July 2014 Wrap-Up

A collection of recipes from July 2014.

I’m not going to lie… I love July.

I love the hot mid-summer, when I can’t live without air conditioning, and I spend a lot of money on Sonic diet limeades, and I wear my flip-flops everywhere I go, and I can barely remember last winter.

I know some people love winter sports, and experiencing all the seasons, but besides wearing my super-cute winter coat, I have absolutely no reason to look forward to winter.  Driving in the snow is the worst, and I kind of hate winter sports.

This July has been particularly fun.  I’ve loved almost every recipe I’ve shared with you this month.  And I say almost, because, well… just go ahead and read the bread pudding post for the full explanation.

One of the highlights this month was inviting my sister to guest post.  She made some delicious and very interesting Cilantro Jalapeno Lemonade, and may periodically contribute more of her delicious recipes to this blog.  She’s talented in the kitchen, so I’m super excited to see what else she dreams up!

Another was participating in Cheesecake Day.  I really enjoyed eating the Blackberry Cheesecake Brownies I created, but even more than that, I enjoyed seeing all the delicious cheesecake recipes everyone else contributed!

	Bread Pudding Possibly the worst dessert food I can imagine, but it’s my husband’s favorite, so I did all this for him.
	Tropical Punch Popsicles Kool-Aid and fruit and very little else make for some great (and easy!) popsicles to get you through summer!
	Whole Grain Coconut Waffles One of the few healthy recipes you’ll find on this site!  This one uses whole wheat and almond coconut milk.
	Chocolate Cherry Coke Cake in a Jar Easiest jar cake EVER!  This recipe only requires pie filling, cake mix, Coke, and a little whipped cream on top.
	Chocolate Chip Cookie Bark There’s no leavening, so they’re flat and crispy, and great for putting into other desserts and snacks.
	Chocolate Chip Cookie Muddy Buddies Use that cookie bark to make a delicious snack mix.  You can put it together in minutes, and devour it even faster!
	White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies My niece, who obviously has incredibly good taste in cookies, requested this creation for her birthday.
	Cilantro Lime Jalapeno Lemonade The first contributed creation of my talented sister, Em.  Can you tell she likes to take it to the next level?
	Macadamia Crusted Chocolate Cookies If you’re only going to love one nut for the rest of your life, doesn’t it make sense to choose one as fabulous as this?
	Blackberry Cheesecake Brownies It’s Cheesecake Day!  The addition of blackberries and brownies makes this cheesecake particularly fantastic.

In other news, I put together this fun collection of Cherry Recipes for you, and shared it on My Cooking Spot this month.  That’s because it’s summer, and it’s cherry season, and there are tons of ways to use this delicious fruit.  I literally can’t decide which one to make first!

I also shared my favorite ever Kentucky Derby Pie on Cupcakes and Kale Chips this month.  If you’ve never visited Cupcakes and Kale Chips, I recommend checking it out.  Brianne makes some really delicious stuff that you are sure to love!

I KNOW it’s early, but I started a new Pinterest board for Christmas recipes, a place to go while you plan the last part of this year.  Keep checking back, since there will be new stuff pinned to this board every week.

Last but not least, let’s talk about August.  Want a sneak peek of what’s coming up?  There’s my daughter’s birthday cake, my nephew’s birthday cookies (he made an awesome choice too!), and a recap of the family brownie baking contest.  I’ll also be revisiting some old favorites, with new and improved photos.  Can’t wait to get started!