• Grilled Vegetables like never before

    We love to grill here in the sparkles n sprouts house.  As I am sure you have seen we grill everything from burgers, to pork to fish….but these grilled veggies are a new favorite. Grilled Vegetables, Really? OK, I know what your asking.  Veggies are really a favorite?  YES, these veggies are loaded with so much flavor they are a new favorite for sure. Not only are they loaded with flavor but they are also not so bad for you either.  It doesn’t get much better than that. Loaded with flavor, Really? Yes!  That is the short answer…these veggies are loaded with TONS & TONS of flavor. So where does…

  • it’s a nacho weekend

    I LOVE NACHOS!  There you go, I admit it.  They are one of my favorite items to order and make when I am craving tex-mex. Now a nacho is not just a nacho, there are tons of varieties of nachos you can have but this one is a favorite for sure. meat or NO meat? Now if you were to ask The Hubby he would say meat, and his choice would be seasoned ground beef.  Honey (my mom) would say meat, and her choice would be beef fajita meat.  My nephew is a no meat kinda toddler, and me…well I am up for any of the above. One of my…

  • creamy, cheesy goodness

    I cannot even begin to tell you how much I LOVE a creamy mac-n-cheese.   I am not a picky mac-n-cheese eater.  I will throw down the blue box or a homemade pot of cheese and noodles anytime, anywhere and be so HAPPY! Noodles, noodles and more noodles… Now there are a ton of noodles you can choose from for your mac-n-cheese.  You can use the traditional macaroni, or a corkscrew noodle like fusilli, or a even a penne.  I typically use a short cut pasta, I just feel it makes for a better cheese to noodle ratio, but use a long pasta if you would like. As much as…

  • a S’more isn’t just for camping…

    S’mores are a favorite of mine.  I love the combo of graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows…it is summer in a  bite. NO campfire needed… One of the hardest parts of having s’more is they are traditionally cooked over a campfire, or at least a flame of some sort, but the beauty of these s’mores is that you don’t need a fire of any kind. It is COOKIE time! Getting the fun started… Every good s’more is loaded with graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows and now they are mixed into a cookie.  This chocolate chip cookie recipe is balanced perfectly with white sugar and brown sugar.  There is also the perfect amount of butter and salt making…

  • Happy 4th of July!

    This 4th of July weekend is when we celebrate the Freedom we have here in the USA.   Thank you to all those who have served, will serve and the families of those.  We are so blessed to be living in this great country and I am so thankful for the freedom we have. For a FREE Printable version click here Have a wonderful day of celebrating with your friends and family…and remember to make it sparkle!  MJ

  • honey butter corny, corn, corn

    It is summer and that means it is time for CORN! It doesn’t matter how… I don’t know about your family but my family eats corn anyway we can. We love boiled corn, corn on the corn, kernel corn, creamed corn and of course popcorn…but my favorite is grilled corn for sure. Grilling makes it even better… Grilling corn on its own, without anything special is amazing…but when you add in some honey butter it becomes even better.  I also love how easy grilling corn is.  You can throw it on when you put your protein on and it will be done in no time, and you don’t have to heat…

  • cheesy campfire goodness

    Grilling has been about all The Hubby and I have been doing lately.  Summer is here and I don’t know about you but heating the house up wth my oven is not so fun…so out to the grill (or campfire) we go. Grilling more than just meat Grilling is not just for the main portion of your meal, it can also be for your sides.  Some of my favorite grilled sides are veggies, especially onions and peppers but tonight we wanted to do something a little different.   The Hubby and I decided to grill some potatoes in a pan to make a delicious potato and cheese casserole.  This cheesy…

  • simple chicken, with TONS of yum

    Sometimes simple chicken really is the answer for dinner, and this simple grilled chicken is a perfect choice for dinner tonight!! A family affair One of my favorite family traditions is family dinner.  We try to all get together (at least with us that live in SE Texas) at least once every few weeks and there is always good food.  A few weeks a go The Brother and Sis-in-Law hosted family dinner and fixed this simple grilled chicken.  Not only was it delicious but it is now a favorite! Now don’t let the name fool you, it may be simple to fix but there is nothing simple about the flavor.…

  • grilled goodness for DAD

    Father’s Day is this weekend!  That’s so crazy.   I can’t believe it is already the middle of June and time to celebrate the men in our lives. Celebrating DAD In our home, Father’s Day has always included a home cooked meal, whatever my dad wants, and then typically we watch golf.  The US Open Golf Tournament is usually on so we have to watch, & that is a must watch. Over time we have had everything from BBQ sandwich’s to pasta, but this year we are going to take things up a notch and light up the grill.  Now I know what your thinking…the grill is Dad’s domain, but trust…

  • caramel makes me happy

    I LOVE caramel anything really.  I love it in my coffee, I love it on ice cream, I love it swirled into cakes and I especially love it with brownies.  Over time I have made a couple of caramel brownie recipes (like this one)  but this new recipe is The Hubby’s favorite one hands down. For most of my other caramel recipes I use my super easy homemade caramel sauce (recipe can be found here) but for this brownie recipe I used the caramel candies.  You know those little square bits of yummy goodness wrapped in that annoying cellophane…well just because I love caramel (& The Hubby) so much I unwrapped them…