It’s the first week of December and it’s prime time for baking! With Christmas in just 3 weeks, I’m anxious for all the treats I’ll be making leading up to the holidays. Have you gotten into any holiday baking yet?
Here’s what I cooked up in the kitchen and/or posted this past week…
Seriously, the most perfect mac & cheese recipe ever
Garden Veggie Pizza Squares
A great way to get those veggies in…
Beef Stroganoff
Comfort food at its finest!
Garlic Peppercorn Pork Brisket
Low & slow… and so worth the wait!
Who needs to be slaving over the stove during the holidays?!
Let your crockpot do all the work…
Warm up to something other than chicken noodle soup…
Some recipes that caught my eye and I bookmarked, which I hope to try out soon!…
Peppermint Crunch Milk Chocolate Cookies (Peabody @ Culinary Concoctions by Peabody) – Chocolate and peppermint are one of my most favorite holiday flavor combos so I know this is going to be a good one!
Sausage Cups (Dunne’ @ With a Cherry on Top) – What a great idea for breakfast…
Chocolate Toffee Cookies (Erin @ Erin’s Food Files) – It’s been awhile since I made cookies and I have some leftover toffee bits to use up so this is perfect!
Apple Cider Glazed Pork Chops (Kate @ So Tasty, So Yummy) – I stocked up on apple cider so now I know what else to do with it beside drinking it…
Decadent Vanilla Bean Cheesecake (Celeste @ Sugar & Spice) – My dad loves cheesecake so this is one I hope to make for him during the holidays…
Maryland Crab & Goat Cheese Ravioli (Kelly @ The Pink Apron) – I need to dust off my ravioli maker and here’s a delicious reason to motivate me!
My weekly musings on Family, Food and Fun…
Family – Joel’s now 30 weeks old today and in a few days, he’ll be 7 months old. Wow… my little guy is growing up so fast! We’re planning on putting up holiday decorations sometime this weekend before my parents come back to the US to spend Christmas here. Hopefully we’ll have everything in place by then… but I’ll admit I’m feeling a bit lazy. The cold, dreary weather and shorter days will do that I suppose. For the weekend, we’ll also be spending some time in Chicago with my in-laws so they can snuggle up with Joel.
Food – Earlier this week I met with a restaurant owner who has a really amazing opportunity available. I’ll be working closely with the restaurant this coming Monday and Tuesday so I may have more details to share next week. But if all goes well, I’ll definitely be one super duper happy camper. 🙂 Aside from that, I’ve been gearing up for some holiday baking and homemade food gifts. Hopefully I can get everything done accordingly to my timeline so I can share them on the site soon.
Fun – Today is an annual holiday party with girlfriends. We’re celebrating at a suburban Spanish tapas restaurant and I can’t wait! It’s been awhile since I’ve had tapas and it’s always a great time hanging out with the girls. I’ve finished up packaging my little foodie favors for the party and I’m so ready to get my drink on. Last year I was pregnant and couldn’t really drink up, so I’m definitely planning on making up for it today 🙂 This upcoming week is going to be a busy one. I have a dinner event every night this week except on Friday so I won’t be doing much cooking or baking. I’ll be enjoying a tequila tasting & paired dinner with my old high school classmate on Monday night; preparing some Filipino tapas on Tuesday night; enjoying a Korean dinner event with my husband Wednesday night; and an authentic Mexican dinner event with my husband Thursday night. So it’s an eventful week ahead full of good eating!
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