They just happen to be health & beauty related. Bing… Go to the MAC Store. Not the computer store. I just got one of those. I’m good for many years, I hope, on the computer front. But I did need to restock some makeup essentials: Studio Fix Pressed Powder (NC 43), Boot Black liquid eyeliner, Pink Freeze Eyeshadow, and lipglass in Prrr. I’ve previously mentioned my love of Mac. And Prrr...

The BEST Homemade Hot Fudge Recipe To be totally honest, I don’t love ice cream — it’s the hot fudge that I really want. I work around the ice cream just to get to the hot fudge. I’m good with a spoon like that. After making your own homemade hot fudge, a brown squirt bottle of store-bought chocolate syrup will never do. Even some of the gourmet varieties of store-bought hot fudge sauce pale in comparison!...

Salty-and-sweet with a little bit of crunchy and a whole lot of chewy-and-gooey. That’s what I’m talking about. I made these bars one night when I was on a pantry cleanout mission to reduce my half used boxes and bags of ingredients. Baking for a living produces some serious odd-and-ends. It’s an easy, one-bowl, no-mixer recipe that’s faster than you’d imagine to whip together. I love it when minimal effort produces big-time oohs and ahhs....

comment icon 555 more comments But seriously, EASY. Easy like should be embarrassed but can’t even be because it’s so good. No cutting boards, no measuring cups or spoons (I’m the queen of eyeballing), and no fuss. I mean, I’m not headed back to school anytime soon, but I AM headed into a maternity leave this fall and I’m stocking up on those make-ahead meals like my life depends on it....

We had three days of straight rain. The kind of weather where it was so humid and rainy that my hair never really dried out. For three days. To say I had a case of the frizzies would be an enormous understatement. But it’s been gorgeous today. Figures that on a Monday it’s been a perfect weather day. Even though we are on “vacation”, it’s a working vacation and Scott and I aren’t just sitting around gazing at this view…...

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen because I was too busy with life, work, errands, and other chores to create any new recipes (well except these and they don’t even need a mixer, just a bowl and a spoon), but I will put it all to use, soon. The OXO Egg Beater would be a perfect way to mix up light batters such as Fudgy Nutella Brownie batter or White Chocolate Blondie batter if you don’t want to dirty up another type of mixer....

No one could contaminate my personal pizza with their sausage, green peppers, onions, or try to steal the last piece because it was all mine. Personal. None of this cheese on one half, meat lover’s on the other half business. I wanted my own. My personal pan pizza toppings were simply cheese, pineapple, and hot pepper flakes. Not much has changed in a couple decades because that’s still what I use to top my pizzas....

comment icon 94 more comments Friends, this is the food I was raised on. In the background of every family and school event of my childhood lies a scratched and dented 9×13 of almost-gone scotcheroos. It is simple Midwestern goodness and it should not be messed with. Except, I did one thing: I messed with it. Whyyyy. As an anxious person finding her way through the world, I’d say I follow all rules of all places at all times exactly ALL THE TIME, but there is always that pesky 1% of the time at which point I become a rule-breaking, delinquent, rogue recipe “creative....

comment icon 12 more comments In This Post: Everything You Need For Pickled Red Onions Watch How To Make Pickled Red Onions My Go-To Method For Pickled Red Onions Step 1: Cut a Chunk Off the Onion. I cut just to the side of the stem, going straight down. Remove the peel. Vinegar Plain white vinegar is my preference for this recipe. Salt and Sugar Some sweetness and saltiness to tie everything together!...

Easy Slow Cooker Dinner Rolls Recipe I recently posted a Slow Cooker Bread recipe and it’s been a hit with readers so I decided to make dinner rolls in a Crock-Pot now! I love this dinner roll recipe because you do not have to knead the dough! And there is no need for prolonged rise times. Just stir the dough together with a wooden spoon, form 12 balls, plop them in your Crockpot, wait 10 minutes for them to rise before you turn it on for 90 minutes and let it do all the work....

So why do we put these posts out every month? Well, our hope is that these monthly income and traffic reports are inspirational and educational. Inspirational in that you can see that’s it’s possible to create an income from a food blog and educational in that you can see where the income we’re earning is coming from. In each report I include any thoughts or ideas we’ve had in the past month regarding ways to grow a food blog....

Love brownies and cookie bar recipes? Try my Blondies, Snickerdoodle Bars, or Mississippi Mud Brownies! Weekends are my weakness when it comes to sweets. I usually go for cookies or bars of some sort because I can always count on having the ingredients on hand. These Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars are a regular, sweet-tooth-satisfying weekend treat at our house!. Chewy, chocolate and oat goodness in every single bite!...

Oven Baked BBQ Chicken Recipe Now that summer is behind us, I’m not grilling as often and my family is missing barbecue chicken. So I made this easy baked bbq chicken, complete with sweet potatoes and broccoli, that’s cooked in the oven in one pan and is ready in under one hour. The oven baked bbq chicken turned out really juicy, tender, hit the spot, and there was zero cleanup....

Some fuel that sticks to my ribs and makes my mouth do a happy dance. This fudge does the trick. For those who only associate fudge as a holiday treat, or that it has to be chocolate, I encourage you to get over those thoughts. Your tastebuds will thank you. It’s an easy, no-bake recipe that’s as easy as melting together butter, peanut butter, and butterscotch chips before stirring in marshmallows and refrigerating....

While in Aruba, I got a little adventurous and tried some of the peanut butter sold in the local Aruban grocery stores. Key word is adventurous since I can’t read Dutch and many products are imported from Holland because Aruba is a Dutch island. Let’s compare and review: Speculaaspasta Technically, this isn’t peanut butter. It’s the Dutch equivalent of Cookie Butter Spread or Biscoff Spread As I explained here, it’s identical to Trader Joe’s Cookie Butter Spread and it’s highly delicious and addictive....

I’m so glad I remedied that with these. They combine so many of my favorite dessert elements in one including a buttery, brown sugar and graham cracker crust. I adore graham cracker crusts, and it truly makes these bars. I used a trick for the crust that I discovered when I made The Best Lemon Bars and also used in the Peanut Butter Caramel Twix Bars, which is adding a tablespoon of cornstarch to the crust....

I have a post dedicated to peanut butter recipes because I use it in so many recipes. Peanut butter makes the world go round for me. And I love peanut sauce. I could drink it. I like a little bit of food with my sauce. But since I cannot just drink peanut sauce on its own even though I’m tempted, I decided to make Peanut Sauce Baked Tofu. This way I get to chew....

This is my go-to graham cracker crust recipe and I love it because it’s easy, inexpensive, and the taste and texture are far superior to anything you’ll buy at the store. How to make graham cracker crust: Mix ingredients in bowl. Combine graham cracker crumbs and granulated sugar in a bowl. Pour in melted butter and stir well to combine. The butter is the key to ensuring you have a graham cracker crust that doesn’t fall apart!...

This isn’t your grandma’s potato salad. You know, the one that’s loaded with gloppy mayo, mushy potatoes, and hard-boiled eggs? Not even close. First, there’s bacon, which makes it an instant crowd pleaser. Second, there’s no mayo so it feels lighter, and as a bonus you don’t have to worry about it as much at warm outdoor potlucks, picnics, and events. To keep it fresher and to boost the flavor profile while incorporating texture and crunch, there’s fresh sweet corn, spinach, parsley, red onion, and a touch of garlic....

And baked potatoes, paired with cheese and pumpkin, create a whole trifecta of fall comfort. My husband adores potatoes. He will eat them any way they’re served. He prefers white to sweet, but any will be just fine. Hash browns, French fries, mashed potatoes and gravy, baked potatoes with butter and sour cream, and even microwave potatoes. No matter the preparation method, he loves his tubers. Potatoes, paired with cheese in a hearty casserole that’s baked so that the edges crisp up and the center remains soft and gooey, earned me big time brownie points....