Living La Vida Holoka


“Baby, It’s Cold Outside!” So Warm Up with the Amazing Intimacy Box!

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The best way to keep warm is by keeping warm together. Use the items inside the “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” Amazing Intimacy Box to really heat things up this winter!


My “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” Amazing Intimacy Box arrived on Valentine’s Day.  It was the perfect surprise to end our evening of steak, lobster tails, and chocolate cake!  As I went through each item in this box I thought to myself, “Oh yeah!  We’re going to have fun with this one!”  And we are!

As much as I loved the first Amazing Intimacy Box, I loved this box even more!  The items in this box were put together with the intention to warm up together by firing up your senses.  One of my favorite things about the winter is cozying up and this box will definitely keep us nice and toasty!

INSIDE THE “BABY, IT’S COLD OUTSIDE!” AMAZING INTIMACY BOX
 

Yours & Mine Marbled 8oz Artisanal Mug in Pink & Grey

I love snow days as an adult because it unleashes my inner child.  The simple chore of shoveling can turn into a playful snowball fight in an instant!  After spending time outside in the cold, there’s nothing better than warming up together with a hot cup of something cozy.

The first items I pulled from this box were these marbled mugs.  These mugs are gorgeous and well crafted.  They’re sturdy, little mugs ready to be filled with your favorite warm beverages.


Mug Cake Recipes

Now that we have our mugs, we need something to put in them. I love that there were some easy mug cake recipes included.  Cooking together is always such a fun experience, but so is sharing – or in this case, not sharing – a perfect dessert!

Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Premium Hot Cocoa

There is nothing better than coming in from the cold and having a hot cup of cocoa.  This double chocolate cocoa is sure to be a treat!  Break out the whipped cream and marshmallows to really sweeten up the mood!


Touchable Couples Blindfolds

Here’s where this box gets really fun!  Slip a blindfold on yourself or your lover and start exploring!  It all begins with touch and when you limit one sense, it heightens the others! 

8-10″ Ostrich Feather

Pair this ostrich feather with the blindfolds and tease your way into an amazing experience! 50 Shades of Grey?  No.  This is 50 Shades of Yay!


Chocolate Peppermint Brown Sugar Scrub by Soothing Touch

Use this sugar scrub to pamper yourself and moisturize your skin to make it kissably soft. This organic, cruelty-free scrub is made with hydrating Argan and Seabuckthorn oils to help sooth the skin and keep it protected from the cold, winter weather.  Plus, its chocolate peppermint scent smells amazing!


His & Hers Socks to Warm Your Toes

Put on those His & Hers Socks and get cozy under a blanket (like the one that was in the first Amazing Intimacy Box!).  Make a cup of cocoa or a mug cake and warm up together!

And when you’re not together, you can rock these fun prints and keep those toes nice and warm! 


Don’t forget to read the box‘s welcome letter!  It tells you more about each item in the box.  Plus, it includes a “Baby, it’s cold outside” playlist to set the mood for this box and the three experiences included.  These experiences are creative ways to use the items in the box and really connect with one another.

  • Experience One – Chills, Thrills, Closer Connection and Cocoa: this experience is all about bundling up, going outside, getting close, and really appreciating one another.  It’s about letting the moment warm you up and forgetting the world around you.
  • Experience Two – Mug Cake and Memories: this experience accompanies the first.  Move the experience inside and treat yourselves to a mug cake.  Make your cakes together and reminisce. 
  • Experience Three – Lather, Feathers and Blindfolds: you’re never too old for a bubble bath, so grab your scrub and lather up!  Then, spend the rest of the night in bed with your blindfolds, your feather, and your roaming hands! 
Use the code AIBFRIENDS at checkout and receive $10 off your first Amazing Intimacy Box!

 
When you get your box, make sure you share your thoughts with the hashtag #amazingintimacybox.  Follow Leslie and the Amazing Intimacy Box on Instagram for more information about this truly amazing and unique subscription box!

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Air Fryer Everything Seasoned Wonton Crackers

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Whether you call them wonton crackers or wonton chips, these Air Fryer Everything Seasoned Wonton Crackers will change the way you use wonton wrappers!


Last Tuesday, the governor declared a State of Emergency in New Jersey due to snow and icy conditions. So what did I do? I went to the store at 7:30 in the morning to beat the snow and grab ingredients to make a cheese board. I had leftover wonton wrappers from my Wonton Noodle Soup recipe and decided to try making wonton crackers in the air fryer.  After all, snow days are the best days for sitting around and snacking!

We didn’t end up with a lot of snow.  Maybe an inch or two.  The main concern was the icing that quickly followed.  It kept my husband stuck at work late.  I’d rather have him stay there than travel home during dangerous weather.  While he was stuck at work, I ended up eating dinner alone that night.  What did I have? A small snack plate of cheeses, olives, dried fruit, and my air fried wonton crackers, of course! 


These wonton crackers take just minutes to make in the air fryer! They crunch like a chip, but work well as a cracker!  I lightly brushed them with olive oil (you could use an olive oil spray, too) and then sprinkled a generous amount of Trader Joe’s Everything but the Bagel Sesame Seasoning on top.  They only took about five minutes to turn golden brown and crispy.

The amount of wonton crackers you want to make it up to you! I had a little less than half of a package of wrappers left, so I used the rest of them to make these crackers.  Work in small batches at a time and carefully take them out of the air fryer basket (I used tongs) to cool completely before snacking on them.

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Air Fryer Everything Seasoned Wonton Crackers

Air Fryer Everything Seasoned Wonton Crackers

Ingredients

  • Wonton wrappers
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Everything but the Bagel Seasoning

Instructions

  1. Brush wonton wrappers with a little olive oil.
  2. Then, sprinkle Everything but the Bagel Season on the wontons.
  3. Place them evenly in the air fryer basket, working in small batches at a time, and air fry for 4-5 minutes at 350 degrees, or until the wontons are crispy and golden brown.
  4. Remove from the air fryer and allow to cool completely before serving.
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This might be my new favorite way to use wonton wrappers!  They’re so easy to make and the wonton wrappers end up being a light and crispy cracker! The everything seasoning that I used is probably one of my favorite seasonings ever!  It works well on everything from quinoa bowls, hummus, to these crackers!

I just ordered a bunch of other fun seasoning blends from a company that I found on Facebook, so I can’t wait to make these wonton crackers again in different sweet and savory flavors!  Buttery cinnamon wonton crackers with a fruit salsa sounds pretty excellent to me!


There’s no need to wait for your next snow day to make these air fried wonton crackers! Any time is a great time, in my opinion, for cheese and crackers!  Eat these wonton crackers on their own as a crunchy snack, or pair them with cheeses and other small bites as a fun addition to your next cheeseboard! 

What’s your favorite way to use wonton wrappers?

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If you like this air fryer recipe, you might enjoy these as well:

Kale Caesar Pasta Salad

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This Kale Caesar Pasta Salad is a perfect dish to meal prep and enjoy all week.  It’s a creamy, comforting twist on classic Caesar salad!


I decided to give my Instagram profile a makeover this past weekend. I gave my highlight icons a new color scheme, updated my profile info, and went through my saved stories.  While I was doing that, I came across a kale Caesar pasta salad recipe that I had made.  I never shared the step-by-step on Instagram or shared it on my blog.  That little weekend Instagram makeover was so worth it, even just for the reminder that this pasta salad existed!  I knew I had to work it into my Monday meal prep.

Monday meal prep has become an ongoing routine for me.  It gives me a chance to clean out the fridge and use some of the ingredients that I have on hand to create new meals for the week.  When I planned my meals for this week, I worked this recipe onto our menu.  We’re big fans of pasta salads!  They’re one of those dishes that seems to get better the longer it sits.  I knew that eating this salad all week definitely wouldn’t be a problem!


Pasta salads might seem like a summertime barbecue type thing, but trust me – you can work them into your menu all year long. 

I mean, it’s pasta!

Take this pasta salad, for instance.  It’s delicious on its own, but so good when you add grilled chicken, steak, or shrimp to it.  It can go from a side to a main meal just like that!

Massage the kale (yes, you read that right) for an even better salad!

 
If you’re not a big fan of kale, you can swap in some baby spinach instead.  If you don’t mind the taste and texture of kale, I definitely recommend it in this salad.  Kale holds up pretty well with all of that dressing.  Even after being massaged!  I know.  Weird.  It’s hard enough to get a massage for myself around here, but the kale manages to get one!

Massaging the kale leaves gives it a softer texture and also makes it taste less bitter.  You don’t have to put on soft music, light candles, or massage the kale for a 90 minute session.  Just add a little lemon juice and olive oil.  Then, work it into the kale leaves just until they soften.

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Kale Caesar Pasta Salad

Kale Caesar Pasta Salad

Ingredients

  • 1/2 box bow tie pasta
  • 10 oz. jar roasted red peppers, chopped
  • 3/4 cup red onion, chopped
  • 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
  • 1/2 lemon
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 small bunch fresh kale, cleaned with stems removed
  • 1 - 15 oz. bottle light Caesar salad dressing
  • 1/2 cup or more shredded Parmesan cheese
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Cook pasta as directed. Once al dente, drain and rinse with cold water. Allow to cool completely and then pour pasta into a large bowl.
  2. Mix in the roasted red peppers, red onion, and grape tomatoes.
  3. Massage the kale with lemon juice and olive oil, then add to the salad.
  4. Pour the Caesar salad dressing onto the salad and stir well.
  5. Last, mix in the shredded Parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper.

Notes

I started with 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, but found that I wanted more so I ended up using about 3/4 cup. The amount of cheese is up to you, but start with 1/2 cup and work from there!

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So easy to make and you’ll have pasta salad for days!  I love Caesar salad and the addition of pasta just takes it to a satisfying and comforting new level!

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If you liked this pasta salad recipe, you might enjoy these as well:

Wonton Noodle Soup with Pork Meatballs

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If Chinese takeout is a must on cold days, enjoy the flavor of homemade wonton soup without the fuss with this homemade Wonton Noodle Soup with Pork Meatballs recipe!


Why do I always want soup when it’s warm out? 

We just went through a Polar Vortex of extremely frigid temperatures (or so I’ve been told – the cold never bothered me anyway).  Then, it went from one extreme to another and warmed up to 60 degrees.  I was in the middle of a little “meal prep Monday” session when I started getting a sinus headache.  It turned into a full blown migraine that had me in bed for a good portion of the day. 

Thankfully, I had finished my meatballs for this soup beforehand!  All I had to do the next day was boil my soup and dish it out into a bowl!  So on a 60 degree day, that felt more like springtime than winter, I whipped up a batch of this wonton noodle soup and enjoyed every single, slurp-worthy second of it!

It’s takeout soup without the delivery wait!

 
There’s nothing more comforting than a bowl of noodle soup.  Even in warm temps when you’re battling day two of the raging sinus headache (thankfully, this one didn’t last as long and wasn’t as severe).

Chinese takeout and wonton soup are usually reserved for snow days, but I had been dying to make this recipe for months (there was even an Instagram poll about it – did you see it?)!  Making the pork meatballs the day before ended up being a blessing in disguise.  All I had to do the next day was drop them into broth with some chopped bok choy and wonton wrappers.


I decided to use wonton wrappers as an easy noodle replacement.  I cut the wrappers into strips using a pizza cutter.  They don’t take long at all to cook.  Maybe about a minute or two.  Some of them stuck together in the process, becoming one thick, chewy noodle! 

You might have to add a little more broth or even water after adding the wonton noodles.  They tend to suck up a lot of the liquid while they’re cooking.

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Wonton Noodle Soup with Pork Meatballs

Wonton Noodle Soup with Pork Meatballs

Ingredients

    For the meatballs:
  • 1 lb. ground pork
  • 3 scallions, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • Splash of sesame oil
  • 2 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce, or your favorite soy sauce
  • 1-2 inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 small head bok choy, leaves removed, cleaned, and chopped
    • For the soup:
  • 32 oz. (approx. 5 cups) vegetable or chicken broth
  • 25-35 wonton wrappers, cut into strips
  • 2 small heads bok choy, washed and roughly chopped
  • Pork meatballs
  • Green onions, chopped, to garnish
  • Optional: 1 inch piece ginger, peeled and grated

Instructions

    For the meatballs:
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Mix the meatball ingredients together in a mixing bowl.  Then, form mixture into small, 2 inch meatballs and place on the prepared baking sheet.
  3. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until fully cooked through.
    4. For the soup:
  4. Bring the vegetable broth to a rolling boil.
  5. Carefully drop in pork meatballs and bok choy. Cook until the bok choy starts to wilt, about 4 minutes.
  6. Add the wonton strips and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the wontons are soft.
  7. Spoon soup into bowls, garnish with green onions, and serve.
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You’ll probably end up with about half a package of wonton wrappers leftover. I’m still deciding what to do with mine. In the meantime, I have them in the freezer. When it comes time to whip up some amazing takeout-at-home style recipe, all I’ll have to do is thaw them out! 

And speaking of the freezer, this soup serves about 4-6 bowls, so enjoy it all week or freeze the leftovers and have better-than-takeout style soup anytime the craving hits!

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If you like this soup recipe, you might enjoy these as well:


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