Frosted Pumpkin Cake

Thanksgiving is Ryan's favorite holiday. He says, "you get to hang out with family, eat, drink, and not be stressed out about presents." After I heard that, I realized Thanksgiving is... well... a really good holiday. I don't give up presents THAT easily. Anyway, this year we joined my family for Thanksgiving dinner and headed to Ryan's family for dessert. I wanted to join in the fiasco that can ensue when making dinner for a crowd, so I brought stuffing to dinner, pumpkin cake to dessert, and a drink to share for both. The stuffing turned out fantastic, but didn't last long enough for a picture. Pumpkin cake, however, was made hours ahead so I have a great shot to share with this recipe. Oh, the recipe is pretty great (really great)! It's adapted from a recipe in the November 2009 issue of Cooking Light, so it's healthy too! Enjoy!

Easy-Peasy Cinnamon Rolls

The last time I made these easy-peasy cinnamon rolls I sent 4 home with my brother, Alan. I said, "two for dessert and two for breakfast tomorrow," and he headed home. About 20 minutes later he sent a message that said, "cinnamon rolls all gone." He ate all 4 rolls before he even made it home! Well, he is coming over again. I made cinnamon rolls and I hope I made enough so at least one makes it to breakfast! Enjoy!

Banana Cream Pie

This morning I looked at a bunch of bananas that were on the counter and noticed they were getting a bit on the ripe side. With all this heat it is difficult to keep bananas from getting really ripe really fast! So, I put the entire bunch in the fridge. I came home from work, clothes drenched in sweat, opened the fridge and BAM! I was hit with the smell of cold bananas. My first thought was, "where is the banana cream pie?" and started looking for it. It didn't take long for me to realize there was no banana cream pie to be had and I couldn't stop my mouth from watering. The best solution was to make banana cream pie. Of course! Here is a classic banana cream pie recipe with a twist: nuts! Enjoy!

Peanut Frosting on Chocolate Cupcakes

I workout at the gym across the street from where I work nearly everyday. Some days are tougher than others to hop across the street for a workout, and other days are just plain difficult to make it through the workout. The problem is the Food Network! That's what I watch when I workout and watching delicious food being prepared right before I have eaten lunch is really hard! Today was terrible! I tuned in when chocolate muffins with a peanut frosting were being made. AHHHH! Well, I gave in to temptation and made them tonight. I finished my workout even after the muffin recipe so I think I earned the right to eat a muffin... or two! I used a boxed cake mix tonight, but here's the recipe for the fantastic frosting.

Brazilian Flan

While growing up on a farm in Brazil, we had access to nearly everything we needed in it's freshest form. This included eggs, milk (unpasteurized, gasp!), oranges, sugar cane, mangoes, etc. Getting to town using the dirt roads during and after a rainfall was NOT easy! So, my Mom did what she could with what she had available on those rainy days to keep us kids happy and out of her hair. Much to our disappointment this did not include candy bars and TV, but rather flan made with whole milk and lots of time pushing each other on the hammock. In hindsight, we were fortunate, but flan was just plain awful for us kids with an aversion to "slimy" foods! We only liked slimy toads! Thank goodness as an adult I gave it another try or I would have missed out on this wonderful dessert. So, here is my Mom's version of flan she learned in Brazil. Enjoy!

Kahlua Chocolate Bundt Cake

Our friend, Sunya and Russ, gave us an unexpected and absolutely perfect wedding gift: a basket of great dried herbs and spices and their best recipes. This Kahlua Bundt cake is one of those recipes; as Sunya put it, "it is really simple, but your friends will be so impressed!" It was indeed a hit with out friends last weekend, so I will be making it again for Easter with Ryan's family. I expect this recipe will help prove to my Mother-in-Law that I CAN cook. Enjoy!