Christmas time

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M&Ms Cookies

I used my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe, swapping in M&Ms - some peanut butter for Josh, the rest milk chocolate - and they were a hit. Ben had not tasted cookies before, but I had to store these in the freezer since from then on, whenever he saw them, he really wanted them! Guess he inherited my sweet tooth...

The original chocolate chip cookie recipe is from Cooking Light - just swap in the equivalent amount of M&Ms.

Sausage-Stuffed Mushrooms

Any combination of mascarpone, sausage and mushrooms would sound amazing to me. We tried this one weeknight and it was not the fastest meal, but would be a great appetizer for a weekend get-together.

Sausage-Stuffed Mushrooms from Ina Garten

Symphony Brownies

From the moment I heard of this recipe I knew I had to try it, and finally did a couple of years later.

A great use of brownie mix. Once Ben gets to the age where he can eat nuts, I'll probably be making these often. I ended up eating most of them myself (before this photo was taken).

Symphony Brownies

Note: I adjusted the baking time and made mine in a square pan. Next time, I'll use the 13x9 pan the recipe actually calls for as I think the brownies will cook more consistently.

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts

An easy side when it's finally "cold" enough in Houston to roast vegetables...

Based on a recipe in Family Circle December 2009 issue - Roast brussel sprouts and fingerling potatoes, coated with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Lasagna

Not for dieters...

Ingredients

• 1/2 of a lasagna noodle pack
• Tomato sauce can
• Italian-style diced tomatoes can
• ground beef
• mascarpone cheese
• shredded mozzarella
• part-skim ricotta
• panko
• crushed red pepper
• Italian seasoning
• garlic
• onion powder
• salt/pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Cook lasagna noodles per instructions
3. Cook ground beef with Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper
4. Mix mascarpone cheese, tomato sauce, Italian style tomatoes, salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder
5. In another bowl, mix ricotta and shredded mozzarella cheese
6. Combine meat mixture with tomato sauce mixture
7. In a lasagna pan, layer noodles, then sauce and meat, then ricotta mixture and repeat until ingredients run out (2 or 3 times)
8. Top with mozzarella and panko
9. Bake for 30 minutes and serve

Apricot White Chocolate Pecan Bread

If you have a sweet tooth or sugar craving, then make this quick bread. I got a lot of compliments on it, and usually have dried apricots around for snacks, so it will be a repeat in our house.

Apricot White Chocolate Pecan Bread

Pear Cranberry Cake

When I saw this recipe online, I knew I had to get a copy of Gourmet's last issue (November 2009). I really like pear and loved this cake, but it was just too much for a couple of people. We made it for a crowd and didn't get through the leftovers. Maybe next time, I'll freeze half of it and only make half of the glaze.

Pear Cranberry Cake

Lamb Tomato Pasta

The first meal I made in our new house!

Ingredients

• ground lamb (1 lb)
• Italian seasoning
• salt/pepper
• crushed red pepper
• tomato sauce (1 can)
• Italian-style diced tomatoes (1 can)
• pasta

Instructions

1. Cook pasta per instructions.
2. Season lamb with Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, red pepper and cinnamon.
3. When the lamb is cooked, add cans of tomatoes/tomato sauce and simmer.
4. Add cooked pasta and mix.
5. Serve topped with parmesan.

Chicken and Bell Pepper Pasta

Ingredients

• 1/2 of a rotisserie chicken, meat shredded
• 2 bell peppers, chopped
  
• artichoke hearts (we buy them in large jars from Costco, marinated in olive oil)
• garlic
• italian seasoning
• parmesan cheese
• crushed red pepper flakes
  
• pasta
  

Instructions

1. Cook pasta per instructions
2. In another pot, add olive oil, red pepper and garlic for a couple minutes.
3. Add chicken, artichokes and bell peppers and cook until the peppers are tender.
4. Add pasta and parmesan cheese.

Rigatoni with Squash and Prawns

Another recipe that Josh and I had was Giada de Laurentiis' Rigatoni with Squash and Prawns. The combination was interesting, and I don't like passing up opportunities to make anything with shrimp.

Roasted Tomato Soup

You must try this recipe.

I've made it again, and still love it (Josh repeatedly mentions how good it is). It's Tyler Florence's Roasted Tomato Soup.

I ended up purchasing an immersion blender for it, and I'm glad I did (not only for this recipe but for others) - it made for less dishes.

Anyway, this is great with crusty bread. We followed the recipe and used heirloom tomatoes both times. I haven't tried it with cheaper tomatoes, but probably will during the peak of tomato season this next summer.

(I realize my photos are not the most flattering - they do not do this soup justice.)

Roasted Redfish with Lemon and Parsley

Another failed attempt to find Dover Sole led to us roasting redfish. I don't remember exactly how we made it, but it roasted in under 10 minutes - I think with just salt, pepper, lemon zest and lemon juice, topped with parsley afterwards.

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette

So it's the end of January and I'm finally catching up to list the recipes that I tried in the beginning of November. It's progress, but I clearly have a lot of catching up to do, particularly since I've been trying a lot more recipes since Josh, Ben and I got settled in the new house.

For the two months in-between our old house closing and our new house closing, my parents were gracious enough to host all of us (including two doggies). During one weekend in November, I was determined to make Josh like two types of foods that he did not enjoy: (1) butternut squash and (2) tomato soup.

I'm glad to say that I succeeded on both counts, partially due to the fact that he is always willing to try things again (like salmon, which is still on his "not like" list) in case his tastes change.

The first recipe I chose was Ina Garten's Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette. Josh liked the butternut squash, but has never been a fan of salads. Too bad in this case, because I loved the tastes and textures in this salad, so he'll be eating this again!

Chocolate Stout Layer Cake with Chocolate Frosting

This was another recipe from the Bon Appetit October 2009 issue - Chocolate Stout Layer Cake with Chocolate Frosting. I'm always up for any recipe that includes chocolate, and really enjoyed the added dimension that the stout added to the cake.

As much as I usually love chocolate, I'm not into frosting. With this recipe, however, I found the frosting to cake ratio to be great and wasn't doing my typical fork-scrape of frosting from the cake!

Moscatel Vinegar-glazed Parsnips

Another recipe that Alicia wanted to try was Moscatel Vinegar-glazed Parsnips. I became a big parsnip fan after the first time I roasted them in the winter. These were pretty good. I think I've linked the right recipe. The only issue I see is that I don't buy a lot of single-purpose ingredients, and for us, that list includes this Moscatel Vinegar. But if you do, this is a pretty simple and easy side dish to prepare.

Acorn Squash with Feta, Cranberries, Rice and Walnuts

When Alicia was in town, she made us Acorn Squash with Feta, Cranberries, Rice and Walnuts. I couldn't seem to find the recipe online, and I know that's where she discovered it. Here's a similar one, just switch onions for walnuts and wild rice for brown rice and it should be pretty close.

I had not tasted acorn squash before, but I bet I'll be making these one Saturday for lunch next fall!

Sweet Potato Biscuits

My sister Alicia was in town (she used to live in London, so that was a pretty rare occurence!) during the Halloween weekend, and she made sweet potato biscuits from Orangette for breakfast that day.

I already love all kinds of sweet potato recipes, except for the syruping marshmellow dishes, and here was another one - but in baking form!

We had them with mustard and ham like the blog suggests.

The next month, I got my December 2009 Bon Appetit issue in the mail. Guess which recipe was in Molly Wizenberg's article then?

Greek Pasta with Meatballs

My mom made this for us one night when I was really stressed about work. There are few things that make me feel better than lamb :)

Greek Pasta with Meatballs from Cooking Light's November 2009 issue - as good as it was the first day (the cinnamon adds a nice touch) - way better the next!

Sauteed Kale with Onions, Garlic and Capers

Another part of the Oktoberfest menu, Sauteed Kale with Onions, Garlic and Capers

Brisket Braised in Porter

Another Bon Appetit October 2009 recipe: Brisket Braised in Porter

This is one my Mom made while I was out getting my hair cut (badly needed)... back on Halloween weekend. I love brisket....

German-style Fried Potatoes

So onions aren't my thing, but I made this anyway and everyone thought it was pretty good.

German-style Fried Potatoes from Bon Appetit's October 2009 issue

Artichoke Pesto Chicken

Ingredients

• Minced garlic
• Chicken tenders
• Artichoke pesto (I got mine from HEB)
• Parmesan cheese, grated
  
• Italian seasoning
• Salt and Pepper
  

Just mix the pesto with salt, pepper, garlic and cheese, coat each chicken tender and bake until cooked. I made it with sides of broccoli and cheese and couscous, and we had some leftover bread. Definitely a weeknight pantry meal.

Pear and Dried Cherry Galette

Ingredients

• 2 pears, cored and sliced thinly
• Dried Cherries
• Refrigerated Pie Crust
• Apricot Marmalade
• Turbinado Sugar
• Egg White

Instructions

1. Preheat oven according to pie crust instructions
2. Place a pie crust in the center of a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
3. Make a circle in the center of the crust with marmalade, keeping edges clean
4. Top with pears and cherries
5. Fold over crust, not completely covering the pears and cherries
6. Cover folded-over crust with egg white, then turbinado sugar
7. Bake, checking to see when it looks done

Salmon Stuffed with Basil Butter & Ratatouille

Tyler Florence's Salmon Stuffed with Basil Butter, on top of Ratatouille, is a great Sunday dinner meal.

Too bad Josh still doesn't like salmon :( - my family really liked it.

I've liked every single recipe of Tyler's that I've made, and this was no exception.

Tortellini and Shrimp with White Wine Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

• Cheese Tortellini
• Shrimp
• Garlic
• Crushed red pepper
• White wine
• Salt
• Pepper
• Olive oil
• Canned Italian Tomatoes (2)
• Parmesan (optional)
  

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat with garlic and crushed red pepper flakes.
2. In the meantime, cook tortellini according to instructions.
3. Add white wine to olive oil mixture and let simmer for a couple of minutes.
4. Add tomatoes to the wine-olive oil mixture and stir.
5. Add tortellini and shrimp.
6. Stir, add parmesan (if desired) and serve.
   

Beef Daube Provencal

I like proving my husband wrong when it comes to cooking, and this was one of those recipes. He mentioned hating stew-like meals, but this changed his perception.

I liked it too, the first real cold-weather meal of the fall season!

Cooking Light's Beef Daube Provencal

Coconut Chip Coffee Cake

So I'm a few months behind on recipes, but that doesn't mean we haven't had been making tons of dirty dishes or trying new things... just haven't been so good about updating :)

One of the recipes that I tried from Taste of Home a while ago, and it is the Coconut-Chip Coffee Cake. I love the combination of chocolate chips, coconut and coffee cake, and so did my brother Aaron! He was eating bits of it days later!

Learning every day....

This week was a pretty fun one!

Benjamin took his first real walking steps. One night, I turned around to see him standing in the middle of a tiled area, when he had not pulled up to stand without furniture before. He then took a step forward and fell, so we're seeing him walk and gain confidence. He's taken up to 20 steps of so.



Another thing he learned, while definitely less significant, was learning how to open the goldfish carton and feed them to the dogs. It certainly made Perry happy! It was just another reminder about the different things he's learning all of the time, and it's really fun to watch!

Ben's First Haircut

Oma Glenda gave Benjamin his first haircut on New Year's Day!

He didn't like it, so we tried to distract him by eating raisins.



For about 10 seconds, he had a mullet!



We returned to Houston the next day, with a much older looking little guy! The haircut definitely makes him look like a big boy! Here he is helping his Daddy put together the tricycle:

Josh's birthday, complete with fun at the zoo!

Josh's birthday is December 27, so we're in San Antonio to celebrate. This year, Josh thought it would be fun to go to the zoo. Ben was starting to feel better and it was a really nice afternoon to spend with our family!





























That night, Josh and I were about to go out while Oma Glenda and Opa Dean watched Benjamin - it was a nice dinner. Then, the next day, Josh and I went back to Houston to work for two days while the little guy stayed (and had tons of fun!) in San Antonio. I had a really nasty cold and was finally able to see a doctor while we were in Houston. We then drove back EARLY on New Year's Eve. That night, we went to The Salt Lick. Ben had lots of fun, especially since this was the first time he was able to go and actually eat the food (he loves BBQ!).