The cinnamon roll you want on Christmas morning or any morning. From scratch, sweet and comforting, these Chocolate Chip Walnut Cinnamon Rolls are perfect. Make them the night before to make your morning even easier. The holiday season can be tough for anyone. It's 4 weeks of crazy with a bunch of family and wrapping paper involved. So, after a week that has seemed like a ...
kids
Mini Strawberry Jam Cupcakes
The jig is up for me. It seems the teachers have put two and two together and are taking advantage of it. No longer do I get the easy job of providing plates or juice boxes for the holiday classroom parties, I am now slated for the task of providing the good stuff. Ok, maybe it’s not that bad, but if this past Christmas was any indication I am betting that I will be asked ...
Broccoli Bites and the Terrible Hide and Seekers
The game of hide-and-seek is certainly not anything new. As a child, our regular games of hide- and-seek were closely related to black-ops style missions that demanded that the hiders call upon all of their stealth and ingenuity in order to outsmart the usually older and bigger seekers. We would play endless games, making sure to place “base” in some wide open area ...
Cranberry Pecan Granola
Not long after I began really working within our grocery budget and also being somewhat obsessed with delicious and relatively healthy food, I noticed that my food choices tended to lean toward the more basic ingredients that you would find on shelves of grandmothers everywhere. Oats, flour, nuts, fresh veggies, and so on made a regular appearance on our grocery list. The ...
Sloppy Meatball Joes
I firmly believe that the powers-that-be gave me my daughter so that I would be forced to constantly be creative (He gave me my son to force me to be patient). My young, vivacious look-a-like has some very particular ways of doing things. Ponytails are acceptable, but braids are not. Books are fun but not if Mom picks them out (she will not read A Little Princess no matter how ...
Breakfast Muffins
We have been having quite a few adventures over here in the middle of the country. School has started back, my catering side business has been picking up and my husband has taken up the accordion. Yep...the accordion. I'll just tell you right now it's hilarious. So, what's the first song he decided to learn on the weird mutt of an instrument? Moves Like Jagger. "An ...
Summer Dill Potato Salad
Summer Dill Potato Salad was inspired by a BLT with lots of bacon and tomatoes and peas instead of lettuce for little pops of sweetness. My husband and I have reached a new chapter in child rearing. We realized it while on vacation this past week. It came as an unexpected surprise and it made us maybe just a touch sad. We are no longer cool. It was bound to happen. I ...
Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls
An easy no-bake Christmas gift like Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls is worth its weight in gold. Make a double batch and hand out to all of your kids' teachers and neighbors! The kids are finally out of school and the final days before Christmas are upon us. The presents are piled under the tree, the twinkle lights are shining, Melvin the Elf is planning his escape, and the ...
Hot Cocoa Mix and Peppermint Marshmallows
Hot cocoa mix and Peppermint marshmallows is a wonderful make ahead gift for those special people in your life. And don't let the marshmallows freak you out, they are much easier to make than you would imagine. My kids have some extraordinary teachers. They are kind-hearted, patient and have managed to make Kindergarten the most fun place to be for my babies. Honestly, my ...
Chocolate Covered Popcorn Balls
I can remember just about every Halloween outfit I ever wore as a child, mostly because I dressed as the same thing every year. My Mom and I would pull out every scarf and gaudy piece of jewelry we could find (and there was a plethora of that in the 80’s) and we would both walk around as Gypsys for a few hours on Halloween night. We pulled out all the stops, blue eye shadow and ...
Pumpkin Cupcakes w/ Molasses Cream Cheese Filling
I've been racking my brain for the last few days about what to cook that has pumpkin in it. I mean it's Fall for cryin' out loud! I should be covered up with pumpkin everything!! So, after much turmoil and contemplation I decided pumpkin cupcakes were in order. But how to make them different? How to make them stand out from the crowd? It was then that I remembered my Great Aunt ...
Parmesan Popcorn
It's been forever since I have posted recipes but in that time I have successfully gotten my two five year olds started in kindergarten. My pocketbook took a final huge sigh of relief as they climbed on the bus and headed toward a free education (goodbye daycare!) Since then, lots of people have asked me if I cried their first day or if I am sad to see them growing up. I have ...
Alphabet Soup
There hasn't been much of a winter down here in Tennessee. Take yesterday for example. It was 64 degrees outside! In the middle of February! This weather is just crazy. We have had the odd day or two of really cold temperatures. We actually had some snow last week...briefly. I took that opportunity to make this recipe that I have been thinking about for a couple of weeks ...
From Scratch Chocolate Meringue Pie
Speaking of enjoyable, this Chocolate Meringue Pie is one of my favorite ways to blow a diet. It's so rich and creamy and the ingredients to make one is almost always in my house. It's pretty darn inexpensive, too. Sugar, flour, cocoa, eggs, milk, butter, vanilla and a pie crust and you've got yourself an impressive dessert that everyone will love. If you can get your hands on ...
My thoughts on Food Magazines and Baked Chicken Fajitas
Baked Chicken Fajitas are suuuppper easy to whip together for a delicious weeknight meal. And its healthy too! I don't buy food magazines very often. Those things are so expensive. I have a hard time paying $10 for a monthly publication which is mostly ads and recipes I will never cook. I also have a hard time throwing them away. I mean I paid $10 for that thing! I am ...