• Key Lime Pie Cupcakes

    Today is my sister Megan’s 32nd birthday.  Since I’m using birthdays and special occasions as an outlet for my recently stifled baking habit, I asked her what kind of cupcakes she wanted…and after a week’s worth of deliberation (seriously) we narrowed it down to two things.  The first one is Key Lime Pie Cupcakes.  The second will be posted as soon as I can get to it! I couldn’t find a recipe that matched exactly what I wanted, so I did a lot of research…

  • Share It Saturday: Week #3

    I’m so impressed by the amazing recipes shared last week!  I had a hard time choosing the features for this week – a REALLY hard time.  Please do yourself a favor and check them out. Claudia at The Story shared her broccoli souffle.  Doesn’t this look amazing?  I’ve admittedly never made a souffle, but I’m going to have to try now. Joan at Chocolate, Chocolate & More Chocolate came through, as always, with a fabulous dessert.  Honey Buns are probably my favorite pre-made bakery item,…

  • Caramel Pecan Brownies

    Chocolate.  Caramel.  Pecans.   Oh, yes.  See how they look all gooey and fudgy?  That’s because they ARE gooey and fudgy.  Don’t make these unless you have a large glass of cold milk nearby…you’ll need it.  These are one of those treats that make you talk with your mouth full – you know, when you take a bite of something amazing and you automatically forget all about manners and mumble a garbled, “oh my gawd,” or “oh, wow…”  Or is that just me?  It’s probably just…

  • Reuben Sliders with Homemade Thousand Island

    I’m pretty excited to share this recipe with you.  It’s a good one.  I love sandwiches, and I especially love warm, ooey-gooey slider sandwiches.  And I really love a good Reuben.  This is like, the nexus of the sandwich universe.  Or something. My family isn’t doing our annual St. Patrick’s Day dinner until next week sometime, so I know that tomorrow (on the actual holiday) I will want something corn-beefy to tide me over until next week when we can celebrate.  Since there is an…

  • Caramel Pecan Apple Pie

    So, you really can’t go wrong with apple pie.  Am I right?  Even bad apple pie is usually pretty tasty.  Or maybe I’ve never had bad apple pie?  Aaannnd, now that I say that, I’m envisioning really bad apple pie, so I guess I could theoretically imagine an apple pie so bad that it might not be worth the calories. But this one?  For Pete’s sake, it’s covered in a crumb topping.  And then.  THEN.  That crumb topping?  It’s topped with toasted pecans and caramel…

  • Maple Pecan Muffins

    In my never-ending quest for simplicity in my weekday mornings, I always turn to easy, make-ahead meals.  Because, really – who has time to do all of the dressing, teeth-brushing, hair-brushing, backpack-packing and grumpy-kid quelling IN ADDITION TO whipping up a fancy breakfast? Not me.  It doesn’t even matter if we wake up earlier.  It’s like my five-year-old knows precisely how long she needs to brush her teeth to make it take up exactly 99% of my morning.  She’s all, “Oh, we have 45 minutes before…

  • Summer Corn & Bacon Chowder

    I’m a soup person.  I love it, and I can eat it year ’round – yes, even when it’s 103 degrees outside.  (Which is good because it was PRECISELY 103 degrees outside when I made this yesterday!) There’s something about this particular recipe thought that really doesn’t feel like a soup – or a chowder – but feels lighter and screams summertime.  The combo of the fresh sweet corn with potatoes and bacon is a marriage made in heaven, so I was particularly excited to team…

  • Cookies for Kids’ Cancer & A Giveaway!

    For me, there is little worse than being sick over the holidays – especially baking holidays like Thanksgiving.  I started feeling like I was coming down with something the day before Thanksgiving, and by the weekend I was completely down and out with Bronchitis.  Needless to say, I didn’t do nearly the amount of baking I wanted to over the holiday – and I certainly didn’t eat as much as I wanted to – although I suppose maybe that’s a good thing.  Now that I’m feeling…

  • Spiced White Wine Bundt Cake

    Yup.  Another bundt cake. I have to confess, I’m a little bit obsessed with the bundt cake lately.  I think it’s because they’re way easy.  There are no layers, no lug-out-the-KitchenAid frostings, no fuss. And right now, I’m all about no-fuss. What is it about this time of year?  It’s SOOOOO busy.  The end of the school year, dance recitals, Easter, birthdays, graduations, weddings, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. ETC. SO busy. And truth be told, all I want to do right now is be…

  • Southwestern Eggrolls

    These look like they would be complicated and mess up your kitchen, but they’re EASY and you bake them!  No frying, no splattering grease, and they use one bowl and a cookie sheet.  Doesn’t get much easier than that!  This is also one of those recipes that you can play around with the fillings and add whatever you want to meet your needs.  The only thing you have to watch is the liquid content – try to keep the ingredients drained and dry so you…

  • Castello Moments: Potato Gratin

    There’s just not much better than this.   Warm, gooey potatoes, oozing with cheese?  You guys, come on.  This is the ultimate comfort food. My friends at Castello were kind enough to send me some generous wedges of two varieties of their cheese, Hirten and Classic.  I have to admit that we’ve enjoyed cuts of the Hirten with crackers and a full-bodied red wine on a few occasions lately, but once I settled down to cook with it, I was glad I did. You can…

  • Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

    It’s official.  Pumpkin season is here.  I’m ready.  I always try to hold off on the fall flavors until after my birthday, which is just a few days away, but I couldn’t help it.  The time has come and now I’m all about autumn. I’ve actually made these muffins a few times before but never blogged them, but I couldn’t hold out on you anymore. These.  Are.  Fabulous. The muffins are the perfect blend of cinnamon and nutmeg, the pumpkin puree keeps them super-moist, and…