Daring Bakers- Panna Cotta and Florentine Cookies

The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.Panna Cotta, which is Italian for cooked cream, is my husband's favorite dessert. He's spent a lot of time in Italy, …

CS Bakers- Chocolate Heath Bar Cake

Guess I've been MIA in Cake Slice Bakers again. But I couldn't pass up the opportunity to make something with Health bars. My favorite candy bar. I've always been disappointed when using the Heath baking bits in recipes, though. The whole point of Heath bars is the crunchy texture, and the baking bits always end …

Chewy, No-Roll Sugar Cookies

We have three kids, but even before we had three kids, we had a middle child. Maybe since about the time she was 10 months old, she was a middle child. Countless things have been broken/ruined by this girl. But I do feel badly for her- never the first or last to do anything. With …

TWD- Chocolate Oatmeal Drops

This week's TWD is for Chocolate Oatmeal Drops. I've never had chocolate oatmeal cookies. Obviously, I've had oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, but not chocolate oatmeal. These cookies are super easy and quick- they get their rich (I mean, RICH) chocolate flavor from cocoa powder and melted chocolate. I halved the recipe because I wasn't sure …

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I'll be honest here. I've never been someone who really gets into Valentine's Day. Sure, I loved making mailboxes in elementary school and giving valentines to my classmates (and I did save the best valentine in the box for the cute boy). This Valentine's day might hold the most excitement for me because my 5 …

Carnitas

I love Mexican food. LOVE it. When I was younger, I didn't like it because I thought it was to fattening. Seriously, what was I thinking? Granted, the only Mexican food I'd had at that point was drenched in sauce and cheese (although now,  I think that's heavenly). My favorite Mexican dish of all time …

TWD? No. But Dinosaur cake? Yes!

Sorry, there's no Bourbon Bread Pudding here. We don't drink alcohol so we don't have any in our house. Plus, I was busy making this:Cute Cody turned 4 and wanted a dinosaur cake. Last year it was horses. The cake is covered and decorated in fondant. The dinosaur is gunpaste/fondant. Cake is chocolate with vanilla buttercream.Rarrrhhh!

Simple Fried Brown Rice

In the seemingly never-ending quest to feed my kids healthier food, we bought brown calrose rice from Costco last week. My husband and I like brown rice, but I wasn't sure if our kids would feel the same way. For those of you who don't know, brown rice is considered "whole grain" because the husk …

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

A friend of mine is having a baby boy soon, and for her shower she requested this chocolate chocolate chip bundt cake. I guess it was a hit at another shower and the mom-to-be loved it- A simple bundt from a mix, topped with cream cheese frosting. I added some fondant flowers and a little …

TWD- Great Grains Muffins

I think Julie put it best on the P&Q when she said, "After months of sugar overload, this might be just what I need." Seriously. The holidays are over. But somehow, desserts just keep popping up. These muffins, with cornmeal, oatmeal and whole wheat flour aren't exactly healthy. They still have plenty of sugar and butter. …