Summer Baking

A busy week in the kitchen!

We had some peaches on our trees that were ripe so I made some Peach Cobbler cookies.

They were so good! 

We took some of them to a dinner at a friends house and they liked them too.

Our peach tree had quite a few peaches this year but not enough to can so a good reason to try something new.

The cookies were great ( at least we thought so 😉) so I decided to take them with us to dinner at a friends house to see what they thought. They were a hit!

I also made some cupcakes to take, so I made one of their favorites . . . German Chocolate Cupcakes! Both desserts were winners!

Luckily we had a few cupcakes back at the house as well as some cookies so we are set for a couple more days. 

Have a Sweet Thursday!

Notre Dame Cupcakes

Cupcakes for the National Championship Game.

The hubs needed some to take to a Watch Party.

 36 to be Exact! 

YUM!

Gingerbread Cupcakes

A perfect day for a small batch of Gingerbread Cupcakes

topped with mini Gingerbread men Cookies. 

I had a little gingerbread cookie dough leftover in the fridge so decided to make small Gingerbread men and also some mini’s for Cupcake Toppers.

While the cookies baked I whipped up dozen Gingerbread Cupcakes and popped those in the oven while the cookies cooled. Then, while the cupcakes cooled, I made the frosting and these fun cupcakes were finished in no time.

Happy Saturday!

Going Bananas over Bananas!

The School Lunch Ladies have had extra Bananas at the end of the week lately and were giving the extras away before they spoiled. 

They were perfect for baking so I took a bunch a couple weeks ago and made some Banana Bundt Cakes. 

While I was at it I made some pear pies too as I had pears that needed to be used.

Instead of a regular size Bundt I used a small Bundt pan as well as mini Bundt pans.

That way I could easily give some away to my friends at school and also have one at home for us. In addition, I took one of the Pear Pies to share too. The treats were a hit!

Then it happened again…..more leftover bananas.

I could not resist taking another bunch of bananas however this time I made 18 Banana Split Cupcakes & 4 mini loaves of Banana Bread.

Plenty to share with my co-workers this time too!

Life is like a banana: 

the more you peel, the sweeter it gets.

Happy Monday!

   

Oktoberfest 2024

Last weekend we celebrated Oktoberfest with our neighbors and friends. 

It has become an annual event and the preparation begins months earlier with meetings and then a big brew day several weeks before. The pig is ordered weeks ahead due to the size. He picks it up about 5 days ahead {give or take} to be sure it has ample time to thaw. This year we had an 85lb pig so it took a good 5 days to thaw. 

The pig is always stuffed with lots of herbs, fruit and vegetables which gives it a wonderful flavor. Mr. Wonderful is up around 3:00am to get it started on his DIY Rotisserie so that it is ready on time. He usually has one or two neighbors that get up to help him. 

It is also injected with juices for more flavor. 

Not only do we roast a pig but we like to grill chickens as well. This year we roasted six. 

Everyone chips in on set up so it goes pretty fast.

And there is always a dance floor and lots of music.

The hubs usually asks me to make German Chocolate Cupcakes and I aim to please. 

They are a popular dessert!

It is always a fun time!

We moved the date up a few weeks this year. It worked out great and was a beautiful day for it. Another fun neighborhood get together!!

Lovin' from the Oven

Someone recently mentioned that they had not seen many posts from my kitchen lately so here is my most current baking splurge. 

Our wonderful neighbors, who we just love, invited us over for a special dinner, along with two other great couples who are amazing neighbors and close friends as well. We all insisted on bringing food and when the hosts  finally agreed to a potluck,  I volunteered to bring dessert and bread. 

It is always hard to narrow down what to make however I eventually decided on, what else... ...Cupcakes and mini Bundt Cakes...sweets of course. ( I couldn't resist! )

Bread is also one of my favorite things to make. Deciding on what type of bread wasn't easy either, however,  the final decision was french bread {2 loaves} AND  a dozen rolls! Not bad. It was probably more than needed however it is fun to have choices and fun to make.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of the french bread. Oops! ...But these are the rolls before they went in the oven.

It was great to do some baking and even more fun to spend the evening with our neighbors! What a beautiful night to spend outdoors with such special friends!!

Happy Monday!

Election Day is HERE!

It is election night, the poles are closed and the votes are in!

Why not celebrate with a Patriotic Dinner?

A festive Red, White and Blue Table set the theme.

Then we will serve up some Red, White and Blue Spaghetti!

Theme colored Jello Jigglers are a must.

With a dollop of whipped cream, of course!

A small batch of Patriotic Cupcakes is just the right amount for two.

Our simple little celebration dinner is ready. 

It doesn't get better than that!

Let the counting begin!!