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One Year
“I don’t know how I’m going to do this…”. I spoke those words into the phone as I sobbed delivering the news that my mom had passed away. That was one year ago today. At the time, I truly didn’t know how I was going to get through those first hours, those first days, those first weeks and months, and honestly, thinking about it now, I really meant I didn’t know how I was going to even return to any normalcy ever…..but here I am. One year later. I have written this post so many times over the past year. 3 months….6 months…7 months, but each time I hesitated…
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Sweet & Spicy Macaroni and Cheese
It’s about Day 7 of our Shelter In Place order here in Illinois. I honestly can say that it hasn’t been all that bad. I’ve gotten to do (as you probably noticed) a lot more frequent blog posts, got to do lots and lots of cooking and baking, I’ve been running everyday. It’s not all that bad…..(ask me again next week!). So, I took a little break from all the baking and sweets to make another comfort food dish with a twist. Sweet & Spicy Macaroni and Cheese. The original inspiration for this recipe came from a recipe from Deschutes Brewery. They use heavy cream and sweet chili sauce and…
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The Comforts of Home
Unless you’re living in some sort of alternate universe, I know you’re aware that the COVID 19 Coronavirus has pretty much brought life as we knew it to a screeching halt. Many of the things we did everyday are now “on hold”, many of our behaviors and patterns have been shifted. Many of us are finding ourselves with a whole lot of time on our hands. This past Friday, the Governor of Illinois, issued a “shelter in place ” order beginning on Saturday at 5pm. Basically, all non-essential businesses are closed and people are asked to remain at home as much as possible. For me that means, I’m not…
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Banana Walnut Snackin’ Cake
Do you ever have those moments where you catch the scent of something and it reminds you of something you may have long ago forgot? Let me continue by saying that I often buy bananas at the store, and I often end up putting said bananas in the freezer or throwing them away because, let’s face it, how many loaves of banana bread does one guy need? I was recently contemplating what to do with a bunch of well past their prime bananas when a particular whiff got my attention. It was the familiar, but long forgotten scent of BETTY CROCKER SNACKIN’ CAKE!!!! Now, I don’t know if you remember,…
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A Tree
This week I picked up a copy of Katie Brown’s new book, “Dare to See- Discovering God in the Everyday“. If you don’t know who Katie Brown is, she is a lifestyle expert that I first discovered many years ago when she first came on the scene with a show called “Next Door with Katie Brown”. Each episode contained a cooking segment, a craft/diy segment and a gardening segment. It’s the kind of show that I love to watch and I was a fan from the beginning. She has gone on to do a multitude of other projects. You can find out what she’s all about over on katiebrown.com. …
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It’s October, so Pumpkin…… right?
Well, you didn’t think you’d get through October without a pumpkin recipe, did you? Trust me when I tell you, this is not the first of my pumpkin escapades this fall. I’ve had the pantry stocked with my pre-holiday stash of pumpkin puree for some time now, I’ve made pumpkin bread at least 2 times already and I’ve eaten more Pumpkin Spice Kit Kats then I care to admit. Looking for something new to whip up this weekend, I decided to use my all time favorite cookie recipe and make some adjustments to give it the perfect punch of pumpkin perfection.
