These are pictures of the delicious Thanksgiving meal we had at my Grandparents last Saturday. Her food is always amazing and something we look forward to eating on any occasion. One thing my cousins and I always look forward to is Grandma's Fruit Salad. She mixes up all kinds of fruit and tosses it with fresh whipped cream...YUM!

This is the turkey pumpkin I had on our doorstep to great our guests. So cute I still have him up because I hate to take him down.

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This was an easy punch recipe I got from an Appetizer cookbook I have. It contained apple juice, cranberry juice, sprite, and than cranberries for garnish. It made way too much for the small group we had. I took the leftovers and froze them in an ice ring to put in the punch at our Christmas party.


This is the Harvest Brie I wrote about earlier. Super sweet but very delicious. The recipe called for three cups of brown sugar!


I went a little overboard with rolls this year. I wanted to try two recipes in case one didn't turn out. They both turned out yummy though so we just had a million rolls. This pictures is what was left after all of us had eaten. The recipe we love is for Parker House rolls from Food Network.




And this is how we ended the night looking through all the ads at the kitchen table. We had a full day of shopping to plan for on Friday.

Hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving!

The week after Thanksgiving and our fridge is packed! There is not room for a single extra thing in there. Tonight my husband wanted Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on his pizza and when he opened the fridge he just stood there unsure of what to do next. It is bad! So this week we will be eating lots and lots of leftovers.

Monday: Dinner at Mom and Dad's House

Tuesday: Shrimp with Green Apple Chipotle Salsa and Rice (this is Seanna recipe and we actually have leftover shrimp from Thanksgiving so I thought I would give it a try. It looked so good when she posted about it.)

Wednesday: Turkey and Stuffing Casserole, Green Beans

Thursday: Mashed Potato Soup, Salad, Rolls

Friday: Spahetti with Brown Butter and Myzithra Cheese

Saturday: Chinese Food and Tree Decorating with Parents (This is a yearly tradition)

Sunday: Turkey Empanadas, Fruit

Thanksgiving went very well and we had so much fun all together. At the last minute two of our guests were unable to come because they got sick but we still enjoyed the rest of the group. My husband built a nice fire and with the stormy weather outside it just felt warm and inviting at our house. We had tons and tons and tons of food. Way more than we would ever be able to eat. My husband said we could have had ten more people. Our menu was the following:

Harvest Brie with Crackers for an appetizer
Holiday Punch and Sparkling Cider
Turkey
Gravy
Mashed Potatoes
Green Bean Casserole
Rolls
Green Salad
Fruit Salad
Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Stuffing
Pecan Pie
Pumpkin Pie
Whipped Cream
Ice Cream

The Harvest Brie with crackers was super good but I was still making it as people arrived. I underestimated how long it would take. We ate quite a bit of it though. I had to serve something with Ritz crackers since I bought ten boxes of them last week to submit for a rebate making them free.

My mother in law's turkey was fantastic as always. She cooks her turkey in an oven bag making it so moist and juicy!

The mashed potatoes my mom made were great. They were make ahead potatoes but still so good. I was amazed how yummy they were. So good I didn't even want to put gravy on them. We ate them again on Friday night for dinner and were not disappointed. I will ask her for the recipe so I can share it here.

The stuffing I made was a recipe from the pastor's wife at our church. She made it for us last year and I loved it so I made it again. It is so easy and delicious. I have to warn you there is a lot of butter but like she said, "you only eat it once a year."

I wont go into detail about everything we had but it was all good, we all ate too much, and we all ended up on the couch afterward watching a Christmas movie we rented. Overall a perfect Thanksgiving!

PS-Pictures coming soon. Our camera has been broken but we just got a new one so pictures will be back!

Time for one of my favorite super easy holiday season side dishes. I got this from kraftfoods.com back in 2007 but I have seen various versions of it floating around the internet and magazines. I love it for several reasons 1) I love Jello! 2) I love how refreshing it is 3) it is so easy! I prepared this last week to go with the roasted chicken I made for my Grandparents and everyone (well maybe not my husband since he doesn't like cranberries) loved it.

Festive Cranberry-Pineapple Salad

1 Can (20 oz) crushed pineapple, undrained
2 Pkg. (4-serving size each) or 1 pkg. (8-serving size) raspberry jello
1 Can (16 oz) whole berry cranberry sauce
1 Medium apple, chopped

Drain pineapple, reserving liquid in 1 qt liquid measuring cup. Add enough cold water to reserved liquid to measure 3 cups; pour into large saucepan. Bring to boil; remove from heat. Add gelatin; stir at least 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Add cranberry sauce; stir until well blended. Pour into large bowl. Refrigerate 1 1/2 hours or until slightly thickened.

Stir in remaining pineapple and apples. Stir gently until wll blended.

Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm.

Eat and enjoy! This is my favorite side dish for the Bloggy Progressive Dinner.

My mind is on Christmas cookies like you can tell from yesterday's post and picture. I was reading one of the blogs I follow, Frugal Coupon Living, and they are having a great giveaway for a cookie press by Pampered Chef. If you don't have one of these get over there and enter. You will love it for the holidays!

It's another monday!

Over the weekend Sheena and I got the chance to go to Bob's Red Mill and bought all sorts of fun things. If you live in the area, you should go check it out. Its a lot of fun! Some of the recipes below have ingredients from our shopping trip...

Sunday: I used the Spice Apple Bran Muffin Mix from Bob's Red Mill and they turned out just okay. They were a little too healthy tasting but we will still enjoy them through the week. Next time I think I will have to add some real apples or applesauce to punch up the sweetness. Let me know if you have any fun ideas or if you have tried any of the other mixes.

Monday: Today I made the Pot Roast Recipe from Sheena earlier this month. I have decided that I am going to do various crock pot recipes this winter and this one kicks them off! It was so nice to not worry about dinner being done. The house smelled so good at dinner time and it made for a very pleasant meal together.

Tuesday: I am making Steel Cut Oatmeal to be ready Tuesday morning. I am very excited about this as I have never heard of making oats in the crock pot. I am excited to serve it up with some brown sugar and nuts. I will let you know how they turn out tomorrow! UPDATE: I am not sure why but this recipe didn't work for me. I am going to have to try it again later : (

Wednesday-Sunday: My boyfriend and I are going to be out of town for Thanksgiving in San Francisco. We are planning on going to a lot of fun restaurants so I will take a lot of pictures to hopefully use on our inspirations tabs!

Hope you all have a great holiday! Keep checking the blog to see how Sheena's Thanksgiving goes!

(This is a picture from last year)

I am working on my Christmas Cookie list for this year. I think I will start making them this Wednesday and freezing. I usually make things that freeze well early and continue working all through Christmas. Last year I made about 22 different kinds. I am excited to get started this year. I will try to take pictures of my baking days. My husband broke our camera though so unless he gets me something new in a hurry my posts will be lacking something.

So I have two questions for you. 1) What is your favorite Christmas cookie? 2) Do you make cookies every year and if so how many different kinds?

This weeks meals are going to be a little bit off because of Thanksgiving!! I am very excited for the holiday because we are hosting it here at our house for the first time ever. We will be having my family and my husband's family over for the big day. I am not doing all the work though. My Mother-In-Law has graciously offered to do the biggest stress of all, the turkey Last year I realized my roasting pan doesn't fit in my tiny oven so I think her making the turkey is probably the best idea. She makes the best turkey anyway so I am happy. Then my mom is going to make her specialty...pie. She makes the most amazing pies in the whole world. I wish I could send a piece to everyone through the blog so you could try it. So if anyone has suggestions of things I should know before hosting a gathering like this please let me know. This is all new to me so any advice is welcomed.

Monday: Mom and Dad are back to dinner with them!

Tuesday: Tuna Noodle Casserole, Green Beans, Fruit

Wednesday: White Chili With Chicken, Tortilla Chips, Avocado (lighter dinner to get ready for tomorrow!)

Thursday: THANKSGIVING!!! Turkey, Stuffing, Potatoes, Cranberry Sauce, Green Bean Casserole, Gravy, Salad, Rolls, Fruit, Pie!!

Friday: I think leftovers but if not I will be making a pizza.

Saturday: THANKSGIVING AGAIN!! We get to celebrate at my Grandparent's House since we can't get together on the actual day. I am really looking forward to this because my Grandma is an amazing cook.

Sunday: Chicken Noodle Soup, Rolls

First off I have to say I forgot to take a picture of these. They were just so good that we ate them all before I realized it too. This recipe came from my cousin and it is so good and so easy! I am not sure if I will ever purchase tortillas again. You have to try this recipe next time you have Mexican food on the menu!

Flour Tortillas
2 Cups Flour
3/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Cup Shortening
3/4 Cup Warm Water

Stir flour, baking powder, and salt together. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Add warm water to make medium stiff dough. Form dough into a ball and knead on floured surface until smooth.

Divide dough into 8 balls, roll into circles and place on non-greased hot pan. Cook until lightly brown with flecks on one side. Turn and cook other side.

What I did was roll one out and put it in the pan and then rolled the next one out while the first one was cooking. I kept the cooked ones on a plate covered with a clean dish towel. They were amazing!

I talked about this recipe last week and made them again this week because they were so good. My last post didn't have a picture so here it is this time around. This one is a keeper!

I mentioned I would be making Lemon Chicken with Croutons in my Menu Plan Monday line up and I just wanted to show you the results. It turned out so good! It is really an easy recipe too. It takes a little bit of time in the oven (thus you need to be home) but very little time in the actual kitchen. You must try this! Whole chicken are so cheap too. Wait for a good sale and then put this on your weekly meal plan.

Happy Eating!

This Carrot and Ginger Soup is in one of my favorite cookbooks by Canyon Ranch health resort. It is actually the picture on the cover of the cookbook. With the cold weather around us, it is always nice to have a good homemade soup to warm you up. I really liked this recipe, my boyfriend however, could not get over the fact that it was orange. That really didn't bother me because I knew it contained the great beta-carotene and rich antioxidants that are so healthy for us. Serve this in a cup form accompanying the main dish or as a precursor to your meal.

***Update: I made the enchilada meatballs tonight and I wasn't too impressed with them. They will not be going into my regular dinner rotation. Just thought you would like to know!

Last week was one of the best weeks I have ever had in terms of sticking to my menu plan for the week. As of Sunday night I have made everything I planned to make. Woo hoo! On to a new week. It is crazy how fast these weeks go.

Monday: Grandparent's are coming over for dinner instead of us going to my parent's house. I plan to make Lemon Chicken with Croutons (this is amazing-a friend made it for us once and we were hooked), Pumpkin Patch Biscuits, Cranberry-Pineapple Salad, Green Beans, and Brownies for dessert.
Tuesday: Enchilada Meatballs, Rice and Salad
Wednesday: Pork Fajitas with Homemade Flour Tortillas and Fruit
Thursday: Dinner with Seanna
Friday: Dinner with a college friend
Saturday: Dinner with another college friend
Sunday: Dinner at Family Party

This is an unusual week because I am going to be out catching up with a lot of friends so lots of eating out and less cooking. I am looking forward to the break though!

Hope everyone has a great week!

Rarely do I cut a recipe out of a magazine and then make it exactly like it says to but tonight I did. The picture looked so good and I happened to have all the ingredients on hand so I went to work on this jerk chicken. My husband commented how good it was even several hours after dinner. He thought it tasted very fresh. I discovered a new kitchen tool I need during this process, a meat tenderizer. It said to pound the chicken to uniform thickness. It would have been much easier with the proper tool. On the list it goes!

Jerk Chicken with Rice, Black Beans, and Pineapple (Real Simple February 2008)

1 Cup Long-Grain White Rice
1/4 Cup Cider Vinegar
1/4 Cup OJ
2 Tablespoons Jerk Seasoning
1 Tablespoon Grated Ginger
4 6-Ounce Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
Kosher Salt and Pepper
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 15 Ounce Can Black Beans, drained and rinsed
8 Ounces Fresh Pineapple, cut into chunks

Cook the rice according to the package.

Combine the vinegar, rum, jerk sauce, and ginger in a measuring cup or small bowl; set aside.

Pound the chicken to an even thickness. Season it with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until browned, about 4 minutes per side. Remove from heat and add the vinegar mixture. Return the skillet to low heat and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 2 minutes.

Divide the chicken and sauce among plates.

Stir the beans into the rice. Serve chicken with rice bean mixture and pineapple.

For my side dish tonight I decided that I needed to use the sweet potato that I had bought earlier in the week. Instead of doing the standard roasting of it, I wanted a little more excitement. I did a simple google search of "roasted sweet potatoes" and found this great recipe. It called for 40 minutes but after checking them at 20, mine were just fine. This is a great alternative to the traditional sugary sweet potato that we all love. Sorry, I don't have a picture on this one. They were gone too fast!

Some time ago I tore a recipe for Pumpkin Pancakes out of a Martha Stewart magazine. I have made them several times so far and they are so so so good! I have even made them for friends when we vacationed together last fall and they loved them too. They have just the right hint of pumpkin and spice to be amazing. Martha got these 100% right. Try them soon before the "pumpkin" season is over.

Pumpkin Pancakes

1 1/4 Cups Flour
2 Tablespoons Sugar
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg
Pinch of Cloves
1 Cup Milk
6 Tablespoons Canned Pumpkin Puree
2 Tablespoons Melted Butter -Plus more for baking
1 Egg

Whisk together the first 6 ingredients (through cloves). In a separate bowl stir together the remaining 4 ingredients. Fold the wet mixture into the dry mixture. Melt some butter in a skillet over medium heat; pour 1/2 cup batter for each pancake. Cook pancakes about 3 minutes per side; serve with butter and syrup. Make 8-10.




Now a note about the syrup. When I was in Canada back in September I purchased a bottle of ridiculously expensive maple syrup. We tried it for the first time on these pancakes and I can't even describe to you how good it was. The best syrup I have ever put in my mouth. It tasted so fresh and delicate. Not overpowering, not super sweet, just amazing! I am not sure what I will do once this bottle is gone.

I have decided that I want to make a warm breakfast for my husband before work at least twice a week. With this in mind, I have been searching for easy ways to make this happen. I love the blog, Lynn's Kitchen Adventures and on it I saw this recipe for Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal. I gave it a try since we have tons of oats and peanut butter and my husband loved it. I always ask him if the breakfast kept him full and focused. This one got a big thumbs up.

My husband knows this and my parents know this but I am ready to share it with the world.....I do not like to cook dinner on the weekends. I don't know why but it is super hard for me. So tonight when my husband wanted to eat in instead of going out with my parents I was bummed. I decided I needed to be a better wife and not try to talk him out of it like I usually do. With my "good wife" attitude and a little bit of private pouting I made dinner.

This recipe is actually one of my all time favorites from growing up. When I did a semester in New York during college this was one of the first meals I wanted upon coming home. Feel free to mix up the protein part. I use imitation crab because that is what I am used to but I usually do half crab half tuna (husband doesn't like crab) and it turns out great. Silly me forgot to take pictures so you will just have to take my word for it that it is a great cold and rainy night dinner.

Seafood Bake
1 10 1/2 Ounce Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/3 Cup Mayonnaise
1/3 Cup Milk
2 Cups Cooked Macaroni (I use whatever noodles I have on hand)
2 Teaspoons Cooked Onions (I leave this out when I am being lazy)
Protein of Choice (imitation crab, tuna, shrimp, etc)
Paprika

Cook noodles and drain. Blend soup, mayonnaise and milk in a bowl. Whisk until combined. Mix in protein, noodles, and cooked onions. Sprinkle paprika on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Halloween at our house was supposed to be a totally different experience than it was but after my friend got sick and my husband hurt his back it was onto plan B. For me plan B is almost always making something new in the kitchen. I don't know what it is but I love to be in there mixing, measuring, stirring, and baking. The only part I don't like is the dishes which is usually where my friend comes in handy because she loves to keep things clean and tidy. She follows behind me as I make a mess doing dishes. I try to tell her she doesn't have to do them but I think deep down it is her plan B.

Now back to Halloween. What I ended up making was Fall Harvest Bread from Good Things Catered blog and Pillsbury Halloween cupcakes which I gave to some of the trick or treaters I knew and then took the rest to work. The Fall Harvest Bread, however, was what stole my heart. It was so good! Everyone should try this before the pumpkin eating season is over. Super moist and delicious even several days later. I served it to my parents on Sunday night and they loved it too. I would have taken some to work but by Monday it was almost all gone.

Every so often as time allows I teach kids cooking classes through our local community education program. It is so much fun to work with the kids. Totally worth all the time that goes into it once we are there making things together. The time also goes so fast once we get started...it is crazy!

Today was a class for 5-8 year olds so I thought I would share with you what we made. On the agenda was Friendship Soup Mix, Teddy Bear Bread, Apple Pie Snack Mix, and M&M Cookies. I wish I has snapped pictures of everything-especially the soup mix since they turned out cool but at least you get to see the teddy bears. Enjoy a glimpse of what 5-8 year olds can do in the kitchen.



Cookie dough! The kids loved coming to collect the items for their cookies from the front of the classroom. It made so many cookies that I have a huge pan full of them at my house right now that were still baking when the kids left for the night. I think I will take them to work tomorrow.

I have to tell you all that my boyfriend has been gone on business for two weeks now and so my cooking inspiration has been gone as well. Cooking for one is very difficult! So this week I am sampling a few easy soup recipes that I can make last throughout the week. This cream of asparagus soup is very easy and you get all the health benefits of asparagus at the same time! Try it out, you will love it!


Yield
4 Servings (3/4 cup each)

Ingredients
1.5 pounds of chopped asparagus spears
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 cups diced leeks
3 cups vegetable stock
1 cup soy milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch black pepper

In a large saute pan, saute the asparagus in oil, over medium heat, until slightly browned. Stir in leeks and cook briefly, about 1 minute, until translucent.

Add vegetable stock and simmer until asparagus is soft, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Transfer soup to a blender and puree until smooth. Strain soup through a fine-mesh strainer into a saucepan. Discard any solids.

Stir in soy milk, salt and pepper and heat through.

That's it! So easy.

13o Calories
18 gm carbohydrate
4 gm fat
0 mg cholesterol
7 gm protein
124 mg sodium
5 gm fiber

Canyon Ranch Cooks , Scott Uehlein, 2001. pg 65

- Seanna

I have never really liked cooked carrots until the day I tried this recipe. It is super simple and adds just enough glaze to the carrots to make them special. If you are lacking a side dish this week give these carrots a try.

Glazed Carrots from Betty Crocker's Dinner for Two Cookbook
4 Medium Carrots
1/4 Cup Sugar
1 Tablespoon Butter
2 Teaspoons Carrot Liquid

Wash and scrape carrots (I used baby carrots so I skipped this part and the next). Slice carrots lengthwise. Cook, covered in small amount of boiling salted water 10 to 15 minutes, until tender. Drain and reserve 2 tsp. liquid. In skillet, heat sugar, butter, and carrot liquid until blended. Add carrots and heat 8 to 10 minutes until glazed and lightly browned.

Here is the plan for the week. We have a few things throwing off our dinner schedule this week so I am not sure how this is all going to work. We will see!

Monday: Dinner at Mom and Dad's House

Tuesday: Chili Mac 'n' Cheese Cheddar Soup with Salad

Wednesday: Enchiladas and Salad (I made up the enchiladas a while back and froze them so this should be an easy meal.)

Thursday: Chili Chicken Tacos with Homemade Tortillas and Canned Fruit

Friday: Southwest Chicken & Potato Casserole with a TBD Veggie (this is a carry over from last week since I never got to it)

Saturday: Keeping it open with hopes of something fun to come up.

Sunday: Orange Chicken in Crock Pot, Rice, and Green Beans

I also want to try making some pumpkin dinner rolls sometime this week. I am not sure what day they will fit but I am guessing Saturday or Sunday.

Hope everyone has a fantastic week!