Anise Drops

These cookies are causing me much trouble in this house.  I can not stay away from them!  So addictive.  Of course, they do have a very strong anise flavor so you really have to like it.  They are soft in the middle and crunchy on the outside and naturally dairy-free!  Yeah!

Hungarian-Style Shepherd's Pie

I am loving Rachael Ray's new show "A Week In a Day".  Yummy stuff.  I also love sheppard's pie so I was immediately won over when she made this recipe.  What a perfect mix of comfort food.  It is also just the thing to keep the house warm on a cold cold day.  The whole family loved this one and it made great leftovers too.

Apple Nut Torte

I saw this recipe in my cookbook and thought it would taste just like my mom's Nobby Apple Cake but decided to try it out anyway.  I loved that it is a 100% dairy-free recipe on it's own......no substitutes or changes needed.  LOVE!  So, the batter and final cake did look just like the nobby cake but it tasted nothing like it at all.  I love my mom's nobby cake but this was really really good too.  It was like an apple brownie or something.   It had a really lovely sweetness about it.  It was fantastic to nibble on all day but because there were so many apple bits it did get a bit soggy the next day.  (But a quick warm up in the oven and it was great with the coffee:)

BLT Soup

We have been having a bit of super cold weather over here.  So, of course, there has been a lot of cooking going on in my house.  Warms up the house and the body too.  Right before the arctic blast hit, I watch Rachael Ray's new show "A Week In A Day" and she made this soup.  I was drawn right in because I believe that anything that includes bacon has to be good and I was right.  This soup was the perfect thing to have around for lunches (school cancelled for two days).  My kids loved it and we all stayed nice and warm. 

Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

Hazelnuts.....mmmmm yum.  One of my favorite things on Earth!  Thankfully I have a local Sunflower Market that stocks them.  Apparently the crop was rot this past year and they are almost impossible to find right now. So if you see some while you are out shopping consider yourself lucky and buy them. This is a lovely Italian cake.....Italians love their hazelnuts...I am thinking I must have some Italian in me somewhere.  This cake keeps so well and only gets more flavorful.  The trouble is keep the family out of it so it is waiting for you and your morning coffee.  Enjoy.