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Since I love fall food so much, I am all about finding an easier and yummier way to eat it.  I love pies.  All kinds and love to eat them all year long, but pies are scary to a lot of people.  I think it's the pie crust (which is all about practice, practice, practice).  And because there are a lot of pie crusts out there that are just downright nasty. Seriously, who wants to eat this delicious filling and then have a nasty bottom.  Definitely not me.  I love my pie crust and probably will never change, but for those of you out there that can't or don't want to make a pie crust, this is the perfect solution for you. Easy, peasy and I think even better than regular pumpkin pie.  Why?...because the crust actually tastes delicious.  Imagine that! Pumpkin Pie Bars ( click here for printable version ) Crust: 1 spice cake mix 1/2 cup butter, melted 1 egg Filling: 1 29 ounce can pumpkin  1 1/2 cups sugar 1 tsp salt 2 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp ginger 1/2 t...

Are you talking about costumes or Halloween at your house yet? We aren't talking about costumes (and I'm trying not to remind the kids because that just seems like too close to Christmas and I don't want to think about it). But I have been seeing all sorts of amazing things around blogland for Halloween and it is making just a little bit excited.  Mostly for the food (you know how I L.O.V.E. fall food).  What can I say! :) I decided to spice up our sugar cookie recipe for halloween and the kids loved it.  They thought life was pretty cool when they came home and found these beauties.  I love the look of candy corns (really hate to eat them) but I do think they are so cute. I tried to do step-by-step instructions so hopefully this is helpful and you love them as much as we did! Candy Corn Sugar Cookies ( click here for printable version ) 1 batch sugar cookie dough (I love this one) Yellow and Orange food coloring (the paste works much better) Optionals: sprinkles, sa...

Now that school is in (and I have so much time to myself--not!!), we have begun the breakfast routine. In the summer we pretty much take a break and whenever breakfast gets fixed (within a reasonable amount of time), is when we eat.  Now I have to have it ready by 7:30 am or we are late for school. Because we tend to have the standards breakfasts all the time--I love to venture out and try something new for the kids.  Usually it's muffins, because it's easy to do in the morning.  Add some fruit or an egg and we are good to go. Another favorite at this house is cinnamon rolls.  I don't make them that often, so they are consumed very quickly when I do.  This recipe intrigued me because it's a combination of the cinnamon roll and a muffin.  It does have more than the normal amount of steps, so you might want to try it for a weekend breakfast first.  The hubs and kids enjoyed them, but they did say regular cinnamon rolls were better.  Just sayin! Cinn...

Mmmm....I'm drooling just thinking about these lovely things. Rice Krispie treats are one of my all time favorite, go to treats.  They are easy to make, I can eat them, they are very easy to dress up and make fancy, I can eat them, licking out the bowl is pretty stellar, I can eat them, they are quick to whip up, I can eat them. I think you get the picture.   Rice Krispie treats also don't last long at my house.  I'll just be up front and honest, there are none left when the kids get home from school.  Yep, it's true.  I can't stay out of them.   Then if you add some peanut butter and chocolate.  Wow!  This lady really can't stay out of them.  They are absolutely fabulous.  We were all in love over here.  Reeses Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Bars ( click here for printable version ) 6 cups Rice Krispies Cereal (Cocoa Krispies works great too) 16-18 small Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, diced 6 tbsp butter 3 tbsp light karo syrup 1...

Last week I had the opportunity to make dinner for the ladies in my ward.  I served a fresh peach and cream cheese pie in 1/2 pint jars because we were on a country picnic (and let's face it--anything in a jar is way cute!).   That pie, is one of my new FAVORITE pies.  It is amazing and since I have lots of fresh peaches around my house, we have made it 3 times along with my other favorite peach pie .  I know, I know, but pie and fruit are what I have been craving.  So delicious!!  Lots of my ladies asked for the recipe so here it is.  I know you've been asking for awhile and sorry it took a long time, but life is just sometimes like that.  But no worries, here it is now, and your life will be forever changed. Now before you say, "WAIT!! That's not what she made the other night", it totally is.  But with fresh blackberries.  That is the beauty of this pie.  It can be made with any fresh fruit you have around the house.  We happ...

 We are almost at the end of zucchini season here and I am happy to report that a dear friend came through and I have had as much zucchini as I have wanted.  It's been wonderful. The only problem is that there are others in this house that really, really don't like it.  But I do have one of my daughters who requests that it gets put in everything because she likes it that much.  Can't please everyone! Because of the haters, I am always trying new ways to have zucchini (maybe one day they might fall in love).   The thing about zucchini is that is can't be mushy or cooked too long.  It gets quite revolting if it's too soft so this was a perfect way to eat it.  The crust gives it some crunchiness and baking it in the oven makes the zucchini done but still slightly soft and firm.  Just the thing for me.  Plus when you get to dip it, life gets a lot better for all of us.  Dipping made my kids eat two of them--that's pretty good for zucchini h...

There is a saying in our house, and it gets repeated very often.  It goes something like this, "Everything is better with cream cheese!" That is truly what the hubs believes.  He says cream cheese is the universal food.  You can eat at breakfast, with dessert, at dinner or lunch, in breads or muffins, as appetizers, or stuffed in vegetables or fruit.  Cream cheese is just amazing.   And it's one of those things that are always in my fridge.  It might be a crime at this house to not have any around, you just never know when you might need some. These bars were ten times better because of that goodness on top.  The carrot and zucchini are so healthy, we had to balance it out.  The cream cheese frosting sent it over the top and made all the kids think they were in heaven.  So delicious. Zucchini and Carrot Bars with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting ( click here for printable version) 2 eggs, slightly beaten 3/4 cup packed brown sugar 1/2 cup canola o...

Oh my, oh my, oh my! This baby was absolutely delectable.  We love guacamole at our house and have tried many versions of it, but I think this is our favorite way. EVER.  I thought I had a favorite until now and oh man, what deliciousness.  This one totally beats the other, hands down. The sweetness of the grilled pineapple with the avocado was a heavenly combo.  Like the angels are singing, the sun breaks through the clouds, and everything is right with the world. Yep, not kidding, it was that heavenly.  Especially because I got to eat it,  That always makes things better too.  So put this on your menu for your next tailgate party (or if you hate football and never watch it, make it as soon as you can) and your guests and family will love you forever for it. Grilled Pineapple Guacamole ( click here for printable version ) 2-3 slices of cored and peeled fresh pineapple (canned works great too if you don't have fresh) 2 medium ripe avocados 1/2 small ye...

 It's begun. Yep that's right!  Football season is here again.  I love this time of year because it means a party almost every weekend, which means appetizers, and that means lots of new and delicious things to try out. This week I am going to share some of our new favorite appetizers with you. One thing we always have around our house is cheese Doritoes.  My son will only eat that one kind of chip in his lunch so we always have a Costco size bag in the cupboard.  This dip was the perfect one to try because it is the best with cheese Doritoes.  There is just something about the combination that goes so well with the cottage cheese, tomatoes, and avocados. Plus this appetizer is a cinch to whip up, throw out some chips with it, and watch your favorite football team play.  Go Broncos!! Dorito Dip ( click here for printable version ) 1 (24 oz) container cottage cheese 2 tomatoes, diced 2 avocados, diced 1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed 3 green onions, chopped ...

 It's finally here.  I never pictured this day.  It seemed so far in the future that I never gave it much thought or energy (except when people tried to bring it up and I would totally ignore them--not really but I wanted to because I didn't want to face this day yet!). You see, as I sit here my house is perfectly quiet.  No one is around.  No kids playing, music going, movies on.  No one asking for me for help with anything or needing to talk to me. All my kids are in school as of today.  And honestly I don't know how I feel about it. It is such a mixed bag of emotions for me.  My youngest has been my little buddy for so long that it seems weird to not have him around.  Even though I do admit I can get quite a bit done now, but still.  What a new stage in life and it came so quickly. So in honor of having no one home and me trying not to cry or laugh with all the quietness around me, I re-did a recipe that was sorely in need of a new pi...

Happy Labor Day and September everyone! Can you believe it? September means back to school for us.  Yep my kids haven't started (the big day is tomorrow and Wednesday) and we have been busy trying to get all our summer projects and goals done. I think I have shared with you that I love to read and so far all of my children love to read also.  The older two don't just read, they absolutely devour books.  I'm not kidding.  We are at the library all summer long (which is not a bad place to be in my opinion) getting new books. Because they love to read they decided to take part in our orthodontist's contest this summer.  He always challenges the kids to see how many pages they can read over the summer.  The contest ended last Friday and we counted up pages.  Guess how many they read?!!? I was completely dumbfounded and because I'm sure you won't guess, here it is: Seth (who is 12) read 13237 pages and Sarah (who is 9) read 11054. So crazy--we don't know if...