No Bake Mango Cheese Pie

Monday, December 29, 2014
This is a 1970s-style no-bake cheese pie made with sweetened condensed milk, with the added Mango fruit topping this dessert is an absolute game-changer in flavor.

We love tropical desserts and it sure to get your imagination and palate soaring to warm sunny Islands with that first bite!.

The cream cheese together with the milk is a match made in creamy heaven, and can be made in a snap and perfect for that last-minute dinner party, backyard bbq or because you want to indulge in a tropical dessert experience.

The pie has a graham cracker crust and easy-to-find simple ingredients to make a smooth creamy filling with ripe mangoes.

Check out this vintage easy recipe not only simple to make but it's a no-bake delicious cheesecake pie with a fabulous mango glaze, whipped cream, and coconut tropical delight!

If you love no-bake treats you won't want to miss our Holiday No-Bake Treats for Christmas, they're so easy and lots of fun to make!

Also, the glaze on top can be made with any fruit you prefer, topped with whipped cream, and garnished with the same fruits!

Scroll down to the recipe card for our easy recipe and hit print to avoid any ads.


delicious no bake sweetened condensed milk pie with mango and toasted coconut


Christmas Tree Recipe Ideas

Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Every year I try something new and creative with my Christmas Tree Pan here are just a few suggestions this year.

I used it for my Krispie treats tinted with green food coloring, always a favorite at any function.

This pan can be purchased at any dollar store or you can find one online. You can make some very festive treats with this shaped pan.

I left mine plain for a good visual but just think how festive you can dress this up. Use some color sprinkles, sugar decorations, maraschino cherries, cut out mini star cookies etc.

Use some creative imagination and this is perfect for school parties, events and more, anything disposable works great to and the perfect shaped mold for the holidays!!






Cornflake Holiday Wreaths

Friday, December 19, 2014
Made with melted butter and marshmallows these 1960s-style Christmas Holiday Cornflake Wreaths are a great festive addition to your holiday cookie tray.

Fun and easy to make and the kids love to help decorate with the cinnamon red hot candies!

This recipe is super easy to make in minutes and brightens up festively on any table setting during the Christmas Holiday season.

Growing up we made these for the tops of our cookie trays for a festive finishing touch.

This easy cornflake and marshmallow cookie candy are just perfect for dressing up your holiday tables.

Besides tasting delicious they are so super easy to make in minutes with just a few ingredients.


cookie tray with cornflake wreaths



Baked Pumpkin Spiced Rice Pudding

Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Just when you think you have had everything pumpkin imaginable comes along another great idea. This shouts fall and Holiday dessert all over the place. Love the ease of this recipe as it is baked in the oven. Delicious and a nice change of pace. Scroll down to see this is a smash hit this fall season using pumpkin!



this is a rice pudding with pumpkin and spices cooking on the stove top then baked then garnished with whipped cream and cinnamon sticks and a dash or cinnamon and sugar on top




Sausage Eggs Potatoes Giambotta

Monday, December 15, 2014
In every Italian household we would have leftovers, and make it for breakfast or another meal for Sunday dinner we called Giambotta.

Although giambotta is really a stew in Italian with eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers, potato, onion, tomatoes, garlic, basil, and olive oil are common ingredients and usually served as a main course, or alongside grilled meats, such as sausage or swordfish, pasta, polenta, or rice we do a breakfast version with all kinds of additions to eggs.

Whisk up some eggs and just about anything you have in the refrigerator goes into the pan and with the addition of fresh cubed tomatoes, you have a breakfast stew of sorts.

Meats, potatoes, cheeses, onions, and just about anything else your little heart desires.

The sausage peppers and potatoes were our classic favorites and like a big frittata.

Remember to use only Authentic Italian crusty bread when making a giambotta sandwich never American bread.





Rugelach Filled Butter Horns

Friday, December 12, 2014
Rugelach (pronounced rug-a-lah) is a buttery pastry-style cookie with a variety of fillings.

This cookie originating in the Jewish communities of Poland is a delicious addition to your cookie collections.

These flaky buttery cookies are very popular in Israel, commonly found in most cafes and bakeries.

Traditional rugelach is made in the form of a crescent by rolling a triangle of dough around a filling.

You may also seen this cookie/pastry spelled differently IE rugelakh, rugulach, rugalach, ruggalach, rogelach, rugalah, rugulah, rugala.

The dough is made with butter and cream cheese, the filling has jam, nuts, and spices and we have several recipe fillings to choose from in our favorite filling section below.

Scroll down to this easy rugelach recipe and let's get baking!


these are little horn shaped cookies filled with nuts, cinnamon in flakey pastry dough


Make Your Own Homemade Sanding Sugars

Wednesday, December 10, 2014
If you are looking for How to Make Colorful sugar at home you found the right page!

This easy DIY way to make sand sugar is so easy, there will never be a reason to go out and buy those little jars of it anymore.

The more important ingredient to have on hand besides sugar is food coloring either in liquid or gel style.

The liquid will take longer to dry but both work perfectly in achieving results.

If you love saving money and making homemade staples like this one you may also like to visit our Homemade Pantry Recipes.

Just remember to also have either mason jars or ziplock bags to store the colors in especially if you're making of a bunch of colors.

For your convenience, I have typed out a printable recipe card so you can keep this one hand when needed at the bottom of this page.




Santa Nutter Butter Hat

Sunday, December 7, 2014
Santa is made from the famous Nutter Butter Cookies, easy and festive looking for Christmas in a child's eye and young at heart.


These can be made sure easy or if you're a creative decorator, use professional cake decorating tools for a smooth look.


We took the easy way out and used melted chocolate, canned frosting, tic tacs, and red cinnamon hots for the nose.


All you have to do is put that creative juice to work and you can adapt away however you like.


We also used sanding red sugar for the Santa hat for a little glistening highlight.


Super easy instructions and really nothing to it, but the kids will love helping you make these festive Christmas Cookies.


If you're not a baker or like to make fun treats, these will be your new favorite cookies for the holidays.


santa nutter butter cookies made into santa


Savory Filled Tarlet Dough Recipes

Tuesday, December 2, 2014
These little tartlets are just the perfect vessel for any fillings, from seafood to just vegetarian and we have all the ideas below you will even need.

The perfect grab-and-go finger food for breakfast, brunch, or lunch and perfect for entertaining and large parties.

We love the combinations that can be made with just any filling you prefer to make everyone happy with a large assortment.

Scroll down to the recipe card for this easy recipe to bake these mini pies in muffin tins or any individual tartlet pans, you're family will love it.





Cookie Cutter Sandwich Idea Recipe Video

Monday, December 1, 2014

Hoping to impress the kids or guests with some creative food art that's easy? How about bringing them to work, school or any party.  Here is a great selection to match the theme of your event. Anyone can get creative and make these with little fuss and the whole family can enjoy the fun of eating them. These finger sandwiches are festive on any table no matter what the occasion or Holiday is everyone will love them!









Filling suggestions:

Turkey breast chopped fine to add some mayo or ranch dressing to moisten
Chicken chopped adding peppercorn ranch dressing, raisins, diced apples
Peanut butter and jelly
Egg Salad using chopped boiled eggs and mayo
Tuna Salad using canned tuna, mayo and some chopped black olives
Ham Salad using chopped ham, chopped pineapple, and mayo
Pepperoni, Capicola, Mortadella all chopped together in small pieces add some Italian dressing and shredded lettuce
Cream cheese spread on the bread and add canned drained crab meat or baby shrimp

Use any metal cookie cutter you like to the theme of the holiday or event. See examples below:

Valentines Day: Heart shaped Cookie Cutter
St. Patricks Day: Shamrock Cookie Cutter
Halloween: Pumpkin Cookie Cutter
Birthday: Use a favorite Character Cookie Cutter 
Christmas: Use a tree, star, snowman etc.

Almond Joy Biscotti

Sunday, November 30, 2014
Almond Joy Biscotti, a combination of coconut in a crispy crunchy twice-baked cookie with toasted almonds dipped in chocolate, interested?

This cookie is super delicious for all your candy bar and cookie lovers out there and with all these flavors this is a winner all the way around.

Simple ingredients using flour, eggs, and butter in the batter give this a thick base then with the additions of coconut and toasted almonds it combines perfectly for the dough to be ready to form into logs.

Baked for around 30 minutes, cooled cut, and then dipped into chocolate are just a few easy steps and you're on your way to a delicious almond joy biscotti.

If you're in a hurry just scroll to the bottom of the page hit print, the ads will go away for you to just print off the recipe, but I do want to alert you to the excellent tips in the body of this recipe post are worth a read.




Tomato Basil Garlic Pizza Recipe

Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Tomato Garlic Pizza aka White Pizza with tomatoes is a classic crispy baked crusted pizza topped with buttery oil, tomatoes, and fresh garlic with herbs.

If you're not a huge fan of tomato sauce, this is a fantastic alternative and we even do half tomato slices and half plain for those picky eaters, as shown in our photos.

Although we do make our favorite Homemade Pizza Dough recipe, you are welcome to buy your favorite premade Italian pizza dough to make this recipe.

We will even give you more topping suggestions to build your white garlic pizza with any additions on top you prefer.

If you're in a hurry scroll down to the bottom of this page to hit print to avoid ads.



homemade garlic pizza topped with sliced tomatoes garlic mozzarella and torn basil


Chinese Almond Cookies

Friday, November 14, 2014
Chinese Almond Cookies are one of the easiest cookies to make and you may have seen these in your favorite Chinese restaurant buffet dessert table.

April 9th is National Chinese Almond Cookie day and being a fan of these deep almond-flavored cookies, I try to make them every year to celebrate the day.

The cookies are terrific with black tea or a cup of Joe and great for when that sugar craving hits you.

Simple ingredients make these super tasty and you can even add a few additions to make the batter a little different each time with are mix-in suggestions.

This popular Chinese cookie has a nice crunch with an addicting melt-in-your-mouth texture.

The cookies are traditionally given as gifts around the Chinese New Year as a way to bring good fortune, but you can find them all year round throughout the world.

We enjoy all kinds of cookies and make several different kinds for the holiday season we call it the One-Stop Cookie Shop of recipes you may like to try.

Do try these delicious cookies, the recipe has been tried and true and we love the taste using both shortening and butter for the perfect bite.

Scroll down to my printable recipe card for the recipe and tips.




How to Cook Raw Shrimp and Recipes

Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Calling all shrimp lovers. This is how to make the perfect cooked shrimp. Once you've cleaned and boiled raw shrimp it's ready for your favorite dish and it doesn't have to be a chore. Shrimp can be turned into so many wonderful dishes too. Fried, with cocktail sauce cold or any other style you have in mind. Here is the first steps to take to make sure they are the perfect shrimp
for your recipe.




Beef Barley Vegetable Soup

Saturday, November 8, 2014
This is a beef barley soup with tiny meatballs and vegetables a whole complete meal in a bowl it's so hearty.


This soup is pure comfort with a versatile assortment of vegetables added to the pot and chunks of beef, it's a all in one pot dinner.


The soup can be made wth fresh, frozen, or canned vegetables and we have several suggestions for substituting meats if you're not fond of beef.


We like to use a medley of vegetables and addition of meatballs along with cubed beef and barley all compliment each other perfectly in this easy soup recipe.


We have made this with a chicken based broth and even ham so don't be afraid to adapt the recipe to what you have in your refrigerator.


Scroll down to our recipe card to print this off and save it!




Easy Steps

  1. Add the water to a big soup pot
  2. place the meat in the pot
  3. boil with vegetables and simmer until meat is tender
  4. add the vegetables, sauce, and barley simmer untl barley is soft and tenders
  5. serve with garlic toast, grated cheese or croutons on top


beef barley soup


Additional Suggestions to Add to Beef Soup

  • stewed tomatoes
  • corn
  • peas 
  • fresh green beans 
  • cooked or canned black, red or white beans
  • fennel
  • diced zucchini
  • baby carrots
  • shredded cabbage or bokchoy
  • a frozen medley of vegetables or canned rinsed
  • cooked split peas
  • leftover hash brown potatoes
  • celery chopped
  • onions
  • fresh basil,parsely, thyme
  • any kind of small cooked pasta, or cooked rice
  • cooked lentils


pan of beef soup with vegetables


Tips:


  • use fresh, frozen, or canned vegetables
  • if using escarole always boil it first to clean out any dirt particles in another pan
  • this soup freezes for up to 6 months in containers
  • if using onion in your recipe remember the next day leftovers will have a stronger taste and sometimes be overwhelming we only use a few tablespoons(your preference
  • the broth is much richer using beef broth and water combined and omitting the bouillion 
  • this recipe can be made in a slow cooker, instant pot, or stovetop
  • pork, chicken, or ham products can be used in place of beef
  • squash can be used also but it cooks quickly so add it 15 minutes before the soup is done cooking
  • store in a covered container in the refrigerator
  • This soup tastes great with grated cheese on top
  • add tortellini, chicken, or Italian sausage to this soup with fresh spinach as shown below instead of beef 


chicken barley soup


More Family Recipes:



Best Soup Recipe Roundup

25 Italian Best Recipes We Love


Beef Barley Pin for later





Beef



Remember anything goes but again try and stick to fresh because fresh vegetables are the best in vitamins and minerals.


This soup also freezes well in containers for a quick meal any weeknight.


Just add whatever you like to our basic recipe and choose from the many suggestions in our printable recipe card below.


Beef Barley Vegetable Soup

Beef Barley Vegetable Soup
Yield: 10
Author: Claudia Lamascolo
Prep time: 13 MinCook time: 1 H & 30 MTotal time: 1 H & 43 M
A rich beef barley soup with meatballs and cubed London broil. Hearty and comforting soup with vegetables.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound london broil or chuck roast trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes
  • 1 cup fingerling carrots
  • 1 cup cut green beans, peas or mixed vegetables
  • 1 or two stalks of celery
  • 1 small diced onion
  • 10 cups water
  • 1 cup uncooked pearl barley
  • 1 bay leave (which is removed after cooking)
  • salt, and pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon granulated garlic powder
  • 2 cups fresh spinach leaves or chopped cleaned escarole
  • 3 tablespoons beef bouillon
  • 1 small 4-ounce can of tomato sauce or use 3 diced fresh tomatoes
  • Mini Meatballs:
  • 1/2 pound ground chuck
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated garlic
  • 1/4 cup Italian flavored bread crumbs
  • 1 tablespoon grating cheese
  • salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste
  • Mix all together and set aside.

Instructions

  1. In an 8-quart saucepot, fill with water 3 inches from the top.
  2. Add the whole piece of London broil, carrots, and whole stalks of celery.
  3. Boil for around 1 hour until meat is tender.
  4. Remove meat, cool, slice, and place back into the pot.
  5. Make the meatballs.
  6. Drop tiny rolled meatballs into the boiling soup.
  7. Add the barley, spinach, seasoning bay leaf, and salt pepper to taste.
  8. Remove celery and bay leaf. (If you like celery diced it first then add it we only use it for flavoring the soup)
  9. Add tomato sauce.
  10. Continue cooking until meat is fork tender, and barley is soft, adding water if necessary if getting too thick.
  11. Taste for salt and pepper balance.
  12. The soup should take 1 1/2 hours to simmer and cook.
  13. This can be done in a slow cooker for 6 hours on high adding everything except meatballs (those would be dropped in after the soup was very hot and at a rolling simmer in the crockpot).

Nutrition Facts

Calories

219.71

Fat (grams)

7.61

Sat. Fat (grams)

2.88

Carbs (grams)

19.62

Fiber (grams)

4.13

Net carbs

15.49

Sugar (grams)

1.61

Protein (grams)

18.09

Sodium (milligrams)

111.33

Cholesterol (grams)

61.64
beef barley soup, london broil barley soup, soup recipes
beef soup recipes, beef barley recipes, soup recipes
American




If You Love Soups, Try My Favorite Recipes Below


Best Soup Recipes
Best 20 Bean Recipes
Vegetable Stock
Chicken Broth



Beef Barley Pin for later






Chicken and Chickpea Tagine with Pasta

Thursday, November 6, 2014
Chicken and Chickpea Tagine with Pasta is a braised style stew with pasta, a little change with the flavors but a great weeknight meal that's super tasty.

Boneless chicken thighs are what I use in our recipe and it's tweaked quite a bit from the original recipe with a blend of more Italian spices added.

For those who don't like some of the spices we use, adapt to your own taste, we do like the addition of cinnamon and ginger in this dish.

The chickpeas give it a nice addition to the sauce along with some raisins and then over a dish of rice or your favorite pasta a very hearty meal.

Then as much or little spice to taste for the perfect weeknight meal or even hosting a dinner party this meal really goes a long way in feeding a crowd.

If you love new chicken recipes you may also like to try Pizza Chicken and Potatoes, Copycat Longhorn Chicken Parmesan Crusted Chicken.

Scroll down to the bottom for this yummy printable recipe to make this amazing sauce with chicken and chickpeas.





No Bake Peanut Butter Pie

Sunday, November 2, 2014
No-Bake Peanut Butter Pie tastes just like a dessert that you’d order at a restaurant and can be made in no time with just a few ingredients.

Our pie is made with cream cheese, powdered sugar, peanut butter, whipped topping (or use real whip cream sweetened) chocolate, or graham cracker crust and we use hot fudge and peanut butter cups for garnishing.

What can be easier than this no-bake peanut butter pie that's ready in around 1 hour just to refrigerate until firm.

My favorite way is to use a premade chocolate crust however graham cracker crust is delicious also.

This pie is mixed in with a fluffy whipped topping to give you the creamiest slice of Peanut Butter no-bake pie ever.

Our decadent rich pie goes a long way also since a small slice is all you need to serve your guests but again this pie is so easy peasy to make.

If you love no-bake easy pies, you may also like to try our No-Bake Pineapple Fluff Pie which is very versatile you can use any fruit you like!.

Scroll down to the recipe card to print off this easy recipe.



no bake peanut butter hot fudge cream pie


Condensed Milk Almond Pound Cake

Saturday, November 1, 2014
Condensed Milk Pound Cake will be your new favorite cake because it's a rich buttery, and dense pound cake sweetened with sweetened condensed milk.

We love this with whipped cream and fresh berries, it makes an elegant dessert to serve any time of the year but is perfect for hosting a dinner party.

Mom usually made this around the 4th of July holiday and she would cube it up and add blueberries and strawberries with whipped cream in little plastic parfait glasses layered.

I actually like to slice the cake lengthwise and fill it with berries and cream and when sliced it's a colorful sliced of wonderful condensed milk cake.

The cake is made with wholesome simple ingredients, so you won't have to go crazy finding ingredients to make this one they are all in any local market.

Just follow the step-by-step instructions and print off our recipe card for this recipe.




Fried Pumpkin Donut Recipe

Friday, October 31, 2014
Fried donuts have always been a tradition around Halloween, and because of the calories we make them once year!

Mom always ,ade them from scatch and the buttermilk keeps these nice and moist.

The only real special tool needed is a donut cutter.

We used to love the donut centers fried and frosted, so don't throw away that extra dough!




Halloween Pumpkin Krispie Heads

Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Fun to make and eat these orange colored rice krispie treats are a blast for the kids! Easy instructions and they just need to use a little imagination to get some Halloween fun into action. I left mine goofy looking (smile) try them with other color licorice too and make them all unique~! Check out the video for quick instructions on how to make these!


Halloween orange rice krispies pumpkin heads with tootsie rolls centers. These are a traditional recipe for rice krispie treats.

Halloween Apple Mummy Head

Monday, October 27, 2014
If you going to make something ghoulish then hopefully it's this Halloween Apple Mummy Head.

Here is an apple galette the kids will love to help you make, so easy, all you need is some pie dough with a yummy apple filling and all wrapped up into a mummy form.

Easy, fun delicious, and terribly ghoulish!

I also make cute Witch Hats that are so simple using store-bought ingredients.

Scroll down to see what he looks like all decorated with frosting.




this is pie dough transformed into a mummy apple galette. This shows how to make a mummy using pie crust and its filled with apple pie filling. The eyes are made with blueberries and  a Halloween treat.


Wicked Witch Halloween Cupcakes

Tuesday, October 21, 2014
A little whimsicle cupcake created as a fan of the very popular and classic movie "The Wizard Of Oz".

Delicious little ding dong the witch is dead cupcakes recreated in the the shape of witch boots with striped socks using candy and cake.

Here is the Wicked Witch of the East is a great addition to any Halloween Party table and surely a talking point of conversation with this creative easy cupcake.

These are easy to make and you can come up with your own creative ideas to change them in different colors and any flavor cupcakes.

The directions are in a printable recipe card at the end of this post of for some creative witches out there just follow the photo!




S'more Stuffed Brownies

Monday, October 13, 2014
Here are the easiest summer S'more Stuffed Brownie recipe that is a must-make all summer long.

Marshmallow stuffed brownies are the best treats for outdoor BBQs, picnics in the park or beach, and no fuss or mess for that next camping trip!

The marshmallow layers bake up like magic and transform into a gourmet S'more brownie that will wow everyone and even take first place in taste in a brownie competition!

This is an easy recipe for anyone who doesn't like to bake but loves brownies our recipe uses a prepared brownie mix, marshmallows, chocolate chips, and graham crackers!

Of course, if you prefer something other than brownie mix you can always make the batter from scratch using our Triple Fudge Brownie recipe.

Scroll down for the printable recipe instructions (if you want to avoid ads and get to the recipe scroll down to the recipe card and hit print.


marshmallow and graham cracker stuffed brownies


Puff Pastry Red Raspberry Turnovers

Sunday, October 12, 2014
A very favorite pastry I just love!


Red Raspberry filled flaky pastry is one of the best desserts for me. I tore one open to show you how delicious the inside is with this puff pastry dough.


Of course, if you prefer them with frosting you can just drizzle that over the tops.


I like them plain as the filling and pastry are sweet enough for me.! Enjoy!






Easy Vegetable Broth

Saturday, October 11, 2014
Here is a great Easy Vegetable Broth and I like to make a huge amount freeze it to use in many kinds of recipes.

This broth is terrific not only for a clear vegetable broth but perfect to flavor stews, chili and gravy as it adds a ton of flavor to boost your dish.

Of course the soup is full bodied and anything can be added like cooked rice or pasta for a hearty meal.

A healthy quick lunch, brunch or dinner it's delicious anytime.

If your a vegetarian this is a  full-bodied broth  you'll love!




Best Ever Cheesy Mashed Potato Recipe

Saturday, October 4, 2014
Here is a perfect side dish any time of the year and the best cheesy mashed potatoes you will ever make!


Who can resist bacon, potatoes, and loaded with melted cheese?


This recipe is like hitting the Best Potato Recipe jackpot.


I use to love to add different toppings so feel free to adapt away with chives, roasted garlic or even some diced jalapenos for heat!


If you happen to love Guinness Recipes try my other holiday dessert recipe to celebrate here.


For a printable recipe, just scroll to the bottom.



cheese topped mashed potatoes and bacon


Best Halloween Recipe Idea Roundup

Wednesday, October 1, 2014
If you are looking for some creative and cool fun ideas for your next Halloween Party Bash, look no more this Best Halloween Recipe Idea Roundup is your one-stop party shop!


You will find every Ghoulish walking dead idea right here.


We have witch hats, tombstones, pumpkin drinks, eyeballs, mummy's and so many more creative fun ideas to get this party started.


Check out all my ideas and my fun video at the end to give you a good idea on how to begin planning a fun Halloween party all the kids and young at heart will love!


I love fall and this time of the year watching the kids play, apple recipescreative fun foods, and party appetizers come to stroll through these bewitching treats.



here is all you Halloween party needs all in one great article. These recipes are all fun for your Halloween party needs. The assortment includes Halloween meatloaf, Halloween eyeballs, Halloween deviled eggs, witches fingers, witches broom, cupcakes, donuts, cookies, english muffin ghoulish pizzas and much more



Old Fashioned Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Tuesday, September 30, 2014
If you want to kick off the fall season with an old-fashioned pumpkin spiced flavor try our fabulous Pumpkin Whoopie Pies With Cream Cheese Filling.

These homemade Pumpkin Whoopie Pies feature soft and moist pumpkin-flavored cookies sandwiched with a spice and cream cheese fluffy filling.

Seriously addicting whoopie pies with a big bold flavor.

You may be familiar with the popular chocolate whoopie pies, but we created the pumpkin spice ultimate fall cookie.

These are moist, soft, and a tender cake that melts in your mouth and if you're a pumpkin cookie lover you just hit the jackpot of cookies!

Below you will find a printable easy recipe to follow and these can be also made ahead of time and frozen.


filled pumpkin spice cookie whoopie pies


Sausage Pepperoni Peppers Mushroom Stromboli or Ricotta Calzones

Monday, September 29, 2014
These are our most favorite game day foods or for all and any occasions.

Perfect stuffed bread for all your family and party needs.

These stuffed bread are filled with our favorites, sauteed sausage, peppers, mushrooms, and pepperoni.

You can tailor these to your family's favorite pizza toppings and use what you like to fill these with. I will give you a list of suggestions below.

The cheese oozing out of these is the best part of a stromboli or calzone.

Are Strombolis and Calzones the same?

One is quite different in filling than the other.

For instance, calzones are ricotta-filled and essentially a pizza that is folded in half like a half-moon, and can be also stuffed with meats like ham or even spinach.

Stromboli is an entirely different shape than a calzone—they're more of a tube/cylinder and contain several layers of cheese, meats, and can have several vegetables in it.

Our family is not only a fan of stromboli and calzones we are also huge pizza fans here and make our own Homemade Pizza Dough along with Italian Stromboli, Panzerotti which is fried dough stuffed and Italian Fried Pizza Dough aka Pizza Fritta and of course Mom's Sausage Roll.

In Italy, a calzone is filled pretty much the same but often fried not baked, and called Panzerotti fritti.

Regardless of the shapes and filling both the Stromboli and Calzones are stuffed pizza dough.

For me, the more cheese the happier I am! The meat enhances the flavors from the oils it secretes.

pizza roll stuffed stromboli




Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

Sunday, September 28, 2014
This is a rich Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup is delicious and easy to make.


The soup is made quickly with chicken breast, and vegetables, and makes a tasty broth with spices, and some half and half for that perfect creaminess.


The roux is made with simple pantry ingredients to get this thickened with butter, olive oil, and flour.


Any pasta can be used in place of noodles but they certainly are a nice addition in this soup.


If you love homemade pasta try our Homemade Tortellini Pasta and Homemade Egg Noodles which are two family favorites.


Scroll down to our printable recipe card at the bottom for this delicious soup recipe.


creamy noodle soup


Peach Air Fried Hand Pies

Friday, September 26, 2014
Introducing a delectable twist on the classic hand pies a small but mighty treat that combines the indulgence of a traditional pastry with the modern convenience of air frying.

These air-fried hand pies are a delightful fusion of flaky, golden-brown crust and a luscious fruit filling, all achieved with significantly less oil than traditional frying methods.

The results are astonishing with a guilt-free yet utterly satisfying dessert or snack option that's perfect for any occasion.

Whether you're craving a sweet treat to satisfy your taste buds or searching for a creative way to enjoy a handheld dessert, these air-fried hand pies offer a harmonious blend of flavors and textures, making each bite a truly delightful experience.

The best part is you can also use any fruit you prefer, it's peach season here right now in this hot August month, but truly this easy-to-make recipe is great using a pie filling, fresh fruits of choice all year long.

Join us on a culinary journey that reimagines the beloved hand pie into a lighter, air-fried masterpiece without compromising on taste or quality.


Spinach and Bean Chicken Soup

Friday, September 19, 2014
This Spinach and Bean Soup is so comforting and bursting with flavorful broth.

This tomato-based broth with spinach and beans comes together pretty quick with tender chunks of cubed chicken breast fit for a King.

Perfect any time of the year no matter the season and perfect for using up leftovers after a holiday using turkey or even rotisserie chicken.

Any beans can be used white beans, chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans, Pinto beans, or even lentils!

We also add our favorite we call "Little Ears" pasta we make from scratch however it's hearty enough with no other ingredients.


chicken spinach and bean soup


Best Banana Bread Pudding

Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Warm comforting banana bread pudding that is perfect as a dessert or snack and it's full of that banana bread flavor everyone loves!

Our Best Banana Bread Pudding is delicious any time of the day and really is the best way to put a smile to start your day with this for breakfast!

Check out our fun easy toppings for kids or adults like hot fudge, caramel or whiskey sauce.

For a Printable copy scroll to the bottom of this page and hit print for all the recipes.

banana bread pudding with hot fudge sauce and whipped cream


Cinnamon Blondies

Sunday, September 14, 2014
A true blondie is a dense butterscotch-tasting bar-shaped dessert and we've added a layer of cinnamon sugar to almost taste like the classic snickerdoodle cookies.

We layered these bars alternating dough with cinnamon sugar and butterscotch chips to make a delightful treat that our family just loves.

Through the years we also used other flavored chips and adapted this recipe even topped with ice cream when served.

If you haven't tried making blondies before this is a great recipe to start with, it is certainly a delicious alternative to regular chocolate brownies, and blondies were invented at least 10 years before the chocolate brownie back in the 1900s.

We love all kinds of brownie bars you may have heard of Oreo Stuffed Brownies or our Peanut Butter Ritz Crack Stuffed Brownies more of a gourmet stuffed brownie to try.

This full recipe is in a printable recipe card at the bottom of this page after all the tips and suggestions.



blondie bars with cinnamon sugar and butterscotch chips on top


Mom's Grilled Sausage Patties Potatoes and Peppers

Saturday, August 30, 2014
 Mom's Grilled Sausage Patties Potatoes and Peppers  are the best smell I remember her cooking as I child. Those flavors are etched in my mind forever. I will always miss her cooking. Even making it myself will never duplicate mom's flavors. The smells when I came home from school with this baking in the oven was heavenly.

You may remember Mom's Sausage Recipe? Well this is the same recipe just made into sausage patties adding peppers and potatoes.


Mom's Grilled Sausage Patties Potatoes and Peppers

Homemade Sweet Potato Baby Food

Sunday, August 24, 2014
Making Homemade Baby food is easier than you think and this Baby food Sweet Potato Mash Recipe is quick and simple to make!

It really isn't time-consuming since you can make it so many ways.

I love knowing how much healthier making my own baby food is and what I am giving to the kids, it's total peace of mind.

You will have to choose how you would prefer and time you have to do this.

I prefer to roast my vegetables and not use canned always fresh to preserve the vitamins in them.

However, if you find yourself with time constraints, boiling is the next best option, although you will lose some benefits of vitamins lost.

After having two of my own children and now grandchildren, I feel safe knowing what they're eating by making their baby food from scratch and homemade.

I highly recommend doing this if you have the time.

It really is easy to do and the babies all loved sweet potatoes and the apples, you can choose from the many suggestions below using this same method on what you want to prepare for your baby.





this is how to make homemade baby sweet potatoes and its in a glass dish with a spatula





Peanut Butter Texas Sheet Cake

Saturday, August 23, 2014
Ok, I have the best of both recipes here for Peanut Butter Texas Sheets Cakes! One is all from scratch and the other is made with a Cake Mix so whatever you're preference when you want homemade or semi-homemade Texas Sheet Cake recipes!

Maybe you remember our other sheet cake Vanilla or Chocolate Texas Sheet cake recipes? We are huge fans of Texas sheet cakes of all flavors!

We got you covered with sheet cake flavors and methods here today if you're a peanut lover.

If I am in a hurry I make the cake mix version but when I have the time I made the all-made-from-scratch version both are delicious.

Peanut butter, butter, flour, sugar, and buttermilk are some of the wholesome ingredients in this recipe and the icing is just heavenly smooth and of course, made with peanut butter also.


Both versions are moist and tender cakes also, it's really hard to choose if one is better or which one is made from scratch.

I love having this opportunity to have a choice for my readers, especially those who won't use a cake mix version.

Just scroll to the bottom of this post for both printable recipes and let us know which one you like betters.




No Bake Chocolate Fluffy Pie

Monday, August 18, 2014
Indulge in the ultimate treat for chocolate enthusiasts with our exquisite No-Bake Chocolate Whipped Cream Pie.

This delectable dessert embodies a delicate balance of flavors and textures, bringing together the richness of chocolate and the airy elegance of whipped cream.

But that's not all, what sets this pie apart is its ethereal fluffiness that dances on your taste buds, creating the creamiest of chocolaty sensations with every bite.

Imagine sinking your fork into a velvety, chocolate-infused filling that's held within a crumbly, chocolate cookie crust.

As you take that first heavenly bite, the pie's enchanting lightness melts effortlessly on your palate, delivering a tantalizing contrast to the intense, bittersweet notes of premium chocolate.

This masterpiece isn't just a dessert; it's an experience that marries the sophistication of a gourmet treat with the comfort of a homemade delight.

Crafted to perfection, our No-Bake Chocolate Whipped Cream Pie is an embodiment of simplicity and indulgence, proving that creating culinary wonders doesn't always require a hot oven.

Welcome to the world of decadence and delight that is our No-Bake Chocolate Whipped Cream Pie!