Putting on the brakes...

OK, OK...so remember yesterday when I was all like "Can you believe we didn't want to order pizza??"

Yeah...around 3:30pm on Monday afternoon, that whimsical feeling of 'nah, I don't even want it' passed with a VENGEANCE and I COULD. NOT stop thinking about...well, not pizza, but FRENCH FRIES.  Hot, salty FRENCH FRIES.  Now I'm ALL about giving into the occasional craving, but coming off a weekend of cinnamon buns, pie & THANKSGIVING dinner and I knew there are just some times where you have to put the breaks on.  That being said...that doesn't mean it didn't PISS ME OFF to have to say "NO."  If Scott had batted ONE eyelash towards 'maybe'...I would have probably been on that phone ordering french fries (with cheese, for good measure!) in a heartbeat.

And I tell you all of this because if dinner hadn't been an absolute HOME RUN, the rest of my night would have been spent in an oblivion of salt-craving anger.  Mostly directed at Scott...cause that's just how it goesJ  (sorry, Scott!J)  But THANKFULLY...this dinner was SOOOOOOOOOOOO good that it spared Scott a night of sulking and finger pointingJ hahahhahahaa....

And BELIEVE ME: I did NOT think a recipe called Gnocchi with Squash & Kale was going to be the thing to pull me out of my 'french fry tunnel vision'.  But by some miraculous feat...it was!  And I'll tell you why:  Cause it was SO. DAMN. GOOD!!!!!!!

And what made this recipe even MORE awesome?  It was all made in ONE POT!  (which basically means it wasn't a Rachel Ray recipe...who requires you to use just about every pot in your arsenal to cook up a full meal in 30 minutesJ) 

Anyways....so into the ONE POT goes a tablespoon of butter & a small peeled and diced butternut squash.  You let that cook until it becomes tender & golden brown...around 10 minutes on medium heat...

Then it was time to add the 'aromatics'...and this just happened to be two of my FAVORITES:  Garlic & SAGE!!!  swooooooon.... 

Add both of those to the squash and let them cook for about 2 minutes...all while taking in the absolute intoxicating aromasJ   

Next, you add 1 1/4 cups of chicken broth and bring it to a simmer before adding in your kale.  You can either use a fresh, diced up bunch and let it wilt down OR you can just break out a bag of frozen kale and let it defrost right in the chicken broth for a few minutes!

Once the kale is wilted or defrosted, you add in your gnocchi... 

Make sure all of the gnocchi are somewhat in the chicken broth, cover and let simmer for 5 minutes or until the gnocchi are tender.  

I REALLY didn't think this would work, since it seemed there wasn't enough chicken broth to cook the whole pack of gnocchi...but once I lifted the lid, they were cooked to perfection.

Finally, you stir in 1/4 cup of grated cheese & 1 tablespoon of butter before topping with another sprinkle of grated cheese  and popping it in the broiler to toast up for a few minutes... 

Like I said:  ABSOLUTE KNOCKOUT!!!!!!  All of the starches from the gnocchi & squash combined with the chicken broth and cheese made an absolutely luscious sauce and everything just melted into a pool of flavorful comfort food.... 

This was one dish where I just WISH you could almost 'hide' the kale...because if it wasn't for its PROMINENT green leaves...I'm TELLING YOU:  You could get this by even the PICKIEST of eaters.  The sauce just blanketed all of the veggies and made them all 'perfectly hidden,' yet so very healthy.  This was an awesome & quick meal...OH, and by my estimation, thanks to the farmer's market & Trader Joe's: it cost about $5 to make!  Couldn't even order cheese fries for ONE for that cheapJ hahahahahhahaa.... 

So anyways...that's all I got for you today.  We'll see what today brings on the 'cravings horizon'...however, there ARE potatoes in my near future today, so hopefully that will help 'tide me over' againJ  hahahahhaa...

Have a great Tuesday, everyoneJ

Weekend Wrap Up: "Fa La La La La" Style...

It's beginning...

...to look a lot like... 

...Christmas!!

Sighhh...bliss!  I can't believe a whole year flew by THAT fast...BUTTT that does not mean that I'm not ECSTATIC to get into the holiday spirit.  Look, even Penny's feeling rather festive... 

...orrrrrrr maybe that's just exhaustionJ hahahahahahahaha  She had a 'busy' weekend following us around and being nosy as we got the whole house ready to bring in the comfort & joyJ hehehehehhee

The one thing that was NOT around this year:  Our yearly cheesesteak pizza!  Can you believe we just were NOT in the mood for it this year??  Don't get me wrong:  we had our fair share of treats from a few reheated cinnamon bun breakfasts... 

...but the rest of the weekend we were just interested in sparing our waistlines AND our wallets by making our own quick meals even though we spent our days being busy, busy, busy.

It would have been SUPER easy to reach for the phone for take-out on Friday after spending sun up to sun down scrubbing the house from top to bottom...but instead, we reached into the freezer & pulled out this little number I had picked up from Trader Joe's a few weeks ago.. 

I had always wanted to try spanakopita and figured this would be a good way to try it out before I found myself elbow deep in phyllo doughJ

50 minutes in the toaster oven and we were met with a piping hot and cheese FILLED phyllo pie...soooooooo flavorful & tangy!  Lemon juice was the second to last ingredient on the list, but you could certainly taste it throughout the pie!  Very good find and great for a quick dinner night...

Saturday night I threw together a quick gravy with meatballs.  Gravy DOES take over an hour to cook, but really only about 10 minutes to throw together.  The rest of the time you just let it simmer on the stove.  Another total no-fuss meal on a busy day... 

And OK...Sunday night's dinner was a bit more 'intricate' than those other 2, but sooooooo worth it!  We made Sweet Potato Latkes with roasted cauliflower... 

This dinner isn't complicated AT ALL...it's just time consuming.  First you have to shred up 2 sweet potatoes, a white potato & an onion into a bowl.  Then you season the potatoes thoroughly with chili powder, coriander & cumin to give it a little SPPPICCEEEE... 

Mix the potatoes with a few tablespoons of flour and enough Eggbeaters (or 1 egg) to gather the potatoes together to form patties.

Drop the patties in a canola oil covered pan...(I use 2 pans to make quicker work of things.  I HATE standing over the stove FLIPPING things)... 

After they brown up on both sides, I had both a 'oil blotting' station and a cookie sheet lined with foil to catch all of the cooked pancakes before I tossed them in the oven to keep warm... 

While the potatoes were working, I had cauliflower roasting with a little olive oil, salt & pepper for about 40 minutes in a 400 degree oven.  Scott was NEVER a fan of cauliflower, but ROASTED cauliflower??  He'll eat.  Try ANY vegetable roasted...it's always betterJ 

Once cooked, we served it up the 'cakes some fresh guacamole.  We made these last year, but were lacking in guac'....but this year we got to try it and couldn't be more pleased!  The coooooooool guacamole went so well with the slightly spiced sweet potatoes.  But then again, is guacamole really bad on ANYTHING?? J 

And after a weekend of cinnamon rolls & sweet potato pie (which, thankfully, have ALL exited my kitchen!), I decided to make us a dessert a little on the 'lighter side' last night.  All with the help of... 

Ever have "No Pudge" brownie mix??  It's one 'diet' product that gets the total thumbs up from me (and Scott!).  They are delicious, easy to throw together (just add 2/3 cups of unsweetened applesauce to the mix) and best of all??  They are made with a FEW NATURAL ingredients!!!  Not a list of 40 synthetic ones that you can't pronounce... 

35 minutes in the oven and you have decadent & delicious brownies...sans the guilt!  And who couldn't use a little of THAT this time of year??J 

Alright...well that about wraps up my weekend!  OH....and what is missing from this Monday post:  My workout schedule. 

And why?? 

Shamefully:  because there WAS NO workout schedule from last week....EEEEEE!  We did sneak in a few 45 minute park walks here & there, but my whirlwind days of cooking, cleaning & decorating will hopefully 'hold me over' for last week!  But I'm DETERMINED to get back into it today!  As soon as I hit 'publish post,' I am gettin down to some yoga this morningJ hehehehehehehe

Have a great day, everyone!

From Leftovers to...

Hey everyone...hope you guys are having a GREAT weekend!  Ours has been spent in a flurry of "Christmas cleaning" and slowly breaking out all of our tinsel & holly.  My house is beginning to twinkle & I'm in LOOOVEEE!J hahahhahaha

In the midst of 'decking the halls' though, I got a 'baking bug' and was curious to see how I could use up the container of leftover cranberries that were hanging out in my fridge.

Answer:  Make Muffins! 

I had made this fresh cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving morning the same as last year... 

• 1 bag of cranberries
• 1 diced apple
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cinnamon stick 

Bring everything to a boil & then let it all simmer for 15-20 minutes to thicken before adding 3/4 cup of craisins.  I've NEVER been a fan of cranberry sauce in the can, BUT THIS: I LOVEEEEE!  It's perfectly sweet & tart, textured & chewy all while studded with apples.

But really...how many cranberries can you actually eat??  So after using our yearly leftover 'quota' in our post-Thanksgiving lunch of the "Thanksgiving Sandwich" (turkey, stuffing, cranberries on Stuffing bread!)...

...I knew those cranberries would go to waste if I didn't get creative!

So in the spirit of 'waste not, want not', I rounded up all of my baking ingredients:

• 2 cups Spice Apple Bran Mix
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 1/4 cup Eggbeaters (or 1 egg)
• Extra cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

I had went to reach for flour and had found this tucked away in my closet and knew it would be PERFECT... 

If you don't have a mix, just substitute with 2 cups of flour, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. baking powder & some cinnamon, cloves & nutmeg.  That should do the trick.

I combined all of the ingredients in one bowl & stirred until just combined.  Lastly, I tossed in the cranberries (about 1&1/2 cups) and gave em one last stir to incorporate them all...

Scoop batter into 12 muffin cups (sprayed with non-stick cooking spray) and bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

I loved that these were spicy, tart and sweet while made with almost all natural ingredients and not a whole lot of fat!  Wohoooooo!  Economical AND Healthy!J hehehehhehee..  They'll make a great breakfast, but I must admit I HAD to try one warm out of the oven for my lunch todayJ 

So good!  Try these out if you find yourself staring at all of those leftover cranberries...you could wind up having breakfast for a whole 'nother weekJ

Well, that about wraps it up for today.  I'll give you my weekend recap tomorrow with the rest of our weekend of cooking and a glimpse of all of the RED & GREEN that is emerging!

Have a great night, everyone!

I WILL ignore you, pie...

Hey everyone!  Hope you guys had a great ThanksgivingJ  I'm currently typing this blog post and trying to pretend there's NOT 1/2 a leftover pie screaming my name from the fridge  ("EAT DESSERT FIRST!  YOU CAN WORK IT OFF ALL DAY!!") 

So in an effort to distract myself, I'll give you the recap of our turkey day...which, of course, started off with the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  Me thinks Penny really got into it this yearJ

HeheheheheheJ 

And while we watched, it was FINALLY time to dive into the Squash Cinnamon Rolls that have been patiently waiting in the wings since Wednesday... 

I baked them up for 35 minutes before drizzling them with the maple/brown sugar glaze... 

...and then we sunk into ooey-gooey bliss!  

The thing that was nice about these was while they seem like they would be OVER THE TOP sweet from the filling & the glaze, the dough was SOO subtle from the squash & warm spices that it all seemed to balance out nicely...delicious! 

After the parade, we scurried around to get ready to head over to my in-laws, where we delved into all of your usual Thanksgiving goodies (I was PARTICULARLY thankful for mashed potatoes this year!)  And to round out dinner, I brought over my 'secret dessert' that I prepped on Wednesday: 

Sweet Potato Coconut Pie with Marshmallow Meringue

I was happy I had a little extra time on my hands to get this one done...it seemed like a lot of steps by the end!  And I even took a short cut using a Trader Joe's crust! 

I DID lighten up the pie a bit, making substitutes where I could:

• 1 cup light coconut milk
• 1/4 cup light cream cheese
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 cups mashed sweet potatoes
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• dash of salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

And then it was time to whirl up the meringue.  Again, I used the "all egg whites" carton...and even though I used the recommended 3/4 cup, I think it equaled WAY more than 4 ACTUAL egg whites, so I had to double up on the cream of tarter in order to get the egg whites to form into the stiff peaks.

Then it was time to add in the special ingredient...the marshmallow fluff! 

You have to SLOWLY fold this in since the marshmallow is SOO sticky & dense while the egg whites are SUPER light & delicate. 

After the marshmallow & meringue are combined, you have to mound it up over the hot pie (it seals the meringue to the crust), top with mini marshmallows and bake for another 15 minutes... 

I had a cookie sheet underneath the pie plate & kept my eye on this nearly the entire time because not only did I not want the top to burn...but I was soooooo afraid the meringue was just going to melt & spill all over my oven!  THANKFULLY everything stayed in place BUT the pie DID poof up to epic proportions! 

I quickly topped it with a little toasted coconut and let it cool.  I was happy it had enough time in the fridge to REALLY 'cement' the meringue and the topping didn't sink into a mess of marshmallows!

In fact, the meringue actually made a really good, discernible layer! hhahahahahahaha... 

I loved the subtle coconut kick of the sweet potato layer & the sweeett dreamy marshmallow flavor in the meringue.  Have no doubt though:  This will cure ANY sweet tooth!  Unlike my "subtly sweet" Squash Cinnamon Rolls...this was sweet THROUGH & THROUGH!!!!

Well, that about wraps up my day!  Today will be spent NOT fighting off the sale shoppers, but cleaning my house from top to bottom in order to HAUL OUT THE HOLLY later todayJ  Hope you guys have a great day!

Alright, I think I cured my sweet tooth just by TALKING about all those sweets!  I'm off to get OATMEAL. 

THERE, I SAID ITJ

Ringing in the season with cinnamon...

Morning everyone and Happy Thanksgiving!!!  My plans of posting this blog last night just did NOT happen that's what happens when you pass out at 8pm.  So instead, I'll give you the run down of my little 'ladies who lunch' pre-Thanksgiving afternoon and a sneak peek of our breakfast for this morningJ

So lunch yesterday took place at a pretty cool restaurant in our area and one that had been on our list to try out for awhile:

Marsha Brown's is awesome and unique for 2 reasons:

1. It serves up New Orleans style-Creole food in the middle of New Hope, Pennsylvania....
2. It's housed in an old gothic church... 

How awesome is THAT? 

We even got a seat right next to one of these GORGEOUS stained glass windows that glimmer throughout the building...errr...church...errr...restaurant!  

And how absolutely BEAUTIFUL is the interior?? 

And this was just ONE of the rooms!  We didn't even get to see the MAIN dining room! 

And who doesn't love a little homage to Mardi Gras?J 

After we picked up our jaws off the floor from all of the red velvet & dripping crystal chandeliers, we got down to the business of ordering... 

And, as usual, neither my best friend or I could hone in on one thing.  So we did what any 2 indecisive folks who wanted to devour the entire menu do best:  We split our lunch like two little kids on the playground...albeit this was NOT your average peanut butter & jelly sandwichesJ

It was tough to even narrow down to THESE choices, but we just so happened to pass a sign out front that proclaimed Marsha's to have "The Best Burgers"...sooo armed with that knowledge, my friend ordered up the "Marsha Burger"...

Talk about a 'knife & fork' burger!  This thing was HUGE and SMOTHERED with sauteed onions, mushrooms (yes, I picked those offJ), cheddar cheese & 'Marsha's steak sauce.'  Oh man...it was sooooooo good!  As my friend proclaimed: "that steak sauce just puts it over the top!!"  And the 'creole chips' they served it up with were crispy, spiced & delicious!

And for my lunch, I went with my first choice of the item I had spied on the online menu a few weeks ago:  the Crab Cake sandwich  (I have been OBSESSED with crab cakes!  Despite Scott's 'seafood aversion,' this baby must get his or her 'love of seafood' from meJ)

Much like the burger, this sandwich was an absolute mess to eat too...and ya know why that's good?  Because I don't think there was hardly an OUNCE of "filler" in this 'cake.  It seemed to be purely crab meat...which broke into a million pieces as you bit into it!  hehehehe...sign of good quality, I say!  And I lovvvveeeeddd the mustardy remoulade sauce.  Siggghhh...I could go for another one of these RIGHT NOW!  hahahhahahahah

And to round out our day of 'sharing'....we had to sample not one, but two desserts!  (hey!  Holidays call for such things!)  I went with the 'dessert special' of the day in the bread pudding... 

I actually LAUGHED when I tasted this....it was soooo warm & cozyJ  It was served piping hot and the cinnamon cream just sent you into a flurry of carb-o-licious happiness.  H-e-a-v-e-n!

And our other dessert was one little beauty, wouldn't you say?? 

Tucked under all of that marvelous meringue was "Grandmere's Comfort Custard," a 'Brown's family tradition' of sweet & creamy vanilla custard...these desserts were just BEYOND blissful.... 

...as was our ENTIRE lunch AND experience at Marsha Brown's.  The spectacular decor matched it's unique and OUTSTANDING dishes.  I already can't wait to go back and sample the 3-4 other goodies I found on JUST their lunch menu alone!!

After lunch, we took in our equally wonderful showing of "Breaking Dawn"...

After being moderately disappointed by "Eclipse," I was sooooooooooo happy to see "Breaking Dawn" redeem itself in the series!  Like the original movie, I loved that BD stood up as it's OWN movie...NOT just a book adaptation.  And let's not kid ourselves...that Edward is just so damn dreamyJ hehehehe...

Which brings us to TODAY!  And since it's Thanksgiving morning, I thought I'd give you a quick peek into what our morning is going to revolve around...and maybe give you a last minute idea if you have a loungy morning with no breakfast plans on your handsJ

Sooooo...while we LOVE our tradition of pumpkin pancakes for pre-turkey dinner breakfast, when I found I had a little extra time on my hands this year, I thought I'd try out something a little more special.  And after planning to make Pumpkin Streusel Rolls that I had made a few years ago to much success, once I spied the recipe for Spiced SQUASH Cinnamon Rolls in Cooking Light this month, I was HOOKED on combining BOTH of these recipes!

Into my bread machine (yes, I took the lazy way out instead of spending time kneading...J) I added: 

• 3 3/4 cups of all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
• dash of cloves
• dash of salt
• 1 tablespoon of canola oil
• 1/2 cup EACH of pumpkin puree AND mashed butternut squash

You can use any squash you have.  I just happened to have leftover roasted butternut squash lying around and found it too tempting to toss into the dough.

While gathering up the dry ingredients, I had let the yeast mixture sit on my stove for 10 minutes to keep warm.  To a measuring cup I added:

• 1 cup of warm water
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1 packet of dry yeast

Give a quick stir to combine everything and cover.  Yeast is SUPER finicky to work with and if it doesn't 'poof' properly, you might as well just throw it out and start over....or you'll soon be finding yourself throwing out your entire DOUGH (MUCH WORSE...BELIEVE ME!)  But after 10 minutes, if the yeast 'grows' like this:

...you can pretty much know that you'll be A-OK.

After kneading the dough (or having 'someone else' kneadJ) for 10 minutes (making sure to add enough flour to the dough so that it's gathered, tacky, but NOT overly sticky), you place the dough in a non-stick coated pan & cover to let rise for about 45 minutes.  The key here is to make sure it stays WARM & in a non-drafty place...like with my makeshift contraption:

The dough should be almost doubled in size and poofy when it's ready to roll out... 

Punch the dough down and let it sit for 5 more minutes before rolling it out on a floured surface... 

The yeast actually OVERWORKED, and I ended up with enough dough hanging off the edges of my cutting board to be able to trim and freeze to make a quick batch of rolls another time.  Feast or famine that yeast, I tell ya!J

And then it was time for the GOOD STUFF:  The cinnamon center! 

• 3 tablespoons of melted butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons of water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Mmmm....combine everything and spread evenly across the dough.

Next, it's time to roll up your dough... 

...you can roll it lengthwise & cut the dough into 16 rolls OR you can roll it from end-to-end and make 8 larger rolls, like we didJ     

After the rolls are cut, I covered them and let them rise for another half hour...you can barely see the pan peeking out from under there! 

I've had them in the fridge since their final rise on Wednesday and plan on popping them in the 375 oven for 35 minutes this morning and whipping up the quick maple glaze to coat on top:

• 1/3 cup water
• 1/2 cup maple sugar (or brown sugar)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon half & half
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Combine the water & sugar and bring it to a boil.  Simmer for 5 minutes before removing from heat and stirring in the rest of the ingredients.

Even though I can't vouch for them at the moment...I'm guessing it's going to be a sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet morning!!!  I'll show you the final results & the rest of our Thanksgiving goodies the next time!  Hope you guys have a WONDERFUL day filled with family, friends and food!  We ALL have too much to be thankful for.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!