Holiday Baking

...and I return, once again, from a long "hiatus". This time my only excuse has been laziness and yes, you guessed it, another cold... but I am not dwelling on the cold, too time consuming. 

In the last week, I have had a few of my neighbors "drop by" with sweets, cards, and other random artifacts to celebrate the Holiday Season. Normal years past, I would have thought I was the one on top of everything... but I seem to forget that I've moved! I've moved to a neighborhood that brings you cookies during the Holidays, stop by to see how you are, introduce themselves even! The neighborhood I spent my last three years in was .... let's just say the most I heard from my neighbors previously was either screaming late at night, or Mexican fiestas across the street. Now that I have nice neighbors, that bring me chocolate, four different kinds of homemade cookies, pumpkin and banana muffins... I feel obligated to give back to them. 

Tonight I shall be making my delicious Sugar Cookies with vanilla frosting (sprinkles, of course), Ting-A-Ling's; butterscotch and chocolate chips, melted into chow mein noodles, peanuts and vanilla, and maybe peanut butter blossoms. Have I mentioned I've gained 5lbs? I've gained 5lbs. You don't think 5lbs is much, but pounds vs. inches - not pretty. 

Pictures up later this evening, once I am finally done with my holiday baking extravaganza. Friday will be Peanut butter balls, sugar cookies, ting-a-lings and hmmm maybe something new? Food to bring to my Mom's; jet potatoes. I <3 Christmas. 

Hiatus!

My fellow followers,

My sincerest apologies for leaving you hanging for so long. The description of my savory, mouth-watering treats has been missed, I am sure. But I am back!

My favorite drink en Mexico! 

Yesterday I put a pork shoulder in my crock pot with fajita seasoning packets (creative?... lazy? no clue) and a litle bit of pork seasoning. I left the pork in the crock pot for 30 hours and it was perfectly shredded and seasoned. I warmed some tortillas, made some fresh extra spicey salsa and guacamole. Since my trip to Mexico over Thanksgiving, I have learned a few key tips to making amazing guacamole and salsa. I feel like I cannot stop eating Mexican food! Chimichangas, Tortes, Tacos, Burritos.... Oh my YUM! I feel like I belong in Mexico, with their lard and shredded meat.

And my second favorite drink!

No pictures of my food currently, but I will attach a picture of an AMAZING burrito de pastor cuando yo estoy en Mexico.                           ---->

What in the world should I have for dinner?

Suggestions? 

I have chicken. 

.... and ground beef....

....and cheese....... and rice....... and vegetables..... and butternut squash. 

Chicken and Dumplings - Kelcie Style

Although there have only been two days in November, I have been consumed with another blog, Surgery for Seymor. To my followers that have viewed this blog and donated, or sent your happy thoughts - Thank you!

I now will tell you about my amazing, delicious, salty, and fatty Chicken and Dumplings I made tonight. After being sick for over two weeks with bronchitis and the worst sinus infection I have ever incurred, I have finally put my cooking shoes back on! Last night I had told Ollie I would make Chicken and Dumplings, and I got so overwhelmed with blogging, I ate a piece of pizza and fell asleep. I know, great girlfriend.

Tonight when he got home, the house filled with a delicious hearty aroma. It reminded me of home, when my Mom used to make high carb dinners to feed all seven of us. The kind of food you put heart into. Wouldn't ya' know, I was talking to my Mom while I was making my Chicken and Dumplings... (must have rubbed off through the phone) and she was giving me ingredients, but of course, she doesn't use measurements, just taste. I took an idea of the ingredients she gave me, and started on my mission.

First, I sauteed butter, garlic and onions in a pan, while I cut up my chicken tenders into little chunks. After I threw the chicken in the pan, I cut up some carrots and mushrooms, just to rid my vegetable drawer of what was in there. Once the chicken was fully cooked, the vegetables met their doom, with the lid on. Next was the ...gravy? I suppose I would call it. Mom told me to make a "white sauce", and my eyes glazed over a bit, but I heard "chicken broth", "flour", and "butter".... Adding all these glorious things together, with the addition of some heavy cream (I know, wow), chicken drippings, and spices, I created this amazing sauce I sloshed over the top of the chicken and premade biscuits (Thanks Grands!). Even Ollie, and I quote said, "WOW Babe! I am impressed! This was delicious". Success.

Pictures of this delicious disaster to come tomorrow. For now, savor the idea of garlic, butter, chicken, heavy cream and vegetables. Torture, right?

A Small Break from the Norm...

Today we're taking a small step back from cooking, and thinking about my sister's dog-child, Seymor. Seymor is a 8 year old French Bulldog that has had a very hard life. Poor Seymor is plauged with seizures, allergies, breathing problems, and now a bulging disk in his back that, if not treated, will result in his spinal cord being severed. 

My family is modest, and although it is not typical for us to ask for help, this is a time we truly need help. The surgery is very expensive and after my sister and her husbands recent wedding, financially it is impossible. I have set up another blog, Surgery for Seymor where you can donate as little as $1 to as much as your pocket allows. All donations will receive a personalized Thank You card from Seymor. We will keep you updated on his progress, and how he is feeling. 

Your donations, good thoughts and good vibes are much appreciated. 

 

Macaroni Mess

Tortelloni, macaroni, rotini!

I came home from work a little early today, thinking "I need to eat, and I need to eat now". Unfortunately with this sickness, I haven't been eating very well. In talking to my Mom (which I do nearly every night) about what I should have for dinner, she mentioned Macaroni. I am not a particularly huge fan of macaroni, but I figured it would be warm, easy to chew, and the boys would probably love it. I found a great recipe in my cookbook, and I went to work. 

Finished Product

I have been on a "spending freeze" so I am not going to the store to buy anything. As I have previously mentioned, I am a totally obsessive spender... mostly on groceries. We usually have enough food to feed 20 people for a month. Yeah... it's bad. So for my macaraoni, I used: Whole wheat macaroni, rotini, and tortelloni. My cheeses consisted of medium cheddar, pepperjack, mozzarella and a touch of a taco mix cheese! I was a little worried, when I was sauteeing the onions, they were pretty strong. In the end, after baking it for an anxious 25 minutes, I added some french fried onions baked it for a few more minutes. Um, yum! The first thing I've been able to successfully eat in the last few days. I had to make some sort of vegetable, so I quickly blanched some green beans. 
 
The "mac 'n cheeses" turned out very good! Boys both approved and I did as well. As always, on to dessert: Double chocolate cake I had made the night before. Drooool!

Horrible Blogger

Are you thinking - finally - she posts! Sorry folks, I have been out with a bad sickness and have not been cooking... or taking pictures of what I did cook... I know, I am ashamed. 

Saturday I pushed through my stuffy nose and cough, washed my hands a million times, and baked some goodies for a Pumpkin Carving party I went to on Sunday. For some reason I thought I needed to feed 1,000 people, instead of 10... 

Our Menu
Rice krispie treats
Homemade pumpkin muffins (shaped like pumpkins - yay silicone baking!) 
Chocolate candies in the shapes of mummies and fingers (Mint, caramel, and heath bar)
"Ting-a-lings", which are delicious butterscotch, chocolate, peanuts and chow mein noodles all mushed up too look like Spiders.
...and finally sugar cookies decorated and shaped like crazy Halloween things. 

Why, do you ask, while I am so sick do I do these things? My answer: I am a looney! 

In addition to my decadent treats, we had Aysha's incredible carrot cupcakes, Sarah's famously delicious chili, and homemade banana bread from Natalie (that I took home and hoarded). Not to mention all the other snacks and things lying around; hummus and pita chips, potato salad, macaroni salad.... Need I go on? I am sure you are hungry now. 

Since then, I have not made anything significant as my boyfriend keeps telling me I need to
"sit down and rest!" so there has been no cooking. Believe it, as soon as I start cooking again - you will be the first to know! Well, maybe second or third...

Aunt MiSuk's Delicious Steak

Uncooked Aunt MiSuk meat... uhh I mean steak

I truly have absolutely no idea what this "steak" is, but it is delicious. Seriously. My cousin stayed with us over the weekend. He and the little brother went to help his Mom (my Aunt) move. In addition to the boys' payment for helping move, Aunt MiSuk sent my cousin home with this delicious marinated steak that she used to make for us when we were younger. It's usually best made on the BBQ, and unfortunately per my cousin, it was marinated a little long. BUT! It was still delicious, and I fell even more in love with Brussels sprouts than I was before. Seriously. Have you tried them? - Sea salt, olive oil and a tiny bit of pepper. Unbelievable!

My Love Affair... Droool

Ollie enjoyed it! 

Oops, I got a little carried away before I got a picture

Chocolate Zucchini Cake drizzled with Cream Cheese Maple Frosting....

I got a little excited before I took the picture - Half Eaten Chicken Salad

After baking a quick chicken for some amazing chicken ceaser salad (yup, obsessed), I wanted something light and tasty for dessert. Ollie's Mom gave us the most gigantic zucchini, which she said would be perfect for any type of zucchini pastry. Mmmm zucchini pastries. I found a chocolate zucchini cake recipe online, with over 400 positive reviews, so I figured I might as well give it a try. My cakes haven't been turning out fantastic, so I was a little nervous with all these failures. 

Finally, SUCCESS! My new Bunt Pan might have been the culprit, or it was this awesome recipe, whichever, I'm pretending it was me. This was the most perfectly moist cake, with such a good flavor. I omitted the walnuts, as the recipe called for - because my walnuts have been too overpowering lately. This was my first "light" cake. Fluffy! It almost tasted like cake brownies. But not dense! Crazy, I know, but it is unbelievably delicious. The recipe had powdered sugar sprinkled on top, but I had leftover cream cheese maple frosting to drizzle on it. Uh, yum. 

 

Snacky Snack

I really can't believe I titled my blog that, but whatever. 

In my quest to eat better, I have been snacking on some delicious ... rice cakes. Seriously. They are so good, I almost thought I was eating cheetos. But then I realized I couldn't eat the whole bag, and I was disappointed. Oh well - on to the next best thing: Snackwell's Creme Sandwich Cookies. Mmmm. Paired with an afternoon Taro Slushy (Bubble Tea), and SmartOne's pizza mini's, I am feeling pertty low-fat and happy.

But now I am hungry and craving crab puffs. What are crab puffs you ask? They are simply the most amazing thing on earth. Cream cheese, imitation crab, and wonton wrappers all deep fried and oozey... yeah... delicious.

Pretty sure tonight's menu will not include my beloved crab puff's, but will include a delicious Baked Chicken Ceaser Salad. Be jealous. Be so jealous. Pictures later. 

Turkey Burger Heaven

Who knew?! Turkey burgers are actually delicious!! I am completely shocked, and ecstatic.

I had purchased some plain Jennie-O Turkey Burgers for my Mom when she had gallbladder surgery. I figured it was something low enough in fat, and easy enough to cook (a quick pan fry and they are golden) that she could enjoy without a lot of effort. At the same time I grabbed a box of the same Turkey Burgers, with the exception that mine have peppers and spices in them. As you all know, I am a food hoarder and have to have my fridge, freezer and cupboards stocked full at all times, so I figured these would sit in the freezer forever without any attention. I was so wrong! My Poppa told me they were wonderful, so tonight, after my 30 minute work-out (yes!) I threw these in a pan and had a fast, delicious dinner.

I added guacamole, fresh tomatoes, and melted cheese to Ollie's, and we enjoyed them with some awesome Oreida French Fries! Oh-so-healthy.

Perfect Hamburger Substitute

 

Whoopie Pies... Whatever those are?

Courtesy, once again, from Brown Eyed Baker, I tried out one of her Top 10 Pumpkin recipes called, Whoopie Pies. Now I know you're asking, what the heck are Whoopie Pies!? Apparently they are the most delicious cookies smooshed together like Oreos with some sort of filling inside. 

The Whoopie Pies I tried were Pumpkin Cookies with a Maple Cream Cheese frosting. Just the sound of the name made me salivate. The pictures alone had me running to the store to buy some all natural real maple, just to ensure the filling would be as good as it sounds. 

I made the cookies first, because there were a ton to make. I used a Tablespoon to drop them onto the parchment paper (which did not burn them! YAY!), and anxiously baked them for the necessary 11 long minutes. 

Fresh From the Oven

After I cooked what seemed like 100 cookies, I finally started on the frosting, which I was so proud of successfully making! It's such a surprise that I am too impatient to usually cream my confectioners sugar until it's all the way combined with the ingredients... so as I licked the beater, I complimented myself on some damn good frosting. 

Finally, the assembled product! 

All I can say is: Dangerous. These taste less like Pumpkin Whoopie Pies than they do spice cake cookies with filling. I happen to be a gigantic fan of anything pumpkin, or spice cake-ish, so I was pretty pleased with these. I am trying my hardest to not devour all of them, as I am starting back on the "eat better"...blah blah blah... so you may be seeing more "good for you" recipes coming your way! 

P.S. - If you have "Good for You" recipes to share - Please email me at CookiesforBkfst@Gmail.com!                                                                                     

Don't Tell Mom!!!

All throughout my childhood, through my teenage years and even to this day, my Mom will not let us have her unbelievably delicious "Jet" Potatoes and Meatballs unless it is Christmas. These are not made together (same pot/pan), but must be eaten together. You can't have one without the other! ... So as it may happen, Ollie begs and begs for me to make them every once in a while, and ... ugh... every once in a while... I give in. Such pressure!

SHHHH! Please don't tell Mom!

These ungodly delicious potatoes consist of a giant tub of sour cream, sharp cheddar, miscellaneous soups, and hash brown potatoes all globbed together and baked for two long hours. There is simply nothing like baked cheese, potatoes and sour cream! Yum!!!

Can you feel your arteries clogging? I sure did last night... They were delicious, except for the fact that I burned them. Woopsie!! It didn't seem to bother my brother and Ollie much. They were able to consume 3/4 of the pan before I even got to it. Thanks boys! 







As necessary, I also made delicious meatballs... or meat chunks as I called them. They fell apart in my crock pot! I am pretty sure I should set the crock pot to low, but an anxious person doesn't put anything on low.

Mmmmeatballs

Applesauce Chocolate Chip Cookies with Oatmeal.... mouthful? Yes, please.

While I was going ballistic in my kitchen trying to kill the plague of fruit flies that have bombarded my kitchen, I decided I wanted to make some cookies. In between mixing the sugars with the applesauce, the flour with the baking soda, I was putting out bowls of Apple Cider Vinegar to kill these little monsters that fly EVERYWHERE in my house for no reason. There isn't any fruit left out. No standing water. Trash is always taken out, and is clean. I am going to destroy these fruit flies if it is the end of my kitchen days! AH! ....

Cookies. Right... Cookies. The applesauce was wonderful in these cookies. They make them a little flat, and really chewy, but the taste is better than I expected. My little brother is highly impressed, but he definitely has different taste buds than I do. He also doesn't realize they are low fat ... mwahwah.

I would say the best part is the chocolate chips stay melted and gooey. I didn't burn a single batch, so they were as soft as you would ever want them, but they lacked the true "chocolate chip cookie" taste. Chocolate chip cookies are always expected to be puffy and warm ... and easier to pull apart than these are. Ha. These are very sweet, but not overpowering. I have tried a better recipe for applesauce oatmeal raisin cookies, so I will probably continue to try recipes with applesauce. Love it!

Not as pretty as they taste

Lemony Goodness

As you may have seen in a previous post, HR lady, Laura made me the most amazing lemon cookies. These gooey, dense, savory cookies that I could not put down totally caught me by surprise. They were cake cookies! Laura was sweet enough to give me the recipe, so I set off on my adventure of making my own.

In my attempt at making lemon cookies, I realized I quite possibly need a new cookie sheet, because everything keeps getting too brown on the bottom! It's driving me insane.

About the cookies. The cookies I have been waiting for to devour and keep all to myself... These were disappointingly not near as good as Laura's. They were soft, but tasted burnt... They weren't cooked all the way when I was able to get them out in time to not turn black on the bottom. What.The.Heck?! I am assuming this is baker's error, but it still frustrates me.

Lemon Cookie Batter

Next time. Always next time.

French Onion Pot Roast

Today I was finally able to get into my kitchen and have Ollie clean up a little... Due to my bum arm, I have had to be really careful cooking and cleaning. Of course I've not been as careful as I should, but whaaatever!

I was so impressed with myself today grocery shopping, I saved over $55 and only spent $60! Hoorah! So in celebration, I decided to make a pot roast... Yup, that's how I celebrate. I tried it a different way this time, with a french onion packet that I had lying around the cupboard... It smelled delicious, but I think I realized, I am not the hugest fan of pot roast! It could have been that I left out the potatoes and carrots... buuuut I just wasn't that impressed.

Speaking of things lying around my cupboards... they are always full of everything and anything you could ever desire. The three of us (Me, the boyfriend and the brother) could easily live on what we have for more than a month. I should probably never go grocery shopping, but the desire to eat something at that very moment that you have been pining over all day? Totally wins.

Overstuffed cupboards

Anywho - Tonight's menu is peach cobbler, pot roast, mashed potatoes and asparagus. MMM!!!

Peach Cobbler

Brownie Heaven

Today was a crazy day! I had originally wanted to cook cook cook all day long, but unfortunately cleaning my garage came first.

For dinner we enjoyed "steak bites" with horseradish and steak sauce, with some roasted asparagus and zucchini... I added in some "non-homemade" biscuits (Hello Pillsbury!) which turned out just as expected. Yum yum! Lazy evening, boyfriend is already asleep... so I made some brownies that I will get to enjoy ALL BY MYSELF! ... Diet, what?!

SO MANY MARSHMALLOWS!

Marshmallows... on sale... so many of them but nothing to do with them! I really wanted Rice Krispie treats, but no Rice Krispies... so I made Fruit Loop Treats?... sure, I'll call them that.

I am pretty sure anything with melted marshmallows and butter has to be delicious, because this was amazing. I wish I had a recipe to share, but I kind of just threw stuff in the pot and then spread it out into the pan. De-licious. Super marshmallowy.

Before the Fruit Loop Treats I made Pumpkin Zucchini bread with walnuts for a coworker that's had a rough week. Obviously i'm selfish and definitely kept a loaf for myself and MMMMMMMMM did it turn out good! A bit strong with so much cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg... but I still think it's pretty tasty!

P.S. - Picture is from my phone, will do my best to get a new one soon!

Fresh Alaskan Salmon and Roasted Vegetables

Holy crap.

Ollie acquired some unbelievably delicious fresh caught Alaskan Salmon, that looked unbelievably amazing. I whipped up some lemon/onion salmon, with sea salt and a sprinkle of pepper. YUM! Along with that, some brown rice pilaf, roasted Brussels sprouts, zucchini and yellow squash. Um, yes, I drooled. I had not tried Brussels sprouts before, I was so excited that they turned out so amazing! Thanks to my friend Sarah (Ripley Eats) I finally got up the courage to try them.

Fred Meyer was also having a fantastic sale on reusable grocery bags, so I was pleased to purchase two of them. So cute!

Ensalada!

Burned the Brussels a bit, but not too bad!

Let's Back Track!

Dessert competition for our work picnic over, and sadly I did lose. BUT! Now you can see all the marvelous things I've made this week. It's been a crazy, crazy week but now, in a series of blogs (I tried one REALLY long one, but I thought that would probably bore you to death) Read along with me, and please enjoy some with pictures and some without.

To tide you over to the next blog, here's a picture of my adorable dogs.

Frantic! Lemon Cupcake Fail, Now What?!

Up and at 'em at 7:30am, due to my heinous anxiety, I was baking and researching recipes by 8:00. Coffee in hand, I remembered my awesome Grandma had given me a brilliant idea. Peanut Butter Bars. Delicious bar shaped chocolate, peanut butter, coconut, graham cracker goodness. We always make them at Christmas, I usually go the extra mile and make them into balls, but it's so much more work rolling them and dipping them in the waxy chocolate... and I was in a hurry. After I put the pan in the fridge to cool, I realized I had to do something else. That wasn't enough! That's not a winner!

Pumpkin cookies. Delicious, light, fluffy, and so fall. I made them in a hurry, threw some icing on the top and called it good. I was on my way out the door to our picnic and this dreaded contest with way too many things to choose from.

Iced Pumpkin Cookies sprinkled with cinnamon

Cooling Peanut Butter Bars

More Pumpkin Cookies

Edible sized Peanut Butter Bars

Version 8,020 of Lemon Cupcakes

Determination! Lemon Cupcakes... Again

Determined to win our Dessert Competition for our company picnic on Saturday, I rushed home, cake flour in hand, to remake the lemon cupcakes that just couldn't hold up on Wednesday. I assumed my problem was that I hadn't used cake flour, as called for in the recipe. They were so dry! I was extremely disappointed, I love making cupcakes from scratch. 

I made a brown sugar lemon cream cheese frosting, and a traditional cream cheese frosting. Both pretty decent, but the regular cream cheese frosting held up quite a bit better. After realizing how dry the cupcakes were, I attempted to "help" them by using some organic strawberries, sugar, and cornstarch and making a raspberry filling... Helped, but not quite enough. Some cupcakes came with some flowers made of fondant on the top, some had lemons. It was quite the feat. They just couldn't quite cut it, so I gave up for the evening.

Lemon Cupcakes with brown sugar cream cheese frosting

Fully Equipped with homemade Raspberry Filling

Pretty sure the muffin "wrappers" were my favorite part. Frosting was pretty decent too ;)

JE-LL-O ... Shots

I work at a pretty awesome company... We're having a company picnic on Saturday (as you may already know) and I was requested to prepare my delicious jello shots! All you need is: One bottle Vanilla Vodka, one package orange jello, one package raspberry jello (or any flavors you choose), and 2 oz. plastic cups, I prefer mine with lids. Substitute the 2 cups cold water for 2 cups vodka, and you are sure to have a happy company picnic! Cheers!

In between making jello shots and prepping another set of lemon cupcakes (see pictures from yesterdays blog) I did happen to whip up some chicken taco salad for the boys, who have had to fend for themselves all week. It was awesome with some kidney beans, onions, jalapenos, chicken... etc. I had almost a whole avocado on mine. YUM!





I was also nice enough to make them their own desserts, for all the ones I had been making, either went to work or in the trash. As Ollie said, "you're not baking with love! You're baking to get your mind off things." True... Very true.

Stress Baking

After a night in the hospital with my Mom (she's fine now! Gallbladder surgery), I had to distract myself by baking. Everything and anything.

The day started off with banana bread, applesauce oatmeal cookies (which were amazing, and absolutely the best oatmeal cookie i've ever had!), lemon cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting [the cupcakes tasted like muffins :( too dry!] prepping baked zucchini, sweet potato fries, and turkey burgers. I ended the day making brown rice, baked chicken, homemade teryaki sauce from a barrage of things in my Mom's fridge (who doesn't have teryaki sauce?!)... steamed vegetables and of course, no bake cookies for Dad. Phew.