Blueberry Sauce

Blueberry sauces are easy as pie, but this one had the simple addition of vanilla to make it just a little different.  Yum!

Brown sugar-cinnamon waffles

With me working most Saturdays and Jeremy having Sunday meetings, we rarely get to eat breakfast together.  So when we do, we go all out.  I have been on the hunt for the perfect waffle recipe.  Sorry to disappoint, but this is not it.  It did fulfill one of my requirements for the perfect waffle though: more sugar!  Most recipes call for a Tbsp or so, and that just doesn't sound right for my sweet tooth!  I love anything cinnamon, and this recipe was pretty yummy.  The whole egg white thing (in my opinion) isn't worth the extra step--I didn't taste or feel anything different from just adding whole eggs.

Cucumber Salad

I LOVE cucumbers!!!

Crunchy, a little sweet, so refreshing.

This is a great dressing, and you can tweak it so many different ways too!

A summer winner, for sure

Mexican Pizzas

An ode to Taco Bell!!!

As a teenager, I LOVED Mexican Pizzas from Taco Bell.  Well, I take that back, since I don't think I even went to Taco Bell until I was like 19.  My parents never ate there and I really didn't even know what it was.  I went to grab some food for a boy babysitter we had coming over and I asked him what he wanted from Taco Bell and he said he didn't know because he'd never been there.  Whaaaat??? And then I laughed, because at his age I hadn't been there either! 

Anyway, this is definitely a "splurge" recipe with the fried tortillas, but they brought me right back to those yummy fast food naughties.

Cheeseburger Macaroni

Looking for a quick, comforty meal?

This is a good recipe when you're at home and don't feel like heading to the store.  I would say I have all of these ingredients on hand 90% of the time.  It was very easy, hearty, and came together quick.  It's not an A+, and would be more aptly named Sloppy Joe Macaroni, but how can you really go wrong with any type of Macaroni made from scratch???

Oahu Chicken

An all time favorite recipe here: brings me back to my childhood.  There are a handful of recipes that no matter how hard I try, I just simply can never make this dish as delicious as my mother.  Everyone in my family loves this dish almost more than life itself.  Except my brother, but then again, his name starts with a J and the rest of us are C's and K's, so what do you expect???

If you are a member of my family and dare to make this recipe without doubling the sauce, so help you heaven, may you live to see another day...

4 chicken breasts, 1/3 c flour + 1/2 tsp salt to dredge (rough measurements)

1 can pineapple chunks, 1/2 cup of juice reserved

3/4 cup chicken broth

8 oz tomato sauce

1 tsp ginger

2 tbsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

Dredge chicken, brown on both sides in oil, set aside.  

***Chicken does not have to be cooked all the way through--if you cook it too long during this step it may be dry as it finishes its simmer in the sauce.

Deglaze pan with pineapple juice, add the rest of the ingredients, stir to combine and then lay chicken back in gently. Cover and simmer for 20 min, uncover and cook another 15 or so.  Serve over rice.

Raspberry Basil Lemonade Spritzer

We were on a basil kick for Mother's Day, so I decided to spruce up our beverage a bit basil-like

I threw together a few different recipes, and it turned out delicious!

There are a million ways you can spin this to whatever your mood is!
This recipe was my inspiration, but I added a little of the lemonade element with this recipe

Spaghetti in Garlic Gravy

Happy Mother's Day

I made this for my mother and I'm pretty sure it was the best present she got

And there were no leftovers.

And we are all very full right now.

I think my favorite part of the meal was the chicken--it was absolutely fabulous.

We grilled ours instead of pan sauteing and it was a hit!

Buttermilk Chocolate Cake

It's called AMAZING Buttermilk Chocolate Cake, and it IS!

This recipe fully stood up to its name.  Pretty easy to put together, extremely moist yet light, it's an all around great chocolate cake if you're looking to make something NOT out of a box.  The instructions were spot on, very thorough, so no surprises, which is always a plus.

In looking around for the perfect fluffy and light frosting, I chose this one.

The only thing I'd try different next time is in choosing my cocoa powder.  I've heard Dutch cocoas are delicious and the Hershey's I used left me wanting a little something more...