A Corner of My Room

For the past couple years, my Dad and I have been working to renovate the upstairs of the barn that's attached to our 1850s parsonage, turning it into a bedroom for me.  Dad did a lot of the work, with some help at the end from a couple contractor friends...and I did the decorating.  :)

The room is still a work in progress - for example, I'm using a sheet of foam insulation as my door, and there are a few other pieces of trim and furniture we're still working on.

Eventually, when the room is completely done, I may do a longer blog post showing off some of the fun details...but for now, I decided to take a couple pictures of one of the parts that is finished.

I've been in the room almost a year now, and it's definitely nice having my own space.  :)

April Showers...

...Bring May Flowers.  :)

I hope everyone is having a lovely Spring so far...I know I'm enjoying watching the leaves unfurl and the grass turn green again.  These little violets pop up in a corner of our yard every year, and they always bring a smile to my face.  I hope this one made you smile too.

Happy Friday!  :)

No Bake Creamy Nutella Cheesecake Pie

If you're a fan of Nutella, then you may enjoy this recipe - it's quick, delicious, and SUPER easy!  In fact, it's so easy that you may only need to look at this recipe once or twice before you get the idea.  :)

Here's what you need: 

-Pie Crust (I used graham, but any kind you like)

-One 8-oz. brick Cream Cheese

-One 8-oz. tub Whipped Topping

-One jar Nutella (I believe the jar is around 13 oz.)

For a garnish, you can pick from the following options: more whipped cream (pictured), hazelnut truffles (pictured), ice cream, drizzled chocolate, drizzled Nutella, whole hazelnuts, chopped hazelnuts, chocolate chips...need I go on?  :)

Soften the cream cheese in the microwave.

Add the Nutella - the whole jar!!  You have my permission to lick the spoon.

Mix the cream cheese and the Nutella together, using a hand or stand mixer, until smooth and creamy.  You can lick the beaters, too - although I recommend detaching them from the mixer first.  ;)

Plunk in the whole tub of whipped cream and fold it in.  Folding in the whipped cream will take a couple minutes; when it's done, it'll look like this:

Spread the mixture into a pie crust.  I used a store-bought graham crust, which was very good.  I think that an Oreo crust would also be yummy, and undoubtedly a homemade crust would be even better, if you don't mind making one.

Cover the pie and refrigerate for at least a couple hours or overnight.  It will firm up a bit (I cut the piece below before the pie was chilled, and you can see that it was NOT firm!), and the flavors will all blend together nicely.  I do think it's better the second day.

 Yummy!  The pie turned out extremely rich, creamy and decadent.  You'll want to start out with a SMALL piece of this stuff - it's powerful!

So there you have it - Creamy Nutella Cheesecake Pie!  :)  

One really nice thing about this recipe is its adaptability - last week, I used the same formula, except that instead of Nutella, I used a jar of Pumpkin Caramel sauce, which was also an amazing pie.  Probably you could substitute any number of other things - peanut butter, pumpkin puree, raspberry jam, etc.  Hmm...now I want to experiment more!  :)

Well, I hope I've given you some food for thought (Ooh, a pun!  No applause necessary, thank you).  Until next time, happy baking!!

*Note - I am not affiliated with whoever makes Nutella; I'm just using their product.  :)