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Baked Tex-Mex Cheese Dip
This is my new favorite casual party appetizer. I’ve been on a roasted red pepper kick lately, so when I saw this recipe last month I knew I had to have it. I brought it to my nephew’s first birthday party last weekend and it was a hit – I was actually kind of sad that I had to share it with everyone. I was even more sad when there were no leftovers to take home with me. My sister makes a delicious spinach dip, and…
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Roasted Smashed Potatoes
Anyone who knows me well knows how much I love potatoes. Mashed, scalloped, baked, fried – I love them all. My guiltiest pleasure of all is a recipe my husband makes occasionally – simple, buttered potatoes – they’re just boiled potatoes smothered in butter and just barely mashed. They are SO indulgent and soooo good. I’d share that recipe with you, but I have a feeling I’d be kicked off the internet by the snark police. (They’d ♥ them too, if they’d just try them.…
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Pumpkin BTS Cake
So, I don’t really care what you call this cake. Anytime you combine pumpkin, homemade whipped cream and caramel sauce? Uh-MAZE-balls. My last BTS cake has driven almost 120,000 visitors to Lemon Sugar, and is among one of my most requested desserts in my inner circle. Inner circle? That means my family. I don’t know why I called them my inner circle. I’m clearly not Miley Cyrus. I don’t have an “inner circle.” But if I did, I would totally feed them BTS cake. If…
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Tropical Kahlua & Cream
It’s hot outside. And not just summer-in-the-Midwest-is-always-hot-and-humid-so-deal-with-it-hot, it’s REALLY hot. It’s so hot that just walking outside will take your breath away, getting in a car with leather seats will literally burn your legs, and swimming pool water feels like bath water. Blech. Needless to say, I have no desire to turn my oven on lately. In fact, we don’t want to do much of anything lately. I feel bad for those folks who have to work outside in this – it seems like cruel and unusual punishment. Since I…
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#DoubleDigits: A 10th Birthday Party
So, Maddie turned 10 earlier this month. I only cried once. Okay, maybe twice. But even at that, I feel pretty good about myself. That feels like an accomplishment. 10 years, you guys. How do I have a kid that is 1o YEARS OLD?? She’s asking for iPhones and laptops and wants to redecorate her bedroom because it’s too babyish. HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN? Oh, and the theme for her birthday party? Hashtag Double Digits. As in, #doubledigits. As in, my 10 YEAR OLD knows…
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Easy (Like, Really Easy) Cheese Danish
I’ve made exactly eleventy-bazillion things in the past couple of weeks that my darling children absolutely refuse to eat. Now, some of the dishes – Coconut Curry Lentils over Jasmin Rice, and Bruschetta with Avocado and Garlic Tomato Salsa, and even a couple of new varieties of Hummus – ok, I can understand those might be a little much for their young taste palates. But seriously, if I have to make one more peanut butter and jelly sandwich as a dinner time alternative, I might…
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TUACA Mule and TUACA Root Beer Float
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of TUACA Vanilla Citrus Liqueur for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine. Today’s post is sponsored by TUACA®. Have you had it yet? TUACA® is “a vanilla citrus liqueur, a brandy, blended with natural sugar, fine spirits and vanilla essences.” Doesn’t that just SOUND amazing? You guys. It’s fantastic. And even better, it puts a delicious twist on one of my favorite drinks, the Moscow Mule. Paired with ginger beer and lemon juice, it’s a totally…
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12 Hour Adventure with Caribou Coffee
I’m so excited about today’s post! If you follow me on Instagram, you probably noticed that I’ve been on a fun vacation over the past few days. What makes this even more exciting is that I’ve teamed up with my friends over at Caribou Coffee to bring you a look into my 12-hour adventure. (Okay, we actually had about FOUR 12-hour adventures over the past week, but believe me, Caribou Coffee was along for the ride each time. My family and I packed up the car for…
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Castello Moments: Potato Gratin
There’s just not much better than this. Warm, gooey potatoes, oozing with cheese? You guys, come on. This is the ultimate comfort food. My friends at Castello were kind enough to send me some generous wedges of two varieties of their cheese, Hirten and Classic. I have to admit that we’ve enjoyed cuts of the Hirten with crackers and a full-bodied red wine on a few occasions lately, but once I settled down to cook with it, I was glad I did. You can…
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Peanut Butter Cups
Since I’ve discovered that it’s insanely easy to make your own peanut butter, I’ve gone a bit crazy with it. I had four jars in my pantry, and while we do go through a lot of peanut butter, it would be awhile before we could make a dent in that. Cue the peanut butter desserts. Wait, scratch that. Cue the easy, no-bake peanut butter desserts with only four ingredients! Seriously, can’t beat that! The most difficult thing about this recipe is melting the chocolate. If…
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Skillet Apple Pie
There is just something about good apple pie that makes me happy. Obviously, it’s delicious, but there’s a lot of nostalgia that comes with it, too. The smells of baking apples, cinnamon and buttery pie crust take me back to my childhood and for a moment, I’m back in my Mom’s kitchen, or in one of my Grandma’s. My Grandma used to sprinkle the leftover pie crust with butter, sugar and cinnamon and bake it – I can remember fighting over those little bites of…
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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…
