I love using zest when I cook and bake. Zest is the outer rind layer of a citrus fruit. It gives any dish you add it to a stronger flavor and smell due to the oils in the rind.
Since posting my Lemon Blueberry cookies with Lemon Poppy Seed glaze cookie recipe, I have had a few people ask me what is the best tool to zest a lemon. I use a citrus zester. I love this little tool! I think that it is a lot faster than the zest grater that you can buy at the store.
I like peanut butter cookies. I LOVE peanut butter blossoms !
When my local grocery store had a sale on Hershey kisses, these cookies immediately came to mind. My boys love anything with peanut butter!
Generally, there are two things that I don’t love about peanut butter blossoms. They tend to be a bit dry and salty. To remedy this, I added sour cream and left out the salt . The sour cream made them very moist and without the salt they had the perfect flavor!
My husband doesn’t generally like peanut butter blossoms. But with these cookies, I was able to convince him that peanut butter blossoms aren’t so bad. Come on, give them a try. I know you will like them too!
Until next time,
Carrie
A few days ago, I made this amazing dish I found on Gimme Some Oven.
It looked so mouthwatering I had to add it to my menu right away. This recipe didn’t disappoint! It was quick to throw together and the flavor was absolutely divine! I ate the leftovers for lunch the next day and it was just as good as the first day.
The avocado in the pasta will turn brown after a day of two. I just picked the brown ones out and added a fresh avocado. I did however switch out the cayenne pepper for smoked paprika. My family doesn’t like a lot of spice in their food. Smoked paprika gives a bit of a kick but not enough that my kids complain about it.
I would highly recommend this recipe! I know I am going to be making it again and again for my family!
Until next time,
Carrie
Out of all the cookie recipes that I have come up with, these Lemon Blueberry Cookies with Lemon Poppy Seed Glaze are on the top of my favorite list! I LOVE anything with lemon in it. Lemon recipes always do really well on my site. The lemon recipes are always some of the top viewed recipes.
Lemon and blueberry is a classic combination and with the lemon poppy seed glaze on top, these cookies are a huge hit with everybody who tries them.
Summer is officially almost here. At our house that means lots of barbecues, picnics, and camping trips. Generally along with the summer parties comes an assignment to bring a pot luck item, right? Don’t stress, I got you covered. When I take this salad to a pot luck, I always have people asking me for the recipe. When I give them the recipe, they are usually shocked at how simple it is. Then again, who doesn’t love a recipe that is easy to make but tastes like you slaved all day in the kitchen making it? Until next time, Carrie 
There is a little restaurant about 10 minutes from my house that serves the most amazing dessert called Russian Cream. Russian Cream is a mix between a custard and a pudding.
I think the first time I made Swedish meatballs was in my eighth grade cooking class. When I made it for my family a few days later, and I knew the recipe was a keeper when there wasn’t any leftovers. For some reason, I forgot all about them until a few weeks ago when I was browsing through Pinterest and came across a recipe for them. My kids love
meatballs and I knew this would be a big hit with them.
To make this recipe, I combined a couple recipes into one. I like to brown the meatballs and then transfer them to a paper towel lined plate before putting them into a 9 x 13 pan. This way the paper towel soaks up the excess oil and then I finish the meatballs off by baking them in the oven. This way you won’t see any oil floating on top of your gravy when you sit down to eat your meal. Getting rid of the excess oil allows me to feel all warm and fuzzy inside because I just made the recipe a tad bit healthier for my family. My kids are also happy because they absolutely love meatballs. It’s a win for everybody and that my friends it what you call a successful dinner! Until next time, Carrie
A friend of mine asked me if I had a recipe for cranberry white chocolate chip cookies. She said she always buys them at a local sandwich shop and would love to make them at home.
Just like that, the wheels in my head started turning and I couldn’t wait to get home to find a recipe for these cookies. After looking at a few recipes online, I decided to venture out and come up with my own version. And that my friends is how this magical cookie was born.
When I have ripe bananas sitting on my counter, this is my favorite recipe to make.
A few years ago, I found this recipe on allrecipes.com. The original recipe is for banana bread and it has 7,937 five-star reviews. Of course after seeing all the positive reviews I had to try it.
I use this recipe for banana bread or muffins. I added some vanilla extract to the recipe, as well as streusel on the top.
I love how moist these muffins are. They are still very moist even the next day..
These muffins are perfect for a grab and go breakfast or as a snack when the kids get home from school.
Until next time,
Carrie
Is there anything better than fresh pineapple in the summer?
A pineapple is like a fortress holding its coveted prize hostage under all of its layers. If you are lucky enough to figure out how to get past the spiky outer shell, don’t get too cocky because you have not won the battle yet. You still have to figure out how much of the pineapple is the tough core and what is the juicy fruit.
After having completed this maddening task, one can only hope that there is enough pineapple to reward you for all your hard work.
I love fresh pineapple but sometimes all the work that goes into being able to eat it makes me opt for an apple instead. That is until I found the pineapple slicer and corer.
