Peach Crumble Cake

Yes, I know, It's fall and I am still baking with peaches. Don't worry, I'm holding off until October to start all my fall baking.. 3 more days people! My pumpkin is waiting for me in the pantry... I stocked up because I'm afraid of a shortage again like last year! I actually went to the local bread store and they are not even baking with pumpkin yet, kinda odd, I know.
I feel like don't rush a good thing.. I have all of October and November to bake with the best of fall.

Anyhow, this recipe is a peach crumble cake. It is super easy and super delicious and can be prepared in 5 min flat. You will thank me for this recipe as it will be your go to recipe. It will be your, "oh no! I don't have time to make dessert, oh wait, yes I do!"kind of recipe. It's amazing a la mode.. too bad I was out of ice cream-- I'll have to make it again!

Roasted Tomato Soup

What a rainy day, and according to the news, it's not the end of it either... So, I ask you.. what is your comfort "rainy day food?"

Well, my daughters request was the infamous grilled cheese and tomato soup combo. That is the ultimate pair, I tell you. Do you agree?? Now, of course I am NOT going to pop open a can of Campbell's... ( no offence to those who like canned soup) So, I whipped up a pot of Roasted Tomato Soup and had grilled cheese on Tuscan bread, you have to try it.. crispy and chewy in texture and gets a beautiful golden brown when toasted in the melted butter and the cheese oozes out of the holes in the bread.. Are you hungry yet?! Perfect for dipping in your soup.

Stay dry this week and give this recipe a try.

Pancake Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

Tonight is my daughter's 7th and 8th grade dance... I can't believe that time flies by this fast! I just remember her 2 years old and dancing to Barney! Everywhere I took that girl people would comment on her curly hair and big blue eyes... in the blink of an eye, she's in the 7th grade and at her first dance!

Anyways, of course a sleepover was in order after the dance.. so instead of flipping pancakes for 7 kids in the morning, I am making Bakerella's pancake muffins. I mean how genius! You don't have to  stand there over the stove half asleep flipping pancakes! Bliss!

Stop light Sugar Cookie Pops

So, it's Dylan's second week of preschool and for his special " your such a big boy at preschool snack" I made him stop light sugar cookie pops. These are so so cute.. and educational too.. he he. At least for Dylan they are because every time we are at a red light he says "go mommy!!"

These are the cutest for when you have to bring in a snack at school:) They make a lot and used the bag of Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix. Thanks Betty! Give these a try.. your kids will think you're so cool for making stop lights!

Roasted Pork Tenderloin

I love to prepare pork tenderloin. Their are so many different marinades you can do and the longer you marinade, the better it gets! I only marinaded mine for 2 hours. I have my meals planned out for the week, so while my pork loin was marinading away, I chopped carrots for alongside the pork and for later in the week for my  bolognese sauce. I also pre chopped my celery too.. so that preparing the bolognese is that much easier.

Anyways, back to the pork.. this is an Asian inspired marinade. It's quick and easy.  Don't  throw away your leftover pork. The next nights meal is a barbecued pork pizza with Asiago and Mozzarella cheese with avocado slices and cilantro. Take pre made pizza dough and spread out about 1 cup of barbecue sauce and top with chopped pork loin and cheeses. Bake at 375 for 15 to 17 min. Top with avocado and cilantro. There you have it.. 2 meals

Southwestern Chicken Salad with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

If there are two things I love it's salads and dessert. That sounds funny, I know...but I feel like if I have a good salad it's okay to indulge in a bit of dessert.. right?

Anyways, I love coming up with different salads and dressings.  I got inspired to create this dressing from a salad at the Nordstrom Cafe.. go figure! I happen to LOVE cilantro, but I do know that some people just don't like it. If you are one of those people than how about tossing this salad with a buttermilk ranch dressing? Hey, that sounds good! I may have to make it that way next time!

I layered this salad in rows and it made a nice display.. then your guests can pick what they want in the salad.

The chicken is prepared with a Chicken Taco seasoning packet ( as a rub)  and olive oil.. that is a big time shortcut for you  and a money saver as well. I mean if you were to buy all the spices that are in that little packet you would easily spend $20.. those little guys are almost $5 a pop!
 
I prepared this chicken on my indoor grill pan, a must buy!! You can make this a 2 meal chicken dish by coating a package of chicken with the rub and on night one eat it along with a Spanish rice and a veggie. Night 2 can be this salad! It's a bliss n tell twofer:)

Toffee Fruit Dip

Okay, this has got to be one of my favorite fruit dip recipes. I almost don't even want to give it away, I mean keep it a little secret, because I love it so much. It's lick the bowl good. Everyone will ask you how to make it and you can thank bliss n tell! My kids devour this dip and you can sneak lots of cool fruits on a kabob and they will dip away.

In this post I only had strawberries and my NEW obsession apple chips! I put them on the kabob stick and my kids loved it, and I did too!

Chicken 3 ways

Chicken... most kids love it and you can do so many things with it. Today, I am going to share with you 3 meals with 2 rotisserie chickens( depending on your family size, I use 2!) from the grocery store.

Monkey Bread

Monkey Bread is something I never grew up eating... It is something that I started to make as an adult for my kids. It's almost like a cinnamon bread but ewwey, gooey, delicious and much more fun to eat!

This weekend like many weekends, my daughter had her best friend sleep over. Instead of chocolate chip pancakes, blueberry muffins, eggs or just going to Dunkin Doughnuts... I decided to make monkey bread and it was a true hit. It was gone in seconds! It's so much fun for kids to eat because they love peeling off the bread and they can even help you make it, it's that easy!

I used frozen dough and dipped it in the mixture of melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and 1 small vanilla pudding packet ( not INSTANT)... that is optional.. you can omit that and stick with the butter, sugar and Cinnamon. Also, you can add nuts like pecans and you can use 3 tubes of buttermilk biscuit tubes if you don't want to use the frozen rolls. use this rule of thumb... if you are being organized and are not a morning person.. do it the night before using the frozen rolls and let them rise overnight. If you are doing it in the morning.. use the buttermilk refrigerated biscuit tubes ( they don't need to rise).. remember to cut the biscuit dough in half and roll it in a ball before you drop it in the bunt pan.
Have fun and enjoy this delicious breakfast!

Baked Ziti

It's the time of year again... it's getting cooler and the windows are open and the breeze is amazing. The kids are back into their routine and so am I.
It's time for a comforting meal, nothing like baked ziti! It's less time consuming than Lasagna and the kids love it.. I added ground turkey to round out the meal.. kinda like a "mock Lasagna."

Enjoy!

Classroom treats

It's that time of year again... the bittersweet start of school. I really hate the summer coming to an end. However, I like the routine of the kids going back to school, but loathe the homework, tests, projects etc.. so it really is bittersweet for me!

I always have a fun treat for the kids when they come home on the first day of school. This year was brownie pops dipped in semisweet chocolate and then in sprinkles, heath, coconut or pecans..  . I thought about dipping them in bittersweet, hence how I feel regarding the start of school.. but I know the kids would not love that!! 

This recipe is also a great classroom treat to have on hand when you go to back to school night and have to sign up for a classroom treat!

Grilled Peach Salad with Champagne Vinagrette

The summer is winding down and I have yet to make anything with peaches! I have the fondest childhood memories of my mom's amazing peach pie. Peaches were her favorite fruit and in August we would go to the orchard and get the biggest peaches we could find. They were so delicious, juicy and sweet.

This recipe is far from a peach pie, but it is really delicious. I use butter  lettuce, but you can substitute with your favorite lettuce blend . I love the  tenderness of the baby butter lettuce in combination with the soft juicy peach and the saltiness of the feta and the crunch of the pecans.

Fusilli with Spicy Pesto

This pasta dish is really good... it is a great paired
with grilled fish or chicken or on it's own. It has just the right balance of spice and it looks super elegant!