOU WERE FEATURED GRAB OUR BUTTON

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This week's co-host!

Elie over at Organizer by Day

Elie is newly married, stay at home wife and together they have 3 fur-babies. She loves cooking, even though she hates onions and she loves to get crafty. So let's make Elie feel welcomed and give her some bloggy love and follow her!

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Interesting in Co-hosting Happiness is Homemade?

Simply fill in the Rafflecopter each week for you to enter to win a co-hosting spot with us. One lucky winner will co-host the Happiness is Homemade Link Party two weeks following; to allow time for the winner to get their information to us. As always it is free to sign up and helps bring more viewers to your page! a Rafflecopter giveaway Now that’s enough talking let’s get this party started!!!

The rules are really simple! Make sure you visit a few other blogs and make some new friends along the way. Feel free to link up your favorite recipe, crafts or latest DIY. We want to see it all!

As always make sure to follow your hosts and co-hosts!!

Broccoli Cheddar Bacon Salad

Ok raise your hand if you live in the Midwest and are totally over the snow?! I'm assuming all of your hands are up. Sometimes I wish Christmas was in January so that the rest of winter doesn't seem to drag on and on day after day with no end in friggin' site!!! But...it's not and I will bitterly endure the rest of this season.

One of the things that helps get me through the cold is Game Night! Yes I am 20something, no I don't have any children (YET!), but we still get together with one of my little sisters and her boyfriend every Wednesday for a night full of back stabbing strategy, gossip, laughter, food and fun! In fact, for Christmas this year we both got tons of new games because everyone knows how much we love our game night. I usually cook something and we take turns hosting at each others place. For this week's game night we had potato bacon soup for the main dish and chocolate chip cookies for dessert. I also made a new fun appetizer that I was inspired to make after I went to Ikea with a different sister (I have a ton of sisters so don't worry if you get confused :) earlier this week and saw these:

These cute little crispy cups were just calling out to me to be filled with something delicious! My first thought was whipped cream and chocolate. But, that's super easy and super boring and I wanted to make something I've never made before. And I wanted it to be something light, so a salad popped into my head. I realized I've never made Broccoli Cheddar Bacon Salad before and decided that would be the perfect treat to fill these little bitty cups.

It was so simple to make...cause it was no-bake! Love that! 

 These would be perfect on any Sunday coming up for football parties, too! Or any day of the week for that matter!

Ingredients:
2 large broccoli heads, raw, cut into flowerets
4-6 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 Cup mayonnaise
1/4 Cup sugar
1 tbsp white vinegar
20 crispy shells

Directions:
Stir together the mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar in a large bowl until well combined. Add in the broccoli, bacon and cheese and mix it all together. Scoop into your little shells (Tostitos scoops work just as great as my shells from Ikea) or onto a plate and enjoy! That's it! Easy Peasy! If you're making for a large group try doubling or tripling the recipe.


Do you still play board games or host a family game night? What are your favorite games to play? I really want to know because we're always looking to add to our collection :)

Thanks for stopping by!

**I linked up to a little claireification, serenity now, the country cook, 733, cornerstone confessions, coastal charm, cedar hill farmhouse, between naps on the porch, huckleberry love, diyhshp

Mini Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Hey Hey and Happy Hump Day everyone! Today I wanted to bring you one of my family's favorite recipes. I've mentioned on here before that I'm from a big family. Big families=eating at home a lot! Growing up my parents were always making these huge meals for the seven kids and now there's numerous in-laws and grandkids added in. So needless to say, they are pretty darn amazing when it comes to cooking.

There are some things my parents make that no one in the world can even come close to duplicating! They make these "Everything Brownies" that have all kinds of yummy sweets in them...the recipe is literally never the same. They just throw in goodness until they are happy and they are always so delicious. They make this cheesy enchilada casserole that everyone completely devours! I mean I think I've had dreams about it it's that good. Another huge favorite when the family gets together is my Dad's (should be) famous carrot cake. Being from a big family, birthdays are done a little different. On your birthday you get to pick what is served for dinner, no matter how weird (one year I did tacos and mashed potatoes), and you get to pick your own cake (I don't like cake all that much so I do the Everything Brownies). My Dad's carrot cake is requested more than anything else.

So as I was walking through my local Meijer the other day I came across these:

 Please excuse my fluffy little photo bomber! That's my puppy Zen...he wanted to say hi.

Isn't he the cutest little pup you've ever seen?!?! I'm pretty much obsessed with him! Anyway, so when I saw these sprinkles I was instantly reminded of my Dad's carrot cake and just had to buy them. Since I'm a big fan of keeping family recipes strictly in the family, I won't be sharing my Dad's recipe with you today, but I will share my own recipe. Here is my version of the ever popular carrot cake!

 

I wanted to make these mini because 1: I love carrot cake and was afraid I'd eat the whole cake and 2: see number 1.

Ingredients:

For Cupcakes:

1 Cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 eggs

1/2 Cup sugar

1/2 Cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 Cup+ 2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 Cups grated carrots

1/2 Cup crushed pecans

For Icing:

2 Cups powdered sugar

1/4 Cup butter, softened

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg in a medium bowl and set aside. Line your mini muffin pan with whatever liners you want to use.

In your mixer cream together the eggs, both sugars, vegetable oil and the vanilla. Once the eggs are fully incorporated, add in the dry ingredients. Then remove the bowl from the mixer and add in the carrots with a spoon. Do the same for the pecans. This is one of those recipes where if you mix the batter too much, the cake will sink in the middle, so make sure to stop mixing as soon as all the ingredients are mixed together. Spoon into cupcake liners until about 3/4 full. Cook for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Wait until they are cooled before putting on the icing. I got 36 mini cupcakes out of this recipe.

To make the icing:
Combine all ingredients in your mixer until smooth. Put in a piping bag and top the cooled cupcakes with tons of frosting. Add the sprinkles and dive in!


Need a mixer? This is the one I use...in red!


Don't have a mini muffin pan? This one is my favorite!


Don't forget the piping bags!


So what are your favorite family dishes? Have any fun birthday traditions? I'd love to hear them!

Thanks for stopping by!

**I linked up to cornerstone confessions, coastal charm, cedar hill farmhouse, between naps on the porch, huckleberry love, diyhshp, serenity now, the country cook, tidy mom, kitchen fun with my 3 sons, simple living eating, bloom designs, the self sufficient homeacre, miz helens country cottage