~well fed~

 It's no secret that I love to bake.

I also happen to love pumpkin.

 I thought I'd share a couple recipes with you that I made this past week, and they turned out fantastic!

I am a huge fan of Starbucks pumpkin scones.

I happen to think the other day that I bet I could find a recipe for them online.

So, I googled it and sure enough, a ton of recipes popped up.

I will say, they turned out almost identical to the Starbucks ones!

You can find the recipe here.

 This past year I have also discovered Nutella~yum!

I found a recipe for pumpkin nutella bread {you can also make it into muffins if you prefer}

and, h my goodness, soooo good!

You can find the recipe for it here.

xoxo

~happy weekend~

~what I'm cooking today~

~apple cake with brown sugar glaze~
Ingredients
Cake
3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 eggs
1 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups finely chopped apples
1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped (optional)

Brown Sugar Glaze
1 cup packed light brown sugar
6 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons heavy cream
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 9x13-inch pan and set aside.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a large bowl, beat the eggs until light and foamy. Add the oil and vanilla and mix well. Stir in the flour mixture with a spoon and continue stirring the batter til the flour disappears. Add the apples and nuts; mix well. Scrape the batter into prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set the cake on a wire rack.

While the cake is still hot, prepare the glaze.  Combine the brown sugar, butter, vanilla and heavy cream in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the mixture comes to a gentle boil. Continue cooking for 3 minutes. Spoon the hot glaze over the still warm cake. Let the glazed cake cool completely before serving straight from the pan. 

The kids start school tomorrow. 

It's Savannah's first year of Jr. High school.

I can't believe it, where did the time go.

I'm a little sad to see summer come to a end. I always get a little emotional at this time.

I think I get a little spoiled with the kids being at home and I start to get sad that I won't have them all to myself every day.

Today we meet Cody's teacher and drop supplies off in the classroom.

Then we are off to the state fair. Our one last hurrah before school starts tomorrow.

I hope you are all having a great day!
xoxo

~salted caramel cupcakes~

 I made these salted caramel cupcakes yesterday and they are to die for!

Go here for the recipe and let me know how you like them.

xoxo

~in the mood for~

by the way.....chairs below, still for sale.

Make me an offer I can't refuse :)

xoxo

~my niece turns 2, a cake, and a winner!~

 We celebrated my darling little niece Lyla's birthday on Saturday, she turned 2.

I made Meg's rainbow cake.

It was very easy and so pretty when you cut into it!

 And most importantly, the birthday girl loved it!

 I love her big blue eyes!

Happy birthday sweet girl!

I also wanted to announce the winner of the Martha and Ash giveaway......

Denise from The Painted Home, you are the lucky winner of

75% off one item in the Martha and Ash etsy shop! 

Please contact me via email

or 

Martha and Ash via their etsy shop,

and then you can start shopping!

I hope everyone had a great mothers day!

xoxo

~fried chicken & champagne, & the pomegranate bistro~

We have this fabulous little bistro near us that serves the most delicious food.

It's quaint, it's delicious, and I love meeting friends there.

One wall in the restaurant is a big window so you can watch the pastry chefs preparing pie crusts, rolls, and desserts. Lisa Dupar is the owner of this restaurant and has this fabulous cookbook with recipes from the bistro. While I don't own the cookbook yet, my friend Lissa was kind enough to share a recipe for the soup I get every single time I go there.

 I will say, I am not a huge tomato soup fan. 

But I could seriously eat their tomato soup daily, along with their fabulous house salad.

So, although I haven't made it yet, I thought I'd share the recipe with you. 

It looks fairly simple to make, not many ingredients and it looks like it will serve a crowd.

Isn't Lisa a doll?

Ok, without further adieu, here is the recipe for Pomegranate's tomato soup.
{and I don't know why the recipe is so funky, sorry!}

pom tomato soup

bouquet garnish:

6 thyme sprigs

1 rosemary sprig

 to make the garnish:

tie the thyme and rosemary sprigs together with a piece of kitchen string.

Ingredients:

4 oz butter

3 med size fennel bulbs chopped

1 c chopped yellow onions

1/2 c chopped shallots

2 T chop garlic

3 1/2 lbs canned Italian plum tomatoes, with juice, chopped

1 1/2 quarts chicken stock

1 c heavy cream

salt and pepper

fennel greens for garnish

In a large saucepan over med. heat, melt the butter.  Add the fennel, onion, shallots, and garlic.  Saute until tender.  Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes.  Add the bouquet garnish and chicken stock.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 15 to 20 minutes.  Add the cream and bring to a simmer, then remove from heat and let cool.  Discard the bouquet garnish.  Blend the soup in a blender or with an immersion blender until smooth, then pass blended soup through a fine strainer.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  

Enjoy!
xoxo 

~the best strata~

Over the holiday weekend my good friend and neighbor made this strata that was seriously to die for! The recipe is from epicurious and will be a crowd pleaser for sure! 

Enjoy!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway below!

xoxo

~please forgive me~

I am about to share with you the worlds most fattening delicious recipe ever.

I have put on a few pounds in the last few

 months due to recipes just like this.

I figure if my pants are getting tight,

 I might as well drag you down with me.

I'm just nice like that.

Are you ready? What says yummy more than oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies?

Your speechless aren't you?

Photo from Heidi Claire.

I know you are probably all trying to eat healthy, with summer right around the corner and all, so I'm sorry, I just couldn't help but share.

If you make them, please let me know how many pounds you gain so I don't feel like the only loser

how you like them.

And please tell me you didn't only eat one.

Then, I will just have to hate you.

xoxo

~the discovery of the baking bible~

While perusing the isles at TJ Maxx the other day I came across this cookbook.

I have to admit that sometimes I buy cookbooks just for the cover.

I brought this one home for a measly $5.99, and was happily surprised to see that not only did it have an appealing cover, but fabulously yummy recipes!

Each recipe has a full size photo of the finished product.

I swear, you could frame these pages they look so good! So, we tried out these double chocolate muffins and they were heaven!

Thought I'd pass the recipe along to you in case you wanted to try some.

{click on the recipe to enlarge and right click to print it out}

I can't imagine life without chocolate, can you?

I'm hoping to get some holiday decorating done this weekend.

I've never waited this long and I'm having some major anxiety over it!

Be back soon.

{typo in the recipe, it's 1/2 cup brown sugar}

xoxo