Cranberry Bourbon Smash

So, while the rest of the country is celebrating the changing leaves and begining to layer their clothing and, dare I say, breaking out their damned sweaters (!!!), I’m over here trying to stay hydrated so I don’t die of fucking heat exhaustion! OK? Enough with the heat already! I know that LA isn’t known…

Chicken and Mushrooms in White Wine Sauce

This is a meal easy enough to make during the week but, special enough to serve on the weekend! It’s not a twenty minute meal like I’ve posted before, but it took me 40 minutes and the results were worth it. Chicken can get boring after a while, but we keep it in the freezer…

Cinnamon Candied Pecans

These pecans or, DEEZ NUTS (It never gets old!) are the easiest candied nut that I have ever tried. Not only are they super simple, but they are freaking delicious, yo! They are great in salads, as dessert toppings or all alone. Perfectly crunchy, they make an easy grab n’ go snack! I’m not going…

Mama’s Fried Chicken

It’s fat Tuesday, y’all! How better to celebrate than with my mama’s recipe for fried chicken. I want to start by saying how hard it was to make this “recipe”. I’ve never measured anything when frying chicken before. So, it was a stretch to measure EVERYTHING. Man was it worth it, though! Recently, I had…

Bento Style Snack Box

Happy Mindful Monday! Sometimes mindfulness comes in the form of preparedness, especially when you’ve got kiddos! It seems like my boys are ALWAYS hungry! Can I get a freaking amen??? They seem to go in waves, which I’m assuming are growth spurt related, but they are never on the same timeline. Right now, my little…

Skeleton Treats

The skeleton rises on halloween. Emerging from the ground to walk the earth for one haunted, creeping, calorie filled night of the year! Ok, I’m talking about sweets! Three treats in one, actually! These adorable cookie concoctions can be as simple or as “from scratch” as you like. Send a tray of them to school…

The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

Ok, perfect for me. I LOVE a soft and gooey, nearly cakey CCC. I played around with the sugars and the butter, and I believe this is the best combo for that tender, milk-thirsty morsel. Ok, hold up… I think I just felt my milk let down. “Tender milk-thirsty morsel”? Is that sentence about one…

Cool as a Cucumber Margarita

I have been a “vodka girl” for a long time. I was a bartender in my early twenties and was turned off by too many shots of cheap tequila. Trust me on this, good tequila is worth it. I like this particular tequila, Corazon. It’s a smooth reposado that has a sweet finish. I decided…

Dark Chocolate Pomegranate Mousse

In my hometown of Stockton, there was a restaurant that was an old style quintessential steak house. Classic steak dishes with an Italian flare. Dimly lit with candles on the tables, a waitress with a transparent beehive and a smokers rasp, was likely your server. This place, was called Stockton Joe’s. My dad loved this…

Croissant Bread Pudding & A Maple Butter Glaze

How’s that strike you for a Fat Tuesday post? I needed to shoot a “Brunch Story” for work and one of the products was a beautiful ceramic baking dish. I immediately had visions of bread pudding dancing through my head! I’ve been wanting to do a croissant version of this classic breakfast bake and this…

Mindful Monday and your Crock-Pot

Listen, the Crock-Pot needs to be a staple in the lives of busy families everywhere! Not only does it provide a means to a delicious meal with minimal effort, but you can make a lot at one time which makes for easy meal prep! This weeks meal prep is the tortilla-less burrito! All of the…

Pomegranate Orange Scones

My big kid LOVES a good scone. In fact, given the choice between a scone and most any other pastry, we will always go with the scone. He’s even become a scone critic. He wants crumbly but not dry, sweet but not cloyingly so… He’s nine. What the hell, kid? Eat a muffin and shut…