A holiday cookie recipe inspired by Carr’s Ginger Lemon Creme sandwich cookies, the only difference is they are soft. These are SO easy to make, and they’re perfect for bringing to a cookie exchange!
Have I ever told you about my kitchen? We live in an approximately 1,000 sq. foot apartment. It’s just enough space for our small family, but the one room I’m not totally in love with is our kitchen. Continue reading “Soft Ginger Lemon Cookies”
One of my favorite holiday side dishes, green bean casserole, with a simple made-from-scratch sauce instead of canned “cream of” soups. If you enjoy making things from scratch, this easy recipe is for you!
Are you excited for Thanksgiving? I am. Aside from my birthday, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It honestly always seems like Thanksgiving gets brushed over really quickly, and Christmas comes along too soon.
In fact, last Thursday we had an early Thanksgiving dinner with David’s dad who had to be in town on business. I made these cute M&M turkeys for the kids table, and when I went to the store to buy fall colored M&Ms they didn’t have them in stock anymore! They only had Christmas M&Ms. Continue reading “Green Bean Casserole (from scratch)”
Peanut Butter cookies studded with semi-sweet chocolate chips and baked with a special surprise hidden inside. Spoiler alert: the surprise is a mini Reese’s peanut butter cup.
Yikes! I haven’t done this for a while (almost a month to be exact), and I’ve missed this blog. Words can’t even express just how busy the past month was for me. I even spent the past few days, the first few days of November, in what I fondly referred to as the “post-October coma”. True story.
When I started this blog I vowed to myself that I’d never have a long leave of absence like that, but life just happened and when it came down to it family and my other adult responsibilities took precedence, and on the back burner this blog went. So since I’ve been MIA for what feels like forever, here are some highlights from the past month: Continue reading “Reese’s Stuffed Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies”
I’ve been trying to develop some yummy pumpkin recipes for you over the past few weeks, and I’ve had this realization: I am not as much of a pumpkin fanatic as I used to be.
I mean pumpkin is good, but I am definitely way more of an apple/pear person during the fall than a pumpkin person. That being said, just you wait until you see the pumpkin chocolate poke cake I developed for Mandy’s Recipe Box (I start contributing to her site this month)! It’s absolutely divine. I love the combo of pumpkin and chocolate.
Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are one of my all time favorite cookies, and I love the cakey kind (not the chewy kind). Continue reading “Whole Wheat Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies {Egg Free}”
I’m always on the hunt for a good meatless meal. No, I’m not a vegetarian (nor do I ever aspire to be one), but I do think that eating a couple meatless meals each week 1) helps us eat more veggies than we otherwise would and 2) helps us stay within our grocery budget.
I threw this meatless meal together for the first time about six months ago. It was an idea that sprung from veggies we had that needed to be used up. To my surprise David loved it, and it’s been a favorite of his (and mine) ever since. Really, really.
Honestly I think I’m still a little bit in shock, and you would be too if you knew how much of a meat lover David is, and how little he likes sweet potatoes. Continue reading “Roasted Veggie Burrito Bowls”
A few weeks ago I was at the grocery store picking up some cheerios for our one year old in the cereal aisle, and I spotted some limited edition Sunbelt apple spice and Sunbelt pumpkin spice granola bars. They were only $2 a box, but I really thought spending $4 on granola bars was a little spendy. I’m super cheap. I stood there for, like, 10 minutes trying to decide which ones I wanted. In the end I settled on the apple spice granola bars.
Then a couple of weeks later I went grocery shopping again with the intention to pick up another box, because we loved them so much, and they were gone! Talk about a limited edition. Sheesh. I didn’t even get to try the pumpkin ones! I am sure I could go to another store, but these kids of mine can really only handle so much grocery shopping at once. You know, temper tantrums and things. Continue reading “Apple Spice Granola Bars”
Slow cooker chicken braised in a savory-sweet pineapple huli huli sauce, then baked and basted with additional sauce. These easy chicken thighs are saucy, sticky, and delicious!
I have to admit that I used to be an overly-complicated cook. I’d do anything to make a great tasting recipe. It didn’t matter how many ingredients it took, how many dirty dishes it produced, or how much time it took to make.
Okay, okay… I still have a little bit of a tendency to overcomplicate recipes. But that is okay for me to do sometimes, since I sort of enjoy it. To see what I’m talking about, check out these AMAZING apple crisp pancakes. Definitely not yo’ mama’s typical pancake, but so worth the extra steps.
Ever since having baby #2 I’ve realized that I really need to simplify our family dinners so that I can spend less time in the kitchen before and after mealtime and more time doing important things (like dancing with the kiddos, their usual post-dinner activity of choice).
Also, we moved into a new apartment this summer that has a much smaller kitchen than our previous apartment, and a much smaller dishwasher than I’m used to (about half the size of our last dishwasher). Basically the fewer steps and ingredients needed in a recipe, the fewer dirty dishes I make, meaning fewer dishes I have to wash after dinner. That’s a big reason for me to start simplifying because I HATE DISHES. Hate ’em, hate em’, HATE THEM. Continue reading “Slow Cooker Pineapple Huli Huli Chicken”
The perfect soft and cinnamon-ey small batch snickerdoodle recipe. These are quick and easy to make and will satisfy any snickerdoodle craving. The batch makes just one dozen snickerdoodles.
Life is so busy. I am still adjusting to David’s increased hours at school and at work; we hardly see each other these days. As I look around the house today I’m reminded of how nice it was to have him home a little more often during his first year of grad school.
There’s a long list of things that need to be done, which if he were here David would be glad to help with!
The kitchen floors need sweeping and mopping. The floor in the kids room is covered in toys. There are baskets of laundry that need to be folded. The bathrooms need cleaning.
I need to go to the grocery store, but oh shoot… that would mean having to take both kids (instead of just one or none at all). I would love to go to the gym, but no David at home means no one is here to watch the kids while I exercise.
Sheesh, David really spoiled me last year and I’m beginning to realize just how much he did for me when he was able to be home more frequently and how I took him for granted!
Continue reading “Just One Dozen Snickerdoodles”
Whole wheat cinnamon applesauce pancake batter, cooked over an apple slice then served with butter, syrup, and a crisp cinnamon crumble topping.
That picture right up there says it all. These pancakes are good. And boy, do I mean GOOD. They might be my favorite pancakes to date (and I eat pancakes a lot). Continue reading “Whole Wheat Apple Crisp Pancakes”
A bakery style muffin made healthier with whole wheat flour. As an extra bonus, they are dairy free and low in refined sugar! These muffins are studded with fresh bits of apple and topped with a crispy crunchy streusel, the perfect breakfast treat for the beginning of fall.
My baby girl is almost one. I can’t believe it has been almost one year! One year since my 13 hour long labor. One year since the nurses who assisted in my delivery handed me a teeny, tiny six pound two ounce baby girl. Continue reading “Whole Wheat Apple Streusel Muffins”
