Fruit Pizza {Surprise Recipe Swap}

I don't know what's happening but two months in a row my SRS post has vanished. I had this done days ago and when I just logged in to make sure it was scheduled to post properly (because I get paranoid like that), it disappeared. So, here we go again. With much less enthusiasm than I had when I wrote it last week. Ugh.

This month for Surprise Recipe Swap, I got Alli from Cupcake Diaries. I was immediately excited because I love cupcakes but then I figured maybe I shouldn't be selfish and pick something to make my dad for father's day. My dad loves fruit so I picked her fruit pizza recipe. Everyone really liked the recipe and I liked how easily customizable it is. You can add whichever fruit you like. Next time I want to make the cookie dough from scratch but I haven't found my favorite sugar cookie recipe yet. Do you have one?

I wrote way more the first time I wrote this post, but seriously, the wind has been knocked out of my sails. At least these pictures are pretty. 

Cheesecake Filled Black Bottom Cupcakes

Did you have a good Father's Day? I hung out with my family and made a dessert for my dad that I'll show you later this week.

This Saturday me and my team will participate in CCFA's Take Steps for Crohn's & Colitis walk (read more about it & me having Crohn's here). I mentioned it last week but I had a mini bake sale to help raise some money for my team. I made coconut oil dark chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter Reese's cup cookies, Reese's stuffed cheesecake bars, and these cupcakes.

I think these were my favorite (I pulled two out of the bake sale stash to "sample"). The little bit of coffee in the batter really brings out the chocolate flavor and the mini chocolate chips settle to the bottom (making them "black bottom") for a nice surprise. I also love that they don't need frosting because they're sweet and moist on their own. They're very similar to these cheesecake filled cupcakes, except they're made from scratch.

Ultimate Lemonade {Happy Birthday Meghan!}

I have a few blog friends that I would love to hang out with and have some drinks. Meghan is one of them. I think we would have fun. To celebrate her birthday, she is throwing a virtual birthday party and I decided to bring this Ultimate Lemonade. Though simple, it's my drink of choice and I want to share it.

You don't have to use Ultimat Vodka and Simply Lemonade, but you should. They're my favorite. Plus, the Ultimat bottle is really pretty. One of you crafters should tell me what to do with my old bottles (not that I have a ton...). I can't bring myself to throw them in the recycle bin.

Happy birthday, Meghan! And Happy Friday to you. Cheers!

Peanut Butter Brownies

Guess what today's recipe is? Did you say another peanut butter and chocolate combo? Because you'd be right. It's pretty much the only flavor combo I want lately. I'm trying to stagger the posts out at least, so you don't get overloaded.

Work is cray and it's sucking out all my energy so I've got to post and run today. But these brownies are really simple. No excuses for making boxed brownies! Try them.

Pepper Jack Stovetop Macaroni & Cheese

It's Monday again. I hate when that happens. Did you have a good weekend? I went to see The Package concert on Saturday. That's New Kids on the Block, 98 Degrees, and Boyz II Men. NKOTB was a little before my time but I still had fun. Even though I only knew about 20% of the songs. Now the countdown begins for the Jay-Z/Justin Timberlake concert. I'll know alllll those songs.

This is a great weeknight meal and perfect for Meatless Monday. We happened to have some leftover (delicious) grilled chicken that the Mr. made so I paired it with that. The pepper jack isn't overly spicy and I think it'd be fine for kids (here's a tamer version if you're worried about spice). It's super creamy and cheesy. I tried to take a cool picture of the melty cheese stretching but I underestimated how hard it would be to hold the fork and the camera still to get the shot. So you get an out of focus picture of my bite. Sometimes I wish I had a tripod.