American

The red velvet is sweet, with that slight tang from the buttermilk.  It’s so hard to describe that flavor.  But it was rich, and moist!  The crumb was absolutely perfect; spongy and tight.  It was really fluffy too.  And the cheesecake…  Cheesecakes always seemed daunting and scary.  This one didn’t even crack or bubble!  It set perfectly.  The flavor was rich, and decadent, just as cheesecake should be.  Oh, it was so good!  And the frosting, was perfect as well.  It wasn’t overly sweet, but it was smooth, and delicious.  This truly was a match made in heaven!

No way are you sick of cookie bars.
They’re totally delicious, totally easy and completely versatile.

Like, would a cake let you put chocolate chip cookies and pretzel nuggets in it?
Hmmm, don’t answer that.  Idea logged.

Anyway, cookie bars are pretty chill.
Ooh, yuck.  I can’t believe I just said that.
What I MEAN is, they are all easy-breezy-I-don’t-care-what-you-add-to-me-because-I-will-work-and-be-delicious-no-matter-what.
Phew.

So yeah.  I make a lot of bar desserts.
They make me happy.
And since you ARE my peeps, I’m thinking they make you happy too.

These are hilariously, deliciously, unbelievably, shockingly, crazily easy to make.

Emphasis on hilariously and deliciously.

It basically tastes like…well, an itty bitty Nutella cake!

And here’s the great part: you can make a whole bunch ahead of time and store them in an airtight container in the freezer. It only takes a few minutes for them to thaw, and they taste yummy cold.

You can also use jarred lemon curd.

Or a combo of jam and curd.

Just be sure to freeze them before spreading the Cool Whip on, or you’ll have a messy mess.

The jam version can get a little sweet

So when in doubt…stick to Nutella!

Have fun with these, guys. They’re fun for kiddo birthday parties or just for a quick after-dinner treat. The Nutella catapults them into…well, into Nutella Land. And that, as we know, is a wonderful land to visit.

Some recipes make caramel seem intimidating by using thermometers and special water tests for doneness, but it really is just a matter of using your eyes to judge. When the sugar and water turn a, well, caramel color, you know it’s ready! Drizzle the caramel over ice cream, poached pears, apple strudel, or pie.

All is right in the world when you drink this little concoction of mine.
It will be sure to warm your belly and add cellulite to your hips. Gotta love the Holidays.
My jeans are already getting too tight, but that did not stop me from drinking this whole glass of Nutella Hot Chocolate with homemade whipped cream.
I hope you guys are still not buying the pre-made “whipped topping”. Please tell me your not. Homemade whipped cream takes like 2 minutes to make and tastes FAR superior to anything that comes from a tub or aerosol can. Oh, and it is a million times cheaper!
I hope you enjoy this heavenly beverage!

Today’s recipe, however, is just about the best thing you can do with that wonderful combination, and that is saying something. It’s just plain crave-able. Moist, spinach-studded, cheese and egg puffs get toasty, crispy bits around the edges and taste great alone, but they really sing when dunked in warm marinara or pizza sauce. It’s enough to turn a Monday-feeling-Friday into a Friday-all-the-way.

Moist, spinach-studded, cheese and egg puffs get toasty, crispy bits around the edges and taste great alone, but really sing when dunked in warm marinara or pizza sauce. This is a favourite movie-night snack at our house and has won over even the most ardent anti-green vegetable protesters in our family. The smaller you chop the spinach after squeezing it dry, the easier it is to get it past picky eaters.

I love fruit dips. Especially the ones you can buy for apples in the Fall time. Well, you can buy it all year long, but if you’re like me, you save that special treat for the Fall. You know what I mean right? Those plastic containers of Caramel Apple Dip usually sold by produce? Yeaaaa, good stuff. But! Despite how yummy I think the dip is I hardly ever buy it simply because I know it’s just loaded with corn syrup. Not as though I am one to be picky considering my own diet… but stuff like that I know you can make from scratch without all the processed garbage. And here is the recipe to prove it!

Often times brown sugar is used to kind of “mock” the taste of caramel in various baked treats and desserts. Caramel pound cakes are basically just brown sugar pound cakes. That’s what this dip does. Instead of complicating your life and asking you to make a homemade caramel, you just use brown sugar. And brown sugar paired with a healthy dose of vanilla extract sure does the job!

You guys are probably wondering what I’m up to seeing as how croutons are usually what you add last to your soup or salad, not first. Yet seeing as how these bad boys are homemade, I wanted y’all to have the recipe for them first. That way these toasty little nuggets of goodness will be ready and waiting to spice up your soup not the other way around. I don’t know about you guys but once my food is ready I’m not one to wait around for anything else to be done.

All you will need to make these croutons are four easy ingredients, Zatarain’s Creole Mustard (which you should be able to find in your local grocery store), cayenne pepper, Cajuns Choice Creole Seasoning and French bread. If these ingredients are not already staples in your pantry, trust me the will be from now on.

I love recipes where pretty much every ingredient called for is in the name. Mostly because recipe names are pretty short, which means that you’ll only need a few ingredients. Take this chicken…you need a bit of real maple syrup (for the love of Beiber, do not use the fake pancake syrup), a bit of dijon mustard, and some chicken. You’ll also need a bit of rice vinegar. You can sprinkle some thyme or rosemary on top too, but that’s only if you’re feeling fancy.

In my opinion, the best part about this is that you don’t have to use softened butter… otherwise known as my arch nemesis. I think we all know that I sort of lack that thing called patience. So it works with cold butter, room temp butter, all butter! No discrimination.

I do, however, like to use unsalted butter. But that’s just me.