The Most Wonderful Gingerbread Cookies

I had a great weekend making and decorating these yummy cookies with the kids.  I actually got the Christmas tree up the day after Thanksgiving too...an amazing feat in this house.  I found this recipe on http://www.food.com/ by gingerkitten D last year and saved it.  It is hands down the best gingerbread cookie recipes I have ever baked.  The dough is soft and delicious but more importantly...it rolls out cookies like a dream.  I don't even need to flour the counter or the rolling pin with this recipe.  I really really love that. 

Chocolate Coconut Pudding

I am not going to the store again until after this holiday.  I don't know what has happened but it seems like the Christmas rush is happening way early this year.  Every store I enter is PACKED!  What the heck?  I mean even in the middle of the day.  I hate it.  So, I doubled checked all my Thanksgiving supplies and entered the stores for the last time this week!  I am very happy and hoping for many days at home in my near future.  Okay, so about this pudding.  I found the recipe on http://vanillaandlace.blogspot.com/2010/01/coconut-chocolate-pudding.html.  I was a bit worried about the maple syrup but it worked out perfectly.  You can not taste the syrup or the coconut milk at all.  It just tastes like great chocolate pudding.  My whole family loved it. 

Meat Pies

I have finally welcome winter and it's cold weather.  I must have forgotten how much I love soups, stews and other great winter dishes.  I have also been testing Christmas desserts but sadly I have not had any successes yet. I hate that.  I happily cook for a few hours only to be completely disappointed with the results.  I need to just accept that somethings just don't work dairy-free.  Fighting it doesn't help!  So, let me talk about a success.  This meat pie is amazing.  It reminds me of really great pub food and I will make sure I have a nice Guiness on hand next time I make it.  My husband even said it was so good it was Christmas day worthy.  Hmmmmm?

Inside-Out Pizza Rolls

This was hands down my favorite recipe of the week.  I laughed the whole way through dinner because I just loved it.  I divided my dough in half and put mozzarella cheese in the one my kids were going to eat.  Turns out they liked it better without the cheese......oh life is just so good.  We will be eating this is a recipe a lot in our house.  You must try it. 

White Bean Stew

This is the second part of my three part series this week.  I really liked this stew.  It tastes like winter.....maybe something you would eat on a cattle ranch.  It completely warmed me up and stuck to my bones.  It made for a great lunch the next day too.  It also passed the kid taste test and that makes me super happy. 

The Meat Sauce

This is the first of a three part series this week.  The article, which I ripped out years ago, starts with this sauce and makes four other dishes.  I will only be covering two because the other two are filled with cheese but I will post the link for my dairy eating friend.    This meat sauce is the BOMB and the other two recipes were amazing too.  I loved the time I saved.  Easy but good food is just the best..  This recipe makes 7 cups and can be frozen.  You can eat it alone (it is just that good) or put it on potatoes, in tacos, on a hamburger bun or even just serve it with tortilla chips.  Enjoy!

Love Is All Around!

I came across this lovely declaration of love on my morning hike.  I welcomed the surprise I must tell you.  I love hearts in nature...even the man-made kind.  Let's build a story to go with the picture.  I am thinking it has teenagers written all over it but I prefer to imagine an 70-year old man writing it for his wife.  How sweet right?  The whole young at heart thing.  LOL.  Have a great today my friends!

Pumpkin Craisin Muffins

Traveling food photography.  LOL.  I took one of these fantastic muffins to my local state park for some hiking this morning.  It was such a lovely morning and I could not resist getting out.  I love hiking by myself every now and then.  I notice things I would not normally see with my family.  The best part of the day happened when I sat down to eat my muffin.   I felt like Snow White because all these beautiful birds came to sit with me.  There must have been about 10 and they were all different types.  I am guess there is a lot of feeding going on but I had to dissapoint them because the muffin was just too good to share.  It tastes like fall should.  I am thinking they would be the perfect thing to have hanging around on the morning of Thanksgiving.  Yummy!

Venetian Almond Tartlets

It has been a weekend of movies, homemade peanut butter squares http://www.nowheyyousay.com/2009/11/peanut-butter-squares.html, these tartlets  and popcorn.  What I need is sun, exercise and healthy food....want....need...want....need...it is an on-going battle.  Will let you know which sides wins when it is all over.