Hot Mama In The City

Easter Bark is an easy and fun recipe to make. If you love chocolate, you'll love this Easter Bark! It's a fun recipe to get the kids involved in every step of the way. Choose your candy and colors and you're on your way to creating a delicious Easter treat for everyone to enjoy.

Mini pumpkin pie desserts are a fun and cute way to serve a traditional dessert for the holidays. These small sized portions are great for small and large gatherings. No need for dirty dishes or cutting tools, just grab and munch.


Ingredients:

• 1 box of ready made pie crust
• 1 can (30 oz) Easy Pumpkin Pie Mix
• 2/3 cup Evaporated Milk
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Tablespoon of Pumpkin Spice

Mix all ingredients together to make your pie mix.

Chipotle Black Bean and Corn quesadillas are a perfect spicy Mexican dish to serve to your friends and family or just enjoy for yourself. The spicy and gooey yummy-ness will satisfy anyone's taste buds looking for some latin flair with their meal. This meatless dish is perfect for any vegetarians or for those observing a meatless holiday or tradition. 

I absolutely love these Mickey Mouse Oreos! They were incredibly simple to make and came out too cute to eat.

What you need:

• Oreos
• Brown chocolate melts
• Red chocolate melts
• White icing or white candy dots

Directions:

1. Slide 2 brown chocolate melts inside your oreo.
2. Dip your Oreo into your melted red chocolate. Try to get an even line about 1/3 of the way.
3. If your using white candy dots as buttons, place candy onto your cookies before your chocolate dries to help set in the candy.
4. If you're using white icing, allow chocolate to dry before adding buttons

When you hear the word "Pasta", you most likely think of Italian dishes. Not me, when I hear the word "Pasta", I think Yum! Can I have some more? In my opinion, pasta should be it's very own food group. Pasta is a great way to change up a recipe by switching out a few ingredients or by just adding pasta to your favorite dish or soup. In a household of both Italian and Hispanic culinary influences, getting creative with different dishes has produced a lot of simple and delicious meals. With a very busy schedule I don't always have time or energy to cook a big dinner for the family but thanks to Barilla pasta I can still provide delicious Hispanic meals in under 30 minutes.

You're invited to a fun celebration so let's fiesta like there's no mañana! If you're celebrating a birthday, special occasion, or any gathering - a fiesta party is a fun and colorful theme. Every party needs a beverage bar, stock it with both adult and kid-friendly refreshments for all of your guest to enjoy. With the help of Oriental Trading I was able to create a festive and cheerful mini bar. They have everything I needed to construct the ultimate fiesta celebration for the summer. Oriental Trading has all the perfect essentials I required to design the cutest and colorful Fiesta themed mini bar. With so many celebration themes to select from it’s hard to just choose one. Taco 'bout a party!


Everything from invites, party hats, tableware and decor - you can grab all in one place. I’ve been a fan and customer of Oriental Trading for several years and they’ve never let me down. Everything I’ve received has always arrived in great quality and at an affordable price.

This Banana, Peanut Butter and Honey recipe will help energize your day. All of us can always use an extra boost of energy in the morning, or any time of the day.

As the new school year approaches, the kids and I are preparing to have another great school year. Being well prepared and organized can help make the school year go by a lot smoother. This year I have decided to make a Homework Station. This little station has all the school supplies my kids need in order to complete their homework assignments. The homework station helps eliminate any excuses for not completing homework because they didn't have the proper item needed. This nifty station is also portable so it can be moved from room to room with ease.

Family vacations are important to us because it's an opportunity to spend time with our loved ones and create memories for us look back on for many years to come. During the warm days of summer many families, couples and friends enjoy vacationing together for some fun in the sun and relaxation. Creating memories with those you love in beautiful places around the world do not need to come with an expensive price tag. Family vacations do not need to be all about extravagance and high cost ... or least not high cost. 


With Carnival Cruise Line you can get an amazing family vacation for an amazing deal which includes your meals, entertainment, amazing service, beautiful ocean views and all the fun you can handle. Traveling in the crystal blue waters of the Caribbean and visiting breath-taking beaches like the ones in Jamaica, Cayman Islands, and Cozumel can all be done for an affordable price.


The kids and I recently went on a 7-day Carnival Cruise in the Caribbean and had an absolutely amazing time on our trip. Our visit stop on our vacation was Jamaica!


The great thing about vacationing on a cruise ship is that there is a wide variety of things to enjoy. Whether you want to relax by the pool or on a beach and catch some sun rays, explore the culture and food of a different country, or just be entertained all day and night with live shows and performances, there's something awaiting for you aboard a Carnival Cruise line ship. Oh, and did I mention the 24-hour all you can eat Pizza Cafe? Yea. Pizza. 24 hours.


On our excursion trip in Cozumel, we had the opportunity to do some snorkeling in the clear waters of Mexico. Our time in Cozumel was just one of the amazing highlights or our cruise. If you have a tight budget and would love to explore the city you're visiting, I would recommended paying for an excursion even if it's a beach excursion. With your paid excursion; transportation, entrance fees (if applicable), some rental items and food is included. In the end, paying for an excursion can cost less as a bundle then paying for everything separately and it'll save you on the stress of getting back to and from your destination in time or navigating through a new city.


On your "Days at sea" you can enjoy all the fun and entertainment that the Carnival Magic ship has to offer including a fun water park on the upper deck! Kids and adults will have sun sliding down on of the awesome water slides. Don't have enough money in your budget to book excursions for all your days at port? You can still enjoy your day on the ship at the water park, pools and other entertainment happening on board.


Vacation Planning Tips

1. Travel during the Fall or other "off season" times. You'll find better prices.
2. Booking your vacation far in advance will help you save money. You can often get a discount for booking early. 
3. Check back often for special rates.
4. Sign up to their emails. You'll be alerted on special deals.
5. Look into group rates if you're traveling with a large group.
6. Don't forget to include gratuity funds into your budget.
7. Pack everything you need to last you for the entire duration of your trip. Travel sized items may not be enough to last your family for an entire week. It'll save you from having to purchase last minute items.
8. Don't over pack. You can avoid baggage fees if traveling by air. Do keep in mind that you'll most likely be in bathing suit or summer gear while on your cruise.

Visit Carnival.com today to book your next amazing family vacation!

The recently debuted Tequila Cazadores Añejo Cristalino is the newest member of the Cazadores familia. Cristalino Is the fifth variety of tequila offered by Tequila Cazadores alongside the brand’s Blanco, Resposado, Añejo, and Extra Añejo expressions. Tequila Cazadores Añejo Cristalino is an aged tequila that has been filtered to remove its color.

The notes of aged wood and nuts within its smooth flavor pairs well with BBQ and grilled dishes, like steak, seafood, and chicken—a perfect addition to your next dinner party or alongside your favorite shrimp tacos. Cristalino is best enjoyed neat, on its own.