It's that time of year that many bloggers are posting their Favorites from 2012. Thank you for sticking with me through my spurts of consistent posting and long periods of silence. My hope for 2013 is that I figure out a consistent posting pattern and stick with it throughout the year.

As I looked back over this year, inconsistencies and all, I was overall pleased with the dishes I made. Without further adieu, here are my favorites from 2012:

Chicken Noodle Soup - After many years of trial and error, I'm quite pleased with this final recipe.

Grapefruit Honey Cereal Muffins - Stemming from a new discover, Wheetena, these quickly became a favorite of mine.


One Pot Rosemary Chicken and White Beans - Pantry staples prepared simply. What's not to love?


Buttermilk Banana Bread - This recipe which I first discovered on a few of my friend's blogs quickly became "the best banana bread ever" according to JR!


Fried Green Tomatoes - Why did I wait to so long to make this, nevermind try these? They knocked my socks off and quickly became a favorite!


Strawberry Rhubarb Dessert Bars - a surprising crowd favorite, and these are egg free which I'm always looking for to accommodate a certain family member.


Melissa's Bolognese Sauce - Once again I'm wondering why I waited so long to make this?

Baked Macaroni and Cheese - Another recipe that took me years to perfect. I'm quite pleased with this version and my family agrees.

In 2013 I'll also be exploring ways to improve my blog. If you have ideas for me, please leave me a comment or send me an email. Same goes for recipes you'd like me to make and post.

Wishing you health and happiness in the New Year!

After a week of heavy meals and overindulgent sweets, it always feels good to switch back to "normal" eating. Yesterday flipped that switch for me. The leftovers were gone and I didn't want anything resembling a holiday meal, and I'm craving crisp vegetables like crazy. This morning was no different. Actually, last night I felt the need to make a good oatmeal this morning since I've been terrible about eating breakfast this past week.

I guess some might say that Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal has an overindulgent holiday feel to it, but pumpkin is a year round flavor in my house. Plus, pumpkin is really good for you, so it's a win all around. Go ahead and start your New Year off right with a big steaming bowl of oatmeal!

Here is what you'll need:

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup milk or unsweetened almond milk (almond milk is super yummy here!)
• 1/4 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/16 tsp ground cloves
• 1/16 tsp ground nutmeg
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup rolls oats

Combine water, milk, pumpkin, brown sugar and spices in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Add oatmeal. Combine well and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serves 1.

Source: An Adventures in My Kitchen Original

It was fitting that this month's What's Baking theme was peppermint. I had Peppermint Meringues on my holiday baking list. My original plan was to make candy cane meringues, but come game time I didn't have red food coloring (note to self: must get red coloring before February!). I forged on anyway.

These are a welcome addition to any holiday tray. They're a light treat with just a hint of peppermint flavor, that perfect bite of something sweet to satisfy my must have something sweet after dinner craving.

Now what to do with 6 egg yolks...

This month's What's Baking was hosted by Carrie's Sweet Life. Head on over soon to check out this month's roundup of peppermint treats.


Here is what you'll need:

• 6 egg whites
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/2 salt
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp peppermint extract

Preheat oven to 250F degrees. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Using stand mixer, beat egg whites on medium-high until foaming.

In a small bowl, combine cream of tartar, salt and sugar. Gradually add to egg whites and continue beating. Beat until stiff peaks form, or when the bowl is turned upside down nothing moves. This could be anywhere from 10-20 minutes, mine took about 17 minutes.

Fit a piping tip into a pastry bag (or large ziplock bag) and fill bag with meringue. Pipe meringue onto lined baking sheets.

Bake for 1 1/2 hours, meringues should easily lift from parchment paper. Turn oven off and leave meringues in the oven while it cools. Once cool, store in an airtight container. Makes 8 dozen 1 1/2-2 inch meringues.

Source: The Penny Whistle Christmas Party Book

My week of sweet treats continues, after a one day interruption (sorry, I had unexpected schedule overload!). I was looking for something to munch on while I baked and something I could throw in my lunches. Something that was sweet, salty and crunchy. I looked around Chex's website to see what I could come up with since I have 2 boxes of Corn Chex.

When I spotted this Caramel Corn Chex Mix recipe it brought me back to my childhood, when we used to make caramel popcorn balls that we wrapped and hid in our Christmas tree. I don't know if this was only something our family did, or if this was a thing back in the day. Do any of you have memories of this?

Of course this would be great bagged up for your holiday trays, or just as a big bowl for guests to munch on before or after a meal. I'm not sure what I liked about this most, the fact that you use the microwave and it's done within 15 minutes, or that it has just a light coating of caramel, enough to add sweetness, but not so much that it sticks to your teeth.

By the way, I don't plan on bringing the popcorn ball tradition back anytime soon, not with this frequent sighting in our tree...


Here is what you'll need:

• 4 cups popped popcorn
• 4 cups of your favorite Chex Cereal (I used Corn Chex)
• 1/2 cup peanuts 
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp light corn syrup
• 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
• decorating sprinkles

Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Set aside.

Mix popcorn, cereal and peanuts in a large microwaveable bowl.

In a medium microwaveable bowl, add butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and vanilla extract. Microwave 1 minutes. Stir. Microwave another 1 minute, until bubbling. Pour over popcorn mixture. Stir.

Microwave popcorn mixture for 1 minute. Stir and scrape side of the bowl. Repeat microwaving and stirring 4 - 5 times. When the mixture comes of the microwave the last time, shake on sprinkles and stir.

Spread mixture on lined baking sheet. Allow to cool. Store in an airtight container.

Source: Slightly adapted from Chex

 While shopping at Target I decided to browse down the baking aisle to see if there was anything interesting. I came across Kraft's Mallow Bits and read a recipe on the side for Hot Cocoa Cookies. At the time I thought this was a new product, until I searched online and saw I was way behind in my discovery.


I couldn't wait to try these bits and dug right in when I got home. I quickly discovered these are exactly like the marshmallows from Lucky Charms!

Since it has been a while since JR had sweets (he's SO sad about the demise of Ring Dings and Funny Bones), I got to making a batch of these. He loved them, as did my sister. I thought they where a bit sweet, but, I guess they are cookies!

The great thing about this recipe is that it makes a ton of cookies, which is great for the holiday cookie exchanges going on right now. And the kids will go crazy for them!

Here is what you'll need:

• 1 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 1/4 cups flour
• 3/4 cup (or 4 individual packages) Hot Chocolate Mix (not sugar free)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup Mallow Bits (you could substitute mini marshmallows)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Using a stand mixer, cream butter, sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until well combined.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, hot chocolate, salt, baking soda and baking powder.

Slowly add dry ingredients to mixer and mix until well combined. The dough will be very thick; the motor in my mixer sounded like it was struggling!  Once dry ingredients are mixed well, add chocolate chips and mallow bits. Mix until just combined.

Scoop heaping tablespoons of dough and drop onto cookie sheets. Bake for 8-11 minutes or until the edges begin to brown. Be careful not to over bake as these are soft cookies. Makes 4 dozen.

Source: Love from the Oven as seen on Kraft's Mallow Bits