Fabulous Blonde Brownies

School is now in full swing. There's a part of me that is glad to be back into a routine, but I have to say that I desperately miss my kids!! One of the ways I find to let them know that I'm thinking of them during the day is to send yummy, homemade treats for their lunches. :) I baked these little blondies up late one night after our youngest had perused the "treat" drawer and found that we were out of cookies. GASP! She turned to me and asked, "Mommy, what will I have in my lunch for dessert?" :( I couldn't let my baby down and send her to school without something to satisfy her sweet tooth, right?! After saying our prayers and tucking four sleepy heads into bed, I went on a search for something that would be quick and simple to bake up. These little babies fit the bill. I loved that the recipe called for toffee bits with the white chocolate, gotta love that combination. The next day three of the four kids commented on how much they liked these. My 9 year old son came to me and said, "Mom, no offense, but I didn't really like the dessert you sent. It didn't have any chocolate in it. Can you please fix something chocolatey for tomorrow?" Hmmm, don't you love his honesty and truth be told...the apple didn't fall far from the tree! I MUCH prefer desserts with chocolate too!! Check back soon to see what I baked up to satisfy our chocolate cravings!!

From the heart of my kitchen to yours, may your experience be fun and the food always flavorful. Enjoy!

Fabulous Blonde Brownies

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (6 ounces) white chocolate chips
1 cup (4 ounces) blanched whole almonds (I omitted)
1 cup English toffee bits
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13x9-inch baking pan.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl; mix well. Combine white chocolate chips, almonds and toffee bits in medium bowl; mix well.

Beat butter and brown sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add flour mixture; beat until well blended. Stir in 3/4 cup white chocolate chip mixture. Spread evenly in prepared pan.

Bake 20 minutes. Immediately sprinkle remaining white chocolate chip mixture evenly over brownies. Press lightly. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool brownies completely in pan on wire rack.

Source: The Great American Cookie Cookbook

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Last spring, when my friend Sarah was enjoying her maternity leave, I spent many an afternoon at her home while her oldest and my youngest played...I also lavished the opportunity to snuggle with a precious, new baby!! Our lunches often consisted of left overs from our dinners. On one occasion, Sarah reheated this awesome tuna casserole. It was unlike any tuna casserole I had ever tasted and I asked her to share the recipe with me.

It's taken me several months to fix this for my family but it was such a huge hit with everyone, that I'm sure it's going to be on our dinner table often. Marty and I LOVED the "grown-up" flavor that the roasted red pepper added to this dish and the kids raved about the abundance of noodles and the bread crumb topping. The original recipe is prepared in an 8x8 dish, but I doubled it and baked in a 13x9. I was planning (and hoping) that this would be a success for dinner and needed plenty of leftovers for lunches and our buffet-style leftover night. :-) If you like tuna casserole, you'll LOVE this version of the favoured dish!

From the heart of my kitchen to yours, may your experience be fun and the food always flavorful. Enjoy!

Tuna Noodle Casserole

8 ounces uncooked linguine
1 cup frozen broccoli florets
1 package (1.8 oz) leek soup mix
1 1/2 cups milk
Dash pepper
1 can (5 oz) albacore tuna, drained
2 tablespoons chopped drained roasted red bell peppers
1 tablespoon butter or margarine, melted
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 8-inch square (2-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. Cook and drain linguine as directed on package, adding broccoli for last 2 minutes of cook time.
Meanwhile, in 1-quart saucepan, mix soup mix and milk. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly. Stir in pepper. Add linguine, broccoli, tuna and roasted peppers to soup mixture; stir gently to mix well. Spoon into baking dish. In small bowl, mix butter and bread crumbs; sprinkle over linguine mixture. Bake uncovered 20 to 25 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Source: Delectable Dining

Peanut Butter and Milk Chocolate Chip Brownie Bars

First off, I wanted to share this photo with you of an amazing storm that rolled in one afternoon of our vacation. The beauty of the dark, stormy clouds against the clear skies all hovering over the rough, gray waters of the ocean was absolutely breathtaking. God's creation at its finest. I quickly grabbed my camera and shot at least a dozen pictures. It was such a gorgeous sight to behold!

In my warped thought process, the definition of vacation reads, "time away from the daily grind that offers any and every excuse to overindulge on sweets for breakfast, lunch and dinner and as many snacks in between as possible". So, as I was planning the menu for the week, I selected some of the most mouth watering treats for our desserts
These little brownie bars were rich and chocolaty and packed a marvelous peanut butter flavor. I served these slightly warm with a dollop of vanilla ice-cream on top. (of course) They were a huge hit with all the "kids" big and small! These were so good that when we stopped in Atlanta to visit my brother and sister-in-law, I made them again! Their family loved them too. Huge success with very little effort. Love it!

From the heart of my kitchen to yours, may your experience be fun and the food always flavorful. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter and Milk Chocolate Chip Brownie Bars

6 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
3 eggs
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/3 cup Hershey's Cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup Reese's Peanut Butter (I used Jif-it's what was on hand)
1 cup Hershey's Milk Chocolate Chips, divided
1 cup Reese's Peanut Butter Chips, divided
3/4 teaspoon shortening (do not use butter, margarine, spread or oil)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13x9x2-inch pan.

2. Stir together butter, sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla in large bowl. Add 2 eggs; stir until blended. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; add to egg mixture, stirring until well blended. Spread evenly in prepared pan. Bake 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, stir together sweetened condensed milk, peanut butter, remaining egg and remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla. Pour evenly over baked layer. Set aside 1 tablespoon each milk chocolate chips and peanut butter chips; sprinkle remaining chips over peanut butter mixture. Return to oven; continue baking 20 to 25 minutes or until peanut butter layer is set and edges begin to brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

4. Stir together remaining milk chocolate chips, remaining peanut butter chips and shortening in small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at HIGH (100%) 30 seconds; stir. If necessary, microwave at HIGH an additional 15 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, until chips are melted and mixture is smooth when stirred. Drizzle over top of bars. When drizzle is firm, cut into bars. (I didn't wait that long!) Store loosely covered at room temperature.

Source: Hershey's Classic Recipes

All-Star Muffins

Right before the kids went back to school, we vacationed on the beautiful Emerald Coastline of Florida with some dear friends of ours. Everyday was filled with fun on the beach, swimming in the pool and the sounds of the surf. Ahhh...so wonderful and relaxing!! What made our vacation even more perfect was the view out our condo window. There's nothing like waking every morning and looking out over the balcony and seeing the beauty of the ocean, sand and sky. I could even stand in the kitchen and still have a perfect view of the ocean and skyline. I was in heaven...what better environment to spark some creativity in the kitchen!!

The family we vacationed with also has four kids which made it double the fun for me to plan fun and tasty meals. Whenever we vacation we plan to dine out maybe once or twice, but most of our meals are eaten in our condo. After spending the majority of the day in the hot, summer sun, our kids are always wiped out and the last thing they have the patience for is to get cleaned up to go out to eat. So dining in allows the kids to clean up and put on their jammies and the added plus is it saves us quite a bit of money. Always a bonus!!
On one of our first mornings I baked these delicious All-Star Muffins that I found in my "King Aurthur Flour Baker's Companion" cookbook. This particular recipe grabbed my attention because of its simplicity and many variations that are offered. One of the variations that practically leaped off the page at me was the toffee chocolate chip addition. Holy Yum....chocolate and toffee chips for breakfast! Perfect for vacation!!

These baked up simply perfect!! Light and fluffy on the inside and just a little crispy on the edges. And the chocolate and toffee??? Oh. My. Goodness. Absolutely sinful!! The kids devoured these right up and the few that were leftover after breakfast were quickly eaten during lunch time. These will definitely become a "go-to" muffin for our breakfasts. I can't wait to bake up and blog about the other variations. :-)

From the heart of my kitchen to yours, may your experience be fun and the food always flavorful. Enjoy!

All-Star Muffins

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour or cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons butter
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
10-ounce bag of Heath bar bits
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and lightly grease 16 muffin cups or use paper liners.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, then set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with a handheld or stand mixer until light and fluffy and almost white in color. Scrape down the bowl to make sure all the butter is incorporated, then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and sour cream and mix until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until the batter is smooth.

Add the Heath bits and chocolate chips to batter.

Fill muffin cups and bake for 18-24 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove them from the oven, cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove the muffins from the pan to finish cooling on a rack. (Muffins left in the pan to cool will become tough from steaming.)

Source: The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion

Baked Blueberry French Toast

I love breakfast recipes that can be prepared the night before and popped into the oven in the morning. This is a perfect recipe if you're entertaining overnight guests or for celebratory breakfast for a special someone. The fresh blueberries added such a lovely, light flavor mixed with the french bread. I lightly dusted confectioner's sugar over each warm serving and added just a touch of maple syrup. PERFECT!!

From the heart of my kitchen to yours, may your experience be fun and the food always flavorful. Enjoy!

Baked Blueberry French Toast

6 slices sourdough French bread, torn
4 eggs
1 cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1-1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
2 cups blueberries
1/4 cup butter, melted

Place bread into a jelly roll pan. In a medium bowl, mix eggs, half-and-half and vanilla together, pour over bread, cover and refrigerate overnight. Combine sugar, cinnamon, allspice and cornstarch together, fold in blueberries and place in a greased 13"x9" baking pan. Place chilled bread mixture on top of blueberry mixture; drizzle butter over bread. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Source: Gooseberry Patch "Hometown Favorites"

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

With our crazy, busy weekend schedule during baseball season, I was constantly looking for items for breakfast that would be easy to grab and go. There's nothing worse than rushing tired and hungry kiddos out the door very early in the morning....well, unless those tired and hungry kiddos cause Mom to hop on her broom that early! One of the easiest options (and least mess in the car) is muffins...they're so wonderfully versatile, easy to pack for the road and made a great mid-morning snack between games. :)

Earlier this summer I fed my obsession and purchased "The King Arthur Baker's Companion". As I read through (yes, I read cookbooks like most people would read a book...it's an illness!) I marked several breakfast recipes to try while my kids are home this summer. Since everyone in my family LOVES muffins, I chose to bake up this recipe first. These were moist and delicious and perfect for our crazy mornings. The kids raved about the banana/chocolate combination (haven't we all?) and the best kept secret is that there is just a small amount of whole wheat flour in these that makes them a "touch" healthier!!

From the heart of my kitchen to yours, may your experience be fun and the food always flavorful. Enjoy!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

8 tablespoons (1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter
1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
2 medium-size ripe bananas, mashed (about 3/4 cup, 5 1/2 ounces)
1/3 cup (2 3/4 ounces) milk
1 cup (5 ounces) white whole-wheat flour or traditional whole-wheat flour (5 1/4 ounces)
1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (4 1/2 ounces) chocolate chips
1 cup (4 ounces) walnuts, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until they're smooth. Scrape the bowl down, then beat in the egg, spices, banana, and milk. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, then gently stir them into the butter-sugar mixture.

Spoon the batter into 12 lightly greased muffin cups. Bake the muffins for 20 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven, and after 10 minutes turn them out of the pan to cool.

Source: The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion

Hello Again!!!

Hello again to all my fellow foodie friends!! I know that it has been an extremely long time since I posted any fabulous food on my blog, but I hope to change that pattern really soon. I wanted to briefly catch you up on the happenings of our family this summer.

First off-our son, Nathan, is blessed to be part of a travel baseball team, and the majority of the beginning of our summer was spent traveling to several tournaments in Indiana as well as a Mid-West Regional tournament in St. Louis. Most of the boys have played together since they were 6 years old and have developed not only their incredible baseball skills as a team, but also amazing friendships with one another. I do have to brag for just a moment on the success of our team.....the picture on the right is from a tournament that the boys won declaring them State Champions and the picture on the left is from the St. Louis tournament where they became the Mid-West Regional Champs!!! What an incredibly successful season for these 9 year old boys.....and their families!!! Way to go Avon Attack!!!

Our daughter, Megan, also celebrated her 12th birthday while we were in St. Louis for baseball. Let me just say, we heard several times how she has spent the LAST 4 years of her birthdays sitting at baseball games!! So, we agreed to allow her to have several girlfriends over for a pool party/sleep-over to celebrate her birthday. The girls swam most of the afternoon and evening and then enjoyed an outdoor movie shown beside the pool.


Megan had picked out these adorable popcorn cupcakes from "Hello Cupcake" but still wanted a cake too. My friend, Sarah, and I brainstormed together about what kind of cake would tie the cupcakes with Megan's outdoor movie experience. Sarah's brilliant plan was to create a cake that resembled a movie theater popcorn bucket!! As you can see, the finished product was absolutely perfect and sooooo adorable! The girls LOVED it!!! Also, we were incredibly proud to debut our first Decadent Dreams Bakery ORIGINAL!!! Sarah and I will be posting more about this cake on our blogs really soon!!

Finally, last weekend we hosted the season-ending party for the baseball team. It's always great fun to get all the families together for a cookout and enjoy backyard baseball, swimming, corn-hole and share in laughter and fun! Here, the boys are awaiting Coach Chris to talk with them and to receive their year-end goodie bags....as if two championships weren't enough!!! :)



This is the cake that Sarah and I baked for the party. It was a double chocolate chip cake with chocolate mousse between the layers and covered with delicious butter cream icing! The baseball is dark chocolate cake wrapped in homemade marshmallow fondant and the laces are piped on with butter cream. Again....more to come on this cake as well!!! Many thanks to my friend Angie for her inspiration and ingenuity on the design!!


I think that pretty well wraps up our summer so far. I have desperately missed catching up with all of you and also have been incredibly touched by the concern many of you have shown by checking up on me with my lack of foodie posts!! I'm still here...still baking...still cooking....and waiting with baited breath to share with you many fun and fabulous dishes! ;-)

From the heart of my kitchen to yours, may your experience be fun and the food always flavorful. Enjoy!