Our Thanksgiving Dinner Rolls

It has been way too long since I have been able to post something here, but things got a little busy around here since we hosted Thanksgiving! We have been hosting Thanksgiving for the past 5 years! This year, we had a total of 15 family members that came! We had a really nice time and had way too much food...but it was fun to taste so many different types of food that was brought along! And to top it off, I had a root canal on Monday! Glad to eventually be rid of that pain...but I still have a little pain - I suppose from the root canal procedure itself! Well, enough of my pain...on to a new recipe that I tried for Thanksgiving!

I have not made it a habit to include dinner rolls as part of the Thanksgiving meal, although my mother in law made challah bread a few times - and that was so good! This year, I decided to try a new dinner roll recipe that I will have to share with you! It came from my new cookbook, Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Recipes for Entertaining. And, no, it was not made in the slow cooker! It was one of those recipes that could accompany a slow cooker meal.

The Recipe:

Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls

1 package (scant 1 Tablespoon) active dry yeast or 2 tsp. instant dry yeast, such as SAF

1 cup warm low-fat or whole milk (110 to 115 degrees F)

1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup cold mashed sweet potatoes

2 large eggs separated

3 T unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 tsp. salt

3 1/2 to 4 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour

1 T cold water for brushing

1 T sesame seeds (I used about 1/2 T)

1. In a large bowl dissolve the yeast in warm milk. Add a pinch of the sugar and let stand for 5 min. Add the remaining sugar, sweet potatoes, egg yolks, butter, salt and 2 cups of the flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough of the remaining 1 1/2 to 2 cups flour to form a soft dough.

2. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes (I usually spray my hands with nonstick cooking spray before doing this). Place in a bowl coated with nonstick cooking spray, turning once to coat the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 28 balls (I did 32) of equal size. Roll each ball into a 10-inch-long rope (I just did it in my hands); tie each rope with a loose knot. Place the rolls 2 inches apart on baking sheets coated with nonstick cooking spray. Cover and let rise again until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

5. In a small bowl, beat the egg whites with the cold water (you probably only need one egg white and can use the other one for something else), and brush the mixture over the rolls. Sprinkle the tops with sesame seeds. Baked until lightly browned, 15 to 18 minutes. (watch this - mine were done in about 12 minutes)

**If you like, bake these at 300 degrees F for 15 minutes, until cooked through but not browned. Cool, then store in the freezer for up to 1 month. When ready to serve, defrost in the bag and bake as directed.

***Making these made me decide that I REALLY want to try and make soft pretzels!

The Results:

Everyone LOVED the rolls! My sister asked to take some home with them! Be sure not to bake them too long, or they could get a little dry. I would definitely make these again! :)

Recipe: Gingerbread Cake (or muffins!)

I have never used Stevia in baking...or really in anything, but my sister in law inspired me to try it out! So far, I have only tried one of the recipes that she gave to me, and I think that the muffins tasted great...although I did over-cook them a little bit since I forgot to shorten the baking time, since I made muffins instead of a bread! Oops!!! My boys did not really like the taste of them...maybe because they were not really moist or it was a taste that they are not used to. I am going to make them again...and I will remember to shorten the baking time!!! Try them out and tell me what you think!

Gingerbread Cake

1 cup buttermilk
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ginger
1 tsp cloves
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar (Substitute 1 tsp stevia and about 1/2 cup oats)
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup molasses
1/4 cup boiling water

1. Mix all ingredients together. (I mixed wet together first, then added dry ingredients and then added the hot water)

2. Pour into pan - bread/can pan or muffins

3. Bake for 350 degrees for 35 minutes, if in a bread pan.
**I dropped the temperature down to 325 degrees and I would bake them for 15-20 minutes, so that they remain moist.

I would include a photo of the muffins, but I guess I forgot to take one! So, just imagine muffins with a dark brown color! YUM!

Recipe: Chicken Cacciatore

This is a recipe from my cookbook, Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook. I have not made this version of the recipe before, but grew up with a similar version of it. However, I believe that this was the main (only?) slow cooker recipe that my mom made and was tired of it! I wanted to try new and different slow cooker recipes, which led me to find this cookbook, thanks to my friend Anne H. I have refrained from making this recipe for year, but I am tempted to try it again because this recipe in this cookbook is quite a bit different from what I grew up with and I like how they suggest to thicken the sauce. Enjoy!

Cooker: Medium or Large round or oval
Setting and Cook Time: HIGH for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or LOW for 6 to 7 hours

16 ounce jar Italian marinara sauce, such as tomato basil or about 2 cups of homemade marinara sauce**
1 medium yellow onion, cut in half and sliced into half moons
1-3 cloves garlic, to your taste, minced
1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs and 4 chicken drumsticks, skin removed (or you can use 4 chicken quarters)
6 ounces fresh mushrooms, quartered
1 T all-purpose flour
2 T water (optional)
2 T dry white wine (optional - I always like to add wine when they call for it!)

1. Layer half of the tomato sauce and all of the onion, garlic, bell pepper, and chicken in the slow cooker (in that order). Sprinkle the mushrooms on top and cover with the remaining tomato sauce. Cover and cook until the chicken is tender and cooked through (180 degrees in the thigh), 2 1/2 to 3 hours on HIGH or 6 to 7 hours on LOW. The chicken will add some juices on its own to the dish.

2. Transfer the chicken to a warm platter. If you wish to thicken the sauce, in a small bowl, whisk together the flour, water, and wine until smooth. Stir into the sauce in the cooker, turn the cooker to HIGH, cover, and cook until thickened, 10 to 15 minutes (or transfer to a pot on the stove and cook there - be sure to stir constantly). Pour the sauce and vegetables over the chicken and serve.

**this is a little different from what I grew up with. I think it was more like add tomato sauce and then spices like basil etc.

I think that this always tastes good with rice or pasta - whatever suits your family's taste! If you try it out, please let me know what you think...and if I should give it another try!

Homemade Frosting!

Saturday night, my husband got together with his two brothers to play a video game. Dawson decided to make a "box" cake to take with him to celebrate his oldest brother's birthday - which was actually on Sunday. Dawson mixed up the cake and took care of the baking...it was fun to watch him have fun in the kitchen again! :) However, when we looked for frosting, we realized that there was none in the house!

I was about to send Dawson out to the store to buy a new tub of frosting, but I decided to turn to my "Go-To" cookbook, How To Cook Everything, to see if there was a recipe to make your own frosting...and there was! I was so excited that I had all of the ingredients: butter, confectioner's sugar, milk, vanilla and unsweetened chocolate - since I wanted to make the chocolate butter cream version! It was really easy to make and tasted great too! I think that I may make my own butter cream frosting from now on!

Doesn't the cake look great! The boys helped Daddy put the rainbow sprinkles on top!

Breakfast the Slow Cooker Way

I wanted to try something new...well, I always enjoy trying something new, especially when it involves cooking! When looking through my new slow cooker cookbook, the breakfast section grabbed my attention.

It was interesting to read about the various hot breakfast cereals that you could make for the early morning meal, but the ones that caught my attention were the recipes for the steel cut oats. I heard of steel cut oats about 3 years ago, and wanted to try cooking them in the slow cooker, but I was never able to find them in the grocery store...but they were there, in the "healthy/organic" aisles! Anyway, when I was talking with my Mom about the steel cut oats, she said that she had some, and was not using them...so...I could take them and have some fun with a new recipe! Yay! :)

I decided to try the recipe that included fruit and spices because I felt that it would be tastier than plain oatmeal. One potential problem that I had was that I was using a medium size slow cooker and the recipe called for a small size slow cooker. So, I was hoping that it would not be overcooked. I love the fact that this cookbook tells me what size of slow cooker that I would use for each recipe. I have a large oval slow cooker and a medium round slow cooker (don't you love the one that is pictured above! It is classic...it was my Gramma's!). I am trying to decide if I "need" to invest in a small size slow cooker...we will see...

Well, when I woke up the next morning, I was sad to see that Dawson had not tried any of the oatmeal! He later told me that he did not know if it was done or not - I was actually making it for him! Well, I tried it and I have to say that it tasted pretty good - you know, they way oatmeal tastes with raisins and spice cooked with it! Dawson tried it later and he liked it too - he said that it was nothing out of this world, but it's oatmeal and it was tasty. He did suggest that I try some other types of recipes with it too - and maybe make some baked oatmeal...although that is not a slow cooker breakfast! It was a little chewier than "regular" oatmeal, but not in a bad way, just different. If you like oatmeal, I think that you would enjoy steel cut oats in the slow cooker. I would definitely make it again. One thing that I like about making breakfast in my slow cooker is that my husband has a hot breakfast to eat in the morning - and so do the rest of us, and I don't have to wake up early to make it - it is already done!

What's In Your Freezer?

Do you know? Do you REALLY KNOW EVERYTHING that is in your freezer…or do you just have an “idea” of what is in there? Meat and veggies and who knows what else was bought when it went on sale at the grocery store, and then "thrown" into the freezer for a later meal...

I knew that I had some chicken, fish, veggies, fruit, maybe some shredded cheese, herbs and ravioli in my “inside” freezer…but, I did not know exact quantities. I decided that I needed to take an inventory of my freezer (like I did with my garage freezer) and reorganize it too. When I did this, I even found a few “surprises” in there - like some turkey soup that I made about a month ago!

Taking the inventory was really easy…although I had to be really quick when sorting through the food in the freezer, so that the food would not start to defrost! I used a free printable “Freezer Inventory” form that I found on organizedhome.com. It is a really helpful and easy to use form. You just write down the item that you are placing in your freezer and the number of items - you document this with slash marks. Then, when you take it out, you make another slash mark, to make an “x”.

This form is going to help me to keep my freezers organized, and I can be sure that all of the food will be used and not lost! Check it out!

Anyone Really Can Cook!

I really believe that anyone can cook. You need to be able to read and follow directions, and if you can, then you will be able to place delicious meals on the table! The types of meals that you cook, is up to you! Find a cookbook (or cooking website) that you like and begin to experiment and have fun in the kitchen!

The other day, I made a chicken soup, black bean soup and apple sauce. That evening, my mom came over to watch Smiles for about an hour or so and she taste tested the different things that I made, and told me that I was a great cook! That made me smile. The chicken soup recipe was actually hers! I did not puree the whole entire soup base (like she does) - we like to have some chunks of carrots and celery to chew on while we are eating our soup. Did you know that if you do puree part of your soup, it makes your broth thicker? I have learned that probably in the past year.

Chicken Soup - This is such a delicious recipe! I tripled the recipe for this so that I could freeze it. I froze some of it in plastic storage containers and have read that if you place saran wrap over the top of your food before you freeze it, it will help to prevent crystals to form on the top of it. I also froze some of it using the freezer bag method, where you place the bag on a flat surface (like a jelly roll pan) and freeze it completely flat before storing it in another part of your freezer - this helps it maintain a flat shape and not some weird shape.

Black Bean Soup - I wanted to make a soup from my new slow cooker cookbook, and decided to try the recipe, Old-Fashioned Black Bean Soup. I am always a little excited and nervous when I try a new recipe…wondering how it will turn out. I left out the ham bone/ham hock, I did soak my beans overnight, and I did use the optional sherry in the recipe. My beans never came to a boil in the crock pot in the first hour, but I continued with the recipe anyway. To my delight, it was SO delicious! Dawson really enjoyed the taste and I made a second batch of it to share with my family when we watched football together on Sunday! It was a hit. I froze enough for two separate meals, with the freezer bag method.


Applesauce - Everyone should make this! It is SOOOO easy to make! There are a few different ways that you can make it (depending if you have a food mill or not). I do not have a food mill, so I peel the apples and then use my corer/slicer to chop the apples. I throw the apples into a huge pot and fill it to the top! Then I place about a half inch or so of water at the bottom of the pot and cover the pot, turn the heat to medium, wait until it boils, and then I turn the heat down a little bit so that it is simmering, stirring it now and then. After about 30 minutes or so (once the apples are mushy), I take it off of the stove and mash it with a potato masher, and there you have it - fresh homemade applesauce! YUM! You should try it! As you can see, I chose to use plastic containers to freeze the applesauce. The plastic bag method should work too, but for some reason, I wanted to freeze it in these 3 cup containers. This is the first time that I have frozen a lot of applesauce. I am excited that I will have homemade applesauce to feed to my family throughout the year! I think that I have made about 8 quarts of applesauce so far and I have MORE apples to process! I think that I will make some apple crisps to freeze too! :)

So, there you have it - 3 recipes that I have tried (ok, well only one recipe was new to me), have enjoyed and frozen part of it...so that I can enjoy it on another day! One thing to remember - be sure to label anything that you are placing into your freezer - date and name of item. You don't want to try and figure out what mystery meat is in there or what mystery red tomato-y things are in there - I don't think that it is sauce! I have those tomato-y things defrosting in the refrigerator as I type in order to figure out what it is! :)

Reading For "Pleasure"...

Recently, I have purchased about 6 (or more?) cookbooks! I found some great deals at our local bargain outlet and purchased cookbooks that were priced at $14-25 for about $3-7! What a steal! I love to read the intro to the cookbooks before I begin using them. I feel that it gives me an idea of what this chef/cook is thinking when they put the cookbook together, and I think that when I read it, it excites me to try some of the recipes, which is the point of buying the book!

I will probably jump around a little bit with the cookbooks that I am using, but I will be sure to let you know where the recipes came from. At the moment, I am mainly using three different cookbooks (with a few other recipes thrown in here and there!). Which cookbooks am I using? You will find out soon enough!

I hope that you enjoy my journey of trying new recipes and hearing honest reviews of each recipe that is featured. I try to capture my thoughts as I am prepping/cooking/serving the recipes. I have been writing my thoughts down in a paper notebook (and then transferring them here) and have been thinking…I think that I need to get a computer notebook or laptop or something that is easy to transport…any ideas of what I should get? Let me know!

What's For Dinner????

“There is no reason why dinner should not be on the table every night.” That is what I am thinking after surveying the amount of food (mainly meat) that I have purchased on great sales and have frozen in our freezer. However, I do find that it is not always easy to carve out the time to cook a healthy meal and have it ready by the time that Dawson comes home from work. Don’t get me wrong…I really enjoy cooking and I love to try new recipes and delicious recipes. In fact, I am not sure what recipes I really cook “a lot.” Well, maybe taco salad, since it is an easy meal to make with ground meat (turkey for my family!). However, time seems to get swallowed up and before I know it, the clock says 4:30pm…and I am not sure what I am going to feed my family! This does not happen all of the time, but since we started our 4 year old in soccer and preschool, it seems like it has happened more than ever before and I was tired of it and wanted it to change!

So, I have made strides in the past month to changing what has happened in the past. Writing out a menu for the week was not the only thing that would help me (and I really have not done that yet - that will come soon!). I needed to have meals that were already prepped and only needed to be cooked or reheated, and I am not referring to buying frozen or packaged meals. That is not the answer that I was looking for!

What I decided to start doing (again) is referred to as freezer cooking or once-a-month cooking (although I do not cook for the whole month!). There are many different ways to do this. You can plan and prep/cook the meals by yourself or with a friend or two. Cook for 1 or 2 days straight, or break it up into many days, maybe by simply doubling a recipe and freezing half of it for another day - whatever works for you. I decided that the best way for me to do this was by myself, plan the meals out with using a specific type of meat (either ground turkey, cooked chicken, boneless skinless chicken breast, etc), and cook each week or every other week, or whenever I felt led to cook or if the freezer is getting a little low! Some weeks I don’t only prep/cook the main course meal. I have also cooked/frozen apple sauce, muffins and healthy cookies. It has been fun, and I have begun to become more organized in dinner planning and prep. I am definitely inspired by the recipes and the process and my family has been enjoying the benefits of it…a homemade, delicious dinner every night!

What have I been making??? Stay tuned!

What's For Dinner???

I was doing so well with making my weekly dinner plan a few months ago, but then "things happened" and I got tired and then sick with strep throat, and I got out of the habit...and I LOVE that habit...planning dinner is a GREAT habit to get into!

So, I sit here - for only a few more minutes - with a sad little face, because I do not know what we are going to have for dinner tonight. Well, I actually did decide what we will have for dinner tonight (just made the decision - it will be chicken that is in the freezer that is already in its marinade and maybe couscous, because it is easy to make and a salad and fresh veggies).

My point that I am trying to make, to myself, is that I need to start making weekly (or monthly) plan for dinners so that I do not have to "panic" about what I am going to serve my family in about an hour or so from now! Maybe I will have to plan some more freezer cooking days. I LOVED having meals that were ready and waiting for me to cook in the freezer. One thing that I will have to do different is plan when I will do freezer cooking ...Once a week? Every other week? I have realized that I really do need a plan and schedule in place for myself...it makes my life so much easier!

Well, off to make dinner...and decide what the rest of the dinners will be for this week! :)

Helping to Relieve Stress

Dawson's company has been blessed with a lot of work...unfortunately stress comes along with that blessing of work. There are deadlines to meet and more hours to be spent on the jobs than they actually have, so with that...comes overtime! With overtime comes less time with your family and less sleep...which bring on more stress which can be expressed in different ways. Dawson has actually had a break from overtime for the past 1-2 weeks, but there are other co-workers who now have "their turn" with working overtime with the projects that they are working on. It is not fun, but it is a necessity.

So, I am going to try and help to bring some smiles and cheer into their office! I am going to be very busy in my kitchen over the next few days...baking some goodies and maybe making some chocolates too. Reaching out to those guys (and a few gals) with one way that I know how, and that is through baking!

Right now, my list includes: brownies, mini banana muffins and chocolate covered pretzels!

What would you include on this platter of goodies? I would love to hear any suggestions that you may have!

Dinner's in the Freezer!

On Sunday night, I realized that I still had two HUGE packages of chicken in the refrigerator that REALLY needed to be washed and "dealt with." I was so tired, but I knew that I needed to do something with this chicken. I did not want to just wash it and freeze it...I wanted to make it into some meals for the family! So, that is what I did...and got into bed about 3 hours later!!! (Should have started sooner - oh, well!)

I was able to get about 8 meals out of it...which does not include the leftovers that most will provide! Since I am only serving 2 adults, one four year old and one 2 year old, four chicken breasts will feed us about 1 1/2 dinners. I was pretty psyched about it!

So, you are probably wondering what I made, aren't ya? Here is my list!

1. Chicken Pistachio (Salad) x 2 (South Beach blue book p.141)

2. Oven Fried Chicken with Almonds x 2 (South Beach gold book p. 217)

3. Balsamic Chicken x 2 (South Beach blue book, p. 151)

4. Chicken Capri x 1 - I prepped the chicken by pounding it out and will make it either tonight or on Wed. (South Beach gold book p.214)

5. A Citrus one from a Rachael Ray cookbook, and I cannot remember what it was called - I wrote it on the package though! It is one that I can grill.

I am so excited that I was able to do this! I have been wanting to do some freezer cooking and get a little ahead of myself in dinner prep, and I was able to last night...unfortunately way later than I intended to stay up though!

Oh well, at least I don't have to worry about a chicken dinner for a little while, because I know that dinner is in the freezer! :)

Fun in the Kitchen

I really enjoy cooking and baking. It is fun to find new recipes to try out and to enjoy the final product. Having young children has definitely made it more difficult to find the time to spend in the kitchen - I still make dinner (and breakfast and lunch), but it is not always as creative as I would like it to be...but it is still good!

Anyway, on Sunday I was able to spend a few hours in the kitchen - Dawson spent time with the kids...and my mother in law came over to weed for me! I am so blessed!

What did I make? Nothing spectacular, but I used what I had in the fridge and on the counters so that my ingredients would not go bad! The fruits of my labor included: baked ziti, zucchini au gratin, sliced green, red, and purple peppers for fajitas, prepped eggplant to fry up and make into eggplant parmesan, apple sauce - for us and Smiles, and I pureed plums/prunes for Smiles - he loves it and since they had fresh ones at the orchard we went to, I figured that it would be cheaper for me to make some for him! Today, I also added pureed nectarines to Smile's baby food!

It was fun and I was happy to see that those fruits and veggies would not be neglected any longer, but they were made into some yummy meals! I need to get back into the kitchen tomorrow and make a few more things. I have a whole chicken to bake, pears to make into something, a peach Kuchen that wants to be made and probably many more things to come! We will see what tomorrow holds...beside our trip to the library! Brady was so excited that we were going to the library again, that he kept asking if we could go tonight! It was definitely a test of patience for him...I am so excited that he enjoys reading!

Why Are My Cookies Flat?

I have not had the best luck baking cookies in my electric oven in our house - they always turn out flat!

I don't really understand why this happens.

I make them from scratch and follow the recipe - the only thing that I do a little different is to cook them at 325 instead of 350...could that be a reason why they are flat or is there something else that I can do to prevent this?

I like my chocolate chip cookies to not be so flat and thin - I don't know how else to really describe it!

Any suggestions or ideas on how to make these cookies better?

On another note, Brady and I had a lot of fun mixing the cookies up - it is a little "nerve-wracking" at times when I am mixing something up with my 2 and 1/2 year old - I just have to be sure to keep an eye on him so that there is not flour everywhere. Overall, he is really good with mixing (or dumping and watching the stand mixer take over!), and we both have a lot of fun doing it together.

Running Errands

This morning, Brady and I road with Dawson to work - I need to do a few errands, and this is the only way to get them done during the day, since we are currently a one car family. So, we were all up and dressed to leave by around 7:30ish.

After dropping Dawson off at work - and visiting a little bit (the bladder was full already!), Brady and I started on our adventure...

We went to the chiro for our adjustment, went to the bank and then we went to BJ's. Brady does not always like to be in the cart, but I definitely "persuade" him to sit in it, so that I can quickly move through the store. We picked up our few items, and then went to check out. Brady was trying to get out of the cart, but I firmly told him that he needed to stay seated and that he was not allowed to climb out because that it dangerous. He cried a little bit, but he did obey - PTL. Usually when he cries a little bit, his nose might produce some boogies - as with anyone. I really did not notice anything at that moment - I was doing the self check out. When I was leaving the store, I noticed that something was on his jacket - what in the world was that? So, I went to pick it off of his jacket and realized...I now have a boogie on my fingers! What do I do with it? I did not have any tissues in my jacket, so I had to wait until we got to the car to take care of it - yuck!...but, part of being a mom!

After BJ's, we went to the bread outlet, and then headed over to an Asian store. The store is usually open from 8-5:30, but they had a sign on the door that said that they were closed and would return at 11:00...it was only 10:15! There was no way that we were going to wait around for that!

So, we headed over to Grammie and Poppy's house for a little visit - and my sister and Barber were also there for a visit! How nice! The two boys played together for a while, and then it was time to head home.

A busy morning, but it was nice to get out of the house! I actually enjoyed running the errands - and Brady was a good boy (overall) - he is a great helper, and I know that he will continue to be that way when the baby arrives!

Well, now that the afternoon nap is in session, it is time to do some more cooking and baking. I think that I will attempt to make the chocolate cream pie and some coleslaw. We will see what happens!

Cooking Away!

I had a lot of veggies in my fridge that needed to be used up before they rotted! I do not like to throw food away because it has been forgotten - so, I knew that I needed to do some cooking - as I mentioned in my last post.

On Monday, I started by making a delicious turkey soup! I got this recipe from my mom - she purees the veggies before adding the meat and you are left with a delicious thick broth. YUM!!! I was so glad that I made this on Monday, because I had a headache/migraine on Tuesday and did not feel like cooking - so we ate the soup on Tuesday. I made so much of it, that I am going to freeze some so that we have something to eat after the baby is born! :) Which reminds me, I really need to stock up on some more freezer meals!

I also made colcannon - which is a delicious dish that uses kale, carrots, onions, mashed potatoes and cheddar cheese - YUM!!! We ate that tonight (along with some chicken).

Yesterday, I did absolutely no cooking - I made myself get up to get the soup heated up. I really did not feel like doing that, but I really like to have dinner ready (or close to it) when Dawson arrives home. So, the Lord helped me to do it, and then by the time that dinner was over, I was feeling so much better - the headache was gone! PTL

Today was another cooking afternoon. I had leeks and potatoes, so I decided to make a potato leek soup. This recipe that I found on the foodnetwork - made by Emeril - is SO delicious! Click here for the recipe. I left out the pancetta and I did not make the garnish - although it looks very pretty, and maybe I will do it that way at some point in my life - just not today! I also pureed the soup - delicious!

Another new recipe that I tried out was a spinach casserole - I just need to cook it tomorrow. I am not so sure about this recipe. It looks different than what it sounded like. So, I will have to let you know what I think about it.

More cooking and baking is still to be accomplished. I have quite a few cabbages that I need to do something with. I really do not like cabbages cooked and I really do not like it raw, by itself. So, I have found two recipes that I am going to try. One is a cabbage roll and the other is a coleslaw that sounds good - we will have to see. I still need to make a chocolate cream pie for my hunny. So, I think that I will be quite busy with cooking over the next few days.

We are also hosting the Christmas party for our Life Group this Sunday at our home - so, the Christmas tree needs to be put up - hopefully decorated too - we will have to see what we are able to accomplish!

I am having a great time cooking, except that my lower back is a little achy from time to time. So, I am sure to take a break here and there to give my back a break! Well, off to bed - it is WAY past my bedtime!

Things "In The Works"

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and I have to say that I have not reached all of the goals that I wanted to - but have at least begun each task. So, here is an update of things that need to be accomplished, but are still in the "works":

1. Baby Announcements - I need to decide how the inside is going to look and then do it!

2. Christmas/New Year's newsletter - most of this is done. The only sections that need to be completed are Dawson's and the Baby's (which will have to wait anyway!). I also need to decide if I will put any photos in with it and if there is anything else that I want to add to it.

3. Christmas decorating - well, my wonderful husband brought the tree up from the basement, but we have not set it up yet. We have been a little busy with other things this weekend. Well, he has been more busy than me! (see #4)

4. Brady's big boy room - prepping and painting the room has begun! My wonderful mom volunteered to help us get started and to help with the edging (or cutting - whatever you call it). So, mom and I went to Home Depot, Lowes, and Sherwin Williams (they have the EZ mask tape that we wanted) to gather supplies, and she and Dawson started on Saturday. So, the ceiling has a fresh coat of paint on it and the whole room is now primed. Mom even came back this morning to get some of the tape off that was stubborn and to do some touch up in that spot - she is amazing and a godsend to us! We have looked at the color swatches and are getting ready to chose the color of the room. So, hopefully, this room will be put together in the next two weeks, and then we can move Brady into it! Then, we will be moving on to the Baby's room!

So, things are started and going in a forward motion! I am very happy about that.

There are so many things that I need to be working on, but I think that I need to focus on doing some cooking - I have a list of things that I want to make in the next day or two that includes: turkey soup (we already have the stock, so this should be easy!), colcannon, potato leek soup (maybe), spinach squares (or something with spinach) and chocolate cream pie (for my hunny and anyone else that would like a slice, b/c I am not a huge fan of it. I have 3 egg yolks that need to be used, so I figured that I could make him a little treat! So, the announcements will have to wait another day or two so that I can cook and not "loose" some of the veggies that we have to the garbage!

Baby Announcements and Bread Making

This past Saturday, MIA at our church hosted a "Super Saturday" event. It was held from 9-3, sandwiches and drinks were provided, and no kids were allowed! So, what did we do there? Well, it was a day where you could come and catch up on something that you have been wanting to do - paint your nails, talk with friends, make cards, scrapbook, crochet, or whatever you little heart desired!

My husband was so gracious and did not mind that I left him home all day with our cute little son. I know that this was a sacrifice, because we have so many house projects that we need to work on - so, I was so thankful that he "let" me go! I love you, Hunny!

So, I decided to work on the birth announcements for baby #2. I have never really made cards before, so I did not really realize how long it would take to do everything involved! So, the things that I did get done are as follows:
1. Cut out the paper for the main card
2. Cut out two sizes of paper for what I am going to stamp on the front
3. Began to stamp the background for the front of the card
That is all that I got done! I could not believe that it took me that long - yes, I did take two little breaks and I was talking a little bit, but I was also working very diligently!

So, what I still need to do is:
1. Complete stamping the background front of the cards
2. Add ribbon to the front
3. Stamp/color the teddy for the front
4. Cut out paper for the inside
5. Stamp the inside stuff
6. Add two other things to the inside: parents and brother's names and a Bible verse.

LOTS to do, but it is fun. I know that I cannot procrastinate with this! I HAVE to get this done soon!

Something else that I need to work on is our Christmas newsletter. My goal is to have it completed by Thanksgiving (or the week before). I will just leave a section of it blank so that I can write something about the baby when he is born...so, it might actually be a New Year's letter! My plan is to send that with the announcements (save on postage!).

So, that is what I have been up to recently. Other things have been on my mind - but have not been up to blogging a whole big bunch.

Oh, one other thing that I did last week was to make 4 small loaves of French bread. I used the breadmaker for the kneading and rising, but then I took the dough out and I did a little more kneading, shaped it, let it rise one last time, and then baked it (only took about 15 minuted to bake!). I was a little tentative to do something like that initially, but it was really fun and gave me confidence to try something else like that! Something that I REALLY want to make are cinnamon buns - I know that they are not that healthy, but they are REALLY YUMMY! So, I will have to put that on my "to do" list!

Tomato Sauce Recipe

I have a lot of plum tomatoes. Does anyone out there make their own tomato sauce? I would love to have a tried and true recipe! Thanks!

Blueberry Muffins

Today, I decided to make blueberry muffins with the blueberries that I had in the fridge. The recipe that I used was from Martha Stewart's website, and I copied and pasted it below. It is very tasty and I do recommend it. (I will be posting the pear crisp recipe that I used soon, I just want to try to make it one more time with alterations before I recommend that you make it)

Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients
Makes 1 dozen (if you have the very large muffin tins)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Generously butter a standard 12-cup muffin pan and dust with flour, tapping out excess; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Working over the bowl, toss blueberries in a fine sieve with about 1 1/2 teaspoons flour mixture to lightly coat; set aside the flour mixture and the blueberries.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using a handheld mixer, beat butter and 1 cup sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined. Mix in vanilla.

3. With the mixer on low speed, add reserved flour mixture, beating until just combined. Add milk, beating until just combined. Do not overmix. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the blueberries. Divide batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. If desired, in a small bowl, mix together remaining 1/4 cup sugar and nutmeg. Sprinkle sugar mixture on top of muffin batter.

4. Bake, rotating pan halfway though, until muffins are golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center of one muffin comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool 10 minutes. Turn muffins on their sides in their cups, and let cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.


I am trying to find a recipe for a zucchini/summer squash casserole - hopefully, I will find one that is tasty and easy to make.