Baking with Blondie

You guys are gonna die. I'm surprised we survived nirvana and back eating this. It was really filling, and very flavorful. I remember seeing a Papa Murphys commercial with ''Taco Pizza'' and thought of how weird that was... I mean, if you want a taco, eat a taco, right? I was wrong. I made said 'taco pizza' and it was really delicious! Definitely a keeper in our book. The marriage of taco and pizza has my blessing to continue on in it's own, trendy, radical existence. I am in love with enchilada sauce. I could dip chips in it all day and be happy. I think next time we're going to add a bit more of it to the pizza after spreading the re-fried beans on the dough. Pizza should be gooey, and messy, dang it! And again, if you've been following my blog, you know of my love affair with cilantro.... ----- Tex-Mex Pizza: Pizza Dough 2 cups Mexican Blend Cheese 2 cups Shredded Lettuce 2/3 cup Cilantro 2 Tomatoes, diced 1 can Re-fried beans...

Pic Source  I love making soup on Sundays. It's fast and easy. I just throw everything in a pot, and leave it for hours to get more and more savory with each minute. This week I found this blog via Pinterest , and really love Jen's recipes. It's called How to Simplify . She has so many simple, yet wonderfully tasty, recipes. Plus, her food photography is so beautiful - she makes everything look beyond delicious. I can't wait to try the other recipes I've pinned from her blog. White Chicken Chili - an excellent find from her fantastic blog. I've never had white chili before (other than a Navy Bean Soup? my Mom used to make when I was young). This chili is my favorite. Ever. Really. For me, it tasted like a mix between a trendy tortilla soup, and a corn chowder (without the cream sauce base and potatoes). The cilantro was definitely the star - as you know, I'm obsessed with cilantro. And I never say no to corn in soup. In my taste, I think it might h...

At first I really hated these cookies, the spread wasn't what I thought it would be (albeit delicious). It was a strange texture. Maybe if it turned into more of a peanut butter texture in the food-processor it would have been easier to spread? I was also confused how the 'snickerdoodle' cookies didn't have any cream-of-tartar in the recipe. Strange. I decided I probably wouldn't make them again... until... I randomly nuked the cookie sandwich in the library for about 10 seconds, and dipped the warm, soft, gooey cookie in milk. OH HEAVEN. It just needed a little love in the microwave, and it melted in my mouth. Oh my goodness, people. I might sound insane, and maybe I am. But it was fan-freaking-tastic. Never judge a cookie until you nuke the crap outta it in the microwave and dunk it in milk. ------   "Hazelnut-Cream Stuffed Snickerdoodles, from Everyday with Rachel Ray Magazine (this recipe below only makes 6 cookies, so I doubled this recipe when ...

Make these. Right now. I command you. Ryan thinks I should come up with some kind of stamp on the post telling my readers if the recipe is "husband approved" or not. This recipe, he says, would definitely qualify. He loved these little guys. I think they fit perfectly under the "man food" category, so this was so surprise. I served them up with some marinara dipping sauce, a fresh green salad, and beautiful purple grapes. Simple as that. Some days I love to take my sweet time making the recipes - savoring each moment, loving each ingredient; paying respect to the cooking process, if you will. On any other day, I just want to slap something easy on the plate as fast as physically possible. I've got a kid to fed/bathe/put to bed, an FHE to throw together, and a shower long overdue. Today was one of those days. This recipe was just what the doctor ordered. We ate a full crescent roll's worth, I cooked up the second crescent roll's portions (fille...

Keeping with the whole "making cookies with cake batter" theme, I made these Lemon-Lime Coconut Crackle Cookies last week. Sure, they tasted fine. They had a zingy-freshness about them - but I'm not going to call them an all-out success (in my case). I overcooked the first batch, I cooked one batch perfectly, and the rest were pretty much undercooked. Yikes and lame, all into one bundle. It was certainly a trial-and-error experience for me with this certain recipe. When I make cookies, they usually turn out just fine when I take them out a minute before the timer reaches the allotted cooking time (especially with the typical chocolate chip). I like them a teeny bit gooey, what can I say? However, this is not the case with these yellow demon cookies. A few observations: First of all, the recipe calls for whipped topping - I assumed this served as the oil substitute. I used the 'fat free' whipped cream. I should have used the non-fat free version. Cookies are ...

Pic Source Alrighty. It's time to catch up on a couple recipes over the last few days. I had 3 wisdom teeth removed yesterday. I only had three actually form, weird eh? I remember thanking my Mom for this fact at the doctor's office. She only had two form - she saved me about $200 for this genetic gift. The recipes I picked out for this upcoming week will most certainly have to wait until I can actually chew again (or perhaps I can hit up some smoothie recipes?) Eggs were on sale last week (99 cents a dozen, folks. You just can't beat that!), so I made this batch of Mini-German Pancakes. I found it on Pinterest , and couldn't wait to make it! When I was growing up, I always knew it was a special occasion when my Mom made German Pancakes (she'd use the 9x13 pan version). I think she made it a couple times for General Conference weekend, but it was mostly for occasions like Christmas. I thought it was the most fluffy, delicious, and decadent breakfast I could...

I fell in love with these the first time I saw them posted on my friend Natalie's blog . Her blog is fantastic, by-the-way. She posts a lot of really wonderful recipes, as well as beautiful crafts. I'm completely jealous of her fantastic talents as a seamstress. She's superwoman, guys, I'm sure of it. If you have a minute, it will be well worth to take a look through her crafts and recipes - very inspiring, and super-trendy! You go girl! Back to the Pizza Muffins. Addicting. They never last - we gobble them up too fast. This time I fed some to our little guy and (surprise, surprise) he loved them. Ever since I made them the first time, they've been in our permanent rotation. I think we end up having them once or twice a month! For us, that's a lot. I don't think we eat the same thing more often than that - other than canned soup, BLTs etc. I love how easy they are to assemble, and how after little prep time, you're left with such a delicious resul...

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!  It's holiday time, folks. As if we didn't get enough of it around December, eh? Time to actually make some of those Valentine's Day Pinterest dessert recipes!  I love Valentine's Day. When I was a wee little blondie in grade school, I loved making the bright pink and red Valentine's cards and decorations. I loved making our Valentine's "mailboxes" and reading a-little-too-much into the messages I received on the traditional candy hearts. "He says he 'loves me'!" Yep. Right. I can't wait until my little man grows up and we can do these things together. Yesterday, I made these little lovers just in time for the holiday. Ryan loves cream cheese - I could spread cream cheese frosting on anything edible and he'd eat it. Luckily, these red velvet cookies were fabulous, and oh-so-easy! I couldn't believe it - I've never used cake mix to make cookies, and I'm glad I did. Y...

Pic Whenever I make a meal with the traditional southwestern style bean-corn combo, I can't help but sneak a handful or two of the tasty duo. Our little guy was in his high-chair while I was whipping up this recipe, and he gobbled up the beans and corn I snuck him. That's just how we party over here sometimes. I know, the excitement is just too much. I love chicken salad - whenever we go to baby showers/wedding receptions and they have the usual chicken salad sandwiches (might be just a Utah thing), I turn into that person who goes back for seconds... and thirds... The wraps were wonderful and very very tasty. I left out the celery (not a fan), even though I know it's mostly there for contrasting texture. It wasn't missed - the green onion and red pepper stepped up to the plate to fill that need for crunch. I was so bummed, I left this recipe off to the end of the grocery week (we do groceries on Fridays) - my avocados were over-ripe and downright nasty. Gross. ...

My goodness. This recipe was dynamite, and I think I earned 100 hot-wife points for making it. The chicken melted in our mouths, and it required no effort whatsoever to throw the ingredients together. I think Ryan cried when he took his first bite. Okay, maybe not 'cried'.... but you get the picture. I really love my crock pot. I have a smaller one, and a giant mother-load one. We usually use the smaller one (there's only two of us), unless I'm making soup or something. Why heat up the giant crock pot for a couple chicken breasts? That's why I have the smaller one. (Also it's great for hot wassail in the wintertime). Also, once again, instead of white rice, I used the rest of our brown rice. My mom gave me a wonderful rice cooker when I was in college, and I LOVE it. I just pour in the rice and water, and let it do it's thing. Oh how cute it looked next to my small crock pot. Such an excellent team they were for this dish. We only had a couple chic...

Alrighty, I've made stuffed peppers before, and they weren't a great hit at our house. It was a recipe with beans and rice (kind of mexican style) for the stuffing.... wasn't anything to write home about. Needed some meat! I wanted to give the whole "stuffed peppers" thing another chance last night. After all, green peppers were on sale this week. Brown rice is the way to go. If I'm ever given the choice of white or brown rice, I'll choose brown 100% of the time. It's filling, and I love the taste. Simple as that. I think I could just eat a whole bowl of rice with a little soy sauce and a teeny bit of butter. Oh, and italian sausage, you ask? We love it around here. I usually use it in my lasagne (the mild sausage, not the hot stuff... I don't think lasagne is supposed to be spicy). And Ryan is a huge fan. Food is an excellent way to a man's heart, right? This recipe turned out really well, but we found ourselves gobbling up the stuffing ...

Sunday dinners... sigh... sometimes they're fancy schmancy, and sometimes they're downright simplified. These days, we don't really get to have the giant pork roasts, mouth-watering lasagne, or decadent manicotti dishes as I was used to while growing up (love you Mom!). But it's okay, right? Getting groceries with Ryan and the manchild led me straight to a tasty deal on Pork Chops. Sunday dinner: check. I usually am not a complete fan of pork chops. I like them, sure, but I always end up with a strange, rough, texture after cooking them. I found this recipe, and have officially regained my faith in the mighty pork chop. We could have cut into the pork with a spoon after thy underwent this recipe makeover. I don't have a picture, but imagine this on your plate: velvety, soft, and smothered pork chops, on a bed of creamy, garlicy mashed potatoes with the zing of parmesan. So delicious and very filling, I'm tellin' ya. You're man will be one happy campe...

 Image from The Other Side of Fifty Holy Hanna. Doesn't that just make you wanna drool all over your keyboard? Bacon is my candy - so crispy, flavorful, and satisfying. I don't think you could ever go wrong with bacon. Whenever Ryan and I watch Chopped (very often...) and see a chef throw in some bacon, they're most likely to make it through to the next round (unless they forget to plate ingredients, serve raw meat, etc). People just love bacon. I don't think I could ever become a vegetarian because of bacon alone. The recipe is Paula Deen's. Love that woman. Her recipes are the most tasty, in my opinion, on the Food Network (albeit not the most healthy at times... but who makes a Paula Deen recipe to be healthy anyways?) Surprise for you, though, there's no butter in this recipe. Probably one of the few of hers that don't. Now we have bacon married with chicken on a plate? What a tasty-bite-never-to-forget. I had rehearsal last night so I needed...