Now the garden in pictures…. the ending of the season! This is the garden on a very very windy day that rained hours before. Since the fences were really blowing in the wind to scary levels we had to take them down. Imagine taking down 12 foot tall wire fences in the super wind. Yeah it’s quite a experience. And yes, you and your loved one will get in many arguments....

On March 27 we planted our Sugar Snap Peas, hoping we’ll be harvesting baskets full in a few weeks! This year we really stepped up our Sugar Snap Pea game. In the past we usually planted 2 rows in 2 boxes equaling 28 plants. This year we planted.. 80 plants! We love snap peas! I know, we went wild. Not only did we plant the usual 2 rows in 2 boxes, but we planted a entire box full of Sugar Snap Peas!...

While walking around the Halloween section at Target I came across these festive chocolate morsels. They are Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate and Orange Morsels. I threw them immediately in my buggy, not really knowing what I was going to make with them, but how could I turn them down? I love Halloween because it means I can wear black and orange every single day. I wore this last week, but I’m going to be honest and tell you that the pumpkin socks stick around for 12 months....

As a kid I drank too much soda. As a adult in my early 20’s I continued on a Diet Coke, Cherry Cola path. Then I took a shameful look in the mirror after finishing my 3rd can of Diet Coke and realized it wasn’t the soda that I loved, it was the carbonated water. It was that fizzy water burn that I craved. So instead of buying 2 liters of soda we bought 2 liters of seltzer water....

I thought about doing this post and thought it might be too simple, but simple recipes are always the best right? So I decided to do it, so here I am. Hello. I love fresh apple juice bought from the farmers market stands. Last year I got my hands on a juicer and ever since then I’ve been livin la vida juicing! When we went apple picking last year I spent hours making cider over the stove, simmering it and adding spices, and yes it was delicious – but it was a long process....

Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs Who doesn’t love eggs? Scrambled eggs. Cheesy Omelette. Breakfast casserole. And of course hard boiled eggs. My kids absolute love hard boiled eggs for a snack, and who can blame them? Sprinkle a little bit of salt on top and they’re delicious! Here’s my very easy instructions on how to make perfect hard boiled eggs in about 20 minutes, from start to finish. This is the only method I use as they always come out successful and makes them easy to peel (the worst part of hard boiled eggs, right?...

We’ve been busy on the weekends getting the Upstate garden ready. This weekend we put lots of hard work in, and next weekend will be even more harder. The good thing is a day of Upstate work equals a week’s worth of workouts (research done by me). I’m going to have such strong muscles one day. While we’re busy doing manual labor, there’s labor going on here, but the plant kind....

As Fall approaches into Winter our meals begin to change. There’s more slow cooking, many more soups from creamy to vegetable and more weekend roasts and chickens. Last weekend we were craving a chicken dinner to help us feel warmer and fill the house full of delicious cooking smells. If Autumn had a taste this would be it. This is a dinner that screams out that the seasons are changing....

These banana muffins are based around one of my most popular recipes on the blog, Mini Moist Crumble Banana Muffins. I receive emails all the time from people proclaiming their love to these muffins and expressing how much their kids like them too! The tweak I made to these is first I made them full size, so they’re hearty enough for breakfast. I also added some high quality white chocolate chips to really give each bite a sweet balance with the bananas....

I love Christmas morning. As a kid, my parents had a rule that I had to stay upstairs until they went downstairs first and put on the tree lights. When Santa came on Christmas Eve, he would decorate our tree, so the first time I would see it all lit up and decorated was on Christmas morning. It was always beautiful! Christmas Morning Breakfast Now we decorate our tree weeks in advance, but Christmas morning is still so special....

How to Make Pumpkin Puree From Scratch If you have pumpkins leftover from Fall decorations, don’t let them go to waste. Bake them and turn them into puree! It doesn’t matter if it’s pumpkins you grew yourself (hi giant pumpkins!), or ones you bought from the local grocery store or farmers market. There is delicious pumpkin puree and roasted pumpkin seeds waiting for you inside of every single pumpkin wishing you would cut it open and scoop it out to bake with it!...

It’s the middle of the Summer which means it’s peach season at the farmers market. I love juicy peaches! I love them for breakfast. I love them for afternoon snacks. I love making easy peach jam with them! But I especially love them in this Peach Cake! Do you have a favorite Summer cake that your entire family looks forward to? Or do you have fond memories of your Grandmother making the best peach cake?...

Whoopie Pies are easier to make than you might think. They might even be my very favorite pumpkin dessert and pumpkin whoopie pies don’t last very long in my house. Everyone loves them and they’re the perfect handheld treat! What Is A Whoopie Pie? A whoopie pie is usually 2 pieces of cake, squashed together with a creamy filling in the middle. The cake can be chocolate, vanilla, gingerbread or in this case pumpkin....

We noticed the pumpkin plant a few months ago. We didn’t cut it down because we thought it would just stop growing. In a few weeks it grew. Much bigger. And in a few more weeks, it took over the garden. It was everywhere. It took over the onions, mingled with the watermelon, snaked around the kale and grew inside the tomato plants. There wasn’t much we could do by this time....

Right now when I look down, I see leaves of all colors. Fall is my favorite season and I love watching the leaves change all different colors. Spring has it’s own beauty too as flowers begin to fall off the trees… But Winter, we’ll see this. Don’t get me wrong, I love Winter. I love Christmas. I love comfort food. I love snowmen. I love hot drinks. I love giant sweaters....

Cheap Dinner Recipes Can we have some real talk? Who doesn’t need a budget nowadays? With rent, health insurance, student loan debt and childcare costs on the rise – does anyone actually have money to save nowadays? With living costs increasing, but salaries not on the rise, we all need to be crafty with dinner recipes. If you’re looking at starting to budget your dinner meals, then you’ve come to the right place....

Who doesn’t love a grilled sausage, covered in cheese? Throw on some Mexican taste of salsa verde, jalapenos and onions and you got a Sausage Dog bursting full of flavor! I love that these sausages are turkey too. Turkey has becoming more popular over the years, but can you blame it? It’s a great alternative to other proteins that is great for grilling. It comes in all your BBQ favorites too – brats, burgers, tenderloins and more....

These Triple Chocolate Brownies are going to make for a better Winter time treat because there’s not that much guilt involved in them. I’m using AllWhites Egg Whites which is 100% liquid egg whites with no yolk, fat-free, cholesterol-free and low-calorie egg product packed with essential nutrients and vitamins. These can be found in your refrigerated dairy section and is a great source of protein to keep on hand (just this morning Matthew made a egg sandwich with them)....

Don’t you agree that grandma has the most wonderful recipes? They never fail and this Lazy Daisy Oatmeal Cake recipe is no exception. It’s one of my favorites and one of those desserts that’s been passed down from generation to generation. Have you ever tried a Lazy Daisy Oatmeal Cake? Funny name, but a MUST try cake recipe! Not only is this oatmeal cake beyond delicious, it’s also super easy....

Summer Pasta Salad Guys, it’s August 21st. We’re in the 20’s already! Soon it will be September! September…already? Don’t get me wrong you know I love Fall, Halloween and everything that comes along with it but there will be a few memories I miss from Summer. It’s not over yet, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be dramatic and romantic about the sweltering garden days of picking tomatoes, weeding out the boxes and nurturing seedlings to grow big and strong....