11/23/2010

What's been cookin'...

Here's a little bit of what we've been cooking around here lately...

Zesty Chicken Enchiladas
Recipe out of Real Simple

They are super good. Tangy and zesty from the tomatillos with lots of gooey melted Monterey Jack on top!

A favorite: Roasted Veggie Orzo
an Ina Garten recipe
I think this is all I ate that day. Really hard to stay away from it! Easy recipe and good for a crowd. My friends often say "bring the orzo!" if we're all bringing something for a party.

Potato-Zucchini Pancakes
A Giada recipe
Those were super tasty--would be great for a party, especially a Christmas/Holiday party since there is Rosemary in them. Mmm!

White Bean Dip
This was a recipe out of the Everyday Italian book I've been cooking from. A great, easy little snack to whip up. Just a few ingredients: White kidney beans, lemon, parsley, olive oil, s&p! I've also made the Marinara Sauce out of that book and it's really fresh and full of tomato flavor! I can't wait to try the fried calamari to dip in it. Completely different from the usual spaghetti sauce I make, which has brown sugar in it (somewhere, an italian woman just rolled in her grave...).

I can't believe Thanksgiving is in 2 days! BG's parents are coming up, so it'll just be the 4 of us...and 3 dogs. I'm making my mom's traditional turkey, dressing, and gravy, but I thought I'd mix up the sides and try some Pioneer Woman recipes. I'm going to make the Whiskey Glazed Carrots (had these at a friend's house once, delicious!), Creamy Herbed Potatoes (made these for Easter this year, delicious!), and Green Bean Casserole (this one's different...it has peppers! And bacon!). We got everything from Trader Joe's, even the turkey. Their cornbread is SO good and I can't wait to make the dressing with it again.

I plan on taking lots of pictures of our goodies, so I'll be sure and share them here! And Friday is Christmas Decoration Day! I got some new ornaments and a few other things to change up our decorations this year, so I'll be sure and share that too!

I hope everyone has a great week and a Happy Thanksgiving!
meg

11/13/2010

Updates...

Hi friends! It's been almost a month since my last post...tsk tsk. Things have been pretty busy around here, so here is a quick update on what we've been up to:

  • Work, work, work!
  • My mom came in town for her birthday and I made her some cupcakes. Happy Birthday Mama! I made her some mini cupcakes.



  • I haven't cooked my next Giada recipe yet, but I have been cooking a lot of new things...mainly recipes that I've pulled out of magazines. Some were good, some not.
  • Billy and I have been riding our bikes a lot more lately on account of the weather being so nice. So, we can blame the weather for my absence here, right?
  • I've been reading a lot. I've read 5 of the 9 Sookie Stackhouse books...and we've joined Netflix, so we're watching a lot of movies.
  • Here is something else I have cooked: Mini Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese frosting. The pumpkin cake is a recipe that my grandmother made for years. I'm currently obsessed with small things (mini cupcakes, small appetizers, etc) so I decided to adapt this recipe for smaller amounts. I also tweaked how you put the ingredients together, based on what I've been learning about mixing dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately, and sifting your dry goods. These turned out so much lighter than the actual cake, and they were delicious! I'm not knocking my grandmother...what can I say, she was old school!

So that's about all I have to say right now. I'm considering pulling the plug on this little blog...I'm so AWESOMELY BAD at posting regularly. Should I just do a "picture a day" type thing where I just show you what I've cooked that day, or something that we've done? Not sure yet. I'm still working on my photos and cooking/baking. We'll see what I come up with.

Happy Saturday everyone!! Enjoy it!