Because of the easiness of it all, I really like to keep homemade cake mixes on hand. But not all of our favorite from-scratch cakes can be had out of a mix. But that favorite from-scratch cake batter can be frozen! It’s just like freezing cookie dough to be baked later for the ease of [...]

When I was looking for a carrot cake recipe to experiment with freezing cake batter, I ended up combining a few different recipes I found to make this wonderful moist carrot cake, using what I had on hand and what we like. How to make Moist Carrot Cake: Combine 2 cups flour, 2 cups sugar, [...]

This isn’t a successful cooking post for me. It’s a successful “get my niece to make things from scratch” post. The niece who I figured out the Mocha Frappacino recipe for. And the niece who loves Stacy’s Pita Chips. We’ve been working together cooking new-to-her dishes. She’s always made a mean microwaved frozen dinner, but [...]

Do you ever have a flash of a food memory? Of food you used to eat, but haven’t for a long time for one reason or another? I flashed back to college. To what I used to call Succotash. I have no idea how or why we named this dish Succotash. According to Wikipedia, “Succotash [...]

Homemade infused vodka makes a great hostess gift…or for that person that just loves unique drinks. I have one of those people in my family–the same one with expensive frappacino tastes. ( Here’s another project I had to keep off my blog until after Christmas. It’s hard sharing handmade gifts with you when the recipient [...]

Church Windows have been a staple Christmas goodie in our house since I can remember. Mom would make rolls and rolls of them giving a roll out with a ribbon tied around it. Sam (my niece) was feeling hungry for some, but didn’t want to wait until Grandma made them this week. So we took [...]

I remember way back when–in corporate world–my cookie dough came off a yellow truck that would stop curbside every Monday night. The friendly man would take my order and come back with bags and boxes that were promptly put into the freezer. Sooo easy. When I wanted to make “homemade” cookies, I would reach into [...]

Homemade vanilla sugar is a staple in my pantry. You can actually buy it in the store, but why? It’s too simple to make! The hardest part is finding a good price on vanilla beans. Its so good to use in many things–coffee, tea, on top of cookies, in baked goods, anywhere you’d like a [...]

Yes, I took on all of those challenges in one day, all at the same time! And maybe not in that exact order. You know that triumphant feeling you get when you try something new–the high, the ecstaticness–and it works? I think I’ve been having a craving for that lately. The Retreat was the last [...]

So easy a child could make them! I’m amazed when some people ask me how to make No-Bake Cookies. It makes me step back and appreciate growing up the way I did (well, in most ways ). All of us kids, even the boys, learned to cook early–probably so we wouldn’t starve until Mom got [...]