Rudolph Noses

This weekend we did some fun Holiday Baking. We made cute Rudolph noses and my boys loved it. I love these little treats because you can make them for any holiday and just change the colors. So fun!! Plus anything kid approved in our house is a must! I love letting my boys help cook, bake etc! It helps them learn new things and helps us create amazing memories. I love it.

My cute helpers

Rudolph Noses
By : Andrea Correa

1 (10 ounce) bag waffle shaped pretzels

1 (10 ounce) bag Hershey chocolate kisses & 1 (10 ounce) bag Hershey Hugs

1 (10 ounce) bag red and green M&M's

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees.
2. Place pretzels on parchment covered cookie sheet.
3. Unwrap 1 Hershey's Kiss or Hugs for each pretzel and place on top.
4. Bake 4-6 minutes until Kisses or Hugs are soft.
5. Remove from oven and press one coloured M&M into each Kiss or Hugs-- We used Red for all the Rudolph noses.
6. Allow to cool -- I like to put them in the fridge or freezer to help cool and set.
7. Enjoy!

Brazi Bites

Happy Holidays from Brazi Bites !! Check out the link below and find out how to Gift Brazi Bites for free!!?! Treat Yo Self !! ⛄️❄️🎄❤️☃️----------------------------http://brazibites.com/Share-the-Love/

---------------------------- #brazibites #favorites #christmas #happyholidays #azblogger #utahblogger #marriedtoabrazilian #correamommycooks #foodie #foodieblogger

#givefreebrazibites

http://www.brazibites.com/Share-the-Love/

12 days of Christmas

December is here and I am loving it. The cool air, Christmas music and all the fun decorations! We have already been looking at Christmas lights for over a week. We love December! For Christmas I have teamed up with some of my favorite shops to give you guys 12 days of Christmas giveaways!! Everyday I feature a new shop or blog. Then write a little about the items or shop and end with a giveaway! You can enter everyday, but only win once. We are on the 6th day and it's going fabulous. Lots of fun gifts and happy winners. Make sure you head over to my Instagram (correamommydiaries) and check it out!! Happy Holidays!


Day 6 Giveaway is from Burrito Baby Blankets ! So cute.

Rodizio Grill opening Mesa AZ

 Diogo and I were able to have a date night and attend the VIP opening night for the new Rodizio Grill in Mesa, AZ! It is in Dana Park. It opened a few weeks ago.
We have been waiting for a Churrascaia - Brazilian Steak house to open up near us that is yummy and more affordale.
Rodizio did not disappoint. Being married to a Brazilian. I have become quite picky with Brazilian food and i have leaned how to cook a ton of the Brazilian items. Sometimes i think i am more picky then Diogo is. I was so happy that Rodizio was so good because it gives us somewhere yummy that serves Brazilian food we all enjoy. It gives me a break and everyone is happy.

Salad Bar Items-- They were so good! 

They had so many things to choose from. You can order the full Rodizio or you can just do the salad bar. We get the full Rodizio always! Because we love everything. Everything we had was so yummy. The salad bar was amazing. Tons of salads, cheeses, beans and more to pick from. The meat types were endless and all cooked to perfection. The abacaxi- grilled pineapple was amazing. That is one of my favorites. Drinks were great. We ordered Brazilian Lemonade and  guarana. Those are our favorites.

The desert was so good. We ordered the creme brulee with hints of orange. It was so good.

The service was amazing. We had the cutest server and she spoke Portuguese with Diogo.  So that was fun. She made the night even better. The  restaurant overall is gorgeous. It has gorgeous pictures of Brazil and has so much room. It is perfect for any event. A birthday, a dinner party or just a date night. Don't forget to sign up for the birthday club! You get a free meal. How amazing is that!??  
We loved Rodizio and are so happy it is finally here in AZ!! We will be visiting again soon. If you go let me know how you like it and what was your favorite !??!


You can find out more info here  http://www.rodiziogrill.com/mesa-gilbert/

Tchau, Correamommy

Favorite Hikes In AZ

It's officially the fall/winter season here in Arizona. That means its about 75-88 degrees during the day and feels pretty great. Lately its even been 50-60 and chilly!! It's the perfect time to hike around and explore. I love taking the kids out and letting them play and go on new adventures. It's so fun and we create the best memories. 

 I remember when we first moved here to Arizona. I hated the desert. I hated the cacti and the desert plants. Basically all the scenery around me. I have grown to love it so much over the last 4.5 years of living here. Its my favorite. I even have a few desert plants in my home. Over the years we have loved taking our visitors to at least one or 2 hike / trails when they visit. They always love it and its a great free activity. 

If you come to visit Arizona make sure you go to these little hikes / trials. You and your family will love it. 

These first 3 are all Easy and kid friendly.

1.The Riparian Preserve-( Gilbert, AZ) We love it here!! There are several trails that wander throughout this preserve, It's so fun. We love to bring our scooters or bikes for the trails. The trails are all around a lake and swampy areas with birds, ducks, turtles, and fish. We love to bring a loaf of bread to feed the ducks. It is a popular spot for bird-watchers, dog-walkers, photos and families.They have a few kids areas as well and the kiddos love it. Noah is digging for Dino bones in the picture below. Both of my kids love that area.

www.riparianinstitute.org

2. Papago Park aka Hole in the Rock- (Phoenix, AZ)This is a all time favorite of ours. Whenever family or friends visit. I always want to take them here. Its a easy hike and so pretty. Its right by the PHX zoo. The views are amazing. There are also other hiking trails off of the area. So we always go explore those as well. www.phoenix.gov/parks/trails/locations/papago-park

3. Usery Park Wind Cave Trails - (Mesa, AZ)The Wind Cave Trail is one of those hikes that everyone Arizona needs to do once. It is about 3.2 miles round trip and takes you to some fun alcoves which you can sit and rest in before you turn around and head back . Merkle Trail is a easier and is a 1.1 mile loop trail located in the same area. It features beautiful wild flowers and is good for all skill levels. The trail is primarily used for hiking, walking, nature trips, and birding. You can even take a stroller on this loop. So that is pretty awesome! It makes it easier for us Moms!

There is also a hike called Vista Trail that is up hill. Its on the same circle as Merkle and is still kid friendly for older kids. Noah was in our hiking backpack for this hike. Reggie did great. He just had to be more careful. As there are loose rocks and uphill. Also, be careful for Jumping catci / teddy bear chollas. I thought wow, these are so pretty and got close for a picture. Next thing i know my shoes are covered in cacti balls.And no i did not step into them. It was so weird. All of a sudden my feet just hurt and they were there.

There is also the cutest little park in Usery! Its shaded and has cute fake cacti swings and other things for littles to play on. My boys loved it!! There is also a $6 entrance fee to Usery Park.  www.maricopa.gov/parks/usery

These next few are a little harder hikes. Kids can still do them. It just might take a few more breaks and longer hiking times. We take our awesome hiking backpack with us in case one of the kids wants to use it.

4. Camelback Moutain- (PHX,AZ) Camelback Mountain is an excellent hike or climb in Arizona. Hiking Camelback Mountain is perfect for a tourist activity in Phoenix, because the hike is quick and is located in the middle of the Phoenix Valley with great views! Even locals love it and its always pretty crowded. http://climbcamelback.com/

5.  South Mountain Park - (Queen Creek, AZ)Prefect place if you are visiting the East Valley area. Great trails and desert beauty. There is a $6 dollar parking and entrance fee.https://www.phoenix.gov/parks/trails/locations/south-mountain/trail-descriptions-and-map

Hiking Tips--- Even tho the temps are down. Make sure you bring lots of water with you ! It still gets hot and little love their water. It is also good to have a first aid kit. My kids get cuts and scrapes and always want a band-aid. I hope you all enjoy these hikes and trails as much as we do!! 

cute hikers

Teddy Bear Cholla

Desert Views 

Cutest Monkey!! This play area was so fun! 

Trolls Yogurtland Flavors

This weekend we visited Yogurtland to try all of the new Trolls inspired flavors! These flavors did not disappoint. We all loved them so much. The flavors were all so fun, colorful & tasty. Just like Trolls!! We saw the movie Trolls a few weeks ago. So, the boys have been on a Trolls obsession. Trolls music, Trolls food from the store and Trolls toys. So when i told them we were going to Yogurtland for Trolls yogurt. It was perfect and they were so excited. They tried every flavor and were loving it. They were so excited to see all the Trolls flavors and there favorite characters. They even got cute Trolls spoons. We will definitely be visiting Yogurtland again soon for some more Trolls Yogurt. 
If you haven't seen Trolls yet. You must go.  It's the cutest movie ever. Full of dancing and fun. Grab your family or friends and go see it. Then head over to Yogurtland and try some yummy Trolls flavors!! We loved them and we know you will too!

These cute little hands ready to enjoy Trolls yogurt!! 

Here are some of the yummy flavors you can pick from. My favorite flavor was Poppy's White Chocolate Rasberry. I paired it with the Chocolate and  It was so amazing. So many fun ones to pick from. 

• Birthday Cupcake Batter.
• Almond Midnight Mocha.
• Pineapple Sorbet.
• Guy Diamond's White Chocolate Peppermint.
• DJ Suki's Cranberry Raspberry Tart.
• Creek's Butterscotch Pudding Gelato.
• Poppy's White Chocolate Raspberry.
• Cooper's Caramel Apple.

Perfect Fall Salad

Pear, Pomegranate, Chicken & Spinach Salad
Andrea Correa
Time: 20 minutes & Serves : 6

I made this salad the other day for lunch. It was perfect! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. We love pomegranate's in our house!

• Ingredients

• * Salad

• * 2/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted-- I used White marcona almonds.

• * 3/4 cup pomegranate arils

• * 3 oz feta cheese, crumble

• * 2 Bartlett pears (firm but ripe), cored and sliced

• * 9 oz baby spinach

• *   Grilled chicken breasts

• *   Olive oil / salt / pepper/Johnny's seasoning - to cook chicken

• * Dressing

• * 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

• * 3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

• * 1 1/2 Tbsp honey- I used Organic Blue Agave . I get mine at Costco.

• * 1 tsp dijon mustard

• * Salt and pepper, to taste

• Directions
•   * Heat pan with olive oil and season chicken breasts-- salt /pepper - I also use a little Johnny's seasoning.
• * Whisk all dressing ingredients in a bowl to blend well. Place all salad ingredients in a large salad bowl. Drizzle with desired amount of dressing then toss to evenly coat. If you want a quick salad dressing option, I picked up the Bolthouse Farms Honey Mustard. It was great on this salad.
• Serve immediately.

• * Recipe source: adapted with some changes from cooking classy