Strawberry Shortcakes and 70's Weddings

I remember not liking a lot of things as a kid that seem utterly absurd to me now.

Cream cheese.

Sour cream.

Mustard.

Dark chocolate.

Brussels sprouts.

I suppose that list is fairly normal when it comes to kids' tastes- isn't it strange that most of those foods are on my list of grown-up favorites?  I could definitely go for a toasted bagel slathered with a healthy dose of cream cheese right about now!

The list of things I used to love and I now have no interest in whatsoever has been turned on it's head a little as well.  I remember going crazy for gooey, sickly-sweet caramel treats, drink mixes whose flavor can best be described as "red", and scrambling for the slice of cake with the giant frosting flower at birthday parties.

Best (And Easiest!) Ever Piña Colada Cake

Friendships were much easier to come by when I was younger.  It seems like the older I get the more I have acquaintances rather than friends- and that kind of makes me sad.

Well...lets be honest...the part of me that likes hanging out in my PJ pants with my family and not making plans is ok with it for the most part.

But having friends to laugh and talk to is important too.

My husband may be my best friend, but sometimes I need some girl talk and a cheese plate!

Anyway, I've been working on fostering friendships- I'm well aware of the fact that like any relationship friendships require intentional attention.

Let me just say guys...while I may not have the wide group of friends I had in my youth the friends I do have are pretty freaking spectacular.

I am blessed.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Stuffed Cupcakes

My daughter wanted a special cupcake to bring to school for her classmates this week- something all the kids would like.

Over the years I've noticed that she kind of enjoys talking up my cooking skills to her friends and teachers so I knew that I had to make something special to live up to the hype!  I went on the hunt for a new recipe that would be fun and kid-friendly.  After an exhaustive search of Allrecipes, Google, and Pinterest I finally settled on a recipe for cupcakes stuffed with chocolate chip cookie dough.

Um...hard to go wrong with that one, right?

Right.

So how does one go about making a cupcake filled with cookie dough that doesn't bake and leave you with, well, a cookie-filled cupcake?

You make the cookie dough ahead of time and freeze it.

That way the cupcake bakes around it but doesn't bake the cookie dough itself.

Brilliant, no?

Simply Scrumptious Sopapilla Cheesecake Bites

Cheesecake.

What's not to love?

 I know I said there was only one cheesecake recipe for me.  Only one deserving of the time and ingredients.  Only one worth the calories.

For the most part...I stand by that.

Not that I'd turn my nose up at a pumpkin cheesecake...or a carrot cake cheesecake...or a blackberry swirled cheesecake...or pretty much any cheesecake to be honest.

Except chocolate.  You can keep your chocolate cheesecake.

Don't judge.

Anyway, while I enjoy (pretty much) all cheesecakes, when it comes time to make one myself my go-to is The Ultimate Amaretto Cheesecake and it had been been a really long time since I'd made any other variety.

Then came New Years.  AKA Our Gluttonous Night of Mexican Eating.

I needed a dessert.  I thought of making flan, but I wasn't really feeling it.

Then I remembered seeing a recipe for sopapilla cheesecake.

The Ultimate Cheesecake Lives Up To It's Name

So there's this cheesecake recipe that's been kind of famous in my family for as long as I can remember.

We were introduced to it through my lovely aunt years and years ago and I've been making it pretty much my entire adult life.  There was a time when I made this thing so often I had the recipe committed to memory.  It's so good people would ask me to make it for their birthday- and pretty much any other event that called for eating!

This is soooo not diet food.

Like not even close.

Eggs.

Cream cheese.

Sour cream.

Sugar.

Booze.

You know...the good stuff.

When finished this guy weighs a ton and it always makes me giggle a little when I take the finished product out of the oven.  It's a little time consuming to make, but totally simple and you are guaranteed to get oohs and aaahs from whomever you serve it to and forever be known as The Cheesecake Queen (or king!) to your guests.

It's Pumpkin Time Again!

It may still be in the low 80's, and I might still be rocking shorts and flip flops, but that doesn't mean that I was any less excited to see mums and pumpkins in front of the grocery store when September 1st rolled around!  

Is it too early to get excited about Fall?

Don't care!

I think that the earlier school starts, the earlier my anticipation of cool, crisp air and the spicy, earthiness of Fall begins.

I admit it: I've been looking at all things apple, pumpkin, burlap, and Fall-colored on Pinterest.

Anyway, the other day my daughter's Girl Scouts leader asked if parents would be willing to bake cupcakes for a VA event for homeless veterans.

No brainer...I bake.  I'm a veteran.  Oh yes...and I had a pumpkin cupcake recipe I wanted to try. :-)

Sweet Vanilla Cupcakes For My Kiddos

Feeding my son can be frustrating.

The nuances of what he's ok with eating vs what he will physically cover his face to get away from can be tricky to navigate.

For example, sometimes he will eat orange goldfish crackers.  Sometimes.  However he won't eat the goldfish crackers that come in different colors- he won't even eat the orange crackers if he sees you picking them out of the multi-colored variety.

This lovely pink-topped confection was for my daughter!

He loves french toast sticks because they're dry and crisp on the outside, but won't touch a soft pancake.  Period.

He will eat yogurt with fruit blended in, but not the kind with even the tiniest of fruit pieces in it.

He will eat a peanut butter sandwich, but only if there is literally only enough peanut butter to hold the pieces of bread together- otherwise it is cast aside completely.

You know how some kids are just picky and will eat eventually if they get hungry enough?

Yeah...this isn't like that.  He really won't eat regardless of how hungry he is.  

Coffee Cake for One

I've seen mug brownies, mug cakes, mug everything floating around Pinterest lately and I've been tempted to try them for a while.  The idea of a delicious dessert for one made in minutes with almost no clean up is pretty tempting, right?

It's just that I've heard horror stories of hard-as-a-hockey-puck discs hardening in mugs in the microwave and just all around bad reviews.  Those kind of reviews were enough to keep my curiosity at bay- until today that is.

It's COLD here.  Ok, cold FOR here.  I mean, you expect zero and sub-zero temperatures in some parts of the country, but not here.  Generally it's cold in the winter, but more "put on a coat and gloves" cold than "OMG I'm wearing as many layers as possible and I'm still an ice cube" cold!  I woke up to zero degree weather this morning, another day of cancelled school for my daughter, and an appointment my son couldn't miss.

Eggnog Quick Bread

I'm not going to lie, I'm not a big lover of eggnog.  It's not a flavor thing, it's the consistency.  I just don't like thick, creamy drinks- ugh.  No eggnog or piña coladas for this girl!

Now, take the flavors of those drinks and put them into a baked good, and I'm a happy girl!  My father-in-law's wife makes one of the most amazing piña colada cakes I've ever had in my life *drool*- think I can get the recipe from her for a future post?

Anyway, I love the FLAVOR of eggnog too, and this eggnog quick bread really captures it perfectly.  I found the original recipe at Allrecipes.com, but- like I pretty much always do- I had to change it a little.  I've made it a more moist loaf, added a little flavor, and made it more manageable for making in large batches for gift-giving.  The original recipe makes one 9x5 loaf, but I've found that- in my mind at least- an 8x4 loaf is the perfect gift giving size.  If you divide this recipe in half you'll bake one 9x5 loaf, if you prefer...

This recipe also freezes very well if you want to make gifts ahead of time or just save some for yourself to enjoy later!

Enjoy!!