• Pumpkin & Espresso have never been so good

    OK I know Thanksgiving is just a few days away, but I have one more pumpkin recipe that is a MUST MAKE.  This bundt cake will be a perfect addition to your Thanksgiving week. Pumpkin, please I love pumpkin anything and everything, and I can eat pumpkin anytime, especially this bundt cake.  The pumpkin makes the bundt cake super moist without making it heavy and then with the addition of the pumpkin pie spice gives it just the right amount of warmth in each bite. If you didn’t want to use the pumpkin pie spice you could use just cinnamon, making it a little more year round friendly. Yes you read…

  • The Star of the Table

    let’s talk TURKEY When we first started talking about this Early Thanksgiving Dinner my brother said he wanted to smoke the turkey.  I was thrilled…I couldn’t wait.  He had smoked one last year for our family Thanksgiving and it was good, but he said he wanted to make it even better, and that he did. When all the RSVP’s came back we had 15 people coming, so to ensure we had enough turkey (I love the leftover turkey) I got a big ole’ turkey.  It was right around a 20 pound bird.  And let me tell you the turkey was so, so good there was not too much left over. To…

  • Pumpkin Pasta is a must for Fall

    SO it is no secret that I love PUMPKIN everything.  Literally I am the one who gets tears in her eyes when PSL makes it debut at starbucks each Fall.  I am also that girl who goes to Trader Joes and buys EVERYTHING pumpkin they have (even the dog treats). My last shopping trip… There was also a pumpkin kringle in there.  I just CANNOT get enough pumpkin!! Really in Pasta? So I am a BIG, BIG pumpkin and pasta fan.  My first experience with it was in a ravioli (similar to the ones I got from Trader Joe’s) and then I had it with butternut squash in a lasagna…

  • Amping-Up A Favorite Dip

    As the country celebrates the last long weekend of the summer, here in SE Texas we are recovering from Hurricane Harvey   Thankfully my family is safe and dry but so many others around us are not.  If you want to help support to disaster relief you can donate here or to the American Red Cross.  Anything you can give will be used to help restore a family! Bring on a little fiesta Have a last minute get together this afternoon or evening?  Tired of the same ole boring ranch dip that you make for every party?  I know I am, and so a few weeks ago I decided to spice things up…

  • One last summer party

    I started writing this post over a week ago.  That is before Hurricane Harvey crashed into Texas and changed everything in our world.  Thankfully my family is safe and dry but so many others around us are not.  If you want to help support to disaster relief you can donate here or to the American Red Cross.  Anything you can give will be used to help restore a family!! Not too long ago I was asked what my favorite dessert was and I really had to think about it.  You see there is not just one that stands out above everything else, but there are a few that I crave.…

  • TACO Tuesday FUN

    It is TACO Tuesday!!  I have the perfect recipe for you that is so easy and so yummy you will be making these for the next several TACO Tuesday’s!!  Bakes Tacos….let me tell you….they are AMAZING!! TONS of flavor!! First, you start with the ground beef.  For these tacos I kept it super simple but don’t worry it is still loaded with tons of flavor from the taco seasoning. You can use packaged or homemade, like this one.  I prefer the homemade version as you can add a little spice if you want or make it super mild, I like having options. If you don’t want to use ground beef…

  • a summer must…homemade chimichurri sauce

    I am a sucker for sauces.  I love them on almost any dish…heck I love sauces on really anything.  Literally I love a good hollandaise for breakfast, and nice pesto for lunch and something like this Chimichurri for dinner (or anytime of the day). And it is so pretty I first fell in love with Chimichurri Sauce when I went to one of my favorite restaurants ever…Americas.  It is the way cool Latin American inspired steak house.  As you sit down they bring you crispy plantain chips with a light chimichurri sauce, the two pair so well together.  Trust me I could fill up on just those as I drink…

  • perfect for any celebration!!

    I love chocolate chip cookies!  I mean I L.O.V.E chocolate chip cookies and have been on the hunt for the perfect one for a long time. In the meantime I have a found a M&M Cookie Bar that is pretty amazing and SO EASY…much easier than any traditional cookie recipe I have found and OH SO GOOD! Bring on the fun The beauty of these bars is you can really add anything you want to them.  You can use the M&M’s like I did, or add in oreo cookies, or your favorite candy chopped up a bit.  You could also add in nuts, or butterscotch or peanut butter chips.  Some…

  • A new way to sundae

    Confession time…I never once had a traditional strawberry shortcake until I was in my 20’s.  Growing up my mom and grandmothers made their own version of “shortcake” with pie crust.  Yep you read that right…pie crust. It is all about the crust My dad’s most favorite dessert is crust and strawberries.  It is really as simple as it sounds….it is pie crust topped with chopped strawberries.    The key is the super flaky and very tender pie crust, and how we cut it.  Trust me this will change how you think about pie crust! Double duty crust recipe My MeeMaw and Mom have been using this recipe for both these…

  • A must make summer side

    The Holiday weekend is almost here and I am busy thinking about all the yummies I am going to fix.  One dish I know for sure is this Mexican Street Corn Salad.  It is a perfect side for this Holiday weekend. It is so much more than corn Ok, obviously corn is a HUGE part of this dish but that is not all there is to it.  There is also lime, cheese, herbs, chili powder, sour cream…and a few more things.   Let me tell you it all comes together to create a delicious corn salad, that you can serve warm or chilled, that everyone is sure to LOVE!! It…