Today I'm 30-something. Ok.....33. With a sick husband and being preggo, it hasn't been exactly the bday that I thought it would be, but decent nonetheless. Instead of heading out to a fancy-pants dinner with my husband sans kids, I cooked frozen stuffed chicken breasts with brown sugar sweet potatoes. These were a little different, stuffed with brie and apple. For frozen, they were delish! And I used brown-sugar-Splenda blend on the potatoes and didn't even notice the difference. My parents came to help out a bit during the day, Mom came to the grocery store with me because I can't handle going alone with the sciatica. Dad stayed behind to play with Will and give Brian a break. Plus they brought me a birthday cake. :) I opened some lovely presents this morning, including a Wii game and a brand new Droid cellphone. And TA DA!!!!! The Cake Doctor's newest cookbook!
I'm totally drooling over the recipes. I'm like Pavlov's dog, salivating in excitement! I'm actually having a difficult time choosing which one to make first. Perhaps tomorrow, while being snowed in, I'll try my hand at one of them. Can't wait!
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
Eggnog Cookies
I'm headed to a Cookie Swap tomorrow night, and I've baked Eggnog Cookies. I LOVE cookie swaps....maybe next year I'll host one.
I had an Ornament Swap party at my house last week for my knitting group. Everyone brought either a dessert or an appetizer to share, and one lady brought these delectable Eggnog Cookies. They were so good, and I thought that they were something different instead of the usual stuff you see at a Cookie Swap. I baked them last night, and I just ran out of steam before I could frost them. So tonight it's frosting, and then I'll drizzle them with a little melted chocolate. I'm craving them already!!
I had an Ornament Swap party at my house last week for my knitting group. Everyone brought either a dessert or an appetizer to share, and one lady brought these delectable Eggnog Cookies. They were so good, and I thought that they were something different instead of the usual stuff you see at a Cookie Swap. I baked them last night, and I just ran out of steam before I could frost them. So tonight it's frosting, and then I'll drizzle them with a little melted chocolate. I'm craving them already!!
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Cookie Time is Here Again!!!
It's that time again.......Christmas Cookies! I came home from work on Friday and thought it would be a fun activity for Will and I to make some cookies together. I'll be the first to say that this wasn't one of my "better" ideas!
Let's start with the traditional Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies! Why those first? Because the dough has to chill out in the fridge for a while and you can make something else while that occurs. Though just reading that last sentence, I have to laugh. Making more cookies while the dough is chilling.....HA HA HA HA HA!!! What a chore when a toddler is helping! Will added extra salt, and poured an entire cup of flour onto the kitchen floor. Luckily, I was able to remove most of the additional salt with the help of a spoon. By the time we mixed up the dough in the Kitchenaid and put it in the fridge, two hours of chilling put it way past bedtime. I made the executive decision to let the dough chill overnight and I would bake the cookies on Saturday morning.
Saturday morning....no go. Instead, I had a hair appointment and knocked out most of the rest of my Christmas shopping. (Made record time in Target with getting ALL my gifts and getting checked out in less than an hour, thankyouverymuch!) I finally got around to cutting out the cookies and baking them Saturday evening in time for Bubby to go to bed. On to Sunday....
Sunday we had a birthday party to go to about forty miles away. We had intentions of going out to dinner, but Will fell asleep in the car and there was NO way I was waking him up and taking his grumpy alter-ego into an eating establishment. It just wouldn't be fair to the other patrons, not to mention terrible for us. :) So here we are.....mixing up frosting and decorating cookies at 7pm on Sunday. And then....cookie-decorating lost out in the toddler popularity contest to the Dora the Explorer Holiday Special! Ahhh.......I managed to stretch out ONE batch of cookie-making into three days! Well, I did say that we were cutting back on the baking this year, and it's more enjoyable to stretch it out, right?
Tomorrow....Brian's favorite: Coconut Macaroons!
(cross-posted at Life in the Carpool Lane.)
Let's start with the traditional Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies! Why those first? Because the dough has to chill out in the fridge for a while and you can make something else while that occurs. Though just reading that last sentence, I have to laugh. Making more cookies while the dough is chilling.....HA HA HA HA HA!!! What a chore when a toddler is helping! Will added extra salt, and poured an entire cup of flour onto the kitchen floor. Luckily, I was able to remove most of the additional salt with the help of a spoon. By the time we mixed up the dough in the Kitchenaid and put it in the fridge, two hours of chilling put it way past bedtime. I made the executive decision to let the dough chill overnight and I would bake the cookies on Saturday morning.
Saturday morning....no go. Instead, I had a hair appointment and knocked out most of the rest of my Christmas shopping. (Made record time in Target with getting ALL my gifts and getting checked out in less than an hour, thankyouverymuch!) I finally got around to cutting out the cookies and baking them Saturday evening in time for Bubby to go to bed. On to Sunday....
Sunday we had a birthday party to go to about forty miles away. We had intentions of going out to dinner, but Will fell asleep in the car and there was NO way I was waking him up and taking his grumpy alter-ego into an eating establishment. It just wouldn't be fair to the other patrons, not to mention terrible for us. :) So here we are.....mixing up frosting and decorating cookies at 7pm on Sunday. And then....cookie-decorating lost out in the toddler popularity contest to the Dora the Explorer Holiday Special! Ahhh.......I managed to stretch out ONE batch of cookie-making into three days! Well, I did say that we were cutting back on the baking this year, and it's more enjoyable to stretch it out, right?
Tomorrow....Brian's favorite: Coconut Macaroons!
(cross-posted at Life in the Carpool Lane.)
"Julie and Julia": a Review
Last night my mom came over for dinner (rosemary-orange pork chops) and we watched "Julie and Julia" on DVD. I had seen the previews over the summer and it had seemed intriguing.
It was so much more than that! I thought it was a lovely story, with two "movies" in one. The first "movie" was Julia Child's story, with her getting her start in France in 1949 and the things that she went through to get that cookbook published. Meryl Streep really had Julia Child down....sounding and looking just like her! The second "movie" was about a down-on-her-luck writer, trying to make some magic for herself and have something to work on and motivate her while working at a customer-service government job. With the help of her husband, she decides to cook her way through Julia Child's "The Art of Mastering French Cooking." This is based on a true story and the results are warm and satisfying.
Now....as an aside, I have never eaten much French cuisine. But dare I say....I came out of the movie craving mushroom cream sauce, boeuf borginon and duck pastry. I saw pounds of butter as sinfully delicious and actually wondered if hollandaise is actually that difficult to make. Julia Child......you've made me WANT French food!!
It was so much more than that! I thought it was a lovely story, with two "movies" in one. The first "movie" was Julia Child's story, with her getting her start in France in 1949 and the things that she went through to get that cookbook published. Meryl Streep really had Julia Child down....sounding and looking just like her! The second "movie" was about a down-on-her-luck writer, trying to make some magic for herself and have something to work on and motivate her while working at a customer-service government job. With the help of her husband, she decides to cook her way through Julia Child's "The Art of Mastering French Cooking." This is based on a true story and the results are warm and satisfying.
Now....as an aside, I have never eaten much French cuisine. But dare I say....I came out of the movie craving mushroom cream sauce, boeuf borginon and duck pastry. I saw pounds of butter as sinfully delicious and actually wondered if hollandaise is actually that difficult to make. Julia Child......you've made me WANT French food!!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Cider Vinegar Chicken
It appears that after putting this on our menu for two straight weeks and not making it, that we are ready to try some new recipes again.
This one is out of Rachael Ray's 365: No Repeats cookbook. I came home from massage therapy (damn pregnancy-induced sciatica!) and smelled this at the door. Immediately my mind was confused....it smelled very strongly of vinegar, and I originally thought it was meatloaf. Realizing it was chicken when I walked into the kitchen, my heart sank. With that much vinegar (which I like) the flavor was bound to be too strong.
Wrong!! This chicken was perfect. Very moist, light vinegar taste, and had the BEST onions smothered in with it. They were sauteed with honey. I'd never put those two ingredients together on my own but man, were they good.
This one is definitely a keeper. :) Looking forward to leftovers tomorrow!
This one is out of Rachael Ray's 365: No Repeats cookbook. I came home from massage therapy (damn pregnancy-induced sciatica!) and smelled this at the door. Immediately my mind was confused....it smelled very strongly of vinegar, and I originally thought it was meatloaf. Realizing it was chicken when I walked into the kitchen, my heart sank. With that much vinegar (which I like) the flavor was bound to be too strong.
Wrong!! This chicken was perfect. Very moist, light vinegar taste, and had the BEST onions smothered in with it. They were sauteed with honey. I'd never put those two ingredients together on my own but man, were they good.
This one is definitely a keeper. :) Looking forward to leftovers tomorrow!
Monday, December 7, 2009
In Preparation of Holiday Dinner...
...Brian informed me the other day that our lazy susan is just that: lazy. Our cabinets are SOOOO full that the damn thing won't turn anymore. Our snack cabinet by the fridgeis bursting at the seams. So, in honor of Christmas dinner (which is how he put it) we need to do some weeding out.
I found a cranberry-orange bread mix on the lazy susan due to expire on 12/28. Baked that quick last night, and Will's having it for breakfast with the last of the banana cheerios, so I could get rid of the bulky box. I'm making Salsa Bean Dip for the Knitting Party I'm having on Wednesday night here at the house. (Hey----no jokes about knitting, we DO know how to have a good time) The dip will take care of a can each of black beans, black-eyed peas and corn. I made soup and a grilled cheese sandwich for Brian for lunch yesterday, so we're finally out of soup. And Will has enough Easy-Mac to get him through the Apocalypse. A few things I don't know what do to with: three cans of beef broth, a can of pineapple chunks and more cake mixes than I can name. I tend to go a little crazy when cake mix is on sale because of the Cake Mix Doctor. I've asked for her new book for Christmas though, and plan on living a little after the baby is born and diabetes is a thing of the past.
What do you do when your kitchen is about to explode with overabundance and you can't fit any more?
I found a cranberry-orange bread mix on the lazy susan due to expire on 12/28. Baked that quick last night, and Will's having it for breakfast with the last of the banana cheerios, so I could get rid of the bulky box. I'm making Salsa Bean Dip for the Knitting Party I'm having on Wednesday night here at the house. (Hey----no jokes about knitting, we DO know how to have a good time) The dip will take care of a can each of black beans, black-eyed peas and corn. I made soup and a grilled cheese sandwich for Brian for lunch yesterday, so we're finally out of soup. And Will has enough Easy-Mac to get him through the Apocalypse. A few things I don't know what do to with: three cans of beef broth, a can of pineapple chunks and more cake mixes than I can name. I tend to go a little crazy when cake mix is on sale because of the Cake Mix Doctor. I've asked for her new book for Christmas though, and plan on living a little after the baby is born and diabetes is a thing of the past.
What do you do when your kitchen is about to explode with overabundance and you can't fit any more?
Saturday, December 5, 2009
December: Snowy and....Balmy?
Last Thursday (Dec 3rd) was a record-breaking 66 degrees!! We had company for dinner, and decided to abandon our pork chop recipe in favor of barbecue pork chops and potato packets on the grill. Grilling in December.....ah delicious! :) Today, just a couple of days later, it's snowing and we're all about the Greek-Style Shrimp Scampi! There's nothing like a big plate of pasta on a night like this. (and the lower carb one that I bought, "Dreamfields," actually tastes pretty good and doesn't make me miss regular spaghetti too much)
In the spirit of the season, Will and I are going to a friend's house tomorrow for a cookie-baking playdate. I can't wait!
In the spirit of the season, Will and I are going to a friend's house tomorrow for a cookie-baking playdate. I can't wait!
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