Can I still call it the "12th Day of Christmas Cookies" when it is way past Christmas?

Wow, did I ever drop the ball. I guess I should make it a goal to post one a week then that way if I do more I can be all "Hey! Check me out! I'm posting tons!" Even though it is past Christmas I am going to give ya'll one last goody recipe. This one I made and gave out to family and friends (and kept a bit as it is tasty). Alton Brown's White Trash.

http://http//www.food.com/recipe/alton-browns-white-trash-226723

I used multi-grain Cheerios, 1/2 milk and 1/2 dark chocolate M&Ms, only lightly salted peanuts instead of mixed nuts and added one half of a bag of peanut butter chips to the white chocolate chips. The best part is that after making this, the boy likes to eat the leftover cereal. I also made "Christmas Crack" which is just the saltine/toffee/chocolate recipe and I am wondering if it is called "Christmas Crack" because it is addicting or because it has so much sugar that after you eat some you feel like running 12 miles then cleaning your house with a toothbrush? I'll let you know.

Ok, now let me see if I can come up with a healthy dinner. . . . . . . . (que the Jeopardy theme please) . . . . . . . How about . . . . . Ok, I'll just share what I had tonight. Not really healthy but not terrible either: frozen (then baked) tilapia, leftover Trader Joe's mac and cheese that I mixed up with little green peas so the boy would eat some veg, and a Greek yogurt with honey and sliced toasted almonds. Yikes, that sounds nasty after typing it out. But true.

I finished Christopher Moore's "The Stupidest Angel" for my pre-Christmas read. Ridiculous, funny and I completely forgot about the whole zombie bit but was able to soldier ahead and finish the book without any nightmares (I have a thing about zombies. Don't like 'em. Not even a little bit.) But these zombies were morons. Not that that stopped them from killing people and eating brains, but I was able to give them idiotic faces whilst they were doing so.

Tomorrow is Christmas Part IV so I will be up making the semi-annual dressing and a new mac and cheese recipe.

Day 11 of the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies - Short on Bread Shortbread

So here are today's cookies, Short on Bread Shortbread, just out of the oven:

Looks good, right? Clancy and Biggie think so too because they are doggie cookies! This recipe is from the Three Dog Bakery cookbook.

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix all together then drop onto cookie sheet about the size of a golf ball. Flatten slightly (I did a sassy criss-cross). Bake until slightly golden brown (mine were kind of small so they were done in about 16 minutes). The recipe says about 20 to 24 minutes. Cool then let your best pal enjoy! Since you don't get to eat cookies (although I guess you could), I feel that I deserve a night off from the healthy dinner bit. I am tired and have more baking to do.

But first I forgot to tell you about the amazing book I read: Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson.

http://http//search.barnesandnoble.com/Major-Pettigrews-Last-Stand/Helen-Simonson/e/9780812981223/?itm=1&USRI=major+pettigrew%27s+last+stand

It was a wonderful novel about an older English widower who falls for the local Pakistani shopkeeper (widow). The book focuses on his reaction to these feelings, how the local villagers react to this relationship and the relationship between him and his social climbing son. The Major is a bit of a curmudgeon but has a lovely dry, sarcastic wit that I am all about. It took me about a week and a half to finish because I loved the writing and did not want it to end. I really enjoyed it and by the looks of the wait list at the library it is becoming quite popular. If you are bored by all things British, you probably want to pass on this one. It was a light old-fashioned romantic comedy with some splashes of drama.

Day 10 of the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies - Nutella Pockets

Two more cookie posts after this one. I thought this was a good idea until I realized that it made me have to write something every day. Normally not a bad thing but it is a bit hectic around here this week. So, I am again taking the easy way out and giving you a cookie recipe that I not only do not have to type out, but I have not even tried yet! However, it combines two of my favorite things: cheese and Nutella. Just say the word "Nutella" and I am your bitch. Well, not really. But I might shank you for it. These are the cookies I am making for Santa this year because I really think he would like to try them as well. It felt pretty weird combining Santa and prison slang in the same paragraph but I am going with it. So here we go - Nutella Pockets.

http://http://www.lafujimama.com/2009/10/nutella-pocket-cookies/

I saw these on the Food Network on someone else's show and they called them something else but they are the same thing. Santa can't wait! Oh and my love for Nutella is such that it is getting its own label below.

I also may leave this out for Santa so he can loosen that big black belt. Caprese Salad. Nothing says "save room for Nutella Pockets" like a nice plate of green leaf lettuce, sliced whole mozzerella, roma tomatoes and chopped basil topped with balsamic vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper. Sounds like Santa made the "nice list" too!

Day 9 of the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies - the Neiman Marcus Cookie Recipe

This is now my go to chocolate chip cookie recipe. Of course I have it listed in my cookbook as "Most Excellent Chocolate Chip Cookies (Brandy)" because my sister is the one who gave it to me.

2 1/2 cups oatmeal, blended (I do it super-fine because I want it to look like me.)
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks of butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 bag semi-sweet chocolate chunks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter and sugars until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each one. Add vanilla. Then add all of the dry ingredients with the chips and chunks being last. Drop about 1 to 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 9 minutes and 42 seconds. I tend to slightly undercook my cookies on the theory that they will continue to cook a little after they are out of the oven. And I like a gooey cookie.

Today's meal (for you, not me) is Shrimp Scampi. This one is from the Neeley's. I enjoy watching their show on the Food Network although sometimes I am afraid they are going have a Cinemax after-dark moment. I also decrease the butter in this one (sometimes).

http://http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/patrick-and-gina-neely/ginas-shrimp-scampi-with-angel-hair-pasta-recipe/index.html

Designer Jeans at Target!!

So a few weeks ago I learned from the Today Show that William Rast was putting out a line of clothes for Target and they would be in stores on December 19th. Now I have never heard of Mr. Rast and his clothing line before but I figure if Bobbie Thomas was excited about it then, dammit, I would be too! Knowing that I would forget this bit of information before the mid-day news came on, I programmed my phone to remind me of this event. William Rast jeans normally sell for about $150 to $200 which is a lot more than I would pay for jeans but that is me. Although if I can ever get close to my college size I am so going out and buying a pair of Lucky jeans. Until then the ones I have do quite nicely thank you very much. So a few days ago I am going to Target for completely unrelated items when I saw my phone had a little icon that I normally do not see. It was the reminder. So I find the jeans, try them on and was all "Yeah, I can see it." I get up to the cash register (although they should probably call them credit card registers these days) and as I am putting the jeans on the belt I notice the $49.99 tag. Now that is a much better price than $200.00 for jeans but $50? For jeans? At Target? There should be no item of clothing in Target that is more than $40.00 and that should be a winter coat. I did not buy the jeans. My children need Christmas. Then I get home and look up this designer and see the price range of his jeans and notice that he sells jean shorts for $165. Here is your visual:


http://http//www.williamrast.com/SCARLET_SHORT/pd/np/12/p/1008.html

Now I feel like an old person because I am all "why would anyone pay that much money for that little material when you can get the whole jeans for less?!?!?!" Then my inner 16-year-old hung her head in shame and slowly walked away muttering and cursing under her breath. I am pretty sure I saw an eye-roll.

Why I Should Not Be Allowed Out After 6pm or Why I Need To Get Out More

So the other week I had a rare night out on the town. Maybe not rare, more medium-well. Ha! You get?!?!? Like steak?!? Nevermind. And not so much "out on the town" as over to a former co-worker's house for a Christmas party then to a nearby bar for the after-party. By after-party I mean we got there at 9pm and I was home by 11pm. Makes the days when I did not start getting ready to go out until 10pm then played pool until bars closed at 2am then it was off to Huddle House or the Awful Waffle for greasy grub seem so, so, so very far away. So at the Christmas party I was talking to some former library co-workers and one of them, we will call him Jack because that is his name, said he recently spoke to our former manager who has since gone back to graduate school to study ancient Greek something or other. Jack said how he remembered the manager talking about whether the early Greek economy was more free enterprise-esque with interconnected price-making markets or was more in line with the Weber-Hasebroek-Polanyi analysis. (Look it up.) For someone who has as much book-learnin' as I have, I felt rather thick. My days are a Groundhog Day of sippy cups, diapers, formula, carrot stains, laundry, well, you get the picture. I started this blog as a way to use my brain a bit but we are in the early stages so I am not sure it is working yet. And it probably will not work if I just talk about cookies, but that is over now. So I am on a quest to re-smart myself!!! Starting with that last sentence. Brush up on my smarts? Whatever. So now that I am done with my new Christmas tradition of reading this




I am going to read one Classic novel each month over the next year. And if I can manage it, one non-fiction book each month on a topic to be picked by something-I-have-not-thought-of-yet but will not have anything to do with babies or toddlers or kids of any sort.


Now from the department of Why-Staying-Home-Is-Not-So-Bad is this. We went to Mickey and Mooch after the Christmas party. I have never been there before and will not go back. Our first clue that this was a mistake was the wall of fish smell that punched us in the face as soon as we opened the door. Second should have been the 92.0 sanitation score. But we figured, we are just getting a drink and maybe an appetizer so how bad could it be? As soon as we walked into the bar, we noticed they had live music. Now normally I am one to give every artist their props because most have a lot of creativity and courage to get up and out there and show their work, which I probably will not get, or sing in front of people which I will never do not even if karaoke and bottles of wine are involved. That being said, the entertainment for the evening consisted of a Moby look-a-like in a Nordic sweater playing the keyboard and an Al Jarreau look-a-like in a reverse Sprockets turtleneck (tight but a light color) singing. Again, they were out there doing their thing and hopefully getting good money but it felt like we were at the Airport Ramada listening to an American version of The Flight of the Conchords. So there is your setting. Adding to the airport motel lounge experience was a group of about five women ranging in age from mid-20's to mid-40's dancing around in the middle of the bar (where no one was dancing previously) with a guy whose mullet puts the old Billy Ray Cyrus mullet to shame and a slightly over-weight younger Michael Keaton who jokingly tried to steal my friends purse. We did not laugh. Sadly my back was to the dancing but I did get a brief glimpse of mullet man doing the "white man's overbite" with a snap and a woman in her late 50's gently yet freakishly caressing her Cosby-sweater-with-medallion-wearing husband/boyfriend's ear for about 5 minutes. And our waitress sucked. But my company was awesome and I got a blog post that does not have anything to do with cookies out of it, so there's that.

Days 7 and 8 of 12 Days of Christmas Cookies - Chocolate Raspberry Spritz and Maple Snickerdoodles

I have been trying to post everyday but in hindsight that seems a little ambitious. Next year I will plan ahead and have my 12 days of Christmas Cookie posts done early, save 'em up and then just add a little tidbit of yuletide snark and be done! You know, the same with Christmas cards!

Chocolate Raspberry Spritz - from the same Nestle cookbook as the Merry Spritz but with chocolate and raspberry

1 1/2 foil wrapped (3 oz) unsweetened chocolate baking bars
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup raspberry preserves (I use raspberry or blackberry jam)
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350. In small saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate and set aside.

In large mixer bowl, beat butter, sugar and salt until creamy. Blend in egg, preserves (or jam) and vanilla extract. Blend in melted chocolate. Gradually beat in flour. Place dough in cookie press fitted with desired tip. Press dough onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes until set. Let stand one minute. Remove from cookie sheets and cool.

Your good for you meal is something sort of generic but really tasty if you do it up right: Grilled Chicken Salad. Sounds lame, right? Maybe, maybe not. I season the chicken with greek seasoning then grill on the George Foreman. Slice it up and place it on top of your choice of greens. Add some (but not a lot) of mandarian orange slices, craisins and toasted almond slivers. Also a bit of crumbed goat cheese and a light raspberry vinaigrette and that is one tasty salad! (Not something you will hear me say a lot.)

Day 8 is Maple Snickerdoodles and I totally get to cheat on this one. I love maple syrup. So much so that it is pretty much the only syrup I buy anymore. Second place in the syrup hierarchy goes to Smucker's Blackberry syrup but the bastards quit selling it my area. Pretty soon I am going to have to order syrup online and for some reason that seems sad. . . . . . . I just searched and they do not sell it anywhere within a 120 mile radius of my house. Lame. So, back to maple syrup. I also love snickerdoodles or almost any cookie rolled in sugar and this one is rolled in maple sugar!!! I have not tried it but here is a link to the recipe I am going to try. Soon. Like this weekend when my minion, I mean my sister comes to visit. (Love you B!)

http://http//allrecipes.com//Recipe/ultimate-maple-snickerdoodles/Detail.aspx

I should have done a maple theme with that Pork Tenderloin with Maple Glaze but that would have made sense. So your healthy item could be a meal if you ate enough of them but is more of a side dish. Spinach Topped Tomatoes. This recipe came from my well used and loved cookbook from a school in my hometown. Back in 1995 I was a young college graduate with visions of law school in my head and a job as a customer service representative at a local insurance agency. Starting salary $12,000. Seriously. There I was, toiling away fielding calls from people who needed to either file a claim because they ran into a deer (happens a lot more than you think and should be covered by your collision coverage) or reluctantly add their teenage child to their auto policy. The owners and their kids went to this private school and came in wanting to sell the cookbooks to the employees. I think the cookbook cost about 5% of my net earnings but I was suckered into buying it anyway. Or was it $5.00? Either way it seemed like a lot to me. But I have used this cookbook so much the back page jumped ship and there seems to be more of my notetaking than the actual print.

1 pkg frozen chopped spinach
1 cup bread crumbs (sometimes I use the Progresso Italian breadcrumbs)
1 medium onion, chopped (or about 1 tsp onion powder if you are like me and like the flavor of onions without actually eating them)
2 eggs, well beaten
1 stick of butter (I do 1/4 to 1/2 a stick)
1/4 cup Romano cheese
1/2 tsp Accent (which I've yet to find so I do not use)
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp pepper
Dash of cayenne and salt

You can really use whatever seasonings you like. Switch it up. Using a colander, press the water out of the spinach. This is the worst part of this whole recipe. Mix all ingredients and put on top of a thickly sliced tomato. Arrange either on a foil-lined cookie sheet with edges or in large Pyrex dish. Sprinkle with grated mozzarella cheese (if you like) and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake for about 5 to 10 minutes then turn on the broiler to get the cheese bubbly and brown. Store leftovers in fridge. Leftovers are also good cold if you like that kind of thing.

Day 6 of 12 Days of Christmas Cookies - Merry Spritz Cookies

No, my internet was not down yesterday. I wish I had a good excuse for not posting but sadly it was because I was obsessed with the Lowe's 90% off Gift-a-Thon and stalked their facebook status. I ended up being able to enter for about 7 items but did not get bupkis. Oh, I forgot I did get thank-you-for-playing-you-can-have-20%-off coupons but there is just a bit of difference between 20% and 90%. Then last night I got to go to a lovely Christmas party. There was Christmas punch, liquored-up eggnog and wine so when I got home, no posting. Laundry, yes. Posting, no. So on to the cookies! I love spritz cookies and these are my favorites. The recipes come from a Nestle Tollhouse cookbook that I am sure I picked up in the check-out aisle of the grocery store one day. I have never been able to find the "Merry Morsels" and I don't put that extra chip in the middle of the cookie.

Merry Spritz Cookies

1 foil-wrapped bar (2 oz) white chocolate baking bar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In small saucepan over low heat, melt white chocolate. Set aside.

In large mixer bowl, beat butter, sugar and salt until creamy. Blend in egg and vanilla. Blend in white chocolate. Gradually beat in flour. Place dough in a cookie press fitted with desired tip. Press dough onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 7 to 9 minutes until set. Let stand one minute and remove from sheets to cool.

Your healthy dinner: Pork Tenderloin with Maple Glaze (really healthy if you go easy on the glaze when serving).

Trim pork if desired (and I do.) Rub pork with 2 tsp of sage, salt and pepper. Melt 1 tbsp butter in pan over medium high heat until bubbling and hot. Add pork and cook until brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook until pork reaches 150 degrees. Set aside.

While pork is cooking, whisk 5 tbsp maple syrup, 4 tbsp apple cider vinegar and 2 tsp Dijon mustard in a small bowl. Once you take the pork out of the pan, add 2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar to the skillet and bring to a boil scrapping up any browned bits. Reduce heat to medium low. Return pork and juices to pan. Add maple syrup mixture and turn pork in the glaze just until coated, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Transfer pork to cutting board. Cut pork into 1/2 inch slices. Stir remaining 1 tbsp maple syrup into glaze and season with salt and pepper. Serve with healthy sides.

Days 4 & 5 of 12 Days of Christmas Cookies - Fudgy BonBons and PB&J Bars

So my internet was down from yesterday morning thru late this afternoon. Therefore you get two cookie recipes!

The first is Fudgy Bonbons. I got this one from a Pillsbury cookbook. It originally came from a lady named Mary Anne Tyndall who was Pillsbury's grand prize winner in their 1994 contest. And because of the glory of all things on the internet, I do not have to type it up! (although if the link does not work, let me know and I will post it)

http://http//www.pillsbury.com/recipes/fudgy-bonbons/96997a31-793f-4411-b43e-e8b154de46c1/

I do not do the drizzle over the cookies because I just don't want to. Instead I take a shaker of powdered sugar and lightly dust the cookies. I find they look more festive.

Now your healthy meal: Filet with Merlot Sauce. A bit on the fancy side but super easy if you know how to cook a steak. And because I want to make my life easy tonight here is the link:

http://http//www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Filet-Mignon-with-Merlot-Sauce-5653

I only cook this at Christmas or for my birthday so it is served with either mashed potatoes or twice-baked potatoes. To keep with the healthy theme though, serve it up with a salad and maybe some sauteed green beans.

Yesterday was a day to run around. And around. And around. Luckily I had my momz to chauffeur me while my Christmas/Birthday presents were being installed on my car. I am seriously going to put bows on my tires Christmas Eve and make the kids go to the driveway to see what Santa brought Mommy. Or maybe just the one new car bow and have four hangy-down bits with arrows pointing to the tires. Yeah, that's it. So I am going into the grocery store to pick up five things when the garage calls to tell me the car is ready. Cool, I only a few things then I can pick up the car! Of course when I go into Harris Teeter they are having another free Holiday Wine Tasting!!!! FREE WINE!!! AGAIN!!! And of course I do not have time to hang out. Blast.

The cookie recipe for today is from Ina Garten. Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars. I came across this one while flipping thru a cookbook at the library. It has that lovely salty/sweet combination and I believe I used blackberry jam instead of raspberry although I bet any jam would be good. I just picked up a jar of Marionberry jam yesterday so now it knows its purpose. Here is the link:

http://http//www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/peanut-butter-and-jelly-bars-recipe/index.html

For your healthy dinner I am going to take the easy way out tonight because I am just that tired and I need to finish a book that is already overdue at the 'brary and it is late and I think I still have laundry in the wash. . . . . . . . . Yes, I do. Frick. Ok, so before you make or eat the PB&J bars have this for dinner: Baked salmon with this marinade:

The marinade does have a bit of heat from the red pepper flakes but is sooooo tasty. I get it at either Harris Teeter or Fresh Market. Serve it up with some steamed broccoli!

Ok, there is a lot going on in the news lately, something about Wikileaks and some dude who does not mind spreading secrets but wants his house-arrest location kept underwraps and then there is something about taxes and politics. I really would like to know what is going on but it is hard to listen to the news in the morning with two kids all up in my grill while I try to guzzle a vat of coffee to keep up with them. The one thing I did learn from the Today Show this week is that Teva and someone else made a Teva stiletto. Four-inch high sandals. And they can be yours for the low, low price of $330.00.

http://http//www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/fashion/2010/11/30/2010-11-30_teva_stiletto_heels_have_velcro_straps_teva_sole_shoes_have_fourinch_heel_retail.html

I also learned that some guys will think that a wrapped tampon can look like a Christmas treat:

http://http//www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/40606754#40606754 or try this one:

http://http//www.nbc.com/news-sports/today-show/meredith-hoda-willie-geist-try-alcohol-whipped-cream/

If you watch this video, the bit I am talking about is about 7 minutes in and if you let the video load, you can fast forward to the Bobbie Thomas section.

Day 3 of 12 Days of Christmas Cookies - Chocolate Chip Shortbread

I have had this recipe for at least 12 years and love it. So easy, buttery and crispy yet slightly chewy. It also has a bit of salty sweet going for it which is always respectable in a cookie. They look at little something like this:

Chocolate Chip Shortbread

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Add flour and salt. Stir in chips. Easy peasy!

Divide dough in half. Press each half into ungreased 8 inch round cake pan (it can be thin in some places). Bake 12 minutes or until edges are light brown. Score (cut almost all the way thru) shortbread with sharp knife. Make 8 wedges per pan.

Let pans stand on wire racks for 10 minutes. Invert (I always think of "Top Gun" when I hear this word but you do not need to flip off your shortbread. Unless you are in a bad mood and it makes you feel better then please, by all means do so.) shortbread onto wire racks. Cool completely and break into wedges.

Now your healthy dinner.

Chicken Burgers with Feta Cheese on Mini Pitas

This is actually a Weight Watchers recipe and very tasty. You can use ground chicken or ground turkey. Personally I find the ground turkey a bit dry. You can use regular, low-fat or, if they make it, fat free feta. You can also use either white or wheat mini pitas. Put ground chicken in a bowl (I use a mixer for better feta distribution), add 1/4 to a whole container of feta cheese. Well, it is this kind of feta cheese, which I think is about 8 oz. Use plain, garlic, sun-dried tomato or whatever flavor you like.

You can also add any spices you like to the mixture. Make 4 patties and grill 'em up on the George Foreman. Toast up some mini pita, smack the burger in the middle and you are done! For some reason I like to put taco sauce on the burger. I think because I like the idea of Mexico and Greece hanging out together. Of course you can also add your regular burger toppings like lettuce, tomato, blah, blah, blah.

Today was a day of running around. Took the boy to the gym, dropped off stuff at Goodwill, ate some pizza and did some Christmas shopping. Along the way I encountered an awesome server at Mellow Mushroom, a lot of rude drivers around South Park Mall, free Godiva chocolate and had fun trading insults with a good friend. But what stands out the most is the lesson I learned at the My Gym. Don't judge a book (read: person) by its cover (or outside appearance). We went to a different class today so there were new kids and, of course, new moms. One lady stood out because she was about six feet tall, very thin and attractive in an old school Ralph Lauren sort of way. She also had a two-month old she was carrying around, feeding and getting to sleep while she was chasing and playing with her two year old! So of course I am thinking "of course she has a nanny at home, how can she look and act that together with a two year old and a baby?!?!" I end up talking to her and she also has a four year old at home! Three kids under four! Crikey! She was super nice and said that she barely sleeps and her days are "challenging." Just because someone looks like they have their act together does not mean that they do.

The other lady came in with her two year old girl wearing a really cute Christmas dress and fancy Christmas bow in her hair. The mom was wearing skinny jeans, flowing black shirt, tons of diamond and pearl jewelry and a headband that looked sort of like this but was in black and white:

My first reaction was "that headband is ridiculous." Especially since most moms at the My Gym look like me: jeans or sweatpants and a casual shirt with one or more of the following stains: spit-up, wet and smushed Goldfish, yogurt or crumbs of any variety cracker, bread or cookie. Hair styles range from ponytail to hidden-under-a-hat-and-therefore-greasy-because-there-has-been-no-time-to-wash-it-in-five-days (I am assuming). My second reaction was "I would have nothing in common with her." Ok so that one ended up probably true but I learned that she is very nice and sweet and she talked to a lot of the other kids and moms which is rare in my neck of the woods. She started by telling me that my Ellie is beautiful and should be in commercials. That in and of itself is a one-way ticket to awesome in my book. Then she made me feel like one of the mad elderly with the following anecdote. Her daughter's name is Perri (or Perry, whatever, doesn't matter) and Perri has a cousin named Mason. She said she has never heard of the tv show ("Is the guy's name Mason Perry?" Um, no, but thank you for playing) but the grandparents get a kick out it whenever the cousins are together. Ok, how old do you have to be to remember Perry Mason? So she made me feel as old as her grandparents but she was super nice and while the headband was a bit much for the gym, she carried it off with her outgoing personality. So the lesson: we moms have got to stick together regardless of fashion.

Day 2 of 12 Days of Christmas Cookies - Chewy Fudgy Brownie Cookies

This recipe came from the wrapping of a baking pan that I am not sure I still own. Doesn't matter. The cookies are easy to make, very tasty and freeze well. And they look like this:

Chewy Fudgy Brownie Cookies:

1 box of this (or any other brownie mix you like):

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup oil

1 egg

2 tbsp water

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (if you use a chip-less brownie mix or you like extra chocolate chips and I would be suspicious of anyone who did not)

1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional and I never use, pecans are for pies not chewy fudgy brownie cookies)

Powdered sugar

In large bowl, mix brownie mix and flour. Add oil, egg and water and mix well. Add chips then nuts, if you must.

Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls. Roll in powdered sugar. Place 2 inches apart on greased baking sheet (or use the cool non-stick mat or parchment paper).

Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes or until tops of cookies begin to crack. Do not overbake. Immediately move to cooling rack. Pour big glass of milk and try to share.

Now for your healthy dinner: Fish Tacos with Low Fat Key Lime Sour Cream

The first time I had this was at Mama Kwan's in the Outerbanks. They served blackened fish with the key lime sour cream and I was hooked. I don't know how to blacken something without burning it so this is my version. I bake up some tilapia filets from either the Fresh Market or Earth Fare (the fish at Harris Teeter looks all tired.) Sprinkle with some of this, but go lightly unless you like it spicy

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes (depending on how thick the fish). While fish is baking, mix up some regular, low-fat or fat-free sour cream (about 1/2 cup) with about 1 tbsp of this:

and about a teaspoon of sugar. You can add more key lime juice or sugar to taste. When fish is done, flake with fork. Get out your tortilla or soft taco (or crunchy taco) shells, add your fish, maybe some cheese, some shredded cabbage if you like, and drizzle key lime sour cream over all of it. Serve with some refried beans and a salad.

Day 1 of 12 Days of Christmas Cookies - Peanut Butter Blossoms

So I'll start ya'll off with an easy one and one of my favorites. Peanut Butter Blossoms. The yummy tastiness of sugar-coated peanut butter cookies with Hershey Kisses. I have tried it with several different types of peanut butter cookie recipies (and will continue to try more) but this one is my favorite.

Step One: Buy this (well, maybe not the 12 pack unless you have an unhealthy love for peanut butter cookies or you may need to make a lot for a charity bake sale or something which is much healthier and way better for the world unless the charity is for people who cannot eat sugar or gluten and then you are just mean.)


Mix according to directions. You will need water, vegetable oil and an egg. Roll into balls, heh, then roll in a bowl of this (probably about 1/4 cup):





While the cookies are baking, peel and try not to eat a lot of these:

When the cookies are done, as soon as you take them out of the oven, put a kiss (the chocolate kind or you will burn your mouth) on each cookie. Oh, the simple goodness.

Now, for your complimentary healthy meal to balance out the one cookie you are going to have before giving the rest away.

Pork Tenderloin with Blackberry Ketchup. The first time I had this was in law school. A friend and I went out to a nice restaurant instead of the usual student eateries we normally frequented. The restaurant was in or near the old Claussen's Bakery building on Greene Street in Columbia. We are talking circa 1998. They served this dish with mashed potatoes and probably some sort of vegetable. I looked around for years for the recipe for the blackberry ketchup and finally found it in a sauce cookbook, go figure. There are versions online but the ones I saw called for fresh blackberries and I just don't have that kind of time. This version calls for one very easy to open jar of blackberry jam. My one bit of advice is to make the blackberry ketchup in the morning or early afternoon so your house has a lovely smell the rest of the day. It does reheat nicely in the microwave.

Blackberry Ketchup:

1 jar (10 to 12 oz) blackberry jam

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

pinch of cloves

1/2 tsp salt

pinch of pepper to taste

Combine all of the above in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 20 minutes. Serve immediately or refrigerate after it cools a bit.

Prepare the pork by cutting off all the fatty bits. Give it a nice massage of salt, pepper and ground sage. If you are out of sage, like I am tonight, sprinkle some garlic powder and/or onion powder. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until it looks done (maybe just a hint of light pink in the middle). Drizzle blackberry ketchup over sliced pork and serve with your favorite healthy side. Tonight was a bit of lima beans and a salad. Would also go nicely with a sweet potato. And of course mashed potatoes. You will amaze your friends! At least I amaze myself when I eat it.

Tastes so good I want S'more!

Yes, I made S'mores Bars. Yes, they are brilliant. Yes, I need to get the rest of the pan out of my house. And yes, I will share the directions for the yummies. It is adapted from the No-Bake S'more Fun Brownie recipie in the Fat Witch Brownie cookbook and I have changed some stuff so I figure I can post it here. Fingers crossed I don't get sued. I highly recommend this cookbook if you like the brownies (or bar cookie things, like lemon bars, etc.) Here is the link: http://http://www.fatwitch.com/FWBcookbook.html (See! I am giving you free marketing Fat Witch!!)

S'more Bars

2 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 cups mini marshmallows
1 cup mini hershey kisses (in the bag)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks
8 tbsp butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Grease brownie pan (8x8 or 7x9). Mix graham cracker crumbs, 1 cup marshmallows, 1/2 cup mini kisses, 1/2 cup semi-sweet chips/chunks.

In a small pot, melt butter over low heat and add the sugar, egg and vanilla stirring constantly. Once the sugar dissolves and it looks all good and mixed up, set aside to cool.

Add butter/sugar mixture to crumb/chip mixture and stir well. The chips and marshmallows should melt a bit. Stir in remaining marshmallows and chips. Press into pan and let cool for 45 minutes. Sooooooo gooooood.

In an effort to further hop everyone up on sugar, I am going to start my own version of the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies tomorrow. I have picked my favorite cookies (not including those unbelievable Congo Bars) and a couple that I have not tried but that look fantastic! But so you don't think I live on flour, butter and sugar, I am going to include in each entry a nice healthy recipe for dinner or lunch. It is all about moderation people! Plus if you only eat plain lettuce for three days then of course you can totally annihilate a pan of Congo Bars!!!

On other non-eating related topics, I want to share an observation. Stop reading here if you do not want to read emotional crap.

Are you sure?

Ok. So I was driving down Colony Road and there is a tree on the side of the road that has a memorial set up for a teenager who was killed when the car he was in hit a tree in that area. According to the little information I can find, the car was going 92 miles per hour. This is a residential area one lane in each direction with a median and I am pretty sure the speed limit is 35. So the family of the boy maintain that area and decorate the tree for various holidays. It is now decorated for Christmas. The boy's name was Alex and his parents started a campaign to get people to slow down and have distributed bumper stickers reading "Slow Down for Alex." I have seen these stickers and this memorial for a few years. When I see the bumper stickers I think "you know, people really do need to slow down. This is a good thing." Then a few times I would drive past the decorated tree and think that Alex's spirit (or whatever you believe, if anything) is not at a tree! He would be with his family or friends or something. I know if I was killed in an accident, I wouldn't hang around on the side of the road. And I have wondered how long the family or friends will keep up the tree? It has been about 3 1/2 years now. Isn't that long enough? But then I decided it is good that they keep up the tree. This memorial and other road-side memorials make me think not only of those I have lost, but they also remind me to be thankful for and cherish the family and friends that I still have. So, there you have it. Every time I ride down Colony Road and see that tree, I will be thinking of you. Well, not of you. Well, maybe you. I guess it depends on who is reading this. Drive carefully!

The T-Bonz Krew

I know this has happened to all of you (at least both of you who read this blog). You are sitting in your house on a lovely yet chilly Saturday afternoon when the doorbell rings. You are not expecting anyone so you assume that it is the guy with three fingers on his left hand who sells expensive yet quality pine straw. However when you open the door you get:

"Hi, we were delivering steaks to your neighbor and have a few left in the truck, would you like to buy some steak for $3.00 each?"

Um... yeah, I don't think I buy steaks from trucks! Not anymore. Really? Who does this? And their truck did not even have a store label on it! (because you can always trust trucks with advertisements, oh, and vans especially those beat up cargo vans with blacked out windows but only if they have an adverstisement on the side) So I am thinking there is some sort of new beef crime syndicate that goes around using this "oh, we have extras, you want cheap steak?" scam to sell people poison steak. Some of the more industrious gang members will have a fake steak company or butcher shop sticker on their ride that they can peel off when they are out with their homies because the ladies will not get up on you if you have porterhouse stickers on your wheels. So not only do they get to poison people, the victims actually pay them to do it!!! Granted, not a lot but still. Anyway, they wait and come back to your street around dinner time (same car, no sticker because that would be suspicious) and smell for steaks being cooked on the grill (or inside where people turn up the heat on their stove too much causing the kitchen to smoke up whereupon they open the door to let the steak-scented smoke out into the troposphere and attract deer). Then they mark those houses with chalk, spy style, and come back later after the people have eaten their poisonous steaks (that they paid for!) and are all passed out or paralyzed or dead, depending on what type of poison they used. Then they break into your house and steal your stuff! Why is this not on the news?

So you have 4 pounds of shrimp?

Two days, two glorious shrimp recipes. Last night was Penne with Shrimp and Herbed Cream Sauce http://http//www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/penne-with-shrimp-and-herbed-cream-sauce-recipe/index.html. I did not have most of the ingredients needed, so had to go to the grocery around 5:30pm. I get to the parking lot and it is full. On a Friday night. Granted it is a very busy shopping center but the Teeter is far enough from restaurants and the movie theater so there is usually parking. Not last night. Then I get inside and see why. FREE WINE AND BEER TASTING!! I love Harris Teeter. They do this about two or three times a year and the past few times I chance upon it I have been knocked up. Not any more! There are soooo many vendors with at least three or four wines per table that even someone with a much higher tolerance than me can get a decent buzz. Several years ago my sister and I happened upon this event and spent about two hours getting sloshed, I mean discovering the nuances of different grapes. Then we spent a good hour or two waiting for the buzz to wear off before going home. FREE WINE!!! Sadly this time I had to get back to cook dinner and take care of family. (grumble, grumble, stupid family interfering with FREE WINE!!). My new plan is to find out when the next tasting is going to happen, line up double baby-sitters and schedule a night out for FREE WINE!!

Ok, so back to the pasta, I used 2 lbs of shrimp and did not use as much heavy cream. Next time I will combine everything and then let the whole thing simma down (said like Cheri Oteri) for about 20 minutes like it did while we were eating. Doing that resulted in leftovers that were much better that last night's serving.

Tonight was Potato Soup with Shrimp and Corn http://http//www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/potato-soup-with-shrimp-recipe/index.html. I did use reduced fat milk, well 2%. I doubled the recipe so it took thirty seven thousand hours to prep and cook. Well, maybe more like 45 minutes of prep and 1 hour and 20 minutes of cooking. Once the potatoes are cooked, you can mash them up a bit. With the potato mash you can probably go down to 1% milk and still have a quality soup. I also added a bag of frozen corn to the pot. I did leave out the carrots and put in 1 1/4 cup of chicken broth (because I did not have bouillon) and the leftover clam juice from last nights shrimp dish (about 1/4 of a cup). Also, I sauteed the shrimp in a bit of olive oil, garlic powder and Old Bay seasoning instead of boiling them. Top with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese and bacon bits and you gotta find a mama to slap because it is that good. I think I shall mosey on up to the Fresh Market for some of their kick ass cornbread and eat right for lunch tomorrow!

Last night we watched "Going the Distance" with Drew Barrymore and Justin Long. Very, very funny. As the opening credits were rolling, no, even before that, at the menu with the picture of this:

Todd was all "Chick Flick." And at first appearance one would think so. Yeah, not so much. The only thing chick flick about this movie was that there was a guy and a girl and they were dating. That's it. This is not a movie you should watch with your parents. Or your grandparents. Or your kids. Or your kid's parents. Wait, . . . never mind that one. Maybe not even a first date either. Friends, yes. Prudish friends, no. Basically what it boils down to is don't watch it with anyone who is uncomfortable around discussions of a sexual nature. There. That being said, I thought this movie was hilarious and may even buy it. Charlie Day played Justin Long's roomie and friend "Dan" and was a riot. So there is a movie recommendation for you.

P.S. I am not allowed to make Congo Bars any time soon. Unless I have made a prior commitment to deliver 95 to 100% of them to a location that is not my mouth.

Hanger Steak Fail!

So I tried this recipe for Pan-Grilled Beer Marinated Hanger Steak: http://http//www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/photo/Pan-Grilled-Beer-Marinated-Hanger-Steak-236873. The marinade was good even if I did not have a couple of the ingredients. I think I would try a different cut of meat next time. Also, when I put it in the very hot pan my kitchen filled with smoke. We were so afraid the smoke detectors would go off (not the first that has happened during one of my recipe experiments) and freak out the dogs and wake the kids so we froze our asses off with the door open. Coincidentally, a neighbor told me that there were 12 deer in my yard at the same time we were airing out the steak kitchen. Do deer like steak? Is that not a bit ambitious of them?


What I learned from the Today show: if you need to pick up holiday stencil (or anything else stringy) but duct tape on the end of a paint roller and go to town. And playdough (is that one word) for broken glass. They said even the kids can do the duct tape on a paint roller thing but I have a feeling Luke would run around trying to get dog hair off the dogs. Pass. This was kind of a lame "what I learned from the Today show," I know, but tomorrow is another [To]day! (I cannot believe I just typed that.)


I finished reading "Good Enough to Eat" by Stacey Ballis:

Here is the link: http://http//search.barnesandnoble.com/Good-Enough-to-Eat/Stacey-Ballis/e/9780425229637/?itm=2&USRI=stacey+ballis

I really enjoyed it. It does fall directly into the category of chick lit though which is perfect for my current condition. There were good supporting characters and touch of mystery and I liked the ending. As a bonus, there are recipes in the back of the book. The author is a good friend of one of my personal heroes, Jen Lancaster, so initially I checked it out solely based on her recommendation. After reading this one, I will read more by this author.

I have added more pirate names to my list: the pirate with highlights and the pirate who failed at hanger steak.

Avast Ye, Landlubbers!!

I just found out that the folks who so brilliantly brought us "Wallace & Gromit" are making a movie out of "The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!" This just mere hours after I suggested these books! I must have some sort of special power! However I have no idea what it could be and how I can use it to clean my house, get my kids to nap or put some doubloons in the kitty for new windows.

Here is a news bit about it from the author's website: http://http//www.gideondefoe.com/page3.htm

I decided to re-read the books because they make me laugh and am coming up with a list of pirate names that I think I should start signing on my receipts and tax returns. For example, "the pirate with moxy" and "the pirate who sees too much poo." Or, for my Chanukah folks, "the pirate with chutzpah." I am so excited that I am following, in a twitter manner, the director of the film who just posted that they have completed roughly 14 minutes of the movie so far! With any luck my total social security distribution should just about cover the ticket price when the movie comes out. In the meantime, I shall reread the books and eagerly await the next in the series.

In baking news, I made Congo Bars from the Fat Witch cookbook "Brownies, Blondies, and Bars From New York's Legendary Fat Witch Bakery." Since this came from a non-web-based source and I could not find the recipe on-line, I am a little hestitant to reproduce it here what with all the copyright infringement lawsuits flying around. If you would like me to pass it along I would be happy to do so. Verbally, on a secure line or in person under conditions determined at the last minute by me via a prepaid cell phone. There are a lot of versions out there but this one is a graham cracker crust bar, with chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, coconut and sweetened condensed milk baked to a lovely golden brown. It is a chocolate chip macaroon on a graham cracker crust. Glorious!!! Here is what they look like out of my kitchen:

And here is what it looks like about to be eaten:

I would also like to introduce a new segment that I am calling "Things I Learned from the 'Today Show'." I admit it, I like the Today Show. I find Al Roker hilarious and I believe I heard Meredith say "shit" this morning during a cooking segment with the Barefoot Contessa. Awesome. What I learned today is that with some anti-bacteria cleaners, you have to spray it on a surface then let it sit for 10 minutes before wiping it up! Who knew? I did read the directions and it clearly states to do so on the label, but really, how many of you read the labels for something like a spray cleaner? All this time I was all spray-spray-spray-wipe-wipe-wipe. There are some cleaners with less drying time so I am going to look into that. 10 MINUTES YA'LL! And all this time I thought my boy was sniffly from hanging out in and on germy things at the My Gym.

"Girl, don't make me take off my earrings!" (and taco pie)

Warning: parts of this post might be a little on the bummer side.

Oh Niecy Nash. You have inspired me more than you know. I just found out that she left "Clean House" and am in the middle of watching the last episode. I have a feeling that people either love Niecy or would rather watch "Aliens Invaded My Uterus and Now I Am Having a E.T. Baby," however I am in the first category. Besides the above quote (which I plan on using with my kids) watching "Clean House" was one of the things that helped me and, hopefully, my sister get through the MOUTAINS of stuff that my Dad left us.

Time after time, the show would feature people who were unwilling to get rid of stuff mainly because it belonged to a loved one who passed away. Niecy would always tell them "just because you are getting rid of [usually horrible ugly piece of furniture] does not mean you are getting rid of the memory of that person." Truer words were never spoken and helped me sell, donate and give away more stuff than you can imagine. My Dad loved collecting antiques from Europe and the U.S. with plans of opening an antique store when he retired. He had a four bedroom house filled with cool and unique items that overwhelmed me and sis. Actually "overwhelmed" seems a bit of an understatement considering at the time I lived in a two bedroom apartment and she lived in a house with two roomies that the Keebler Elves would have been all "this place is tiny!!!" We are actually still getting rid of stuff 5 years later. I decided that I would keep items that either reminded me of my childhood or were just very cool. Not all of it is practical (giving sideways dirty look to large carousel horse) but what can you do.

Also, every time I watch the show I want to get rid of more stuff and clean my house. So I would like to thank Niecy and her Clean House crew for their motivation, inspiration and . . . something else with an "ation."

And Taco Pie was for dinner tonight. Served with refried beans and salad. I think it may take the place of Mexican Lasagna as the go to Mexican dish in this house.

Taco Pie (adapted from http://http//www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/impossibly-easy-taco-pie/cad8267c-2cb0-4dc2-b6e7-9c57a9575430?WT.mc_id=taf_recipe_BC)

1 lb ground beef (or turkey or chicken) browned, then drain

1 onion chopped up (I cooked the meat with onion powder because I think onions are shifty)

1 package taco seasoning

1 can black beans (drained)

1 can corn (drained)

1 1/4 cup of milk

3 eggs

3/4 cup Bisquick

Shredded cheese (I used a cheddar blend)

Salsa

Taco sauce

Sour Cream

Preheat oven to 400. Cook meat with sprinkle of onion powder (or whatever seasoning you like, I will probably at a bit of chipotle to the next batch). Drain. Return to pan and mix with package of taco seasoning, some taco sauce and salsa (your favorite variety). I did not measure so just use your best judgment. Put in greased casserole dish. Spread on layer of beans, then corn. Mix up the eggs, milk and Bisquick in a bowl then pour over top of meat/beans/corn. Bake for 25 mintues then check to see if the middle is set and toothpick (or knife) comes out clean. I had to cook mine for another 15 minutes. Then sprinkle on some cheese and cook for 5 or 10 more minutes. I turned the broiler on at this point because I love a bubbly cheese top and broil until a lovely brown color.

Serve with salsa, sour cream, taco sauce. Pretty it up with chopped parsley or, if you are a crazy person, chopped cilantro. The reviews of the recipe give a lot of other options as well.

I also may try it with crushed tortilla chips on top. Enjoy!!

"Oh, My sides. Please. Aidez-moi."

No cooking today and am between books so I thought I would tell you about this one:

Here is the B&N link: http://http//search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Pirates-In-an-Adventure-with-Scientists/Gideon-Defoe/e/9780375423215/?itm=10

My library buddy Del recommended this to me. It was hi-wait for it......-larious! It was also silly, British, and has very little basis in reality but was brilliant! And the best part? He wrote three more!!!

The covers are charming and the illustrations are just as funny as the writing. If you need a quick funny book, please check these out.

What I am reading now

I am trying to figure out the best way to list my books. I have been keeping track of them on Shelfari.com but for some reason their website hates me and refuses to link my shelf to facebook or to this blog despite it's many claims that it can do so. I am going to try to break them down into categories with the labels after each post but as with the book below, do not judge a book by the label.


This is what I am reading now:




And here is a link about it:


http://http//search.barnesandnoble.com/Poison-Study/Maria-V-Snyder/e/9780778324331/?itm=3&USRI=poison+study


(I would use Amazon, but it and my computer are in cahoots and 95% of the time I try to go to Amazon's website my computer is all "cannot access website" and that is when I want to go all Office Space up on it.) Anyway....


I looked at this book on numerous occasions when I worked at the library and finally checked it out. I was a little leery about it because it comes from the SciFi-Fantasy section which I tend not to read unless I have heard from a reliable source that the book is good. This is the first SciFi-Fantasy book that I picked out all by myself! My parents would be so proud.


It is quite enjoyable. The people are people and not some sort of half person half wildebeest. It takes place in some sort of other world but again, nothing too strange. Just folks in castles and magicians. The main character is up for execution for murder and is given a choice to go ahead with the execution (no pun intended) or become the commander's food taster and maybe die tomorrow or in a while. She ends up being the food taster because otherwise it would be a pamphlet and not a novel. There are people who are out to get her and .... well, see for yourself. It is the first of three in a series so I will be checking out the other two.

Soup and Cookies Part Deux

So today's soup was split pea with ham. Very easy in the crock pot but had to borrow my neighbor's immersion blender to make it all thicky and yummy. (See previous post about how I killed my blender making soup. Yes, soup. Not crazy margaritas but soup. Yes, it is sad.) Here is the link:

http://http//southernfood.about.com/od/crockpotsoup/r/bl17c5.htm

Yesterday my neighbor's son brought over some delicious cookies that he made for a meeting. Yes, 10 year olds have meetings. And they make cookies for them. He brought four but I had to do quality control in the front yard before bringing them in to the family.

And here is the recipe!

Thanks Josh!

The Fast and the Furious

I was a little ambitious when it came to cooking today. Ambitious then lazy. I have been wanting to try my hand at homemade butternut squash soup. I bought some cut up squash a couple of days ago with that "buy-me-now-before-I-go-bad-and-save-$2-and-risk-ecoli-poisoning" sticker on it for a little incentive. I started the process around lunch which was probably about 2 1/2 hours before the squash started growing limbs. After a delay of game (I realized I did not have enough chicken broth so made a mad dash to Trader Joe's where I ran in to get chicken broth and came out with two double bagged bags of yummies and drinkies because if you go to Trader Joe's you HAVE to buy wine. Seriously, it is a law) I finally cooked up the soup and ended up puree-ing the very soul out of my blender. Well, not so much the soul as the "coupling." I finished it off with a food processor and it turned out not disgusting. I would not go so far as to say "really good" but "passable" would be a good description. I think I mucked up the squash somehow so I am going to try again. So here's that recipe from foodnetwork.com which I cannot seem to copy and paste and do not feel like retyping at this point so I will link it:

http://http//www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/butternut-squash-soup-recipe/index.html

Then I decided that I cannot possibly decorate the tree without homemade cookies and eggnog. So I ended up making four tons of Drop Sugar Cookies. I love sugar cookies but hate, hate, hate, hate, hate rolling out dough so this recipe seemed like something I should try. Sadly I do not have a link so I will power forward and share:

Drop Sugar Cookies

6 cups all purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/4 cups butter softened (4 1/2 sticks)

3 cups of sugar

3 eggs

9 tablespoons of milk

6 tablespoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In medium/large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt until blended.


2. In large bowl with mixer at medium-low speed, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs, milk and vanilla; beat until well blended. Reduce speed to low; beat in flour mixture just until blended.


3. Drop by rounded measuring tablespoons (I used a regular spoon) 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet.


4. Bake until edges are browned, about 13 minutes. Transfer to wire cooling rack to cool completely.

I ended up freezing most of them but may need to borrow my neighbor's freezer if I need some ice. It made a lot of cookies. A lot. You can also add other stuff to the dough like chopped nuts, mini chocolate chips, or lemon zest/peel/juice. I would post a picture but they are asthetically boring to the eye even though they are yummy.

Soup's done. Cookies are done and now people have the nerve to ask me what is for dinner! Soup and cookies, that's what! Nah, the boy will not eat soup and as relaxed as I have been about his eating lately, I cannot justify cookies for dinner for a toddler. Not on a Friday.

While I was at Trader Joe's they were sampling this:

With this:

So that and a salad made up the very late dinner. Pretty good and you should totally check it out! That is if you have a Trader Joe's near you. And you are not a vegetarian.

Welcome! Velkommen! Καλώς ορίσατε! Shalom!

So here is my much anticipated (by me) blog of food, books and other-things-that-wear-me-out-so-I-now-crave-sleep blog. My goal here is to share yummy food ideas and recipes. Also book suggestions and mini-reviews. I'll be the first to let you know if a book has something bad that happens to kids, animals (mainly dogs), or is too creepy to read before bedtime (I'm talking to you first thirty pages of "Dracula") - although my threshold for all of the above is ridiculously low, so there's that. I have read books that have exceeded this threshold so I will share those as well. I'll explain more in my first book post. The things that make me sleep part will probably be thoughts, ideas or observations that either make me think, annoy me or amuse me. Maybe all three at the same time.

As I am very new to the blog game, the actual site may look a little meh for a while. But with a little luck and maybe some IT help from my baby-daddy, it will get brilliant in no time.

Oh, and there is a slight chance that I will unintentionally offend someone. If that happens, thank you for visiting and best of luck with your other endeavors.

Let the blogging begin!!!