Category: Recipes

So now that I opened the bottle of Wineheart Tres Leches Vinoleche that I had purchased for a Girls’ Night In, I have been doing some fun ‘mixology’ with it and other things I already had in my freezer, fridge or pantry.

Today’s libation uses the Wineheart Tres Leches, some Café Con Leche Ice Cream (that I used in these Quick and Easy Chocolate Chip Mocha Tarts) and chocolate rice cereal.

I had planned to have a Girls’ Night In back before Thanksgiving, but things just didn’t work out.  It’s such a busy time of the year for everyone, between those who were traveling for the holiday, other events and sick children, I decided to postpone it for another time.  That however left me with a large bottle of Wineheart Tres Leches and a bottle of Peach Schnapps, which I was planning to make drinks with.

If I’m going to be honest one of the things I like best about the holidays is the food, especially pie.  Pecan Pie, Apple Pie, Pumpkin Pie…I want..  All. The. Pies.  Here comes a moment of truth though..I’m not so good at making pies myself.  I’ve tried.  Numerous times.  The crust is never as flaky as I think I should be.  The filling never as dense or as flavorful.  The perfect pie from scratch, I’m of the opinion that it will take me years to master that, and I want the perfect pie…NOW!  Plus this year with our daughter being away at college, I don’t want to be spending all my time in the kitchen baking – I want to spend it with her while she’s home for break!

Christmas morning is almost here!  I don’t know about you but by the time that morning rolls around I’m a little tired of all the cooking and baking 🙂  So I put my husband in charge of Christmas morning breakfast.  I mean I help a little by providing him leftover potatoes, but other than that, I sit back, relax and enjoy the Santa Claus parade on TV and let him sweat over the stove top that morning!

My husband doesn’t cook much at all, but making eggs – that he’s really good at.  Every Saturday morning when he was younger, he took the leftover potatoes from dinner earlier in the week and made his own fried hashbrowns and then broke an egg over them which he then covered and steam cooked.

Without question, chocolate chips are at the top of most bakers’ lists of favorite ingredients!

125 Best Chocolate Chip Recipes features incredibly creative recipes for everything from cakes and pies to breads, puddings, bars, squares and muffins to beverages and sauces.  And it goes without saying that no cookbook on chocolate chips would be complete without cookie ideas.

Since 1975, the Best of Bridge “Ladies,” as their children have named them, have been developing recipes that are easy to understand, written with a sense of humor and guaranteed to work.  Not surprisingly, given their motto – “simple recipes with gourmet results” – over the course of four decades, they have cooked up countless treats that are perfect for sharing with family and friends when it’s time for a celebration.

Best of Bridge Holiday Classics: 225 Recipes for Special Occasions focuses on recipes that will meet all of your holiday entertaining needs. 

Matcha.

This is really different than anything else I’ve used before.  For those of you who don’t know what Matcha is – it’s green tea, but not like the kind in a tea bag, or loose leaf as it were.  It’s powder that’s ground up from the green tea leaves.  Hence it’s very Kermit green hue.  This also means you consume the entire leaf providing your body and mind with a maximum concentration of Polyphenols and EGCG.  The difference between Matcha and brewed green tea?  UP TO 137x THE ANTIOXIDANTS!

The holidays are here and some of you may have already given or received boxes of those Queen Anne Chocolate Covered Cherries.  Now I love the taste of chocolate and cherries…but not Maraschino ones.  I think that’s one of those love ’em or hate ’em kind of foods. But when I passed them in the store the other day along with some Diet Cherry Vanilla Crème soda and remembered the yummy Halo Top Chocolate Ice Cream in my freezer, I thought… well I can have my chocolate & cherries…and drink them too!

My mother-in-law was the Best. Cook. Ever.  Mashed potatoes were a staple at each meal.  Creamy, fluffy, butter filled scrumptiousness.  But try as I might I never could replicate the texture or flavor of her mashed potatoes.  Epic fail.  Every time. 

One day when grocery shopping I dropped some Idahoan Mashed Potatoes into my grocery cart.  I sneakily made them one night to accompany a roast.

Sometimes I wish the month of December had more hours in the day than the other 11 .  I’m always looking for the easiest way to do…well everything, because there is just so little time to pack in all the things that need to get done before Christmas Day.  That includes using my slow cooker for suppers, which allows me to get a little bit fancy but still make things easy and efficient when it comes to using my time.  Adding garnishes like holiday nuts to a simple dish makes it festive and takes it up a notch for the Christmas season.