Baking with Blondie

Friday is finally upon us. This weekend I think I'll hit up the cozy warm sand and listen to the waves as they crash into the soft beaches... Oh wait. We live in UTAH. I've lived in Utah my entire life. Land-locked, if you will.  But from some strange place within my bones, I feel like I was born to be at the beach. Especially during the Spring/Summer time. I'm not big into the whole "get some sun" deal - I'm a blonde-haired-fair-skinned white child. I've never really been able to tan, I only get lobster red. So it's not even worth it. Oh, and I'm pretty sure the high-risk I have of getting skin cancer has something to do with it. I long for the soft sand in my feet, between my toes. I long for the pleasure of cooling off in the cool, salty water. I long for the melodic and tranquil sound of the crashing waves. I long for closing my eyes for 10 seconds without worrying about anything. I long for oversized sunglasses, soft towels...

  Awww! Just look at that little pineapple shark in the pool of carrot goodness.  I seriously need to get out more, people.  Sick kids are no joke. I feel extremely lucky for not having the Manchild ill since he was only weeks old. But life has a funny way of catching up and throwing you quite the curve ball. This kid is loaded with a couple ear infections, a repository virus, a nasty cough that chills your bones, and is still recovering from a recent case of tonsillitis.  So it goes without saying that this past week has just been a party-and-a-half in the Blondie household.  And no matter how sweet-as-candy they create the antibiotics and cough medicine, the kid still refuses to willingly take it. Hiding it in juice was a nice attempt, too - but completely backfired. I feel like every morning is a torture session, and it breaks my heart. Then again, I've been an advocate for tough love since the beginning. With all the kid vs. medic...

I rarely do giveaways on here, and it's because I'm kind of a scrooge. Mostly because I feel like the honorable citizens who follow this blog should come back for more because they genuinely enjoy the blog/recipes - not because of free prizes. And you know what? I believe it! You guys are coming back for more! You're actually trying the recipes with your families, and that's WAY awesome. I've loved reading on Pinterest, Facebook, and notes in comments about how you've tried the recipes, loved them, and shared them. It always makes me smile, and it makes all this time I put into blogging completely worth it. I adore the way delicious food can bring couples, families, friends, and everyone else together - including you fine people. I have felt so much love and support from all of you - and most of whom I've never even met! And to me, that's just amazing. It's something that I wish I could thank each and every one of you personally. So...

I asked on the book of Face whether or not you wanted something sweet, savory, or the UP festivities on the blog last week. Well, the votes won, and UP was posted. However, I couldn't forget those few votes for savory, so here it is. I like to think I've gotten the whole bread-the-dang-chicken thing down. Ryan requests fried chicken pretty often (it's more like lightly-cooked-in-oil chicken), and always loves it when I make it for us. However, same-style breaded chicken can get pretty old for me, so I like to switch it up. This past batch I used crumbled almonds mixed with the traditional panko. For more flavor, I added in some rosemary. Don't like almonds or rosemary? You could totally use roasted pecan crumbs, or even cashew crumbs. Use the nuts! Also, you could easily substitute rosemary in this recipe for thyme or Italian seasoning if you prefer those flavors. It's so versatile, leaving the door wide open to customizing this recipe to your family's taste...

  I usually don't stray away from purely food in this blog of mine, but each year I like breaking from tradition for one thing: my son's birthday party! Last year, we did The Very Hungry Caterpillar theme, and I thought it was so much fun to put together.  This year, we decided to base the Manchild's birthday on one of his favorite movies: UP . After watching the movie for an almost unhealthy number of times on a regular basis, I was so excited to get started. Plus, no matter how many times I've seen UP, it still cracks me up. Especially when the dogs refer to Mr. Fredrickson as the mailman, and Russell as the small mailman. There are so many little gems hidden throughout that movie, and some of my favorite quotes.     Ryan and I are lucky enough to have plenty of family from both sides live within an hour of our little home. So we kept it a family party again this year. It's always fun to gather everyone together, and the Manchild was almost al...

  Before I splurge the whole UP party from this past weekend, I wanted to share my favorite part: these cupcakes! or what we've come to call... UPcakes! I almost talked myself out of making them - Friday was already a pretty big baking day for the party, plus I squeezing in an extra cake for a friend that day. Then again, I've never been one to say no to more sugar (run your miles, friends). So I decided to just take it one dessert at a time, and plow right through. If they flop, our guests have 2 other dessert options already to choose from... they'll be fine. I'm so glad I didn't push these aside! I think they turned out just adorable! For the foundation or cupcake base, I chose moist and rich french vanilla. When I was mixing everything together, I couldn't help but toss a good handful of sprinkles into the batter. I wanted them to have a little funfetti flair! It's a birthday, right? Lastly, the "cloud" frosting was just a simple ...

My dear friend Tracy, from Tracy Hill Photography asked if I would help her out with a project (she's currently at BYU majoring in photography). I loved having her over, and seeing her work - she has amazing photography skills, and we've used her a couple times for our family photos. While she was in my kitchen, I prepared my Cranberry Avocado Salad with Candied & Spiced Almonds , served with Balsamic Poppy Seed Vinaigrette. Also, I wanted to make sure she'd have a fun dessert to shoot, so I made what you saw on the blog yesterday - the Banana Split Cupcakes . I loved how they turned out, and I someday hope to have but even a small fraction of her talent with the lens. Thanks again, Tracy!                         All images are property of Tracy Hill Photograph...