Lemon Lavender Zucchini [Breads, Muffins, or Cake]

Anyone who knows me, knows that playing the mad baking scientist is kind of a stress reliever. With having 4 extra kidlets for 9 days, I decided it was in my best interest to whip up something creative after putting them all to bed one night.

Cheese Blintzes

My sister introduced me to this recipe when Jared and I first got married. It is delicious and makes for a nice breakfast, brunch, or ladies tea dish. You can play with different filling ideas as well to make different flavored blintzes, i.e. nutella, pb & j, etc.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

the rolls were so good that I didn't get a picture
before they were completely consumed

I love making cinnamon rolls and I love making anything with pumpkin this time of year (I know you've all been inundated with pumpkin recipes, but what's the harm in just one more). I've made Pumpkin Spice Bread Bites with spiced cream cheese dip and they turned out absolutely deliciously but I decided to attempt my own recipe for pumpkin cinnamon rolls. They were super yummy! 

My Top 5 Pancake Recipes

Are you looking for something to make for breakfast? Something that is versatile, quick, and simple to make? A recipe that you can mass produce and then pop into the freezer for consumption later? If you answered, "Yes," to any or all of those questions then this might be the post for you, and pancakes might just be the answer.
Our family LOVES pancakes. We'll eat them for breakfast, lunch, snack time, supper, or even dessert. Because of our great love of pancakes, I've come up with several recipes. With that in mind, I decided to put links to them all in one spot. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Banana [Chocolate Chip] Pancakes

Yummy, yummy pancakes!

Yes, I'm on a bit of a pancake kick lately. I just love all the options there are for different flavors when you're working with pancakes. It's like any other cake or quick bread, I just can't help myself, I have to play around and be creative. This particular recipe is a big hit with my kids. Peanut butter and banana is just one of those perfect combinations that's only made better with the addition of chocolate (although the chocolate is optional).

Multi-Grain Carrot Cake Pancakes

We love pancakes and I love attempting new things so when I saw a recipe for carrot cake pancakes I knew that I had to give them a shot. They turned out beautifully and have become a new family favorite. The original recipe was vegan and since we aren't vegan I had to make a few changes so here they are.

Christmas Banquet 2013

Jared and I had the privilege of planning our church's yearly Christmas Banquet. I thoroughly enjoy planning, decorating, and cooking for banquets and things so I was really looking forward to doing it. We planned our previous church's Valentine's banquet almost every year that we were there and found that we worked well as a team. This is the first year that I have also had the opportunity to prepare the food besides planning and decorating. I had some awesome help in every aspect so I don't suggest trying to pull something like this off unless you can recruit some help at every stage.

[Guest Post] Grain Free Pizza Crust

I have several friends who are allergic to gluten and one of them recently shared a recipe with me that she

developed for grain-free pizza crust. I asked if I could share it here for your benefit and she so graciously agreed.

• 1 cup of water
• 1/2 cup of butter
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp granulated garlic
• 1 1/2 cups of tapioca flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup coconut flour

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium sauce pan, combine the butter, water and salt and bring to a boil. 
3. Remove from the heat and stir in the garlic and then the tapioca flour. 
4. Combine well and let cool for about 5 minutes. 
5. Next add in the eggs, combining well and then the coconut flour. Knead the dough until it comes together nicely. 
6. Plop the dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet and spread it out with your fingers. 
7. Place it in the oven for 35 minutes. The underside should be a golden brown. Take out, and top with your favorite toppings. 
8. Place back in oven at 425 degrees for about 8 minutes, until the cheese is melted & browned. Enjoy!

Pigs in a Blanket

My kids love pigs in a blanket and, well, I guess I do, too. I mean who wouldn't - a hot dog (turkey, pork, or beef) and cheese encased in a crescent roll "bun". No more hot dog falling out of the bun or the bun breaking apart. :)

Pepperoni and Sausage Flatbread Pizza

Ever since I learned how to make flatbread a few weeks ago I've worked to expand my list of uses for it. I've made sandwiches, appetizers and finally I've even made pepperoni and sausage pizza for supper. I'm almost to the point where I like grilled flatbread crust more than my usual hand-tossed crust. The crust comes out nice and crunchy like a wood-fired thin crust pizza. This recipe makes 3 pizzas.

Grilled Flatbread: A blank canvas

I've been wanting to learn how to make flatbread for a long time. I made all sorts of different breads and rolls from Naan to crescent rolls, but never had the courage to try my hand at flatbread. But with our oven on the fritz and the budgeted funds for groceries being too small to buy flatbread I decided that it was time to try my hand at it. I wasn't disappointed. This is such a good, solid yummy recipe that I have found several more ways to serve it than for just a sandwich!

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

Most of our family really enjoys pancakes (Miss S asks for them at breakfast a LOT). I wanted to try something different than my standard buttermilk pancake so I play around with my pancake recipes and some fresh blueberries.

Carrot Cake Waffles

I love finding new recipes on Pinterest, but the best part is that moment when I actually get the chance to try them out. My family loves waffles, pancakes, cinnamon rolls, etc. and we enjoy doing "breakfast for dinner" once or twice a month so when I saw this recipe on Pinterest for Carrot cake waffles a few weeks back I just had to repin it. I am so glad I did because this recipe is truly a keeper. It's delicious and fairly healthy. I made a few modifications and then topped them with maple syrup and spiced cream cheese whip.

Strawberry Banana Mango Muffins

I was feeling creative yesterday morning while making our Sunday "take along" breakfast. With several

bananas and a mango that needed to be used up I decided to attempt something new, Strawberry Banana Mango muffins. They were delicious!

Butter Braid: Savory or Sweet

Sweet - Strawberry Mango Braid

A few years back, my sister introduced me to butter braids. The school my nieces attend was selling them as a fundraiser and they were delicious! But...they made for an expensive breakfast. My sister decided there had to be an alternative and came up with her own recipe. I wanted to try her recipe but she was out of town so I just winged it. This recipe make 3 loaves (each loaf cuts nicely into 8-10 pieces) and my sister usually freezes 1 or 2 of them but I still need to get her freezer instructions...

Multi-Grain Pretzel Dogs

Mutli-grain Pretzel Dog

I LOVE soft pretzels (they are one of my favorite foods), so when the hubby told me that I should try to make "pig's in a blanket but with pretzel dough" he didn't need to ask twice. I looked at all my soft pretzel recipes and picked one that I thought would work. Then I just jumped in head first (I generally don't fight my creative urges when it comes to cooking). I was glad that I did because these were DELISH! The kids loved them and we did, too. They are better than hot dogs in a bun and you could do a lot of playing around with dipping sauces, such as cheese, queso, ketchup, mustard, or chili. They take less than an hour to make and I think I may attempt freezing them (like their store-bought cousins by Super Pretzel but cheaper and hopefully better).

Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Oatmeal [Raisin] Pancakes

Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Oatmeal Pancakes
with Mixed Berry Peach Syrup

Our family enjoys having breakfast for dinner at least 1-2 times a month and pancakes are one of the kids' favorites. I wanted to try something different than the standard buttermilk pancake so I adapted a Taste of Home recipe.

Dutch Apple Pie Muffins

With the streusel and some butter, yummy!

I really enjoy apple pie but don't make it often as it can be time consuming. With that in mind, I saw a special for $2 Dutch Apple Pies (the good kind in the freezer aisle) so I cheated and bought one to have when our company was here yesterday. This morning I was struggling with what to make for our usual "take along Sunday breakfast". Then I thought to myself, I bet I could make a muffin with flavors similar to Dutch Apple Pie. They turned out really well (Jared even told me that they are his new 2nd favorite). I would have added a streusel topping but I ran out of time, so I've added the recipe for it in case you have time to try it. Enjoy!

Shape up, Mr. Biscuit!

Biscuit Cars with Mixed Berry Jam

There are days when I know that the kids want need me to turn the mundane into something special and lunch is usually my ticket. It was time to think outside the [recipe] box... Sometimes I get the cookie cutters out and we make PB&J shapes but today needed something just a tad more interactive. Hmmm...pancakes?  No, we just had French toast... Biscuit pizzas? Nope, not enough cheese... Aha! I had it, biscuit shapes with  homemade mixed berry jam!

Miss E. and I made up the dough (just your standard fluffy, flaky biscuit recipe) and rolled it out. Then Mr. R., Miss A. and Miss E. picked out cookie cutters and cut out some shapes. We baked them according to the recipe and then ate them warm with some mixed berry jam. There were footballs, stars, cars, and circles to enjoy. And enjoy they did for they didn't leave even one to share with daddy! Poor daddy will have to wait till next time!

Stars, circles, cars, and footballs make for a fun lunch!

Pumpkin Spice Bread Bites with Spiced Cream Cheese Dip

There is something about pumpkins that make them almost completely inseparable from fall, especially as it gets close to Thanksgiving. It's hard for me not to think in "pumpkin" mode when it comes to baking during this time of year. You know what I mean, don't you? The memories that fill your mind as the smell of pumpkin, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger wafts through your house when baking a pumpkin pie or even pumpkin bread. If you are like me (when it comes to pumpkins and fall), than this recipe is for you. It's a marriage of Monkey Bread and Pumpkin Quick Bread served with a side of Pumpkin Cheesecake.