Five Loves on Friday + Nutella Puppy Chow Recipe!

Happy first Friday of February, friends!  I'm so excited this month has arrived!  Bring on all the hearts, pink & red, lace and love!  This morning I'm looking forward to sharing about January's fab finish and the sweet start we've enjoyed to this fresh new month.  Five Loves time!

One // Date Night

As I shared in my last Five Loves post, last Friday night was to be an exciting one for every member of our fam!  Our oldest daughter was heading off to for a weekend retreat with her youth group while our youngest went on her merry way to Grandma and Grandpa's for a sleepover.  This left Jason and I with an empty house, party of two!  Woohoo for date night!

I'm such a seasonal person.  In the summertime I want to be outside as much as possible.  This time of year when it's freezing outside there is nowhere I'd rather be than cozy at home.  Staying in is the new going out, you know! ;)  That being said, we ordered takeout from our favorite Thai restaurant and settled in for dinner and a movie, followed by some homemade frozen margaritas.  My husband makes the best!  It was a wonderfully refreshing evening alone with my favorite man on the planet!

Chicken Pad Thai and Egg Rolls ... YumYumYum!

Two // Special Time with our Littlest Sweetie

While our oldest was away having a fantastic weekend at her Youth Group Winter Retreat, our youngest was delighted to have mommy and daddy all to herself from Saturday morning on.  We celebrated her unbirthday by allowing her to choose every bit and bite of our day's meals and agenda!

For lunch she chose takeout from Qdoba to be enjoyed in an in-car picnic at the lake.  She is so a girl after my own queso loving heart!  I tried their new Habanero BBQ Brisket 3-cheese nachos and my taste buds threw a dance party! 

So, SO good!

While enjoying our cozy (heated car) picnic our lunchtime entertainment was provided by some magnificent eagles flying overhead and lounging on the frozen lake before us.  I totally kicked myself for not bringing my camera's zoom lens!  The eagles are usually chilling on the melting ice of the lake mid-February.  Their early hang out there was so cool to catch, even if I wasn't prepared to capture it.

Meanwhile on the other side of the state, our oldest sweetie was having a ball ice skating and tobogganing down slides onto another frozen lake!

I'm hiding her friends' faces with smilies, but trust me they really were smiling! ;)

When we arrived back home Little One requested some daddy/daughter gaming fun so they grabbed controllers and played some Overwatch.  Insert my laundry folding, tv watching, chilling in comfy clothes time here.

That Evening...

Little One chose fun food and a family flick!  

Raising Cane's Chicken and Disney's Pete's Dragon

The three of us thoroughly enjoyed watching this heartfelt movie all snuggled up together under a pile of blankets!  

It was so sweet having a full day and evening alone with our littlest girly.  She soaked up all the attention and we loved giving her every bit of it!

* I can't help but squeeze this in here between 2 & 3! *

The fondest memories are made and shared when gathered around the table!

Sunday afternoon Princess returned home from her weekend Winter Retreat.  She had the best time and we loved hearing every detail she had to share with us over a celebratory homecoming feast of delicious ribs Jason smoked for our Sunday dinner!  

Three  //  Celebrating My Mom's Birthday

Midweek we visited my mom for an extra special lunch date as it was her birthday!  She runs an in-home daycare and all the families she works for were so kind.  Her home was filled with balloons, gifts, cards, and best of all, a special cake my beautiful sister baked and covered in cute sprinkles for the occasion!  We sang, chowed, and enjoyed a lovely time celebrating her!

Happy Birthday Week, Mom!  We love you!

Four  //  Girls Nights!

My husband has been away on business the past few days.  (When I publish this post we'll be just a few hours away from picking him up from the airport! Hooray for a homecoming party today!)  I miss him like crazy when he's away, but always try to make the most of the special time I have alone with our girls!  

We had a pizza pajama party, laughed til our sides ached, played our favorite games, and munched on a super scrumptious treat between moves. Wanna hear more about that?  Good, because I can't resist sharing the sweet deets! ...

Five  //  Nutella Puppy Chow

Looking for something sweet to bring to a Super Bowl party this weekend or to munch on while watching Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Valentine's Day?  I've got just the thing!  

Nutella Puppy Chow
Recipe adapted from Around My Family Table's Nutella Buddies recipe.

Ingredients:

9 cups Rice Chex Cereal
1  1/2 cups Nutella
2 TBSP Butter
2 cups Powdered Sugar


Steps to Sweetness:

Put the Chex in a large bowl.  Place the Nutella and butter into a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 30 seconds.  Remove, stir, then microwave for an additional 20 seconds.  Take it out of the microwave, give it another stir, then spoon over the Chex.  Gently stir to coat all the Chex with chocolate.  (The Nutella is a bit thick so be sure to continue gently stirring until all the chex is completely coated.  A piece of Chex that's left dry in that bowl won't be able to catch all the sugary goodness to come in the next step!)

Open two gallon size ziplock bags.  Measure out one cup of powdered sugar for each of the two baggies.  Then divide the chocolate covered Chex, placing half of it into each of the two bags.  Zip shut and shake to coat completely in white sugary yumminess.

Spread the puppy chow on parchment paper for a bit to allow it to dry.  Help yourself to a few pieces immediately though, because let's face it, it's irresistible!  Store in an airtight container until and between consuming it with exclamations of "YUMmm!"

If you make this tasty and super tempting treat I hope you enjoy it every bit as much as we did!  I'm whipping up a second batch soon for my youngest daughter to take to a youth group game night tonight.  You know it's good when a second batch is requested in the same week!

*Bonus Love*
I'm being featured today!

This week I'm the featured blogger at my favorite blog link up, High Five for Friday!  I'd like to give a big THANK YOU to my beautiful friends, Tif of Bright on a Budget, Katie at Cup of Tea, and Della of Della Devoted for featuring me and for hosting such a fabulous {link} party each Friday!  Be sure to pop by their blogs today, say, "Hello!", and check out some other fabulous bloggers linking up while you're there.

In case you missed it...

Earlier This Week at Chatting Over Chocolate:

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Trip Report Tuesday:  California Day 3 // Yosemite National Park

&

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Throwback Thursday // Thank God for Dirty Dishes

Join me in the adventures to come!

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I'd love to come check out your Friday favorites too! ;)