• Stout Cake with Irish Cream Frosting

    As a food blogger, I feel like – when it comes to all things culinary – I’m pretty much up to date with all of the trends.  I spend a lot of time browsing food blogs, foodie websites, and have more food magazines in my mailbox every month than anything else. So, when I saw {this post} from I Am Baker a several months ago, I was completely stunned.  It was one of those “Why didn’t I think of that???” moments.  I’ve been putting roses on…

  • Biscoff Truffle Brownies

    Three awesome things happened yesterday.  One, I got up at 7:30am (which is like sleeping in around here) and made some cinnamon rolls.  Then, I took A NAP.  Like, a NAP.  On the couch.  In the middle of the morning. And my husband took care of the girls and I slept, and it was FAN-tastic.  I felt well-rested for the first time in months.  Or years.  Nearly eight years, to be precise. Secondly, I bought a new cake stand and I’m kind of in love…

  • Easy Marinara Sauce

    So, if a magic genie in a lantern gave me three wishes, I think mine might be for 1) money (duh), 2) more wishes (also duh) and 3) that pasta would become a health food.  As in, I could eat it all day every day and have the same results as if I lived on raw green veggies. I’m really not kidding.  And don’t try to tell me that you wouldn’t wish for money or more wishes, because that’s what makes the game fun.

  • Pumpkin Nutella Swirl Cake

    Hi everyone!  I soooooooo miss you guys!  My life is in perpetual “just-get-by” mode and right now I’m feeling lucky to get all four of us out the door in the morning fully clothed, fed and headed in the right direction so I’m calling that a win.  Life is nutsos. That being said, I love my new job and I’m hoping that soon we can figure out our new normal around here.  I think we’re getting better at it every day, so in a few…

  • 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…

  • White Chocolate & Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

    I just looked over the top of my laptop at my husband, who’s sitting on the couch next to me, and said “I don’t have any wittiness for my blog post.”  He just looked at me funny. You guys don’t care about wittiness, do you?  You care about cupcakes.  I knew it.  You’re just using me. See?  No wittiness.  I’m not even sure I’m spelling that right.  Wittiness?  Witty-ness?  Wittyness?  My spell checker likes wittiness, so we’ll go with it. Have you ever said a…

  • Butternut Squash & Potato Gratin

    I am a Thanksgiving traditionalist.  I want the same dishes on my Thanksgiving table, year after year.  And for me, it’s not even about the turkey – it’s about the sides.  Mashed potatoes, gravy, homemade noodles, dressing (not stuffing), homemade rolls, sweet potatoes, real cranberries, my Grandma’s salad, green bean casserole and, if we have time, scalloped corn. I know there are tons of fabulous recipes out there and amazing Thanksgiving dishes that would make a great addition to my table, but dang it, our…

  • A Rainbow Party

    Last weekend we celebrated my daughter’s and niece’s 4th birthday with a Rainbow party.  They’ve been talking about it forever, pretty much since the day after their Princess Party last year.  We were a bit hurried, especially after we ate dinner because the weather was supposed to get bad, and everyone kind of left in a mad rush to beat the storms. As usual, I focused the decoration for the party around my dessert table.  A simple white table cloth allowed the rainbow colors to…

  • 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?

  • Hot Chocolate Cake with Homemade Marshmallows

    So, my daughter’s 7th birthday is next week.  First of all, it’s really just not possible that she’s turning seven years old.  Not possible.  Second of all, this means that I have a big family party looming on the horizon. That means my house has to be cleaned.  It also means I need to plan a menu, figure out decorations and – oh yeah – do all that cooking and baking without undoing all of the cleaning and planning.

  • Tuna & Noodles from Scratch

    So, I don’t eat seafood.  I’ve tried.  I’ve really, really tried.  There are a few swimming-things that I’ve taste-tested over the years that I didn’t absolutely detest, but I’d never order them for myself.  Well, maybe, possibly a crab cake.  But honestly, I’ll only eat it if my husband orders it – if it’s up to me, I can always find a more appetizing appetizer on the menu. I have done everything I can to ensure that my girls don’t have the same aversions to…

  • 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…