Classic Orange Fluff {aka Orange Pineapple Salad}

October 30, 2014
One of the ultimate classic comfort foods ~ Orange Pineapple Salad.  Or as we call it in our house, Orange Fluff.  It's classic for a reason ~ because it's just plain good.

Classic Orange Pineapple Salad image, made with orange gelatin.  Classic for a reason ~ because it's just plain good.


As a food blogger, sometimes meals in our house are, well ... a little weird.  Because our meals often revolve around what I'm working on for the blog.

Which means depending on what I'm creating, we may eat virtually the same thing for days in a row ... Over and over and over again as I make little tweaks or test a recipe.

Or, we end up eating a kind of strange combination of things.  Because I've been working on different recipes for brands.  Or articles for a site to which I contribute.  Or, as is typically the case, all of these things at once.

Classic Orange Pineapple Salad made with orange gelatin is always a hit.  It's classic for a reason ~ because it's just plain good.

And eating a strange combination of things is just exactly what happened the other day.  Let's just call it our orange meal.

Not orange flavored. ~ orange colored.
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Roasted Butternut Squash Chili

October 27, 2014
With its chunks of roasted butternut squash, spicy-sweet flavor, and veggie-only base, this Roasted Butternut Squash Chili is a perfect-for-fall vegetarian chili.  But is it really  a chili?

Roasted Butternut Squash Chili


I absolutely adore this delicious Roasted Butternut Squash Chili.  With yummy chunks of butternut squash, spicy-sweet flavor, and veggies only, it's a fabulous fall vegetarian chili-with-a-twist.

But it got me thinking ... what makes a chili a chili?  Have you ever wondered that?

I mean, some are loaded with meat.  Some are not.  Some are super spicy, some mildly spicy, and some just totally mild.  Some thick.  Some soupy.  Beans.  No beans.  The variations seem endless.

Do they all qualify as 'chili??'  Inquiring minds want to know.  {Well, at least my inquiring mind wants to know.}

So I decided to do some digging and see what I could figure out ...
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Fudgy Chocolate Coconut Drops

October 22, 2014
Coconut and chocolate lovers beware ~ with a double dose of coconut and a double dose of chocolate in these Fudgy Chocolate Coconut Drops, you won't be able to get enough!

Fudgy Chocolate Coconut Drops

My husband Mark is a creature of habit.  Once he starts doing some quirky little thing, he keeps on doing it.  Over.  and over.  and over.  and over.  and over again.  Like when I cook something, he pretty much always says {picking, of course}, "Needs more jalapeno."  Doesn't matter what I've cooked.  Or if it's even remotely in the spicy family of foods.  "Needs more jalapeno."

Well now when I bake he's started saying, "Needs more coconut."  Oy.  As if we needed one more quirky, picky little habit around here.

So I decided to bake up some cookies that in no-way-shape-or-form needed more coconut.  'Cause they've got a double dose  of tasty coconut ...
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Pumpkin Spice Martini {& My Wild Ride}

October 19, 2014
The fabulous flavors of pumpkin and spice are for more than just pie!  Enjoy them in your fall cocktails, too ~ like this yummy Pumpkin Spice Martini.
CLICK HERE TO PIN THIS FOR LATER

Pumpkin Spice Martini ~ put the fabulous fall flavors of pumpkin & spice in your cocktail!   www.thekitchenismyplayground.com


So imagine you're driving down the interstate, toodling along at about 70 miles per hour in the passing lane, when all of sudden your car won't accelerate.  At all.

You're dropping speed.  Rapidly.

What happens when you step on the gas pedal?  Nothing.  So you floor it.  And still nothing.

Oh, I don't have to imagine it.  'Cause yeh, it happened.  Yesterday.  To me.  And let me just tell ya ...
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Cinnamon Syrup ~ a Versatile Little Homemade Syrup

October 12, 2014
Cinnamon Syrup is a simple and versatile little syrup you can easily whip up at home.  Try it on pancakes, waffles, ice cream, honeydew melon, or anything else your heart desires.


My Vermont friends and readers ... look away!  I'm about to talk about a syrup that's not  pure Vermont maple  syrup.

I know, I know.  The horror!  A native Vermonter being disloyal to her syrup true love?

Yes, I'm about to be a syrup traitor.  Yes, I'm about to talk about Cinnamon  Syrup.  Shhhhhhh ... don't tell the maple, okay?  I'm afraid it might be jealous.
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Banana Spice Dump Cake

October 8, 2014
Change up you Fall dessert flavors. ~  Instead of apple or pumpkin spice, give banana  spice a whirl with this tasty Banana Spice Dump Cake!  Thank you to Concord Foods' Chiquita Banana Bread Mix and Sun-Maid Raisins for sponsoring creation of this recipe and post.


What a beautiful Fall day it is here in North Carolina!  The sun is shining ... a gentle breeze is blowing ... the temperature is phenomenal ... and it's just perfect for sitting out on the deck with your feet up while enjoying your lunch.  Which is just exactly what I did.

See?  Here's my lovely-Fall-day-with-my-feet-up backyard view ...
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Oma's Strudla {German Steamed Dumplings or "Biscuits"}

October 4, 2014
Enjoy German Strudla with your soup or sauerkraut, with this German steamed dumplings or "biscuits" recipe straight from the recipe box of my husband's Oma.


In honor of Oktoberfest and my husband's German heritage, I decided to share with you one of the few German recipes I've mastered.  And believe me, when my husband asked me to learn how to make strudla, it's a recipe that came with a lot  of pressure!

See, my husband Mark's Oma {German for grandmother} ... who was originally from Germany and lived with Mark and his family while he was growing up ... used to make strudla for him all.  the.  time.  It's a food that holds wonderful memories for him.

And he wanted me  to learn how to make it for him.

Oh sure, ... follow in the footsteps of Mark's native German grandmother to make him one of her signature German foods.  That he adores.  And ate all the time.  For years.

Great.  That's what I was thinking.

But first, what are strudla, you ask?  Well, the answer's apparently not a straightforward one.
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