Today I am sharing my favorite cookbook. The cookbook my mom made me that is filled with the best family recipes and the best family memories. Head over to The Good Hearted Woman and read more about the “Magic Fridge” I wish I had and a couple great memories.
With Thanksgiving only a few days away, I am both anxious and excited. I’m anxious about getting everything done in time and excited to spend some time with my friends and family. I am heading back to Carson City on Tuesday night and will be there until Sunday night.
Traveling during the holidays is so dificult, expensive, and time-consuming. If I ruled this world, I would move Thanksgiving to February. Late winter doesn’t have any good holidays and it’s such a dreary time it could really use some good family time and eating. Plus, it would be nice to travel at different times of the year instead of back-to-back Thanksgiving and Christmas. Who is with me? Can we move Thanksgiving to February?
Since I don’t rule the world, I travel twice.
We are having a fairly small Thanksgiving this year at my parent’s house with just 7.25 of us. The .25 is my darling little neice who is only 6 months old. She won’t be eating too much turkey this year. I haven’t seen here since she was about a month old so I am looking forward to some baby-time. My friends from all over will also be in Carson this weekend including a friend from Brazil who studied abroud in the US in high school. It will be beyond wonderful to catch up with her.
I have two busy days of work ahead of me so I wanted something special to help make them a little more manageable. Welcome Pumpkin Spice Creamer. Yes, the height of the pumpkin season is long over but I try to enjoy pumpkin things through Thanksgiving before diving into the egg nog, gingerbread, and mint phase. The creamer was a treat in my coffee this morning and should be nice the next couple days. I generally just drink coffee black so creamer is a bonus. I made way more than I needed so I think I will bring it into work for my co-workers to use as well. The recipe I followed suggested using it within 5 days.
I used a recipe from Crunchy Creamy Sweet so if you are looking for a good Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer, head on over and snag that one. I made extra pumpkin spice to use later. I actually think just the spices in my coffee will be delicious.
Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Safe travels to those of you who are traveling and think about how much you would rather be making this treck in February.
Image by Nicole Abalde
I have never been fully on board with those “5-Day Meal Plans” so many people publish. Either they are for a family of 4 or they require 1t of a hundred ingredients that I am never going to use again. I have looked through a couple of them, grabbed a few good recipes and ditched the rest. I don’t need your stinkin’ meal plan, I can figure it out myself. Well I am taking back every negative thought I have had towards meal plans.
I have written before about how much I stress about cooking dinner. Cody and I talked about trying out this new Paleo lifestyle everyone talks about. It sounds great, but no rice? There goes half of my recipes… Chicken and rice or stir-fry was my go-to when I don’t have anything planned for dinner. What was I going to do without rice. I was not prepared to make something already stressful even more stressful and full of restrictions.
Well Cody found an interesting book about the benefits of paleo and the biology of what is happening to your body called The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf. I glanced through it and it was way over my head. BUT it included 4-weeks of meal plans in the back. It included a shopping list for the week and a list of meals and recipes. And these recipes were simple. I had my hesitations, but decided to just go for it.
We simplified some of the breakfasts and snacks but we followed all the lunches and dinners. You know what I found to be the best part of this whole experience? Not once did we have to have the “what do you want for dinner” conversation. Eliminating that conversation, the opinion and that decision made dinner 100% times easier. I still had to make dinner, I still had to clean up but all the ingredients were already in the fridge and I just had to follow the directions. I was so surprised at how much less stressful dinner could be.
We did about three weeks of planned meals out of the book. But the planning habit has stuck. We don’t plan out ever meal but we do make a list of that week’s meals and all the necessary ingredients before going to the store. That way when I am ready to cook I have all of the ingredients and a list of meals to choose from. I have been really enjoying cooking again. It seems less of a chore and more of a relaxing, fun activity.
I am changing my tune about created meal plans. So if you are like me and have always been hesitant, I urge you to give a meal plan a shot. You might be surprised.
Has anyone else found a good meal plan to follow?
PS. Looking for more meal ideas? Here are some more of my favorite: Chicken Tikka Masala and Curry
This rich, creamy pumpkin cheesecake is the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving spread! The gingersnap crust makes it crunchy and spicy.
It’s not too late to add one more dessert to your Thanksgiving spread! You can never have enough. You might already gave pumpkin pie, but do you have pumpkin cheesecake?
This has been a fall favorite of mine for a few years now. It is so rich and creamy, you can’t go wrong. The crust is made from gingerbread cookies which adds a little crunch and a lot of spice. (Buy gluten free cookies to make this dessert GF).
The first time I made this was in college and i didn’t have a mixer of any kind. So I mixed the whole thing up by hand. I advice you to not ever do that! Mixing cream cheese is quite the chore. But I have been hooked since that first bite! Since then I have always used an electric mixer.
I have made few adjustments to the recipe over the years and figured out the best way to make it. The recipe here is an adoption of Bon Appetite’s Pumpkin Cheesecake. But I love love love the second layer of sour cream that I have added to the recipe. I stole that from a family cheesecake recipe. The tangy sour cream flavor is a perfect compliment to the sweet pumpkin. Plus, it hides the imperfect top of your cheesecake so you never have to worry about the crack or slight sinking.
This year I made it for a Friendsgiving party we went to and it was a huge hit! Tons of people praised the cheesecake! I swirled caramel over the top which was absolutely delicious and very pretty.
I posted this picture on Intagram last weekend and a couple people mentioned they thought it was ground beef and velveta cheese….
I was talking about adding bourbon to the sour cream top… might be delicious, might be too much. Next time.
Butter coffee is brewed coffee mixed with unsalted, grass-fed butter. The trend seems to have started with Dave Asprey of Bulletproof. He claims he learned about the power of butter at 18,000 feet in Tibet and has been reaping from the benefits ever since. Basically it is the good fats in the butter that keep your mind focused and sustains your energy throughout the day. You are basically telling your body to get moving and start digesting early in the morning starting with your coffee.
The original recipe for Bulletproof coffee can be seen here. It uses Dave Asprey’s brand of coffee. I have been sort of following his recipe… But using my favorite coffees instead of his.
((Mariposa Coffee is my absolute favorite! It is made in Mariposa, California, near Yosemite. But you can order it! I stop in there whenever I am in the area and stock up. They guy is super nice and loves to chat about coffee. If you are looking for a recommendation, Kenya blend is my favorite. Delicious!))
One cup of your favorite coffee. Dave says you better use some good coffee. And I agree. Use good coffee, dang it! Don’t waste your time on Folgers.
1 Tablespoon of grass-fed butter, I use Kerrigold. You can get it at Winco and plenty of other places I am sure.
Add the butter to your coffee and froth or blend. I found this milk-frother at Ikea for about $3 and it works perfectly for mixing the butter and frothing your coffee.
And enjoy!
Some are claiming it is more nutritious than creamer but not everyone agrees. So I am not going to pick a side on the nutritional value of this. In moderation amiright?
I know, I know it’s really weird. But you should try butter coffee anyway. Replace your creamer with a little butter and see what you think. It definitely takes away some of the bitterness like any creamer does but it doesn’t change the flavor of the coffee.
Has anyone out there tried butter coffee before? What do you think?
Photo credit: Robert Donavan via Flikr
I shared the tutorial on making drink skewers awhile back. Check it out if you haven’t seen it yet. It will show you exactly how to make these Halloween skewers using beads and wire. I used buttons instead of beads for this one. There are so many adorable buttons out there! They are so cute and there is such a nice variety out there!
I wanted to make a festive version for cocktails, appetizers or desserts. I got the idea when we were out for brunch the other morning drinking Bloody Mary’s. They always come with garnish on a super boring skewer. Wouldn’t it be fun to server Bloody Marys with Halloween skewers throughout the month of October? It worked well for the apple sangria I made too! (I used this recipe (with some changes) and it was delicious!) It’s a beautiful garnish plus you can keep your drink mixed with it. You can add a wide variety of fruit to the skewer to garnish your cocktail.
Another fall favorite is carmel apples! But those are the worst to eat right? Half of the carmel ends up on your cheek and your nose. And there is never enough carmel for the whole apple. You eat once around and then throw the rest away. Because let’s be honest, you bought the carmel apple for the carmel, the apple is merely a spoon.
So lets skip the sticky face. Use the skewers for a cute carmel drizzled apple appetizer. I used The Pioneer Women’s recipe for carmel sauce. It was super quick to make and delicious. I would highly recommend using cream not half and half. It will make it thicker so it doesn’t all end up on the plate and not your apples. Mine wasn’t very think and ended up on the plate.
You could also use these skewers for a fondue pot. I wouldn’t use them for a meat fondue since the wire may not withhold those hot temperatures. But a chocolate fondue would be perfect.
So think about adding these to your list if you are having a Halloween party or dinner party.
The saddest day: the day we had to pour out 5 gallons worth of beer. It was our attempt to make a saison and it just didn’t work out. I don’t think we let it ferment long enough. After a week of fermenting, it was transferred it to another carboy where more hops and cedar planks were added. Unfortunately, I don’t think the yeast was done doing its thing and was left behind when we transferred it to the second carboy. I am a beer amateur so this is just a guess.
This was our fourth batch and we had high hopes for it. Our third batch of beer was really good! Something I was actually proud to call ours. I can’t say the same for the first two. The first two were okay but not great.
You just cant keep bad beer in the fridge so out it went.
I felt like I was a teenager being caught with alcohol the way it was all poured out. Sad day.
But that means there is more space in the fridge and space in the closet to try it again! What should be brew next?
For Mom’s birthday party, a family friend brought over a huge box of grapes. These grapes are picked late in the season for raisins when they are sweet. They were delicious! They were sweet and crisp which is the perfect way to eat grapes. Everyone was munching on them through the party, a few people took some home, and we were still left with this huge box! What are you going to do with a box of grapes? Make grape juice of course!
I have a juicer but of course I was at my brother and sister-in-laws house for the weekend so I did it the old fashion way. It was definitely time consuming but it made some delicious juice!
Once I got it down, separating the grapes from the stem didn’t take too long. I found that if you twist them in your hands they come right off. Pulling them breaks the stem instead of removing the grape. Just roll them around in your hands and they come off.
Next comes the mashing. This was the most time consuming by far. Using a potato masher, smoosh all the grapes until the skin on all the grapes have been broken. Doing this in small batches seemed to work the best.
All the smashed grapes go into a pot to boil. They need to boil for only about 10 minutes. You don’t need to cook them, only soften them further. Smash them a couple more times while they are cooking to get all the juice out.
Once they have finished boiling strain them using cheesecloth or a thin mesh strainer. Let all the mash sit in the strainer for a couple hours to make sure you get as much juice out as possible.
In the end I ended up with about 3 liters of juice, well it’s more like syrup. I have to cut 1 part water, 2 parts grape juice because it’s so sweet! I need to try adding sparkling water to it because I bet that would make it even better!
I am thinking about making jelly out of some of it but I have never attempted jelly before. I am nervous about adding the pectin and getting the right consistency. Anyone out there have tips on making jelly? Do I need to add more sugar to it to get it to set?
A few years ago, I went to visit my cousin Kelli in Rocklin and she spoiled me by making Chicken Tikka Masala. Amazing! The girl has got some serious culinary skills! Of course she wouldn’t share her recipe because it was “not quite right”.
That is one trait I lack when it comes to cooking. While I am always on a quest to find great recipes, I can’t tell what spice is missing or what spice would change the dish. My taste buds are just not that picky.
Kelli came to visit me in Portland at the end of August so I convinced her to make it again and teach me her magical ways. We had a blast cooking together and I significantly expanded my spice rack.
So if you are interested in bringing in a little variety into your cooking, try this Chicken Tikka Masala. Killer flavor! It has such a complex flavor that isn’t like anything else I cook. It’s a great change from our typical spice pallet.
We got to pull out our adorable BBQ again to cook the chicken. I wish we had a bigger BBQ and one that we could keep out all the time. But our little guy is just going to have to do for awhile.
We had both spinach and naan to go with it. I love love love naan but the spinach was a nice compliment to it as well because it was not as rich and heavy as the bread.You can also eat it with rice. Kelli suggested using purple rice because the deep color looks wonderful with the burnt orange Tikka Masala.
The recipe is below for you to try out yourself. It was adopted from The Pioneer Woman and Paster Ryan’s Tikka Masala. She includes a photo tutorial to help you out a little more.
I would say it was a successful dinner.
First you take the graham, you stick the chocolate on the graham. Then you roast the ‘mallow. When the ‘mallows flaming… you stick it on the chocolate. Then cover with the other end. Then you scarf. Kind of messy, but good! Try some!
All summer Cody has been talking about S’mores. We planned to have them a couple times but it never worked out. So when I saw this s’more cake in Food Network Magazine I knew I needed to make it for him for his birthday. A 9-inch ice cream s’more cake? Perfect?
I was super nervous going into this endeavor. That cake looks like one of those things that you can never actually pull off in your own kitchen. The graham cracker cookie will crack, the ice cream will melt, and the whole thing will just fall apart.
It took me forever to make because I had to double, triple check every single direction to make sure I was doing it correctly. I gave myself extra time incase I needed to bake new cookies or redo the meringue.
But guys, check it out! No broken cookie, a some melting, and everything stayed together. Nailed it!
So let’s break this s’more down… starting with the cookie. Click here for the full recipe from Food Network Magazine.
The graham cracker is made out of a sugar cookie with a little crushed up graham cracker inside. Roll it out nice and thin and as square as possible. It becomes crunchy and a little toasted in the oven. While it is still warm, score the center line, cut the edges and poke holes to make it look just like a graham cracker.
For chocolate, I used hot fudge ice cream topping. I warmed the fudge up a little to help with the spreading and then cool it before putting the ice cream on top. I really should have frozen the fudge. Even though it was room temperature, as soon as I set the ice cream on top it started to melt.
To get the ice cream so square, cut the box off of the ice cream and wrap it in plastic wrap. After it has softened a little, press down and squish it into a square shape. Refreeze.
I was racing against the melting clock on this next step. An air conditioned house would have been a better place. Or winter. My best solution was to work right in front of the fridge on our cooler.
And the best part of this whole cake? Using a torch to toast the marshmallow! Flame are just too much fun!
The second graham cracker cookie goes on top and you have yourself a giant s’more. And it was delicious! Dreamy and creamy with the chocolately goodness and a cookie on top.
The birthday boy was super psyched about his cake. We even used the torch to light the candle.
Happy birthday Cody!
