O.k. y’all. December 8 was National Brownie day and I was not going to let that get by without taking a few minutes to scarf down allow my family the enjoyment of warm, chewy brownies. Right? I like sticky brownies not cakey ones. They have to be intensely chocolate. They have to cause your tastebuds to jumping around and screaming for milk or coffee. They absolutely have to be worth eating. Seriously! [Read more] [Read more]

I like steak… a lot. And usually I prefer that it be cooked and served at a restaurant because you almost can’t get better steak that that. Almost because THIS steak is awesomeness. Just enough glaze to give it flavor. Start out with a good angus cut and slice it on the diagonal in thin slices. This would be heavenly on the grill but the day I made it it was about 45F and drizzling. Grill be darned…that is what grill pans are for! Oil your grill pan, if you have one, with olive oil and then let it get good and hot. You want the steak to have those fantastic grill marks. If you don’t have a grill pan you can use a frying pan. [Read more] [Read more]

Let me start this by just saying…Oh. Yum.  I wanted something just really chocolatey and minty…the kind of cookie you will want to have with a large, cold glass of milk or a steaming mug of coffee. The cookies themselves are made with Hershey’s Dark Cocoa. It is important that for this recipe you use a very rich, dark cocoa to get the level of chocolate intensity that these need. [Read more] [Read more]

One thing I really hate is when I cook breakfast and the kids are searching for food an hour later. The other side to that is since I have been a career mom rather than a homemaker mom I have less time to fix breakfast every day. Cereal is not really an option around here because it takes so much to fill the kids up… and it is expensive and not all that nutrient dense. So, when I am considering breakfast foods muffins are often top on the list. You can add a lot of things to them to keep them nutrient dense and rib sticking! I started these with 5 Grain Cereal by Bob’s Red Mill. It contains: whole grain oats, whole grain wheat, whole grain rye, whole grain barley, whole grain triticale (wheat)and flaxsed. O.k..that will seriously... [Read more]

If you bake much then you may have heard of Plugra, or seen it in a store.  If you know exactly what it is and why you may  want to use it you probably can skip this post. If not? Read on. Plugra is a European style butter that really does make a difference in your baking. I have used it for years, especially for the French pastries and baked goods that I do. It is basically butter with less water so that you have a higher fat content.  Why is that good? Your recipes will be lighter, richer, and more tender. The only complaint that I have about Plugra is that it isn’t organic. I love using it, and I love the results I get with it. It does cost a little more than regular butter but if you are doing something really special it is worth... [Read more]