Many delightful plans come to mind, with the first inkling of Autumn in the air, and this year has been no different for us.  Baking is one of them, and at the top of that list, is always Apple Crisp! (With a scoop or 2 of vanilla ice cream, please!)

I admit, we are not above some Apple Crisp topping-help from a box. We’ve done that, and enjoy it! But this year, my friend Betty offered us her simple home made recipe for Apple Crisp.  Betty is an awesome fellow photographer in Northern Virginia, Air Force wife, and inspiring Mama to 3.  I

Josh’s Double Chocolate Biscotti

bis·cot·ti

There are times that the things we creatively do as a family, or the ideas we have, happen ON a holiday or special calendar day. So naturally they do not get blogged until after the fact.  Since we like our readers to have the opportunity to take our ideas and find creative inspiration from them, or flat out borrow the ideas, I like to try and share (or re-share) those ideas the following year, so that you all can have time to use them if you’d like, while that day is upcoming once again.

Here in the Vittles section, I thought it would be

Not much says a down-home-cooked meal, like a homemade Chicken Pot Pie!  Growing up, my mom always bought those little individual frozen pot pies, in either chicken or beef.  And guess what?  I loved them! She was not all that into cooking, as I’ve said, so I don’t think I had very discerning taste as a kid.

When I grew up and started my own family, those little frozen pot pies always sounded good, but I found the actual experience of eating them, was less than satisfying.  I found the little meat bits in those pies….suspicious.  I also found the individual

Once upon a time, my ‘Fine Bread Maker’, made all of his bread and pizza dough by hand.

But now we have THE MACHINE….

(…thanks to the huge heart, of a great friend….you may have heard that story I love to tell…).

The recipes are the same as they always were.  They are just a whole lot easier, and a lot less messy now!  The difference between the bread recipe and the pizza dough is minimal, but important.  So let’s take a look at the easy steps, so you too can fill… (READ MORE......) | 1 Comment

My kids and I were trying to come up with some themed food for New Year’s Eve, and {JM} came up with this great idea, right off the bat:  Cookies that are designed like clocks! (Oh, to have his quick, 8 year old brain!)

Right away I started trying to figure the details, and decided to start with homemade Gingersnap Cookies.  To design them, we went with a white icing that hardens, and a bit of chocolate art.  The design process does involve some intricate detail work, but if you enjoy the creative process and have a little patience to work with, they are worth the effort!  Your party-goers will be impressed with… (READ MORE......) | 12 Comments

The other day, I got the surprise-of-my-life.  The kind that left me in a daze for the rest of the day.  And into the next day.  OK, seriously……I’m still kind of in a daze about it.  I don’t even know where to start with this little story.  I feel speechless, and yet, you and I both know this post will probably end up ridiculously long, once the words start flowing.

<Deep breathe.>  So, many of you know I had a birthday last Sunday.  My birthday to me is really no big deal, and never has been.  But my family always makes me feel special, and we always spend any of our birthdays together all day, doing… (READ MORE......) | 16 Comments

We have a de-LICIOUS roll recipe coming right up, submitted by a regular and loved blog reader, Paula.  But first, we just wanted to share with you some of our oldest daughter, {A}’s,  creative cookies she made last week.  (She is an ambitious baker in the making, if you don’t know.)

{A} has a very strong interest in the Kennedy Family, and has  as of late, been studying their family history in great depth.  That’s  not to say she is a fan of all of them. ; )  But, she does like who Robert F. Kennedy was.  So much so, that she made sugar cookies for his birthday on Friday, November 20th.   She thought it was a great excuse to practice her piping skills.… (READ MORE......) | 3 Comments

As I’ve mentioned, we all choose what we want for our birthday cakes in our family.  Up until this year, we’ve really lucked out in that, {J, O & S} have always just agreed on the same kind of cake.  So this year was a ‘first’.  They had all spent their own bouts of time flipping through their big sister’s cook books, and it seems 2 of them had seen something they wanted, and they knew exactly on which page, in which book, it was.

So this post isn’t directional recipes, per say, but a few cute ideas you may like to use for your kids, or yourself, sometime!  Good news: Birthdays are not a requirement!  An ordinary Sunday, the kickoff of a school vacation, or… (READ MORE......) | 3 Comments

Hi blog friends!  This is {A} this time.   Mama said she has noticed we haven’t blogged any recipes of ‘real food’ in awhile, and it’s looking like we’ve been on a ‘sweets kick’ lately, so she said to let you know we’ll have some meal-related type recipes coming up soon. She just needs to think of some.  But today, I wanted to share this cookie recipe I came up with on my own.  Everyone in my family loved them when I made them, so I hope if you make them, you do too.

Teddy Graham Sandwich Cookies

Participating Ingredients:

All Purpose Flour, Sugar, Butter, Vanilla Extract, Baking Powder… (READ MORE......)