 We celebrated all the things last weekend - mothers, birthdays and graduations. Woohoo!! What better way to spend a weekend? 🧑🏼🎂🎓 My mom and I have birthdays that usually fall within a couple of days of Mother's Day and this year we had the added bonus of adding a graduation into mix.😅 The timing actually worked out pretty perfectly. We all gathered together in South Georgia to celebrate our youngest receiving her Masters degree and then we extended our stayed an extra day to celebrate the moms. I'm a girl who loves to celebrate all the things in life - even the little things - so this was such a fun weekend for me.
We divided our meals between sampling the food at local restaurants and eating at our Airbnb. We had some outstanding restaurant meals but we also ate some pretty tasty homemade food.😂 My mom graciously offered to take care of breakfast while we were on our trip and I brought a baked penne for us to eat for dinner on Saturday night.
  Baked Penne 1 pound penne, uncooked 6-8 slices provolone cheese 1 1/2 cups sour cream 3 cups shredded mozzarella 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese Sauce 1 pound lean ground beef 1 pound bulk Italian Sausage 1 onion, chopped 4 garlic cloves, minced 1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes 1 15 oz. can tomato sauce 2 Tablespoons tomato paste 1/4 cup water 2 Tablespoons sugar 2 teaspoons beef bouillon 1 Tablespoon basil 1 Tablespoon parsley 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1/2 teaspoon thyme 1/2 teaspoon pepper pinch red pepper flakes
 Place under broiler if you want a more golden crust.  Ciao!
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 This Sunday is Mother's Day so in honor of the upcoming holiday - I'm sharing one of my mom's favorite things - biscotti. I credit my mom for giving me my love of baking. I started off standing on a chair pulled up to the kitchen counter watching and "helping" my mom with whatever scrumptious concoction she was making. When I finally got tall enough to reach the counter without the chair - my mom gave me full access to her kitchen. She was a brave soul.😅 I was famous for making a gigantic mess. 😬 Sorry mom. Thankfully, I've come a long way since those first days in the kitchen. I can still make a pretty big mess but I'm fully capable of cleaning up my own disasters now.😅 I'm so thankful that despite the chaos that I created - she continued to encourage me to keep experimenting in the kitchen.
I think I was born with a sweet tooth because I've always preferred baking to cooking a savory meal - something else I may have inherited from my mom. When I was little, my mom was convinced that I'd exist on cookies, pies, cupcakes and brownies as an adult. I still prefer baking most days but don't worry mom, I CAN cook nutritious meals too. 🤣 My mom is still by biggest biscotti baking advocate. This batch I made to give to her for Mother's Day. The butterscotch chips adds so just the right amount of buttery sweetness to this crispy and crunchy, nut filled cookie.  Pecan Butterscotch Biscotti 6 Tablespoons butter, salted ⅔ cup sugar 3/4 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons vanilla 1½ teaspoons baking powder 2 large eggs 2 cups flour ½ cup chopped pecans 6 ounces butterscotch chips
 Bake 25 minutes at 350.
 Happy Mother's Day mom! Ciao!
 I got to spent last week with this little bundle of joy and I soaked in every sweet moment that I had with this cutie.
This nonna is abundantly blessed. It was such a privilege it was to be able to look after her for a few days while her parents went to work.
The only recipe that could follow pictures of this sweet girl is a recipe for a sweet treat. S'mores brownies are one of those great dessert fusion recipes that are super popular right now. A dark chocolate, gooey brownie sandwiched between a buttery graham cracker cookie crust and a fluffy, toasted marshmallow topping. Is your mouth watering yet?🤣. These really are scrumptious and ... no campfire needed so you've got no excuse not to make a batch tonight.  S'mores Brownies Crust 12 full-size graham crackers 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 6 Tablespoons butter, melted For The Brownies: ½ cup vegetable oil 1 cup sugar 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ½ cup cocoa powder 1/2 cup all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon baking powder ½ cup bittersweet chocolate chips Topping 2 heaping cups mini marshmallows
   This s'more recipe has me feeling like I'm ready for summer now. 😂
Ciao!  Happy Cinco De Mayo!! When the spiciest thing that I can find on my website for Cinco De Mayo is spicy chick peas - I think it's a sign that I need to eat more Mexican food.🤣 🤣 🤣 Apparently, I've been dialing back the spice on the blog lately without even being aware of it. I'll see if I can fix that in the near future but for today - enjoy this recipe for Chopped Salad with Spicy Roasted Chick Peas along with your festive margarita in celebration of Cinco De Mayo. 😅  I love a good chopped salad and this is the season when vegetables are at their peak of freshness in Georgia so why not take full advantage? 🍅🥒🥕🥬 Also, these spicy chick peas and dijon vinaigrette is not only delicious on this salad - they're good on ALL salads. Make extra - trust me on this one. 😉  Chopped Salad with Spicy Roasted Chickpeas 2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and patted dry 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1/4 cup olive oil 2 Tablespoons sherry vinegar 1 teaspoon honey 3/4 teaspoon dijon mustard 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced 1 english cucumber, quartered into 1/4" pieces 2 cups baby lettuce 8 ounces cherry tomatoes 1/2 cup shaved parmesan
Heat oil in skillet. Add chickpeas and toast until golden brown. 4-8 minutes.
 Combine cucumber, tomatoes, lettuce and half of chickpeas in bowl.  Sprinkle remaining chickpeas and parmesan on top and serve with dressing.  Ciao!
 Brunch is the ultimate casual dining experience where breakfast meats lunch in the best way way possible. It's a great chance to gather together with family or friends while indulging in the delicious combination of foods.🥐🍓🥞🥙 🥂 And there's just something about kicking off a morning sitting behind a giant stack of buttermilk pancakes or fruit topped waffles that makes facing the day, seem a whole lot easier. If you ask me, the best part of any brunch are the sweet treats. There's just so many options: pastries, croissants, donuts, muffins, coffee cakes, cinnamon rolls, biscotti, scones, sweet rolls, fruit tarts and sweet breads - oh my. My mouth started watering while I was typing the list.😂 As much as I try and deny it - I will always be drawn to the sugar at a brunch buffet. #sweettoothproblems  I've decided to wrap up brunch week on the blog with one of my favorite treats: Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins. I've spent so many hours trying to perfect my chocolate chip muffin recipe over the last few years that if I'm being honest - it's probably added up to days of my life. A recipe experiment that my husband particularly enjoys I might add.🤣 These Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins will officially be the sixth chocolate chip muffin recipe in my recipe index.😅 And yes, I realize that's a lot of recipes for one type of muffin but sometimes that's what it takes to get it just right.
Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins 2 cups flour 1 Tablespoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 8 ounces chocolate chips 16 Tablespoons butter 1 1/4 cups sugar 2 eggs 2 cups sour cream 4 teaspoons vanilla 1/4 cup sanding sugar
 Sprinkle sanding sugar over muffins.  Bake 20-25 minutes at 400.
Ciao! |
