Happy Birthday, Rory!

Rory turns 8 years old today, I can't hardly believe it!

She got her very own birthday cake to celebrate, and of course, her friends were there for the fun too.

I posted her cake recipe over at the food blog!

Peanut butter tongues are hilarious!

Cooking with Sara: French Dip & Kale Chips

Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches on From Blah to Ta-Daa

Apparently, over at the food blog, we played a long drawn-out game of dodgeball, and I'm the last one standing.  So, as I'm looking around, with a smelly red rubber ball in my hands, I'm feeling a bit isolated and alone.  And you know what I do when I'm alone - I talk to myself (and pretend that Rory is enraptured with my nonstop monolog).  This time, talking to myself has morphed into making and posting more recipes on the food blog.  So that it doesn't feel so much like a ghost town.  I'm leaving the lights on, so to speak. 

For the past few weeks, I've been trying to post two recipes each week.  This week's pair is a deliberate step away from the sugar and butter: The first is just comfort food yum, with very little work or attention.  The second is... hmmmmm.... I'm still not sure what to make of it.  Kale Chips recipes have been making the rounds on food blogs, so I decided to finally try them.  I wrote a lot more about the buggers on the food blog, so click on over if you're wondering what the heck Kale Chips are.

Kale Chips on From Blah to Ta-Daa

Cooking with Sara: Pumpkin Praline Cake

I mayyyyyy know full well what I'm doing when I post a photo like that one above.  A shiny, perfectly dripping drizzle of homemade caramel sauce?  I mean, c'mon, that's just not playing fair! And yet, I post it all extra-large size anyway.  Devious, that girl Sara.

Pumpkin Praline Cake on From Blah to Ta-Daa

Aside from the pretty caramel drip photos, I do want to show you my new cake stand!  It's vintage milk glass, and I paid way too much for it at an antique store.  I bought it and another gorgeous stand to go with my plain-Jane Martha Stewart cake stands for the wedding last weekend.  I'm head over heels in love with both stands, and I'm already scheming ways to get my other stand into a recipe post.  (And figure out why it's got a mysterious brandy cup?  That's another story for another day, and I definitely need your help with it.)



Cooking with Sara: Chocolate Truffle Cakes

This yummy little recipe posted last week to the food blog, but I was so busy posting Savannah photos here that I didn't get a chance to share it with you.  It was part of that haul I made for a wedding last weekend, and I'm hoping to get the others recipes posted during the next few weeks or so.  Assuming that I can muster up the motivation to make them again.  I'm partly traumatized by the whole experience, so please don't hold your breath.

Anyway, back to this recipe! If you like brownies (and what sane person doesn't?), you really need to scoot your tush over there to check out the recipe.  With only one tablespoon of flour, it's almost entirely chocolate, with a little sugar and butter thrown in for good measure.  And to tell you the truth, I love it way better than the brownie recipe I've been swearing by for years.  It has the crackly, lightly crusted outside of a brownie, but with a gooey chocolatey center.  My oh my, it's just so, so, so good.  Trust me on this one.  

And scoot!:

Chocolate Truffle Cakes on From Blah to Ta-Daa!

Cooking with Sara: A Toast to You, and A Toast to Me

That part about feeling as if I'm on vacation?  It's translated over to the things I'm whipping up in the kitchen.  Specifically, pink fruity drinks to be enjoyed out on a sunshiney patio.  Next thing you know, I'll be crafting itty bitty cocktail umbrellas by hand.  Watch out, folks.  The girl's got time on her hands.

Watermelon Sangria on From Blah to Ta-Daa

Pink Porchcrawlers on From Blah to Ta-Daa

Cooking with Sara: Salmon Patties with Lemon Sauce

Salmon Patties with Lemon Sauce on From Blah to Ta-Daa

Yep.  I cooked again.  I kinda have a habit of doing that regularly.  Every oh, say, day.  But, this week, my meal plan contains five new recipes, so I'll be doing tons of experimenting and note-taking in the kitchen over the next few days.  Do you jot notes down while you cook?  I only do for new recipes, but I find it really helps later, when I want to remember what changes I made to a recipe - because I'm forever making changes!  So, I'll be cooking and jotting and cooking and jotting every night this week.  Do you have any interesting plans for the week?

Cooking with Sara: (Vegan) Pesto Sauce

I put Bo's bumper crop of basil to good use, and oh my, is it tasty!

(Vegan) (Or not) Pesto Sauce on From Blah to Ta-Daa

I also tested out a funky magic hippie dust and was pleasantly pleased with the results :)

Happy Farmers Market Week!

Bo and I visited an enormous, indoor farmers market over the weekend, and it was bananas.  (Literally, of course.)  It was like walking through Costco, but with fresh and organic everything, and there were even stations with samples.  Ba-na-nas!

I posted more about it and a ton of (illegal) photos over on the food blog, so grab a cuppa 'jo and scoot on over!

Farmers Market Week on From Blah to Ta-Daa

Rory was scared of the enormous collards we brought home.

Cooking with Sara: Savory Polenta

Time for another recipe post on our food blog, From Blah to Ta-Daa!

Remember that polenta I mentioned in Monday's post?  Well, here's how it turned out!  We tried it two different ways - straight from the oven, warm and cheesey. 

Savory Polenta on From Blah to Ta-Daa

Then, I sliced the leftovers and pan-fried them to golden and served with my most favorite marinara.  Both ways were super yum and super easy!

Cooking with Sara: Mom's Potato Salad

Mmmm.... my mom's potato salad...  In my book, it's the very definition of summertime comfort food.  There are zillions of potato salad recipes in this world, but there's only one receiving more than a passing glance from me.  

Mom's Potato Salad on From Blah to Ta-Daa

Cooking with Sara: Taco Seasoning Mix

I was basically a cooking fool this weekend.  Which is kinda nice; it's an indicator of how many chores I'm not doing, in favor of playing in the kitchen.  In summary, it makes me happy to create new things in the kitchen.  And this recipe, is definitely a shiny, new thing!  It's shamefully easy and tastes pretty much like the packets you purchase at the grocery store.  Minus all the funky ingredients and the packaging that ends up in the trash.
We tried it out last night on tacos and gave it the thumbs up.

Taco Seasoning Mix on From Blah to Ta-Daa



(The other fruits of my kitchen time will get posted over the next couple of weeks: Blueberry Buckle and Strawberry Mojitos.  Yummmmm.)

Cooking with Sara: Rosemary Ranch Chicken Kabobs

Click on over for the recipe and more photos!  You know you want toooooooooooooo....

Rosemary Ranch Chicken Kabobs at From Blah to Ta-Daa

Even tho these puppies are freaking delicious, I discovered that the same sauce is even better on portobello mushrooms.  I'll take this moment to fess up - I swiped all the grilled portobellos when Bo wasn't looking and didn't tell him until I'd eaten every single one of them.  And then I didn't even apologize.  I think I muttered something about how I deserved them if he was going to eat real, cow milk, ice cream sandwiches in front of me after dinner.  No matter, all you need to know is that if you're of the veggie persuasion, this sauce is just as amazing with bell peppers and portobellos.

Cooking with Sara: Carolina-Style BBQ Chicken

This chicken is ridiculously easy and super, duper yum!  So, skip on over to the food blog and check out the recipe and more photos!:

Carolina-Style BBQ Chicken on From Blah to Ta-Daa

Meanwhile, these photos turned out so fun!

(Until Bo points out that it looks like a creepy face if you tilt your head to the right.)

(And then says that it looks like a body with knees and legs.)

(EEEEEEP!)

Wooooo, flamey fun!

Saucy Mama Giveaway



Hey, party people!  I just wanted to alert you to a giveawayyyy over on the food blogggg!  Those delicious sauces you see above?  Totally up for grabs!  As part of the Saucy Mama recipe contest, each entrant gets to host a giveaway.  Rock on!  All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on our giveaway page.  That's it!

Saucy Mama Giveaway on From Blah to Ta-Daa!

Cooking with Sara: Saucy Mama Recipe Contest

It was almost a year ago that I participated in my first recipe contest submission.  Oh, I learned a lot that time around.  Like, for example, it's probably a keen idea to include the product sponsoring the contest in your final recipe photograph.  Right?  And, maybe I should read all the contest details first to learn what kind of recipe they're looking for.  In other words, don't be submitting an elaborate stew recipe when they've clearly asked for a party food, appetizer-y recipe, mmmk?

Saucy Mama Chicken Salad Crescents on From Blah to Ta-Daa

I was all excited to take my new-found common sense to action when Saucy Mama invited me to participate again.  I felt so special being asked to participate; almost like when I was voted onto Homecoming Court my senior year of high school, minus the crown.  (Although, I do still have that crown, and who's to say I'm not wearing it right now?)  I had a fun recipe in mind to test out, and then.  Then, I saw the links to all the other recipe submissions entered for this contest.  Ummm.. They're fancy.  And look amazing and delicious.  And, dangit!  Oh well.  I can at least take pride in the fact that I finally learned how to follow directions and give myself a chance to at least qualify this time.  We'll be happy with the improvements over last year, yes, we will.

Cooking with Sara: Buttermilk Chocolate Sheet Cake

I'm sorry.  It's barely Monday morning, and look what I'm doing to you.  I'm posting extra large photos of an extra delicious chocolate cake.  I truly didn't mean any harm by it.  I just love sharing so, so much that I couldn't sit still until I got these pretty photos here for you to look at.  Because nobody likes a recipe that doesn't come with photos, am I right?  Yes, I thought so. 

Buttermilk Chocolate Sheet Cake on From Blah to Ta-Daa

But take heart, my dears.  This cake recipe is so easy and so quick that throwing it together on a weeknight is - to quote my piano teacher from years past - "completely within the realm of possibility."  Actually, it's not just within the realm.  It's pretty much smack in the middle of the do-ability and not somewhere hovering around the perimeters of maybe.

I would mention that it's the most delicious while still warm, but that might push over the edge into the realm of unforgiveability.  So I'll just be quiet and let you mosey on over as best you can on a Monday morning.

Cooking with Sara: Asian Beef Skewers

It's Thursday Friday!  So it's my day to cook for the food blog!

Yeah, so I'm a little late posting my recipe - whoops!  Honestly, I got all tangled up in recipe intentions for Cinco de Mayo (which was completely forgotten about when I did my weekly meal planning on Saturday), and then that last-minute intention didn't pull through, and things just got hectic after that.  Oh well, I say.  Better late than never, and better a deeeeelicious recipe than one that's just only iffy. 

This is one of my favorite grilling recipes out there.  It's asian-inspired, speedy-quick to make, and shoot, anything on a stick is just more fun, am I right?  (You people on the fence: click here.)  You can make it with various cuts of meat, just as long as you slice it across the grain.  And, it's also decently portable; Marnie and I used to prep this recipe and then skewer and grill it whenever we tailgated for Chargers' games.  And I must say, we were pretty popular out there in the parking lot.  Even after we told our tailgating buddies that they were eating grilled venison :)  Yes, you can even make it with venison. 

The recipe and more photos are over at the food blog....

Asian Beef Skewers on From Blah to Ta-Daa!

Cooking with Sara: Roasted Asparagus with Browned Butter Balsamic Sauce

It's Thursday!  So, it's my day to cook for the food blog!

Ok, so yes, that title is a doozie.  But when I tried to whittle it down, I couldn't think of what word to leave off - Certainly not the asparagus, it's the main player here.  And it needs the balsamic in there so that you know it's not just a veggie plus butter.  And, oh, that browned butter is truly the nectar of the gods, so it can't possibly be left out....  And, there you go.  A long, stumbly recipe name that only uses a handful of ingredients.  But don't let its simplicity fool you.  This side will quickly become the star of your dinner show.  And you won't even mind when it asks for its own separate trailer and chair with its long, rambling name printed on the back.

Roasted Asapargus with Browned Butter Balsamic Sauce on From Blah to Ta-Daa

Also!  Mellisa and I just started rearranging the furniture and picking paint samples over at the Blah blog.  We're giving it a whole new look, and it's shaping up to be really cute!  We plan to rotate that top banner photo in and out; the inaugural one up there with berries is a photo that Mellisa took - so pretty!

Cooking with Sara: 1-Ingredient Ice Cream

It's Thursday!  Which means that it's my day to cook for the Blah blog!

Oh boy.  This recipe is fun!  You throw frozen bananas into a food processor and voila!  Ice cream comes out!  Ice cream that's very low in calories, is sugar free and dairy free, and has zero Weight Watchers points.  It's basically a magic recipe.  It may even cause unicorns to skip and prance around your yard, so keep watch out for them.

1-Ingredient Ice Cream on From Blah to Ta-Daa



You really need to click-zoom this photo.
It's pretty crazy how creamy and smooth frozen bananas can get!



Cooking with Sara: Easy Fruit Rollups

It's Thursday!  Which means it was my day to cook for the food blog!

I've gone and done it now.  I've made a junk food into a healthy snack.  Yep.  No weird dyes, no strange fillers, no unpronounceable ingredients.  And it still turned out delicious.  Delicious, with a capital D. 

I'm horrible about eating fruit; I basically don't eat it, ha!  But I know that I should.  I know that it's good for me and contains all that vitamin, fiber, and anti-cancer stuff.  I've known it for years, and yet.  So!  I decided to try making fruit rollups - They're portable, don't bruise, don't require napkins, and just might entice me to eat a serving's worth every day. 

Delicious with a capital D.

Easy Fruit Rollups on From Blah to Ta-Daa