PMS Christmas Bark: Part 1, 2, & 3

Jokingly on facebook I stated to my friends that years ago I created a Christmas bark that can easily be given as a gift and double as a PMS bark. The agreement was overwhelming by all my female friends; a bark made of salty, sweet, sticky, chewy and a hint of crispy--how could anyone, let alone a female disagree? I mean it covers all the four food groups that females tend to crave while going

cream cheese filled sugar cookie wedges

Ever get that impulse when visiting the "larger" grocery stores to stock up? Like stock up on stuff you really don't need and shouldn't buy? But you buy it anyways because IT'S ON SALE?Yeah, me too. And then those things you bought sit in your cupboards and you haven't a clue what to do with them? Well, I found something to do with the 'instant' sugar cookie packs! And they don't taste that

pumpkin-cream cheese cinnamon rolls

It's amazing the amount of emails I receive, thanking me for the Trader Joe creations. To be honest, I wasn't sure if they might go over well, but glad to hear most of you enjoy them. I know most of them are semi-homemade, but in this tough economy saving money when making meals is a top priority of mine; you can imagine the amount of money I spend on food for creating recipes. Thank goodness

pumpkin bread w/ cream cheese filling

I have to admit, I've never been a big fan of cake mixes, bread mixes for fear of crappy taste. But hands down this instant pumpkin bread mix from Trader Joe's is really good. Has really good pumpkin flavor and definitely not too sweet. It rises perfectly and holds up well to add in's. I've experimented with this bread mix before, adding in chips, spices, nuts and now cream cheese swirl.

teriyaki beef tacos w/ ginger-miso slaw & sriracha

Ohhh these were good. I marinated the beef strips for about 3 days and they turned into little pieces of sweet candy after grilling them.Incredibly easy to throw together. The sauce for the slaw I got from whole foods. As soon as I saw it I knew exactly what to do with it--make a nice crunchy slaw for a beef teriyaki taco. Don't you love how you find one special food item and instantly you

the infamous tomato pie now with panko

That title sounds like an infomercial. "New improved, now with panko!" And it is just that, improved. Improved for those that want a little "crunch".This summer I was shocked how many of you loved, downloaded, raved about my tomato pie. So glad you all loved it. I got so many emails on this pie, thanking me for posting it, sharing it, how easy it is to throw together, etc.... Thank you!I