The Sweet Life: Baked Fresh Daily

Cinnilla (Cinnamon Vanilla) Drop Biscuits

2012-06-02T21:37:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up and realized something... I really need to go grocery shopping! We are out of just about every staple breakfast food except for milk and the kids are starving, time to get creative!

Read more »

"Homemade" Box Mix Cupcakes

2012-05-22T13:19:00.000-07:00

My nephew graduated from the 8th grade over the weekend (woo-hoo! Congrats Tyler!) and of course there was a party to celebrate. Along with parties come cakes, or in this case, cupcakes!

Read more »

Sock Monkey Cake

2012-05-21T21:09:00.000-07:00

We were originally going with a completely different theme for C's first birthday. When I was having trouble finding things to match it, I decided I should rethink my options. There were only two weeks until the party when I finally decided on the sock monkey theme. He had received an adorable sock monkey bib for Christmas from my Aunts that he could wear and the colors were pretty easy to match. Now what to do for the cake...

Read more »

Bunny Butt Cake- Lemon Coconut cake

2012-04-29T21:25:00.000-07:00

This year for Easter I was asked to make a cake since some extra family was going to be in town for the weekend. My Mother-in-law suggested a coconut cake and then my Sister-in-law pointed this cake out to me and I thought it was so cute that I just had to try it!

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

2012-03-19T19:58:00.000-07:00

Wow! What a crazy beautiful weekend we just had! The weather has been nothing short of fantastic! In fact, it has been so wonderful that I chose to enjoy the weather instead of keeping up with my blog! (That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!)

Read more »

Easy Irish Soda Bread

2012-03-15T06:46:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite holidays, St. Patrick's Day... a time for all things green, Irish dancing, BEER, corned beef and cabbage, and one of my favorites... Irish soda bread!

Read more »

Pear Tart

2012-03-14T05:46:00.002-07:00

I make sure to grab a newspaper every weekend. I should probably just get it delivered to the house... some day. Anyways, with the paper comes Parade magazine. Every week, you can find a different recipe in the back of the issue. The recipe a few weeks ago was for a pear tart. What do you know? I got a tart pan for Christmas that I've been dying to use! Now if only I had someone to make it for.
Read more »

Crockpot Parmesan Chicken With Orzo

2012-03-13T12:52:00.000-07:00

We have been eating a lot of chicken lately and I THINK I've been doing a pretty good job of mixing up the recipes so it doesn't seem like we are eating the same thing every night. We have eaten it baked, grilled, sliced on sandwiches, shredded on tacos...etc. I found yet another recipe that was unlike anything we had done so far in the last few weeks. Extra bonus- it was a crockpot recipe! (Time saver)
Read more »

Lucky Charms Treats

2012-03-12T21:20:00.003-07:00

St. Patrick's Day is this weekend and in order to start the week off right, I decided to make a treat. We had L's friend over today so I picked something easy so the boys could help me. I was thinking rice krispie treats and then it dawned on me that there is a cereal that is perfect for this holiday...LUCKY CHARMS! Instead of rice krispie treats, we made lucky charms treats! :)
Read more »

Spaghetti Pie

2012-03-11T21:40:00.000-07:00

I grew up eating spaghetti. We probably had it for dinner at least two nights a week. It was cheap, easy, and just plain old spaghetti. Fast forward to married life where I'm lucky if I can get my husband to eat a noodle, let alone a bowl of spaghetti with red sauce. Because of this, I've been searching for a recipe that we can all enjoy as a family that is as comforting, easy, and inexpensive as a bowl of spaghetti. I think I've just found it!
Read more »

Herbed Rotisserie Chicken Salad On Toasted Brioche

2012-03-08T11:33:00.001-08:00

We had a rotisserie chicken from Costco for dinner earlier in the week. Best deal around! We always have leftovers when we buy one of those huge, ready to eat rotisserie chickens, so it's a good thing that re-purposing it is a cinch! We decided to go with chicken salad for our second round of juicy bird. I made a homemade loaf of Brioche (Which, by the way, turned out fabulous!) so that we had something to stuff all of that delicious chicken salad between.

Read more »

Homemade Taco Seasoning

2012-03-07T11:14:00.000-08:00

We do a lot of cooking with Mexican inspired flavors. Store bought taco seasonings for us are always hit or miss and for some reason, I can never remember what brand we like! Well, I think I just solved this problem!

Read more »

Fresh Baked 'Easy' Brioche

2012-03-06T21:04:00.001-08:00

There is no doubt that baking is one of my favorite things to do. Ask anyone that knows me and they will tell you about the sweets and treats that come out of my oven. Every once in awhile I like to bake fresh bread as a special treat. I absolutely love fresh baked bread. Nothing compares to the taste and on top of that, it makes your house smell wonderful!

Minnie Mouse Cake and Cupcakes

2012-03-04T07:12:00.000-08:00

When I heard that there was going to be a Minnie Mouse party for my niece's 5th birthday, the gears in my head started turning. I love the challenge of finding great cakes to make and figuring out creative ways to decorate!

Read more »

Baked Chicken and Savory Herb Waffle Sandwich

2012-03-02T06:05:00.001-08:00

First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my amazing husband! He is the love of my life and the inspiration for a lot of the food I make. He is the one who got me interested in cooking outside the box and for that I am indebted to him. Love you babe!

Wow! All I can say is wow! Okay. That's not true. I may actually have more words to try and describe the deliciousness that was this sandwich.

Read more »

Mini Fondant Bows (Minnie Mouse)

2012-03-01T07:45:00.000-08:00

My niece is having a Minnie Mouse birthday party this weekend and I offered to make the cake. My sister-in-law decided to do a cake and cupcakes. We came up with a cute way for the kids to decorate their own Minnie Mouse cupcakes. They will already be frosted and ready to go. The kids will each add the ears (mini Oreos) and a bow.

Read more »

Simple Crockpot Shredded Fiesta Chicken

2012-02-29T08:47:00.000-08:00

Isn't it a great feeling when you know you have just created something wonderful and it only took two ingredients! In my mind, on the first day that I made this, I thought I was totally onto something. I threw 2 ingredients into the crockpot, let them cook all day, and voila! A delicious dinner was served. Little did I know that I, in fact, did not create anything at all. This recipe (if you can even call it that) had been around for who knows how long and all it took was the good ole internet to burst my bubble.

Read more »

Garlic Spinach Pasta With Baked Chicken Bacon Meatballs

2012-02-28T07:55:00.001-08:00

Last night I found myself standing in my kitchen trying to figure out dinner, again. It's a never-ending job, but somebody has to do it! After taking a brief inventory of our food supplies, I knew I wanted to do something with the GIANT bag of spinach that I bought at Costco last weekend. Pasta sounded like a good idea. There was a recipe on the back of the bag for garlic spinach to serve as a side dish. I decided I would make that and mix it in with some pasta and maybe add in a few other ingredients.

Read more »

Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pie Cookies

2012-02-27T06:51:00.000-08:00

Who remembers those Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies from their childhood? I remember thinking they were the greatest things ever! Finding a special treat like that in my lunch box was always a nice surprise. (BTW- thanks Mom, for all that you did and all that you still do!) Since I now do a lot of baking I cringe at the thought of the processed, mass produced cookies. But why couldn't I make a homemade version? Turns out I can! And they are delicious.

Read more »

Healthy Breakfast "Cookies"

2012-02-26T19:48:00.000-08:00

This recipe has been circling like crazy on Pinterest. I figured I should just try them to form my own opinion. They are easy to make and contain things that can be found in an ordinary pantry.

Read more »

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

2012-02-25T18:39:00.003-08:00

My husband sent me the link to this recipe over a month ago saying that I should try it....on a night when he was going to be eating his favorite frozen pizza. (He's not a fan of cauliflower.) It looked interesting to me, but I kept putting it off and putting it off. One day last week, while cleaning out my e-mail inbox I came across the recipe again and decided I was just going to make it. The next day I went to the store and got a giant head of cauliflower.
Read more »

Green Monster Smoothie Project

2012-02-24T07:27:00.001-08:00

After seeing these green monster smoothies all over the Internet, I decided I would give them a try. They are packed full of all natural ingredients so it can't be that bad, right? The spinach and kale used in these recipes were the two things that made me nervous to try them. Turns out they aren't half bad. Kind of good, actually! Who knew. You really have to find the right flavor/texture combo to suit your tastes. A little trial and error is the easiest way to do that. I told myself I would give these a one week trial period. Here is what I made!

Read more »

Crockpot Philly Cheesesteak Soup

2012-02-23T21:31:00.001-08:00

First and foremost, I LOVE my crockpot! Today was the first day in awhile that the weather was beautiful! I'm glad we got out and enjoyed it since tomorrow's high is going to be 25-30 degrees cooler than today's was. I had planned to make a crockpot meal one day this week and I think I picked the perfect day to do it! We were out until dinner time and it was so nice to walk into the house to the smell of dinner already cooked!

Read more »

Simple Weeknight Grinders

2012-02-21T21:34:00.000-08:00

I'm a stay at home mom and I have been searching for simple weeknight dinner recipes that we can just decide to make at the last minute because frankly, I don't always remember to plan dinner. Hey now, don't judge me. You know you have been there at some point. Whether it be a baby who needs your constant attention, a sick child who needs to be pampered, a toddler who decides to Spackle the entire living room during your 2 minute shower, or the endless amount of laundry and cleaning that goes along with staying at home, there are always those days where you just can't get dinner planned in advance.

Read more »

Baked Nutmeg Cake Doughnuts With Cinnamon Glaze

2012-02-20T13:20:00.000-08:00

On our last trip to visit my parents, my Mom offered to take us to the Wilton store. When we got there, all of the Valentine's day stuff was 50% off!!! To top off the amount of excitement I was already feeling, my Mom also surprised me by saying that she would buy me something! I was ecstatic!! But what would I buy? After being in the store for about an hour and STILL not making up my mind, I turned and BAM!
Read more »