Merry Christmas Eve, friends! This post is a little late on the draw, but if any of you poor souls out there are concerned that you may have made it on the naughty list this year, I suggest you leave a plate of these cookies out for Santa and hope for the best… Continue reading
Happy Halloween, candy fiends! Before you and the kiddos embark on your day of rowdy parties, twilight trick-or-treating, and massive sugar consumption, I want to impart you with some knowledge. The quickest way to rid your house of excess Halloween candy is to bake it into cookies. That’s right folks, you know as well as I that every year we end up with gobs of candy that will take our little pirates and princesses weeks, maybe months, to get through (or eventually get toss out). Which is why I thought up a recipe that will put some of those confections to better use. These flourless peanut butter cookies are generously studded with hunks of Butterfingers and pack a candy-worthy crunch! Seriously, these guys are so good that your monsters won’t even bother with the Dum-Dums and Smarties in the bottom of their trick-or-treat bag. Continue reading
Well hello, stranger, long time no see! It’s been a couple weeks since I posted anything to my blog and I have a good excuse for that (or lots of little excuses that add up to one good excuse). What started out as me taking a single week off to battle the plague which brought my entire family to its knees (seriously, even the cat was sick), Continue reading
Well it looks like Texas finally got the message that autumn is coming. For the past couple days we’ve been enjoying foggy, rainy weather, and temperatures in the mid-80’s (believe me, that’s chilly for this area). All it took was this slight change in climate for the mound of pumpkins sitting outside our grocery store to stop looking ridiculous and out of place, and start looking appealing. A few days ago I dug out all of my pumpkin recipes and tried to figure out what I wanted to make first, and that’s when I found my mom’s Pumpkin Roll recipe. Now, this isn’t actually her recipe, but it’s one that she’s been making since I was a toddler and can be traced back only as far as her friend Roxie. My mom’s copy is handwritten on a yellowing index card that has orange flowers and brown mushrooms decorating the corners (it was the 70’s afterall). Most likely the original recipe came from Betty Crocker or Good Housekeeping, but she made it often and it always marked the beginning of fall for my sister and me, so in my mind it will always be my mom’s pumpkin roll…and now it can be yours, too. Continue reading
I’ve already mentioned my weakness for peanut butter and chocolate, right? Yes, I remember now, I confessed that little sin in another post. Well, guess what, folks? My mad craving recently struck again, and I was forced (forced I tell you!) to create something rich, creamy, and delicious to stave it off. And since pie season is rapidly approaching, I chose to channel my gluttony into little, bitty pies rather than dumping them all into my ice cream maker like last time — and ohmygoodness was it heavenly! Served straight out of the ice box, it’s still considered a “cool treat,” but one that is substantial enough to stand up to the heavier autumn meals that we’re starting to make. So come on, everybody, let’s make today Friday Pie-Day! Continue reading
Now that September is here and all the kids are back in school, I’m starting to notice a shocking amount of fall items popping up all over the place. You know what I’m talking about: pumpkin spice lattes, autumn-inspired wreaths, and Halloween costumes on every store shelf. Although autumn is my favorite time of year, it’s hard for me to think about fall when we’re still experiencing 100° temperatures here in Texas. Now, with that being said, I’m fully aware that many parts of the world (like my drizzly home state of Washington) are already feeling the change in seasons, so I’m willing to strike a compromise, ya’ll. But, instead of going full bore with the cinnamon & nutmeg and carving out a big, fat, orange pumpkin, I’ve decided to take a summer fruit (blueberries) and combine it with subtle, warming flavors like cloves, coriander, and port wine to create a sauce that you can serve hot or cold – making it perfect for any climate! Continue reading
As I mentioned in my last post, my family and I just returned from our annual trip to the Oregon Coast, where we spent three (rather chilly) days making sandcastles, eating massive amounts of saltwater taffy, and warming ourselves next to smoldering bonfires. Our beachside dinners are nothing special; just the typical grilled hot dogs, store-bought potato salad, and, of course, s’mores. But the s’mores, mind you, we take very seriously. Between my nephew’s raging sweet tooth and my dad’s brilliant homemade bonfire forks, s’mores have quickly become the main attraction of our trip. This year I decided to shake things up a bit with two different flavors of s’mores, which we started referring to as G’mores (gourmet s’mores). Both variations (Strawberries & Cream and Triple Chocolate) got the seal of approval from my sugar-obsessed nephew (and the rest of the clan), which was all the taste-testing I needed. So with tomorrow being Labor Day and the vast majority of us camping or grilling out, why not try a new twist on this all-American favorite? Continue reading
Do you remember those Birthday Cake Cookies I posted last month? Well the other day while I was shopping for inspiration in the baking aisle of my grocery store, I spotted a particularly tempting box of chocolate cake mix and thought, “Man that looks good! I want some of that.” (In my defense, it was before lunch and I was starving.) So I bought the cake mix, brought it home, then later that day (once I had eaten) I realized that I was not going to bake a cake any time soon, and whipped up a batch of cookies instead. After eating one cookie (three cookies) and feeling guilty for a few minutes (for the rest of the day), I packed up the remaining cookies and sent them to work with my husband (because really, who was I kidding with thinking that I could resist eating every single one?). Now what’s the moral of this story, you ask? Hmmm…I’m not quite sure, other than you should never go grocery shopping on an empty stomach. Or maybe it’s that Birthday Cake Cookies can quickly become Everyday Cake Cookies when the mood strikes. Regardless, these easy-to-make morsels can be whipped up for something as small as a mid-afternoon chocolate craving, or for something as big as a celebration, like maybe…the celebration of your 100th blog post?! Yep, you read it correctly, folks, this is Soup Bowl Recipes’ 100th post! (Applause and cheering in the background.) Continue reading
Well congratulations, friends, it’s Friday and we’ve made it through yet another busy work week, which means it’s time to celebrate! But tonight, instead of opening a bottle of wine and polishing off that bag of Chips Ahoy, why not class up your routine a bit and concoct something more interesting – like this super decadent dessert in a glass?! Continue reading
There are many things in life that I crave on a weekly basis, and ice cream (along with Doritos, and cinnamon toast, and stinky cheese) is one of those. However, ice cream, at least for me, is a seasonal craving. It’s a “summer and I’m hot, and I want something cold” type of craving. One that usually doesn’t strike me, say, in mid-December. But I do have an everyday craving; a “dream-about-it, must-have-it, it’s-so-indulgent-I’m-embarrassed-to-even-admit-it” type of craving. What is it, you ask? Wait for it…it’s bananas dipped in peanut butter, then rolled in chocolate chips. I know, right?! Go ahead, take a minute to judge me, I don’t mind… Okay, are we ready to move on? Good. So this weekend when I was trying to figure out how to reward myself for going to the gym for 5 days straight, I started having visions of all of my favorite foods floating past me, mixing into one glorious frozen treat. And then it hit me! What if I threw everything I love into my brand-spanking new ice cream maker and created the world’s best ice cream? Brilliant! Continue reading
soup bowl recipes 