Baking with Blondie

Last night I had rehearsal, and had to whip up something Ryan could easily reheat later. This recipe fit the bill perfectly. I don't know what it was about the sauce (I mean, it was a basic roux), but it was SO flavorful. Ryan loved it, and his brother (came over to watch the game) went on and on about it. Thanks! This recipe also was pretty inexpensive to make. Always a plus around here.  Last year before I had my first child, I was in an organizing frenzy (okay, maybe that's all the time). I was just finishing up a 2-year subscription to my Everyday with RachelRay magazine, and had a HUGE pile of them in our teeny living room. I'm not a fan of magazines lying around everywhere (unless they're neatly in a basket or something). Ugh, I kept mine around for so long because I knew there were recipes in them I wanted to try later. Sooooo what did I do? I went through each magazine, cut out the pages with recipes I knew I'd want to make later, slid them in neat cle...

Hey guys, This week will have a huge lack of new-recipe work. It's my little guy's first birthday party on Saturday, and I have A TON of baking to do. I'll make sure to post the results next week for y'all. It's going to be insane. 

What's not to love? And to tell you they were super-easy to make is a bit of an understatement. Can't say they were the most price-friendly choice for dinner (who really tries to save money by making lasagna, anyway?), but it was worth the mini-splurge to get some ground beef and ricotta. Wontons are average-priced in my taste, and we end up using them for 2 dinners anyway. Mozzarella? Price-matching, my friends. Walmart can be your friend in this department, I'm positive. For this recipe, we just used the second half of the ground beef from the previous recipe's ingredients (the tex-mex pizza, to die for). Anyways, my laptop cord is to POT, folks. So, obviously, I used my battery until it was dry as a bone, and now it doesn't even turn on. Sad. Until my cord comes in from Amazon, my only choice it to use Ryan's computer when he's in the shower, or when he leaves it home when he's at the firm. The point of this little story, is that I usually store...

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...