Sausage and Tortellini Soup

If I had to pick one soup and designate it as my absolute favorite, I think it would be a tie between this soup and French Onion Soup. But because my boyfriend is not a fan of French Onion Soup, I make this soup a lot. More than any other soup. As I build my blog, you'll notice that my soups are broth based. I believe that you can get a great soup without all the extra...

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Lightened Up, Kicked up Baked Pasta

If you're like me, a simple pasta dish is always a great meal to have on deck for those busy week nights. But all too often for me, I have hopes of something being delicious and it falls short of my expectations. I adapted this recipe from one I saw on a recipe site that I frequent...a lot. It's probably considered stalking at this point lol. But it looked delicious and easy...

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Bella's Perfectly Chocolate Cupcake with Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting

It's all in the name!!My amazing and wonderfully smart daughter turns 4 tomorrow! And a few days ago I asked her what kind of cupcakes she would like me to make for her birthday party. I thought that she would give me a shoulder shrug, say "a good one",  or just stare at me like they do in cartoons when they are waiting for the children to answer a question. To my surprise,...

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Award Winning Apple Pie

There are a wealth of fond memories that I have from my childhood. All of them involve, in some way or another, being with family. I am one of three children, my mom one of four children, my grandmother was one of three or four children....you get the point. Every Thanksgiving and Christmas revolved around the thanks of the season, God, and gathering at my Grandma and Grandpa's...

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My Family's Chili

Growing up, I remember cooking being a shared task between my mom and dad. Each had their own dishes that only they could rock and was therefore always in charges of. Among my dad's dishes was his chili. Oh his chili....... Over the last few years, I have honed in on what makes his chili better than anyone else's and I think I have come pretty darn close to matching it....

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Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake

A few weeks ago my Facebook feed was nothing but posts about this friend and that friend going to The Cheesecake Factory. I have never been there...which as insane as it sounds, it might have to stay that way. I think the nearest one is about 25 minutes from my house so it's not that it's too far to drive to. Even though I've never looked at the prices, I'm sure it's...

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Lightened Up Corn and Potato Chowder

When it comes to soup, I like very much prefer broth based soups over its cream based competitors. I love the comfort of soup but I don't think you need to load a soup with calories and fat for it to be delicious. This is the reason I've never had a love affair with cream of _____  or  _____ chowder or ____bisque....you get my drift.But I was inspired by a lightened...

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Pumpkin Crunch Cupcake

I love fall. Like...REALLY love fall. I love the chilly nights, I love making s'mores over a bonfire, I love wearing hoodies with flip flops, I love the colors. But what I love most about fall is PUMPKIN!! Everything has pumpkin!! Coffee, cakes, candles, cookies....the list goes on and on. As you can tell, I have the biggest sore spot for pumpkin!!! So I stumbled...

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Taco Stuffed Squash

Over the last few years, I have discovered that I really like yellow squash. My mom had a pretty sizable garden for a number of years while I was younger. For a few summers, I remember growing all kinds of corn, tomatoes, and peppers and we would set up a little table at the end of the driveway and sell to the neighbors. I don't think we ever got rich off of it but it was...

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Bacon and Guacamole Grilled Cheese

Being that I have an almost 4 year old daughter, grilled cheese is usually a fall back dinner idea when I'm crunched for time or if I am making something she won't eat (or that I don't want to share). And each time I make it it looks so good but is a definite let down everytime I take a bite. It's just not .... delicious. Its just not a party on my taste buds. And it leaves...

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So you like Cinnamon Roll huh?!?!

First, let me start by saying I am not the baker in my family. My mom is an AMAZING baker. So much that I wish I had the money to give her to start her own bakery. She'd be huge...like DC Cupcake or Cake Boss huge. But, for now, I guess she'll have to stick to her Kitchen Aide mixer and cluttered countertops. Sorry Ma. One day.......Anyway...I stumbled across this tempting...

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So here we are....

Ok... So I know I'm not the first person to think "what if I created an online journal of the things I encounter on my journey through life as a way to organize my thoughts? And what if I discovered through that that I have this amazing ability to write with just the right mixture of interest, wit, humor, sarcasm and sensitivity? What if I shared my journal with people that I loved the most and what if they shared it with people they knew because...

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