Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers

I blame Pinterest for many things. Off the top of my head, here are a few. I can never again guiltlessly purchase the little tear apart Valentines and send my children to school with them. Every minor holiday must be celebrated as an over-the-top extravaganza with special breakfast food and remarkably adorable after school snacks. Supplies for more crafts than I ever imagined existed are now cluttering up my house. Let’s be real. The craft supplies are relegated to my closet after I realize post-purchase that I am not now, nor will I ever be crafty. I despise everything in my closet because none of it is perfectly coordinated down to shoes, bag and belt. I obsessively want to work out and try the twelve cleaning tips I found this morning. There are at least ten things I do wrong as a mother every single morning before school (according to all the amazing parenthood books Pinterest has introduced me to). And don’t get me started on the change in my children’s birthday parties since Pinterest took over my life. That being said…. that darn red swirly P holds my heart forever because it gives me recipes like this one.
Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers - Bakerlady
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Chicken With Curried Cream Sauce

This recipe originally called for turkey, which immediately conjured up a quote from  Bridget Jones’ Diary in my head. “Once again I found myself on my own going to my mother’s annual turkey curry buffet.” But you have to say “buffet” like Renée Zellweger does…”boo-fey”. I have adored Renée since Jerry Maguire, but am I the only one who thought she seemed a little…um, tipsy during her stint as an Oscar presenter last night? I was thinking about her on stage appearance as I sat to do my menu planning for the week this morning – and this turkey curry recipe leapt off the page at me. I wanted to dress like an old couch when making it. I used chicken instead as I already had some out waiting to be turned into something delicious and bumped up the curry (could have even done more), but left the original recipe otherwise intact. It was delicious and easy but a little out of the ordinary. Yummy.

Chicken with Curried Cream Sauce - Bakerlady

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Pumpkin Crunch Cake

If you are familiar with dump cake, you’ll see the genius of this recipe immediately. My mom used to make dump cake when I was a kid. I’ll have to post that “recipe” sometime soon. It’s essentially canned fruit, topped with dry cake mix and smothered with butter. Not really a cake in the traditional sense, but delicious. I saw this pumpkin version and knew it would be ah-mazing. And it was. This is two delightful desserts combined into one. Pumpkin pie on the bottom and pecan pie on top. Custardy spiced goodness covered with crunchy buttery caramelized nut topping. I’m telling you, it’s far too easy for how gorgeous it turns out.

Pumpkin Crunch Cake. A combo of pumpkin pie and pecan pie. I Bakerlady

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Michael’s Is Evil and Wilton Is Wonderful

I went in for one thing. One. Thing. Some plastic baggies for my kid’s Valentine’s for school. That’s all I needed. But, alas…Michael’s is evil. So terribly, wonderfully EVIL. Out I came with a bag loaded down with rafia ribbon, chocolate melts and candy molds. I’m weak-minded. It’s true. I’m a marketing and merchandising gold mine. I see things that look fun and suddenly think I’m crafty & I buy them. I suppose I should consider myself (and my bank account) lucky that I didn’t find some uber involved super-craft project to throw myself into. One time, I went into Michael’s with my cousin and came out with about $150 worth of blank canvases, paints, brushes and what-not. I was absolutely sure I’d be the next Picasso with all that crap. I remembered very quickly that I haven’t an artistic bone in my body once I started trying to actually use it. This time wasn’t that bad I guess.

Chocolate Covered Oreos07

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Baked Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken

I was having a serious sugar craving today. Epic proportions. I actually considered heading to the garage to raid the hidden cauldron of leftover Halloween candy. What? You don’t keep the leftover unwanted chocolate for a sweet tooth attack? Just in case? No? That’s just me? Oh. Well, forget I mentioned it then. Aside from the embarrassment of anyone (ahem…my husband) stumbling upon me ravenously consuming candy amid the boxes of the garage, I have additional motivation to show a little willpower. I’m heading to Hawaii soon to visit my best friend (who moved there 6 months ago and I miss terribly and cannot WAIT to see her!) and so I reigned in the monstrous cravings and set about to find a suitable substitute that I could call dinner.
Baked Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken

Avalanche Bars

I took my daughter back-to-school shopping last week. We had a grand old-time preparing for the big first day of school. It was all fun and games until I realized that new school clothes meant she was actually heading off to school. Gulp. She started Kindergarten yesterday. My baby. She even (gasp!) rode the bus! She was so stinkin’ excited for her first day. And, she looked adorable in her brand spankin’ new duds. Yes…Mommy got new clothes too.

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Lazy Heath Bars

I’ve been cleaning my house like a crazy person for two days. If you know me, you know this is NOT normal behavior. Usually I’m perfectly content for my house not to resemble a museum or some kind of scientific lab. I prefer to spend my time on the floor doing puzzles or coloring rather than scrubbing. Things are clean enough. Or, as my father-in-law used to say “good enough for government work”. He was allowed to say things like that. Jeff worked for the IRS for 20+ years. When houseguests are coming however, I become a short freckled version of Adrian Monk. Ok. Not quite that obsessive. Close though.

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Chicken Tamale Bake

My husband loves tamales. My mother-in-law Anna makes them in huge batches and brings them up when she visits. It’s a whole involved process that she tried to teach me once (long ago when I was first married), but the thought of authentic cooking was a total brain overload for me back then. I found this recipe and knew I needed to give it a whirl. It starts with a rich cornbread base filled with chilies, topped with enchilada sauce, spiced chicken and cheese. If you like Mexican food, you will love this!

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No-Bake Peanut Butter Pretzel Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

I have been looking for a no-fail, easy homemade granola bar recipe for a few weeks now. Fall is coming and my sweet Madison is starting Kindergarten. How did that happen so fast? I blinked and suddenly she was 5. Crazy. I cannot wait for after school snack time. I remember that being the best thing ever. Come home from school to a glass of cold milk and some kind of treat? Oh yeah. This recipe is going to be made every single week I’m sure. It takes 5 minutes, you don’t have to bake anything and they are incredibly delicious.

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Captain Hook’s Favorite Breakfast

My kids discovered a new joke this week. I’ve heard it about 100 times in the past few days. It goes like this:

Just in case you didn’t catch that, here’s the dialogue.
Madison: What is Captain Hook’s favorite kind of breakfast?
Donovan: I dunno.
Madison: Peter Pan-cakes!
<insert hilarious laughter here>

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