Sugar and spice make cookies very nice...

The christmas package baking is going well - I got 4 more things done today and the rest is mainly decoration. I hope to have the round up at the end of the weekend or early next week. There are quite a few things so it may take a day or two to get it all together. The candy thermometer had a good workout today!

I have been looking for a good snickerdoodle recipe for awhile and tried out this recipe for Jeff to bring into his team tomorrow as an extra thank you using the ingredients they gave us. Most of the recipes I've used or found use full shortening or half shortening/butter in the recipe. This one uses only butter and the final taste was what I was looking for. Some recipes do not call for cream of tartar, but whenever I make them it always seems like it is missing something. I'm not sure what exactly it adds, but I can tell the difference.

After the dough chills for an hour, it is ready to be rolled into balls and then into a cinnamon sugar mixture which gives the tops that classic sparkle/crackle. We like soft and chewy snickerdoodles so I took them out at exactly 8 minutes. They had very little color, puffy in the center, and just set. I did test a few cookies by slightly flattening them and baking for about 10 minutes to get a crisp cookie. The inside did remain chewy in the center of the crisp cookies.

A spicy combination of recipes I've been wanting to try makes up dinner tonight. The first, Seared Chicken with Sriracha Barbecue Dipping Sauce, was to be made with Chicken Thighs, but we opted for Chicken Breasts. The juicy chicken is marinated in a citrus mixture for a couple hours and then seared off in a skillet. The dipping sauce is very spicy from the sriracha, but having the citrus in the chicken and the honey in the glaze brings it down a notch or two. I think the combination of chicken and the spicy sauce would be great served over rice next time.

White Cheddar Grit Cakes makes up the side dish. I'll admit we've never used grits, let alone quick cooking, so I had been waiting anxiously to see how this one would come out. The texture reminded me of Polenta but the taste is a touch different. They are pretty much the same, but Grits are made from Hominy - dried white corn from which the hull and germ have been removed - and polenta is usually made from yellow corn which contains just the germ. I think I have that right anyway! Feel free to weigh in on that debate! The grits are cooled in a baking dish then cut into triangles to saute. This gives it a crispy crust while the center warms up. The jalapeno gives a subtle heat that works well with the grits.

Recipes
Snickerdoodles
White Cheddar Grit Cakes
Seared Chicken with Sriracha Barbecue Dipping Sauce

A note of thanks...

Before I start in on my daily update, I wanted to post a note of thanks to the people at Jeff's office. When he came home today he was lugging in this huge basket. I was off doing the dishes and noticed that he put this rather large box on the counter and then went to get the rest of his stuff from the car. I didn't think too much of it and then out of the corner of my eye I saw some a couple of the items peaking over the top. I went over to take a look and he came back in the house at the same time. He just kind of smiled and showed me a couple cards his co-workers left him. This is what I saw...

Very unexpected and it is much appreciated for all the items they gave us! So many baking supplies saying thanks for all the treats he brings in on Wednesdays. Several bags of different chocolate chips, flour, sugars, colored plastic wraps, coconut, and even butter! Many other items, just in time for the holiday baking spree we have going on here. So thanks, if you happen to see this, and we appreciate the time and effort put into the basket!

Okay, I mentioned in yesterday's post that we made something else to bring in for them today. Gingerbread Popcorn is a twist on a normal caramel type popcorn. I could just tell this would go over well from the smell coming from the oven. Molasses and ginger bring such a new dimension of flavors to the crunchy popcorn. This was overwhelmingly voted in to be included in the packages going out now.

Tonight for dinner we had Spicy Turkey Sausage and Spinach Pasta. Twisty cavatappi pasta is coated with a gooey parmesan cheese mixture, then mixed with a warm combination of wilted spinach and cherry tomatoes. Spicy italian turkey sausage adds a touch of heat and brings the rest of the flavors together. Next time, I would grate some extra parmesan on top for a little extra bite.

Recipes

Gingerbread Popcorn
Spicy Turkey Sausage and Spinach Pasta

Where did the day go?

When you are busy in the kitchen, the day just seems to fly right on by. I got quite a few things accomplished though so that's good. Since tomorrow is the last Wednesday of the year that Jeff will be in the office, I needed to come up with a couple things for him to bring into the Wednesday Treat Day for his co-workers. I also had to get a bunch of other stuff done and prepped for later in the week. Thankfully I have the extra time during the day this week for stuff or I don't think I would ever get done!

I made two items for tomorrow, I'll show you one tonight and post the other tomorrow when I have a little more time. We are also looking to see if these will get voted into the cookie gifts that we are sending out. The one featured tomorrow will most likely be sent along from Jeff's reaction. Tonight's offering is Peanut Butter Filled Chocolate cookies. This is kind of a spinoff from the Caramel Filled Chocolate cookies.

Instead of filling the dough balls with a premade candy, I used a peanut butter/confectioners' sugar combo. The chocolate dough is soft but not sticky when you are working with it. The chocolate cookies have a hint of peanut butter in the dough itself, but when you reach the peanut butter center both flavors combine into a perfect match. Since you gently flatten each ball with a glass dipped in sugar it leaves a nice sparkle and ensures an even cookie.


For dinner, I used a cut of beef that we were pretty unfamiliar with. Steak, Sun-Dried Tomato, and Mozzarella Couscous Salad uses flank steak and I have never cooked it before. It is a pretty lean cut if trimmed well and quite flavorful. I marinated the steak with just salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce before cooking. After cooking to a medium rare, we let the steak rest for about 10 minutes before cutting it.

The only thing that was going in my head at that time was "Cut against the grain, against the grain!" I've heard that so many times when watching people make it on TV that I was nervous we would mess it up! Mixed with couscous, fresh mozzarella and sun-dried tomatoes this was a pretty quick and very flavorful dish. We ate this slightly warm, but certainly make it ahead of time and chill in the fridge for a very quick meal. I served spicy and crispy hash browns that are formed with a biscuit cutter, then baked in the oven until golden.

Recipes

Peanut Butter filled chocolate cookies
Spicy and Crispy Potato Hash Browns
Steak, Sun-Dried Tomato, and Mozzarella Couscous Salad

Put a dent into the butter!

Well today was pretty productive! So far today I've baked a little over 14 dozen cookies (3 different types) and a pan of fudge. I think we will wait until they are decorated (fair warning though, we are not the best decorators!) to post how they end up. I plan to get everything done and wrapped up to ship out by about Sunday.

Since Trader Joes discontinued the almond meal I needed to use for a recipe today, I had to make some myself. I did not blanch them as we found we prefer the taste of them with the skin on in the cookies. It was easy enough to do in the food processor, just make sure that you add a little sugar from the recipe to ensure you don't end up with almond butter. The pulse button is your friend! You could even use a spice grinder, but it might take awhile if you need a lot.

The fudge I made today is incredibly easy and is something we have been making for the past few years. It is a little unusal but if you love cinnamon like we do - you have to make this! The result is creamy, melt in your mouth, addictive and Jeff can't keep his hand out of the container. I'll have to make another batch at this rate if we ever get them wrapped to send out.

I purposely chose an easy dinner tonight as I knew I was going to be tired. Warm Salad with Chicken Paillards & Chevre has been in the to-try pile for awhile and was a wind down from a busy day. The chicken is pounded thin so it cooks very quickly in the pan. A light coating of breadcrumbs leaves a crunchy coating on the juicy chicken. A warm and light citrus dressing coats the peppery leaves of the Arugula while the sweet dates give some interesting texture. The orange chunks give an additional punch of sweet citrus flavor, but with adding crumbly and tangy goat cheese, it is not overly sweet. A lot of flavors going on here, but they all meld very well. Little oops though, forgot to add the cheese before taking the photo!

Recipes
Cinnamon Fudge

Warm Salad with Chicken Paillards & Chevre

Would you like some cookies with your butter?

With Mom being out here last week, we didn't get a chance to get started on the majority of the baking for Christmas. I got the list ready this morning and off we went shopping. Trader Joe's can probably afford to give their employees new cars after we were done with them. I was a little disappointed though that they discontinued carrying the Almond/Hazelnut meal as I needed that for some cookies. I ended up just buying regular almonds and will make my own I guess.

Butter for some cookies anyone?

Tomorrow will begin the week of Christmas baking craziness as we try to catch up and get stuff ready to be shipped out. I don't have many new recipes as I try to stick to tried and true ones to send out. I'll see what I can get posted as we make them, although the results might be more towards the end of the week as the first few days will be making dough and prepping the rest.

Lots of chocolate floating around with the butter too!

Tonight's Netflix DVD will be Napoleon Dynamite with that crazy guy Jon Heder. This has been in the queue for awhile but we moved it up the list a couple weeks ago. Can't wait to see it! Be sure to keep checking back with us throughout the week and see if we can actually get all this baking done! I still have plans to do the weekly Treats for Jeff's co-workers, but I don't know if I will have enough time. I need to sleep too!

Before, during, and after

I mentioned a few weeks ago that we were doing some changes to the kitchen and that I didn't have much room to work with during that time. When we moved into the house 2 1/2 years ago the majority was stark white with the exception of a few rooms where the previous homeowners went a little wacko with sponges and paint.

I love color in houses and could not stand it anymore, so we finally picked out some colors and hoped it worked out in the end. The color's names are Red Revival and Regency Cream from Dunn Edwards.... basically a red and an earthy yellow. Thankfully we got this accomplished before Mom came out! Since we had to shrink down the pictures quite a bit, please be sure to click on them to get a clearer result.

Here is the before picture....

And the mess during - I was nervous here as it looked way too pink and not red... I kept saying to myself "wait till it dries... wait till it dries!"

The final shot without anything put back - I think we are pretty pleased. Walking into the house is much different now, but I like the contrast in colors so far!

We just got home from sending Mom off at the airport. I hope she had a good time! I'll have to post some pictures we got from Tucson and some other places! The movie of the night from Netflix will be Family Guy Presents: Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story. Be sure to check back and see what else is happening in the kitchen! I'll be prepping the menu tonight for this week!

Never know what you will find when shopping there!

While we were out shopping yesterday at Cost Plus World Market I came across another new baking item I have not used before.

Cappuccino chips made from Guittard! I think I have recipes somewhere for these, but I can't figure out what I did with them. They have an intense coffee/cappuccino flavor and are pretty creamy. Have you tried them before? If so, what did you do with them - or what would you use them in if you had them? I love shopping at this store and always come out with something I never intended to buy.

Mom spotted something else while we were in the store, but she isn't sharing this one! A Kahlua cream flavored milk chocolate bar. She's saving this for the trip home, but we'll let you know what she thought! I may have to run back over and pick up some myself just to give it a try!

Going with a lighter fare for dinner this evening. Chicken and Bow Tie Pasta Salad along with Zucchini Oven Chips (I've made the chips before) was a fresh change from some of the other dishes we've been having this week. The pasta salad was light, tangy from the citrus, and I'm surprised I liked the added grapes as much as I did. I like how the toasted walnuts gave some crunchy texture along side of soft grapes. It seemed like an odd combination for me while I was preparing it, but the results were very good! This will be great for leftovers and I would make this again just to have for lunch sometime.

Recipes
Chicken and Bow Tie Pasta Salad

Here's what we did...

Since we were going to be traveling to Tucson the past couple days, we ended up having to board the pets at the Vet's office. We picked them up today and I decided to bring in something to thank them since they took the dogs kind of last minute.

Remember the Kissables? I decided on what we were going to make and we ended up with cookies. I wanted to see if the shell would remain intact and if the shell softened any. I also needed an excuse to use the new Hershey Milk Chocolate Caramel Filled baking pieces.

Chocolate Malted Kissables and Caramel Chunk Cookies turned into these thin, crispy, and very enjoyable cookies. Using chocolate malt powder gives these a unique background, which is hard to pick out but it enhanced the flavor so much.

I split the dough in half to see how each product would work. The Kissables worked fantastic as the shell stayed intact and softened slightly, so it was very easy to bite into. The taste of the chocolate caramel ones was awesome! The first couple cookies of the caramel ones were a little bumpy as the gooey caramel bursted out onto the baking pan if it was on the side of the raw dough. I learned quickly to make sure all the chocolate pieces were covered with dough, execpt I left some on top uncovered so it could ooze over without going on the sheet.

We sent most off to the Vet's office, but the ones we kept were quickly devoured. I'm waiting to see how they will store - I put them in a tupperware container for a few hours and am happy to see they are still crisp!

Tonight for dinner is a recipe we made a few weeks ago. Pasta Margherita has become a favorite and I can't wait to make it again - we rarely do repeats of recipes but this one is very good.

Recipes
Chocolate Malted Kissables and Caramel Chunk Cookies

So far Mom approves!

Biscotti is definitley a favorite snack around here. I have been making several different kinds over the years and this one ranks right up there in taste. I've never had coconut in biscotti before and there is something else that is a little unusual - there are no nuts in the recipe.

I decided to do these naked and plain, but you could certainly dip them in chocolate or throw in some nuts/chocolate chips if you like. Cutting them about 1/2" thick you will end up with about 20 crispy cookies... but they are not too hard. Just right for dunking I think! One thing I like to do, and have done since I started making these, it to place them on their bottoms instead of the cut sides. This way they still end up the same crispness, but you don't sit there trying to flip over each biscotti burning your fingers! If you prefer a softer type, only bake for about 10 minutes.

Dinner tonight, Chicken PotPie, was a pretty quick recipe to throw together since I already had a pie crust on hand that I made earlier. If you don't like to make them, or short on time, feel free to use a premade dough. This warm and comforting dish was perfect for the chilly weather outside. I used a succotash of corn, red peppers and edamame for the mixed vegetables. Breaking through the flaky, crisp, and salty crust then taking your first bite, your mouth is filled with a creamy sauce and tender vegetables. Chunks of chicken are plentiful and the coating from the seasoned flour helps lend even more flavor. I don't think there is one thing I would change as each one of us remarked how much we liked it.

You will have leftover pie dough, so I cut out some fun christmas shapes to place on top. What I also like to do with plain leftover dough is to brush it with a little melted butter and sprinkle the scraps with cinnamon sugar. Bake until golden and boy is it good! So simple, yet so tasty!

Recipes
Coconut Biscotti
Chicken Potpies

Brrrr!

Wow it was cold this morning! We had a freeze warning last night so we made sure to go out and get all the plants covered. It went below 32 around 7am... and to think Mom left Minnesota to come enjoy the "warm" weather of Phoenix for a week! Brrrrr!

Jeff has the week off from work so unfortunely there is no big treats for the co-workers to make today. I did bake another loaf of the cranberry-hazelnut quickbread with Mom that we enjoyed from a couple weeks ago.

Dinner tonight was a flavorful and quick type of burger with an Asian flare. We had Turkey Burgers with Peanut Sauce served with some baked tortilla chips. A Thai-style peanut sauce tops ground turkey that is flavored with fresh ginger, chili paste and soy sauce. A generous stack of alfalfa sprouts gives a contrasting texture against the warm sauce and turkey. This will be repeated for sure in the future - I can see this as a great lunch - warm or even cold!

Recipes

Turkey Burgers with Peanut Sauce

Sweet and hot...

Since I love ginger in just about anything, I thought I would make some cookies today as I picked up some crystallized ginger at Trader Joe's yesterday.

Chewy Ginger Cookies have a little crispness around the edges with a decent soft and chewy texture throughout. Chilling the dough is needed as it can be sticky and it allows the dough to firm up so it does not spread too much. These do spread a bit, but they are not paper thin. Rolling the dough balls in sugar gives them a little sparkle and a crunchy coating. Ginger is used twice in these cookies that comes from ground ginger and the crystallized. When you bite into a piece of the ginger it has a subtle hot flavor balanced out by the sweet sugar coating.

For dinner tonight we had a comforting and filling soup. Italian Sausage soup is packed with flavor, but is so quick to throw together it feels like it had been on the stove for hours. Orzo, a rice shaped pasta, is used to soak up some of the stock and help give the soup some body and texture. I added 3 cups of spinach which helped give some volume and we love the taste. The turkey sausage has a mild heat but brings the dish together and adds a heartiness to the soup. A sprinkling of fresh basil and parmesan finishes off the soup with a final punch of flavor.

Recipes
Chewy Ginger Cookies
Italian Sausage soup

Weekend Cat Blogging 26

We picked up Mom from the airport last night (1 1/2 hour delay!) and then proceeded to wait over an hour for the bags because they got stuck coming down the belt... what a way for her to start a vacation huh?!

Taking a peek over the this past week's recipes we made 11 new ones without any repeats inbetween. Three really stood out for us and they were the Cran-Apple Muffins, Cardamom-Date Snack Cake and Chocolate Cherry Crumb Bars.

We finished up the decorating and Miss Kitty decided she wanted to be festive and dressed up in Christmas cheer for this weekend's WCB event that Clare at Eat Stuff hosts. Food bloggers all over the world show off their cute kitties in many ways - go over and see who else joined in!

Netflix is trying to make up for the delays yesterday with what we hope will be a funny DVD called Christmas with the Kranks with Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis.

Lots of stuff should be coming from the kitchen as we try (hopefully) to impress Mom! Stay tuned to see what goodies come out this week!

Came across a new product....

While running some errands today, we came across an interesting development in the candy section. Apparently there are now mini hersheys kisses dressed in colorful candy coatings... Blue, red, yellow, green, and orange colored M&M clones called Kissables.

I have plans for these tasty little gems which remind me very much of pieces from the board game called Sorry! Make sure to check back later in the week to see what I come up with - will they go in brownies? Ice Cream? How about a tasty cookie? I will let you know when we decide!

Heading off to the airport to pick up Mom (if the flight stops being delayed that is...) as she is coming out for a week stay for some good eats and a breather from the farm. Netflix redeemed themselves by sending some good movies this weekend. Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith will be the DVD of the night. We were in Disneyworld when this was released and it was fun wandering around Downtown Disney and seeing almost everyone dressed up and waiting to go in for the midnight showing.

Another new recipe with dates...

I received a comment in yesterday's post asking what kind of dates we used. Since I really don't know much about them I double checked and they were of the Medjool variety. I will have to do some research, but in the meantime, is there much difference between varieties?

Knowing that I was going to have some leftover, I went through the large pile of untried recipes (which I swear is getting larger no matter how many we try every week) to see if I happened to have anything. I had one that would work for dinner - Cinnamon-Spiced Moroccan Chicken.

This chicken dish has so many interesting flavors happening. Sweet, spicy and savory all at once with cinnamon, hot chili powder, cumin along with Granny Smith apples and of course the dates. The tender chicken took on a golden yellow hue from the turmeric. Leaving the dry spices on the chicken overnight seemed to enhanced the flavor quite a bit. If you are running short on time you can just coat the chicken before you cook, but if you have a couple minutes I think it greatly benefited from sitting for a few hours. Pretty different than what we would normally do with chicken, but surprisingly very good.

I probably would have served this with couscous but I had some red potatoes to use up and a recipe itching to be made. Along side the chicken we had Roasted Potato Salad with Peppers and Parmesan. Simple roasted potatoes made fancy with roasted red peppers, jalapeno and shaved parmigiano. The outside of the potatoes remain crisp with the insides fluffy and soft. The jalapeno lended a nice heat, but I think I would reduce the red pepper next time as it overwhelmed the other flavors a little.

Recipes
Cinnamon-Spiced Moroccan Chicken
Roasted Potato Salad with Peppers and Parmesan

Baking with a new dried fruit

I've seen dates in the store for quite sometime and I've wondered what they were like. As far as I know, I have never tasted one before and was never sure what to do with them so I just kept passing them by. I noticed some at Trader Joes the other day and had to pick some up. I went looking for something to try them out on and came across a snack cake. Fresh dates are sweet, but when they dry the sugar content increases dramatically and they become very intense.

To keep the new theme going, I found a recipe that used a spice that I have not used in baking before. I have used this one in savory dishes but I've read many times that Cardamom is very good in sweeter recipes. Cardamom-Date Snack Cake is a very moist cake that is studded with chopped dates throughout and topped with a type of almond streusel. Even with being baked in a 9" pan, they rose quite high and took on an even golden brown color. An incredible amount of flavor and tenderness fills each bite of this cake. When cutting, it is best to use a serrated knife because of how moist this tasty cake is.

Because I was able to prep tonight's dinner last night the only thing I had to do was pop it in the oven. French Toast Soufflé looked a little plain sitting in the pan before going to bake, but when it came out it was almost 4" above the rim of the pan! This did not last long though so I was unable to grab a decent picture of it. The top takes on a somewhat crunchy texture while underneath the soaked bread was soft, moist, and yet not mushy. This would be a great dish for a holiday breakfast for guests.

Recipes

French Toast Soufflé
Cardamom-Date Snack Cake

From the teaser yesterday....

I mentioned in yesterday's post that I made two treats for Jeff to bring in for the coworkers on Wednesday Treat Day. You got to see the cookies yesterday and with a little teaser you saw what ingredients went into the other item.

Chocolate Cherry Crumb Bars has quite a few steps to make, but the end result made the effort worth it. It seemed like almost a cross between a brownie and a cake with a crumbly topping. After baking the bottom layer, a mixture of plumped cherries is placed on top followed by a crumb topping of the base.

The top layer is not fall apart crumbly as each bar cut very cleanly. Deep chocolate flavor filled each bite with a hint of coconut throughout. Close in flavor to a black forest cake. I'm not sure if I can describe this enough to do it justice - it was just that good.

Spicy Sesame Noodles was on tap for dinner tonight. This was a quick pasta dish that had quite a punch of flavor. Using both sesame oil and toasting sesame seeds brought out such a nutty flavor. Whole Wheat spaghetti had just enough bite to hold up against the spicy red pepper flakes. I was able to get some really nice looking snow peas and the added fresh crunch from them gave a great contrast of texture. Easy, quick, and flavorful - definitely something I will remember if I need a fast dish.

Recipes
Chocolate Cherry Crumb Bars
Spicy Sesame Noodles

Buttery treats

Tuesday's are a fun day as I get to bake treats for Jeff to bring in for the co-worker's on "Wednesday Treat Day" as we call it now. I made two recipes from Martha's Cookie magazine, one you will see today and the other will have to wait until tomorrows post!

Cream Cheese-Walnut Cookies made a ton of cookies for me, despite what they said the yeild was. They say to expect 48 and I got 68! I don't see how they only get that many unless they cut them differently than they say. With as much butter that is in this recipe, I'm very glad it made so many cookies! To help keep their round shape while firming up in the freezer, I took a leftover papertowl roll and cut the cardboard down the middle. Placing the dough log inside, I found this helped immensely so it did not go out of its shape. The texture and taste of these are like a buttery shortbread and almost melt in your mouth. The walnut flavor is very pronounced and toasting the ones that are mixed in the dough help pop out the intense nuggets of walnuts inside the rounds. I can definitely see making these to send out in holiday packages!

Here's a peek of what I used for another item made for them today. Chocolate and dried tart cherries.... a great combination - and the finished item is pretty rich. Tasting it did remind me of flavors from a black forest cake. Have I got you interested yet?

Dinner tonight was Chicken, Broccoli Rabe & Feta Country Toasts. This was not something that I would normally make, but it gave me a chance to try a new-to-us vegetable. This was a good dish, but I found we don't care much for the bitter taste from the Broccoli Rabe. If I were to make this again, I would consider using Broccolini instead. The vinegar and sweet tomatoes did help with the bitterness but not quite enough.

Recipes

Cream Cheese-Walnut Cookies
Chicken, Broccoli Rabe & Feta Country Toasts
Roasted Garlic and Fresh Rosemary Cloverleaf Rolls

Kneading the night away...

We used up the last of the bread I made a few weeks ago on Sunday. I've been looking for another type to try as we generally toast some on weekend mornings. We both love cinnamon so I went browsing for a sweet bread and looked to the Bread Baker's Apprentice for something I could modify.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread originally had raisins and walnuts but I wanted a plain cinnamon swirl type bread. You could certainly knead in fruit and nuts if you wish about 2 minutes before the dough is ready to proof. After the dough went through its rising proccess, it was ready to be rolled out into 2 rectangles. I put a generous amount of cinnamon sugar over the top and carefully, but tightly, rolled them into loaf shapes trying to keep the swirl going. I could hardly wait the hour for them to cool before I started slicing as the sweet cinnamon smell had me checking the timer every couple minutes.

Dinner tonight made for a few dishes, but we both really enjoyed the results. Shrimp, Broccoli, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes with Farfalle Pasta has a smooth and silky sauce that comes close to tasting like an Alfredo sauce. Crisp-tender broccoli and the tomatoes add great color and a contrast of flavors against the large shrimp. The shrimp came frozen from Trader Joe's and was already deveined which allowed for fast prep of only having to remove the shells. I did sprinkle the fresh parmesan over the top instead of mixing in with the sauce. This should reheat well and at 4 servings the portions were pretty large!

Recipes

Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Shrimp, Broccoli, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes with Farfalle Pasta

Fun week!

Whew, what a busy week in the kitchen! The total ended up around 14 or 15 recipes with 13 of them being new ones. I think what we enjoyed most this past week was the Roasted Garlic and Fresh Rosemary Cloverleaf Rolls and Cranberry and Hazelnut Quick Bread.

When I woke up this morning it was very chilly out! Growing up in MN, when it hit 40 degrees in the winter you would break out the shorts! Now dealing with 110 degrees most of the year in Phoenix, when it hits 40 (like this morning) I felt like I had to bundle up to go jump in the snow! Brrr!

After we got back from the grocery stores today, I noticed I still had a fairly giant bag of cranberries in the refrigerator. I decided that I would go ahead and make some more muffins. I was not planning on it, but we had everything on hand and I had a few minutes to throw it together before lunch.

Cran-Apple Muffins are fairly quick to throw together using fresh cranberries and chunky diced apples. I like using Whole Wheat pastry flour in recipes like this, as it helps keep the muffins light and fluffy. Using a combination of half buttermilk and half apple cider gives them tenderness and an additional boost of apple flavor. A light coating of raw sugar on top gives a nice crackle and crunch.

I have the menu set for this week so keep a watch out for what new things come from the kitchen! I plan on at least 2 more recipes from Martha's cookie magazine and we will see what else we can do! Stay tuned!

Recipes
Cran-Apple Muffins
Cinnamon Streusel-Topped Pumpkin Pie

Will you rub my belly?

Here's Max again for Weekend Dog Blogging #11. Food bloggers from all over post pictures of their pups... so look for the round up over at sweetnicks sometime tomorrow night. You can often find Max laying down like this waiting for someone to come rub his belly for him. If you hit the right spot, he even starts to shake his leg!

Netflix has foiled any plans to watch movies this weekend! I'm sure because of the holiday (even though I sent the DVDs in on Monday....) they failed to send us new ones this week so alas movie night will be whatever we can find on TV. Maybe something on FoodTV can keep us entertained? One change in our normal Saturday salads - it is usually chicken, but in an effort to use up some turkey it will be Turkey salads tonight!