CHRISTMAS COOKIE LOG & RECIPE LINKS

So, as I mentioned, I've been doing a lot of cookies this month.  Last year, I super overdid Christmas cookies, so I was more than wary as I approached this season.  I enlisted baking help - THANK YOU, CHRISTY! - and took two small rounds of pre-orders.  Even with thinking I was keeping it small, it was still well over 500 cookies, though there were a lot of minis.  I am pleased to say that I'm done, and with the exception of a few pickups left on my porch and delivering some neighbor cookies, the cookies are gone from my home!

Also, what I learned this month is that I can really only have one hobby at a time and be a stay at home mom.  I cannot blog regularly, make a bunch of cookies and also sleep enough.  This month I picked sleeping over blogging, and it was a wise choice.  But now that the cookies are done, it is nice to be writing.  I have a LOT to write about, because anytime I am not actually writing, my brain is still spending time composing posts.

I had fun bringing back some favorite sets from last year and creating some new sets.  The funniest set I did was for dear friends for their partners at their OBGYN clinic.  😂🤣😂 Did you know that a uterus could be so cute on a cookie?  Thanks, Livers fam, for giving me such a fun opportunity!



I offered these sets for pre-order, with Merry and Bright being the far away favorite.







I gave these sets to teachers and neighbors.



And, this special set is for my kiddos after our Disney reveal on Christmas morning. (they don't read the blog yet 😜)  I am so so so so so excited about this trip coming up in February, and I am ready for this secret to be out!



I know I am late to be posting recipes, but if you still have time or energy for some holiday baking, I'm listing links to some recipes!

Here is the blog post I wrote years ago with my cookie/frosting recipes.
Here's a blog post with lots of links to cookie recipes that I wrote in 2013. 😱

We are not traveling this year, so I am thinking I may do some more baking with the kids this break - we'll see how that goes!

FAVORITE PIE CRUST RECIPE

It's that pie-making time of year - though, to be honest, I am up for a pie any time of the year.  (And for total transparency, I am up for pie any time of day as well.  I have eaten it for breakfast on more occasions than I would care to admit. 🙈  I usually justify this to myself by internally remarking about how much fruit there is.) Savory or sweet are both up my alley, though I really love sweet pies a la mode.  🤗



I blogged my mother's pie recipe six years ago. 😳 I thought it might be time to revisit it for this Thanksgiving season.  It is super basic, uses things you probably already have on hand and turns out for me every time.  I love it and have never bothered with any other recipe.  I'm sure there are other amazing ones out there, but this one tastes like home and family and will do for us.



In short - you need:

2 cups of flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup of shortening
1/2 cup of buttermilk (I make this using regular milk with 1/2 teaspoon of vinegar)

Mix the flour and salt, then cut in the shortening until it is all crumbly.  Add the buttermilk and mix until combined.  Divide in half and roll out into crusts.  I roll this out on floured wax paper.  When I originally blogged this, I took pictures of every step - if you want a lot more detail, click here.

Over the years, I've shared other recipes that I often use for Thanksgiving - if you want some really basic ideas, here's that post.

Recently, I've been having fun making pie crusts more beautiful, and this recipe holds up to some manipulation. If you want to make a lot of extra decorations for the top, I would make this recipe times 1.5.  For lots of great ideas, just type in "Pretty Pie Crusts" into Pinterest.  There are so many gorgeous pies out there!  I hope this helps get your pie wheels turning!

MEAL PREP & FREEZER MEALS

September is going to rock my world.  I will be traveling away from my children on two separate trips - both of which I am super excited about.  (Side note: I just finished reading a book where it made fun of an American girl that regularly used the word "super."  I saw myself and cringed a little, 😁, but guess what?  I'm still going to use it.  It is a super good word.)  Anyway, because of all of the traveling, I need the people who will be caring for my children to have meals ready to go.

Yesterday, I spent a couple of hours mapping out meals for the next month+.  This included making an extensive grocery list and then ordering said list to be PICKED UP at Wal-Mart.  This grocery pick-up is a game changer.  Now, please know that I am a teensy bit irritated that this came to fruition just in time for all of my grocery "helpers" to go to school.  That said, it is still a major win in my world.  This morning I picked up 82 - EIGHTY TWO - items from Wal-Mart.  They were finishing up my order when I arrived, so I waited a few minutes, but then it was all loaded into my car ready to go home.

No wandering the store.  No double checking the list again.  No going back to the other side of the store after missing something there on my first visit.

Seriously amazing.  Kroger has it too, but I haven't yet tried theirs - I've heard that it still has a few more kinks.  But, Wal-Mart's is fantastic and made me trying to get food for a month a much better experience.

Okay - here are *most* of the recipes that I'm using this month.  They all fit into my "eat healthier" category by being mostly bread free, mostly fresh food.  These are all being frozen.

Mini-Meatloaf Pepper Rings
- I mentioned this in my "Recipes We've Enjoyed" post last month, but this time, I'm making it for the freezer so someone else can pull it out and feed it to my kiddos!  As a double bonus, peppers are really quite beautiful, not to mention tasty.  I froze these at the point that you would be ready to put them into the oven, and I doubled the recipe, making two trays of it.  For our family, I only put tomatoes on half of it, because several of my kiddos are picky.



Crockpot Honey Pork and Apples

Slow-Cooker Lemon Herb Turkey Breast

Slow-Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken and Veggies
- This one is great, because it is truly an entire meal.

Sausage, Kale and Spaghetti Squash Boats
- I am planning to freeze a couple extra of these with instructions to defrost and warm up, covered, in oven until warmed through.  I think it will work - fingers crossed!

And, just because I'm feeling super 😉 generous, I'm going to throw in a few more recipes that we've recently enjoyed!

Crazy Good Peanut Noodles
- These are noodles made with yellow squash, and I used almond butter instead of peanut butter due to our peanut allergy.  I also made basic chicken in the crock pot that we then slathered in this sauce.  For us, it was a big win.

Creamy Maple Dijon Chicken with Bacon
- I have only started to develop a taste for bacon in the last year.  I know, I know.  What took me so long?  Well, I had a very bad experience with bacon at an After-Prom breakfast in high school where I managed to set fire to a microwave and turn a plate of bacon into a crater.  But, I'm starting to come around, and this recipe was delicious to me, bacon and all.  We ate it with zoodles (zucchini noodles) which most of my kids will eat.  Depending on the day.  And their moods.  Just like all food.

Healthy Dark Chocolate No-Bake Bars
- I've already made these twice since last week.  They are a hit with us all!  Almonds, Oats, Pecans, Dates, Dark Chocolate, and a tiny bit of salt and Vanilla Extract are all it takes.

For whatever reason, I like to vary our meals pretty frequently, so I am almost always trying out new recipes, which has definite pros and cons.  These are all winners, so I hope to incorporate them more often.  Hope this gives you some meal planning inspiration!

RECIPES WE'VE ENJOYED

As I wrote last month, we've been making better choices eating as a family.  I thought I'd share a few of the recipes that we have enjoyed recently.  I've become rather obsessed with both sweet potatoes and avocados, and this combination is a favorite.



Who knew I'd become this person?  Certainly not me.  I got the idea from this recipe of Sweet Potato Toast that can be adapted a couple of different ways.  I microwave my sweet potatoes when I'm in a hurry.  Or just really hungry.

I made this Shrimp and Mashed Cauliflower recipe that actually reminded me of Shrimp and Grits - especially when we covered it in barbecue sauce.  I threw the cauliflower in the food processor instead of mashing it and used greek yogurt in it, which definitely made it taste more like grits than mashed potatoes - we'll definitely do this again.

I didn't take pictures of anything else, but here's a quick rundown of other meals that we really enjoyed!

Chicken, Spinach, Mushroom and Feta Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Grilled Pineapple Teriyaki Pork Chops

Mini Meatloaf Pepper Rings

Garlic Chicken Zucchini and Corn

Japanese Farm Style Teriyaki Bowl

We are also savoring lots of summer fruits - aren't watermelons pretty?



Hope this gives you some new meal ideas - happy eating!

BETTER FAMILY FOOD CHOICES

When I wrote my New Year's post and included eating better as a family, it was anyone's guess - including my own - as to exactly what that might look like.  As the year has worn on, we are making healthier eating a lifestyle, and I am so pleased to see it coming to fruition.

Our choices haven't been drastic, but they have been consistent, and they have stuck.  For breakfast, the kiddos mostly eat Quaker Oat Squares or Protein Cheerios or homemade breakfast balls (I make them with Wowbutter, since we are peanut free) that they love.  I basically quit buying the more sugary cereals, and though I know cereal is not always an ideal choice, this is what works for us now.  I may reevaluate in the fall when we start our new routines.

For lunch, I've continued with my jar salads, which I love!  Here's a recipe for a knock-off salad from BJ's that I had a few weekends ago and loved.  It makes a great jar salad!

The kiddos lunches haven't changed much, but we've continued with lots of fresh fruits in addition to sandwiches and turkey and cheese.

The biggest change I've made for the kiddos is that we cut out fruit snacks and crackers in the afternoon.  I found that they were not much interested in eating all of dinner after packing in the goldfish all afternoon - shocker.  And, after 4 cavities between Lily and Bella with the dentist telling me that some of it was "environmental issues": read - poor parental food choices for them.  Fruit snacks were likely the biggest cavity culprit for us, and so they will now be a special occasion item instead of a daily treat.  I don't even have them at our house anymore.

Thankfully, the girls liked the dental work.  😂😂😂  I mean that sincerely - Lily had a great time and told me she felt like she was floating, and though Bella was nervous at first, she warmed up to it.  More specifically, she totally zoned out to the cartoons in the TV on the ceiling.  They both did awesome, a fact for which I am quite glad.



Instead of fruit snacks or crackers, they can have any fruit or vegetable that they would like.  I figure I can't really spoil their dinner on carrot sticks.  At dinner, I've largely cut out bread.  I realized it was easy for any of us to fill up on rolls instead of vegetables, so I've done a TON of roasted vegetables.  And, it's been amazing to see that when the kids are hungry, and the only option is roasted zucchini, they will eat and enjoy the roasted zucchini or most other vegetables - though they certainly have favorites and least favorites.

I've simplified meal planning a lot of nights and do a lean protein with sides of two roasted or steamed vegetables.  While it can be a tad boring at times - it is easy, healthy and usually pretty cheap.  I've spent a fair bit of time on Pinterest looking for recipes to add more pizzaz and have a growing collection.  Let me know if you have any great ones I should add!

SUNSHINE SALAD IN A MASON JAR

I've been into making mason jar salads regularly for several months now, and I'm officially in love.  It helps me eat healthy, pretty food everyday, and it has really helped my overall diet and vegetable intake.  I wrote about it with links to a few recipes back in November, and I'm coming back to share a couple of recipes that I love.

The first is a copy-cat recipe of a salad I love at a local restaurant, Heights Taco & Tamale company.  This is a mock up of their Sunshine Salad that I regularly get when I eat there, with a side of lots of chips, several different kinds of salsa and likely cheese dip.  I'm sure I cancel out the health benefits, but I'm okay with that.

I looked online for a Smokey Tomato Vinaigrette dressing to make and found this recipe that was delicious and easy.  I typically use about 2+ Tbsp of dressing in the bottom of each mason jar.  This recipe made enough for me to make two rounds of salad, so I saved the extra from the first round for the next time I wanted this salad.

After the dressing was in the bottom, I then layered (from bottom to top) these ingredients

Mango chunks
Sliced Avocado (with lots of lime juice squirted on to prevent browning)
Cooked Shrimp (I baked my shrimp at 400 degrees for about 8 minutes, or until cooked through - before cooking, I dressed it with lime juice and a little salt and pepper)
Pumpkin seeds (or almonds - whatever you have on hand!)
Spinach



The salad is good for about five days after being made because of the avocado.  It really is delicious, light and fresh - perfect for spring and summer.  Though I've been eating it in winter to pretend that its springtime which also works.

Other recipes that I have LOVED and made several times are:

Stetson Salad with Pesto Buttermilk Dressing - it is such a unique blend of flavors, and the freeze-dried corn is a really fun bonus.

Spicy Southwestern Salad with Avocado Dressing - this is what I've been eating this week with tortilla chips, since those make anything even better.  I've had a mild love affair with sweet potatoes recently, and the avocado dressing on this is so very tasty.  I make it with basil and parsley instead of cilantro, because I fall into the small percentage of the population that dislikes cilantro.  It tastes like soap to me - this is really a thing.  Look it up on the internet if you don't believe me.

I do occasionally use store bought dressing in my home made salads - usually Newman's Own Lite Balsamic Vinaigrette.  Having an almost gourmet lunch everyday makes me excited about eating food that is good for me, so these salads have been a life-saver.  You can just grab them as you run out the door - plus a fork and a paper plate or bowl.

Enjoy!

MASON JAR SALADS

Well, I'm about two+ years behind on this little trend.  In fact, I think it's hey-day may have come and gone.  BUT - I just decided that I can actually eat healthier for lunch.  It's not rocket science - it just takes a little planning.  Sometimes I have the gumption for meal-planning, and sometimes it gets lost in the shuffle.  But I feel better when I eat better - go figure - so this is what I am eating for lunch most days.

I shared it with friends on Monday and realized it would make a great blog post, in case anyone out there is like me and needs a little inspiration/encouragement to eat things that make you feel good instead of stuffing your face with leftover Halloween candy at every opportunity.  I actually really love salads, but I sort of hate making them.  It feels like a lot of stuff to drag out, and I get bogged down trying to figure out an appealing combination on the fly.  These problems are solved with the Mason Jar Salad.



As a double bonus, they are really pretty.  Which counts in life, no matter what people say.  I am more excited about eating food that looks appealing than that which does not.  Fact.  I jumped in with both feet and made up quite a few on Sunday, because I knew John and I would both eat them.  There are SO many fun combinations out there!

So - here are the salads that I have made so far, including links to original recipes and how much I needed to be able to make four of them at a time.  I used Quart Mason jars that I purchased at Target, and most places recommended using about 2 TBSP of dressing per jar, which seems like a good amount.  You start with the dressing in the very bottom and layer the wet ingredients near the bottom and dryer ingredients at the top to keep it all fresh.  So far, they've been delicious!

Tofu Salad with Lemon-Sesame Dressing (found on Back To Her Roots, modified only very slightly to my taste)
(I weirdly had everything for this salad dressing on hand, so I tried it.  It's really quite tasty.)

Dressing: Makes enough for 4 Jars

2 TBSP tahini
2 TBSP lemon juice
Pinch of red pepper flakes
2 Tsp sesame oil
2 TBSP rice wine vinegar
2 Tsp honey
1/2 Tsp salt
1/2 Tsp black pepper
1/2 Tsp oregano
2 clove garlic, minced

Other ingredients (enough for 4 jars) - Stack in this order from bottom up
Tofu - 1 block
Grape Tomatoes
Cucumber - 1 whole
Sunflower Seeds (2 Tbsp per jar, 1/2 cup total)
Chopped Romaine (1 head)
Spinach Leaves
(Sprouts would be good if I could find them)

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Strawberry/Lime Vinaigrette (also found on Back To Her Roots, slightly modified to my taste)

Dressing: Makes enough for 4 jars  (it's such a tasty dressing!)

4 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
4 Tsp strawberry preserves
2 TBSP fresh lime juice
2 Tsp mustard
2 TBSP white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper, to taste

Other ingredients (enough for 4 jars) - Stack in this order from bottom up
Strawberries (1 container)
Cooked Quinoa (a couple of cups) - (I used Whole Wheat Pasta in it's place, because I was out of Quinoa - it seemed to work well)
Pumpkin Seeds (2 Tbsp per jar, 1/2 cup total)
Feta Cheese (1 container)
Spinach

My Pinterest searching yielded so many good options!  Here are a couple more that I want to try soon.

Taco Chopped Salad

Sunshine Salad with Orange Marmalade Dressing

This Link Has So Many Good Options

Veggie/Goat Cheese/Chicken Salad

I hope this gives you the nudge you need (if you needed a nudge at all!) to try something different, pretty and healthy for lunch and dinner!

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH (& A FEW OTHER RECIPE LINKS)

I've been wanting to share this recipe since Tuesday of last week, but, other things have happened.  Mainly, my life have has been commandeered by having sick children and/or being sick myself.  Probably like many of you.  From what I understand, this winter has been particularly brutal - at least where we live.  Anyway, here's to the road to recovery being swift.  (Please, God.)

Earlier this month, I decided to try some new recipes.  I love trying new recipes and often do it as much as twice a week.  I've found a couple of new winter favorites that I will definitely return to.  First up - Roasted Butternut Squash.  I made this for our D-Group last week and everyone wanted the recipe - so yummy.



I long ago realized that I am not going to become a famous food blogger or photographer, which makes a lot of sense.  So - that is a very unstyled, just re-heated look at this tasty treat of a meal.  To me, it still looks good and like something I would eat, even on my every day dishes that are nearing the 10 year mark.  I hope you agree.

I used this recipe and then tweaked it.  I used all of the things she suggested.  For my grain, I used quinoa for the first time ever, and it was delicious.  I knew that a lot of guys were going to be eating this, so I added cooked ground sausage.  When I mashed up the baked squash, I added an entire log of goat cheese, because how could we possibly go wrong with that?  I think the beauty of this recipe is that you can change it up based on what you have on hand or what sounds good.  It was a crowd pleaser and quite healthy as well.  Double bonus.

In recent weeks, I've also tried this Crock Pot recipe for beef and broccoli.  We all liked it - even the kiddos.  Next time I will probably use chicken, because John prefers it to red meat, but overall, it was a hit.

Also a major hit at our house - this Crock Pot Coconut Chicken Curry.  We really like curry, but I've never loved the hands-on nature of making it.  This fixes that problem and is really tasty!  I skipped the jalapeño and added cauliflower to ours at the end.  This curry thickens up quite nicely with the corn starch.  Serve over coconut rice with some Naan bread, and I felt like I was in Thailand.  Well, maybe not quite, but I did have vague recollections of our time there while eating this.

I hope this gives you some recipe inspiration!  Happy cooking.

FREEZER FOOD RECIPES & THE BEST LASAGNA

I mentioned in my Thanksgiving food post that I might follow up with links to a few freezer meals recipes.  Here is that promised post.  I have been in some sort of food co-op for the past five years, and I love the variety and ease it adds into meal prep.  In my current group, there are 6-7 women, and we each make one dish 6-7 times.  Then, we trade them all and end up with 6-7 different main dishes ready to go.  We trade every other month, so it's not a ton, but every little bit helps!

We traded this week, and due to the holidays, not as many people participated, so those of us that did made two meals each.  I made Creamy Tortellini Soup, and I really love this recipe.  Also note, that if you choose to double it, it will just barely fit into your crock pot - but I made it work!



I also made and froze Fabulous Chicken - a recipe that I got from my sis and blogged several years ago.  It freezes perfectly!  I just realized that none of the pictures work from that post, so I am just going to rewrite it here for ya.

4 boneless chicken breasts
1/4 cup melted butter
1 lg package of shredded Swiss Cheese
1 can of Cream of Mushroom soup
1/4 C White Grape Juice
1 package Good Seasons Herb and Garlic

Place chicken breast into baking dish.  Top with swiss cheese.  Mix the soup and juice together and pour over chicken/cheese.  Melt the butter and mix in the Good Seasons, and then pour that over as well.  Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.  Easy Peasy!

For this recipe, I froze it right before the baking time, so it will need to be defrosted before I bake it.  

Another recipe I made for next week and froze is Garlic White Lasagna.  This has become a new favorite of everyone I know that has ever tried it.  A friend made it for us the weekend of the IF conference, and I begged for the recipe and have been making it ever since then.  It's my favorite lasagna ever - hands down.  I am not a huge fan of marinara sauce, and this has none. 

My friend got the recipe from her mother-in-law, and after a little digging, I found the original recipe came from a 1998 Southern Living.  The only change from that recipe is that I was instructed to use slices of mozzarella cheese instead of shredded.  I think this makes a difference in the creaminess factor and overall deliciousness.



I froze it right at the point that it would be time to bake it, so I will just defrost and stick it into the oven.  I got hungry just thinking about eating it on Wednesday night.  Yum.



With it, I plan to serve this Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Grapes recipe.  I've never made it, but a friend recommended it.  By the looks of it, I don't think we can go wrong.  Fact: I had never deigned to eat brussels sprouts until a couple of weeks ago.  I was shocked to discover how tasty they are!

If you are looking for some yummy stuff to freeze, then I hope this helped!

PREPPING FOR THANKSGIVING + A FEW RECIPE LINKS

Every other year we have Thanksgiving at our house with John's family.  We are centrally located since they live in Colorado and North Carolina and especially now that another sister lives here, having everyone in the Rock is what makes the most sense.  It really is a sweet time, and I enjoy playing hostess.  However, since everyone is coming from far and wide, a lot of the prep work belongs to me.

I really do enjoy cooking, and I love tradition and holidays, so doing Thanksgiving is right up my alley.  Plus, I'm super thankful.  Obvs.

But - what I have realized is that to be able to host and ENJOY Thanksgiving at the same time requires a lot of working ahead, which is what I've been doing.  Which is why I'm blogging about it.  And - since I posted this picture on Instagram,



I've had a couple of inquiries about what I'm making and/or what I'm making ahead.  So - if you are cooking for Thanksgiving, you might find this post helpful.  If not - you probably didn't click on it to start with.

I have a Thanksgiving folder in my Evernote that is so helpful to return to every couple of years.  I had my menu from 2012, which included a detailed shopping list for each recipe, and since you really eat most of the same things each year, then this means I had much less planning work to do this year. Super bonus.

Here's what's on our Menu:

Turkey - usually we pressure cook this at CFA, which turns out amazing.  But, this year, John wants a break from being at the restaurant, which I totally get, and we are going to try grilling our turkey at home.  These are the instructions I plan on following - so wish us luck on that!

Stuffing - To be honest, I dislike stuffing and outsource this to my wonderful Mother-in-law on the day of.  She does a great job.  I do buy the stuff for her recipe.

Sweet Potato Casserole - I love this stuff.  Here's a recipe from a dear family friend that I always use. I made this the other night and stuck it in the freezer right before the part where you would bake it.  Then, I'll just defrost and bake the day of!

Casserole                                          Crumble Topping
3 C Mashed Sweet Potatoes             1 C Brown Sugar                              
1/4 C Evap. Milk                              1 C Chopped Pecans
1/4 C Flour                                       1/3 C Flour
3/4 C Honey                                     1/3 C Butter, melted
1 Stick of Butter
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp Vanilla
2 tsp Cinnamon
2 Eggs, beaten

Combine in mixer til light and fluffy.  Sprinkle crumble topping over it all.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Mashed Potatoes - I also made this the other night and froze them.  Then, day of, I will stick them in the oven with foil on top until they are heated through.  What I've discovered is that you can almost never bake potatoes too much.  I don't have a recipe - I just keep adding a combination of butter, sour cream, a bit of milk, minced garlic, salt and pepper until they taste good to me.

Aunt Clara's Rolls - Aunt Clara may be gone, but her rolls live on forever.  These can also be made ahead and frozen, though I haven't made it to them yet.

Green Bean Casserole - Another item that I outsource to MIL or someone else day of.  I have a vivid memory of trying to choke down green beans as a child with a reward of an M'M Pumpkin Cookie dangled in front of me.  I mixed them with my spaghetti, because I really didn't like them then.  I still don't like them.

Pineapple Casserole - This is something that is traditional for my brother-in-law, and so he always makes it on the day of.  It's their family recipe, and it really is good.  Because who doesn't love pineapples + sugar + butter.

Orange Salad - We are big fans of regular cranberry salad, so I'm trying something a bit different, and I think my kids will dig it, and maybe once we broach this salad with them, they will start to realize how amazing salads are.  I haven't made it in quite a while, but it seems like a good addition.

1 Lg Package of Orange jello
1 Lg Carton Cottage Cheese (small curd)
1 Sm Can of Pineapple Chunks, drained
1 Sm Can of Mandarin Oranges, drained
1 Cup Mini Marshmallows
1 Md Carton Cool Whip

Mix it all up.
Now - if you're looking at that recipe and a bit confused about the sizes, just know that I'm feeling the same way.  I got it from my mom, and I think I did a poor job of writing it down several years ago.  However, I have a pretty good feeling that this one is hard to screw up.  The ratios are fluid.  Just go with it.

As you can see, our menu is basic and extremely traditional.  I think it would be really fun to mix it up one year, but it's also nice to just do the same things - especially since we only do it once a year!

And, for dessert, I have Pumpkin Cheesecake (I make this using crushed up Ginger Snaps in place of the graham crackers in the crust), Apple Pie and Chocolate Pie.  I am kind of a snob about home made crusts - here's the recipe I use.  Pie crust is also great to make ahead an freeze - in fact, you can make ahead the whole Apple pie and freeze it right before the bake it part.

Just now, as I was looking back through the recipes I have posted in the past, and I found these Cupcakes that look like Turkeys - those were really fun.  It's also crazy to me how little Lily is in those pictures.  Time does indeed fly.

I hope this gives you some ideas if you needed them!  I've also been making food for the rest of the week as well as freezer meals for December.  If I get a chance, I might link to some of those recipes in another blog post - I've found some winners!  Happy early Thanksgiving.

REDISCOVERING MEAL PREP

Last year, we found out about the twins and normal life ceased to exist.  I did not plan for meals.  It was like food happened to us, and I am still not exactly sure what we ate from about March 25 to late December of this year.  The meal calendar that lives on our refrigerator was stuck on the week that  the life storm of twins came through - much like the calendar at the glass factory when a storm wiped it out.  People graciously brought us meals for several months, and I know we've had a lot of CFA, but other than that, it has been pretty patch work.

So, at the beginning of this month, I decided it was time to reclaim dinner time.  I am capable of making meal plans, and it is so helpful when I actually do it.  I don't run into the constant problem of 4 p.m. reoccurring every day, like it so often does, and me not having any clue what we will eat for dinner that evening.  And, it seems like the people at my house expect to eat dinner every single night.  So high maintenance.

I looked back in my Evernote from last January.  Side note: do you use Evernote?  If not, then you should.  It's like a magical note keeper/life organizer/list maker app that you can use on your phone and computer.  I especially like to use it when I am party planning to keep track of everything, and it has proven its worth in the meal planning biz as well.

This is what it looks like when pulled up online.



I plan for three weeks at a time, and I have figured out that actually cooking 3 meals in a week is what works for us.  We usually eat out for one dinner a week, and eat at CFA for another one, and the other nights we can do leftovers or breakfast for dinner or pull out a freezer meal.  I like a lot of variety, so I went back to Pinterest and looked at the fun recipes that I have pinned, and I put those links into the Evernote, so I can pull them up from my phone while cooking.  This works well for me, and I love it.  It has felt really good to have a plan again, and we are certainly eating much better than we were.

Some of the things we've had in the last three weeks that I rediscovered a love for and would highly recommend are:
Grilled Pork Chops with Balsamic Caramelized Pears
Spinach Tortillini Soup
Panera's Stove Top Mac N Cheese
Tiramisu Toffee Dessert

In other food related news, I bought a food dehydrator.  Here was my reasoning.  Yogurt Melts are expensive, even the off brand.  I thought to myself, there has to be a way to make these cheaper, and with four kids eating them, I need to.  After researching at-home-freeze-drying, which is not a thing, I discovered that you can dehydrate yogurt.  I don't think my first attempt is going to be successful.  I forgot to look up instructions until after I had already put the yogurt on the paper.  All sites recommended lightly greasing the paper beforehand.  So, then I sprayed Pam onto the yogurt drops in a desperate attempt to save them.  They are drying right now, but I don't think it's going to work out.  However, there is great hope for the future, and since the dehydrator cost me $30 on Amazon, if I make enough Yogurt Melts to fill 10 bags worth, I will regain my investment.

I would like to figure out how to dehydrate other stuff too, but I haven't gotten that far.  I also didn't account for the bulk of the thing, and I am not sure where it will be stored when not in use.  These are serious first world problems.

Well - if you were needing some inspiration to start meal planning, I hope this helped!  And, if you were going to start making your own yogurt melts with a dehydrator, I hope you have been warned against randomly spraying Pam over yogurt.  It does not look appealing.

RECIPES WITH GOAT CHEESE

Goat cheese is a slight obsession for me.  It is that good.  I mean it.  I realized that if a recipe has goat cheese in it, I am almost always like - "I'm in.  Sold.  Where do I sign?  Can I have seconds?  I want more.  Give me more."

Sound over the top?  Maybe a hair, but I mean it when I say that I love me some goat cheese.  All of that said, I decided to round up my favorite goat cheese recipes that I have tried so far, as well as some that I would like to try.  That way, if you are anything like me - and I have a feeling that you probably are, because it is GOAT CHEESE that I am talking about here, then you can get to making yourself some awesome goat cheese food.

Balsamic Reduction Burger with Goat Cheese Spread
(Recipe and picture from Food 52)

I made this for Community Group last week, and it was a hit all the way around.  Easy to make, and it is delicious.


Also made in the last week - Goat Cheese and Roasted Cherry Ice Cream.  I have raved about this ice cream from getting it at Jeni's in Nashville, and this week I found the recipe online.  It is amazing.  Truly.



(The bowl was broken, but I glued it back together and have been using it for months like this.  These things happen in my house a lot.)


There was a time that hearkens back to long ago when I shared recipes on this blog.  Here's an old favorite.  Reading through it again reminds me how good it is.  Smoked Turkey and Goat Cheese Sandwiches.




Here's a recipe that I love and have made many times.  It calls for Feta cheese, but I have always substituted Goat cheese, due to my aforementioned obsession.

Roasted Tomatos with Shrimp and Feta Cheese (Goat is Better)

(photo and recipe from Real Simple)


Here's another recipe that I modified so that it would include goat cheese: Pesto Chicken Stuffed Shells.  I added about 4 oz of goat cheese to this.  I have made this for the freezer with great results.

The next recipe is one that I have made over and over again with Blue Cheese, but I think it would also work and be delicious with Goat Cheese - though I haven't tried it yet:  Blue Cheese Burgers from All Recipes.

One last idea - Lemon Goat Cheese Tea Cookies.  I haven't made these yet, but they sure look light and tasty and perfect for summer.

So - there you have it.  Hopefully this will inspire you to cook more with this darling of an ingredient. Happy Friday and Goat Cheese Forever!

SUGAR COOKIES: MY RECIPES & TIPS

As almost anyone who reads my blog or follows me on Instagram will know, I love making and decorating sugar cookies.  I really do.  I have realized that most of the time, I have more important stuff that I should be doing, so I am not turning sugar cookies into any kind of career.  (Nor will this become a cookie blog.)  I already have a career in food.  Sort of.  By proxy.  Anyway. . .



I have started to get a lot of questions about what I do for sugar cookies.  There are a million different ways to do sugar cookies - like most things in the world.  I have found the one that works for me.

I use this basic recipe from All Recipes for the cookie.  It is good.  The only thing I do differently is add a teaspoon of almond extract, along with the vanilla.  I figured out about a year ago that I can only use real butter in these cookies to get them to turn out consistently.  Then I found out that lab rats won't eat margarine, because it is practically not a food substance.  Since then, I have only used the real deal butter when I make sugar cookies.  And almost everything else.

Basic tips for making and rolling out the cookies -
- Roll them out on parchment paper - then you do not have to move them at all, and they stay in their shape better.
- Get to the right consistency of dough.  It should not be sticky.  Add more flour if you need to.  This makes a huge difference in how much you like your life while making cookies.
- Practice really does help a lot.  The more you make cookies, the easier it becomes to get the results you want.

Moving on to icing.  What you probably don't realize, because you probably have not done extensive research on sugar cookie frosting techniques as I have (which makes me sound crazy), is that people have strong opinions about what frosting is used on sugar cookies.  Royal Icing is used most commonly, and it yields the perfect looking sugar cookies that you most likely find on Pinterest.

However, many people, including me, are not in love with how hard it dries and the taste of it.  I prefer Glaze on my sugar cookies.  The taste is better, it stays much softer, and but it still dries hard enough to be stackable.  However, you cannot get the fine details with glaze - it tends to be more goopy.

So - I finally decided that to make sugar cookies that look the way I want and taste the way I want, I need to use both kinds of frosting.  It is slightly more work, but it gets the results that I want, so it is worth it for me.  Also, both kinds of frosting keep in the fridge for long periods of time, since everything in them is shelf stable.  Usually I make large batches of both, and then I just color them and re-whip as needed.

For Royal Icing I use this recipe from Sugar Kissed.  It is supposed to be a softer royal icing and uses glycerin to keep it that way.  I have used this exclusively for some cookies, and I was pretty pleased with how they tasted.  I still like glaze better, but this recipe does taste good all over the cookies.

For the glaze, I use this recipe from All Recipes.  As a general rule, I "flood" all of my cookies with glaze.  So, I outline with Royal Icing and then fill them up with the glaze.  Then, I do the details with Royal Icing, because it is much more precise and holds it shape.

Basic tips for frosting -
- Consistency is key!  If I were the kind of person that used a lot of punctuation, I would have done a line of exclamation points on that.  Piping frosting needs to be stiff, but not so stiff that it will crack as it is coming out.  Flooding icing needs to be thin enough to spread easily and run all together, but not so thin that it runs off your cookie.  You determine how much control you have by the consistency of the frosting.
- I use gel colors.  Especially with the glaze, it is important to add white food coloring to it right off the bat.  Even though it is white.  This will make the white glaze more opaque and will allow it to take other colors better.

Well, that is about as basic as I can keep it without running on and on.  Other people do this much better than I do.  As I have mentioned before, Sweet Sugarbelle is one of my favorite cookie bloggers.  Her site is excellent and easy to navigate and includes detailed tutorials and in-depth explanations of stuff like icing consistency.  If you are really interested in cookies, I would check her out.

Please feel free to ask questions - I clearly enjoy this little hobby and like talking about it.  Also - I think it is easier than it looks to achieve results that you would be pleased with.  It just takes a little knowledge and practice.

Also, you can order beautiful sugar cookies on Etsy or at your local bakery if making them seems like too much work.  Always a good option.

RECIPES AND LEFTOVERS

I've been a bit heavy the past couple of days, so I thought it was time to liven things up with a mindless post about food.  Since we hosted Thanksgiving and people at our house last week, I pretty much cooked up a storm all week.  It was fun to plan menus and make a few new recipes along with many old favorites.

Here's what we've been eating.

On Wednesday morning, I made Sourdough Waffles for the first time ever.  My friend gave me a sourdough starter that lives and breathes in my fridge, and I just figured out how to use it as well as how to feed it.  Crazy good.  You should get a friend that will make you a starter of your own - or - you could bravely make it yourself.  Then you will learn about all kinds of randomness like the fact that wild yeast lives in the air, and you can catch it to harness its yeasting strength.  True Story.

Anyway, the waffles were amazing, and I am looking forward to many more sourdough treats in our future!  Thanks, Lindsay!

On Wednesday evening, I attempted the Panera Mac and Cheese recipe that has been haunting Pinterest.  Ya'll - it is the real deal.  It tastes like that heavenly mac and cheese.  Make it ASAP, if you like Mac and Cheese, which is pretty much a given.  I paired it with baked Salmon marinated in something really similar to this recipe, and it all received rave reviews.

Thursday brought the usual Thanksgiving fare.  Delicious stuff.  One of the things I did differently this year was making Pumpkin Cheesecake, instead of Pumpkin Pie.  A dear friend of mine made this a couple of weeks ago, and we fell in love.  It is Martha Stewart's recipe for the filling, and for the crust, my friend told me to chop up Ginger Snap Cookies and pecans, instead of graham crackers.  Amazing.

Friday morning, I made McCulley Family Cinnamon Rolls, which never get old.  In fact, they were almost all eaten by the end of the day.  Friday night, I made my own version of this recipe, that we love.  I substitute goat cheese for the feta, and because I had no fresh herbs on hand, I used dried basil instead of fresh parsley.  It was a light way to end the week of eating, though I suppose anything with goat cheese sprinkled liberally on it is not incredibly light.  The recipe says to serve it with crusty bread, but we want to try serving it over orzo next time.

And now, I have a fair amount of leftovers.  Since I had a casserole sneak up on me yesterday, I decided to fuse Hash Brown Casserole with my leftover mashed potatoes.  I put down one layer of the frozen hash browns, and then I made a layer of mashed potatoes.




Then, I poured more hash browns on top and followed the rest of the recipe.  Success!  You really can never have too many types of potato all together.  And then baked.  With cheese.

Tonight I am making dinner for Community Group, and I am going to put my leftover turkey into this White Chili instead of chicken.  Wish me luck!

CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA BREAD

I know that I am posting a recipe right at the beginning of fall that has no pumpkin, which is probably criminal.  However, this bread is cozy and will fit into your life any time of year.  That's what I think, anyway.  This recipe is from my MIL, and I added the chocolate chips.  At first John thought that was really weird, but after eating the bread, he became a believer.

So, when your bananas look like this, as mine too often do -  (actually, often they look even worse than this)



This is what you can do with them.  You need -

1 2/3 cup of sugar
2/3 cup of shortening
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup of mashed banana
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/8 cups of flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
2/3 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup chocolate chips

I like this recipe, because it is straight-forward, easy to throw together and, above all other things, tasty. Follow these instructions.

Cream sugar and shortening together, add eggs and beat until it is well-blended and light.  Add banana and vanilla and mix well.  I decided to skip any mashing of my own and threw whole bananas in, which worked fine.



Mix all of your dry ingredients in a separate bowl.



Add the dry mixture alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry mixture.  Add your chocolate chips.  Yum.

Pour into greased pans and bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean.  I baked mine in this nifty pan, so I baked for a slightly shorter amount of time.



Then, you will have delicious banana bread for you all to munch on when the craving calls.



Enjoy!

FREEZER to CROCK-POT FRENCH DIP SANDWICHES

French Dip sandwiches are just a straight up classic.  Hubby loves them and feels well-fed, and my girls will even eat the meat, which at my house, is pretty amazing.  We don't eat much red meat here (we do own a chicken restaurant after all), but this is one recipe that we will take to the red meat bank.  It's good.

Remember back when I used to share recipes?  This summer I got out of my groove, and now I am trying to get my groove back.  But it's hard.  Other grooves are often easier paths of least resistance, but I am forging ahead, because my family needs to eat.  Every night, apparently.  This e-card sums up my feelings perfectly.

Source: sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net via Carol on Pinterest

That said, I really do enjoy cooking - it just takes more planning.  I am in a freezer food co-op with six other girls right now, and it is fantastic, because I make six of whatever meal I am making that month, and then I trade it for six different meals that each of them have made.  Win - win - win.  It makes my meal planning more simple, and I like my life better when after gymnastics and getting home around 5:20, I just need to pop a thawed something into the oven for dinner.  Or after I've been busy crafting or reading blogs and forget about dinner, there is something edible in my freezer.  Like I said before, a big win.

So, here's a recipe I adapted for the freezer - French Dip Sandwiches.  The recipe is mostly from Baking Bites, though I change a few things.  You need -

about 3 lbs of Beef Chuck Roast  (I have also used a pork roast with great results)

2 tsp of Beef Bouillon

2 cups of water

1 10.5 oz can of condensed French Onion Soup

1 cup Red Wine Vinegar  (original recipe uses red wine, but I like the slightly sharper taste of the vinegar - and it's cheaper.  Beer also works great.)

1 tsp Garlic Powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

4-6 French Rolls

Sliced Provolone Cheese

Put on an apron, cause you are about to deal with some raw meat.  I put on one of my favorite aprons made by my one of my sisters.

Trim the fat off of the meat and season the meat with salt, pepper and garlic powder.  If you are planning to eat it that night, go ahead and put it into the crock pot.

If you are planning to freeze it, put it into a high quality freezer bag.  Pour these ingredients over the meat - the Beef Bouillon, the French Onion Soup, and the Red Wine Vinegar.  If you are making it right away in the crock pot, pour an additional two cups of water over it.  If you are freezing it, omit the water - it can be added the day it is cooked and will make it take up less space in your freezer.

Cook on low for 7-8 hours.  How easy is that?  Shred the meat towards the end of the cooking time.

Make sure your rolls are ready to be toasted.  I needed to slice mine.

Toast your rolls.

When you're ready, load your roll with hot, shredded meat.

Top with a slice of provolone cheese, that will deliciously melt.

And you are good to go, in my book.  Use the extra juice as your Au Jus dipping sauce.  Yum.

John adds other stuff to his - like mayo and mustard.  Some people add horseradish sauce.

Just trying to broaden your sandwich horizons, since I know that's why you come here.

If you are freezing it, you will have a bag that looks like this -

Write a note to yourself, or whomever you are bequeathing it to, that you must thaw it overnight in the fridge.  Then, pop it into the crock pot, pour the two cups of water over it and follow the rest of the instructions the exact same.  I gave rolls to freeze and provolone cheese as well, though I only got a picture of the bagged cheese.

Then, after our swapping, I realized that I accidentally had kept extra bags of cheese for myself.  Doing anything with children or friends around can cause me to be a bit absent minded and overlook details like cheese.  Oh, well.  There is a lot of extra cheese laying around my life, it seems.

Happy French Dip Cooking!  Perfect for fall, which is slowly making its way toward us.