Spicy Oven-Roasted Cauliflower

This is hands-down my favorite way to eat cauliflower—and the only roasted vegetable so far that I’ve been so enamored with. The red pepper flakes give it a great kick, but you can easily leave them out if you’d rather not feel the burn!

Ingredients:

1 head Cauliflower, Chopped Into Smaller Pieces
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 cloves Garlic, Minced
¼ teaspoons Onion Powder
½ teaspoons Red Pepper Flakes
Kosher Salt And Pepper To Taste
⅛ cups Finely Grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°F.
Toss cauliflower in olive oil, garlic, onion powder, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Make sure each piece is evenly coated.
Coat a baking sheet with non-stick spray and add cauliflower. Roast for 25-30 munites, turning once.
Remove from the oven and top with parmesan cheese.
Enjoy!

Goodbye, Summer

I'm craving fall, however I appreciate summer, if only because it makes my favorite season that.much.sweeter.

I want to take a minute, however, to say goodbye, summer. I've enjoyed our time together. I'm sure I'll miss you in December.

But until then, I bid you adieu.

A to Z of Me

A. Age: 29

B. Bed size: Queen. If we ever move to a new house, a King would be lovely.
C. Chore that you hate: Who likes to scrub a toilet? Not this girl.
D. Dogs: I appreciate their existence.
E. Essential start to your day: Talk radio. I can't listen to music in the morning.
F. Favorite color: Cerulean, as a crayon. Golden yellow as a flower. Orange as a sunset.
G. Gold or Silver: Gold is growing on me.
H. Height: 5'5" ish
I. Instruments you play: Does three chords on the guitar count?
J. Job title: Catalog Marketing Manager
K. Kids: Two rascals.
L. Live: Oklahoma.
M. Mother’s name: Brenda
N. Nicknames: Careg, Kiddo.
O. Overnight hospital stays: Just when I had my kiddos.
P. Pet peeves: Loud smacking.
Q. Quote from a movie: Please don't be cynical. I hate cynicism. For the record, it's my least favorite quality. It doesn't lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen. I'm telling you--amazing things will happen
R. Right or left handed: Right
S. Siblings: Half sister (19), half brother (38)
U. Underwear: I also appreciate its existence.
V. Vegetable you hate: I like veggies. But raw cabbage is yuck.
W. What makes you run late: The kids, usually. But I hate being late.
X. X-Rays you’ve had: Leg (knee), ankle
Y. Yummy food that you make: Baked goods, soups ... I'm a pretty good cook.
Z. Zoo animal: Giraffes and monkeys.

Love Him

Banoffee Pie

Hello, lover.

Banoffee pie is the combination of banana and toffee. It equals heaven.

I could have made this from scratch. It might have been better. But I didn't and it was still fabulous.

I also didn't wait to take pictures in natural light. Forgive me.

Ingredients:
4 bananas, sliced in 1/4" circles
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 chocolate cookie crumb pie crust
1 tub whipped topping
1/8 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
Few dashes pumpkin pie seasoning
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips, melted

Directions:
Boil the sweetened condensed milk in the can without the label for 2.5-3 hours. The longer you boil, the thicker the caramel. You're making caramel, you know. Let cool completely.
When the caramel is cooled, slice the bananas and layer on the bottom of the pie crust.
Add the condensed milk caramel.
Mix the spices into the whipped topping and layer on top of the pie.
Drizzle the chocolate chips on top of the pie and chill overnight.
ENJOY the heck out of it.

Rich Double Chocolate Cake

This is, possibly, my crowning jewel. And it's ridiculously easy.

I used to have a cupcake business on the side, but I gave it up because I realized I liked baking for friends, not profit.

I always baked the cupcakes from scratch for my clients, but when making things for ME, I wanted simple. I saw this recipe a few years ago and have tweaked it to fit my family's tastes since then.

And guys? Honestly?

It's better than just as good as my from-scratch version.

It's fantastic as a cake:

But equally good as a cupcake:

Please try this. You will absolutely love it.

Ingredients:
1 box chocolate cake mix
1 (3.4 oz.) package instant chocolate pudding mix
2 cups sour cream
3 eggs
⅓ cup vegetable oil
½ cup water
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Liberally spray Pam into bundt cake pan or insert liners into your cupcake tin.

Beat all ingredients except chips until well blended, then gently fold in the chocolate chips.

At this point, the pudding has made your batter very thick. This is what you want. Pour the batter into your pan and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour (bundt) or 14-16 minutes (cupcake).

If you're baking this as a cake, let it cool for 15 minutes in the pan before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. If baking as cupcakes, let cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan to cool completely.

New Dress, yo

Have you ever had one of those weeks? Where things are so crazy that you're not sure if Tuesday is Friday or Thursday is Sunday?

This last week was mine.

Without going into too much detail, a big project at work wrapped up after 12 weeks, and all of my energy was put into that.

So, not much time for crafts. Or cupcakes. Or anything else, like TV shows I love.

Last night, however, I had a chance to catch up with Project Runway. And it feels so odd now when I don't sew while watching the show. So with the best of intentions, I decided to start documenting a new dress for my girl.

I started with this -- some fabric left over from curtains I intended to make when I was pregnant with my daughter. Three and a half years ago. Yeah ...:

And then my dad called. He was coming in town for the weekend and wanted to know what I wanted to eat. So we chatted. I kept sewing. He came and we ate. And before I realized it, I'd finished the dress and ... no more pictures. I got all discombobulated and forgot to take pictures of the process!

Sigh.

So, no tutorial. This is how it looks now, though (I even made my own bias tape!):

But it was pretty simple. If anyone wants more details, let me know. Took about an hour and a half to sew, including time to make the bias tape.