Month: March 2018

Homemade Instant Pot Ricotta Cheese

Homemade Instant Pot Ricotta Cheese

Finished Homemade Instant Pot Ricotta Cheese

I’ve been dreaming of making cheese for years, but I’ve never felt ready to dive in until recently. After sharing my cheese-making dream with a friend, she mentioned that she often makes ricotta and it takes her no time at all. That small reassurance did just the trick. A few days later, I bit the bullet and made my first batch of cheese, ricotta cheese!

What surprised me the most was how easy fresh, homemade ricotta cheese is to make! In 20 minutes, I had a bowl full of fluffy, white ricotta cheese. I was so excited that I couldn’t even wait for the cheese to cool and kept shoveling spoonfuls into my mouth. Yes, it was quite the sight.

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Revisiting 13 Dead End Drive my Favorite Childhood Game

Revisiting 13 Dead End Drive my Favorite Childhood Game

13 Dead End Drive full game

“See you ladder, Chef! The game is 13 Dead End Drive, where you can get rich by accident. It’s nighty night for the Hairdresser! Someone will inherit a fortune, but everyone is dying to bump you off. A little trip for the Fortune Teller! First out of 13 Dead End Drive while their picture above the mantel wins. Lights out for the Boyfriend! The fun’s alive with 13 Dead End Drive!” – the 13 Dead End Drive 1993 TV Commercial


13 Dead End Drive is my absolute favorite childhood board game. Almost every week while growing up, I’d ask someone to play with me, and if I came up short, I’d even play it by myself. Now a few decades later, I asked my family to play with me again.

Though all my memories of playing 13 Dead End Drive are rosy, I wasn’t sure if playing as an adult would be quite the same. We cracked open a bottle of wine and dove right into the nostalgia, and I was not disappointed.

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Coconut Cream Pie Bites

Coconut Cream Pie Bites

Coconut Cream Pie Bite with bite from side

These Coconut Cream Pie Bites were born out of curiosity. Could I create a mouth-watering, bite-sized dessert for friends in an hour?

This is how the story goes: I had one hour before we needed to leave for an evening at a friend’s house, and that’s when I decided to bring a dessert. I know, one hour before maybe wasn’t the best time to decide to try something new, but that’s what making it up as I go is all about, right?

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Top Three Reasons I Love Camel Up

Top Three Reasons I Love Camel Up

Side view of Camel Up

“Witness the craziest camel race of all time, as things really go topsy-turvy when camels stack up and entire pyramids turn upside down.” – the Camel Up game instruction manual

Camel Up appeals to a wide audience and plays 2-8 players, making it one of the most versatile games in my collection. As the prestigious 2014 Spiel des Jahres winner, Camel Up is part of an elite class of family-style board games. Board Game Geek gives it a complexity rating of 1.49/5, which seems to be a sweet spot that appeals to pretty much any one at game night.

A few years ago, my friend introduced it to me, and I was immediately sold. As soon as I got home, I set up an Amazon price drop alert via CamelCamelCamel (what is with all these Camels!).

I’ve played it in larger parties as well as intimate gatherings, and time and time again Camel Up is a crowd favorite. I’ve been giving it some thought, and these are the top three reasons I love Camel Up:

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