Jolene's Recipe Journal

When I think about spring in New England, the first thing that comes to mind is rhubarb. I patiently wait for the farms to put up their signs saying that it's available, then I go "stalk" up. 

Almost 20 years ago, a coworker gave me this recipe and an introduction to the guy who would eventually become my husband.  I was crazy busy working full time, going to school nights, and spending as much time with him as possible.  There was no time for baking, so I filed away the recipe for "someday."

This post is sponsored in conjunction with #SpringSweetsWeek. I received product samples from sponsor companies to help in the creation of the SpringSweetsWeek recipes. All opinions are mine alone. We are huge Peeps fans in this house, especially my son, and I was so excited to hear that they'd signed on as a sponsor for this event. Peeps wants to know, are you Team #PeepsBunny or Team #PeepsChick ? This got me thinking about different ways the bunnies and chicks might square off against each other. Squares. Checkerboard.  Game on!

Breakfast is a fluid concept around here.  My husband is up and out the door at 4:30 in the morning. My grouchy teenager gets up with just enough time to get dressed, brush his teeth, and run out the door to get the bus. That means that any breakfast type dishes that we consume either have to be portable or will also be good as a dinner option.

I am on a roll with yeast baking!  There was a time that I'd see it yeast in the ingredients list and just click on to the next recipe.  Not any more!  It helps that my new oven has a bread proof setting.  So when I wanted a bread item to go with spaghetti and meatballs, instead of running to the store, I ran to the Taste of Home site and printed this recipe for Sally Lunn Batter Bread.

Winters are long, seemingly never ending in New Hampshire.  One of the best ways I know to combat the blahs that accompany sometimes terrible weather is to make dishes filled with sunny, cheerful citrus.  I'll whip up a batch of my Gram's Lemon Cupcakes , or make some Orange Ricotta Pancakes .

Today is Fat Tuesday, which signifies the end of Mardi Gras.  It's called that because today is the last day to indulge in all the wonderful, sinful things before beginning Lent.  I participated in another event last week where we shared Mardi Gras recipes, and I mentioned that I just couldn't decide between a main dish and a decadent treat, so I'm sharing the second one today.