Comfort Food. Chicken Soup. [update]

The smell of home made Chicken Soup makes me think of my grandmother that passed away.  I miss her.  I wish she could be around to meet my kids and teach me how to cook.  There's a joke in my family about Grandma and her dishtowels. She ALWAYS had one on her shoulder.  Maybe that's from raising TEN children and being the human dishwasher for countless years. Oh yes, I said ten kids. No misprint. She is an inspiration to my cousins and I.  If any of us are having a tough parenting day we think of Grandma. What would she do or say? She never complained about anything.

10 Minute Cupcakes [update]

Thanks To Cupcake Project for a quick treat!

With the exception of me fussing with a P&S camera instead of my usual DSLR, it really only took ten minutes to make these cupcakes.

Hubs and I needed some dessert after yet another delicious evening of sliced steak sandwiches.  We've been on a kick with those. But they are so darn GOOD!

I really need to invest in some of these silicone baking cups.  My options were pretty limited and the results were tasty but looked NOTHING like these!

Chocolate Chip Scones

I've been wanting to make these for a while.  I had several recipes for Chocolate Chip Scones book marked so that when the ingredients I had on hand matched one recipe I'd be all over that!  I made the recipe that I found on Evil Shenanigans.  Thanks for a great recipe! They only lasted two days because I told Hubs they were for company and he was only allowed the ones I burnt on the first batch! Wow I'm so mean but even the ones with the burnt bottoms were awesome!!

Cheddar & Crazy Salt Crackers

I was hankering for something to snack on. I already have lots of sweets on hand.  I just had PB MM Cookies, Butterscotch Banana Cupcakes and some Chocolate Chip Scones this past week.  Time for something savory. I'm not a chips person but I occasionally go on sweet overload and need to cleanse the palate. Haha.   I enjoy some wheat thins and cheese from time to time but Wheat Thins are on my expensive list of snacks for the house.  Hey with all this 'Betty Crocker-ness' maybe there's a cracker recipe out there.  The list of ingredients on the box isn't that terribly impossible looking.  Google me up something. How did I never think of this before?? There are TONS of cracker recipes. OMG. DUH. Oooh I'm excited now. NEW SNACKS! Both without chocolate AND Toddler friendly. BONUS.

Buttermilk Pancakes

Mmmm.  Buttermilk Pancakes definitely had that extra yummyness my normal pancakes seem to now be missing.  How will I ever go back now?? Ugh! For the price point it's definitely a treat. That's right up there with trying to buy fresh fruit [top dollar$$] in the middle of winter in the North East.  That is something that I can't wait for. Farm Stand season.  They don't call it the Garden State for nothin. The Toddler knows the difference, canned peaches are just not the same!!  We get lots of local apples in September which is great but by February I'm dying for some fresh berries and melon or anything that doesn't cost $4 a pound.

Banana Butterscotch Cupcakes

So my brother requested NO chocolate for his birthday cake/treat.  I obliged, but it was so hard NOT to find something chocolate. But Broooo?! I have SO many GREAT chocolate ideas. Ok well this comes as no surprise to me but still...  This is why Halloween always worked so well for us as kids. He got all the Reese's and Smarties.  I got pretty much every thing else chocolate and the ones neither of us deemed fit went to my dad whom thoroughly enjoyed all those wierd candies that were in those non descript yellow, black or orange wrappers. You know, before everyone was PETRIFIED to take actual candy from strangers.  Before razor blades were in apples and Halloween didn't get rescheduled to a different day and there was no 'town curfews' oh and there was this thing called GOOSEY NIGHT.

Ah yes, back in the day.

Updates SOON!

Banana Butterscotch Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Frosting.

Buttermilk Pancakes.

Chocolate Chip Scones.

Cheddar & Crazy Salt Crackers!

Links to PB M&M Cookies Recipe and Checkerboard Sugar Cookies Recipe

I'm SO behind with posting but I can promise you at least these 4 Recipes so far!