The Ways of Her Home

Embracing the homeward call

Elegant Autumn Celebration Cake

A couple of weeks ago, my sister-in-law hosted a lovely birthday dinner for my mother-in-law. She and my other SIL prepared a delicious meal of family-favorite party foods and asked me to bring dessert. I asked the birthday girl what kind of cake she would like for her special day, but she said I could choose, which meant my husband and kids hinted at an Italian cream cake for several days after that, heehee. So, Italian cream cake it was! My sister-in-law said she would be decorating in a fall theme, so I wanted the cake to reflect her decor. As I mentioned a few months ago when I first posted the recipe for this cake, it really lends itself to so many different occasions with it's ... Read more

School Day Breakfast and Beverage

I mentioned in a post about our first week of school that, because we didn't have as much as much expense in curriculum and other materials this year, we got our two homeschoolers a back-to-school gift. Each gift cost $25 at Target, and both gifts make the work of our hands a little lighter when it comes to school morning breakfasts! Our son loves a good breakfast sandwich! My husband bought him a breakfast sandwich at a drive thru one morning on their way to the city dump, which is a total guy thing! Ever since then, he's enjoyed making them at home. So when my husband and I were on a date at Target (because our dates are either to Target or Dollar General these days), and he spotted ... Read more

Healthy Fall Fare

Fall season really ignites my cravings for so many delicious foods! If I'm not careful, I can easily lose control. So, lately I've been experimenting with recipes that offer some much-anticipated flavors of fall, but with the health benefits my family needs going into cold and flu season! I love apples with pork chops and have made them in the oven, but wanted a healthy recipe that would work in the crockpot while we were at church, and then be ready to serve when we got home. I found several on the internet so I combined ideas of each of them. Crockpot Apple Pork Chops Ingredients: ~6 bone-in pork chops, rinsed, patted dry, and lightly salted ~4 large apples of any kind ... Read more

Happy Almost Fall!

Lately we have caught the fever--the fall fever! We are still more than a month away from the first day of fall and even then, here in the deep south, it'll be a while before those crisp, cool days make their appearance. So yesterday we had a "Let's-Pretend-It's-Fall" day! Nothing extravagant, just a few autumnal pleasures to tide us over for the rest of summer. We lit a deliciously-scented apple candle and whipped up some pumpkin muffins with butterscotch chips. I found some fall cupcake liners left from last year. I've been on a detox diet this summer so, sadly, no muffins for this mama. BUT, I did stir some pureed pumpkin and maple syrup into my steel cut oats and it was ... Read more

Tropical Fruit Salad with Honey Ginger Syrup

I don't know about you but I just can't get enough fruit in the summer! I buy so much fresh fruit every week and we gobble it up. We eat it all year long but love the summer's seasonal fruits the most. Fruit is delicious enough without having to do anything fancy with it--I usually just wash and eat it on the spot--but occasionally I like to make it into a salad, tossed in a lite and healthy syrup. Today I'm sharing one of my favorite ways to do that! Tropical Fruit Salad with Honey Ginger Syrup (This makes a huge fruit salad for a crowd. If you want to cut the recipe in half, you can still use the whole pineapple.) Ingredients: 1 fresh pineapple, peeled and cut up 4 ... Read more

Italian Cream Cake

One evening last week, the mothers and daughters from our small group got together to celebrate the upcoming arrival of the baby of our friend Rivers. This family has been such a blessing to our group so we ladies wanted to celebrate with Rivers and her two sweet girls. We planned a meal of salads, followed by a few desserts: Italian cream cake, raspberry white chocolate almond bars, brownies, and coffee. This Italian cream cake is my most requested cake by my family or when I'm asked to bring a dessert to a special occasion. It suits any holiday or celebration any time of the year! It's unique from most other Italian cream cakes in that it doesn't call for pecans or coconut, so ... Read more

Flourless Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache

Mother's Day is coming up and there's not a more decadent dessert for pampering mom with than a flourless chocolate cake smothered with chocolate ganache! Last month, yours truly had a birthday. My husband and kids took me to a favorite local restaurant for a delicious dinner of shrimp and grits, and then back home for dessert and a movie. That afternoon, my sweet baker girl offered to make a birthday dessert of my choosing. She's the best! At the time, I was on week six of avoiding sugar, so, needless to say, I was more than ready to indulge in a rich, chocolately treat for my special day. This cake has always been one of my favorites when it comes to splurging! Since there was a ... Read more

At My Sister’s House

My younger daughter is playing soccer this spring which is keeping us on the go! When we saw that she had two games in my sister's home city, the two of us were excited to plan an overnight trip to visit with Allison. The day before leaving, we got word that the games were cancelled due to rain, but my sis said, "Come on anyway!" And we did! It was a very quick and fun 24-hour trip. Allison and her family live in a beautiful older home in a historic district. The photo above is of the stone courtyard in back of her house. I took this photo looking out her back door. Such a lovely and peaceful spot under this gorgeous saucer magnolia! If I'm not mistaken, I believe she transplanted this ... Read more