One Year Down...

So did I say dessert breakfast??  Well, I wasn't lying;)  I came up with this idea for Sunday breakfast when I realized we had 2 things that needed to be used up in our house:  Panettone & Mascarpone cheese...

And I thought the two together would make perfect:  Panettone Paninis! :) 

If this is wrong, I don't want to be right:)

After we sliced the panettone, we spread on a thin layer of the mascarpone.... 

Tossed em on the panini press... 

A little smoosh... 

And we were in business:)  Scott said that after cereal, this was the second easiest breakfast:)  And OK, I thought these were going to be good...but I had NO idea they were going to be "THAT GOOD"....yow... 

The best part was that when you toasted and smooshed the panettone it almost came out light and flaky, sorta like a croissant!  Absolutely FAB!  Can't wait to have these next year:)  And if you have 47 loaves hanging around until June and no clue what to do with them...try these out:) (or this:)

After breakfast, we took Penny out for a snowy walk in the park (even the decorations were still up...yeah:), and the rest of the day was spent straightening things around the house that had been neglected during all of the hustle & bustle of December....including adding ALL of my heavy winter sweaters to my closet... 

...donating a bunch of stuff I no longer wear... 

...and, always a fun part of digging through my closest, finding a few pieces that I had forgotten I saved from my pre-weight loss days:)  Always fun & motivational to find;) 

Anywaysssssss....dinner last night was our original plan from Saturday night that got bounced because of the snow.  Buttt after a quick trip to the store today for some potatoes, we were all ready to whip up a new recipe from this month's issue of "Cooking Light".... 

Smoky Potato Pancakes???  Ummmm...yes, please!  What I loved about these was that they were baked in the oven, rather than fried....because nothing is more tedious than standing around waiting for food to brown so you can flip it.  And then repeating that a thousand times.  One baking pan and 8 pancakes was MUCH easier.... 

We each had 2 pancakes, an arugula salad on the side and called it a night:)

Oh no, wait...one more thing:)  Soooooo....I realized last week that January 9th was my one year "blogaversary"  (is that what the kids are calling it these days?? :)  ....wohooooooo.... 

And since it was a 'speical occasion,'  I thought I'd whip up a batch of Bethenny's "Not-So-Red Velvet Cupcakes" for dessert tonight:)

What I love, love about this recipe (esp. after reading "Master your Metabolism") is that Bethenny ditches the artificial Red dye in replace of... 

Yep...Beet Juice....which made a sorta red hybrid batter... 

Butttt maybe not so much of a red cake:) 

But seriously, who cares?  These tasted good & light and that's all that matters:)  Artificial red dye be damned;)

Soooo...Hope you guys had a great weekend and are set for the week ahead.  Heres hoping that ours involves SNOW.  In copious amounts.  Like feet -PLURAL:)  We'll see;) 

Have a good Monday:)