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She Bakes The Heat

3 Easy Steps to a Chandon Mimosa Bar

I have never made a Mimosa Bar before and they’re all the rage these days. When I hosted a ladies brunch I asked myself, “what is a brunch without a mimosa?” I wanted to make this brunch a little “extra”. It’s fun to try the different flavors and for some that don’t care for sparkling wine it can add so much to it with some of your favorite juices and garnishes. The nice part is you don’t need much sparkling wine in each glass so it’s manageable if you don’t wish to drink very much. Here is how I made my Mimosa Bar. I feel like I am beyond the amateur and moving towards intermediate mimosa mixologist! lol!

1.) Pick your glasses. I have some beautiful champagne glasses that were given to me by a friend. She had them engraved with an “H” which made them even more special. Some people prefer the stemless glasses and I love them too. I am fortunate that I have a little of each. For the klutz in us the stemless can be a great choice! They are elegant and functional and they are the ones I chose for this event. I got mine from Emily McCarthy and I love them! So pretty to use.

2.) Pick your juices. I used the traditional orange juice and paired it with strawberries. To mix it up, I also wanted to try mango, it was fairly easy to find in the International Food isle at the grocery store and I used mint to garnish this one. It was really yummy too! Then I found pomegranate juice in the refrigerated section and ready to serve fresh pomegranate seeds. This one was very good, not too tart and not too sweet. There are other choices you can offer such as grapefruit juice, lemonade or a mixed berry. I set up the juice bar with labeled glass carafes and then put the garnishes in front of each juice. It was self serve and my friends enjoyed trying the different flavors.

3.) Pick a sparkling wine. I have fallen in love with Chandon. My husband and I visited their winery on our honeymoon many years ago and I forgot how much I loved it! I recently joined their sparkling wine and still wine club. I used a couple of their bottles for the mimosa bar. Although I don’t know much about sparkling wine, I do know there are distinct taste differences between them. That is the one thing I find interesting about wine.

The thing that I like most about a Mimosa Bar is the variety and it add just a touch of “extra” in your next gathering. I would love to hear if you tried any of the different kinds or maybe there is something I haven’t tried and would love to share with my readers. Cheers!

April 20, 2018 by She Bakes The Heat

Home + Entertaining

How To Host A Ladies Brunch

I have always wanted to host a ladies brunch. Sometimes you just need an excuse to get together with your girlfriends and enjoy a few laughs and some good food. I enjoy having my friends over and making them feel spoiled. I partnered up with Emily McCarthy to go the extra mile and make it special. As my daughter would say, ” Mom, that is sooo extra!” Lol! In this case I will consider it a compliment. The following ideas can be used for a bridal shower or a birthday as well:

1.) Pick your theme or table setting. I picked “pretty in pink”! I felt like I needed a fresh jolt of femininity! For the table setting, I used these gold chargers (I’ve had for almost ten years)! I pulled out an older white table cloth, a necessity when doing any table setting especially if you want to be lighten up the scene. I used this lovely gold flatware, gold flatware is all the rage now and relatively inexpensive. Then I added some flowers for the table and a beautiful monogrammed napkin from Emily McCarthy. Last summer, I did a blog post about her store, they have great products and online help!

2.) You can’t host a brunch without mimosas so I decided to try my own mimosa bar. I recently became a member of Club Chandon Sparkling +Still Wine which gave me options to mix things up. There are so many fabulous ideas out there to try with sparkling wine. Later this week I will share how to make a mimosa bar. It is a ton of fun!

3.) Decide on your menu. I like to start with a salad, I made this easy salad out of spinach, cashews, goat cheese and strawberries with a strawberry dressing. Very easy and most women love this salad! The second course should be something savory. I absolutely love these frittata muffins. Each one can be made to ones taste buds. You can make vegetarian, dairy free or meat-lovers! They can be made up the night before and then just warm them up in a 150 degree oven. Lastly, the sweet course. My dear friend, Kim, volunteered to make a french toast casserole. It was over the top yummy! Other ideas for something sweet are homemade donut holes (super easy to make), a coffee cake or a buckle cake. There are so many options and your friends can pitch in and of course you have to share recipes!

4.) Provide a party favor for your guests. I chose the Louis Sherry chocolates I found on Emily McCarthy’s site. They come displayed in a beautiful keepsake tin. Very feminine and what woman doesn’t enjoy her chocolate? There are a variety of ideas out there. The Lavender Sugar Scrub that I posted recently is another way to bless your friends.

Keep in mind, hosting a ladies brunch is about having a good time with your closest friends and not to impress them but to bless them! It doesn’t have to be perfect and you can have a beautiful brunch without tons of expense!

April 17, 2018 by She Bakes The Heat

Travel

Punta Cana Spring Break 2018

This year my family went somewhere different for spring break. For the last 9 years we have been going to Marco Island, which I love, but the teens in our life were getting restless. So we tried to find a place they would enjoy and stay busy. A friend of mine told us the Hard Rock in Punta Cana is a great place to go with your older teens. I have to admit, I was a little reluctant to go as I love the quiet peacefulness of Marco and the simplicity of our vacations there. The Hard Rock was a bit overwhelming at first but once I acclimated myself I really enjoyed it. Here are some of my highlights:

1.) The Beach! The thing I loved loved loved about Punta Cana was the beach. The sand was so smooth under your feet! I didn’t feel like I do in some settings where I have to watch out for sting rays at every turn or sharks! There are some beautiful beaches in the world but this one I wasn’t afraid to get deep in the ocean and enjoy it! The waves were so amazing and I felt like a kid swimming. It makes me smile just typing this. On our last day before we left my husband and I headed out for one last swim. The ocean did not disappoint that morning.

2.) Macao Surf Camp was the bomb! Some family members highly recommended this company for surfing. We booked ahead of time and went in the morning. They were very organized and hospitable. Each person in our group had their own coach. They had about a half hour instruction before hitting the waves and then once in the water they were with you the entire time. They even helped push your surf board to get your going. Half way through the lessons they bring you ashore and someone is there cutting up coconuts to give you FRESH coconut water to hydrate before you head out on your next surf. It was fabulous and exhausting!

3.) The people. The people in Punta Cana were friendly and we did not have a single negative experience with them. The staff at the Hard Rock was spectacular. We were fortunate enough to have our own staff person and she booked all of our itinerary for us. We were able to go to dinner without a wait, book excursions and even our bali beds! It was such a wonderful luxury.

4.) The spa at Hard Rock was the best. I have been to a lot of spas around the country and the services were top notch. The spa was clean, professional and the services were amazing. I had a facial and a deep tissue massage. One word… Amazing! My friend had a chocolate wrap and said it was heavenly!

5.) The Fish Pedicure was also a cool experience! I am the type of person that will usually try something once and in this case I am glad I did. It was a little freaky at first but after about five minutes in a strange way you get used to it. It kinda of tickled and also made me feel a little squeamish! In the end, my feet felt fabulous! It is one of those things you need to try at least once in your life.

My family was very excited to go to Punta Cana and if you have teens who are looking for some fun with their friends and families it’s a great spot. We always felt very safe and I am missing that beach and the view! Great memories!

April 13, 2018 by She Bakes The Heat

Recipes

Gluten Free Almond Chicken Recipe

I used to eat a gluten and dairy free diet for years. At that time, I did it for medical reasons and then in the last five years I have gotten away from it. I just started up again and it is actually super easy and I feel so much better. It seems I have better digestion and lose a few pounds when I eat gluten free. My body doesn’t require complete elimination of gluten to feel good, just the obvious such as breads, cereals & crackers. I pulled out this old recipe I used to make and wanted to share it with you.

I used my food processor to chop up the almonds, you can one at Sur La Table. If you use a Vitamix you may end up with mush or almond butter. Believe me, I have tried this approach and it doesn’t work! lol! If you don’t have a food processor, it’s no problem. Chopping finely is just as easy and you don’t have to clean your food processor afterwards. I also like to make smaller pieces like chicken strips. They make for easy dipping in sauces such as a honey mustard or BBQ sauce.

I made my own salad dressing. Anyone can do it. Just mix a 3:1 ratio of avocado oil and lemon juice and add salt and pepper. Shake well and pour. This salad that I made has mixed greens, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and red onions. It is one of my favorites.

It is super simple (that is a huge priority) and tastes really good! Give it a try and I would love to know what you think.

Almond Chicken

This is a gluten-free version. If you would like to use gluten, you can substitute 1/4 cup of the almonds with bread crumbs to add a little extra breading to the chicken.

Ingredients

1 cup Almonds, sliced
1 teaspoon Garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon Paprika
1/2 teaspoon Oregano, dried
1/2 teaspoon Thyme, dried
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 Egg, beaten
4 small Chicken breast

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Combine first 5 ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until the almonds are chopped fairly small.
Pour the almond mixture into a shallow bowl.
Pour the beaten egg into a shallow bowl.
Salt the front and back of each piece of chicken.
Working with one piece at a time, dip the chicken in the egg and then coat with the almond mixture making sure to pat the mixture into the chicken.
Place the chicken on a non-stick baking sheet or one lined with parchment paper.
Drizzle or spray avocado oil over top of chicken to help make crispy.
Bake for 22-25 minutes and remove from oven.
Let rest for 3 minutes to let juices redistribute.
Serve hot.

April 9, 2018 by She Bakes The Heat

Lifestyle

Lavender Sugar Scrub Recipe

I am excited to share with you this great lavender sugar scrub recipe! It is super simple and a friend of mine gave it to me. Had I known it would have been this easy I would have saved my money on the expensive ones with chemicals and done this a long time ago. Believe it or not, this recipe only has three ingredients. If you want you can make it as a gift for someone, you can use lavender oil but I also love the citrus scents! They are so refreshing. I like to dress up my containers and with either a sprig of lavender, a dried citrus peel or a pretty ribbon. Your friends and family will be impressed when you tell them how easy it is!

I really have grown accustomed to having a scrub of some sort that last 5 years. The older I get the more I feel like I need to exfoliate regularly. I also love to use it before a beach trip and especially after. I know so many of you are gone on spring break this time of year. Save your pennies and make this recipe and use it when you get home. I don’t do a lot of DIY but I recently made these Homemade Bath Bombs and they turned out great also! Don’t forget to tell me how they turn out for you!

Lavender Sugar Scrub Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Coconut oil, virgin/unrefined
few drops Lavender Essential Oil

Instructions

Mix all the ingredients together and put in a glass jar.

April 3, 2018 by She Bakes The Heat

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