Bananas Foster Bread

Bananas Foster Bread is perfect for Mardi Gras or anytime time!

 Ready for this?  Today I’m going for a book review with a Mardi Gras tie in.

Can I do it?

You better believe it!

Let’s start with the book.

Over the weekend, I finished the book, Heartless by Marissa Meyer.

Heartless is a take on Alice in Wonderland.  It’s a sort of cross between a retelling, a fractured fairy tale and a prequel.  It was actually pretty cool.  It kind of established the world of wonderland, while exploring some familiar characters (The Mad Hatter, Cheshire Cat, etc), while delving a bit deeper into others (the King & Queen of Hearts), and adding a few new characters (Jest & Cath).

Oh, and did I mention that Cath is an aspiring baker?  Oh yes, she dreams of sweets with absolutely mouthwatering descriptions of all of her yummy confections.

Yeah, prepare to have some major sweet tooth cravings while reading this book!

A large part of Cath’s musings relate to her lemon tarts (how great do those sound) or lavender macrons.  But there’s also mention of pumpkin (so much pumpkin), dark chocolate sea salt truffles, or treacle bourbon pecan pie.

I didn’t make any of those.

Pan de Horno #FoodnFlix

It’s time for this month’s Food ‘n Flix.  In FnF, participants watch the selected movie, cook something inspired by it, and share!

This month’s movie is Pan’s Labyrinth by Katharina at Pretty Cake Machine.

I looked at the cover art and got a bit nervous, because it looked scary (and I hate scary movies and avoid them at all costs), but I checked out the movie description and it seemed alright – mostly playing out in the fantasy realm.

The movie starts out with Ofelia traveling with her pregnant mother to go and live the “the captain”. 

-Did I mention that this movie isn’t in English?  It takes place in Spain during a civil war.-

Ofelia’s mother is struggling with her pregnancy, the Captain is cruel (more on that in a bit) when Ofelia meets a faerie and comes to realize that she may unwittingly be the daughter of the king of the underworld.  But to prove that’s she’s not been tainted by mortals, she must complete 3 tasks.

Extra Creamy Stovetop Mac & Cheese #PresidentsDayRecipe

Extra Creamy Stovetop Mac & Cheese

The other day, Dude came home and requested that I make homemade mac & cheese.

This was shocking for several reasons. 

#1: Dude claims to hate cheese…unless it’s on pizza, cheese sticks, alfredo sauce, parmesan, feta, boxed mac & cheese, or any recipe where he can’t actually see the cheese (yeah, he really “hates” cheese)

#2: Both kids act like they’re dying anytime I ever make homemade mac & cheese.

But…uh…ok, I guess I’ll make homemade mac & cheese!  I’ve wanted to try this recipe for quite some time (but avoided it for obvious reasons).  The difference with this particular version is that the pasta is boiled directly in milk (and not drained), then all sorts of cheeses are stirred in!

For my version, I used mostly white cheeses, since I have Dude mostly convinced that it’s only orange cheese he dislikes, but I think this recipe would be amazing with a whole lot of cheddar cheese instead!

Scotch Broth #SoupSwappers

Today is Soup Saturday Swappers with a Foodies Read Tie-in!

Today’s Soup Swappers is hosted by Kathy at A Spoonful of Thyme.  She chose this month’s theme of International Soups!

As I was pondering International Soups, I happened to be just finishing up the latest book in the Outlander Series.  Outlander takes place in the US and Scotland and there is always food being mentioned. 

 

So, I decided that I wanted to make a hearty Scotch Broth for the international soup swap!  This is my first time making Scotch Broth and I loved it!  It was nice and hearty like beef stew, yet lighter, with more yummy veggies!

Chicken Casserole

Chicken Casserole is so easy, kids can make it!

Dude bought himself a new cookbook a few months ago and had been enjoying trying out the recipes!

Start to Cook is a great, colorful cookbook for kids.  It also includes safety tips and general cooking tips!  It's perfect for a budding chef like Dude!

Last weekend, he wanted to make this recipe for chicken casserole. 

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes #FantasticalFoodFight

It’s time for this month’s Fantastical Food Fight!  Hosted by Sarah at a Fantastical Sharing of Recipes, participants in this group each cook up a recipe based on a certain theme, link up and fight to see who reign supreme!

Since yesterday was Valentine’s Day, this month’s theme is Chocolate Covered Treats!

With such a broad topic, I could have made almost anything – it was actually hard to decide!  But I ultimately decided on cupcakes!  Especially since I’ve refined my strawberry cupcake recipe, my chocolate frosting recipe, and mini cupcakes, since I last posted any of those recipes!

Snickers Cheesecake #FoodBloggerLove

Snickers Cheesecake is rich & decadent and will keep you coming back for more!

It’s time for the 2^nd annual #FoodBloggerLove.  This event is all about sharing the love with our fellow food bloggers!

Much like the now defunct Secret Recipe Club, Food Blogger Love is all about getting to know other food bloggers, giving them a shoutout, and introducing them to a new audience!

For this event, I was introduced to a new to me blogger, Melody from Elizabeth Jean!  Melody is a busy wife and mom of 3 grown boys!  In addition to cooking - with some amazing gluten-free options, she also shares some amazing sewing, embroidery and crafting projects!  There are definitely some creative juices flowing over at Elizabeth Jean!

There were so many delicious recipes to make on Melody’s blog!  I could have cooked an entire day’s worth of recipes from there.  I took a close look at her Bacon Asparagus Quiche (click that link and check out how gorgeous it is!  Go ahead, I’ll wait!) or Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins as delicious breakfast options.

Then I took a look at Three Cheese Spinach Ravioli or Pesto Bubble Bread as Main Dish options (again – so yummy looking!) 

But it’s the desserts that truly caught my eye!  Maybe Dark Chocolate Vanilla Bean Sandwich Cookies? Or Chocolate Trifle?

Nope, what ultimately swayed me was a Snickers Cheesecake!

Creamy Basil Chicken & Pasta #CooktheBooksClub

Creamy Basil Chicken & Pasta is a weeknight staple!

Today’s recipe in inspired by this month’s Cook the Books Club pick, Dinner with Edward by Isabel Vincent, hosted by Claudia at Honey from Rock.

Dinner with Edward is a memoir, focusing on the author, at a crossroads in her marriage, meeting and beginning a deep friendship with her friend’s elderly, recently widowed, father (Edward).

It was so easy to love Edward.  Through the book, I felt like I was really able to get to know Edward.  Edward was worldly, yet old fashioned, and utterly charming.  The author however?  I couldn’t have cared less about her and problems, which seemed greatly self-imposed.

There was plenty of food inspiration throughout the novel, though I was wishing throughout that there would be some recipes included (especially since each chapter began with the mouthwatering menu of the day).

Since there weren’t recipes included, I decided to go for what stuck in my mind.  There were some amazing sounding desserts and plenty of steaks.  Plus pesto was mentioned several times. 

Even though this recipe doesn’t include a true pesto, it does have a crap ton of basil, so I figure it’s close enough.

Strawberry Jell-o Shooters #ValentinesDayFood

Strawberry Jell-o Shooters are perfect for Valentine's Day

The ladies at Holiday Fun with Blogging Friends are creating amazing Valentine recipes today!

I deiced to contribute a super easy, yet super versatile recipe today: parfaits!

These are super versatile, because you can make kid-friendly regular Jell-o parfaits or add some vodka to make Jell-o shots!  Hey-o!

Valentine Mint Cookies #FilltheCookieJar

It’s time to fill the cookie jar!  The Fill the Cookie Jar participants link up their favorite cookie recipes at the beginning of each month, because, let’s face it – that cookie jar should never be empty!

For this month’s cookie, I decided to take a spin on my favorite chocolate chip cookies and use up some minty M&Ms I had leftover from Christmas at the same time!