“Healthy” Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Allow me to explain the “healthy” part of the title of these gems. I ran out of AP flour and only had whole wheat. So there you have it- whole wheat flour. That’s all I need to hear to call something healthy. Legit, right? Turns out, no one can tell that they’re “healthy” in the least bit! I took these puppies to my mom’s office and they devoured them. I love the color they get from the wheat flour as well. Add in the cinnamon and these babies were made for fall!

Every time I’ve moved (which is well over 50 times now), I like to calibrate my new oven by

Dream Turkey {brine recipe}

As we all get ready to completely engorge ourselves think of the things we’re thankful for, I thought I’d share the recipe I’m using to brine my turkey. It’s the same one I used last year and I had amazing results! It’s not too late to give your bird a bath, I promise!

First thing’s first- get the brine a’boiling. Make sure that all of the sugar and salt are able to get dissolved. This temperature will allow the yumminess to be extracted from the cinnamon, spices, and fresh herbs. Think of it as a giant savory tea. This giant savory tea will give your turkey so much flavor and protect it from becoming the dry mess we may have grown accustomed to!

Not-Nesquik

This little recipe is really a snap. Don’t blink, because you might miss it! I developed a recipe for Hot Chocolate Mix and I liked the addition of “Nesquik”. Since it’s so easy to mix up in my own kitchen, 

Hot Cocoa Mix {sans powdered creamer}

Hi there! Right around this time of the year I get a real hankering for some hot cocoa. I know I’m not the only one. No, really. I saw a bevvy of options on Pinterest when I did a search for homemade hot chocolate. There was Peppermint Hot Chocolate, Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate, and so on. Like Bubba’s Shrimp.

One ingredient I liked was pudding. Might sound a little weird at first. At least it did to me. Then I realized it was probably instead of using corn starch.  Corn starch is used as a thickening agent in a lot of the recipes you’ll see online. In fact, last year when we got the Polar Express I had to make some cocoa! (Anyone else singing “hot! Hot! Hot chocolate!”?

Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix

Hi there blog-readin’ world! Full disclosure out of the gate- I’m pretty nervous and super excited to finally start writing to you! I’m Dani and I’m delighted that you’re reading this right now.

I thought I’d start off with a real basic recipe that I think should be in everyone’s cabinet this time of year- Pumpkin Pie Spice! Not only is it good in your coffee (I use it every morning!), but it can be sprinkled into a myriad of dishes- from