the artist formerly known as smartblonde

Buttered Rosemary Rolls

Farewell, cruel world. I’m going to go to the grocery, buy enough ingredients to make 400 dozen of these babies, and eat them until I a) enter an infinite carbohydrate coma; b) get so fat I become an involuntary recluse because I can’t fit through the front door; or c) just keel over from deliciousness.

So goodbye. It’s been real. Stay cool. Have an awesome summer. Friends 4eva. KIT. 2good2be4gotten.

I made homemade calzones for us tonight and they were redonkulous. Super easy and so, so, so delicious!

I got wheat pizza dough from Whole Foods (the raw kind, in the bag - you don’t have to let it rise or anything, it’s ready to go), and then filled them with mozzarella cheese, sundried tomatoes, pesto, feta cheese, and shredded grilled chicken. Then baked at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, and that’s it! We dipped them in garlicky tomato sauce and it was the perfect easy little Friday night meal.

Chocolate Truffles with Sea Salt

Five ingredients. Three steps. All hail Pioneer Woman.

Seriously, these would make the perfect little Christmas gifts for coworkers and acquaintances - put them in a pretty little box and voila! If there’s a girl out there who doesn’t like salt and chocolate together, then I have yet to meet her.

Pumpkin Spice No-Bake Cheesecake

IMPORTANT NOTES:

1. it’s super easy to make
2. it looks super scrumptious
3. it’s actually low-cal and not too bad for you (shh)
4. i am probably making this tonight and so should you

A simple recipe for homemade pumpkin doggie biscuits! This looks like a fun & easy project for a gloomy Sunday…plus it’s nice for your dog to have healthy homemade eats too!

Fun fact: pumpkin is a natural tummy soother for dogs, which might come in handy next time you found out your pup’s eaten four socks and a doorknob (after he gets back from the vet, of course).

I almost forgot - I found the easiest recipe this weekend for the most delicious autumn-y cupcakes EVER.

You ready?

• 1 box spice cake mix
• 1 16-oz can of pumpkin

THAT’S IT. I know, right?

Mix those two ingredients together (you can add in nuts or chocolate chips if you’d like), then bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.

I totally Sandra Lee’d some frosting (tell NO ONE)

• 1 can whipped cream cheese frosting
• a heavy sprinkling of cinnamon

Mix ‘em together, pipe on cooled cupcakes, et voila - the simplest, tastiest fall treats around. The cupcakes are super moist and just the perfect amount of spicy, and the cream cheese frosting (flecked with cinnamon, it looks homemade!) is the perfect complement.

Seriously, make them tonight. They are so good. Plus, minus the frosting (I guess you couuuuuld leave it out, but why?) they are really pretty low in fat/calories!

(this is not a picture of said cupcakes, but they came out looking exactly like this!)

chocolate pudding pie

pardon me for stealing the expression kia, but UNF.

UNF UNF UNF.

do you want the recipe for the bourbon sauce i made last night? uh yeah, i think you do. trust me.

first, zee ingreediahhnts!

• 2 cups water
• 1 3/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup Southern Comfort
• 4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (more to taste)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground ginger
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• some fresh chopped onions and peppers, plus a little olive oil

how do you work it?

in a heavy-bottom sauce pan or dutch oven, sautee the onion and peppers in a bit of olive oil until they’re nice and tender and starting to brown. add the rest of the ingredients (except the cornstarch), and while stirring it around, scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan (mmm…brown bits). bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer on low for 20 minutes or so (you could also put some chicken in with the veggies at the beginning and simmer it in the sauce, if that floats your boat). after it’s cooked down a bit, dissolve a few tablespoons of cornstarch in a bit of water, and add to the sauce thicken it. and then voila! you’re done!

this was freakin’ delicious!! last night we ate it with veggies and rice and some chicken, but i think it’d be crazy good on just about anything you’d normally use barbecue or terriyaki sauce for. plus you get the satisfaction of saying, “oh, this sauce? i just made it myself, no big thing.”

fresh peach cobbler

this looks easy and delicious - i think i might make some tonight to get a last little bit of summer in my kitchen before it’s all gone.

plus, it’s fruit! i know, i know, HEALTH NUT.

the pioneer woman - pasta with roasted red pepper sauce

i made this for dinner tonight. and then i died. the end.*

*i didn’t actually die, but it was so delicious that after eating i could have had that brain aneurysm i’m always paranoid is lurking right around the corner, and i would have been pretty satisfied with my last meal.

**roasting your own red peppers is pretty fun. well, the roasting part is kind of boring, but then after you sweat them, the peeling off of the charred skin is IMMENSELY SATISFYING. i know that last sentence sounds pretty gross, and i also know i don’t care if you think i’m gross.

***i kind of care if you think i’m gross. that’s why i made it with whole wheat pasta and reduced the amount of heavy cream, so i’m not wheeling around wal-mart in my own hoverround anytime soon.

****not sure why i’m still doing the asterisks thing. i don’t even think i’m doing it right.

*****seriously though, this is delicious and you should make it. the peeley peppers and everything.