What I Brought to Thanksgiving

This year I had to get a little creative in what I made to bring for our dinner. Because of our travel plans, I wasn't going to make anything too elaborate, and really, I didn't have to bring anything at all if I didn't want to.

However, I had made garlic mashed potatoes for Chad a few weeks ago. I've made them before for us (and the recipe is borrowed from my years working in the kitchen at Bennigan's) but he raved about them to his mom and asked me to make them for his family.


My recipe is pretty simple. I dice both red and white potatoes, skins intact, and boil them until fork tender. Once they are drained and returned to the cooking pot, I add roasted garlic, melted butter, salt, and pepper. The amounts vary depending on how many potatoes I cook and the tastes of whomever I am feeding. I love garlic, to the point of eating the roasted mash straight up, but Chad doesn't like it too strong. For his benefit, I don't add as much as I would for myself.  A good ratio for me is 5 lbs white potatoes, 3 lbs red, 3 bulbs garlic, 2 sticks of butter, and then lots of fresh ground pepper and a little salt. I mash by hand, leaving it just a little chunky, but not too much. My least favorite kind of mashed potatoes are made with lots of milk and mixed with a hand mixer. I guess those really are creamed potatoes, but that's a whole different tangent.

My photograph of them isn't the best. But let's face it, mashed potatoes are not the most photographic food out there.

I also decided to make a pie. I have made all sorts of pies for family gatherings in the past but wanted something different. I decided on a peanut butter mousse with Oreo crust. The crust is simple as it is crushed Oreos and melted butter pressed into a pie pan. The peanut butter mousse I got from this recipe. In lieu of the fudge layer, I melted some semi-sweet chocolate chips with the remaining whipping cream and attempted to drizzle on top. It wasn't thin enough for that so I ended up with thicker stripes. Good thing pies are meant to be eaten.


I'm linking up with Debbie's Tuesday at the Table and am going to do my best to brave the Black Friday crowds as I go out to do my weekly errands.

Chicken with Lemon Roasted Potatoes and Tomatoes

Up until about a month ago I didn't eat meat. I stopped when I was 15 for a variety of reasons and was fine until I started having cravings last fall. I didn't crave it even while cooking in a restaurant for years or when living with former boyfriends who ate it at every meal. I tried to ignore it because I was always told I would get sick eating it again.

I gave in and didn't get sick. Instead, I actually have felt better with more energy since introducing meat back into my diet. So I've been experimenting with recipes that I have had in my head all this time and also with meals I used to cook for others (but not eat myself).

This recipe is pretty loose. I think I've mentioned before that I cook more by instinct than following an exact set of steps set by others. This is why I could never be a food blogger. For what it's worth, Chad asked that I make this again and he is a pretty picky eater (and has told me he hates lemon, one of the feature flavors).

Baked Chicken with Lemon Roasted Potatoes and Tomatoes

Chicken breasts (one per person, I used boneless and skinless breasts)
New potatoes (I bought a small bag, which I believe was 4 oz. There were leftovers from this.)
Pint of grape tomatoes
Garlic cloves, chopped to taste (I like my roughly chopped and a lot of garlic)
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1/4 balsamic vinegar (or to taste)
1/2 olive oil
A couple tablespoons of Italian seasoning or similar dried herbs
Salt and pepper to taste

The potatoes and tomatoes are roasted in a lemon balsamic vinaigrette. To make this, combine the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, juice and zest of lemon, garlic, seasoning, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Wash potatoes and tomatoes and place in a baking dish. Pour the vinaigrette over them and toss to coat. Bake in oven with the chicken at 375 until the chicken is done and the potatoes are fork tender. It took about an hour in my oven but my chicken was cooked from frozen.

You could also grill the chicken, which I would have done if we had a grill.

To serve, drizzle the broken down tomatoes and vinaigrette from the baking dish over the chicken.

I'm linking this recipe up at Debbie's Tuesday at the Table.

My Christmas

It was a great idea for me to take some time out from the online world. I can't say I got a whole lot done over the weekend because we were traveling a bit, but it was a time to relax. At least yesterday was my relaxing day. I've never been one for being in huge groups too often so Christmas Eve and Christmas Day combined was a bit too much for me. How was your weekend?

I did spend some time making food for Chad and I at home. I did decide this year that I wasn't going to bring anything unless specifically asked. Everyone knows I love to cook and bake, so if they need something, all they have to do is say so. No one did, so the treats I made were just for home.

Chad's favorite is chocolate pudding pie. This time he wanted something different so I suggested a cookie crust instead of the usual pie or graham cracker. Peanut butter was the winner, so I made up this recipe and formed the dough in a pie pan. The pudding is out of the box (next time I will be making it from scratch) and topped with fresh whipped cream. I haven't used Cool Whip or any other premade whipped cream for years. Chad did find the pie a bit too rich, so this won't be the go-to way I make it. It was good though, just in little bites.

There was a little dough left over, so I made up these cookies. They are a winner and I will be making them more often.

I also made up my favorite gingerbread cookie. I didn't feel like decorating them just for me, so they are plain circles. Sometimes I use this same recipe to make ginger snaps by rolling balls of dough in sugar. They are so good I only make them a few times a year.

I also made turtles by putting pecan halfs in a muffin tin, melting caramels and chocolate chips, and laying in the tin. It worked well for the assembly, but I did heat the caramel too high so they are a bit hard. They taste good, but they are hard.

Another thing I made was a orzo salad. I made up this recipe at the grocery store, so the amounts are a bit of a guess. I do want to share it with you though because it is really good. I'm linking up to Debbie for her Tuesday at the Table as well. This salad is going to be made frequently in my household for quick meals.

Orzo Salad

Cook 1 lb of orzo pasta according to package directions. Drain and allow to cool.

Meanwhile, combine 1/4 cup of olive oil, the juice of 1 lemon, about 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, about a teaspoon or so of grainy mustard, salt and pepper to taste, and other seasonings as desired (I threw in some garlic powder and Italian seasoning) in a small bowl.

Chop up other ingredients to add to the salad. I used a few Roma tomatoes that I diced, two handfuls of spinach that I cut up, an 8 oz package of feta cheese, a small bag of sliced almonds, and a small container of Greek olives from the deli. You can add or subtract what you prefer. I would add shredded carrots to it next time.

Once the pasta is cool, toss all of the above together in a large bowl. This can be served immediately, but the flavors do develop after spending some time in the fridge.

And who can resist homemade food in a bowl you made yourself?

Now onto my gifts from Christmas. I don't really like receiving gifts and only give when I have a great gift for that person. Instead, I do buy myself something for Christmas (and my birthday too). This goes back to holidays when I was growing up and has become a habit for me. Chad is fine with this and this year he bought a movie for the both of us to enjoy, along with other items for himself.

This year I bought a pair of earrings from Rosy Revolver, which happened to arrive on Christmas Eve. So did the things Chad bought so we did have our little gift opening of things we knew we would love. I do highly recommend her shop on Etsy and will buy more jewelry from her in the future.

I did end up getting a small gift from Chad's sister, which was made up of thrifted items. In addition to the North Dakota cookbook (the other one in this photo is from Chad's mom), she gave me a pie plate and some kitchen towels.

Our new neighbor gave us a gift as well. He is a glass blower, so he gave all of us on the block small ornaments. A part of me feels like I should make something for his family, but we haven't even talked to them yet, so I have no idea what I would make. We decided to send a card in appreciation.

I do have a finished project to show, but this is a bit long already so that can wait until tomorrow. See you then and I hope your day is going well!

Sunday is for Cooking

I'm far from being a food blogger even though I do love to cook and bake. I do every single day and rarely eat out. Chad loves this and I've even been able to get him to try things he wouldn't otherwise just because I made them.

Sundays tend to be the day where I do the bulk of my cooking and the day I do all of my baking for the week. Because of my schedule this just works out and this way I can have food for Chad to eat when I'm not home. Today I thought I would share some of the food I made since I have spent most of the day in the kitchen.

I only have one photograph because I didn't think of taking other photos. Luckily, the recipes I used are from other blogs and they have good photographs to go with them. I just grabbed my cell phone for a quick snap.

These are favorites in my household:
Vanilla Bean Scones (a copycat of Starbuck's scones but way better, in my opinion)
Sun-dried Tomato Pasta Salad
Alfredo (I served it with cheese tortellini today)
Cinnamon Bread (I make two loaves a week because this is perfect for breakfast. I also have made some changes from this recipe because we like it a little sweeter.)

I also usually make some sort of yeast bread but I had a lot on my plate already. I know I could post all the time about the food I make, but you see, I don't really follow recipes unless it's from someone else. I cook by instinct most of the time, which is something I learned after working as a cook in various restaurants for 8 years. I'm not sure how much interest there is for just a photograph and no way for me to convey how it was made so it could be reproduced.

Anyway, I hope you had a great weekend and were able to spend it with your loved ones and doing something you enjoy! I'm off to wash a sink full of dishes and squeeze in some sewing time before bed.