HOLLY'S CHEAT DAY

...because one day a week I have to be bad

Easy Cream Cheese Salsa Dip

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Happy Happy Tuesday y’all!  So apparently Cinco de Mayo is on a Saturday this year, THIS Saturday to be more precise, which to me sounds like some of y’all might need some kick butt food to serve with copious amounts of Margaritas and shots of Tequila to your friends and/or family.  Today I will be obliging this unrequested request…if that makes sense. 

Years ago, my sister introduced me to eating chips and salsa with a side of warmed up cream cheese, which is fantastic.  Not only is cream cheese delicious on just about everything, but it really helped in taking out the bite of the sometimes too spicy salsa.  Surprisingly, it wasn’t until recently that it occurred to me to just blend the cream cheese and salsa together really nicely to make a super simple but super tasty dip.

After taking the first bite of this not at all attractive dip, I actually found myself being annoyed at myself for having not done this before, and then I was doubly annoyed when with a quick Google search, I found out that I in fact did not invent this wonderfulness.

Oh well, I believe I made this dip enough of my own by my preference of salsa and chip type, or something like that.  I do recommend you all give this 2 ingredient wonder dip a try though, it sooo pairs well with your adult beverage of choice, trust me. 

I hope you all have a wonderful day and thank you so much for stopping by!!!

Your 2 ingredients into your bowl, cream cheese & salsa…

all blended together…

and enjoy!!!

Easy Cream Cheese Salsa Dip
This wonderful 2 ingredient dip doesn't get any easier to make and is the perfect blend of spicy and smooth.
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Ingredients
  1. 1 (16 Ounce) Jar of Pace Picante Salsa, Medium Heat.
  2. 1 (8 Ounce) Block of Cream Cheese, Softened & Cubed.
Instructions
  1. With a handheld or stand mixer with paddle attachment, place your salsa into your bowl.
  2. Now place the cut up pieces of the cream cheese into your bowl as well and on low speed combine the ingredients together until smooth and well incorporated.
  3. Chill until ready to serve with tortilla chips and enjoy!
Notes
  1. You're welcome to use mild or hot salsa depending on your preferences.
HOLLY'S CHEAT DAY https://www.hollyscheatday.com/

Banana Split Martini

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Happy Happy Friday y’all!  and an even happier cocktail Friday!  I feel like it has been forever since I’ve done a brand new cocktail on a Friday, so I’m super excited to share today’s recipe with you guys.  As y’all know, my cocktail of choice when I decide to partake in some celebratory libations is always a gin and tonic.

It’s my favorite because it’s not too sweet at all, it’s light and refreshing and bonus I don’t feel like hot garbage the next day after drinking one or two.  Now, if I do decide that a really knock out flavor cocktail is in order, it better be good y’all.  By good, I usually mean something very calorie heavy and tastes like dessert haha, I can’t help myself, I will totally admit it.  Well, last cheat day I had been having a hankering for something with a little more oomph in the flavor, so I started digging around in my ample liquor collection–seriously, I really don’t drink that much, just part of being a food blogger haha.

I found the gigantic bottle of banana rum I bought for one particular recipe a while back and I just knew it needed to be used.  Well, after tinkering around with some flavors and mixes, this delectable Banana Split Martini came about.  Y’all this thing is beyond smooth, which obviously I give credit to the added heavy cream, and most definitely delicious.  This is truly liquid dessert mmmm.  I hope y’all get a chance to have this cocktail soon, and thank you all sooo much for stopping by, have an absolutely wonderful weekend!  

Banana Split Martini
Yields 1
Delicious cocktail that tastes like a delicious banana split.
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Ingredients
  1. 3/4 Ounce of Banana Rum.
  2. 3/4 Ounce of Creme de Cacao.
  3. 1 1/2 Ounces of Vodka or Vanilla Vodka.
  4. 1/2-1 Cup of Heavy Cream or Milk.
  5. Cherry For Garnish (Optional).
Instructions
  1. In a martini glass, place your rum, creme de cacao, and vodka.
  2. Fill the rest of the glass with heavy cream or milk, mix together and enjoy!!!
HOLLY'S CHEAT DAY https://www.hollyscheatday.com/

Holly’s Junk Food Review Series: Oreo Thins Fudge Dipped

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Happy Happy Wednesday y’all!!! Today’s junk food review is seriously so random… It’s not necessarily a brand new food item, it’s nothing crazy outlandish or even seasonal, but what they are is awesome and I thought, a must share.

Seriously, it was crazy random I even ended up trying these mini Oreo thins.  Having reviewed the larger sized Oreo thins and thinking overall that they were just okay, I wasn’t going to go out of my way to try these, fortunately they were handing them out on the last flight we took and since I was headed on vacation, I said why the heck not?

do not be fooled by their size…

Honestly, I’m not sure how they did it, these itty bitty cookies covered in fudge are just delicious!  For years I have loved the white chocolate covered Oreos, which luckily (for my diet) only come out around Christmas time.  Well, it’s like they shrunk those delicious Oreos down, made them a tad bit more rich with the darker chocolate, and voila you’ve got these super fantastic little bites of awesome.  Eating a few of these is basically not an option, they’re just so addictive!  I recommend you head to your local grocery store, find the cookie aisle and buy a bag of these guys (I think they may come in mint too?).  I do not recommend buying more than 1 bag a time though because they all may magically disappear in less than a day haha.  These deceiving little snacks get a solid 9.5 out of 10.  Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day!!! 

Holly’s Junk Food Review Series: High Road Peanut Butter Chocolate Ice Cream

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Happy Happy Friday y’all and welcome to another junk food review!!!

Ok, so yes, I have reviewed several of High Road’s ice creams before and there is darn good reason too, they put out consistently awesome product.  They have recently come out with several new flavors and to say that I was excited to get my hands on them is an understatement.

Being team peanut butter over here, obviously the Peanut Butter Chocolate had to be first to be reviewed…

OMG, look at those swirls…

Alrighty y’all, so, the base flavor of this ice cream is peanut butter with a chocolate caramel swirl, mmmm.  Oh yeah, if you think that sounds amazing, it’s only because it is.  Y’all, the peanut butter ice cream is perfect, you can tell real peanut butter or peanuts were used to flavor this ice cream, subtle, but still with the perfect amount coming through, nothing fake about it.

As awesome as the ice cream base is, the caramel chocolate swirl is the pièce de résistance.  Not to be dramatic or anything, but that caramel chocolate swirl is magical, seriously.  They call High Road Craft Ice Cream luxury ice cream and you know what? it really is, it’s decadent and rich without feeling like they’re trying too hard, just really awesome, freshly made ingredients used in their products.  Per usual, they knocked it out of the park with this one and it gets a solid 10 out of 10, y’all go get you some!

Pineapple Bars

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Happy Happy Wednesday y’all!!! You guys know it’s been a super crazy week so far when I just completely forgot to post these amazing Pineapple Bars yesterday.  Like, just completely forgot, I mean, I do wake up at the absolute crack of dawn and then work all day, but you know it’s been hectic if I forgot about food,  especially dessert.

These bars are not your usual run of the mill bars either, when I say that these bars are absolutely out of this world delicious, I’m not even exaggerating a little.  I knew that I would love these because I’m a giant pineapple fan, pretty much in any capacity, but these are eye rollingley, holy moly, wowza good.

Just imagine the most delicious buttery, moist bar with just the perfect amount of pineapple flavor that’s all caramelized around the edges, mmmmm…that’s these bars y’all.  I cannot begin to emphasize enough how much you need these bars in your life.

There are more than a few steps to make these, but trust me, they’re 100% worth the effort.  I hope everyone is having a fantastic day & week, and I really appreciate you dropping by, thanks!

all of the ingredients for the crust into your bowl…

all mixed up…

into your pan, with 1 cup of the crust set aside…

all of the ingredients for the pineapple filling…

all mixed up…

onto your cooled crust…

with the remainder crust mixture sprinkled on top…

bake, bake, bake…

and enjoy!!!

Pineapple Bars
Absolutely decadent buttery bars filled with pineapple.
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FOR THE CRUST
  1. 1 1/2 Cups of All Purpose Flour.
  2. 1/2 Cup of Granulated Sugar.
  3. 3/4 Cup of Unsalted Butter, Chilled & Cubed.
  4. 1/2 Teaspoon of Salt.
FOR THE PINEAPPLE FILLING
  1. 1-20 Ounce Can of Crushed Pineapple, Slightly Drained.
  2. 2 Eggs.
  3. 1 Cup of Granulated Sugar.
  4. 1/2 Cup of Sour Cream.
  5. 1/3 Cup of All Purpose Flour.
  6. 1/2 Teaspoon of Salt.
FOR THE COCONUT DRIZZLE
  1. 1 Cup of Powdered Sugar.
  2. 1/4 Cup of Milk.
  3. 1-2 Drops of Coconut Extract (Optional).
TO MAKE THE CRUST
  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and spray your 9x13 pan with non stick spray.
  2. Place your ingredients into a bowl, either with your hands or with a mixer, mix all of your ingredients together until crumbly.
  3. Remove 1 cup of the crust mixture and set aside.
  4. Gently press the remaining crust into the bottom of your pan evenly and bake for 10 minutes, take out and let cool completely.
TO MAKE THE PINEAPPLE FILLING
  1. With a handheld or stand mixer with paddle attachment place all of your ingredients into your bowl and mix until everything is fully incorporated.
  2. Pour your pineapple filling onto your crust and evenly sprinkle the remaining crust mixture on top of the filling.
  3. Bake for 48-50 minutes or until the center doesn't jiggle anymore.
TO MAKE THE COCONUT DRIZZLE
  1. In a small bowl combine all of your ingredients mixing thoroughly until smooth, you may need to add more milk to reach the desired texture.
  2. With a spoon or fork drizzle over the top of your bars after they are completely cool.
Notes
  1. Just know that when the crust is all mixed in together, it's going to still feel very fine, it will not be nearly as crumbly as a lot crust mixtures feel like.
  2. You can substitute out the coconut extract with vanilla extract instead.
HOLLY'S CHEAT DAY https://www.hollyscheatday.com/

Holly’s Junk Food Review Series: Momofuku Crack Pie

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Good Morning & Happy Thursday y’all!

Welcome to another junk food review… So, I’m sure a lot of y’all have heard of the Momofuku Milk Bar in New York.  They’re known for their really unique and fun dessert creations.  I have had their cookbook for years and to be honest, their stuff seems so complex and with soo many steps and ingredients, I said a big no thank you to actually making anything out of it.  So anyways, when I saw that their super famous Crack Pie was one of their creations available for delivery via Goldbely, I obviously jumped at the opportunity to order it.  Don’t worry this isn’t an endorsement for Goldbely, I paid for the very expensive pie and ridiculously expensive delivery with my very own money dollars haha. 

Not exactly the most beautiful pie I’ve ever seen, but I’m optimistic…

I gosh, I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to like a pie so much, bbuuuttt, unfortunately, the first word that came to mind to describe this pie was, disappointing. Maybe, if it hadn’t cost so much, or all that I had heard was how incredible this pie was, it might be different..but seriously y’all this pie was a major disappointment. First off, the pie is really, really thin and I like thick pies, I cannot lie but my first thought on the flavor was that it tasted like a less rich and decadent Ooey Gooey Butter Cake (which I just realized I’ve never done a post on) but with a really crumbly crust.  Don’t get me wrong, the pie tasted good, but I could have saved myself time and money and just made some homemade butter cake, which calls for about 1/100 of the ingredients, more than 1/2 the time and is much, much richer.  So basically, save yourself the money and just make some butter cake at home, the crust is better, it makes more, and is eye rollingly good.  This pie gets a 5 out of 10 and a 2 out of 10 rating for the cost.      

Easy Fluffernutter Cookies

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Happy Happy Tuesday y’all!!!  As I’m sure a lot of y’all know, I’m a huuge peanut butter fan, what you may not know is that marshmallow fluff is also on my list of ‘like crack to me’ foods.  You know, the ones that you humorously tell yourself that you’ll have ‘just one bite’ and then you look up and the entire jar is gone.  So basically, when you throw together 2 of my ‘crack’ foods into one easy peasy recipe, it’s a done deal. 

I totally wish I could take credit for this recipe and I kick myself for how silly I am that I didn’t think of this one sooner, but as soon as I came across this one, I just knew I had to make it ASAP.  I got this 3 ingredient recipe from one of my favorite fellow food bloggers, Jenny from Picky Palate.   Not only does she have totally amazing recipes, but she is also a huge Disney fan and has a separate food blog for just Disney food, how awesome is that?! 

Anyways, my cookies weren’t nearly as pretty as her’s but that’s OK, they were still yummy with lots of peanut butter and marshmallow fluff flavor in them.  I would like to note that my 1st batch of cookies didn’t turn out as fluffy looking as I had hoped, but the 2nd batch I made, I used a much smaller amount of dough and that seemed to work a bit better.  I hope you’re all having a wonderful day and thank you so much for stopping by!

First, put your peanut butter and egg into a bowl…

Once the peanut butter & egg are mixed, add your marshmallow fluff…

Mix, Mix, Mix…

Then onto your baking sheet…

Bake, bake, bake…

and enjoy!!!

Yummy!!!

Easy Fluffernutter Cookies
Only 3 ingredients in these Easy Fluffernutter Cookies.
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Ingredients
  1. 1 Cup of Creamy Peanut Butter.
  2. 1 Large Egg.
  3. 1 Cup of Marshmallow Fluff.
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Place wax or parchment paper onto a cookie sheet and set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, place your peanut butter, and egg in, mix all together until smooth.
  4. Now put your marshmallow fluff in and mix until just combined.
  5. With an ice cream scoop, place the dough onto your cookie sheet, making sure to leave several inches of space between the cookies because they spread quite a bit.
  6. Bake your cookies for 12-14 minutes or until just about to turn brown on top.
  7. Let cool and enjoy!!!
HOLLY'S CHEAT DAY https://www.hollyscheatday.com/

Holly’s Junk Food Review Series: Popcorn For The People

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Happy Happy Thursday everybody & welcome to another junk food review.  It’s terrible, but I cannot even begin to remember where I just happened across this popcorn company, Popcorn For the People, but when I read their mission statement and what they do, I immediately ordered some.  All of their products are handmade by adults with Autism or other developmental disabilities, as well as 100% of their profits go to Let’s Work For Good, which provide employment for adults with autism.  I happen to love specialty flavored popcorn so it’s definitely a win-win.  

Also, every tin of popcorn you buy comes with a card containing the name of the person who personally handmade your popcorn, which I think is so nice 🙂

 

First, we have their cookies n cream flavor which I believe is also their number one selling flavor…

Y’all, this cookies and cream flavor is really awesome. The popcorn is soft and has tons of chocolate cookie flavor throughout, without being too much.  What really puts the flavor over the edge are the little tiny chocolate cookie pieces that are all in this popcorn. This popcorn for sure gets an 8.5 out of 10.

Next, we have one of my forever favorite flavors of popcorn, caramel…

Ok, so this is seriously the best caramel popcorn that I’ve ever had. Every single bite was extra covered in caramel and was super crispy, OMG, I’m drooling even thinking about it.  I’m really not kidding, if you love caramel popcorn, you need to order some of this, like right now, trust me it’s that good, this definitely gets a 9 out of 10.


Thanks again so much for stopping by and I really hope you all have a wonderful day!!!

Whisky Gin Fizz

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Happy Happy Tuesday y’all, I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend too.  My Dad’s birthday fell on Easter this year, so there was even more cake and chocolate than usual, I most definitely enjoyed my cheat day haha.  Sooo, is it completely inappropriate to post a cocktail recipe this early in the week? Well, if it is, sorry, and if it isn’t then, you’re welcome. 

I will justify this cocktail post by the fact that I know there are a lot of folks on Spring Break right now…honestly there could be no other reason that I got to the office in less than a year an hour the last 2 days.  Anyways, I’m keeping this post short and boozy sweet today.  This cocktail has pretty much what the title says and/or implies.  We’ve got Whisky, Gin and Ginger Ale.  The first one I made, I put waaay too much whisky in it, and let me just say, it cleared my sinuses right up, the second one, just enough.  This is a very simple cocktail, not too sweet, not too bitter, just a really nice lazy day cocktail, I highly recommend one.  I hope you’re all having a wonderful day and thank you so much for stopping by!

Yummy!!!

Whisky Gin Fizz
Yields 1
Easy, simple cocktail that can be made in a matter of minutes.
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Ingredients
  1. 1.5 Ounces of Whisky.
  2. 2 Ounces of Gin.
  3. 1 Lime, Juiced.
  4. 1 (12 Ounce) Can of Ginger Ale.
Instructions
  1. Cut your lime in half and squeeze both halves into your glass.
  2. Add your Whisky & Gin, then fill the remainder of the glass with Ginger Ale, stir and enjoy!!!
HOLLY'S CHEAT DAY https://www.hollyscheatday.com/

REPOST – The Pink Bunny

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Happy Cocktail Friday y’all!!! This drink is hands down one of my absolute favorites ever and hello! how cute is it?  Anyways, I definitely thought that this drink was worth a re-post! Happy Easter everyone, and have a wonderful & safe weekend!!!

This time of year is so great y’all, my fingers and toes are finally thawed out from winter, flowers and trees are blooming, and candy comes in my favorite color…pink. 

the-pink-bunny| HollyscheatDay.comI know logically that chocolate doesn’t taste any better when coming from a pink wrapper, but because all of the chocolate bunnies, eggs, and all of the Peeps in bright colors are so cute, it makes it seem like they taste better don’t judge me. 

the-pink-bunny| HollysCheatDay.comI had totally planned on making adorable cupcakes in beautiful pastels  with bunnies or something on them for Easter, and being completely honest, I just didn’t feel like it 🙂  I feel like I have run all week and all weekend for weeks and I’m just plum wore out y’all.    Buuuut, I did have enough energy because it didn’t require much to make these super beautiful and delicious drinks.  The idea came from the fact that gin and tonics are always my go-to drink, they’re light and crisp and don’t give me a hangover headache, but I wanted to make them beautifully pink too for Easter, hence the pink lemonade.

the-pink-bunny| HollysCheatDay.com Oh my goodness y’all, these turned out absolutely perfect, sweet, but with a tart kick (thank you pink lemonade)…you cannot taste the alcohol at all in these either,  which could be a good or bad thing 🙂  Also, forgive me for using martini glasses for a non martini, but I just love how they look, so whatevs haha, these are easy, delicious and super pretty, a wonderful addition to your brunch…Happy Easter Y’all!

Start with your gin…

the-pink-bunny| HollysCheatDay.comNow your tonic water…

the-pink-bunny| HollysCheatDay.comThen the pink lemonade, mix, mix, mix…

the-pink-bunny| HollysCheatDay.comif you want to make them extra pretty, you can do this…

the-pink-bunny | HollysCheatDay.comEnjoy!! 🙂

the-pink-bunny| HollysCheatDay.com

the-pink-bunny| HollysCheatDay.com

The Pink Bunny
A fun and delicious take on a gin and tonic.
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Ingredients
  1. 1 Can (12 Ounces) of Frozen Pink Lemonade (I used Minute Maid).
  2. 6 Ounces of Gin.
  3. 12 Ounces of Tonic Water.
  4. Decorating Sugar in Pink (Optional).
Instructions
  1. In a pitcher, pour your gin, tonic water and your frozen pink lemonade.
  2. Mix all ingredients together and serve.
Notes
  1. For the sugar rim on my glasses, I just rubbed water around the edges of the glasses and gently pressed the top of the glasses into the sugar until sufficiently covered.
  2. This recipe made almost exactly 3 full martini glasses worth, if you would like more, this recipe can easily be doubled.
HOLLY'S CHEAT DAY https://www.hollyscheatday.com/