If I Dream It...

I don't know why - but the other day I started craving pudding. It's a sweet treat that I have always enjoyed but rarely have any more. One, I never want much of it and two, while I do enjoy my sweets - I am trying to eat more healthy sweets and less processed sugars. I have gotten better with this at breakfast - I've been having fruit smoothies every day for breakfast with about a tablespoon of agave nectar for sweetener upon occasion and have loved every one (though I do wish I had a better blender that actually blended in the seeds). The simplest, and one of the best is frozen pineapple chunks with coconut milk and a little agave. This reminds me of a pina colada and is just totally yummy :) I have no measurements as I blend in the cup I drink from. It's about 1 1/2 cups of fruit though and usually enough liquid to cover it. Milks make it thicker and juices/water thinner. Upon occasion I add chia seeds as well. Yes, I know it looks odd - but it's good! I...

So it has been a long time since I posted last. I have not been very good at taking the time to write things out. I've been side tracked with health, dogs, vacations, work, and baking -- basically life... and well, just haven't stopped to sit and type. However, I've decided I should start to get back to it... I have a few things that I should take time to write out and take pictures again... so give me some time and I'll work on being back more regularly. For now, I just figured I'd show you a little bit of my baking craziness. It all started with a request from a friend's mom. She found a photo in a magazine and asked if I could make it for her. It seemed simple enough - so I said sure. What would result from that - was shocking. I did a practice one, hers, a new practice one with an idea I had to make it look more real... and from there it was order after order. It was a potted cupcake bouquet - pretty and fun. A pot of cupcakes, iced like roses... y...

What do I do when I want dessert but don't want to take a lot of time? I grab a box of cake mix and make cookies :) Simple and sweet... and usually prepped and baked in less than 30 minutes. Not to mention - the endless flavor possibilities... the flexibility allows me to take care of any craving I may have. I usually always have cake mix in the pantry - not usually for cakes (surprisingly I prefer those from scratch), but things like cookies and other yummy sweets. I buy random flavors when they're on sale for $1 a box and then when I've got a craving I pick a box and figure out what I want to do with it. Last time I talked about cake mix cookies , I shared a few different types of cake mix cookies... today, I'm sharing a few different flavor profiles. They're simple and quick cookie creations. And they all use the basic ingredients to make the cake mix into cookies, so there is a bit of repetition for each... White Chocolate Coconut Lemon Cookies 1 ...

So for the longest time I've been admiring all the amazing jello shots online - they get so creative, so pretty, and look soooooo good!! And I finally broke and decided it was time to try making some of my own :) They're not gorgeous or amazing - simply my first attempt... some day I will try them again. See if I can make the fancy ones... but these were still good. A few surprisingly strong. However, I must admit I got a little over zealous this time around. Made way too many... But they were still pretty good :) So here were my fun jello shot creations... In the order I made them... Strawberry Pineapple Jello Shots 3          oz      Strawberry Jello 1 1/4    tsp     Unflavored Gelatine 1          Cup   Boiling Water 1 1/4    Cup   Chilled Coconut Rum (divided) 1 1/4    Cup   Pineapple Juice (divided) In medium bowl mix strawberry jello with boili...

With the issues of the last post behind me - THANKFULLY - I couldn't help but spend some time in the kitchen :) So today I share two "dishes" that are summer inspired - veggies with dinner and fruit with dessert. Both were super easy and pleasantly yummy!  Veggie Penne 1      Tbl      Bacon Grease (could use olive oil) 2.5   Cups   Penne 2      Cups   Chicken Broth (could use vegetable broth) 1/2   Cup     Water 2      Cup     Broccoli 1      Med     Carrot (shredded) 1/2   Cup     Frozen Peas 2      tsp       Minced Garlic (divided) 1/4   Cup     Grated Parmesan Cheese 1      oz        Cream Cheese Salt & Pepper to taste Melt bacon grease in a large skillet and add 1 tsp minced garlic. Allow to simmer for a minute and ...