• Valentine Love Letter Cupcakes

     Wizard of Oz.  The Grinch Stole Christmas.  Wizard of Oz.  The Grinch Stole Christmas.  WIZARD OF OZ WIZARD OF OZ WIZARD OF OZ. My three year old is on a kick. She only wants to watch WIZARD OF OZ and THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS.

  • Tiny Chocolate Tortes

    Ok, so I have a confession to make. While cleaning up after hosting brunch this morning for Mother’s Day, I may have picked up one of these babies with my bare hands, plopped a big helping of fresh whipped cream on top and shoved almost the whole thing in my mouth. It took less than ten seconds, but it was undoubtedly ten of the best seconds of my life. These are fantastic. You should probably drop everything you’re doing and go make these, right now.…

  • Pumpkin Crumb Cake

    So yeah, this is another pumpkin cake.  And yeah, I thought I had sworn off pumpkin recipes for at least a week or two, but as it turns out I was pretty much completely wrong. Pumpkin does that to you.  It has magical powers. Did you know I met someone last week who said they didn’t like pumpkin?  And I was like, “REALLY?!?!?”  And they were like, well, I’ve never really tried it.  And then I was like, “Oh.”  And then there was an awkward…

  • Pumpkin Nutella Swirl Cake

    Hi everyone!  I soooooooo miss you guys!  My life is in perpetual “just-get-by” mode and right now I’m feeling lucky to get all four of us out the door in the morning fully clothed, fed and headed in the right direction so I’m calling that a win.  Life is nutsos. That being said, I love my new job and I’m hoping that soon we can figure out our new normal around here.  I think we’re getting better at it every day, so in a few…

  • 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…

  • Apple Pie

    I’ve mentioned before that I was practically raised on pie.  Every holiday (and sometimes just Sunday Dinner) during my childhood involved at least two pies, but more like five or six, of every variety you could possibly dream of.  My favorite summertime pie is apple…mmm…warm apple pie with cold vanilla ice cream.  Heaven on a plate! My mom makes the best apple pie I’ve ever had, but when I ask her how she makes it she says, “Oh, you know, a little of this, a little of that.” …

  • Spicy Black Bean Veggie Burgers

    I’m pretty sure I’m driving everyone in my life crazy right now.  I’ve been on a meatless, vegetarian diet-kick for several weeks.  I have my reasons, and I really don’t know where this new lifestyle will lead me.  I’m not even sure if it is a lifestyle yet.  Maybe it’s just a phase.

  • Peppermint Bark Cheesecake

     Let’s talk about pet peeves, shall we?  Specifically, let’s talk about MY pet peeves. The list is short.  Okay, the list is kind of short.

  • Zucchini Walnut Bread

    I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned our vegetable garden here before – we’ve lived in our house for just over three years now, and we had zero luck with our garden until this year.  We decided, finally, to try raised beds and we’ve had some fantastic results this time around!  I think raising the beds provides better drainage, and allowed us to start our beds earlier because the ground wasn’t as wet.  We have six raised beds right now, but I have big plans to double…

  • Easy Creme Brulee

    I won’t make you listen to any more stories about my rough week.  If you remember from a recent post, my daughter starts 1st grade tomorrow.  And since I don’t have a time machine or (apparently) the ability to will time to slow down, I have put on my best happy face and hopefully hold back tears until I’m out of the school parking lot. OK, one more story.   But technically, this isn’t a story, it’s really just information that you need to know…

  • “Homemade” Honey

    Ok, ok.  This is the second blog post in a row that isn’t a real recipe.  But I just had to share our newest kitchen creation – our very first honey harvest!   Those of you that know me well have probably been subject to one of my beekeeping rants in the past year or so.  From the swarms to the missing queens to the urgent need for more honey supers, I now know way more that I ever thought any one person should know about bees.…

  • S’mores Rice Krispies Treats

    So, tomorrow is my birthday. I’m going to spend the day making a birthday cake for myself.  How exciting is that? Actually, I’m pretty excited.  I love making big obnoxious layer cakes, and I’m sure tomorrow’s cake will be as big and obnoxious as they come.  And then I’m going to put a candle on it and make my family sing me happy birthday.  I wonder if they’re as excited about this as I am?  Ha! I usually do all of my baking for the…