My First Whoopie Pie

If I had known whoopie pies tasted this good, I never would have waited so long to try one! These pies are so delicious and perfect with a little pumpkin twist for fall!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pie Recipe

Must use or it will go bad

I recently went to the farmers market in downtown Milwaukee to gather some ingredients for baking and bit off a little more work than I had anticipated. After purchasing zucchini and carrots along with many other things my fridge became slightly overstocked. In an effort to make room, I searched for recipes that used many of my ingredients. The result: an amazingly moist Zucchini Banana Carrot Bread.

Zucchini Banana Carrot Bread Recipe

Quick and Easy BBQ

Having family over, entertaining and cooking can be a challenge. That is when the crockpot becomes my best friend. For this family gathering I made bbq pulled chicken sandwiches and the BEST potato salad ever (the recipe actually says it) and boy is it good.

BBQ Pulled Chicken Recipe

5 Boneless Chicken Breasts

1/2 Coke

1 and 1/2 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce

Best Potato Salad Recipe

Strawberry Poppyseed Salad

My favorite summertime salad. This Strawberry Poppyseed Salad is a recipe I adapted from my sister-in-laws mother. It is a light crisp salad and the dressing makes all of the flavors come together perfectly. Perfect for a summer barbecue or picnic.

Ingredients:

Strawberries

Romaine lettuce

Honey roasted peanuts

Store bought poppyseed dressing - Marzetti brand is my favorite

Red onion (optional)

Mix together ingredients proportioned as you see fit.

Turkey Meatloaf

I love meatloaf and this particular recipe brings back great memories. In college every Wednesday a good friend of mine and I would spend the night trying out new recipes, often ones that we loved with a healthier spin. We came across a recipe for turkey meatloaf in Real Simple magazine and got hooked. It is incredibly simple to make, has half the fat content and is simply delicious! This is a dinner that will last the week and for me brings back great memories of time spent well with friends.

Get recipe here: Turkey Meatloaf Real Simple

Master Chef

We were hooked on this past seasons Master Chef. One episode contestants were asked to make a six layer cake to prepare for the judges.In a perfectly executed cake contest, Ben Starr (show contestant) made the judges drool over his beautifully crafted Pumpkin Carrot Cake. In a love for all things pumpkin and carrot we decided to take on this endeavor. Though our cake only ended up as three layers on one try and five the second time, both times this cake disappeared so quickly all that was left was the sugar high and a constant want for more!

Get recipe here: Pumpkin Carrot Cake

It Doesn't Get Much Easier...

Justin and I attended a Taste of Home Cooking School a while back and were shocked at the never ending goody bag that came with our little cooking extravaganza. Included in our goody bag was a McCormick Recipe Inspiration card McCormick in an amazingly brilliant idea has new recipe cards that contain the attached amount of spices for what is an easily simplistic and delicious Quesadilla Casserole. In what can easily be considered the quickest preparation I have ever experienced, McCormick delivers a delicious dinner for a very busy person.

Get recipe here: McCormick Quesadilla Casserole