Winter Goodies

Shame on me.

I forgot how much I adore cooking and baking.
Seriously. I adore it.

Whenever finals would stress me out, you could, without fail, find me in the kitchen.
Then came June 2011, where I believed I had no working stove.
For. Six. Months.

Since having my stove "fixed", I have been eager to get back in the kitchen.
After work last night, I rushed to the grocery store and gathered ingredients for:

Chili
Stuffed Mushrooms
Gluten-Free Cornbread
Gluten-Free Banana Bread  (Mom's allergic to gluten [and is coming into town on THURS!])
Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Cookies
Chewy Molasses Cookies

Then I hurried home and started cooking like a mad woman (with the genius, Florence, playing in the background!)


Chili first!


Recipe HERE!

I am incapable of following any recipe exactly. It's the inner foodie in me :)
I cut the recipe in half to start with.
Then I used half regular Italian Sausage, half Hot Italian Sausage
Also used half spicy chili beans, half black beans
and 1/4 of the called for onion.

I have to say,
I'm pretty impressed with the outcome.
I let it simmer for over three hours and it turned out like a dream.
Even the boy thought it was fantastic.
I'll definitely be keeping this recipe around, with the added changes, of course!

Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Cookies

The recipe is HERE!

These tasted AMAZING in the pre-cooked stage.
I used 1 tsp Vanilla and 1/2 tsp Almond
And a handful of cherry soaked dried cranberries to spice it up.

Unfortunately, I'm still learning the temperature change of my stove and I burned the first batch.
The second batch survived, but the oven was cooking the top before the middle even started to cook.
Baking might be a problem in this oven. I'm sure I'll work out the kinks in no time though!

If you're a fan of Chili, please please please try this recipe!

I promise you'll love it.

And please feel free to share any Chili recipes of your own!

I would love to give them a shot and let you know what I think!

Thanksgiving: New York Style (part 1)

So as I shared previously, I had the amazing opportunity to go to NY for Thanksgiving.

Since my mother moved to Phoenix, I find myself less and less inclined to go to WI for Holidays.

She was always my stronghold.

Holidays are...Rough for me.

She was really the person that always got me through them.

So although I did miss my Grandma, Aunts, Uncle and cousins,

I can say that I truly had a spectacular Thanksgiving.

We arrived at Newark Airport around 7pm

rented a car

and began our trip to Lagrangeville, NY

with the boy's mother at the wheel.

Holy Moly.

What a ride!

It was highly entertaining to watch the dynamic between mother and son,

as this was my first time meeting his mother.

We pulled into a long driveway to the cutest big house I ever did see.

Just like the movies.

The house was massive, with antiques all around.

In fact, in every drawer of the bedroom I stayed, 

there were piles and piles of antique jewelry (YES. I snooped!)

Our host greeted us with:

"Well I didn't know you would need supper so I didn't prepare a whole meal!

But I ordered a Pizza.

I also have a whole roast chicken, macaroni salad, BBQ pork, deviled eggs, grapes, rolls, and ham.

If I had known, I would have cooked a meal, but this will just have to do"

...

So you can just imagine what the Thanksgiving dinner was like.

I'm pretty sure it would be quicker to list the food not present than list everything we had.

Simply Spectacular!

Thursday Morning:

The boy and I woke up and took a little exploring trip through their woods.

After that adventure, Our host's brother piled us in the car

 and drove us to The Appalachian Trail (which runs from Maine to Georgia!)

From there, we hiked about 3 miles total and crossed from NY to Connecticut, how neat!

I regret not taking pictures of the insane amounts of food,

but the truth is,

we were drinking a whole lot of delectable wine from the moment we arrived back from our hike

and I got caught up in the delicious food

and the hilarious company.

Upstate New York is simply stunning.

The people I spent time with were charming to the nth degree and I am so thankful for their kindness and generosity.

I have never felt so immediately at home with people I have never met before.

The rest is yet to come...

Winter Treats

Here's a weird thing about me...

I LOVE to bake
but I don't like to eat baked goods.

The result?
Lots of goodies for my friends and coworkers.

Below are two of my favorite cookie recipes.
I'm thinking that as the winter season continues along, I will post more of my favorites.


Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe is simple and delicious. I have struggled to find a Chocolate Chip recipe that I actually enjoy, and this one is good enough to get me to have a whole cookie, not just a bite or two!
To try this creation yourself: Click Here!


White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies (Logan style)

These cookies are summed up in one word: Delectable.
Check out the recipe: Here!
When I made these beauties, I actually sent some out in a care package to a friend and discovered that they get crunchy fairly quickly.
The solution?
Substitute a half cup of Flour for a half cup of Vanilla pudding mix (cooking only type, not instant).
The result is that your cookies will stay softer longer and still have their delicious flavor!

I also couldn't resist the urge to mix in a little honey with the batter and then drizzle a little on top once the cookies came out of the oven. Makes them a bit sweeter, so choose your preference!


Ready, Set, BAKE!