Ham and Swiss Mac ‘n Cheese
One of my all-time favorite hot sandwiches is a Ham ‘n Swiss. I’m not really sure what it is about that combination, or if it’s the fact that melted Swiss alone is good enough to make your knees buckle. Maybe this combination is why I love every variation of Chicken Cordon Bleu, whether it’s traditional or a cassserole. […]
Fajita Wraps with Queso Sauce
Before the pandemic hit, our family loved going to our favorite local Mexican restaurant. We’d load up on three pounds of chips and queso while Mommy thoroughly enjoyed her Margarita. That’s me, I’m the Mommy. The kids got their quesadillas and tacos, while hubby and I split the Fajitas…which is where this recipe got its inspiration. […]
Chocolate Mousse Cake
Every year for my husband’s birthday, he asks his mom to make his favorite cake that she’s made since his childhood. Nope, NOT Chocolate Mousse Cake. Wait, what? Okay, so his favorite cake is a sponge cake layered with chocolate whipped cream as an icing. It’s simple, it’s light, it’s his absolute favorite. Last time Mimi made the cake, we talked about what it would be like with chocolate layers instead of the angel food cake. Our daughter’s eyes widened when we talked about layering that chocolate whipped cream icing with chocolate cake (her favorite), so I hopped to it. It sounded delicious. […]
Chocolate Chip Irish Cream Cupcakes
Have you ever had a moment in a grocery store where you just stood in awe? That’s what happened when I came across the Bailey’s Irish Cream Baking Chips while I ran into a local grocery store. Is this real? What can I use them to make? Is there a unicorn that’s going to jump out when I grab them off the shelf? […]
The BEST Creamed Corn
It seems like everyone says their recipe is the best, and they’re right. Everyone is different and has their own special brand of crazy, so I’m here with my special brand of crazy to tell you that THIS is the best creamed corn. Well, at least our family thinks it is, so that’s what matters to us. But hey, when your kids go out of their way to get second helpings, I’d say that’s a winner in my book. […]
Espresso Brownies
I had another one of those brainstorming moments while cruising through the baking aisle at Wal-Mart. They have a large variety of different types of chocolate chips, so while looking through the different options, the Espresso chocolate chips jumped out at me. As I stood there thinking about the combination of chocolate and coffee, I may or may not have started to salivate at the thought of throwing them into a batch of chewy fudge brownies made with coffee and coffee extract, topping them with a coffee liquor-infused chocolate ganache. “YES!!” I cried and grabbed several bags, throwing them into my cart along with boxes of brownie mix. […]
Sneaky Mashed Potatoes (with hidden cauliflower)
Do you have any trouble getting your family to eat their vegetables? Have you ever wondered what you can do in order to persuade them to eat more vegetables? It’s easy! Trick them. […]
Gourmet Lobster Mac ‘n Cheese
My hubby isn’t really a big foodie at all, so when he brings up a certain dish he loves it’s a bit of an ordeal. When going out to eat with another couple, we started talking about the freezer meals I made several years ago when starting my business. Hubby piped in and brought up the Lobster Mac ‘n Cheese that I make, and I looked at him with shock as he talked about how incredible it was and how much he liked it. Wait, what’s happening here? Is that the alcohol talking? Then again, he doesn’t bring something up if he doesn’t mean it. And let’s be real here, is it even possible to avoid being honest after having a couple of drinks? Highly unlikely. […]
Tomato Bisque
If you’ve ever watched the show Seinfeld, then you’ll understand why a lot of times any kind of soup makes me think of that show. Whether it’s Elaine talking about how she mentioned the Bisque or the Soup Nazi yelling, “NO SOUP FOR YOU!” it’s easy to stick in the brain when it comes to soup. Our first class in culinary school was Stocks, Sauces, and Soups, and it was one of my favorites. The only time I ever thought of tomato soup was that canned stuff I remember as a kid, and wasn’t hooked on it. […]
Chocolate Covered Strawberry Layer Cake
If you think the title of this cake is a mouthful, just wait until you sink your teeth into it. Since Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching, I went rummaging through some pictures of desserts I’ve made. Chocolate, Red Velvet, Strawberry…all of them popped into my mind when thinking of a great Valentine’s Day dessert. Then, I remembered this one. […]
Chicken Croquettes
When I first saw Chicken Croquettes, I thought What in the world is that?? My interpretation of Chicken Croquettes is the combination of Crab Cakes and Chicken Patties. I’m slightly sensitive to gluten, so I wanted to make a gluten-free version of them not only for myself, but for anyone else looking for this option. I’ve used Pork Panko to make Meatloaf and it turned out fantastic, so I decided to use them in this recipe to see how they would turn out. […]
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Blondies
While nosing around in the pantry one afternoon looking at ingredients, I came across some white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts. Ohhh, I LOVE that combination, let’s make something with those, I thought. Ever since I made my husband a batch of the Butterscotch Brownies, I wanted to experiment with other flavors melting the chips with butter and incorporating them into the batter. Well, here was the perfect opportunity. […]
Marsala Chicken Ravioli
One of the things my family does on occasion is take a trip to Costco. Our kids know it as “The Big Store” and we typically go out to lunch after dragging them out there to peruse. You’d be amazed at how easily we can get sucked into cool things that are on sale, but my two favorite sections are the kitchen appliances and the food…of course. […]
S’mores Cake
While browsing through my recipe brainstorm list, I came across this one. I had NO idea how I was going to execute this cake, but knew it had to be done. So, I started researching what other S’mores Cakes looked like on the internet. It had to have the three main ingredients that make s’mores…chocolate, graham crackers, and marshmallows. […]
Butterbeer Mudslide
My sister-in-law is a HUGE Harry Potter fan, so when I talked about making these mudslides, she insisted on being part of the taste-testing crew. Originally when I went to the liquor store in search of what flavor liquors to use in this recipe, I grabbed a caramel flavored vodka to try out. It smelled and tasted delicious, so I used it in the first batch. Well, we ran out of enough mudslides for everyone to taste and I had to make some more, but I was out of that caramel flavored vodka. […]
Tiramisu Cupcakes
I’ve had these on my to-do list for a couple of months now, and finally had the perfect opportunity to make them when my Tiramisu-loving mother-in-law was coming to visit. Just the mention of this word makes her knees buckle, so this was the time to make them. Unfortunately, the only ingredient missing was the mascarpone cheese, so I called to see how far away she was. […]
Oven Roasted Red Potatoes
These potatoes are one of my favorite healthy comfort foods. I’m a HUGE fan of potatoes, and like them in any form. Baked, fried, roasted, mashed, I’ve even popped some small cubes of raw potatoes to munch on during childhood when my mom would be cutting them up for dinner. […]
S’mores Cookies
While I was looking through some recipes one evening, I found one of a s’mores cake. It sounded delicious…graham cracker crumbs baked in with the flour to make an amazing cake. So, then I thought, What if I made that into a cookie? I fell asleep that night, dreaming of s’mores cookies, brainstorming of how to put all of this together. Two graham cracker cookies sandwiching a marshmallow and semisweet chocolate? Yes!! A few days later, I made my list for the grocery store and decided to give it a shot. These actually may be equivalent to my S’mores Candy Bars, but it might be a close call. […]
Cinnamon Roll Muffins
I’ve never met anyone who didn’t love a big ole Cinnamon Roll, and it makes me wonder if anyone actually doesn’t. That can’t be possible. A couple of years ago, my mother-in-law and I checked out a local bakery to get some coffee and breakfast. As I was stalking the variety of breakfast options, the Cinnamon Roll Muffin stood out. I’ve never had a Cinnamon Roll Muffin before, I thought. As I sat down with a cup of coffee and took a bite, I was mesmerized by the way this delicious little muffin tasted so similar to a cinnamon roll, but wrapped up into a cute little muffin. […]
Eggnog Martini
While enjoying my hot cup of coffee this morning, wrapped up in a blanket and looking through recipes, it hit me that I hadn’t utilized the eggnog that I bought at the grocery store last week. Well, Christmas Eve is tomorrow, so I have to make SOMETHING with eggnog!! Great idea. […]
White Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake
It’s incredible how tantalizing this cheesecake is, thinking about the combination of white chocolate and peppermint together in a New York style cheesecake harmony on a chocolate crust, then topped with more white chocolate ganache and peppermint. Hello, sugar coma. […]
Spiked Hot Chocolate
I have a confession to make. There have been a few times when I have a hankering for hot chocolate, but don’t want the kids to hog my hot cup of chocolate heaven. My two options are to add liquor to make it not child-friendly, or pretend like it’s coffee so they don’t want any. Obviously, I’m going for Mother of the Year during this time of survival. […]
Red Velvet Cheesecake Tarts
Red Velvet anything dessert is a favorite all year long, but ESPECIALLY during the holidays. Why is that?? Maybe because it’s so pretty. So festive with the red. Or, maybe it’s just so ridiculously good and this is the time of year (especially the year we’ve had) and we all want to drown away the negativity of the year by eating Red Velvet sweet treats. Either way, a red velvet flavored cheesecake is fantabulous on its own, but in the form of a tarts on top of a Dark Chocolate Oreo Cookie topped with a sweetened whipped cream cheese icing??? Yes, please! […]
Tiramisu Trifle
As I have mentioned before, I’m obsessed with trifles. They look so elegant sitting in that trifle dish all layered and put together, and there hasn’t been one yet that didn’t taste amazing. The first time I tried this out was on my mother-in-law, since she’s a professional Tiramisu consumer. I had been toying with ingredients to use in this to make it taste similar to the real Tiramisu, yet keep it really simple to throw together. The end result was bliss, and you know it’s a winner when my I-don’t-go-back-for-seconds husband when and got another scoop. […]
Chocolate Irish Cream Bundt Cake
While I was searching through an old “to do” list of recipes that is the same length as Santa’s Christmas List, I came across this one. Since our basement kitchen is finished and I had a day off from work, I was looking for something to bake for fun. All my husband heard was “OH!!!” and me sprinting to the beer fridge to see if we still had any Irish Cream Liquor in there. “YES!!!” was the follow up he heard, along with his crazy wife scurrying into the pantry and preheating the oven. All of this happened in less than ten seconds, if you’re wondering what it’s like when a light bulb goes off over my head. […]