brownie points

Brown butter snickerdoodles. Nope, no brownies here. (They are here, if you're curious.) I'm talking about brown buttah.

pop-able present

Caramel popcorn. Need a last minute gift for your mailman, neighbor, or second cousin twice removed?

Make this.

healthy mom, healthy baby #NatureMadePrenatalDHA

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It was always my goal to breastfeed my baby.

a nontraditional tradition

Cider cranberry sauce. My husband and I have started an interesting tradition (just two years in a row so far...).

the height of deliciousness

Apple cake with brown butter frosting. For the record, this is the tallest one-layer cake I've ever made.

sheet pan fan

Chicken with sweet potatoes and cranberries. I've been making sheet pan suppers for years!

Imagine my delight when it became all the rage--for once, I was ahead of the game regarding a food trend!

no oven, no problem

Carrot and squash soup with coriander. Our oven is broken!

hostess heaven #giveaway

Vietnamese coffee fudge. Vietnamese coffee, which makes use of sweetened condensed milk, is perfect for people who add lots of cream and sugar to their black coffee.

head on a plate

Roasted whole cauliflower. Bonus points for presentation!

eyeball pleaser

Fajita stuffed peppers. While my previous stuffed peppers were good, these were better on all counts.

again with this

Baked gnocchetti. I seem to be on a comfort food kick!

old favorite

Red corn spoon bread. Are there foods you remember from childhood having loved but disappoint you now?

rooting for the underdog

Nocciolata brownies. Sometimes it's good to see an upset.

super food #ExperienceScrubDots

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Eggs are incredible.

furry family members #RecipesWithPurpose

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The recent abundance of natural disasters has inspired me to determine how I would and should handle such events if they happened to me and my family.

labor of love

Eggplant parmesan. There's no denying that I can be a lazy cook.

and the band played on...#WinWithTonysPizza

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We live next door to a high school.

casserole.

Chicken and broccoli casserole. Does any word elicit a sense of comfort like casserole? I think not.

plum(b)ing the depths

Plum upside-down cake. I got on a real plum kick last summer, but little Eva has greatly limited my kitchen time this year.

grill > toaster

Have you ever had a grilled bagel?

super stuffing

Chicken philly stuffed peppers. I enjoy stuffed foods.

fail me not #OXOgoodcookies

Impossible Almond Joy pie. Did you know "oxo" was an accepted word on the Words with Friends game? It comes in handy a lot.

in defense of moist

Maple yogurt pound cake. So many people hate the word moist!

try it with ranch

Bacon ranch pasta salad. Americans are unique in that they put ranch dressing on just about everything, isn't that true? I suspect folks in Greece or Switzerland aren't dousing their foods with it, but I could be wrong.

pretty poultry purses

Chicken pot pie purses. Chicken pot pie is very near the top of my list for of favorite comfort foods of all time.

put up your dukkahs!

Pistachio dukkah chicken. Though I'm not what anyone would call an adventurous eater, I've definitely branched out quite a bit during my pregnancy. I don't want to do anything to deter our daughter from eating eagerly and fearlessly!

attitude of gratitude #CelebrateAllSummer

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I was absolutely overwhelmed by the thoughtfulness and generosity of my family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors during my pregnancy and in the days and weeks following Eva's birth.

summer lovin' #SnackSnapShare #SnackStories

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I make no excuses for my sweet tooth. Given the choice between dessert and just about any other food selection, I'll take dessert every time.

introductions are in order

Meet Eva, the best thing I ever made.

blitz bliss

Blueberry almond blitz küchen. While I will sometimes embark on ambitious baking endeavors, I suspect I'll always prefer the quick fix that delivers a tasty treat.

charred, i'm sure

Grilled pork kebabs. Pork has always been runner-up to chicken on my list of preferred proteins...until now.

grains on the brain

Blueberry and wheat berry salad. If you had told me a few years ago that I'd become smitten with grain salads, I would've laughed in your face (as politely as possible).

match made in heaven

Chicken cheesesteak sloppy joes. It seems like an obvious hybrid (like the zorse), but until I saw it, I had never thought about it before (like the zorse!)!

same song, different tune

Blueberry delight. When you find a delicious recipe that also happens to be versatile, it's a baker's responsibility to try different variations of it.

totally transcendent

Lazy daisy cake. Bold statement: This is the most delicious cake I've had in quite some time. Our wedding cake* is probably the most recent cake that can even come close!

*Our fresh wedding cake, I should make clear. To say that tasting it out of the freezer on our first anniversary was disappointing would be a drastic understatement.

better late than never

Mustardy kale. Yes, more kale.

lush-ious

Butterscotch lush. I can't help it. I associate the word "lush" with someone who drinks too much.

stuffed.

Chicken cheesesteak stuffed shells. That single word currently describes the way I feel 24-7.

more s'mores! #SameTasteNewLook

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S'mores make me feel like a kid again.

genetic predisposition #CleanMyWay #TeamDishCloth

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Both of my grandmas use dish cloths. My mom uses dish cloths. It's only natural that I reach for the dish cloth over the sponge too.

cool and creamy combo

Creamy cucumber dill pasta salad. When I think of summer staples, pasta salad always comes to mind. After all, what's a potluck or picnic without it?

enthusiastic eaters #DogsLoveNutrishDISH

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We've developed a bit of an odd ritual when supper time comes around.

risotto notto

Farrotto with tomatoes and kale. More farro! More kale!

angeled eggs

Cucumber dill cream cheese deviled eggs. Are you deviled egged out? I don't think I'll ever reach that point.

craving met

Peanut butter snack cake. I'm not saying weird pregnancy cravings aren't real--in fact, I'm sure they are--but I haven't really had any.

second fiddle #RememberBeyond

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For his whole life in our house (19 out of 21 months), Marleau has been the center of attention. That's about to change.

hash it out

Potato hash with kale and apples. I do believe kale might be a pregnant woman's best friend!

a light delight!

Cherry cheesecake bars. I struggled with my contribution to our Easter meal (which we celebrated early).

Inexcusably, this is because I just simply didn't want to share.

farro be it from me to tell you what to eat

Caprese Farro. But you should eat this.

double dang!

Vanilla bean butter cake. Dang!

That's what I said after my first bite of this cake.