Pepperoni Pizza Dip

My mother law is always passing along great recipes to me. It’s kinda nice to be able to make something from a recipe that she sent to me. After it’s made we get on the phone and discuss it and talk about what we changed and how so and so raved about it or how it was gobbled up and what people were saying. If only she lived closer so we could make it and eat it together. *sigh* Oh well, making the recipe and calling is the next best thing.

This particular recipe comes, not from my mother-in-law, but from Aunt Margie, my father-in-laws sister. (Mom did pass it along to me though). Although I have yet to meet her, Aunt Margie holds a fond place in my heart. I know, just talking to her on the phone that once we meet, we will get along just wonderfully. So much thanks to Aunt Margie for this uber-delcious (yeah I made new word up) pizza dip, which is totally addicting.

Think of all your favorite pizza toppings melted together with cheese, now put it on a cracker, or a chip or even some toasted tortilla chips and you have a dip that is unbelievably good. The best part, everything gets thrown into a bowl, mixed and then baked. How easy! The kids absolutely loved this.



As always I changed it up a bit.

The original recipe didn’t call for the mushrooms to be cooked. I always pre-cook my mushrooms to get most of the water out of them before putting them in a baked dish.

It also didn’t specify that you cook the pepperoni to get a bit of the grease out either, but that’s something I always do to.

Lastly, it called for 1 can of black olives and 1 jar of green. No one in my house likes the green olives so I just omitted them, but if you love green olives; by all means go for it. We left out the green pepper too, no fans of that in the house either.

We brought this to a Memorial Day cookout and it was a big hit!




Pepperoni Pizza Dip
Printable recipe
8oz shredded mozzarella
8oz shredded cheddar
1 cup mayonnaise
1 ½ cups chopped pepperoni* (see note)
1 10oz package mushrooms, chopped (I used baby bellas)
½ cup chopped green onions
½ cup chopped green pepper (optional)
1 can (6oz) chopped black olives, chopped
1 jar green olives with pimento, chopped.

Cook the mushrooms in a sauté pan just until tender.

Combine the mushrooms and all the other ingredients in a large bowl. Spray a 9x13-baking dish (or a deep dish pie plate) with cooking spray. Place mixture into baking dish and spread to even out. Bake at 350 for 25 – 30 minutes.

Serve with crackers, tortilla chips, or garlic toasts like we did!

*I laid my pepperoni out on a paper towel for 30 seconds in the microwave just to get out some of the grease, and then I chop it up. You will have to do a few batches.

Outside my kitchen window

Outside my kitchen window is a birch tree that is home to a robin and her babies.
Here they are about 2 weeks ago.
See the 3 little beaks?

Mama was sitting on them, keepin them all warm and snuggly inside the nest.

I guess they were hungry. Look at those mouths begging for food.

Fast forward a few weeks and look at how big those babies got.



They are still mighty hungry though.



Their feathers are coming in too. This one wanted to show me.



They are swaking and peeping all day long. Calling for their mama to come and fill their bellies.

I guess she heard them.

Dinner is served.



So mama got on to the business of feeding her babies.



Then she looked at me like she was quite annoyed, as if to say, "Theres that lady with the camera again".



She got over it pretty quick, and the babies started to ignored me.
Mama still had one eye on me.



A few days later I was out with my camera in hand again, when I noticed something...hey wait a minute...there's not three babies in that nest but.......

FOUR. Yup, count 'em four.



They were still pretty hungry.



So mama served up some dinner yet again.



Meanwhile this little guy started to chime in. I think he was jealous that I wasn't taking his picture.



He kept flying over my head, screeching at me, scolding me.

He did have one moment when he shut his beak.



That was over quickly and he was hollering at me again.



It's been very noisy in my yard lately.



I bet I'll miss it when they leave though.

Self Frosting Angel Food Cake

Are you for real?? That’s what was going through my head when I read the post for self-frosting angel food cake on Lynn's site.

I love me some angel food cake, but add in a crunchy topping that does all the work by itself and whoa doggy, you have a dessert to die for.

The kids saw me making these and thought I was making marshmallows again.

Not overly sweet, topped with crispy, crunchy coconut topping, these would be perfect to pack for a picinc lunch or cookout.

Self-Frosting Angel Food Cake
Recipe from Cookie Baker Lynn

Printable recipe
6 eggs whites at room temperature
½ teaspoon cream of tarter
1/8 teaspoon salt
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
½ cup sifted cake flour
½ teaspoons vanilla
1/8 tsp almond extract
½ cup flaked coconut



Preheat the oven to 325. Position the rack in the center of the oven.

Beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tarter and salt. Beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, until stiff peaks form.

Sprinkle the flour over the egg white mixture and carefully fold it in. Gently fold in the flavorings.

Pour batter into an ungreased 9-inch square-baking pan. Sprinkle coconut over the top. Bake for 30 minutes, or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan about 40 minutes. Remove cake and cut into squares to serve.

New look....again.

Yes I've done it again.

For those of you who have been following this blog since the beginning, you will notice that I have a new banner yet again.

I know some people remain loyal to one banner and have used it for the life of their blog, while others change theirs often. I wouldn't say I've changed mine often, but I every once in awhile I get the hankering to see something new. So I went searching on Etsy, as I often do, and found someone to custom design a banner for me.

I fell in love with Renee's work at Thompson Designs the minute I saw it. So many of her designs just screamed "ME". So after many emails back and forth, we came up with a banner that suits me perfectly. I love that she incorporated my love of cupcakes in it, and how cute is is that bird (which I hand picked myself thankyouverymuch) with the stolen cherry in his mouth??

If you're hankering for a new banner...I highly recommend Renee's work!

Easy Refrigerator Pickles

Want fresh, crunchy, totally delicious homemade pickles all summer long??

I do, I do!

Want a super fast and easy recipe that will yield at least 2 big jars of refrigerator pickles? Is that you raising your hand??

Well do I have a recipe for you! I found this recipe in the latest issue of Taste of Home and as soon as I saw those beautiful dill spears in that magazine I decided I was making me some homemade pickles.

I love dill pickles. Sweet pickles are another story. There is just something wrong about a sweet pickle to me. Pickles should be tart and tangy, not sweet and sugary. Sugar is for desserts, not pickles.

I can’t begin to tell you how fresh and crisp these are. The flavor is phenomenal. I’d rate it 10 on the lip puckering scale.

Here are the baby cukes all cut up and ready for their dip in the brine.



I wrapped them up the big bowl and set it in the extra fridge we have in the garage so I wouldn’t be tempted to snatch some before they were done.



I let them sit for 2 days instead of the recommended 24 hours, and then I jarred them up with some of the liquid. Now I’m not sure if I should have included the liquid. It didn’t mention anything in the directions but it just didn’t seem right to set them in a dry jar with no liquid in it. If there are any experienced pickle makers out there, please let me know if I’m correct or not.

I planted some pickling cukes this year, so hopefully there will be many more batches to come.



Easy Refrigerator Pickles
Printable recipe
15 small pickling cucumbers
40 fresh dill springs
2 large onions, thinly sliced
5 garlic cloves
1 quart white vinegar
1 quart water*
1 cup canning salt (I found mine right near the kosher salt)

Cut each cucumber lengthwise into four spears. In a large bowl (the biggest you have) combine the cucumbers, dill, onion and garlic and set aside.

In a Dutch oven, combine the water, vinegar and salt and bring to a boil, stirring every once in awhile to dissolve the salt. Once it has reached a boil pour it over the cucumber mixture.

Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate for at least 24 hours. Store in the fridge for up to 3 months.

*Save the empty 1 quart vinegar bottle, and fill it with the quart of water you need for the recipe.

Da winna is.....

Yeah I just threw in that picture of those gorgeous daisies in my yard just so you'd have something pretty to look at when you checked to see if you were the winner.

Random number generator says it's:

LUCY from Sweets, Savories, etc.

Congrats Lucy!

Please email me your address and I'll get that tile right out to you!

Thanks all.

Birthday wishes to Jesse and Mollys Wedding Cake

Today my baby boy turns fourteen. Fourteen! I can hardly believe it. By October when Evan turns thirteen, I will be the mother of two teenagers. I still can’t wrap my head around it.

Gone are the two little boys who would walk hand and hand with me in the supermarket. Who would always make sure the other had a lollipop waiting when they came home from the bank with Mama. Lost are the days when they both sat on the floor, huddled in blankets watching and singing along to Blue’s Clues. I miss the sunny afternoons spent at the beach watching them make the perfect sandcastle together.

I miss reading Jess bedtime stories, and rocking him to sleep. I miss singing Beatles songs in bed with him. I miss his toothless grin and his endless energy (teenagers sleep…a lot). I miss the little overalls and tiny shoes, the look on this face when he first discovered Toy Story and watched it over and over. “Again Mama, again”. I even miss the Woody doll he carried with him everywhere for what seemed liked forever. I still have that doll. Although I am the purging queen, I just couldn’t let go of that little plastic guy.

I no longer get to cut up his cinnamon toast into triangles or rectangles. I miss filling his snack cup with Pepperidge Farm goldfish. I miss cutting up his food. I miss wiping his hands and face after dinner, watching him play in the bathtub. All those little things, that were just part of the routine, I miss the most.

I miss carrying him on my hip, his favorite spot to be.

I even miss hearing him call me Mama.

Now it’s usually a long whiney “Moooooooooooooooooom” from across the room.

I know that in the blink of an eye, they will both be off to college (I hope!) or finding their own path in life, and the house will be quiet and I will miss all the teenage stuff that is happening now, so I’m going to try and savor every little moment of the teenage years, no matter how loud and hectic they get. Wish me luck.

Here's one of my favorite pictures of him....typical Jess, frog in hand, not a care in the world.

Here he is last month in one of my favorite too....Jess by the light of the fire.



We are officially celebrating Jesse’s birthday on the 20th, but a birthday just isn’t a birthday without a cake, and even though this recipe was originally a wedding cake by the super talented Molly, I turned it into a birthday cake for Jesse. Besides, I had been dying for an excuse to make cake.

It was easy to make, looked terrific, smelled terrific, and it really tasted great, but in all honesty, this cake was just a bit too rich and sweet for me. I know, I know...me the lover of all things chocolate, but even I have my limits. This was more fudge like than cake like. We each had a little sliver and were totally full. This could easily feed 25 people if thinly sliced.



Molly’s Wedding Cake
recipe from Molly/Orangette
7 ounces of bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used Scharffen Berger)
1 ¾ sticks (7 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch cubes
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
5 large eggs
1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
Lightly sweetened whipped cream, for serving

Preheat the oven to 375 and butter an 8-inch round cake pan. Line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment paper and butter the top of the paper too.

Put the chocolate in a medium microwavable bowl. Microwave on high for 30 seconds at a time, stirring often, just until smooth. (Alternatively you can melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over, but not touching, barley simmering water). When the mixture is smooth, add the sugar, stirring well to incorporate. Set the batter aside to cool for 5 minutes. Then add the eggs one by one, stirring well after each addition. Add the flour and stir to mix well. The batter should be dark and silky.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 25 minutes, or until the top is slightly crackled, the edges are puffed and the center of the cake looks set. Molly sets the time for 20 minutes and then checks every 2 minutes after that. So that’s what I did. At 20 minutes, the center of the cake is usually still quite jiggly; you’ll know it’s done when the center only jiggles slightly, if at all.

Remove the cake from the oven to a cooling rack, and let it cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Carefully turn it out of the pan and then flip it onto a serving plate, so that the crackly side faces up. Since the cake is fairly delicate, this can be tricky, but Molly found this was the easiest:

Place a sheet of aluminum foil over the pan and place a large flat plate (not the serving plate) on top of the foil, facing down (a small sheet pan would work well). Hold the cake pan and the plate firmly together and quickly, carefully flip them. The pan should now be on top of the plate with the foil between them. Remove the pan, revealing the cake, which is now upside down. Remove the parchment paper. Place the serving plate gently atop the cake. Wedging your index finger between the plates to keep it from squishing the cake, flip them so that the cake is now right side up. Remove the foil.

Cool completely before serving, preferably with lightly sweetened whipped cream. Can be stored sealed in plastic for up to 3 days, or 5 day if refrigerated.