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Love these cookies! One of our grocery stores recently remodeled and added a nice bulk section and natural foods aisle. I love it. While looking over the new things, I saw that they had buckwheat flour and decided to get some. They also had oat bran which I have wanted to get a few times but never found it readily available around here without having to make an hour drive
I recently made what is now my favorite homemade salsa and I’ll most likely make it this way from now on. I couldn’t think of a fun, clever name to call it and asked my mom for ideas. So I credit her with what is now called Mildly Wild Salsa. It’s got a great, spicy kick to it, but is not-too-hot to enjoy. That is one thing I don’t like about some hot salsas—they are just
These are perfect little bites of energy and deliciousness that are great when you don’t want to turn on the oven (or like me, have a broken oven)! Never fear, a new one is on the way. I love that these are healthy with mostly all natural ingredients (except the chocolate, though it is dark chocolate so is definitely on the healthier side anyway). Super easy to make! I formed
I love this bread! I made this for the Secret Recipe Club from my assigned blog this month. I seriously don’t eat white bread, like almost never. I just know that whole wheat bread is much better for me and I most often prefer it, especially over store bought bread. When I saw this bread on Shannon’s blog, Searching For Dessert, I remembered seeing it before other places
This Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream would be perfect for Cinco de Mayo. That said, why save it for only one day of the year. This is fabulous ice cream! Mexican chocolate has a little kick of cinnamon in it. But to make this ice cream have even more of a kick—I also added some cayenne pepper. Now we’re talkin’. Too many months ago, I made mention on Facebook or a blog
Today is National Blueberry Pie Day! The wonderful folks at Driscoll's recently sent me $15 worth of coupons for their delicious berries to celebrate the day. Thanks, Driscoll’s! A couple issues came up. I couldn’t find Driscoll’s blueberries around here. I tried a few places. I was really bummed. But I do have blueberries from last year in my freezer so I us
So, a couple weeks ago I saw these fun, delicious looking Snickerdoodle Poppers on Facebook. Kevin saw me looking at them and said they looked like something he would like. But there was a problem—they were on Facebook and not being posted correctly. You see, people keep tagging and sharing photos and recipes they like from sources that are NOT the ones who created the recipes.
I couldn’t help it. When I heard that someone in Group B of the Secret Recipe Club was going to be an orphan, with no one posting something from her blog, I had to do something about it. Never fear though, because whenever that happens and it is announced on the SRC Facebook page, there are many volunteers in line to jump in and help—every time. The Secret Recipe Club really is
A couple days ago, I received a cookbook in the mail that I’d won on Dawn’s blog, vanilla sugar. (Thanks, Dawn!) The cookbook is a new one from another food blogger, Jenny Flake from Picky Palate. I’ve been reading Jenny’s blog just as long as any other—over five years! I’ve always been a fan of hers as she spent time competing on different challenges on Food Network and
Nope, feeling no guilt here. But doesn’t that cupcake look decadent and delicious. I know you’re dying to sink your teeth into it. I was. These cupcakes are low in fat and have a brown sugar I made with natural cane sugar and molasses in them. They are also made with whole wheat flour, unsweetened applesauce and a carrot puree (instead of grated carrots). I decid
This cake is delicious! I chose to make this cake I found on my Secret Recipe Club blog for today. I had Isabelle’s blog, Crumb, which is such a wonderful blog. SO many great recipes to try and delicious looking pictures! I love Isabelle’s quick run down about herself—“I'm a 30-something coffee-chugging, booty-shaking, bargain-shopping, cookbook-collecting, photo-snapping
These Raspberry Streusel Dessert Bars were fantastically delicious! They are perfectly buttery with just the right sweetness and a bit of tartness from the raspberry jam. I made them last week for book group after seeing them on my friend, Amanda blog, Amanda's Cookin'. She made them with a combination of raspberry jam and cherry jam. The only reason I only used raspberry
I made the Rustic Potato Loaves for Tuesdays With Dorie, Baking With Julia and took one of them to a neighbor I helped with dinner. This was definitely “rustic” since the potato skins are left on the potatoes that are used in making the dough. I actually peeled the potatoes about 3/4 of the way and I kind of wish I would have peeled them all completely. I thought the little p
I originally was just planning to share with you this great Coconut Macaroon recipe I recently found. I made them for the first time in January and it has taken me this long to get my act together and get it blogged, so today I thought I’d make them again. While making them, I had an idea to try some of the mixture with some lime zest added and dip them in white chocolate. Th
I made these last week on a night Kevin had to work late. The boys LOVED them. I only made 16 of them and they were upset when they were all gone. They were easy to make and so much better than the over-battered fried ones, in my humble opinion. ;) I’ve learned a few things since making them. I made them for dinner again last night. This time I used a differ
Lemon Vanilla Rice Krispies Treats QUICK! Run to your nearest grocery store and find the Campfire Lemon Marshmallows. Grab some vanilla chips (or white chocolate chips if you can find the real thing), some yellow bunny Peeps (optional), Rice Krispies cereal if you don’t have any and make these delicious, spring-inspired (Easter!) Rice Krispies Treats! These were so easy to make and
For Tuesdays With Dorie this week, we got to make cookies! Now THAT’S right up my alley. Sadly, I had to skip the last pick, which was homemade croissants. I just cannot subject myself sometimes to that much fat because I already know I love croissants. If you want to see others who posted their croissants, look here. Today’s cookies were supposed to be Mocha Chocolate C
My sweet baby, Sam, turned six on Saturday! Hard to believe, because I am certain he was JUST this big yesterday! Sam was such a great baby! Aw! Love! Can’t stand the cuteness! Age 1 Can’t stop, I mean, just look at him! Age 2 Age 3 Age 4 Age 5 And now, just like that, he’s six. What next, sixteen?
Happy Pi Day! While you math people celebrate in your own special ways, I choose to celebrate with pie! ;) Today I decided to make a Meyer Lemon Buttermilk Pie because of two reasons—I had a couple Meyer lemons in the fridge begging to be used and two—I also had some buttermilk to use as well. I really like Meyer lemons. I have gone through a dozen of them in the last mo
On Sunday, I had a little time and was making cookies. After making two different kind, I saw my friend, Suzanne mention on the Secret Recipe Club Facebook page that they needed someone to fill-in for a blog posting today. I’m always up for “playing” with other groups in the club and helping out when they need an extra baker/cook. So I scoured the blog I was assigned, Dee
Here are the Salted Cashew Crunch Cookies along with the recipe that I mentioned in my last post. These sure don’t look like much, but they are really quite good. Of course, I can’t help but think they’d be really good with some added chocolate, too! Still, they are perfect for those few crazies out there that don’t like chocolate or don’t eat it. ;) I found the recipe all ove
This is going to be difficult, but today marks eleven years since my sister, Lara, passed away—March 7, 2002. I just wrote a post this past November about my older sister, Mandi, and her losing battle with multiple sclerosis in November 1999. I remember thinking that I had some time before I had (wanted) to do this again for Lara, but can’t believe it is already that time. Ne
I made this delicious cake after pouring through my assigned blog for March for the Secret Recipe Club. The decision on what to make wasn’t easy—I could not decide. Check out Kate’s blog, Food Babbles. She is truly a gal I can relate to with a love of baking, sharing and writing. I loved reading through her About Me page all about her love of baking, photography and writi
I know I just posted some Quaker Oat Squares Snack Mix as my last post. I loved that stuff. I can’t stop thinking of new flavors to try as well. So here’s another, and it’s a mouthful—to say and eat! If you like the combination of lime and coconut (and I had to throw in some macadamia nuts just because I had some) along with the perfect pairing of white chocolate, you’l
Quaker Oat Squares Snack Mix with Dried Cherries, Pecans and Almonds Of the four different things I took to my book group a few days ago, this was definitely the biggest hit and I promised the ladies I get it on my blog. It is similar to making a mix with Chex cereal, but with Quaker Oat Squares Cereal. It’s sweet and crunchy and tastes great. I’d bought a box of Quaker Oat
Tile Painting done by the talented Renee at Kudos Kitchen by Renee I say it with every year that goes by, but can’t believe today has been five years since I started my blog. My baby, Sam, who was just turning one right after I started blogging is almost six! My oldest, Scott, is now edging up on 15 and in high school. Parker, age 11, and Taylor, age 9, certainly keep me hoppi
Our friend, Bob, had a birthday a couple weeks ago. We are happy to have Bob as an “adopted” part of our family. We met Bob back when we lived in Arizona. He’s been a part of our family since Scott (my oldest who is 14) was 3 and Parker (11) was just a few months old. When Kevin graduated from the University of Arizona and got a job teaching at the University of Kansa
Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal I just had this delicious breakfast! Yesterday was the reveal day for the Secret Recipe Club, Group B. I later heard about a couple bloggers who were orphans and didn’t have anything from their blog posted by anyone else. I always like filling in when I can and started looking through one of the blogs, Peanut Butter and Peppers. What a gre
Blueberry Meyer Lemon Cream Meringue Cups So many treats, so little time to tell you about them. But you must know, so here it is. The folks at Lucky Leaf were nice enough to send me more canned pie filling—and a couple other things, too. I had fun playing around with different recipes to use the fillings. One of my favorite things about their pie fillings is that th
Today is World Nutella Day! A couple of bloggers a few years back decided their love for Nutella needed to be known, shared and united. February 5 was the chosen day and here we are! I’ve enjoyed over the last four years or so playing around with delicious things for this day and this one is no exception. These look like meager, little brown cookies, but the punch of Nute
Grilled Chicken Pesto Focaccia Sandwich This week’s Tuesdays With Dorie, Baking With Julia recipe is Focaccia. I hadn’t made focaccia before (and can’t for the life of me spell it without looking it up every time). I decided to make it last Friday and play around with a couple ideas for dinner. I followed the recipe exactly, which you can get from our host this week. Sharmini
I loved browsing around my Secret Recipe Club blog these last few weeks. What great looking food and recipes. As always, I had a difficult time choosing. This month my assigned blog was Mellissa’s blog, A Fit and Spicy Life. Check out her About Me page, but she summed up herself well saying, “I strive to find a balance between healthy foods and the occasional treat, eatin
Meyer Lemon Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies I decided it was about time I blog something! I mentioned recently that I have some Meyer lemons and have had a hard time deciding just what to make with them, more so because they are so good and I want to do them justice. After recently seeing these oatmeal cookies at A Cozy Kitchen, I thought it sounded like a good idea to try lemon in an oat
This week we got to make a true French classic for Tuesdays With Dorie—French Apple Tart. I know there will be some beautiful tarts in the group. First a pie crust is made and put into a tart pan. With my current cutting back on sweet treats, I decided to make two mini tarts (they were made in four inch tart pans). For the applesauce layer, I cut the recipe in the book
. I found a great healthy, fat free, low carb, but-still-perfectly-sweet and tasty treat! The recipe for this is in the January/February 2013 issue of Food Network Magazine. Still trying to cut way back on sugar and eat less carbohydrates, I was happy to find this and couldn’t wait to try it out. I made mine even better (for me) by using nonfat Greek yogurt (the magazine sugge
No Bake Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars One of my boys’ favorite snacks is granola bars. They only seem to like one brand—Sunbelt. I often joke that we should own stock in the company because of just how much we alone spend on their granola bars. I found a recipe for some homemade bars that seemed quite similar to the Sunbelt ones my boys eat daily and wanted to try it out.&
Cashew Cherry Chocolate Cookies, Sugar Free & Raw—A Healthy Treat I love these healthy, sugar free cookies. They are just what I needed since I’ve been going down an almost no-sugar road since the beginning of the year. I, like many others, feel like I need to take a break after the holidays. I do find that I’m going more crazy to bake things than actually eat them.
BBQ Pulled Pork Pizza Tuesdays With Dorie! Happy to be back. Feel like it’s been a while. I missed the last one, which was a great looking braided bread, Finnish Pulla. Just wasn’t able to get it done, but it seems like a great one to make sometime. Today we got to make pizza! Mind you, it was supposed to be pizza with onion confit—which just saying almost ma
Precipizi, an Italian Hanukkah Treat Seems like it’s been a long time since we’ve had an assignment for the Secret Recipe Club. Guess that might be because we all took December off. But we’re back! How were your holidays? Getting right back into the swing of things and here we go with another secret revealed. With the blog I was given for this month, I simply could
Happy New Year! I’m still here. Looking back and seeing that I haven’t blogged since Dec. 19, I couldn’t believe it had been that long. So, the holidays are over and I’ve decided out with the old and in with the new. What does that mean? Looking back and the number of recipes I have made and didn’t get to share with you, I have picked a few that I decided needed to
Andes Peppermint Crunch Shortbread Cookies Things have sure been crazy and busy around here! Christmas is less than a week away. Seems like we’ve had all kinds of activities going on and I can barely sit down, let alone share blog posts with you all. I decided to sit down and try to get a post written up today before our next activity tonight. I didn’t take this pictur
Peppermint Angel Food Cake Roll This is it, Friends—Week 12 of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats. I chose to share with you this great cake I’ve made twice this week for different Christmas activities. It was a hit both times. Wish I could take credit for this, but I can’t at all and didn’t even really change the recipe for the one in the December issues of Taste of Home magazi
Anyone else NOW starting to feel in total shock that Christmas is so close? I’ve been known to stress out a bit as I work to get all the things done I’d like during the holidays, which usually involves lots of baking, but decided this year, I’m just not going to worry. It is what it is, whatever will be, will be. That said, there is lots to do! ;) Like make more coo
Today was Tuesdays With Dorie. I’m a flake. Sort of. I made the Gingerbread Baby Cakes, but did not like them, so I decided not to post them. The recipe (for me) has WAY too much molasses. So all I could taste was molasses and not the spices. Mine turned out a little too fudgy (maybe not baked long enough) and the centers sunk, which always annoys me with cake
We’re in the home stretch, Friends. Today is Week 10 of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies! After Thanksgiving, I ended up with eleven egg whites to use for something. I almost made an angel food cake, but ended up doing other things with the whites. Someday I’m going to make an angel food cake since I never have made one from scratch and bought a pan a few months back to
Saltwater Taffy Today’s post is a fun treat to make for the holidays that kids will love helping you make. A couple days ago, I made Saltwater Taffy and Parker and Taylor ended up helping me. I got the recipe for the taffy in a GREAT new cookbook I got for my birthday recently. If you like making candy, you NEED to get this book! Read this post, then head to this link o
Way back in February of 2010, the Tuesdays With Dorie group made Dorie’s adapted version of these Best Ever Brownies by Rick Katz. Reading back through that post, I remembered that I didn’t make those exactly as the recipe said, on accident. So today was my second chance at these brownies, since they happen to be in Dorie Greenspan’s book, Baking From Julia, that the Tues
Candy Cane Oreo White Chocolate Peppermint M&M’s Rice Krispies Treats Wow—Now THAT’S a recipe title. I didn’t want to shorten it or leave anything out. They could easily just be called Peppermint Rice Krispies Treats or Candy Cane Rice Krispies Treats, but they deserve all the recognition from each addition. Finish reading this and drooling a little, then run (or drive, I’
You might recall back in June with I posted a bunch of delicious recipes and had a giveaway for Lucky Leaf, who make canned premium pie fillings. I loved trying out some of their fillings and was happy to have a giveaway for a lucky reader as well. They recently contacted me again and asked if I wanted to try some more of their products. I received a package with pie fillings,
Though I missed the official posting yesterday, for a food blogging event to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy, they are letting whoever wants to join in post anytime through the month of November. After seeing and hearing all about the devastation caused to the East Coast from Hurricane Sandy, I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to share in a very small way with those who hav
