Simple Yet Gourmet

Are you a candy corn lover or hater?? I personally love candy corn and always have a bowl of it out during the month of October.  Either way though, you should try these caramel apples! They don't taste like candy corn, just caramel but the orange color is so fun.  Great way to use up any leftover candy corn you might have laying around.  You can pretty much use any apple variety you like here, but tart apples like Granny Smith or Honeycrisp are an especially delicious contrast to the sweet caramel.  I used some small Honeycrisp apples that came from my parent's tree and they worked perfectly! The caramel for the apples is made up of only 4 ingredients and is made in the microwave making these so quick and easy.  You can leave them plain or add your favorite toppings.  I used some melted white chocolate to make a few ghosts, and no surprise here, those were the first ones to get eaten! 

  With cooler weather finally here, it's time to break out the soup recipes.  I stumbled across this recipe last year and we can not get enough of this yummy soup.  It's smooth and creamy, loaded with chunks of baked potatoes and sprinkled with bacon, cheese and green onions.  Serves with a side of garlic knots, I promise you will not be disappointed.

Updated 10-19-21: These muffins have been a family favorite for almost a decade, but over the years I've made some changes that not only make them easier to make, but more delicious and healthy! I figured it was time to put my version on here.  Hope you like them as much as we do!   Here's another great fall muffin recipe!  I was really pleased with how these turned out.  I made them for breakfast when my parents were visiting and they loved them!  I was surprised that my Dad liked them as much as he did.  I didn't think he was really a muffin kind of guy, but he was really complimentary about them.  These muffins take a little bit more preparation than most, but as always, the end result is worth it.  A spiced pumpkin muffin with and ooey, gooey center and a streusel topping is a great breakfast treat!

Creamy Cinnamon Vanilla Steel cut oats are one of my favorite breakfasts.  I love the texture- the chewiness is just right for me, and the creaminess of the oats just isn't quite matched by the other types of oatmeal.  With 5 g of protein and fiber per serving they are so good for you too! The only drawback is that they can be a little high maintenance if you are making them on the stove, requiring constant stirring for several minutes.   Let's be honest, most mornings that just isn't something I have time to do.  I'm trying to get a workout in, get the kids off to school, get showered, etc.  That is why I love making these oats in the Instant Pot!  For this recipe, you literally just put everything into the pot and walk away.  Go do what you need to do and come back to it later.   Total cook time on this is probably about 20 min.  I've never actually timed it exactly, but that is the beauty of these oats.  It's ok if you don't...

I have always had a soft spot for warm, soft, salty, chewy pretzels with cheese sauce.  I mean,  there is something so comforting about eating a freshly baked pretzel.  And the cheese sauce just puts it over the top.  Do you have to make the cheese sauce? No.  Will you be sad you didn't? Probably.  It seriously only takes about 5-10 minutes so you can make it while the pretzels are baking.   Speaking of baking/ making the pretzel... It starts out like any other roll recipe.  You add in your water, sugar, and yeast then let it sit for a bit.  Add a bit of melted butter, salt, and flour and keep mixing it up till it forms a nice, soft dough.  Tacky, but not so much that it sticks to your finger.  Here's where it takes a different path from traditional rolls.  Instead of waiting for the bread dough to double, you only need to let it rest for 10-20 min.  Meanwhile, get the soda and water boiling.  After they dough ha...

My husband Aaron celebrated a birthday recently!  He isn't a huge cake fan- I know, crazy right?  Typically he just wants his favorite chocolate chip cookies, but this time he said he would be okay with a Chocolate Bundt cake.  After some searching, I came across this copycat Nothing Bundt Cake recipe.  I'm not sure it was exactly the same, but it was pretty delicious! Danny said it was like a dream ( haha! ) and was not happy at all when I tossed the remaining cake after a few days.