One Saturday, a couple weeks ago, the girls begged me to make some cookies.  I knew we were out of chocolate chips, my husband doesn’t like peanut butter cookies, and the girls aren’t too fond of oatmeal.  So, I quickly searched the pantry and my handy Old-Fashioned Cookies cookbook to see what we could create.  Based upon the ingredients I had on hand, we were able to make these yummy sandwich cookies.  Delicious, I tell you.  They aren’t too sweet or too chocolaty, and the cookies have a cake-like texture which makes them especially yummy. Chocolate Sandwich CookiesPrintable VersionCookies2 cups all-purpose flour1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder1 teaspoon baking soda1/4 teaspoon…

Chicken salad sandwiches are one of my favorite lunches of all time.  I find them especially delicious served on a croissant, with a nice glass of sweet tea or lemonade.  A few weeks ago, while visiting my parents, Bradley and I had the opportunity to go out for lunch one day.  We visited one of my parents’ favorite restaurants, and I ordered the soup/salad bar, which was amazing!  Not only did they have garden salad on the bar, but there were pasta salads, fruit/yogurt/granola, vegetable mixes, and a delicious chicken salad.  The chicken salad had green apples in it, something I hadn’t seen before, and the taste and texture of…

Tuesday was my big birthday:  I’ve reached my 30’s!  It’s really not that bad.  I guess for some reason I thought I’d be mildly depressed about hitting this new decade, but it’s no big deal after all.  I’m thankful for the life I’ve been given. For the past few years I’ve been wanting to know how to make homemade pasta.  Sure, dried pasta is fairly inexpensive, but there has been something appealing to me about making my own.  So, this year for my birthday I requested a pasta maker.  I did some research and most reviews I read recommended a manual pasta maker rather than an electric one.  This is…

Before I give you the recipe, I have a quick decorating update:  the girls’ room is halfway painted!!  I finally mustered up the energy {plus, I think I’m nesting} yesterday to get to it.  Of the 4 walls in their room, two have vaulted ceilings, so I have to wait for Bradley to be home before tackling those two walls, but the other two are finished, plus I cut in all of the lower trim.  It’s coming along! On to the recipe… We love potatoes at our house, and I’m always looking for different ways to make them.  Since Easter is coming up in a few weeks, I thought I…

Happy Valentine’s Day! A couple weeks ago I shared with you my Vanilla Bean Pound Cake recipe, and I mentioned that you needed to save the vanilla bean pod for another use.  Today, I’m sharing with you how to put that pod to great use for some sweet flavor in your kitchen. Coffee is a staple in our home, and my husband and I both enjoy a cup every morning.  I like my coffee with cream and sugar, not usually flavored, though, as my husband prefers his plain.  This morning, I used this sugar instead of plain, and it was quite yummy.  It would also be a nice touch in…

This past week Bradley was gone on a skiing trip with some good friends, so the girls and I were alone.  We took an impromptu trip to visit my parents {for my dad’s birthday} Saturday – Monday, and then we were home for the rest of the week.  Thankfully, the girls were great while he was gone, and the week went by pretty quickly.   I had a great list of projects to accomplish and didn’t even touch any of them!  Sometimes naps are just more important, especially when 29 weeks pregnant. I had planned to post this recipe yesterday, but we were gone for most of the day picking…

Are you still looking for a perfect Valentine’s treat to give someone?  Maybe a teacher, or a co-worker, or even just a friend that you’d like to send a bit of love?  Well, this is perfect for them!  Mix together a batch of this scone mix, add a recipe card, and you’re all set.  You can even go here for some great ideas on how to wrap up this little treat. You can find the original recipe on my sister’s blog.  I’ve made a printable for you so just print these out and attach it to your gift so your recipient knows how to finish making these amazing scones!  And,…

This post is entirely credited to my wonderful husband!  My birthday is later this month {it’s a big one} and Bradley is trying to make it really special for me.  He knows I love Caesar salad, so he scoured the internet for an amazing recipe, headed to the store for the needed supplies, and whipped up this awesome dressing.  We’re going to keep tweaking it a bit here and there, but it really is delicious.  Some Caesar dressings have a really fishy taste, but this one contained the right balance {we thought}. Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing {and Caesar Salad} 1 1/2 anchovy filets1 clove minced garlic1/2 cup mayonnaise1/4 cup half-and-half1…

One of my cooking goals this year is to make various kinds of salad dressing.  I love a good deal in the grocery store, and certainly bottled salad dressing is one of the things that you can buy very inexpensively, with sales and coupons.  However, I’ve noticed that most of the kinds on sale expire within a couple of months, so stocking up proves to be rather pointless.  And, I’m not always fond of the ingredients listed on the back of the bottle.  With just a few basic ingredients, you can make a ton of different kinds of dressings that taste wonderful, are fresh, and are satisfying because you made…

When we think of treats for Valentine’s Day, we most often turn our thoughts toward luscious truffles, decadent chocolate cheesecake, and other chocolaty confections.  Believe it or not, though, not everyone loves chocolate.  My mother is one of those who would rather have a buttery shortbread, coffee cake lathered in butter,  or a slice of delicious pound cake {she is a lover of butter}.  My sister gave me some vanilla beans when they visited for Thanksgiving, and I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to use them.  I can’t wait to make some homemade vanilla extract, but I also wanted to try my hand at incorporating vanilla bean into baked goods.  After…