With schools being nut-free I’m always trying to make things without nuts, even though my kids love peanut butter.   Finding granola bar recipes that don’t use some form of nut butter is pretty tricky.   That’s why I decided to skip the granola bars this week and made another batch of cookies.   I’m so glad I did because the coconut oil added so much flavor and the kids loved them.  Plus, anything with chocolate in it and my kids are all over it!

This past week, while reading some other blogs, I’ve noticed that some of the schools in the US are almost finished for the summer. I’m so jealous!   Since hubby and I both work in a school we’re pretty excited for school to come to an end too.  Unfortunately, our school doesn’t finish up until the end of June.  I’m looking forward to packing away the lunch bags and backpacks and finally being able to eat outside on the deck.   The winter here has been long and the sunshine and warm weather have been missed.  I can’t wait to have the freedom to do what we want all summer long.  Summer days will be welcomed back with big, open arms!

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Since it was my husband’s birthday (May 9th), I want to dedicate this post to him.

Dear Hubby,

Happy Birthday!   Ever since I met you, almost 15 years ago, my life has never been the same.  I finally met my best friend and soul mate and we’ve made a beautiful family with our three kids.  You’ve taught me to become a more patient person, not only with people, but with myself as well.   You inspire me to do my best in everything that I do, even if there’s an easier or faster way to do it.  I am more present with people and give them my full attention because I’ve learned that from you.   You make me proud of your hard work and dedication to your career as a teacher and fire fighter, all while trying to do your Master’s degree.  I know you will succeed in everything you do because of your passion for learning and helping others.  As a father, you drop everything to do things with our kids, even in the bitter cold of the winter, when I can’t stand to go outside.  You work hard to give our family a nice home and we appreciate it.  I know that as long as you’re with us, I feel safe and loved.  I hope I’ve made this birthday a special one because you always make me feel special everyday!

I love you!

Lime Cake recipe slightly adapted from Food Network, Lime Curd recipe from Allrecipes

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I’ve been thinking about making these muffins since March Break when we had lunch at Panera Bread.  My oldest son doesn’t like raisins so  I kept them out and added extra apple.   These Apple Cinnamon Cobblestone Muffins are probably my family’s new favorite treat.

 These muffins remind me of individual monkey breads.  Instead of using pre-made biscuits for the dough, this dough is made from scratch.   I used my stand mixer to make the dough and then waited for it to double in size to start making the muffins.  Once the dough was ready, the process is almost the exact same as making monkey bread.  The only thing I didn’t do was the icing part.  I’m not a fan of icing sugar glaze and they were just as good without it.

I found the parchment paper liners at my local grocery store but you could make your own.  I loved how big they were and how they held everything together.  I don’t think regular paper liners would cut it for these babies!  So, if you’re a fan of cinnamon, apples, and sweet dough, then you definitely need to make these.  You can share them with family and friends or you can hide them and keep them for yourself!   Well, that would be a little much, right?!

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We started off our Girls Weekend by heading to the spa.  After an hour-long massage and 2 hours relaxing in the pools we were ready to start the weekend.  There was 12 of us who rented a cottage and we were so fortunate to have beautiful, warm and sunny weather.   Some of us took in some shopping while others caught up with old friends.  It was nice to get away from all the distractions that life can throw your way.

Each of us paired up with someone to prepare one meal or snacks for the weekend.  That was probably one of the best parts!  You could sit and relax (and not have to do dishes) until it was your one meal to make.   It was perfect!

I think getting away once in a while with your girlfriends is the best way to feel rejuvenated and relaxed.  I think we need to do it more often!  Oh, and eating these Oreo Cheesecake Bites helped too!

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I love this time of year when the bird’s are singing, the buds are coming out on the trees and the daylight lasts well after the kids have gone to bed.   I can still enjoy some time outside with my husband before dark or until the mosquitoes come out.   This year we’ve already had those pesky little insects in our backyard.   If anyone knows how to ruin a little quiet time outside, it’s them!

Another thing I like about this time of year is strawberry picking.  Where I live it’s not usually until the end of June.  Every year I take my two boys to help me fill up enough baskets to make jam and freeze some for the winter months.   I think every year I’ve taken them they eat about as much as they pick!   It’s a sure sign that the berries are good and I know that they’ll enjoy every last one of them!

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I’ve always admired people who have the courage to get up in front of complete strangers and belt out a tune.   Mind you, some of the folks who show up on American or Canadian Idol need to record themselves before even thinking about getting in line for the show.  I mean, come on people, did they even hear themselves?  Who tells them that they’re such great singers that they should stand in line for  hours and compete for a spot on national TV?   Those people, I feel bad for.  Really, I do.

I feel bad because they should have some friends who tell them the truth.  That maybe singing on national TV isn’t something they should pursue right now.  That singing at the local karaoke bar should be the first step in seeing if your voice is made for bigger and better things.   But, to each their own.  I’ll just eat my donuts and say no more.

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When Natrel contacted me to come up with a lactose-free recipe for their Lactose Free Campaign I immediately said yes.  I always drank regular milk growing up but for the last year or so I’ve made the switch to lactose-free milk.   Natrel’s lactose-free milk is smooth, creamy and delicious.  I actually enjoy drinking milk again!

This Maple Vanilla Rice Pudding is the perfect dessert served warm or cold.  I took advantage of the fact that it was made with lactose-free milk that I had two servings while it was still warm!  It was the perfect afternoon snack.

Can you see all those vanilla beans in there?  I love how such small things can add so much flavor.  I also topped mine with some Maple Sugar Spice (which is optional).  Since I’ve found an amazing lactose-free milk, I know I’ll be making this Rice Pudding many more times!

You can check out my recipe on Natrel’s website here.  Enjoy!

Disclosure:  I was compensated for contributing this recipe to Natrel but this post and opinions are my own.

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I originally shared this post on What’s Cooking with Ruthie when I was on my cruise in March.   Since the weather on my cruise was so much warmer than it was here, I may have indulged in a few margaritas during happy hour!  I was inspired to make these Margarita Macaroons to incorporate my love of sweets and my love of a good margarita!

These macaroons are made with my favorite citrus fruit, lime, but I’m sure they would taste just as good with lemon, orange or grapefruit.  Now, there is a bit of tequila in these macaroons but it’s not, in the least, overpowering.  I added 1 Tbsp. but you can certainly add more if you want more of the tequila taste.  I wanted the lime to shine through and I think I found the perfect balance.

I’m not sure if you can tell from the picture above but these macaroons are very moist and chewy.  Just the way I like them!  I liked how they toasted perfectly on the top and bottom and the centers stayed soft and gooey.  Because they’re Margarita Macaroons you can also add some salt sprinkled over the top to give them that sweet and salty taste.  If you’re a tequila fan, you might also like my Tequila-Lime Peach Galette I made last summer.  It was a nice, light dessert using the season’s freshest peaches!

Here’s hoping these will get you in the mood for warm weather, sunny skies, and relaxing with your feet up!  Cheers!

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I set out to find a fancy lemon cake recipe because, well let’s be honest, I’ve never made a fancy cake before.  This recipe looked perfect for what I had in mind, all thanks and credit to Rosie at Sweetapolita!  This Lemon Meringue Delight Cake was a big success and it tasted amazing!

I made this cake over the course of a few days, which was a good thing.  There were lots of things that I never attempted before and I was happy that I gave myself time to do those things properly.  For one, I never made buttercream frosting before…..which I ended up making twice for this recipe…..more on that later!  

Second, I’ve never made meringues before, let alone swirling yellow food paste in them as well.  

Finally, I’ve never made my own lemon curd.  Why I’ve never made it before I don’t know because it’s AMAZING!

The texture of this cake was perfectly moist and the surprise of the meringue discs on the inside were delicious.  I don’t care for airy, tasteless cakes and this one was anything but that.  I was also impressed by the buttercream, since I’ve never made it before.  It was fairly easy to make and it was great to work with.  I loved that the lemon curd was added to it for a subtle, yet tasty, flavor.

Now that I’ve made this one fancy cake, I’ll be less intimidated to make another.  My husband’s birthday is coming up and he’s requested something with lime.  Let’s see what I can come up with for him!

This will be one recipe I won’t be posting the recipe for because Rosie at Sweetapolita explains everything so perfectly on her website.  Please visit her website for the recipe and to see her beautiful photos.

* Notes from my kitchen:

1. For the cake, I didn’t have plain yogurt on hand so I used half sour cream and half vanilla yogurt and my cake still turned out great.

2. If you make the Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream ahead of time, make sure you take it out the night before (like Rosie says to) and let it come to room temperature.  I took mine out early in the morning and was anxious to frost my cake so I let it stand for about 3 hours and I thought by mixing it in my stand mixer might help it along.  Wrong!  I ended up with a curdled, watery mess of buttercream and had to start over again!

3. When you start your Buttercream over again, make sure you don’t use salted butter!  It doesn’t taste very good but you can use it anyway, like I did, because it was too late to run out to the grocery store!

4. Since it was my first time making meringues I was pretty impressed with them, except mine cracked (as you can see in the pictures above) so maybe my oven is too hot or my meringue was too thick?  I’ll have to look into that.

5. Enjoy!

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I decided to make these 7 Layer Bars with my son on one of his snow-days off.  I was craving popcorn and some type of bar dessert so we decided to combine the two.  I also had a couple of Caramel Kit Kat bars in the cupboard so I threw it all together.  What a great decision that was!  The whole pan was gone by the next afternoon.

When I was looking up a basic 7 Layer Bar recipe, my son pointed out it only had 6 layers.  I wanted it to be a true 7 Layer Bar and because my son was helping me, he wouldn’t let me stop at just 6!  Why call it 7 layers if you’re only going to have 6, right?

These bars turned out better than I expected.  They had the perfect sweet/salty combination that I was craving and I even turned some of my skeptic family members into fans of these bars.  My brother, who’s not a big sweet fan, had two pieces!  This recipe, I’m sure, will be made many more times in my house!

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