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Showing posts from 2016

Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies

  I knew that I wanted to include gingerbread cookies during the 12 Days of Cookies, to me, it's a flavor that means Christmas.   I searched through tons of recipes for cut out cookies, gingersnaps, but nothing really grabbed me.   

Easy Cannoli Cookies

Cannoli purists, look away.  Today's recipe is Easy Cannoli Cookies from Crazy for Crust.  These cookies give you the taste of a cannoli while using simple ingredients.   I used a cookie cutter to make mine a bit more festive.  I also added a bit of green food coloring to the beaten egg. 

Homemade Jingles Cookies

I don't remember many store bought treats from when I was a kid, but I do remember Jingles cookies.   I loved dipping them into milk and watching the milk change color from the red and green sugars.   My sister and I would fight over the crumbs and the pile of sugar in the bottom of the box.

Raspberry Coconut Cookies

Here we go, day 8 of the 12 days of Cookies!  I don't make many sandwich cookies, but these Raspberry Coconut Cookies caught my eye when I was searching through the Taste of Home website. 

Double Chocolate Snowballs

  We're looking at our second possible snowstorm of the week, so what better recipe to share today than Double Chocolate Snowballs?  I'll take these cookies over the real variety of snowballs any day!

Cherry Kiss Cookies

  For the 6th day of Cookies, I turned to the Simple & Delicious Cookbook to find my recipe, Cherry Kiss Cookies.  I'm not normally a fan of red food coloring, but I did use it in these, and they'd look beautiful on a cookie tray.  

Tender Italian Sugar Cookies

Growing up, Christmas was a huge gathering at my paternal grandmother's house.   The aunts and my grandmother would cook and bake for days leading up to the holiday.   All I remember is the desserts, pizzelles, rosettes, tarts, Totos and sugar cookies with icing and sprinkles.  

Jumbo Brownie Cookies

Day 4 of the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies! These Jumbo Brownie Cookies from Taste of Home are the best of both worlds- the chocolately soft center of a brownie, with the crisp edges of a cookie.  

Coconut Washboards

When I chose my recipes for the 12 Days of Cookies, I tried to find a variety of flavors.  Coconut was something I knew I wanted to include, so I searched the Taste of Home site and found these Coconut Washboards.    I loved how simple the ingredients were, things that almost every baker would have in their pantry.  I know I always seem to have a half a bag of coconut waiting to be made into something.  

Salted Caramel Thumbprints

I am a salted caramel fanatic.   Coffee, candy, you name it.   When I saw this recipe from Land O Lakes, I knew it was going on my holiday list.   Super simple thumbprint base filled with a delicious homemade caramel.   

Snow Day Cookies

It is so good to be back!   We are settling into our new home after moving over the long Thanksgiving weekend.     The holiday was sort of a non-event due to all the chaos, so I'm even more excited about Christmas, especially baking cookies in my new kitchen!

Nutmeg Belgian Waffles

We are big waffle fans here.   I'm always looking for something fun, something different, a little twist.   I found this recipe on tasteofhome.com.    I used whole milk, it's what we always have on hand.  I used my belgian waffle maker, and got 2 waffles. 

Basil Garlic Bread

Things are getting hectic around here.   We close on the new house a week from tomorrow, and I've got boxes everywhere and a to do list a mile long.  I've packed half the kitchen, and the challenge has been to make meals only using what I haven't packed.   

Mama Mia Meatball Taquitos- Taste of Home Tuesday

I can't believe it's Taste of Home Tuesday again already!   Things have been crazy here- we've bought a house and the moving frenzy has begun.   I've got about half the kitchen packed, which has made meal planning and cooking a fun challenge.   I've been relying heavily on old standbys and new dishes from the Simple & Delicious cookbook.

Double Chocolate Banana Muffins

When I heard the theme for this week's Taste of Home Tuesday was chocolate, I thought too easy!  Wow, was I wrong.   I scrolled through so many delicious chocolate recipes, I just couldn't make up my mind.    I was pulling something from the freezer for dinner when I realized that my frozen banana stockpile has gotten out of hand again.   Narrowing the search to bananas and chocolate, I found these muffins.  

Loaded Baked Potato Dip- Taste of Home Tuesday

I have to admit, I've never been a big "dip" person.   I'm trying to branch out more, and the very first recipe that I pinned out of my new Simple & Delicious cookbook was this Loaded Baked Potato Dip. 

Pizza Quesadillas

Pizza quesadillas are a delicious and easy-to-make meal that combines the best of both worlds. They make a great appetizer or a quick and easy dinner that the whole family will love.

Cinnamon Whiskey BBQ Chicken Melt

  I ordered this sandwich at Uno's Pizzeria & Grill a while back.   It was so good, I got it the next time I visited too.    I found myself craving it, when no trip to the restaurant was happening, so I decided to recreate it at home.

Apple Cinnamon Shortcakes

Sadly, #AppleWeek is coming to a close.  I hope you've enjoyed all the amazing apple recipes that have been shared!  I've had a great time participating and look forward to more events in the future.

Apple Oatmeal Cookies

And the apple hits just keep on coming!   Today's recipe is Apple Oatmeal Cookies from Taste Of Home.   I've made several versions of cake mix cookies, and we always enjoy them.   No major changes to this one, except that I omitted the raisins because I didn't have any on hand. 

Apple Pie Bites

It's Taste of Home Tuesday!   This recipe came across my feed on Facebook and I knew it would be a fun thing to make with my son.    We used Honeycrisp apples and tossed the slices in the cinnamon sugar mixture rather than sprinkling it on the dough.  

Caramel Apple Floats

Welcome to #AppleWeek!  All week I'll be featuring some great new apple recipes to celebrate my favorite season.   Be sure to go check out the other amazing bloggers contributions linked at the bottom of the post.

Spiced Ginger Coffee

Fall is my favorite time of year.   The leaves are changing, the mornings are cool and crisp.   I love starting these days with a nice hot cup of coffee.  I'm a huge ginger fan, especially combined with molasses.  

Ginger Plum Tart

I've been an avid fan of Taste of Home magazine since the 90s.   My Gram was a subscriber, and she would share her issues with me.  I became a subscriber myself sometime in college, and have had made 100s of recipes from those pages. 

Parmesan Chicken Sandwiches

One of the first things I ever cooked for my husband was chicken parmesan, with ziti and garlic bread.  17 years later and it's still his favorite meal.   Thinking back over all those times, I don't think I've ever served it in sandwich form.

Blueberry Waffles with Blueberry Sauce!

It's National Waffle day, and I have a pretty well-documented waffle addiction.    I was challenged to use blueberries as an ingredient, and there's a double dose of them in this recipe.    Unfortunately, we didn't get to pick this year, so I had to go into my freezer stash.  

Creamsicle Floats

  Happy #NationalCreamsicleDay! It's in the 90s here again in NH, with the heat index making it feel even hotter.  I found lots of Creamsicle themed treats online, but the idea of an ice cream float was really appealing to me.

Zesty Fried Green Tomatoes

I've wanted to try fried green tomatoes ever since the movie came out in the 90s.   I've never seen them on a restaurant menu here in NH and I managed to miss out on trying them the few times I've traveled south.    While picking up corn at the farm, I noticed they had baskets of big beautiful green tomatoes too.   Score!   

Pepperoni Lasagna Roll ups

Meal planning used to be a no brainer for me.   Lately, changes to our schedules, weather, and general lack of inspiration have all been affecting my ability to plan.   My usual MO is to check out what I've got pinned or in my "On-Deck" folder, then I think about what I've got on hand, or if a trip to the store is needed.    Sometimes, I get my kick in the pants based on the "Food Holidays" calendar.

Bourbon Brats

About halfway through summer, and the guys have been getting bored with my usual hotdog/brat/kielbasa presentations.    I've had some Jack Daniels in the fridge for a while, so I decided to give Taste of Home's Bourbon Brat Skewers recipe a try.   

Thin Mint Zucchini Bread

My husband doesn't like zucchini.  He tells me so all the time.   My son at one time also did not like zucchini.   Did I let this stop me from trying a variety of amazing zucchini recipes? Nope.   I just got sneaky with it.  

Blueberry Zucchini Squares

It's blueberry time here in New Hampshire, one of my favorite times of the year.   It's also one of the hottest times of the year!  We've been on either side of 90 degrees for what seems like weeks now.   Usually I don't run the oven in the summer, but I had a large pile of zucchini and this recipe printed and calling to me.   I cranked the AC and got to work.

Strawberry Lemon Blossoms

My cake mix and Jello addictions are well documented.   I just can't resist a new fun flavor.   As a result, my pantry runneth over and I've been trying to clear them out.   I normally don't bake much when it's hot, but today I decided to crank the AC and churn out some goodies.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

While tidying up some of my kitchen equipment, I ran across my Pampered Chef Ice Cream Sandwich maker.     Since it was National Ice Cream Day, I thought I'd whip together a fast, fun treat.    I polled the guys on whether they wanted cookies or brownies, and the winner was Chocolate Chip Cookies.     This time I cheated and used bagged Betty Crocker mix, but you definitely could use your favorite from-scratch recipe.    I mixed the cookies as directed and portioned them out with a cookie scoop.     This ensured nice, consistent rounds that fit perfectly in the ice cream sandwich maker.   Once the cookies were cooled, I softened some vanilla ice cream in the microwave.    I layered in the first cookie, about 1/4c of ice cream and then topped it with the second cookie.   I flipped it over onto a cutting board, pressed the sandwich out and then quickly wrapped it in plastic wrap.    I poppe...

Fresh Green Bean Salad

  Ah, summer.   Trips to the farm and long days by the pool.   Temps have been hovering around the 90s here in New England for a few days.  I went searching for side dishes that could be prepared ahead and wouldn't heat up the house a ton.  I found this recipe in Taste of Home's 2016 Grilling magazine.   So many great recipes to try! 

Watermelon Salsa

When life hands you melons, make salsa!  Wait, that's not how it goes.  We love watermelon.  I buy it, cut it up in chunks. stick it in the fridge and we snack on it.   I found this recipe on the Taste of Home site, and it sounded perfect for some holiday weekend snacking. 

My first-ever Chili dog!

Somehow I've managed to make it into my 40s without ever having a chili dog.   I saw this recipe in the June/July 2016 Taste of Home and pinned it to try.  I made no changes to the chili itself, but I did forgot to line the insides of the roll with mustard, will have to remember that for next time. 

Copycat Olive Garden Fried Lasagna

On a recent trip to Olive Garden, I tried the Lasagna Fritta, a deep fried lasagna dish with gooey cheese and two fantastic sauces.    Few chain restaurant dishes stick with me, but I had a hard time getting this one out of my mind.   I decided I wanted to recreate it at home, but instead of an appetizer portion, I wanted dinner size.   

Citrus Berry Shortcake

My son can be a very picky eater and I've been looking for ways to get him more involved in the kitchen.    I asked him if he'd be interested in choosing a one meal a week to learn to cook.   He thought for a minute and said, "Well, it's not a meal, but I'd like to learn to make a cake from scratch."   How could I say no?   I had a huge container of strawberries to use up, so we searched and decided on this recipe.

Twist on an old favorite- Key Lime Cupcakes

One of my favorite things growing up was my Gram O's Lemon Cupcakes .   It was the first recipe I posted when I started up this blog.   Now there are so many new cake mix flavors and pie fillings, the possibilities are endless.    I have a embarrassingly large collection.    For this particular version, I used Key Lime Cake mix and canned Key Lime Pie Filling.   Super easy and they disappeared quickly.

Southern Fried Chicken Strips

  Sometimes I defrost something with a specific meal in mind, and then the weather completely makes me crave something else.   We had a nice sunny warm stretch of weather here in New Hampshire over the weekend.   It was easy to ignore my menu plan of a heavy, creamy chicken and pasta dish for some crispy, golden brown fried chicken.

Quick Sandwich Cookies

I need a 12 step program for cake mixes!   Currently I have far too many taking up real estate in my cabinet and freezer.  Technically, the Pantry Challenge ended yesterday, but today was a snow day and I had time to bake.    I split the recipe down the middle, making half with a strawberry cake mix and half with a Devil's Food Cake mix.