• Spaghetti a’la Jimmy

    Ahhhh…spaghetti.  I love it.  I could live on it.  I think I came to appreciate spaghetti my sophomore year in college, when I was on my own in an apartment for the first time.  I actually went to the grocery store and bought a box of Kraft Spaghetti.  Noodles, sauce, everything all in a box.  It didn’t take long to realize that it was nothing like the spaghetti I grew up with and that I was going to have to figure out how to make…

  • Creamy Baked Pasta

    I love pasta.  I really, really love pasta.  I seriously think I could eat it every day and never tire of it.  Since my husband doesn’t really share my obsession, we don’t eat it as often as I would like, so I tend to save it for the nights he’s working and I’m just cooking for myself and the girls.  However,  I made this earlier in the week and JR really liked it too, so I guess that says something!  The best thing about it…

  • Waffles. Really Delicious Waffles.

    See the updated post, here! Waffles are one of those things that we never really had growing up.  We had our fair share of pancakes and french toast, but I can only remember having waffles a couple of times in my childhood.  They seemed to be more of a restaurant treat, usually topped with strawberries and whipped cream.  After trying a number of recipes at home, I determined what I DON’T like in a waffle – a heavy, egg-y taste. These waffles were the result…

  • Chocolate Sundae Cupcakes

    I made these cupcakes for my daughter’s 5th birthday party.  It was one of those family gatherings in the middle of the afternoon, not knowing how many were coming and how hungry my guests would be…and of course I over-did it.  I did try a number of new recipes for the event and had some good success, so I will post them as I can! These are chocolate cupcakes with vanilla swiss buttercream frosting.  I’d never had swiss buttercream before, but I’m so glad I tried…

  • Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

    I’ve grown up around a lot of amazing cooks.  Both of my Grandmothers rocked the kitchen, my mom and my mother-in-law are both awesome, and even my husband knows what he’s doing in there.  In fact, two of my most treasured posessions are recipe books full of my Grandmothers recipes.  My mom is practically famous for her chocolate chip cookies, and she made them all the time when we were growing up.  You’d think that I would’ve watched her make them, but honestly – I didn’t…

  • 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 &…

  • Chocolate Buttercream Cake

      I love chocolate cake.  Good chocolate cake might be my very favorite thing, ever.  So when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it. The first thing I noticed was that there were a LOT of ingredients, far more than any chocolate cake recipe I’ve ever tried before.  I would strongly suggest pre-measuring your ingredients so they’ll be ready to add as you go along, and take the time to buy or cut the parchment circles for your cake pans.  You’ll thank…

  • Welcome to my blog!

    Since I love to cook, bake and try new recipes, I thought it would be a good idea to put my adventures down in writing – mostly as a reference for myself but also just in the off-chance that someone out there wants to follow along.  Enjoy!