Food Family Finds | Illinois Mom Blogger and Foodie
Recipes | Parenting | Reviews
Spring is finally here and I'm so excited for two reasons: warm weather and cool desserts. During the winter months I love warm and fruity desserts but the Spring and Summer months is all about refrigerator cakes, ice cream and other cool treats. When I'm looking for new recipes to try I start with my favorite brand's website. I'm always surprised by the creative recipes available online that use products I keep on hand like McCormick … [Read more...]
No matter the holiday, cupcakes are one treat you can dress up for any occasion. Green velvet cupcakes are no exception. Much like red velvet cupcakes, these have a velvet texture and vibrant color ... green for St. Patrick's Day! Making these green velvet cupcakes is extremely easy and comes with the added bonus of playing with food coloring. When I'm not working with coloring buttercream, I love using McCormick green food color to … [Read more...]
I'm officially in utter disbelief. Here it is now January 2012 and we have yet to get more than a dusting of snow that didn't melt the second it hit the ground. In my nearly 29 years, I've never lived in central Illinois and gone a winter without snow. Is it possible this will be the year? I sure hope not. I can't stand the thought of my kids missing out on the fun of snow angels, snowmen, sledding and snowball fights. It just wouldn't be … [Read more...]
It's hard to say the words two-thousand twelve out loud and believe that it really is 2012. Seems like it was yesterday when I had to force myself to adjust to the switch from 19xx to 20xx. Never the less, it really is 2012 and soon enough it'll be 2013, 14, 15 and so on. Not wanting to get ahead of myself too much, I'd like to look forward to just 2012 for now. In 2012 ... - I'll turn 29 years old. - I want to take a family vacation, … [Read more...]
November is a big month for birthdays in our family. We have birthdays for my mom, dad and husband all within a two week time frame. This year I wanted to surprise the men in my life with some manly birthday cakes in the shape of a helmet with their favorite NFL teams decorated on top. It just so happens my dad is the biggest Green Bay Packers fan you'll ever know and my husband is a (stinky) Dallas Cowboys fan. To make these cakes I used the … [Read more...]
I think the title pretty much sums this one up. Mississippi Mud Brownies. aka Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate ... with a few nuts and marshmallows thrown in. I may not be from Mississippi but I can tell you I could surely fall in love with the people that state just for this dessert alone. It's rich, gooey and oh so yummy! Recently I received a copy of Chocolate, a recipe booklet from The Pampered Chef. Inside the recipe … [Read more...]
It may be in the low 70's outside but it's like 60 something degrees in my house. So basically, it's cold in here and I've been looking for any possible excuse to turn on the oven. I also just happened to have a basket full of Granny Smith apples which we always have for some reason, and needed to put these to go use. Que the cake! We've all heard of pineapple upside cake right? Well, we've taken that classic cake and turned it into a Fall … [Read more...]
Last week my son celebrated his 10th birthday, a pretty big one if you ask me. It may not be quite as special as your first birthday or even your golden birthday, but hitting double digits feels pretty momentous to me. To celebrate, I decided to let our son have the "cookie cake" he's been begging for with a few additions. The plan was to create a giant cookie football field with a football shaped cake in the middle. My plan was carried out … [Read more...]
Of all the cakes I've ever baked, pound cake has never been one of them. My first introduction to this style of cake was the Sara Lee frozen pound cakes, which I find to be quite tasty. Until I tasted a real pound cake. Like made from scratch, warm and buttery fresh out of the oven. Boy was I missing out! And you are too if you've never bothered to bake one! Just in time for 4th of July celebrations, I decided to try out the Paula Deen Pound … [Read more...]
Here I am in my kitchen with this gorgeous hot pink mixer prepped and ready to stir the heck out of my cake batter masterpiece. I've got my bag of flour, sugar, eggs, butter and miscellaneous ingredients ready to go. In my mind I'm envisioning this fluffy cupcake richly flavored with white chocolate and topped with a mound of white chocolate buttercream. The reality is, there's not a drop of white chocolate in the cupcakes I made. Why? … [Read more...]
