• Rustic Apple Tart

    I hope this post makes sense.  I’m hopped up on decongestant and coffee at the moment, so my brain is working much, much faster than my fingers. I’ve had a cold for the past few days, so I haven’t felt like doing much of anything.  I really don’t get sick very often, but when I do, I’m the biggest baby that ever lived.  When I get colds like this, I don’t want to eat anything; which I realize is not conducive to healing, so I…

  • Ten Amazing Labor Day Recipes

    Follow my blog with Bloglovin My family is celebrating Labor Day this year with a pot-luck, swimming and lots of good food and drink.  The weather is expected to be sunny and hot, perfect for swimming, firing up the grill and enjoying the company of our enormous family. Over the years, my family has perfected the pot-luck – most everyone brings the recipe that they’re famous for – with names like “Mary Ann’s potato stuff,” or “Cathy’s cookies” or “Amanda’s cake balls,” “Holly’s pasta salad.”…

  • 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,…

  • Spinach Queso Dip

    So, let’s talk football. My family is obsessed. College football on Saturday, NFL on Sunday, Monday and even Thursday sometimes. High school football on Friday nights, fantasy football leagues everywhere I turn, and pick-up games of catch before and after Sunday dinner. Now, I like football as much as the next person (ok, well maybe a *tiny* bit less), but I have to say that I get more excited about the football parties and the tailgating than I do the actual games. And right at…

  • Mousse Caboose

      My five year old is responsible for the name of this dessert.  For some reason, she wouldn’t eat whipped cream OR pudding until about three months ago.  (I know what you’re thinking…but yes, she IS my child.)  The first time I made this for my family, I was careful to call it chocolate and vanilla mousse, because heaven forbid she believed it to be anything otherwise.  She thought “mousse” was a funny name, so she quickly found a rhyming word and it became, forever, Mousse Caboose. When…

  • Fontina Mac & Cheese

    Any of you out there with young children know that Macaroni & Cheese is a staple of most kid’s diets from the time they have teeth.  And while I have two really good, healthy and adventurous eaters of my own, I know that given the choice, they would have Mac & Cheese for every meal.  Breakfast included. The older and wiser I get =) the more I realize that real food is always better than processed food.  Yes, the blue and yellow boxed Mac &…

  • Stout Cake with Irish Cream Frosting

    As a food blogger, I feel like – when it comes to all things culinary – I’m pretty much up to date with all of the trends.  I spend a lot of time browsing food blogs, foodie websites, and have more food magazines in my mailbox every month than anything else. So, when I saw {this post} from I Am Baker a several months ago, I was completely stunned.  It was one of those “Why didn’t I think of that???” moments.  I’ve been putting roses on…

  • Super Simple Key Lime Pie

    You know when it’s the end of October and November is just around the corner and you’re all like, “I don’t want winter to be here,” so you think of the summery-est dessert you can and make it? Yup.  Just happened.  The end of October just screams Key Lime Pie, doesn’t it?  No? You guys, how in the world is summer overrrrrrrrr?  That had to have been the shortest summer on record.  My summer went like this:  5 year old birthday party, June at the…

  • A Beach Birthday Party

    Well, I survived.  I survived my first party since I’ve gone back to work in an office environment, and it was a success.  Now, I didn’t cook – it was catered, I just did the baking, and I had a little help from the candy aisle at the grocery store, but somehow I pulled off a cute little beach party in the middle of November and lived to talk about it. My Madeline turned eight years old this week, and as much work as it…

  • Baked Cinnamon French Toast

    Welp, the Christmas Tree is packed away, decorations are down, the Christmas music is over until next year, and the girls go back to school tomorrow. The days of staying up too late and sleeping in are in the past, and the countdown to summer has started. Seriously, is it summer yet?  I’m over the cold.  It’s all fun and games until the Christmas decorations come down, and then it’s just cold.  And cold without Christmas is no fun AT. ALL. But – bright side…

  • Easy Homemade Granola Bars

    Try as I might, I’m really not a big breakfast eater.  I know, it’s the most important meal of the day, blah, blah, blah.  I know.  Most days, I grab my greek yogurt, my coffee and a banana.  Now that school is back in full-swing, I’m trying to compile a list of make-ahead breakfasts for my family so we can grab a quick and healthy meal to start our days off on the right foot.  While my banana, yogurt and coffee breakfast works for me,…

  • Almond Snowball Cookies

    I’m back!  It’s been a long couple of weeks, starting with my daughter’s 7th birthday party, then Thanksgiving, then a week of refreshing the look here at Lemon Sugar.  Throw in a couple of cases of bronchitis and let’s just say I haven’t had much time to spend in the kitchen.