Simple Yet Gourmet

 I love egg salad sandwiches.  They are quick, easy, and tasty, at least if you have hard-boiled eggs hanging out in your fridge...which I often do.  I like having them on hand for snacks, Brynlee's lunch, or this sandwich. Ok, back to the sandwich.   In the past I've stuck with the traditional components for Egg Salad: eggs, mayo, salt, pepper, and paprika.  Lately I've been making this version though and it's not going anywhere. At first the idea of adding bacon and cheese to egg salad sounded a bit strange to me but I have to admit, I think it's rather delicious.  The crunchy bits of bacon are the best! 

If you love the peanut butter/ chocolate combo you will love these bars! I made them last Summer for a ward party and they were gone within minutes with requests for the recipe following the party.  Sadly, I forgot to post them.  These bars recently popped into my head when I was trying to think of a yummy treat to make when my sister and her family were visiting so I searched out the recipe and made them again.  Both our families loved them! The second time I made these I halved the recipe for the peanut butter mixture but forgot to do the same with the fudge layer.  I thought about only putting half on but decided that it probably wouldn't be a bad thing to have twice as much chocolate, and it most definitely was not! * Just as a reference, this picture is from the first time I made these with a normal amount of fudge.  

I can't believe it's been almost a year since the last blog post! I haven't stopped trying out new recipes, just haven't posted them.  Life just gets busy I guess.  Anyway...on to the salad.  This Avocado Shrimp salad  is the perfect meal when I have a little extra time to prepare lunch (longer than it takes to make a protein shake) and want to eat something delicious, hearty, and healthy! I love the cajun seasoning on the shrimp! It gives it just the right amount of kick, and when mixed with the citrus dressing is so yummy.  If you aren't a shrimp fan, this could definitely be made with chicken instead!  I didn't add any fresh grilled corn, because it's winter her, but I'll definitely try that in the summer.  I also left out some onion, and cilantro but if you like those go ahead on throw them in.  Just try it out and adjust it to your liking. 

How perfect are these cupcakes for Spring/Easter celebrations! You could really make any kind of cake you want for these, but I chose to stick with chocolate (you know, since nests are brown-also I love chocolate).  The nest itself is made with the most divine chocolate frosting then topped with toasted coconut and Cadbury Mini Eggs.

It's one of my kids favorite holidays, St.Patrick's Day.  I know what all of you are saying, but it can be a fun holiday!  The leprechauns come and turn our milk green and leave a little treat!  I try to make a special dinner and end the night with the kids favorite, Grasshopper Cake.  I have done this for a number of years, but have forgotten to post it, so sorry!  I hope I'm not to late for you to give it a try this year.  Who knows, the leprechauns might come to visit you if you make it! Happy St. Patrick's Day!

You have got to try these blondies! They are seriously Heaven on Earth.  The pecan layer just melts into the blondies for a sweet, nutty, decadent treat.  I had a hard time reigning in my self control with these. They are definitely a keeper and the perfect treat for this time or year. The original recipe has a chocolate drizzle on top so if that sounds good to you, go for it.  I thought they were plenty rich without.

Happy Halloween!  I didn't make to many Halloween treats this year but I wanted to make something fun for our ward Halloween party and this was the winner.  For the cake, I followed the instructions for the Chocolate Mousse Crunch Cake from Our Best Bites, minus the toffee.  Then for the spiderweb I piped a spiral of store bought vanilla frosting.  Once the spiral was finished I simply took a toothpick and drew lines through the ganache from the center to the outside.  I added some plastic spiders to this later on for a fun and creepy effect.  Even if you don't do the spiderweb, the cake itself was great and I'm sure it would be even better with the toffee chips!