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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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Pumpkin Kisses Muffins
I’ve had an extra box of spice cake mix in my pantry since last winter. I used it to make pumpkin cake balls, and it’s just been staring at me, taking up space since then. I had a vague recollection of a Pinterest recipe floating around the inter-webs that claimed to be the best ever pumpkin muffins, using just cake mix and pumpkin puree. So, I thought today would be a great time to try it out! Of course, a two-ingredient recipe wouldn’t cut it…
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Black Tie Cupcakes
This cupcake was a creation of mine that was born out of the need to clean out my pantry. I had several almost-empty boxes, bags and bottles of pantry items, and their replacements were crowding things. So, what to do but make some goodies? I didn’t really have an excuse for these except that Mom made Sunday dinner and my brother and his girlfriend were going to be there – which means more people to eat and fewer leftovers! I knew I needed to…
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Pretzel Dogs
I generally don’t care for hot dogs. I won’t go into detail, but I pretty much find them to be wrong on many, many levels. That being said, there are moments in life when a hot dog sounds like a fantastic idea. For instance – sporting events. Hot dogs always taste good at baseball games, soccer games, basketball games, football games…well – I suppose they are always better when they come from a concession stand. My Dad makes an amazing grilled hot dog. He cooks…
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A Pantry Makeover with Organized Living™ (Part 2: After)
(This is part two of a two-part series. To see part one, click {here}.) This post has been so long in the making that I really can’t believe I’m actually finally typing it. I’ve been working with the folks at Organized Living for a few months now, working out the details of this project, getting it installed and working out a giveaway for you guys, and now it’s all done – and I am in LOVE with my new pantry. In. Love. Over the past…
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Pina Colada Poke Cake
Before we jump into this Pina Colada Poke Cake, I just want to take a quick second to say Happy Memorial Day! I hope you’ve all had a lovely long weekend full of family and friends. And while I love that Memorial day signifies the first weekend of summer for many of us, the true meaning of the day isn’t lost on me, and my thoughts are will all of you who have lost a loved one while serving our country. My weekend was spent…
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Brown Sugar Crumb Cake
I’m not sure that there’s anything better than waking up to the smell of this cake. On a lazy Saturday morning, the smell of cinnamon and brown sugar heavy in the air and a pot of coffee percolating on my counter top are sure to get my family moving. It works, every single time. We have to talk about those crumbs though – those ENORMOUS, brown-sugar and butter crumbs. I could eat them, I have eaten them, right off the top of the cake.…
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Key Largo: Onion Crusted Yellowtail & Key Lime Pie
This is a contributed post as a special feature to Lemon-Sugar.com. It includes a contributed recipe from Chef Bobby Stoky, but also a Lemon Sugar original: Key Lime Pie! Enjoy! The Florida Keys is home to five districts, each with their own personality and attractions that make visitors feel like they are a world away. Growing up around fish, Chef Bobby Stoky quickly learned how to do it all, from catching to cleaning and even cooking them. In the summers he would dive for lobster and in…
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Easy (Like, Really Easy) Cheese Danish
I’ve made exactly eleventy-bazillion things in the past couple of weeks that my darling children absolutely refuse to eat. Now, some of the dishes – Coconut Curry Lentils over Jasmin Rice, and Bruschetta with Avocado and Garlic Tomato Salsa, and even a couple of new varieties of Hummus – ok, I can understand those might be a little much for their young taste palates. But seriously, if I have to make one more peanut butter and jelly sandwich as a dinner time alternative, I might…
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No Bake Cheesecake in a Jar
Did you know I’m on Facebook? Click {here} to follow along! There are many wonderful things to be said about living in the middle of the country. I realize that to many of you, the Midwestern Plains are regarded as little more than “fly-over” states, but I’m perfectly happy to call it home. It’s lovely – peaceful and laid back, slow-paced and friendly. I love it. Except, perhaps, when it’s over 100 degrees outside for the umpteenth day in a row, and it’s hardly rained at…
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Cherry Chocolate Coconut Granola
Much to my kids’ dismay, we haven’t been down the cereal aisle at our grocery store for a long time. Last week, when I had to buy some cereal to make S’mores Rice Krispies Treats, their little eyes lit up and they got so excited at the thought that maybe I was going to cave and let them buy something. Nope. We do buy the occasional organic cereal at our local co-op, but it’s a rare treat. Mostly, the girls eat granola in lieu of…
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Easy Lemon Bars
I wish I would have snapped a picture of the sky today so I could show you, but take my word for it – it was gray. Not like pretty-hazy-snowy-gray, it was cold-damp-dreary-icky-gray. I’m so over winter, guys. I just want it to be February already, so I can say that “at least it’s February so that means it’s almost March which means it’s almost April and then things will finally warm up.” Sigh.
