hey everyone :)

hey everybody... i just wanted to let you all know tht i am also now the proud owner of a food blog called "before dessert"... a place where i will share my love of cooking... i hope it is something you enjoy as much as i do...

so come on over and check it out...

monday morning cupcake pick me up :)

happy monday morning everybody... i hope this week has lots of great and wonderful things in store for you and yours :)

i figured i would post a quick little tasty tidbit for your enjoyment... a caffeinated chocolaty caramel concoction to get your monday started... if you read my blog on the regular you know by now that i'm a sucker for these flavors...

now i try my hardest not to indulge in cupcakes for breakfast, and for the most part i am triumphant... but, sometimes on the rarest of occasions all my willpower goes out the window... and i end up devouring the cupcake hunched over the sink so that my boys don't catch me being naughty...

these little beauties are a moist chocolate cake with hints of coffee, topped with a cappuccino buttercream, salt caramel and dark chocolate shavings... sticky, gooey and god damn worth every sweet sinful calorie :)

happy monday everyone... and as always... happy baking :)

french toast for dinner :)

whenever the hubby and i tell the boys that we are having breakfast for dinner, it's immediate fist pumps and "whoo-hoo's"... the boys do a pretty good job waiting patiently until we're done celebrating... haha...

but seriously, who doesn't love breakfast for dinner...

now what do you do with a fantastic loaf of bread that has gone stale...

i'll tell you what you do...

you slice it up, let it soak up a eggy cinnamon batter, then fry it in some (lots of) butter... and if you're feeling sassy, smother it in some caramelized bananas... maybe a pad of butter more, and of course... some maple syrup...

so with just a few simple ingredients and a little bit of prep, you can enjoy some delish golden brown and buttery french toast just like this... if that sorta thing appeals to you :)

i could just spoon some of this banana goodness onto about anything... vanilla ice cream... toast... a piece of cardboard... you name it...

happy baking everyone :)

pumpkin ale beer bread

there's nothing better then making something that's so tasty out of a few simple ingredients... and beer bread is just one of those very things... for most people beer bread is an easy way to bake a loaf of bread without having to deal with a traditional, time consuming yeast dough...

the beer takes away the rising and punching and waiting phases of bread making... which, let's just be honest... is annoying at times... but with just 5 simple ingredients, and about maybe 5 minutes of prep, you'll be on your way to enjoying a nice crusty hunk of bread...

i decided to use some "maine made" pumpkin ale... i first enjoyed this lip smacking beer in a tall chilled glass rimmed with maple syrup and cinnamon sugar... ummm... it was ah-may-zing... sweet and subtly spicy... the perfect fall cocktail... so i figured this would be the perfect brew for some yummy beer bread... and man was i right... pumpkin ale beer bread
ingredients:
3 cups self-rising flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
12 ounces beer... i used pumpkin ale, but you can use any beer you'd like :)
2 tablespoons melted butter
*a sprinkling of cinnamon

directions:
1. preheat the oven to 375
2. butter an 8×4 inch loaf pan and set aside... in a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and beer; mix well... the mixture will be tacky, but that's how it should be...pour into the loaf pan and bake for about 55 minutes
3. at the last three minutes of baking, remove from oven, brush the top of the loaf with the melted butter and return to oven for the final three minutes of baking
4. remove from the oven and cool on a cooling rack... slice and enjoy :)

i hope you're enjoying this beautiful fall... and as always... happy baking everyone :)