S'mores Bars Recipe

 

Here's the recipe for S'mores bars I promised to share this week. Okay, I know this is not a great photo, and I only took one as we devoured them as soon as they came out of the oven! These are made with maple syrup, coconut sugar, and coconut oil. They are a healthier version of S'mores bars and they are delicious! You can make your own marshmallow topping or just buy them. I used these as they are free from corn syrup, gelatin, and artificial flavors. I hope you make them! My daughter is begging me to make another batch. They were a big hit! 

Hope you have a great day! It's pouring rain here as we've had so much rain lately and I'm missing the sun!

My Summer Garden

 

Hello! Happy Sunday! I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend. How's the weather where you are? It's warm and very muggy here, with afternoon thunderstorms most days. I love summer, and I'm not bothered by the heat; the humidity is another story. My wildflowers are loving this weather, though. I planted all of these from seed. They are really showing off this year! Flowers bring me a lot of joy. It's also nice to have a cutting garden out my back door. 

I wanted to share a recipe for homemade S'mores bars. However, my laptop is being stubborn and will not download the photo I wanted to share. So, I'll share it a bit later. Have a great week! See you here again soon!

Happy 4th of July!

 

Good morning and Happy 4th of July! I hope you have a wonderful day celebrating. We will grill hamburgers and hot dogs for dinner and make homemade chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches for dessert! Then later this evening we will go watch the local fireworks display.

Have a fun and festive day!

God Bless America!

What I've Been Cooking Lately

 I hope you are staying cool wherever you are. It's 90 degrees where I live today. We are still in the middle of a heat wave, with highs expected to reach around 96 degrees on Wednesday, then cool off a bit on Thursday. Although it does cool off some in the evenings, so we can sit out on the front porch or back deck, as I'm doing now. I love sitting outside and hearing all the sounds of summer. Currently, I hear birds, crickets, and cicadas. Oh, and I see a few fireflies flying around. I love that it's 9pm and there's still some daylight! The AC can't seem to keep up with the high heat, and the house is relatively warm, especially when I turn on the oven.

As you can see, I have done it a few times. I made our favorite meatballs, which are pretty easy, and I don't have to turn on the oven for this one. I tried a new pasta dish from my new cookbook. It's a corn pesto pasta, and it was just okay. The corn made the dish too sweet, and I'm not a fan of anything sweet with my pasta. I probably won't make this dish again, but it wasn't bad. I don't have Valerie Bertinelli's new cookbook yet, but I plan to pick it up soon. I came across one of her recipes from the book here. It's the four-cheese baked ziti, and it was delicious. Everyone loved it, and we had leftovers for dinner the next day - even better. I also whipped up a very easy cheesecake from Smitten Kitchen, which was quite good. I know it's not the best picture, and it's supposed to get very dark on top, but it was nice, light, and silky, and was delicious topped with a drizzle of homemade hot fudge, our favorite; seriously, I could eat this stuff by the spoonful, and I do! Other things pictured here - I still like to have a cup of hot tea most days, even during a heat wave! I picked up some peach iced tea bags, which are perfect for these hot summer days. Peach tea just says summer to me. It was not homemade by me, but a delicious loaf of cinnamon raisin bread from the farmer's market. So, how are you staying cool these days? Are you doing any cooking/baking/grilling? If so, what are you making? I'd love to know. 

Charlotte and I have a girls' day planned for tomorrow—pedicures, lunch, and some shopping. It'll be really fun, and we are looking forward to it. I hope you have a great week!

And We're Back

 

Hi! We are back from our vacation to hot and sunny Florida and one night in Savannah. Florida was hot, like really hot, like 100 degrees every day we were there. The trip was fun but also a bit exhausting. The high heat and long car rides had a lot to do with it. We also did not like the Airbnb we rented in Florida. I will never stay in another Airbnb ever again - hotels only from here forward. Also, how about a world where listings and reviews are honest?! A hotel feels more like a vacation, and a condo feels more like home to me. This is the second Airbnb we've stayed in over the past few years, and I haven't been happy either time. And we've decided to fly if the drive is over six hours long.

I don't do well on long car rides; we are not big fans, so flying makes more sense. We brought Rosie with us this time, so driving seemed the better option. She'd likely do fine on a plane, or we will just leave her home with a pet sitter next time. She was really restless at our Airbnb. She was up most nights whining. She didn't like the place any more than we did! We spent our last day in Florida at the hotel where we stayed the last time we were there, and we realized we should've stayed there again. The beach was beautiful, though - the water was so pretty and clear, and we enjoyed our pool time at the hotel and ate some great seafood in Florida. We decided to split our return drive and stayed in Savannah one night. The drive is around twelve hours with minimal stops if we drive straight through - way too long. We stayed here, and it was lovely.

I cannot say enough about this beautiful hotel. It's less than three years old, and it's pet-friendly. Everyone loved it, including Rosie. And there was the cutest bakery next door, where we picked up coffee and croissants for breakfast the following day. We walked around downtown Savannah and the waterfront and enjoyed a delicious dinner - scallops for me - they were perfect! So that was our trip, and I was happy to return home. I love traveling, but I also love returning home to my things and my daily routine.

So, what are you up to this summer? Are you going on vacation or just hanging out at home? We are toying with the idea of going somewhere for a few days in August before school starts back, but we are still thinking about that. I hope you are having a wonderful summer so far. I just looked at the calendar and realized tomorrow is the first day of summer. Happy first day of summer! I'll be back soon to share what I've been cooking since we returned home. I'm always so excited to get back into the kitchen after a trip away.  Although we're under a heat dome this week, I'll likely cook a bit less. Maybe we'll order takeout or go out for dinner when it's too hot to turn on the oven. 

Flowers and Food

 

Happy June 1st! It's hard to believe May (my favorite month) has come and gone. That was quick! May was a great month filled with lots of goodness. I am thankful!

So I've been remembering to pull out my camera more often and snap photos of my cooking. I made a delicious lemon linguini with zucchini & basil for dinner last night. It all came together well under an hour, and everyone loved it. It tasted like summer to me. I served it with a toasted baguette, topped with olive oil. I would definitely make it again. I also picked up a gorgeous bunch of rainbow Swiss chard at the farmers' market on Wednesday and sauteed it in olive oil with garlic, salt, and pepper. It was perfect alongside grilled salmon. Everything is so fresh at the farmers' market, and meals are just easier this time of year. What have you been cooking/baking lately?

Well, I need to get busy packing as we are leaving for vacation soon. Happy summer!

Happy Memorial Day

 

Happy Memorial Day! Let us all take a moment to reflect on and give thanks to all the men and women who served this great country of ours. My American flag is proudly flying today!

We are having a slow day at home today which is just perfect. We are planning to grill hotdogs later this evening along with chips, and homemade brownies with strawberry ice cream. The sun is out and I'm looking forward to spending some time outside. It's turning out to be a beautiful day after so much rain lately. What are you up to today?

We have a few day trips planned for this week and then we are heading to Florida for vacation next week. I'm so looking forward to getting away and spending some time relaxing by the pool, taking walks on the beach, and enjoying the sunshine!

Hope you have a great week!