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Out and About: Wine and Sunflowers
I am fortunate to live with a quick drive of two local gems: Holy-Field Winery & Vineyard and Grinter’s Sunflower Farm. Since we have the first week of school behind us now, and since the sunflowers are in their prime this week, a visit to our local winery and sunflower field were definitely in order. Holy-Field Winery & Vineyard is an award-winning Kansas winery. They grow about ten different varieties of grapes, and offer about 18 different wines – from semi-sweet to dry. It’s a…
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Sugar Cookie Bars
****I’m on Facebook! Click {here} to follow along, and Welcome!**** Last weekend I had big plans to make sugar cookies for a friend of mine, but I ran out of time. I made the dough but knew if I baked them that I wouldn’t have time to decorate them. Instead, I wrapped up the dough and froze it for future use. Well, turns out I couldn’t stand having cookie dough in my freezer. I wanted to use it. So I did. So there. There’s a…
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Red Velvet Truffle Brownies
So, it’s almost time to start thinking about Thanksgiving dinner, right? Almost time to start planning our meals, which stretchy pants we’re going to wear, and how to make it from point A to point B in under an hour and eat a full meal at both places without offending either party. Right? Yes. But first, before I can even go THERE, I have an eight year old’s birthday party to plan and execute. A Teen Beach Movie birthday party, at that. Because you know, it’s…
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Chocolate Chip Graham Cracker Bars
You can actually SEE how delicious these are. You can see the powdery sugar stuck to the gooey, chocolaty graham cracker cookie. You can SEE it, can’t you? And yup – they taste just as good as they look. Maybe better. I broke all of the July-in-Kansas rules today and turned my oven on. Yes, I turned my oven on even though it was exactly 900 degrees outside today. And with the heat-index, it felt like 950 degrees. But I just had to make these…
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Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread
Last Sunday, while my family was gathered at my parent’s house for our weekly Sunday dinner, I asked my Dad if he had any tomatoes left in the garden. He said he’d check, and then disappeared for a while. He came back with a handful of tomatoes and a couple of GROCERY SACKS FULL of jalapenos. Not being one to ever turn down garden-fresh produce, I happily took a sack of them home. I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do with…
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A Princess Party
Two of my favorite little princesses just turned three years old. My niece, Ruby Jane and my youngest daughter, Mia Kate, were born just 17 hours apart and have grown to be best buds. Well, usually. They get along when sharing isn’t involved. But that’s just a phase, right? When my sister and I asked the girls what kind of party they wanted, they barely skipped a beat before they decided it should be a princess party. And who are we to argue? This meant…
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One Hour Maple Pecan Cinnamon Rolls
This is officially the third time I’ve used my One Hour Cinnamon Roll Dough on the blog. There was the original, the Cherry Sweet Rolls, and now these. I think these win. These are Maple Pecan Cinnamon Rolls, and they’re fabulous. Oh yeah- and they can be made start to finish in an hour. No big whoop. YES. ONE HOUR. CINNAMON ROLLS IN ONE HOUR, FOLKS! So today, we changed it up a bit – I added some sticky-sweet pecans to the filling, and doused…
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Just Cherry Pie
It’s just really been a strange week. We were supposed to be in Mexico, celebrating not only our anniversary but my husband’s birthday as well. Because we were planning to lay on the beach and drink fruity drinks to celebrate, I didn’t plan the usual birthday celebration with dinner, guests, dessert and gifts. I feel bad that my hubs kind of got the short end of the birthday stick this year, but promised him that we’ll celebrate his birthday on our rescheduled trip. So, in…
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Cheesy Garlic Biscuits
So, I have a confession to make. I don’t care for seafood. Admittedly, I have had a bite or two off my husband’s plates over the years that didn’t make me gag, but generally speaking, I can’t do fish – cooked or raw, shell or not – it’s not happening. For this reason, growing up in the Midwest has proven to be to my advantage – I have a lot of other protein options and a good steak is far more prevalent than any seafood…
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Eggnog Cupcakes
When I was growing up, we were fortunate to be able to ride the school bus to our house in the country, where my Mom was usually waiting for us with an after-school snack prepared. One of my favorite treats was homemade eggnog. Mom used to make it in the blender, using farm-fresh eggs, lots of sugar, and I’m sure it was made with either pure cream or half and half…not the healthiest snack but definitely one of my favorites. Now that I’m older, the…
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Five Layer Celebration Cake
It’s my birthday! Yay me! I survived another year of this crazy life and I do believe we should celebrate. It really was a crazy year. I found myself working from home, which has really been a blessing and a period in my life that I will always cherish. I’ve spent more time with my kids, my husband and my family. It was a happy year for my family; my youngest brother got married, my closest cousin got married, and I welcomed a new niece…
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One Minute Chocolate Cake
I’m sorry. I know that it’s a new year, and I know that your resolution to eat healthier is already nagging at you, but I just couldn’t let this one pass. One minute chocolate cake? Yes. I made it, topped it and ate it all under five minutes. I’m not ashamed. Now, if I’m really being honest, this actually took a little longer than one minute to make. It took two and a half minutes. I used a small glass bowl, a small whisk and…
