Greek Orzo Salad and Warm Days Ahead

Can you believe that it's almost summer?
School's almost out, the weather is beautiful, and I'm ready for a few months of fun with the kids full of pool days and adventures.

As much as I love bundling up and being cozy in fall and winter, there's something about summer that just makes my soul sing.  I adore the feeling of the warm sun on my (sunscreen coated) skin.  I love spending time with my kids that doesn't involve packing school lunches and homework.  I love spending time with friends and family enjoying each other's company while my husband grills.

Which of course, is just another excuse for me to cook!

Making Memories and Easy Breakfasts

My daughter sits on the counter, the light streaming through the window picking up the gold in her hair as her feet dangle below her gently tapping on the counter as she wiggles.

She picks up the spice jars one at a time, gently opening them and breathing in lightly to take in the aromas.

When she first began this ritual she would ask me questions from across the house.

"Mom, what does coriander smell like?"

"Why doesn't cream of tartar smell like anything?"

"What's dry mustard?"

Watching her, its hard not to draw parallels to the memories of time spent on the floor of my grandma's house in Wisconsin digging through her button jar, asking questions about all of the interesting pieces in her collection.

Quick and Easy Pizza Crust For Hungry Kids

My daughter loves slumber parties.

She loves throwing them, she loves attending them.

What girl doesn't, right?

It's not until you're a boring adult that the thought of the insanity that is a a house full of excited, noisy, crazy girls gives you a bit of a headache.

So what is a mom to do?

Herd them.  Herd them like cats.

Keep that energy channeled folks!

At least that has been my philosophy.  Keep those little munchkins busy!

A few fun games with dollar store prizes are a given- both a wonderful time-killer and a great way to redirect the kiddos when things get a little crazy.

Personally, I like crafts.

Crafts are fun.

Crafts are time-consuming.

Crafts double as favors the girls can take home.

Generally speaking, crafts are fairly inexpensive (woohoo!).

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?

BLT Unwrap & Roll And More Belgioioso Fun

I'm such a sucker for a fun appetizer- extra points if it's super simple.  Even more extra points if it's low carb.  Still more extra points if it includes bacon, amiright? :-)

This recipe is a winner on all fronts.

Plus I got to use Belgioioso cheese again, which always makes me happy.  Remember when they sent me that selection of cheeses after they hosted our wine and cheese tastings in Des Moines?

My cheese drawer has never been happier- 

I so love that stuff!

This afternoon Allrecipes reached out to its Allstars and asked us to check out some new recipes that Belgioioso had posted.  Well...I was hungry and on my way to the store anyway, so the timing was kind of perfect. :-)

Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Mushrooms and Writer's Block

I made these mushrooms over a month ago, easy.
I've been trying to figure out what to write about ever since!

Generally when I post something I have some sort of loose association between the recipe and life that gets me writing.  Not going to lie- I've got nothing.

I thought about a tie-in with the marinated mushrooms that my mom makes for their Christmas party every year.
*yawn*

I thought about mentioning that I've always kind of wanted to buy one of those mushroom growing kits.
*yawn again*

Gotta be honest guys- I've got nothing.

Nothing except for one delicious recipe, that is.  ;-)

Tennessee Sausage 'N Cheese Dip

When I was perusing the list of McCormick's 50 Dips for 50 States I was immediately drawn to the recipe for Tennessee Sausage 'N Cheese Dip.

Why?

Well, we've discussed before my family's love of queso.  It's not at all uncommon to find a bowl full of Velveeta and Ro*Tel melted together for a quick and yummy cheese dip on nights when I serve Mexican food, but sometimes I like to mix it up.  My husband and daughter are especially partial to Mexican White Queso Dip and I've made Chili Cheese Dip at times too.

I knew they'd definitely be on board for this sausage-loaded version!

To be honest I've never seen a version of cheese dip quite like this one.  It's a riff on the classic Velveeta and Ro*Tel combo- but this one includes sausage and a packet of pork gravy mix.