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Homemade Pop Tarts
Yep, I went there. I’m not sure what it was about this recipe that appealed to me so much, but I think it was probably the nostalgia of it all – I’ve been eating Pop-Tarts since I was in elementary school, mostly I think because my Dad loves them. My favorites were always the chocolate, brown sugar and other candy-bar varieties, but Dad likes the cherry and strawberry, so Dad – these are for you. If you’ve ever looked at the nutritional information on the…
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Ranch Dressing
Those of you who know my husband and I know that we are borderline, wanna-be hippies when it comes to food and sustainability. We would eat all natural, all fresh food all the time if we could, and for the most part we try to avoid preservatives, chemical additives and processed food. That’s not to say that we don’t eat plenty of bad stuff, but we’ve definitely made a conscious decision to do the best we can for ourselves and our girls. Our beehives, chickens and expanding…
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Southwestern Eggrolls
These look like they would be complicated and mess up your kitchen, but they’re EASY and you bake them! No frying, no splattering grease, and they use one bowl and a cookie sheet. Doesn’t get much easier than that! This is also one of those recipes that you can play around with the fillings and add whatever you want to meet your needs. The only thing you have to watch is the liquid content – try to keep the ingredients drained and dry so you…
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Cinnamon Roll Scones
These cinnamon “rolls” take 40 minutes from start to finish, including baking time. They don’t have to rise, and they don’t use yeast so they’re more like a cinnamon scone – they have a crumbly texture instead of a smooth bread texture. Nonetheless, when you’re craving cinnamon rolls but don’t have 4 hours to whip some up, these definitely will fit the bill. These are best eaten warm, but a quick zap in the microwave for 2 days after they’re made brings them right back…
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Spinach & Gruyere Quiche
Every time I think of quiche, I am reminded of weekend shopping trips with my mom and sisters. We’d leave early on a Saturday morning and head to the mall or shopping centers so we could be there when they’d open, and we’d shop until after lunchtime. I can’t even imagine how much money we spent, but we hit every store in the shopping center, sometimes twice, until we were done. After our marathon trip, we’d head out to eat a late lunch at the…
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Um…about those cupcakes…
Those (Lemon Drop Cupcakes)? Apparently, they work. Less than 12 hours after eating two of them, my sister was in labor! Welcome to the world, Baby Evan! And many, many congratulations to my sister and brother-in-law. I’m a proud sister and a proud aunt today!
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Lemon Drop Cupcakes
So, my sister is VERY pregnant. She’s not due for another 9 days, but she’s done. I can’t hardly blame her, she works on her feet all day long, and then chases a 22 month old around all night. The girl is always on the go, and quite possibly the hardest worker I know. Except maybe my Dad, but I suppose that’s where she gets it. Since I’m just as anxious to meet my new nephew as she is, (ok, probably not AS anxious. But…
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Peanut Butter Sheet Cake
When I worked at my previous job, I would occasionally ‘treat’ myself to a trip to a little bakery down the road from my office. They have a MAGNIFICENT, seasonal cranberry chicken salad on cranberry nut bread. Oh my goodness, it is the best thing ever, in fact it’s so good that I must find a recipe and replicate it. Soon. And then I’ll post it. But, even better, they also have a wonderful assortment of desserts to choose from. My favorite is a peanut…
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Oatmeal Cream Pies
I am embarrassed to say that I have eaten an entire box of Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies in one sitting. It was a long time ago, but it was not one of my finer moments. These days, I won’t even buy them because they’re full of preservatives, high fructose corn syrup and sugar…I won’t keep them in the house in hopes of keeping that junk away from my girls as long as I can. Instead, I like to make treats at home so I can…
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Cream Puffs (Pâte à Choux)
This is one of those recipes that I stumbled upon and automatically thought would be incredibly difficult and way out of my realm. But, once I really took time to read the recipe I found it was really very simple. Choux pastry is used to make cream puffs, eclairs and profiteroles. It’s a very light, dry pastry and usually offset by some sort of decadent cream-type filling. I used the traditional pastry cream to fill these and topped them with a liberal dollop of dark…
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Banana Bread Cupcakes
Bananas wasting away in my fruit bowl + Marscapone cheese and walnuts in the fridge = DELISH concoction by yours truly. I love banana bread, but my girls eat bananas like they’re going out of style, so we never have any left to make treats with. This week, however, they left me with nearly a full bunch of bananas to play with. YAY! Furthermore, my husband has training tomorrow so he has lots of hungry guys to feed these to. Bonus. These are wonderful muffins. …
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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…
