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A look back at 2013
Wait, can anyone else believe that 2013 is over? Where did it go? I feel like I spent a good portion of it in the kitchen, and that’s just fine by me. I hope you’ve enjoyed the goodies I’ve shared with you over the past twelve months. I know I have. I love to look back at the end of the year and see what you guys liked the best. I have to say, your favorites this year are some of mine, too. Take…
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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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Buffalo Chicken Bites
My husband is obsessed with Buffalo Chicken. Wings, dip, tenders, pasta, even the Subway sandwich. Since I don’t eat meat off the bone, (I know, I’m strange) until recently I’d never really tried anything flavored with hot sauce. In the past year or so, since the influx of Buffalo chicken recipes and entrees at various restaurants, I’ve discovered that I do really like the flavor! A good friend of mine makes an amazing Buffalo Chicken dip, and I’m sure that will make an appearance on…
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Chicken & Avocado Enchiladas
I don’t know about you, but we tend to get into a food rut during the summertime. We grill a lot, eat a lot of sandwiches, fruits and vegetables, and other generally “quick and easy” meals. It’s rare that we want to turn on the oven or heat up the kitchen, and the thought of eating anything hot is pretty unappealing. Because this dish not only requires me to turn on my oven, but also to actually eat something hot and mildly spicy in the…
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Dark Chocolate Shortbread Tart
Is it me, or does this just scream Valentine’s Day? It’s decadent and indulgent, a dark chocolate custard atop a buttery, shortbread crust. Oh, and if that wasn’t enough – how about the heaping mound of sweet whipped cream right on top? I’m pretty sure this is why we have Valentine’s Day. So we can eat things like this. Let’s just have another look, shall we? I’m a big fan of a standard graham cracker crust, and even a good chocolate wafer crust – but…
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Irish Apple Cake with Irish Whiskey Caramel Sauce
The weather was gorgeous outside today. Sunny, nearly 70 degrees, no wind – and my kids played outside. We went for a walk. We didn’t wear jackets, and we didn’t come in until almost bedtime. These things, along with the fact that college basketball tournaments are on TV and St. Patrick’s Day is a mere three days away can really only mean one thing – SPRING IS HERE! Well, almost. Still a week or so away but whatever.
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A Pantry Makeover Part 3: Glidden Paint
When we built our house just over five years ago, I was so overwhelmed with decisions that I just took the easy road when it came to our paint colors. With the exception of my daughter’s room, I went all-out subdivision beige. I just couldn’t make another decision. Floors, appliances, windows, furniture, lighting, faucets…I couldn’t do it. So, subdivision beige it was. Over the years, we’ve slowly been updating rooms to fit our taste and decor style. It’s been a slow, arduous process and I…
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Homemade Marshmallow Peeps
You’ve had Peeps candies, right? Is there anyone out there who hasn’t? I used to absolutely despise them when I was a kid. My mom loved them,so it was without fail that we always had a package or two (or five) in our Easter baskets – to me, they had a funky food-coloring taste and were always a little too squishy. Blech. But then, at some point, we (my siblings and I) discovered two things. One, that stale Peeps are way better than fresh Peeps. They get…
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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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Mushroom Marsala
I’ve talked about my obsession with pasta before…I don’t think I’ve ever met a pasta I didn’t like. When I make it at home though, we usually stick to the Mac & Cheese or Spaghetti variety so I thought it was time to branch out. Giada made this Mushroom Marsala with Artichokes on one of her cooking shows last week and for some reason, it called out to me. Strange, because I usually don’t care for mushrooms at all. Nonetheless, I bought all of the…
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Double Chocolate Cupcakes
This year, Halloween snuck up on me. One minute it was my birthday and mid-September, the next minute I realized I had less than a week to come up with costumes for the girls. I had the best intentions this year, too – I was going to make them both really cute tulle-ghost costumes, order white leotards and buy white tights – it was going to be adorable. Instead, I recycled a bumblebee costume for my youngest and bought my oldest a tacky, chintzy mermaid-princess…
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Instant Party with Bacardi Mixers pt 1
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of BACARDI® Mixers for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine. You know by now that I love to entertain and host parties so I’m always looking for a reason to celebrate. Like the old adage “It’s five o’clock somewhere,” there is always something to celebrate – and it’s not terribly difficult to find it if you just look. For instance, last week my husband and I were celebrating the last week of softball.…
