Happy Blog Birthday!

Tomorrow is the first anniversary of Domestic Quest. What a year it has been! I have learned quite a bit over the course of this year, not just about food and crafts, but photography, social media, etc. In honor of this momentous occasion, I ate a cupcake. In case you were wondering, this was a Thin Mint Cupcake, and if it has “thin” in the title, then there are no calories. I keep telling myself that anyway.

This past year, by a landslide my most popular post was my buffalo chicken dip. This dip has been hailed by some as “The best buffalo dip they have ever had.” If you haven’t had a chance to check out that post yet, see it here. For those of you trying to stick to their resolutions, I include instructions there on how this can be made low-fat. Well, lower anyway.

My favorite type of post is my Mixed Review series.  This year, my favorite item was the Stonewall Kitchen Pumpkin Pancake and Waffle Mix. And FYI guys, this mix was on sale last I checked on their website! Now is a great time to stock up. This gloriously delicious breakfast was made all the better by the addition of the butter pecan syrup and candied pecans. Yum.

Those were the days. I am currently on the hunt for new mixes to test, and I will also be delving into other areas this year, so stay tuned!

Thank you to all my readers over the past year, thank you to my ever patient husband for putting up with my shenanigans, and thank you to my mom for being one of my biggest supporters. I can’t wait to share the next chapter of my journey with you all!

Stay tuned…

Mixed Review: Pumpkin Streusel Cake

I haven’t done a mixed review in quite a while.  I have tried a few mixes here and there, but haven’t bothered typing up my scathing reviews.  I should probably do that.  Regardless, just in time for the holiday next week, I present another pumpkin dessert.  This mix is from King Arthur Flour, and sells for $9.95.  My husband got this mix as a birthday present to me.  Strangely enough, all of my birthday presents were mixes of his favorite foods.  Coincidence?  I think not.

This mix has been sitting in my pantry next to the pumpkin doughnut mix for months.  The time has come to whip this batter into shape!  Har har.

Perfect Pumpkin Pie with Cinnamon Whipped Cream

When I first met my husband, he told me a story of the night he put away an entire pumpkin pie at Denny’s.  He is proud of that accomplishment.  I am not a fan of the traditional pumpkin pie recipe that is on the can of Libby’s, which is what I always ate as a kid.  I decided that to win that boy’s heart, I would have to knock his socks off with the perfect pumpkin pie recipe.  This pie came about after years of experimentation, and through the continued encouragement of my husband.  I never get tired of hearing his praise over this pie.  I prefer this recipe for two reasons:

1. Its sweet.  I like sweet.

2. The flavor is over the top.  I add way more spice to this pie than I have ever seen in any other pumpkin pie recipe.  Feel free to tone it down, but I think it’s the perfect amount and always think there could be a little more spice in it.  My husband, the pumpkin pie connoisseur, agrees with me on this point.

Now, this is the first time I have ever written this recipe down.  Each time I make the pie I adjust slightly based on the size of the pies (8 or 9 inch, deep dish or regular) to make sure I have enough filling.  This will easily fill 2 9 inch pies,, or 2 8 inch deep dish pies.

Mixed Review- Stonewall Kitchen Pumpkin Pancake and Waffle Mix

I decided to celebrate the end of summer and beginning of fall with a special breakfast made from Stonewall Kitchen products.  I stopped by one of their outlet stores and picked up a Pumpkin Pancake and Waffle mix for $3.96, originally $9.95.  I never would have bought the mix had it been full price, but I’m a sucker for a bargain!

The mix requires standard ingredients expected of a pancake mix (eggs, milk, etc.).  I would say I managed to make about 10-12 pancakes with the mix.  For $9.95, I would hope to get more use out of a mix, but these pancakes were delicious.