Cupcakes & Coffee Breaks

The holidays are here, and that means lots of hosting. Maybe you have family in town, and you need to cook much larger meals than you usually would. Well lucky you, I tested this fuss free breakfast recipe for a crowd at a birthday brunch, and it's a winner! I'm a big fan of sheet pan recipes, which is why I love these sheet pancakes . You can bake all of your pancakes at once, so that you don't need to spend all of that time flipping them at the stove. The sheet pancakes are step one. Would they be able to stand on their own with a few scrambled eggs and slices of bacon on the side? Sure! But why be so basic when you can mix your sweet and savory together for an easy breakfast recipe for a crowd (or just your family... I won't judge)? Plus, making it into a sandwich saves you from needing to wash all of those utensils after breakfast. The premise is simple: bake or make all of your pieces of the perfect sandwich-- and d...

I've always liked mustard with fish. I had it growing up, and thought this was a common thing, but according to my husband this is not the case. Weird or not? I'll let you decide. There's no better to try it than with this super simple, gluten-free optional, mustard panko crusted flounder. However it came about, I decided to incorporate that mustard flavor into this flounder recipe to make it look a little more appealing, and to incorporate a few great, simple flavors and textures. The measurements are all approximate, and this recipe is easy enough to have on your table in about 20 minutes, tops! Mustard Panko Crusted Flounder 4 flounder fillets , thawed 2 tbsp yellow mustard thyme , to taste 2 tbsp gluten free panko breadcrumbs (I used gluten free, but there is no reason regular would not work if you are not eating gluten free) Instructions Start by greasing a baking pan, and preheat th...

This week, I was tasked with creating a birthday cake. But not just any birthday cake-- oh no-- a magical mermaid and unicorn birthday cake! Now, my experience with fondant is limited. And by limited, I mean, this was my first attempt at making fondant for any reason. I had taken the day off of work already, and thank God I did, because this took hours. Maybe it's just because I'm truly a beginner, but never again will I balk at the price of a professionally made cake. I used a few different recipes for the cake, frosting, and fondant. I wanted a bright pastel color scheme, so I used Neon Food Coloring . Perfect Buttercream Frosting by Chef in Training Milk and Cookies Cake , cake recipe only, using gluten free baking flour as a substitute, by Liv for Cake Marshmallow Fondant   by the Bearfoot Baker I needed about 3/4 of the whole marshmallow fondant recipe (or a little over the 1/2 batch), 2 rounds of the cake batter, and 3 ba...

There are three things that can divide a room unlike anything else: politics, religion, and opinion of Brussels sprouts. Some say they are delicious. Countless others turn up their noses. Some meet the leafy, cruciferous vegetables with a resounding "meh". Maybe you fit into one of the above three categories. Or maybe you think Brussels are okay, but are never prepared so that they are juuust right. Well, today is your day, my friend, because I have the perfect Brussels sprouts recipe and it is SO EASY that you will wonder why you never did it before. The best part? It takes MAYBE ten minutes max! The key is to start with fresh vegetables. For too long I had relied on the steam-in-a-bag kind of brussels sprouts, and I am not knocking conveniently packaged foods by any means, but the fresh Brussels take it to the next level. I've been ordering my groceries from Jet.com, and the fresh Brussels come in a perfect portion for my family of three. Plus...

The husband and I just celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary together. To commemorate the occasion, he, genius that he is, had the idea for a pizza competition. Luckily we had some gluten free personal pizza sized crusts already, and used our imaginations to put our pizza making skills to the test. While he was a close second, we both determined that my original creation had the edge, and I took home the prize! So now I'm going to share it with you. I made a personal sized pizza, but the I definitely had leftover ingredients. This will assume you have a regular large sized pizza crust, but you can break it up as needed. I always  use gluten free ingredients for my own needs, but you can obviously very easily use the regular versions if you aren't restricted. The gouda is optional if you just don't have it, but the prosciutto is worth springing for. Trust me. Award Winning Garlic Parmesan Mac and Cheese Pizza Ingredients 1 pizza crust, pre mad...

I'm a chronic over sharer, and one of the experiences that people feign interest in  are interested in more than any other is my experience with LASIK eye surgery. Just this year, I went through the surgery for the second time, and both of my experiences were different in some ways, so I thought it might be helpful to share. My first experience with LASIK from 2012 can be found here . That post was imported from an old blog, so please forgive any weird experiences or formatting issues. Why Did I Need LASIK Twice? You know those warnings about not looking at the sun? Well, there was an eclipse and my Amazon order for eclipse glasses was cancelled, so I decided to risk it. Just kidding. For some reason or another, my vision changed over the four year period following my surgery. Blame it on pregnancy, staring at a computer screen, or just unfortunate biology, but I started having difficulty doing things like seeing the television from the across the room, r...

It's fall, and all types of squash are in season. Pumpkins and butternut squash are plentiful, and while squash is easily roasted, there is something about soup that just screams "Fall". Plus, it's a filling meal in one easy dish. Did I mention it's great for you, packed with nutrients, low calorie, and super filling? A perfect balance to all of that Halloween candy you've been sneaking from your child's trick or treat basket. When I set out to make this soup, I found a bunch of soup recipes that were all very similar to each other. Trust me, I know that pumpkin soup is great with cinnamon, but I was looking for something a little more savory, with a flavor that didn't depend on throwing chopped bacon on it. This is what I came up with. The smoky flavor of the paprika paired with the light sweetness of the vegetables is excellent, and the cheddar cheese takes it to the next level. It's the perfect fall comfort food...