REVIEW: Brownie Pudding

I'm obsessed with Pinterest. Is that a surprise to anyone, though? I have a lot of meals I like and will make fairly regularly but I try to throw in new recipes more frequently and where do I get them? None other than Pinterest. Now, a lot of the time what happens is that I see a picture of a new recipe and start drooling on the spot. I get all excited and make it and then... it's not that good. Or it's fine but not nearly as flavorful and mouth watering as I'd originally thought. Sometimes, I get kind of discouraged and assume that I'll be disappointed before I even make it. Sometimes when I do that I get the rug pulled out from beneath me in surprise of how delectable it is. This is one of those times. Brownie Pudding is so rich and smooth and the perfect flavor-- everything I hoped it would be. I will be making this many, many times throughout our future life-- of that I'm sure! Now one thing, it calls for seeds from a vanilla bean. I couldn't find one at my local grocery store so I used 1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract and it worked out great. I also thought it would be more temperamental and difficult because you put it in a water bath but it could not have been easier to make! If you make this you'll become obsessed with it, too.

Brownie Pudding

REVIEW: Baked Potato Soup

Have I really not reviewed this yet? This is seriously one of our very favorite recipes and, when the weather cools down, I jump at the chance to make it. I'm pretty sure half of the reviews on my blog come from Our Best Bites but what can I say? They make delicious food! Now, this recipe can take a while to make. They recommend grating your own cheese so that It melts better in the soup so none of that pre-shredded stuff. They also give you the long option of baking your potatoes or the fast one (microwave) so it can take longer depending on what you decide to do. You also will need to cook bacon beforehand. I had all of my stuff cooked, cut, shredded and mashed and ready to go right in the soup yesterday. I felt very efficient. Anyway, please make this. You won't regret it.

Baked Potato Soup

Review: The Best Ever Waffles

Today I woke up with a hankering for waffles. As far as breakfast foods go, I was never much of a pancake or waffle girl. I always preferred eggs in any form-- fried, scrambled, hard boiled, etc. I love eggs. In fact the only waffle I ate on a somewhat regular basis growing up were Eggos! Not that my dad didn't make us pancakes a lot-- he used to make them nearly every Sunday morning. I just liked what I liked, and that was eggs! Well, I've had to learn to be more flexible in what I eat since I've gotten married. Bryan is all about trying new foods and not just sticking with what you know you like. "How will you ever know if you like something if you don't try it?" he always says. So, early in our marriage one Saturday morning he asked me to make him waffles. Having no idea what makes a good waffle recipe, I searched 'best ever waffles.' Hint: Whenever I have no idea what constitutes a good recipe I search 'best ever ______' in bewilderment.

Best Ever Waffles

Well, this recipe has lived up to its name. I love that it has you beat the egg whites until they're stiff and fold that in. It brings a certain lightness to it. The recipe is really good on its own but sometimes I add this or that to it, usually vanilla and/or cinnamon. This morning I added both and some pumpkin pie spice, too! I even made them orange with food coloring. This is a recipe I never want to lose. I know my husband loves me.

REVIEW: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Even the name of this recipe has my mouth watering. Oh my goodness, I made these last night and they were so delicious and so autumn appropriate! Really, you can eat them any time of year but I especially enjoy getting into autumn by making seasonal food. Anything with cloves and/or nutmeg in it is generally going to be heavenly, in my opinion.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

REVIEW: Zucchini Bread

Okay, so this is a quasi-review in that I think zucchini bread is a pretty basic recipe but this is my go-to zucchini bread recipe and I have always loved it.

Bryan and I planted a small garden this summer and, though my husband is not a huge fan of squash, I begged him to let us plant some zucchini. He gave in when I promised zucchini bread. Duh! That's probably why I wanted to plant it in the first place... I do like zucchini sliced and fried, though. Anyway, our zucchinis are finally coming to a stage where some of them can be plucked. I trust this recipe to always be good but I do change it up a little. Here is the base recipe:

Zucchini Bread

Sometimes I add the nuts it calls for, if I have them. I seem to almost always have coconut on hand so I throw that in along with about 1/2 C. of chocolate chips. Once I have poured the batter into the bread pans and before cooking I top it with a mixture of 2 Tbsp white sugar, 2 Tbsp brown sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon, an idea I got from Our Best Bites. It's to die for!

REVIEW: Steven's Oven Baked Chimichangas

I just realized something. I only review recipes that I really, really like. Isn't a review something that can be good or bad? I make a lot of food (you wouldn't tell by my lack of recent posts...), mostly from pins I find on Pinterest. Some of them are just okay and others are really not that good but I really only save the best to put on my blog. Why would I tell you about something that you won't want to try? So, to clarify, all of my reviews will be about meals I like.

That said, I just made this meal from Pinterest and was pleasantly surprised by just how good it was! I like the idea of chimichangas but I don't think I've ever had one I really loved. This one was so delicious and it had some healthy things in there. You also bake it rather than fry it so that's healthier too! I made these with homemade flour tortillas and homemade taco seasoning. The result was delicious!

Steven's Oven Baked Chimichangas

REVIEW: Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce

I did not make this recipe, I only reaped the benefits. Well, I suppose I helped mince the garlic and grate the ginger. We went to Bryan's mom's birthday party yesterday and his sister made this dinner for us. It was unbelievable. When she told me what blog she had found it on I immediately looked it up. I'm going to be looking for more delicious recipes from here in the future but I just wanted to share this first!

Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce

P.S. Sorry for my long absence. I will try to make up for it! Life sure can get hectic!

REVIEW: Sour Cream Chocolate Cake

For Bryan's birthday I made a cake I had found on Pinterest. Everyone LOVED it. In fact, the reason I am updating with it right now is that one attendee of his birthday party requested I do so. This cake is so deliciously moist (due to the sour cream). The post I'm directing you to has a ton of peanut butter in it. I'm not a huge fan of peanut butter desserts so I just took out anything that said "peanut butter." You may leave it in-- that's your prerogative. It's just much better without, in my opinion. The frosting might need to be a little bit adjusted for the lack of peanut butter but that's about it. Bryan and I both LOVE cream cheese frosting so when I found this cake I thought it was perfect!

So, here you have it: Sour Cream Chocolate Cake

REVIEW: Crispy Coconut Chicken Fingers

If you've never been to Our Best Bites you must go! All of their recipes are so delicious. I always trust that my recipes will turn out well and taste great whenever I make anything from them. This is one of our absolute favorite dishes from them.

Crispy Coconut Chicken Fingers

Almost anything with the word 'coconut' in it is definitely worth a try. We love these chicken fingers! They have just the right amount of spices to give it a little zing and the perfect amount of sweetness as well. We make these fairly regularly-- definitely a family favorite.

REVIEW: Fresh Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze

Happy autumn! One thing I meant to do in starting this blog was to review those recipes I found on the internet that were so delicious we want to add them to our family favorites. Today, I have my first review of such a recipe.

It seems especially appropriate for this time of year. I made this a month or so ago but, on my suggestion, my sister made it for her book club and told me it got rave reviews. I thought it only prudent to share it here.

Fresh Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze

This cake is so delicious. With it's apple cinnamon flavoring it is just perfect for this time of year. Or really, any time of year! It is so moist, too! That is something I definitely strive for in cake making. No one likes a dry cake, do they? I do have a word of advice, though. My sister called me worried she had done something wrong because the batter was pretty thick rather than the more liquid-like cake batters we're used to. That is perfectly normal! If your cake batter is thick, that's good for this particular recipe.

Happy eating! I hope you find this to be as delectable as I did!