Some traditions are not meant to be tampered with. For example, the same huge group of friends and family from our church have gone camping together over the week of the 4th of July for my entire life. The past 20 plus years of that has been in the exact same campsites at the same...
Dessert
Churros
For me, churros will always be synonymous with high school final exams. Strange, right? My high school always served churros in between final exams at the end of every semester. The smell of cinnamon-sugar coated goodness would fill the halls and signal the arrival of sweet freedom. By the time I visited Spain after my...
Homemade Cherry Pie Filling
Summer is in full swing around here. I am currently manning the cashier table at our yard sale as I write this. Let it be know that this will be the one and only yard sale I ever host. Don't get me wrong, I like yard sales, but they're so humbling. There's something about spending...
Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
Okay, so I'm officially on the rhubarb bandwagon. Hubby's there right beside me and there's no turning back. This recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp is so simple to put together...much simpler than assembling a pie, yet it tastes just as great. We may or may not have eaten the entire pan in two days or less. (That's okay though,...
Homemade Pop Tarts
Before I tell you how amazing these Homemade Pop Tarts are and how you'll never want to buy store-bought again, let me make one thing clear: These are not a copycat version of Pop Tarts. They are what a Pop Tart should be. They're not at all difficult to make either, and with endless possibilities...
Coconut Almond Truffles and What I Hope to Learn From My Mom
While shopping for Mother's Day cards every year I struggle to find one that sums of even a glimmer of how I feel about my Mom. There are none. I should probably just buy a "blank inside" card and simply write: "Dear Mom, There aren't words. Love Mandy". That would be the most accurate way to...
Peanut Butter Swirl Ice Cream
First thing first...I feel that I owe a sincere, heartfelt apology to those who may be reading this who suffer from peanut allergies. I am grateful on a daily basis that I don't have that to worry about, but especially when it comes to recipes like this Peanut Butter Swirl Ice Cream. It is dreamy,...
"Fried" Ice Cream {Cinco de Mayo}
Happy Friday! It's almost Cinco de Mayo, which means that Pinterest and News Feeds everywhere are brimming with Margaritas and Tacos. When I think of Mexican food, I immediately think of the usual suspects: tacos, chimichangas, burritos, chips and salsa, and so on. Dessert sometimes gets overlooked. That is a travesty. One thing I always...
Cast-Iron Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie
Cast-Iron skillets are great for all sorts of things, but it's not very often that I bake desserts in mine. This giant cookie is the perfect treat to put your cast-iron skillet to good use, since cast-iron distributes heat so evenly you'll end up with a perfectly baked cookie. None of that dreaded dark-around-the-edges and...
Salted Caramel Sauce
Growing up, my brother and I had a set of honorary grandparents who did not have any grandchildren of their own, so we were their "grandkids". I don't think I even understood that they weren't my actual grandparents until years later. Anyhow, one of our favorite activities with them was going to their house on...