I had such a good time baking and decorating with my friend George, that I decided to do a second installment of Baking with George! This time I'm sharing these amazing S’mores Cupcakes. They are so special and were so much fun to make. My family loves old fashioned s’mores and the cupcake version is just as good! 

I’ve always loved baking but I’ve never been adventurous with it. I love making birthday cakes for my family (they're usually pretty basic), and I’ve always wanted to elevate my decorating game. I see all these beautiful cakes that look simple to create, and they never turn out the way I want. Through Instagram, I found that my hairdresser George dabbled in baking and cake decorating - I saw his Sprinkle Cake and immediately wanted to try it! Last week George came over to Cassandra’s Kitchen to bake and decorate with me. It was a game changer. So easy and so much fun! Now I'm super excited to try new things with my baking and decorating!

Chili isn’t usually one of my spring meals, but it hasn’t felt much like spring around here (we still have piles of snow from our latest snow storm). I always like to blog about what we are actually cooking and eating now, and now we are making Ina’s Chicken Chili. This chili is a crowd pleaser and the added bonus is how good my house smells from cooking the onions and garlic. It’s also a great occasion to use my favorite Pillivuyt White Soup Bowls - they're the perfect size. 

Muffins. Not always the most exciting thing going on in our kitchen, but my family has grown to love them – even the ‘healthy’ ones. As I’ve mentioned before (many, many times) I do my best to offer my children healthy options when it comes to meals and snacks. But I am not a short order cook, and unfortunately we don’t live on an organic produce farm. Also, my kids like cake and donuts and anything that is offered in ‘snack size’. That’s why I am so into these muffin recipes. Lucky for you, I’m sharing our favorite recipes here!

In 2017 I made a little deal with myself, I wanted to make all of my family’s birthday cakes (thanks, Ina Garten and Barefoot Contessa for the inspiration). I enjoy baking with my kids and thought that letting them help with their own cakes would create some great memories and foster their love for cooking and baking. The birthday cakes weren’t perfect works of art, but they were prepared with love - so they tasted even better!

Does anything warm the soul quite like soup? With all of the crazy cold and snowy weather we’ve been having, I can’t think of another meal more comforting than tomato soup and grilled cheese. Simple and satisfying. Ina Garten’s Easy Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese Croutons puts a special twist on the classic with a bit of cream in the soup and grilled Gruyère cheese for the croutons. I know I say this about a lot of Ina’s dishes but THIS could be my most favorite. I highly recommend committing this recipe to memory and making it often!

Sneaking in one more post with Trent from @StoreBoughtIsFine before the end of the year. He's got a lot of friends and a lot of great gift ideas. After reading this blog, you'll wish you were on his 'nice' list. Happy Holidays and Happy Gifting..