Fall Brussel Sprout Salad

Save some room in your oven with this raw brussel sprout salad. Most likely, you have about 5 different side dishes plus a turkey that all need to be cooked in one oven.  Instead of adding another dish to your list, why not make a no-cook side featuring brussel sprouts?

Puppy Approved: Camp Bow Wow

I've been waiting to take Emmy to Doggy Day Care since we got her. I love the idea of her socializing with other puppies and wearing her self out a bit. I always feel bad during the week when Blake and I have to leave her alone for hours at a time.  Finally, she has met all of the criteria to start going (shots and being fixed), and I'm so excited for her! We are lucky because we have a Camp Bow Wow right down the street from our house, and off she went this Wednesday for her first day of camp!

Pot Roast

It is time for me to come clean about my addiction. Food Network ... I seriously cannot get enough. I actually look forward to Saturdays so that I can watch morning television with my cup of coffee. There used to be a time, not long ago, where I was looking forward to tailgating and drinking on Saturday mornings. Oh how things have changed since college.  I must admit, my addiction could be far worse. Honestly, it's made both mine and Blake's life a lot better!  Blake's been wanting me to make a pot roast for a few weeks now, and so of course I turned to my favorite leading ladies, The Barefoot Contessa and The Pioneer Woman.  I liked different aspects of each recipe, so I basically blended the two to make my own. Keep reading to see the steps I took to make this perfect cold weather dish.

Living the Little Things: Halloween

Michigan unfortunately experienced a pretty cold and wet Halloween this year, but it didn't stop us from having a great time! Blake and I hosted a Halloween party this year for friends and family and it was a great time! I've spent the last month prepping for our Harry Potter themed party and I didn't take nearly enough pictures. I'm not sure it would have been as easy, but thank God for Pinterest these days! The best part of showing up late to the Harry Potter fan club is everyone and their mother has already had a party, so the internet is FULL of fantastic ideas! One of my favorite parts of this weekend was being able to see my nephew Emerson, who lives across the country from us and is growing WAY too fast! 

Sunday Mornings: Biscuits & Gravy

Blake and I are always very into breakfast. It's not unusual for us to eat pancakes for dinner once a week. We're just beginning to have morning frosts, and during the fall & winter, Blake spends his Sunday mornings playing hockey. By the time he gets back, I'm usually ready with breakfast. Our usual meal usually consists of the simple pleasures, eggs, bacon, and potatoes, but today I decided to switch it up.  

The Family Farm

Blake and I took a quick trip to Pittsburgh to visit family, and so that we could make a trip to his family's property. We love to visit and we couldn't wait to take Emmy.  The property is huge and is surrounded by gorgeous valleys of changing leaves. The Amish buggies always bring a smile to my face, and I love how gorgeous it seems each and every time we visit.

UPDATE

I took a much needed break from this blog. Not only was I feeling uninspired to make fun and unique food dishes, but it consumed a lot of my thoughts. Instead of worrying about what I will post next, I decided to just pretend this didn't exist.  I was also really bored of only posting about food. Although I still love it and I still cook/bake on a daily basis, it isn't the only thing I'm doing.  I'd like to say my "break" was all voluntary; however, a little nugget that we adopted as our own has taken up much of my time these past 3 months.  We have spent a lot of time training, learning to walk, and having puppy dates.  My last post was on March 16th and since then I've been having a lot of fun with friends, family, and my "kids." 

From here on out, the blog will feature not only food but fun!

Banana Muffins - Pinterest Review

After getting back from a week long vacation, the bananas I bought before leaving were looking less than appetizing sitting in our fruit bowl.  The best part of buying bananas is that even if they go bad, they still can be useful.  I found this recipe on Pinterest, and decided to try it out with my browning and bruised nanners.  They ended up turning out delicious and super moist.  If I had been stocked in powder sugar, I would have added the cream cheese frosting to make these even more decadent.  This recipe is perfectly easy, and I love how chunks of banana can be found inside. Check out the original recipe here at Clockwork Lemon's Blog !

Salted Caramel Pear Tart

I was inspired by a recipe I found on Bluebonnets & Brownies blog for pear bars. They looked delicious and I loved that they weren't the standard apple that we usually see. I finally got around to making something myself with pears.  I didn't have all the ingredients and wasn't in the mood to make my own dough, so I came up with this idea inspired from her original post.  For this recipe I used crescent dough because that's what I had in my fridge, but it would have been better with pie dough.  You could also make this flat on a cookie sheet with puff pastry if you wanted.  If you don't have pears, or if you don't like them, apples, plums, or peaches would also be delicious in this recipe.  Using the packaged crescent dough made this an effortless treat.  I think Blake's work will be happy tomorrow when I send him in with the left overs!

Tortellini Soup

This winter has already been a doozy, and it's only the middle of January.  Cold, snowy weekend days like these call for soup making.  I love soup because you can use up vegetables and other items in your fridge and no matter what the combination, somehow it always tastes great! The cheesy tortellini adds a wonderful change from the normal boring old pasta, and it is wonderfully filling.