It's All Greek to Me

We made these delicious Greek nachos for dinner tonight and they were so yummy! If you have a Mediterranean market by your home where you can get authentic seasoned pita chips and tzatziki sauce; not your local grocery store brand, it makes them that much more mouth watering good.

We also made them with ground lamb not beef.  So good!



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White Bean Chicken Chili - Yummy Summer Dinner

I made this recipe tonight for dinner from the Giada De Laurentiis and Everyday Italian on Food Network.  It is delicious and so easy to make.  I am not a big chili person but this recipe tasted more like a hearty Italian stew.  Serve it with a balsamic tomato salad and you've got a yummy summer dinner.

Lacy Oatmeal Cookies

Today was a great day!  The family and I were very lazy and milked every second of that extra hour of sleep we gained last night.  We watched TV, played outside and I baked these delicious sweets.  My friend had them at her daughter's birthday party and I couldn't resist making them myself.  I found the recipe here.

Lacy Oatmeal Cookies

• 1 cup quick cooking oats

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 cup white sugar

• 1/2 cup butter, softened

• 1 egg

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 and line a baking sheet with parcment paper (these are very sticky cookies). Combine oats, flour, salt and baking powder together in a large bowl. Cream sugar and butter together until smooth then add egg and vanilla. Slowly add the flour mixture. Drop teaspoons about 4 inches apart. Bake for 6-8 minutes. The cookies should be brown on the edges and white in the middle but darken as they cool. Meanwhile, melt chocolate chips over a double broiler and cool slightly. Put in a ziplock back and cut a tiny hole in the corner. Peel cookies of the parcment and decorate with milk chocolate by squeezing the bag when cool.

*Adapted from Mrs. Field’s “Lacy Oatmeal Cookies”

Banana Bread with a Side of Sweet Summer Feet

Okay, maybe not with the feet.  Yesterday I went to get a mani pedi and brought my daughter along for her very first professional paint job.  She love it and was such angel the entire time and of ourse she had to get a painted flower.  Best $5 I've ever spent.

Then after a day of work and personal errands we headed home to bake; one of my duaghter's favorite past times.  We baked a Banana Bread recipe from the Barefoot Contessa and it was delicious.  Try it for yourself.

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 pound unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 2 extra-large eggs
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 bananas)
• 1 cup small-diced walnuts
• 1 cup granola
• Granola and walnuts optional

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 18 large muffin cups with paper liners. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the melted butter and blend. Combine the eggs, milk, vanilla, and mashed bananas, and add them to the flour-and-butter mixture. Scrape the bowl and blend well. Don't over mix.

Fold the walnuts and granola into the batter. Spoon the batter into the paper liners, filling each 1 to the top. Top each muffin with dried banana chips, granola, or coconut, if desired. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly, remove from the pan, and serve.

Best Cookbook for Kids

One of my favorite guilty pleasures in life is baking with my daughter. She loves to help and loves to bake. We bake often and most if not all of the recipes come from The Cake Mix Bible.  We're not fancy pants here when it comes to cooking.  We just like it to be fun and yummy and this book is the perfect cookbook for kids and their parents.

Why? Well simply put, it's really hard to mess up a dessert from this book and the recipes are easy and cheap. Every recipe contains one common ingredient a cake mix box of some flavor. I let my daughter, dump, measure and poor the ingredients (with my assistance of course) into the mix and help decorate the dessert when done.

Try it for yourself, I promise you'll form many wonderful memories over baked goods.

Preggatinis: Mixology for the Mom-to-Be

Mmmmm!!!  This recipe book could come in real handy for a pregnant woman.  Buy it here and read more about it here. 

Chocolately Peanut Buttery Goodness!

Sunday is my husband’s 45th birthday so tonight we baked cupcakes and a whole cake for the special occasion. Below is the recipe for the most decadent and delicious cake you'll ever make at home.

Think Reese’s Peanut Buttercup transformed into a cake. Delicious right? I can feel my hips growing as I am writing this post.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake (Split this recipe in half if you are going to bake cupcakes)
2 boxes of Duncan Hines Super Moist Triple Chocolate Fudge cake mix
2 containers of Duncan Hines Creamy Home Style Vanilla Frosting
1 cup creamy peanut butter
20 Reese’s mini peanut butter cups

Bake the cake as directed on the box and let it cool for at least an hour before frosting. In a mixing bowl combine vanilla frosting and peanut butter until it is creamy smooth. Frost cake in between layers and top only and cut up mini peanut butter cups to decorate the top. Serve with vanilla ice cream and enjoy!

It's that simple. You don't even have to know how to bake (lord knows I don't).

Personal Party Planners for Free!

Take a peek at my new favorite blog, Social Couture's Table Talk. A blog completely dedicated to helping you become the sophisticated and savvy hostess you don’t have to time to be. They have tons of party planning how to’s and tips for themes, drink recipes, food recipes, table-scapes, kid party ideas and even etiquette.

If you have one, two, three or no kids you can’t afford to miss this site. Save it to your favorites, subscribe to their feed and keep it just a click away for your next baby shower, dinner party, birthday party or holiday.

It's Five O’clock Somewhere

Every parent should have a few easy and delicious drink recipes stashed away for times of relaxation, drinks with friends or a dinner party. Please note-these are not intended for days when you are on kid duty. This margarita recipe is one you’ll want to file away for good. It packs a punch, but I promise it’s the easiest, tastiest margarita you will ever attempt to make at home. I’ve had several dinner parties where we have drank many pitchers (5 to be exact) in one night. Aahh, good times!

Recipe:
1 can of Sprite Zero (low calerie version)
1 bottle of Corona Light (low calerie version)
Tequila (even the cheap stuff is perfect)
1 can of Minute Maid Limeade

In a large pitcher empty the can of Sprite, bottle of Corona and Limeade. Fill the Limeade can to the top with water and empty into pitcher. Fill Limeade can ¾ of the way full with tequila and empty into pitcher. Stir and served chilled with ice. Wah lah, the best margarita you will ever make at home! By the way, this is not my recipe. I got it from a friend who I am sure got it from another friend. Enjoy.