Day

Do you like cake? Of course, you do! What kind of silly question is that?

Personally, I enjoy all the unique flavored cakes like coconut cream, pineapple upside down bundts, and nutty cakes. The cake in question for today is a real gem. It’s called, “toasted butter pecan cake” and it tastes like Wayne Newton singing to you from his stage in front of 10,000 people. Absolutely amazing! For you younger ladies, let’s change that name to Bruno Mars. This cake is really good 🙂

You may think that this type of cake is a real hassle to put together but alas, it is not. Just look at my picture. Does that cake look professional to you? It’s lopsided for heaven’s sake! However, it tastes like a dream come true.

Don’t think that little old you couldn’t possibly make such a superstar cake because you can. I’m proof of that! I’m no professional chef and I still make this lovely cake…and ate it, too!

USE THE RED NEXT PAGE LINK BELOW FOR THE RECIPE AND INGREDIENTS.

Quick Tip: Serve this yummy cake with your favorite ice cream. I like vanilla bean.

When I think of summer foods I think of fresh salads made with crisp vegetables from the garden covered in tangy dressing and al dente pasta.

Yum! I’m also a bit in love with potato salad but we won’t talk about that today because today we are focusing on tortellini. And, not just any tortellini but cheese-stuffed tortellini! Do you know what I like to call tortellini for short? Torts. I said that to a lady down the street from my house once and she thought I was referring to turtles :/

You won’t find any turtles in this dreamy salad but what you will find is a bowl full of delightful pasta salad, tomatoes, avocados, and cheese stuffed “torts”.

You’re totally going to be referring to tortellini as torts now aren’t you? Welcome to the wild side! Anyhoo, enjoy this easy to make summer salad as it is very tasty!

USE THE RED NEXT PAGE LINK BELOW FOR THE RECIPE AND INGREDIENTS.

Quick Tip: Make this yummy “tort” salad for your next backyard BBQ.

There’s something about an old fashioned, classic meatloaf that just makes my stomach growl. I know that as a kid, I wasn’t a huge fan of the meal. As I got older though, I started to appreciate it more and more. Now that I can make my own version, I really get excited when it’s time to pull it out of the oven. I know a nice hunk of good meatloaf with some mashed potatoes and gravy and green beans is going to be one of those fulfilling meals that make me want to take a nap when I’m done eating. I have worked several years to find a recipe that is one that I’m going to stick with, but I couldn’t find the perfect one.

When I came upon this recipe from All Recipes, I knew before I even made it that I had found a keeper. It didn’t require a ton of ingredients like some of the other loaves did so that was one step in the right direction.

It was also super easy to make, which is what I like. I don’t enjoy spending a ton of time in the kitchen if I don’t have to, so this was the perfect solution to my meatloaf crisis.

Recipe and photo courtesy of All Recipes.

USE THE RED NEXT PAGE LINK BELOW FOR THE RECIPE AND INGREDIENTS

Quick Tip: Put your brown sugar and ketchup mix on the top of your meatloaf.

I have always been a mega fan of baked potatoes.

I love getting them out of the oven, peeling back the aluminum foil, slicing ’em right down the middle, and plastering those suckers with fresh butter and sour cream. Yum! I’ve even been known to toss on some shredded cheese, chives, and bacon bits. Now, that’s a baked potato, folks! If you think that sounds good, hold on to your seats because this recipe is about tog et even better. Have you ever heard of twice baked potatoes?

These fancy little spuds (and yes, I call them “fancy” because they are amazing) are seriously easy to make and require simple ingredients. My son and daughter helped make them the other night.

You can literally load these yummy taters up with just about anything you want, except gummy bears. My youngest had inquired about this and I told him I didn’t think that would taste so good. Boys 🙂

USE THE RED NEXT PAGE LINK BELOW FOR THE RECIPE AND INGREDIENTS.

Quick Tip: Serve these with condiments like sour cream, hot sauce, and extra chives.

My son for some reason thinks that he needs to play every single sport that’s available to play every single season. That makes for busy nights for us. We are either running to practice for one sport or another or a game. That usually means dinner on the road or the dreaded hot dog from the concession stand. Well, I shouldn’t say dreaded. They are pretty good once in a while, but I don’t want to eat that every single night. I start to miss homemade food after a couple of days. There just isn’t enough time usually to make something before we have to head out for the evening, let alone enjoy eating it.

I am always on the hunt for quick and easy dinner ideas, so when I came across this one for a breaded chicken on All Recipes, I had to give it a whirl. I couldn’t believe how simple it was to make.

The nicest part was that I already had everything I needed in the kitchen, so I didn’t even have to go shopping. I mixed it together and it was ready to go in about a half hour. We spent 15 minutes eating and then hit the road.

Recipe and photo courtesy of All Recipes.

USE THE RED NEXT PAGE LINK BELOW FOR THE RECIPE AND INGREDIENTS

Quick Tip: Crushed crackers can be used in place of the corn flakes.

Hey, ladies and gents! So, summer is just around the corner and I couldn’t be happier.

I’m ready for warm weather, campfires, and getting my daily walks in on the Great Allegheny Passage. If any of you are from Western Pennsylvania, Maryland, or D.C. you will know that this trail is also called the “bike trail.” Walking or riding on the bike is no fun during the winter as you’ll freeze your carcass off. I do believe some folks enjoy cross-country skiing down there, though.

Anyway, what was I talking about? Ah, yes, summer. So, with summer, at least in my neck of the woods, we tend to have a lot of family picnics and gatherings. Everyone bring a dish to pass and all that jazz.

Last year, my aunt brought this amazing spread called “Million Dollar Dip”. Boy oh boy, was it ever good! It was filled with cheese, bacon, and all sorts of other good stuff. And get this, she said it only took 5 minutes to make! I can’t wait to make this awesome appetizer 🙂

USE THE RED NEXT PAGE LINK BELOW FOR THE RECIPE AND INGREDIENTS.

Quick Tip: This dip is very easy to double or triple when needed.

My mom never was a big fan of fruit, so we didn’t have much of it when we were younger. She would buy strawberries, watermelon, bananas, and grapes, but that was about it. We never had much of anything else to choose from, so I always thought that I didn’t like fruit either. I just figured if mom didn’t like it, then it must not be good. Mom’s are always right…. right? Well, not in this case. I still remember when I was in the sixth grade and one of the kids brought in blueberry muffins for their treat day. At first, I wasn’t going to try it, because I didn’t think I liked blueberries… boy was I wrong.

That was one of the most delicious treats that I had ever had, and I was so glad that I went out on a limb and gave it a whirl. I went home and told my mom all about how tasty it was. She just looked at me like I was nuts and we left it at that.

Now that I’m older, and I found this recipe on All Recipes for a blueberry cake, I make it all the time. It’s a good thing I have a family that likes blueberry, otherwise I would probably eat the whole thing by myself!

Recipe and photo courtesy of All Recipes.

USE THE RED NEXT PAGE LINK BELOW FOR THE RECIPE AND INGREDIENTS

Quick Tip: Top with whipped cream or powdered sugar for look and taste.