If you love to cook and cook often, you might be looking for ways to make your meals healthier. Using a great deal of fat and sodium in your cooking isn’t a healthy way to live, but luckily there are ways you can tweak your recipes into healthier versions of themselves. Take a look below at 6 ingredient substitutions for healthier cooking, so you can keep … [Read more...]
Orange Dreamsicle Smoothie
Ok. I'm in a fight with myself over this recipe title. Orange Creamsicle? Orange Dreamsicle? Or maybe I should just call it the Orange Julius Smoothie? (Because it tastes like that...and it tastes like the popsicle.) The popsicles are the creamsicles, but for whatever reason I think they are called dreamsicles. I have no idea where that's coming from. I almost … [Read more...]
Strawberry Pretzel Salad
Add this to the list of foods that invoke the "self control just flew out the window" response. This one is #2, after Thin Mints. (Frozen Thin Mints, specifically.) It's the creaminess, plus the crunchiness. And the sweetness and the saltiness. It's perfectly balanced, like the chocolate and the mint and the crunch and the smooth in Thin Mints. We enjoyed this amazing … [Read more...]
Maple-Iced Apple Pie Bars
Please pardon the i-phone picts. These babies were the hit of our family's Thanksgiving dinner! We were attending the meal with extended family and I decided that I needed more than a pie plate for the larger crowd. So, I ended up making apple pie bars...and then added a maple-tinted icing to the top, just before serving! (Want to take these to the next level? Add ice … [Read more...]
Christmas Lights Cookies
I love to bake. I love to bake with my boys. Especially around the holidays and for giving gifts. We have a baking afternoon planned for this weekend - because we are going to make a ton of cookies for the police officers who direct the traffic at our school entrance every day. The boys are mostly into decorating cookies - and seeing how high of a "frosting mountain" they … [Read more...]
Peppermint Pretzels
Let's talk about these Peppermint Pretzels real quick... These guys make the perfect holiday gift for teachers, mailmen, school office staff, your favorite barista at your local coffee joint. They also make a great snack...for yourself and your family! Here's what we need to talk about...you're gonna wanna eat half of these right after you make them. So you might want to … [Read more...]
Fruity Pebbles Christmas Trees
Can I share a secret with you? I adore Fruity Pebbles. They are my favorite cereal. They were my favorite as a kid, and every now and again I get a box - for nostalgia's sake. Or to make these. Because - yum. Plus the memories. Plus the smile they put on my face. And when you turn them into Christmas trees - I basically feel like I'm just winning at life. … [Read more...]
DIY Pie Crust Shield
On Thanksgiving, I had a bit of an "emergency" with our Fudge Pecan Pie. I arrived at my dad's house for the feast and he asked if I'd make my famous Fudge Pecan Pie. I agreed, because YUM. But there was a bit of a problem - he didn't have a pie crust shield. So I had to make my own... And I did it on FB LIVE - you can watch to see how you can make one easily … [Read more...]
Brownie Ornaments
So I love brownies. And I love ornaments. And I love Christmas. So... These are pretty much the perfect Christmas treat!!! (At least they are in my opinion!) Make brownies. Use these cookie cutters below to cut them out. (And yes, because I know you're wondering...and perhaps needing permission??? You are 100% supposed to eat the parts of the … [Read more...]
Oatmeal Pumpkin Spice Cookies
I always knew this day was coming. Every mom of 4 boys knows this day is coming. You wonder about this day, the first time you have to start doubling recipes. When will the tripling of recipes begin? Welp, for this mama of 4 boys, it began the other week. With this recipe. I doubled the recipe (which is written below as the doubled version - it makes between 3-4 dozen … [Read more...]