Dec 112013
 

For holiday gift-giving as part of a sponsored post for Collective Bias® I made these Rocky Road Squares to give to family and friends.  All thoughts and words are my own.

I’ve been spending a good portion of my days lately baking, cooking, mixing and stirring.  Every year for more than the last decade, I have put together homemade food gift baskets for friends and family alike.  I try and have them completed in early December if at all possible, so that they have most of the season to enjoy them.

One of my favorite holiday desserts to make for gift-giving are my Mom’s squares.  She has made them for as long as I can remember and they were one of the treats I always requested for my birthday or other special occasions.  She just calls them “her squares” but I think most people would consider them to be Rocky Road Squares.

Rocky Road Squares Recipe with #KraftEssentials #shop

Knowing that I had a lot of Christmas recipes to make over the next couple of weeks I made a trip to Walmart to stock up my pantry.  Baker’s Baking Chocolate, Jet-Puffed Marshmallows, Planters Peanut Butter, chocolate bits, sweetened condensed milk, flour, sugar – pretty much the baking aisle.  I usually make more than I plan to, and I don’t like needing to run out to pick up extra ingredients if I can help it. Continue reading »

Sep 272013
 

For tailgating season as part of a sponsored post for Collective Bias I made one of my favorite tailgating recipes, Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese.

Fall means different things to different people: changing leaves, pumpkin patches, cooler weather.  It means all those things to us, as well, but the biggest thing that fall represents around here is football.  Football is serious business here in Kentucky.  We have lots of college teams that we love to support, plus two or three NFL teams within relative driving distance.

Lots of football means lots of occasions to eat (something else Kentuckians take pretty seriously).  Whether it’s tailgating at the game or having friends and family over to watch the game, there are plenty of dips, lots of chili and casseroles, burgers and ribs, and tons of sweets.  I have a variety of different recipes that I like to rotate through, but one thing I almost always make is my homemade Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese.

Tailgating Recipes: Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese #shop #MealsTogether

Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese is great for tailgating because it combines that great flavor of wings with delicious, comforting mac & cheese all in one dish.  It’s easy to double, triple, half – whatever you need for the size of the crowd you’re serving.  It’s also fairly easy to cook.  The only downside to making it was that it took a little longer to assemble than I would have liked. Continue reading »

Mar 072013
 

National Potato Chip day is just around the corner and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to give a little nod to Chef George Crum who is popularly believed to have invented the potato chip as we know it.  He was dealing with a finicky customer who complained their fried potatoes were too thick and soggy and kept returning them to the kitchen.  Frustrated, Chef Crum cut them as thin as possible, cooked them crisp, and added extra salt.  Instead of being angry the customer loved them and they were immediately added to the menu under the name “Saratoga Chips”.

Celebrate Delicious Potato Chips – the #1 Snack Food!

Celebrate National Potato Chip Day with Recipes Using Potato Chips

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Sep 172012
 

Looking for a great new cookbook?

After a summer of unusually high temperatures – we’re talking multiple weeks of 100+ degree weather – the recent signs of fall have been a welcome treat.  We’ve even put on a hoodie a time or three over the past few days.  It’s also nice to be able to play outside more with Bubbles and not worry about melting.

Growing up in Maine, fall meant harvest.  It was hard work, and by dinnertime we were definitely hungry!  Casseroles always hit the spot as they were filling and warmed you up.  Now fall is a time for football, trips to the zoo, picking apples and pumpkins, and watching the leaves change color.  Much less stressful activities but casseroles still fit the bill for each of them.

Yummy casserole recipes from Gooseberry Patch - perfect for fall!

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Oct 262011
 

My husband and I love asparagus but aren’t that crazy about green beans.  That means that a holiday staple – Green Bean Casserole – is off the menu for us.   So I was excited to find Asparagus Casserole recipe in the Gooseberry Patch Quick & Easy Christmas cookbook.

We decided to give it a try tonight as a pairing with chicken cordon bleu.  Generally we make Parmesan roasted asparagus to go with it but the fresh asparagus in our area hasn’t looked too hot lately and this recipe called for frozen, so it was a good fit. Continue reading »