I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again and again: A cupcake is the perfect food. It’s compact, portable, portion controlled by design, and, in a pinch, it’s breakfast! I mean, it has wheat AND dairy, just like a bowl of cereal! You’re welcome 😉 And here, I’m adding a legume topping: Peanut butter frosting! Get on board with my new food pyramid. The view is great from the top! (Read more…)
Rocky Road Chocolate Shortbread Bars
The Saga of ‘foods Cynthia was kinda “meh” about, but now likes’ continues. Today’s chapter is all about the lowly marshmallow. Even as a kid marshmallows never excited me. I was never really into S’mores, didn’t have a Rice Krispy treat until just recently, and as a child of the South, never ate a Moon Pie, with or without an RC Cola (😱 clutch my pearls!)
The one “food” that finally brought marshmallows a little closer to my mouth (and my heart), is Breyers Rocky Road Ice Cream, which may or may not disappear from my freezer at a rapid rate, on occasion. Dark chocolate ice cream, laced with ribbons of marshmallow, and big pieces of crunchy chocolate covered almonds?! Oh, heck yes!! I have tried to recreate the flavor and fun of that treat with these Rocky Road Chocolate Shortbread Bars. Soft bits of mini marshmallows and crunchy toasted nuts are mixed into rich chocolate and layered over a buttery chocolate shortbread crust for an unforgettable bite. Sometimes I’m all in with almonds and sometimes I’m nuts about walnuts, but I’m always over the moon about these Rocky Road Chocolate Shortbread Bars! (Read more…)
Sheet Pan Sausage and Peppers
So this is what happened. The Boy was studying for something at work. An exam. Grown up stuff. But he forgot he had bought all the ingredients to make his Sausage and Peppers. This is a meal that only he cooks. I don’t mean that traditionally he’s the one who cooks Sausage and Peppers, I mean he’s the only one allowed to cook sausage and peppers. Ever. But he’s busy now and the rest of us are hungry, so… I made them. Gasp!! 😱 I know!! But, it was Sunday, and Daughter #3 and I were binging something or other on Netflix, and I didn’t want to stand at the stove nursing vegetables and sausages. So I went the sheet pan supper route, and oh boy did things go crazy! The Boy emerged from his study cave, sat down, examined his Sheet Pan Sausage and Peppers sandwich, took one bite and said it was… better than his! 😳 And he looked VERY disgruntled when he said it. And then he ate every bite. And then he got a second sandwich. And then he came back with an extra serving of plain Sausage and Peppers. I’m sorry (not sorry) for stealing his “King of Sausage and Peppers” crown but this went over REALLY well, is what I’m saying. You should try it too. Maybe there’s an Italian Nonna you want to make mad? (Read more…)
Skillet Cornbread
Cornbread holds a special place in my heart for a few reasons. I went to elementary school in San Antonio, where the cafeteria would serve cornbread the way rest of the country served plain bread. I also grew up the grandchild of Olga Mae from Noxubee County Mississippi, who made Skillet Cornbread almost every day of her life. The best part of her Skillet Cornbread was a not so well kept secret in the South – bacon fat. Olga Mae, like most resourceful Southern women of her time, kept a coffee can full of bacon fat on her kitchen counter that found its way into most of the foods she cooked, especially her Skillet Cornbread. Why buy butter or oil when you get bacon fat for free every time you cook bacon? So when I think of my Ultimate Skillet Cornbread, it has to include bacon fat. I’m not saying anyone should go on an all bacon fat diet, just don’t throw it away the next time you cook a few slices. There’s a cornbread waiting to bake (Read more…)