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Hot Corn Dip
Who doesn’t love a good dip, right? In fact, I’m getting to the stage in my life when a good dip (or lack thereof) can make or break a good party. Now, exactly what that says about me is not the issue right now, but what I know for 100% sure is that this dip is yum. o. I’ve had Trisha Yearwood’s Home Cooking cookbook for a couple of years, and I have to tell you that I had some serious doubts about her back…
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Easy Roasted Tomato Soup
One of the best things about the end of summer is that while most of our vegetable garden has come and gone, our tomatoes are still going strong. And while I have pretty much exhausted my cravings for tomato and cheese sandwiches, I’m definitely not ready to say goodbye to my favorite garden fruit. Er, veggie. Whatever. Today, I picked up a beautiful loaf of jalapeno cheese bread at one of my favorite bakeries, and it was just begging to be turned into a grilled…
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Tortilla Pinwheels
Oh, Tuesday after Labor Day. I have a serious love-hate thing going with you right now. Our summer was magnificent. The weather was just about perfect ALL summer. Our grass never did turn that icky late-summer brown color, it’s still a gorgeous bright green. We sat on the porch almost every evening and just enjoyed the weather while the kids played. I was fortunate to be able to work from home this summer, so I got a lot of quality time with my kids. The…
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Restaurant Style Salsa
You know when you go to a Mexican restaurant and they give you one of those little bottles FULL of extra salsa? You know, so you can refill your own salsa dish? Those are my favorites. Because seriously, a little tiny bowl of salsa for a table full of people is just never going to be enough, it’s just not. And then, you know when you’re at a Mexican restaurant, and your food comes out and you immediately have to ask for a box because…
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Tomato & Basil Bruschetta
Two quick things today. One is related to the picture above, and one is a story that you must endure to get to the yumminess. So, first of all, my four year old says the cutest-ever things right now. She’s right between that baby-talk and big-kid speak…and she makes up words and misuses words all of the time and it’s so stinkin’ adorable that I can’t even stand it. For instance, instead of “accident,” she says “ax-ca-dent.” Like, “Sorry, Mommy, but it was just an…
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Sweet Cherry Salsa
There are some things on this planet that were just meant to be together. Peanut butter and jelly. Wasabi and soy sauce. Mashed potatoes and gravy. Sweet cherry salsa and salty tortilla chips. Sweet. Cherry. Salsa. It’s sweet. It makes me happy. And with salty, crispy tortilla chips? Holy cow you guys. This recipe came my way via my lovely sister-in-law. She’s like, the queen of dips. And parties. She throws the best family parties and she makes the best dips. AND, she actually…
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Loaded Baked Potato Dip
I am so happy that life has settled down a little bit, and that I finally have more time to spend in the kitchen. April, May and June this year were just insane. My niece was born, my brother got married, May was a blur of holidays, birthdays, graduations and my blog redesign, and June found me camped out at the ballfields and gymnastics studio almost every night of the week. I had some serious blogging and baking withdrawal happening! Since we were on the…
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Fried Pickles with Spicy Ranch
You know when you get a craving and it just won’t go away? Yep, you guessed it. I’ve been craving fried pickles for about six months now. I’m not really sure why. I don’t really crave fried foods, ever…but something about warm, battered pickles dipped in cool ranch dressing just does it for me, I guess. I’m just exuding classiness, aren’t I?
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Make-Ahead Game Day Recipes
March Madness is here! It’s my favorite holiday. Yes. Basketball tournament time is a holiday around here. Everyone fills out brackets, skips work (or takes reaaallly long lunch-breaks) on Thursday and Friday during the first two weeks, and you can’t go far without spotting someone sporting their team colors. There’s nothing worse than the disappointment when your team gets bumped, and there isn’t much better than rooting for your team as they make it deeper into the tourney. My team won a few years ago,…
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King Cake, Filled Two Ways
I’m feeling very out-of-sorts and distracted today. We’re in the middle of a very busy week, mostly the fault of my first grader. Between after-school basketball camp, dance class, gymnastics and a dance-clinic performance, our evenings are shot. Oh, dinner you say? What’s that? Laundry? How many times can you wear a pair of jeans before they’re truly dirty?
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Superbowl Recipe Roundup
Can you believe we’re already gearing up for Super Bowl Sunday? My team is nowhere near Super Bowl status (ever), but it’s really about the parties and the commercials anyway, isn’t it?
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Homemade Ricotta Cheese
My youngest brother is getting married in the spring. In preparation for the Groom’s family duties, my Mom, sisters and I are beginning the process of scoping out locations for their rehearsal dinner. Last night, while pouring over menus, venues and prices, I came across my favorite Italian restaurant, Lidia’s. I love that place. Everything is made from scratch with fresh ingredients – from their bread to their pasta to their marinara and ricotta cheese…and that’s exactly the reason their food tastes so much better.…
