OH MY STARS!  I married a cocoa-loving man.  I’m not really sure that I knew that when we married, but I did shortly after that.  The first winter that we were married, we happened to go grocery shopping together.  (Probably only one of maybe three times we’ve done that.  That must be something that only newly married people do.)  We got to the cocoa mix aisle and he started studying all the choices.

Studying them.  Not kidding.  He started debating the pros and cons of the various choices and eventually landed on a few to buy.  I had no idea that I had married a cocoa-lover.  But, really, there could be worse habits, you know?

A few years after that, I stumbled onto this homemade cocoa mix in a Hy-Vee magazine.  It was delicious!  My husband quickly dubbed it the “Best Cocoa That I’ve Ever Had”.  We ended up making a few tweaks to make it even better (to us) and that new concoction has become the “Best Cocoa In The World”.  As soon as he suspects that the weather is getting colder or that snow is on it’s way, he makes sure we have the supplies to make this mix.  We make a huge batch, keep it in a glass jar and just enjoy it all season long. Read More…

Do you remember the “S’mores” scene from The Sandlot?  I mean, it’s a classic!  (Well, for people my age anyway.)  If you’re not familiar with it, here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlddDZkkxCc Who doesn’t love s’mores?  I love a good campfire.  Putting a marshmallow on a metal stick, finding out the right distance from the fire to Read more

Years ago (at least a couple of decades ago now), my grandma used to hand out homemade popcorn balls to Trick-or-Treaters on Halloween night.  She’d probably spend a good portion of her day making them.  She’d wrap them individually and include her name and address on them.  Most of her trick-or-treaters were from her neighborhood Read more

I love mug cakes! They are simple to make and perfect for when I want just a little something sweet. If I bake an entire cake, I usually end up eating at least 3 or more slices. With a single serve mug cake I can satisfy my sweet tooth and don’t have leftovers to tempt Read more

I no longer have a 3-year-old.  My 2nd son, Stephen, just turned 4!  I think he had a good birthday and liked most of his gifts, but I was a little worried as his list of gifts that he wanted was a little hard to come by.  He’d been talking about his birthday for at Read more

One of the things that my husband most appreciates about me is my willingness to use butterscotch chips in baking.  I can’t say for sure that it’s what has kept us happily married for 7 years, but I’m guessing it’s a factor somewhere.  In case that’s true, I’ll continue buying those little gems AND I’ll Read more

Cool weather always makes me eager to fire up the stove and oven and make sweet treats for the family. Make your own version of popular candies with these 20 amazing homemade candy recipes. Whether you love chocolate, gummy candy or fall favorites, like candy corn, there is something here for every sweet tooth. 1 Read more

It’s no secret that around here, we like our butterscotch.  In cookies and in scotcheroos.  Delicious! And we also like feeding a bunch of people. And we like using up zucchini. And, I cannot lie, we like big bucks.  Wait?  What?!?  Just seeing if you’re awake.     So, when you have zucchini and you have a Read more

Fall is finally here! It’s time for football, pumpkin pie spiced foods, caramel apples, Halloween and pumpkin spice lattes. Desserts in the fall are my favorite and I am so excited about these no bake pie recipes. Are you ready for a fall inspired dessert too? Check out these 20 amazing no bake pies. There Read more