• Cinnamon Chip Scones

    Annnnnd, I’m back. You didn’t even miss me, did you?  Don’t answer that. I took a couple of months off from the old blog.  I didn’t want to, but life demanded it.  Lemon Sugar is like a second full-time job that I squeeze into the wee-hours of the morning, well after the sun goes down at night, and for 15-20 hours each weekend. But, I love it so it’s not going anywhere.  I just had to make some adjustments, and now I’m back. With scones.  I’m…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Orange Sweet Rolls

    My to-do list today looked something like this:  clean the pantry for an upcoming photo-shoot.  Organize the mess on top of my desk.  Finish the laundry.  Go to the grocery store.  Decorate for Easter.  Put away the 2T clothes still in Mia’s closet *sniff*. See how productive I am in my head? Know what I actually did?  Yup.  I made Orange Sweet Rolls.

  • Biscuits and Gravy Casserole

    My dear brother-in-law has been staying with us over the last week.  It’s awesome because of course I love it when he’s home, and I get excited every year because he’s someone new to cook for – another person to eat the holiday goodies that I’m inevitably churning out. But the truth of the matter is that he really doesn’t eat much.  He’s not a breakfast person.  I know these things.  But I still, every single year, force new breakfast dishes upon him like he’s…

  • Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

     You guys, what a week.  What an up and down, crazy, emotional week. A week later, my heart is still raw and aching from the events in Newtown.  Then, in a nearby town, two police officers lost their lives in the line of duty.  And I sat at home, watching it all, with my young daughters (one of which is a 1st grader), and my police-officer husband. And I cried.  A lot.

  • 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…

  • Cream Cheese Lemon Bars

    I have been eyeing* this recipe on Pinterest for a couple of months now.  I think it called to me because it reminds me of a bakery-type lemon bar, which I love.  Well, I usually love them.  I don’t like the ones that taste like egg yolk.  Have you had those before?  Ugh.  They almost give lemon bars a bad name, but if you have a really good one, you’ll forever be in search of another really good one.  Or maybe that’s just me… So,…

  • 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. …

  • Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

    Hey, ya’ll!  It’s been a little bit since we talked last, no?  So much has happened in the last month.  I’ve been sick, twice.  Like, fever-bronchitis sick.  We got a puppy.  The girls had two weeks of double dance classes, followed by recital.  Weekends have been full of family gatherings and weekdays have been full of yard-work, work-work, and lots of coughing. Life. I feel like I’m always writing about how busy we are, but I don’t mean to.  Everyone is busy, and my busy…

  • Apple Pie Cupcakes

    One of my favorite things to make in the summertime is my skillet apple pie – the apple pie filling is made on the stove top in a skillet, then covered with pie crust and baked in the oven.  I had some frozen pie crust in the freezer that I needed to use, so a little brainstorming brought me to this recipe – and voila!  Apple Pie Cupcakes!  Perfect portion sizes for everyone without the hassle of cutting into and trying to serve a pie…and…