Just like clockwork every year, it happens. The temperature soars into three digits or at least it feels like the number is 3 digits and everyone begins counting the days until cooler weather. Dinner still needs to be prepared and this time of year, the easier the better. No one wants to heat up the oven and in turn heat up the kitchen.
This main dish salad is perfect for these hot summer days and the leftover make great lunches for work the next day. [Read more…]
Summertime! Don’t you just love it? While I am not a huge fan of the intense heat and humidity in the Midwest, I adore and cherish the picnics, family reunions and entertaining friends. It seems there is a bit more time in the summer to slow down and enjoy those you love. Goodness knows with the news headlines, we all need to spend time with those we cherish and love as well as count our blessings.
One of my top reasons for starting this blog was to have a central location where my family could access some of their favorite recipes that we have enjoyed throughout the years. Food traditions run through our veins. One such recipe is German Chocolate Caramel Brownies or as we fondly refer to them, Yum Yums. I have been baking this recipe for over three decades. This one passed down from my mom who must have prepared these hundreds and hundreds of times at our family lake home. What’s not to like? Chocolate and caramel studded with toasted nuts equals a home run hit each and every time they are served. [Read more…]
We have been remodeling our kitchen—with all of its excitement and challenges! It means that I have no kitchen right now, but have hope for something wonderful to come. Thank goodness it is the ideal time of year to cook outside on the grill and I just had to share one of our favorite meats. [Read more…]
It’s May! Families all over the country are brimming with emotion, excitement, joy and tears as graduations and milestones are celebrated.
We have been reveling in graduation festivities at our home this month. This happened?
Our daughter is 18 and yes, she is graduating from high school this week. We couldn’t be more proud for a plethora of reasons. We can hardly wait to see what the future holds for our precious young lady. We were thrilled to attend her pinning ceremony last week and watch her receive her CNA pin (certified nursing assistant) as part of her senior year course work. Her love for the elderly and working with them is truly a gift from above. Enough already or I will have to stop writing and just go for the tissues.
I mentioned parties and yes, there have been parties galore. We enjoyed celebrating this special day with our family and friends and honoring our girl for all her hard work. [Read more…]
We are ecstatic and are thrilled to announce our newest cookbook, Delicious Dump Cakes.
What is a dump cake? It is a scrumptious cake that is super easy to make. For most of the cakes, just layer basic ingredients in a 9 x 13-inch pan. Ingredients you probably already have in your pantry–like cake mix, a pudding mix, milk, butter, ice cream topping, pecans, chocolate chips or fruits (fresh, frozen or canned)—layered right in the pan. No mess. No stress.
Just layer the ingredients in the pan, pop it into the oven and enjoy a luscious dessert.
The most you will ever do is stir together a cake mix, pudding mix and milk—but again, no difficult or time consuming steps. You will be out of the kitchen in less than 15 minutes.
Thanks to everyone at St. Martin’s Press for designing such a cute book! And thanks to Staci Valentine for taking such delicious pictures. [Read more…]
