Homemade Almond Flavored Marshmallows

Homemade Almond Flavored Marshmallows

As I’ve mentioned a few times before, my family LOVES hot chocolate. It’s one of our favorite cold weather treats. My girls like to drink their hot chocolate with lots and lots of marshmallows. I mean, who doesn’t, right? Actually, I prefer mine with fresh whipped cream. But that has changed since I tasted homemade marshmallows. Food Advertising by A neighbor dropped off a Christmas gift last week with some homemade hot chocolate mix and freshly made peppermint marshmallows. Oh my goodness they are so much better than the store-bought kind. My girls were fighting over who got the last one. To keep the peace I asked my neighbor for the recipe so we could make some ourselves. I can’t believe how simple it was! And there’s no limit to the …

30-Minute Tortilla Soup

30-Minute Tortilla Soup

Last year I tagged along with my husband Colm to a work conference in San Antonio. Our first vacation without the kids in over 14 years! We had a lot of fun exploring San Antonio, strolling along the Riverwalk and visiting historic places like The Alamo. (We stayed at a haunted hotel, The Menger Hotel right across the road from The Alamo. But the only thing that haunted us was the boys basketball tournament participants that were staying in the rooms above ours, lol.) While we were in San Antonio I became obsessed with Tortilla Soup. I ordered it nearly everywhere we ate, along with a margarita! I mean when in Texas, right?!? I couldn’t wait to get home and recreate the recipe. Food Advertising by I looked up several recipes in search of the perfect one. The …

Peppermint Hot Chocolate Whoopie Pies

Peppermint Hot Chocolate Whoopie Pies

The birth of Holiday Baking day and how Peppermint Hot Chocolate Whoopie Pies came to be. Over the past three and a half years, due to my husband’s job, we have moved four times and lived in four different states. Three years ago my girls had a particularly hard time over winter break. We hadn’t lived in Alabama very long. There were no visits from family, no friends to have over for hot chocolate, no holiday parties to attend, no secret Santa exchanges… all of the fun things that most people participate in during winter break. My husband was out of work and we didn’t have the extra money for the girls to buy gifts for each other, something they looked forward to every year. Food Advertising by After thinking about what we could do …

Eggnog Bread with Eggnog Cream Cheese Icing

Eggnog Bread with Eggnog Cream Cheese Icing

I’ve had a love affair with eggnog since I was little. When I was around 7 years old my mom, who was an elementary school librarian, brought home a cookbook with simple recipes that kids could make on their own. One of the recipes was a no-cook eggnog that my brothers and I must have made 1,000 times; it was so yummy. I’ve managed to pass my eggnog obsession on to my girls. Every time they see eggnog in the store they beg me to buy it. With the holidays approaching eggnog is a staple in our house. So when I ran across my friend Jenni Field’s (Pastry Chef Online) recipe for Eggnog Cream Cheese Frosting I knew I needed to find something to spread it on! I was contemplating pound cake when …

How About Them Apples [Caramel Apple Sangria recipe]

How About Them Apples [Caramel Apple Sangria recipe]

One of my favorite things in the fall, aside from colorful leaves and cooler weather, is all the fresh, yummy apples! And with October designated as National Apple Month it’s the perfect time to take a bite out of all the yummy varieties available! My all-time favorite apple is the honeycrisp. It’s delicious, sweet and crisp with a firm flesh, making it an ideal apple to eat raw, and perfect for a yummy sangria. Some juicy apple facts… The apple is a “pome”. A fruit that is created from the fusion of outer flower parts and ovaries. Apple trees take from 2 to 10 years to produce their first fruit. It depends on the apple variety, and whether they are dwarf or full-sized trees. Sunny days and cool nights along with the rich soil help …

Margarita Monday - Cranberry Margarita [recipe]

Cranberry Margarita

It’s no secret that I love margaritas. It’s hard for me to pick a favorite, but in the fall I especially love to make cranberry margaritas. The perfect mix of sweet and tart. A festive cocktail for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any time of the year! This is a great recipe everyone will love so be sure to make a big batch to share! I used Ocean Spray diet cranberry juice with lime, but you can substitute 100% cranberry juice or even Cran-grape or Cran-apple juice if you like! Food Advertising by Cranberry Margarita print shopping list Preparation 10 min Total Time 0:10 Serves 6 Servings     adjust servings Recipe adapted from Shawnda Horn, as seen on My Recipes.com Ingredients 1 1/2 C fresh or thawed frozen cranberries 3/4 C El …

Apple Muffins with Apple Cider Cream Cheese Glaze

Apple Muffins with Apple Cider Cream Cheese Glaze

I know I am the minority on this one, but pumpkin spice everything is not my favorite thing about fall. Although I do like pumpkin bread and chai tea, my fall obsession is apples. My daughters and I love apples so much we go through about 15 pounds of them every week! We try to make it to the local orchard at least once every fall. The kids love it! We have so much fun riding the hay ride, picking apples, drinking hot apple cider, and of course, eating apple cider doughnuts. We always end up bringing a couple of dozen home with us. I’ve tried to replicate those doughnuts many times without success. The recipes have been okay; I just haven’t found that perfect one yet. On my last attempt, the doughnuts were …

Easy & Delicious Crock Pot Chuck Roast

Easy and Delicious Crock-Pot Chuck Roast – Cook once, Five Days of Meals

One of my favorite go-to meals is pot roast. It’s one of the few things that everyone in my family will eat without complaint. It’s super simple to cook and is very hard to ruin with this Easy and Delicious Crock-Pot Chuck Roast recipe! I’m all about the set it and forget it cooking style! That is why I love my Crock-Pot (6-Quart Countdown Slow Cooker with Stove top-Safe Cooking Pot) so much. I use my slow cooker several times a week, even in the summer. It is a lifesaver! This particular Crock-Pot has a double-duty DuraCeramic cooking pot. I no longer need to use a separate pan to brown, sear, or saute ingredients before putting them into the slow cooker! The DuraCeramic cooking pot is safe to use on the stovetop, brown the meat and …