spicy pumpkin black bean chili

One of my favorite things about Autumn is Chili- big steaming bowls of spicy chili with a side of cornbread or tortilla chips. Our first bowl marks the start of the season and will continue on throughout the cold winter months- to say it is a weekly occurrence is an understatement , it is definitely a weekend tradition.

pumpkin beer bread {quick & easy}

There was one point in time that I thought beer bread could only be made from a box, well actually a lot of  baked goods I thought were made from a box. What can I say, I am a product of the 80's and early 90's where convenience food was king. Don't get me wrong, we ate plenty of fresh fruits and veggies, birthday cakes were homemade (the cake being from a box) with my moms homemade frosting. It wasn't until I started baking on my own in my early 20's, that I began experimenting with making baked goods from scratch. Baking from scratch can seem intimidating at first, you will have some failures (we all do!) but you will also have some amazing baked goods coming from your oven in no time!

Road Trip!

   

Church Street Marketplace

Each year we head to Burlington, Vermont for Justin's Birthday- this year was extra special as he turned the big 3-0!  We ate and drank ourselves silly and enjoyed a beautiful suite at the Essex Culinary Resort & Spa.