Prepping for Party ...

For the past few months my kitchen has been lonely and neglected, begging me to come in for a visit - to stay a while.  Last night and this evening magic started happening as I began prepping for my Christmas party that will take place tomorrow evening ...

I have already made:

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars

 

Pumpkin Pie Fudge Brownie Bars

 

 

Hot Cocoa Cookies

 

 

 

Oreo Stuffed Double Chocolate Cookies

 

 

Old Dutch Caramel Corn (recipe on back of bag)

Spiced Nuts

 

Pumpkin Cupcakes (with Salted Caramel Buttercream that still needs to be made)

 

And savoury dips which I whipped up while enjoying wine of course ...

In the next couple of days expect some yummmmy recipes from me!

I will leave you with a festive overnight oat parfait recipe.

Pumpkin Gingerbread Overnight Oat Parfait

1/3 cup quick oats
2/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 scoop chia seeds
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Mix the above 4 ingredients together and refrigerate overnight.  In the morning, put 1 frozen banana, 2-3 T gingerbread crumbs, and a few splashes of almond milk into a food processor/Vita-Mix and blend until whippy.  Add more almond milk as needed.  Layer with the oats.

The house is decorated and the food is prepped - we are ready for our friends to come over and celebrate the season with us tomorrow evening!

 

What do you have planned for the weekend?  
Do you feel ready for Christmas?

Father-Daughter Night Out

My dad took me out to a dinner and show at the casino last night.  We had a pretty decent dinner with drinks, which was followed by a Doc Walker concert.  Doc Walker is a Canadian country-rock band, that I used to be a big fan of.  I haven't listened to country in a few years, but they still put on a really good show.

Dinner started with a salad and rolls.

The main course was chicken (or turkey - couldn't tell), sweet potatoes and beans.

Not sure exactly what the dessert was, but it was pretty tasty.

 

On the way out of the concert each person was given an autographed Doc Walker album and chocolates - sweet!

I did some work on my thesis this evening, and tomorrow I have BIG baking plans. I can't wait.

What are you baking this December?

Lemon Chicken

Today was the first freeeeeezing cold day that really made it feel like winter.  I warmed up this morning with a bowl of chocolate banana gingerbread oats (1 cup unsweetened chocolate Almond Breeze, 1/2 cup quick oats, 1 tsp maple PB, 1/2 banana, T gingerbread crumbs).

We tried a new recipe this evening, Barefoot Contessa's Lemon Chicken breasts.  We used skinless chicken breasts to make it a little healthier.

Lemon Chicken Breasts

(Adapted Slightly from: Barefoot Contessa)

1/4 cup olive oil
9 cloves garlic, chopped
1/3 cup dry white wine
Zest from 2 lemons
2 T fresh squeezed lemon juice
1.5 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt
2-4 boneless chicken breasts (skin on or off)
1 chopped lemon (8 wedges)

Warm the oil over medium.  Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute (don't brown).  Remove from heat and add wine, zest, lemon juice, herbs and salt.  Pour this mixture into a 9x13 baking dish.  Put chicken on top of sauce, season, and tuck lemon wedges around the chicken.  Bake at 400 for 30-40 minutes.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are you a lemon fan?  Do you use lemon most often for cooking or baking?  What is your favourite way to use lemon?

It's Beginning to Taste ...

A lot like Christmas!

Christmas party season is in full swing.  We went to the hubby's office Christmas party last weekend, and then we had my staff Christmas party on Friday.  We had dinner at the Mediterranean Bistro where we started with a goat cheese souffle.  It has a very mild flavour that got better and better the more we nibbled at it.

My main course was beef wellington.  The beef and potatoes were good, but the veggies were undercooked and had little flavour. 

It was so nice to have a Saturday with nothing to do.  I spent the day with my dad, shopping and having lunch.  We ate at a restaurant called The Mercury, where I had the hot hamburger.  

On Saturday night we went to our friends' house for an evening of appetizers and drinks.  We made cream cheese stuffed jalapenos wrapped with bacon.

There were lots of other tasty eats, only some of which I snapped a photo of.

 

The hubby convinced me to not work on my thesis today and instead spend the day Christmas shopping.  He didn't have to twist my arm too hard.  We got a lot done, and made a BIG trip to Costco for some necessary holiday foods.  I got 4 lbs of butter, 6 packs of cream cheese, 4 packs of bacon, vanilla, cream, and a lot more that you will see me use in the next week.  I have a lot of baking and cooking to do :-)

Another necessity around Christmas ... red wine!  The in-laws served some with dinner this evening.  

Do you do a BIG Costco (or other) grocery shopping trip around Christmas?

How many Christmas parties do you have this year?

Freedom

15 months, 8 grad classes done.  The semester is over, and with that all course work is done for my degree.  I can breathe again.  No more heading to class.  No more assignments.  All I have left to do now is the rest of my thesis, which is flexible and pretty stress free.  My plan was to finish this degree in 2 years or less, and I won't let anything stand in my way.

To celebrate the hubby surprised me by making one of my favourite meals, and the same meal that he made me the first time he ever cooked for me when we were just teenagers.

The noodles and meatballs are actually from a local restaurant (made fresh in store) and the sauce is a delicious, time consuming Emeril recipe.

I feel very free knowing that I don't have class or assignments to worry about.  I have so many things to look forward to this month, and I am very happy to get back to my regular blogging.

This December I am looking forward to ... 

Cooking and baking a lot.

Christmas shopping.

Christmas parties galore!

Watching Home Alone with the hubby while snuggling and drinking wine.

Spending time with my family.

Blogging Regularly.

What are you looking forward to this December?

Thankful Thursday - 5 Things

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends!

This evening we had a Thanksgiving feast too :-)  

It is a tradition to get together at our friends' place each year for a turkey dinner.  We each contribute a side dish while the lovely hosts, Anthony, Tara, and Chris make the staples.  

 

(1) Today I am thankful for an amazing group of friends that have been like family to me for about half of my life. 

(2) Today I am also thankful for blogger's recipes.  I have never found better recipes than the ones I find on blogs.  The cupcakes below are a perfect example.  They are 100% the best cupcakes I have ever had.  You can find the recipe here.  I made them for my colleagues last week and they were a big hit.

 

 

 

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Butter Cream.

(3) Today I am thankful that a week from today I will be done all my grad classes! I have 4 papers left to write, and I have already started to feel lighter, happier, and free.  December is going to be a great month.

(4) Today I am thankful that the hubby and I booked another trip to New York!  This spring we will be back in our favourite city for a third time. 

(5) Today I am thankful that the snow is melting and the weekend's forecast is unseasonable warm.

What are you thankful for today?