Madeline and I gabbed about life. And Skylar snacked. And Madeline is such a great sport with Skylar and she plays along so wonderfully with all of Skylar’s little stories snots and games! Like when Skylar shows Madeline how Fashionista Barbie Walks Down the Runway And in between her snacking, Skylar’s nose ran all over the place. But it was great to catch up with Madeline for java and chit-chat!...

If you love warm bread recipes you should try Buttermilk Cornbread, Cinnamon Roll Biscuits, Whole Wheat Bread, Applesauce Bread, or Perfect Cinnamon Rolls. Why I love this Buttermilk Biscuits recipe: Texture – When you make buttermilk biscuits from scratch the dough is folded into layers to create the flaky biscuits we all love, with a crisp exterior and soft and chewy interior. Sweetened with honey, instead of sugar, which adds the best subyle sweetness, and softness....

Homemade Apple Cider Recipe Now that fall is in full swing it’s time to break out the apple cider and savor the flavors of fall. This isn’t just any spiced apple cider. It’s apple cider spiked with cinnamon sticks, McCormick Maple Extract, McCormick Pure Almond Extract, and diced red and green apples. The extracts are a lovely complement to the apple cider. I have always been a huge huge fan of almond extract and have written many times that I could bathe in it or drink it....

Apple French Toast Casserole Recipe How does this overnight apple french toast bake taste? In a word: amazing. It’s decadent, beavy, comfort food and you may want to return right back to bed and take a nap after diving into a plate of this. No shame, folks. The bread is soft and tender, the apples add juiciness and texture, while the streusel topping adds extra flavor. Those buttery, cinnamon-sugary little streusel nuggets pair so well with the apples....

Mine? Busy. Time for Day 21 of the Challenge – Favorite Shows Favorite Shows Real Housewives. Love all of them except D.C. I just never really got into those ladies and the episodes sat and sat on my DVR and I deleted them because the Beverly Hills ladies and Atlanta ladies were on. I feel a “connection” to the O.C. housewives, probably because they are only an hour north of me....

I don’t even know what to say about this. comment icon 295 more comments I mean, I’m sure I could come up with a few things if you made me, but I fully acknowledge that this recipe is kind of obscure. Like who posts recipes for brown rice and cauliflower sauce? Um, me. Ever since I did the whole cauliflower-in-alfredo-sauce thing, I’ve been trying to incorporate as much as that creamy vegetable into my life as possible....

comment icon 172 more comments A two part embarrassing moment, if we’re being honest. Part one was me running into the gas station in the rain to pick up some last minute baking supplies. I wish that were the end of the story. I had chocolate chips and butter in mind, but I found myself with chocolate chips and Crisco in my hands as I walked out. I don’t know if you’ve ever bought Crisco from a gas station, but I’m sure you can imagine the feelings one has walking out of such a fine place, into the rain, with an armful of canned lard....

comment icon 69 more comments Especially those that involve silky-smooth, creamy, lemon pappardelle ribbons topped with freshly ground black pepper and a pile of impossibly juicy, buttery, tender jumbo shrimp. Is there anything more romantic than a fork-twirl of creamy noodles with some cooked shrimp to effortless perfection in ONLY BUTTER? I cannot even express my love properly. The simplicity, the purity of textures and flavors, the combination of everything on the plate… goodbye....

Frozen Irish Mudslide Recipe Frozen mudslides are a decadent dessert-like drink made with three types of alcohol — Irish whiskey, Baileys Irish Cream, and Kahlua — for what I think tastes like a slightly boozy milkshake with an abundance of chocolate syrup. Despite the three alcohols, these really aren’t too boozy when you consider the alcohol is split between two mudslides. Plus, there’s plenty of vanilla ice cream. The Irish mudslides are of course a perfect St....

Or the Peanut Sauce Recipe …but you wouldn’t know it lately with all my desserts, would you. Anyone complaining? Get a load of the recap…. Sunday started things off with my remake of Girl Scout Thin Mints. I made Vegan Thin Mint Fudge. Monday I showed you my Vanilla Chia Pudding. And yeah, it is space age looking. I got a couple comments to that effect. And yeah, it is dang good....

Homemade Shrimp Cocktail Recipe Shrimp cocktail. A quintessential appetizer that’s so easy to make and is ready in minutes. After making it yourself you’ll wonder why you ever bought those overpriced pre-made deli trays. When you make it yourself it tastes better, fresher, and you can select the size of shrimp used. I think bigger is better when it comes to shrimp cocktail and most deli trays use dinky shrimp....

Easy Honey Bun Cake Recipe If you’ve never had a honey bun, you didn’t dine on enough gas station snacks in the 1980s. Lol. Honey Buns were usually kept near the Twinkies, DingDongs, and Hostess Pies. I realize some people may not know what a honey bun is so I will describe them as a cinnamon roll-type snack and the entire thing is dipped in a powdered sugar glaze. I don’t think there is any actual honey involved, but they are very sweet, full of useless carbs, and can survive for months in a cellophane baggie....

Simple Pumpkin Soup Recipe Admittedly, this basic pumpkin soup was never supposed to be a blog recipe. I made it for dinner for myself one night, because I had a craving for pumpkin. However, it turned out so well that I’ve made it over and over, but I waited to share the recipe until it was more seasonally appropriate. I realize not everyone loves pumpkin quite as much as I do!...

I just made lentils, like, last week. comment icon 163 more comments Here’s what actually happened. This lentil dhal recipe happened accidentally while I was trying to make the squash lentil curry, so it was like two for the price of one! I’ve always been a sucker for time savers and extra food. I bought red lentils, thinking they would look better in my squash lentil curry. First mistake: squash lentil curry is just meant to look a certain way and there’s nothing you can do about that....

Looking for more dip recipes? Try Spinach Artichoke Dip, Ranch Dressing, Cowboy Caviar, or Street Corn Dip! Why I love this recipe: Better than box mix – Taking a few minutes to make your own caramelized onions adds such a delicious and fresh flavor that can’t be replicated with any packet! Crowd Pleaser – This dip gets gobbled up so fast! I love to serve it with lunch outside or bring to a BBQ!...

Or at the very least, when you don’t know when or where you’ll find the next head of lettuce, you really appreciate the next salad. For the last week, the produce here in Aruba has been slim. As in, we were getting down to apples and plantains. I feel like I hit the produce jackpot Friday night with this. A jumbo jet must have landed. This makes me happy even if it is the worst iPhone at 9pm with no kitchen lighting photo known to man....

Best Ever Brownies Made with Chocolate Chips I have no idea why these are called “boyfriend brownies,” but I came across this chocolate chip brownie recipe recently. Between the two bags of chocolate chips in the recipe and the clever name, I knew I had to give the recipe a try. These chocolate chip brownies are fudgy in the center with chewy edges and are studded with plenty chocolate chips. They are not quite as fudgy as some of my other brownie recipes, such as Turtle Brownies, Loaded Oreo Cream Cheese Brownies, or German Chocolate Brownies, but they are by no means cakey....

Chocolate Football Cupcakes Recipe Calling all football fans, these game day cupcakes are for you! Actually, I’m not a football fan and these game day cupcakes are definitely right up my alley. So let’s just say the game day football-themed cupcakes are going to be a winners for everyone. After all, it’s extremely hard to resist homemade chocolate cupcakes! Especially when the cupcakes themselves are moist and tender, but then they’re filled with chocolate ganache to keep them even more moist....

I often turn to this round-up of Healthy Snack Ideas when I need new inspiration and ideas like Skinny Banana Bread Muffins or veggies with the best homemade Ranch dressing. Between the simple ingredients, the fast prep, and no need to bake these delicious Granola Bites are the best in every way. You can customize them to add whatever add-ins your family likes. Ingredients Needed: Honey, or use agave.Oats: Regular rolled oats or quick oats will work....

Easy Homemade Bagel Recipe I have a soft spot for cinnamon raisin bagels. I ate one almost every day for most of high school and college. And these are the best ones I’ve ever had. Making them has been on my culinary bucket list for a few years, but I was avoiding it because I thought they were hard to make. They’re not. And I can happily check bagels off the bucket list....