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Healthy(er) Chocolate Oatmeal No-Bake Bars
My girls have been begging me for no-bake cookies for a couple of months. Since we always have a million other desserts on the agenda, I just haven’t gotten around to it. But then, I saw this “heathier” version floating around Pinterest and I was intrigued. I’ve always thought no-bake cookies were just kind of too-sweet and too-messy to get excited about, but the girls love them. And I have to admit, I really like this version too. Especially right out of the freezer. Now,…
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Vanilla Coconut Banana Cream Pie
I’m pretty sure that you aren’t supposed to make cream pies when it’s 100 degrees outside…I’m pretty sure that could probably get you in big trouble in some parts of the world. But when you catch a summer cold, are stuck inside in the air conditioning with a sore throat and a fever and really need to update your blog, that’s exactly what you do. You make a cream pie. You also dip extra bananas into the filling and eat them like a fruity-creamy fun…
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Easy Roasted Tomato Soup
One of the best things about the end of summer is that while most of our vegetable garden has come and gone, our tomatoes are still going strong. And while I have pretty much exhausted my cravings for tomato and cheese sandwiches, I’m definitely not ready to say goodbye to my favorite garden fruit. Er, veggie. Whatever. Today, I picked up a beautiful loaf of jalapeno cheese bread at one of my favorite bakeries, and it was just begging to be turned into a grilled…
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Neapolitan Layer Cake with Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream
How fun is this cake? If you’ve been reading my blog, back in February I talked about my sister and her trouble making a decision for her birthday treat. She ended up choosing the Key Lime Cupcakes which turned out to be a fabulous decision because they were wonderful. This was the contender, the cake that made her decision so difficult that week. I knew I had to make this one, but needed the perfect excuse because it’s so time consuming. We celebrated Easter at…
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Mini Apple Crumb Sundaes
I’m not sure that ANYTHING screams summertime dessert more than apple pie. But even more, apple pie with ice cream? Not much better than that. And while I love a good pie, they can really be a major undertaking – from the crust to the filling to crossing your fingers that they set up like they’re supposed to – that’s a lot of dessert-stress that sometimes I just don’t want to deal with. I hosted my extended family gathering for the 4th of July this…
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Nutella Crescent Cookies
Hold the freaking phone. Nutella? Crescent rolls? Easy-peasy cookies in no-time? I’m so in. I’m not sure if you remember my post from last week, the Easy Cherry Turnovers? I told you that I stockpiled crescent rolls at the grocery store over the holiday to fulfill all of my Pinterest Crescent Roll obsessions. Seven recipes later, I finally used my last can of crescent rolls tonight. I have this whole processed-food guilt thing happening, but after tasting these I’m kind of OK with that.
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Peanut Butter Cupcakes
It’s funny where my cupcake inspiration comes from sometimes. These particular cupcakes were born when I found a bag of mini Reece’s Peanut Butter cups at the grocery store last week. I thought, “Oh – those are cute, they’d be a good cupcake garnish!” I then spent all of last week trying to find the perfect peanut butter cupcake recipe to hold my cute little garnish. I’m sick, I know. I decided on this recipe for a couple of reasons. First, it’s easy. The chocolate cake starts with a…
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Samoa Sheet Cake
So, first – let me tell you about my weekend. Then we’ll get to this DELICIOUS Samoa Cake recipe. I took a couple of extra days off before the long Memorial Day weekend, mostly to prepare for my daughter’s birthday party and get the girls to and from dance recital and rehearsal, which this year fell on Thursday and Friday evening. NBD. Right? Yeah. So Thursday brought some (SCARY) severe weather to my part of the world, and of course that only happens when my…
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Summer Sauvignon Blanc White Wine Party
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine. I am fortunate to have a small, tight-knit circle of girlfriends. Our friendship has grown over the past 15 years, starting as co-workers and continuing even after everyone has gone their separate ways to new jobs. They’re the kind of friends that get your inside jokes, but we can also go a few weeks without talking and pick up just where we left off. Good,…
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Chocolate Chip Love Muffins
I’m one of those people who thinks Valentine’s Day is silly. Sure, I can appreciate a day that’s dedicated to making the loves in your life feel special and adored. But to me it conjures up images of people waiting in line to buy overpriced flowers, cards and chocolates with only half-hearted intent. I’ve always told my husband that flowers on a random Tuesday in August, or a card for no reason will always be more appreciated than forcing it on Valentine’s Day. Perhaps that…
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Biscuits and Gravy Casserole
My dear brother-in-law has been staying with us over the last week. It’s awesome because of course I love it when he’s home, and I get excited every year because he’s someone new to cook for – another person to eat the holiday goodies that I’m inevitably churning out. But the truth of the matter is that he really doesn’t eat much. He’s not a breakfast person. I know these things. But I still, every single year, force new breakfast dishes upon him like he’s…
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Orange-Yogurt Muffins with Marmalade Glaze & Brunch
Recently, I was chosen by Foodbuzz and Dannon to review and blog about a new product: Dannon Activia Harvest Picks Yogurt. I hosted a small, light brunch for my sisters and we really enjoyed ourselves, and the food! Since spring has made an early arrival this year, I put together a little table outside so we could soak in the fabulous weather. The great thing about yogurt is that it is extremely versatile. You can eat it alone, of course, or add a topping, use it as…
