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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.…
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German Chocolate Cupcakes
My parents are remodeling their kitchen, which to me comes with mixed emotions. It’s nice because after nearly 40 years of living in the same house, they are finally getting their dream kitchen. They added on to make it bigger, got all new cabinets, counter-tops and appliances, knocked down a wall and are updating the flooring. But, it’s kind of sad at the same time. I grew up in that kitchen. I have a lot of fond memories of that blue ceramic tile, the white…
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Out and About: Road Trip to Omaha
This past week was a fun one for my little family. We opted for a stay-cation this year, and spent the week pretty close to home. We took our girls to Worlds of Fun, our local amusement park one day, spent a day lounging around and doing not much of anything, and then spent a couple of days road-tripping it. Destination: Omaha. Omaha is just about a 3-hour drive from our home near Kansas City, so it really made an ideal, quick road trip. Since…
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Pumpkin Cupcakes & Homemade Pumpkin Candies
Because I said so, that’s why. That’s why I made pumpkin cupcakes, with cream cheese frosting and handmade candy pumpkins on top. Because I said so. That’s why.
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Meatball Subs & Potato Chips
It wasn’t long ago that I told you about my love for sandwiches. Sometimes, I just get a craving and nothing will satisfy it until I just go out and get the real thing – and yesterday I almost caved. I wanted nothing more than to jump in the car and go find the closest meatball sub sandwich I could. But, since I found myself with a little bit of free time I decided instead to whip up some dinner – although I hadn’t made my weekly trip…
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Share-It Saturday: Week 6
Another fabulous week on the books, and tons of great links were submitted last week! From the photography to the recipes to the text of the blog posts, you all are inspiring and continually pushing me to do bigger and better things in my own kitchen. Speaking of my kitchen, I have a busy day today – I’ve got several dozen cupcakes to fill and frost. Right now I’m feeling good and ahead of the game, so cross your fingers that the day continues to…
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Fried Ice Cream Boats & A Football Party
YOU GUYS! How CUTE are these little fried ice cream boats? Even though it’s exactly zero degrees outside right now, these were still a welcome treat at our family gathering this weekend! It’s been a good sports year in Kansas City. Our beloved Royals (finally) won the World Series, and the Chiefs (finally) won a playoff game. My family decided to gather to celebrate the big football game, so I thought I’d share some of our quick and easy party tips with you. Ice cream…
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Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Cake
I totally bought an electric throw blanket last weekend. I am SO dreading the cold weather that I actually took my 30-something year old tushie to Target and bought an electric blanket. It’s like I woke up and was like, “How can I be MORE like my mother today?” Sorry, Mom. I dread the winter. I love the holidays, but I dread the cold, the wind, the leaf-less trees and dormant grass. I hate always being cold. I don’t like high heating bills and the…
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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.
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Erin’s favorite recipes from 2012
As we say goodbye to 2012, it’s fun to reflect on everything that happened during the year. My family had a wonderful year full of blessings. We celebrated my parent’s 35th wedding anniversary in May. We traveled to the beach with our extended family, filling up three beach houses. My oldest daughter completed Kindergarten and started 1st grade. We coached T-ball, we celebrated 1st birthdays for my niece and nephew, and found out my brother and sister are expecting again. We attended dance recitals, hosted…
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Tiramisu Cake
“What is tiramisu?” “You’ll find out.”“Well, what is it?”“You’ll see.” “Some woman is gonna want me to do it to her, and I’m not gonna know what it is!” Name that movie. Easy, right? Sleepless in Seattle – one of my all-time favorites. There are many reasons I love that movie, but mostly because I love Seattle, I love Tom Hanks, and I love Meg Ryan…plus, there’s nothing wrong with a good love story. I’m sure there aren’t many of you out there who haven’t…
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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…
