It’s hard for me to believe but it’s been 2 years since we got a call from my parents telling us they’d be moving to Lubbock. And not only were they moving to a new town but they’d both be beginning new careers helping start a new campus of the church I grew up in. …
Ramen Stir Fry
Have you ever been to one of those restaurants where you make your own stir-fry? I still remember the first time I ate at a place called Stir Crazy. My mom and I had come to Illinois to look for an apartment before I started grad school. This trendy style of restaurant had yet to…
Baked Banana Donuts with Chocolate Icing
I’m sure that many of you can relate but I am absolutely addicted to Target. I love their clothing and shoes for myself and my kids. I can get lost in the aisles of home décor, party supplies and stationary. I just enjoy shopping there. When Blythe was a baby, I’d just go to Target…
Cookies and Cream Cake
This weekend we celebrated Bennett’s 2nd birthday. Since he’s just 2 we opted for dinner with friends instead of an elaborate party. Given that it was going to be a low-key birthday, I wanted to make an extra special cake so I opted for a Cookies and Cream Cake. In addition to being beautiful, this…
Stitch Fix Review #1
Hi there friends! Today is a small departure from my regular recipe posts but I really wanted to share with you about Stitch Fix. I’ve been using this styling service for 3 months and I absolutely love it. I get so many questions about Stitch Fix and how it works, so I decided to do…
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
If you read many food blogs, you know that each blogger has a story as to why they started cooking and blogging. For some, its years spent in the kitchen with their mother or grandmother that fostered an early love of cooking. Or maybe it was allergy that required a diet shift or a weight…
Bacon Jam and Arugula Pizza
In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been in a bit of a blogging funk. We’ve been eating really basic meals and I haven’t spent much time in the kitchen creating anything interesting. For all of you that believe we continually eat gourmet meals, please find peace in knowing we eat Kraft mac and cheese at…
Ampersand Burger
Can I tell you that I have an incredible love of cheeseburgers? Like, if I had to eat one meal forever, it’s likely that a great burger and fries would be my pick. Burgers remind me of summer time cookouts and evenings spent with friends. A burger is a classic staple that can be made…
Onion Strings
True confession. I’ve never made onion rings before. In my mind, they are one of those complicated, messy and time-consuming recipes that doesn’t even taste that good once it’s done. Although I’ve fried plenty of things in my kitchen, the thought of homemade onion rings has overwhelmed me. And yes, we’ve fried all sorts of…
Coffee Steak Rub
Hello sweet friends! Thanks for sticking around as I slowly return to the world of blogging. Readjusting to life after Haiti continues to take longer than I ever imagined. I’ve been home for 2 weeks and still can’t talk about the trip without crying. There’s still so much to process but I continue to feel…
Chicken and Dumplings
I’ve spent the week in the kitchen. I hadn’t cooked in 9 days while I’d been in Haiti and I was aching to create. I had spent the trip living with 11 other people, which was a stretch for my introverted self. While I dearly love everyone that I traveled with, I was craving time…
Home From Haiti
Hi there friends! I’m so glad to be back after my trip to Haiti. As always, I had big plans to write posts to auto publish while I was away but time with Currey and the kids took priority. Thanks for understanding. I’ve got to tell you, after experiencing all I saw in Haiti, it’s…
Lemon Squares
I’m in denial about winter. I’m so afraid of what the weather will be that I simply refuse to look each day. It’s as though I’m operating under the assumption that ignorance is bliss in regard to the frigid temps. Imagine my surprise when it began to snow today! No idea that was in the…
DIY Light Box
Have you noticed that the pictures on the blog have changed? Day light savings time really did me in when it came to taking pictures for the blog. Where we live, it begins getting dark around 4:30 so I had to have our meals prepped and ready for pictures around 4. As a family, this…
Le Creuset Giveaway
It’s been far to long since we had a giveaway around here so I’ve rounded up a few of my favorite kitchen essentials. These are items that I use in my kitchen that I think you’ll enjoy. One lucky reader will win all these items to use in their own kitchen. First up a microplane….
Corn, Black Bean and Quinoa Lettuce Wraps
Since my last couple of posts have been desserts, I figured it was about time for a dinner recipe. If only we could all survive on cake! As a family, we really are always working toward healthy eating and these corn, black bean and quinoa lettuce wraps are so delicious you’ll forget they are also…
Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding
The first time I remember eating a chocolate croissant was on my honeymoon. I might have had one before then but the one’s we enjoyed on our honeymoon have never been matched. Currey and I honeymooned in Santa Fe, New Mexico which is one of my favorite places on earth. I grew up going every…
Chocolate Heath Bar Cake
Do you make New Year’s Resolutions? I don’t usually make resolutions but I do like to sit down and write goals for the year. This year some of those goals are to read a book a month, take a photography class and continue to go on monthly dates with Currey. I like to set goals…
Chopping Block Bread
If you would have told me, even 5 years ago, that I’d be excited about a new grocery store chain coming to the suburbs, I would have laughed. But the more I cook and expand my culinary horizons, I’m always looking for new places to find the best ingredients at reasonable prices. Over the summer,…
Black Eyed Pea Chowder
Happy New Year! Whether you decided to have a quiet night in or go out on the town, I hope that your New Year’s Eve was grand. We spend New Year’s with the same group of friends every year. We enjoy a wonderful dinner together and it’s a kid friendly night. It’s my favorite holiday…
Top 10 Recipes in 2013
I hope that you had a lovely Christmas Holiday! We had a low key day as a family which I loved. There was lots of cooking, opening presents and dinner with friends. Our kids are at ages that made Christmas extra special. They love all the decorations and festive celebrations. It was a joy to…
Bacon Jam
I’ve been writing this blog for 18 months now. Currey has been a faithful taste tester, web designer and photo editor. He offers me endless encouragement and is my sounding board for ideas and recipes. He’s been actively involved every step of the way. While out to dinner, he will comment about recreating a dish…
Chicken Pot Pie
Our paper chain that’s helping us countdown to Christmas tells me there are just 2 days to go. My how the time has flown! I still have presents to wrap and groceries to buy but we decided to spend tonight in as a family. It’s bitterly cold, as in the single digits, and I was…
Homemade Whipped Cream
Nothings says the holidays quite like homemade whipped cream. Whether you are adding a dallop to a slice of pie or a big mug of hot chocolate, whipped cream makes everything better. It’s one of the simplest recipes to make and our guests continued to be amazed by the decadence of the homemade version. I’m…
Oatmeal Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies
We are in the final days until Christmas and I’m beginning to feel like I’m on a constant sugar high! It seems like everywhere I go there are plenty of sweet treats. Cookies at work, endless sugary samples at the grocery store and homemade treats from friends and neighbors are just too delicious to pass…
Sock It To Me Cake
Still looking for a Christmas morning breakfast dish? I’ve got another recommendation. My mom has been making this sock it to me cake for as long as I can remember. Any time someone needed a meal, this was the cake that accompanied whatever dinner my mother deliviered. We gave my mom endless grief because although…
Caramel Apple Tart
As I’ve written about over and over again, I love getting to feed our families. Whether we are entertaining our families here in Illinois or I’m cooking in their homes in Texas, enjoying meals with family brings me joy. Our time together is precious and I love all the moments we spend around the table….
Fried Mac and Cheese Bites
The day after Thanksgiving we attended a birthday party for a friend. As everyone was recounting their Thanksgiving feasts, a friend of mine told me she had made fried mac and cheese bites as an appetizer on Thanksgiving Day. Her sister was also in attendance and they raved about how amazing the mac and cheese…
Savory Breakfast Roll
When we lived in Wheaton, we spent every Saturday morning in the summer at the French Market. Local farmers sell produce, eggs, meat and cheese. You can by local honey, gorgeous floral bouquests or fresh fried donuts. There are even vendors selling homemade soap, jewelry and crafts. It was a lovely way to kick off…
Christmas Gift Guide + A $200 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway
Y’all, I am so excited to be partnering with Coupons.com to bring you amazing gift guides and a fabulous giveaway for a $200 Gift card to Amazon.com! In addition to the great gift guides from Coupons.com, I’ve created my own gift guide full of products I’d love to receive this Christmas. Lets start with statement…