Life has definitely been complicated lately. I'm not sure how else to express it except for to say that it's been messy, and we've been desperate for some time to unwind. That was our goal for this past weekend. We spent a lot of time together enjoying the nice weather and unwinding from the crazy...
Food
Strawberry Rhubarb Upside Down Cake
Let’s talk about cake. When nothing else in life makes any sort of sense, and you can’t manage to find the words to express your feelings, and no matter how out of control everything feels, there is something comforting about the familiarity and comfort that baking can bring. It feels so normal when nothing else does....
Pork Tenderloin with Creamy Mushroom Sauce
When life gets messy, make something saucy. I'm sure someone has that embroidered on a pillow or something like that. If not, they should. Life has been completely crazy lately, but we've still been eating well. One of the greatest skills I've acquired while teaching myself to cook has been learning to make sauces from scratch. This recipe...
Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits
Buttermilk biscuits are so simple, yet somehow they seem a little bit intimidating. Making them from scratch takes about the same amount of time as using the canned variety, but they're not even comparable in terms of flavor, texture, or even cost. This time of the year, I get the itch to start making more...
Butter Pecan Cookies
Spring has finally arrived, friends. I can't even begin to express my utter glee after a sunny weekend spent up north at our cabin the last few days. Sunshine + Cabin + Awesome Cookies = Best weekend in a VERY long time. I ate way more of these cookies than I would care to admit,...
Buttermilk Chicken Strips
Chicken Strips are another of my favorite kid-foods-that-I-will-never-outgrow. They're flavorful and crispy on the outside and perfectly juicy on the inside. Paired with your favorite dipping sauce and you've got a fantastic weeknight meal that will please the whole family. Buttermilk Chicken Strips are easy to make, especially if you follow a couple of little tricks....
French Dip Sandwiches with Au Jus
Despite the name, a French Dip sandwich is not French. It is a California creation, and two restaurants claim to be its inventor. I have eaten a famed French Dip at one of the two, Philippe's in Los Angeles. It was fantastic, although I didn't get to do any of the"dipping" because the buns are...
Creamy Chicken and Noodles
Sometimes there just isn't enough time in the day (or night) for a perfectly planned out menu. I call those days Tuesdays. When Michael and I were dating, he used to cook up some chicken breasts and some white rice, and then make a sauce with cream of chicken soup. It was a very filling,...
Carrot Cake
Carrot Cake. It sounds like such a strange concoction that must have a storied history that involved frugality and ingenuity on the part of the baker. I am not completely sure of its origins despite my research, so I will just continue to enjoy the perfect balance of spiced cake and sweet cream cheese frosting. Not to...
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
We're going retro today, and I'm loving it...canned fruit and all. Pineapple Upside Down Cake is bright and cheery, and just what I needed in my life to celebrate the arrival of Spring. Beside that, going more than a week or two without baking a cake makes me ache inside. I was inspired to make this cake...