Peerless

This weekend was a turning point for us... sure the days have been a lot shorter for the past few weeks, but Saturday morning, when the anticipated rain turned to surprising big, fluffy flakes of snow... and then they stuck - I was sure winter, and with it, Christmas, was here (at least according to this meteorologist).

And while I happily welcome this wonderful season with open arms, there are a few things that often find their exit as soon as the temperature dips. Thankfully, I'm not one of those people who sees their first icicle and thinks their nights of eating a big bowl of ice cream are over... quite the contrary.

As a matter of fact, this cold-fearing Georgia girl gladly embraces a bowl of homemade ice cream... 365 days a year. So after a friend's seemingly innocuous comment describing how delicious the pairing of apple crisp and cinnamon ice cream was, a search commenced to find yet another use for our beloved ice cream maker.

And while she's seen some other delicious recipes pass through her paddle, this may very well be the last. I say that even without having paired this cool and creamy dessert with its crunchy partner since by the time we got around to making this ice cream, apple crisp season was, shall we say, behind us.

It turns out that this Cinnamon Ice Cream didn't need much (read: anything) in the way of accompaniment to find its way into our bellies, and trust me - it shouldn't need anything to get into yours either. No disrespect to the peppermint and rocky road ice creams of our past... but dare I say that in the past they may just stay.

A Late Addition

I'm cutting it close, I know I am... and not only that, but I'm doing so in quite an unorthodox manner to boot. I'm not here with a fancy pumpkin pie recipe, variation on stuffing, or innovative way to roast your turkey. And you just might never have had a batch of these on your Thanksgiving table before... but that's all about to change.

Before we proceed, however, I have a bit of a confession. I've hid these from you - sure I hinted at them after the night Amber introduced us but I should have been more upfront... and the anger will only worsen once you've tasted Joy's super soft Pumpkin Chocolate-Chip Cookies and realize what you've been missing.

But wait! There was a method to my madness. I was waiting until you were so over planning for the obscenely large feast that we will all indulge in next week (are you hosting?) and craving the sight of something other than your usual Turkey Day fare (and the luckiest in the bunch might have even one last can of pumpkin in your pantry).

So sure... I might have waited a little too long, but I'm not worried... because even though only a few days stand between us and Thanksgiving, these cookies will slide right into your schedule, and I promise you won't even notice the difference... well, unless you count the fact that after your first taste of these light-as-air but deeply full of pumpkin-flavored cookies, your life will never be the same.

This is the Day

It was inevitable, I knew the day would arrive - and to be honest, the thought of it looming was starting to haunt me as I knew it just wasn't feasible that I might make it through a holiday season stress-free - so today was a good a day as any. There I was toodling along with my can-do holiday attitude, not a care in the world... and then the switch flipped, just like that! But oh... oh yes, I remember how yesterday felt so clearly!

Speaking of yesterday, let's go back there... both literally and literally. As for the former, yesterday was when I snapped these shots of the new addition to our Thanksgiving decorations.

Literally speaking, this pineapple with a fabric turkey head (that's a technical term, for those of you taking notes) harkens back to a time when I actually didn't know the stresses of the holidays... yes, I was 3-years old but who's counting. A turkey similar to the one here graced our family Thanksgivings every single year and my table has felt empty without one... until this season. The same season that, early-on, saw me carefree and even encouraged thinking "I can do this Christmas season" - and then in the span of a quick day, gobbled me up (chuckle chuckle) in the feeling of "Thanksgiving is next week... NEXT week? What will I bring to a pre-holiday dinner... what about a gift for our holiday hosts... what will I make for my work potluck this Friday? And Christmas cards... baking ahead of time? Or perhaps, this year, more like 'barely in time'".

Yup, it's begun all right.

Luckily, though, as much as the holidays can engulf me in a crazed, stressed whirl, being surrounded by family and friends during this season can just as quickly melt all of that away... even if but for a moment. And I plan on enjoying those moments (even if some of you already have dozens of cookies baked and stockpiled in your freezer... you know who you are).

Gone... and Forgotten

I'll be the first to admit that a mere few weeks ago, I was in the middle of an unusually strong case of the "summer-entertaining-burn-out" blues. I've been 'there' before, though, and as such, am quite familiar with the antidote: the discovery of some exciting new recipes, with their ingredients perfectly matched to our local grocery stores' sales. The coming together of two things so fortuitous is guaranteed to wipe out my "over-entertained" doldrums.

But I couldn't start with just any new recipe... goodness knows (am I the only one who says that?) that at any given moment, there are a bajillion recipes out there calling my name.

I decided I was fresh for a revamp of how I think about (and serve, for that matter) appetizers when having friends over for dinner. So often I am stuck in the crackers and yummy cheese or baked dip world that I can't see easy, fresh alternatives. Leave it to (guess who!) my mom to right my ship.

My mom has (in my opinion) mastered the art of incorporating new and unusual recipes with her steady stream of trusty go-tos (even though they are goodies, don't you dare call them "oldies"!). I, on the other hand, go hog-wild in one direction or the other.

But this time, armed with this slightly sweet and secretly savory Pear Soup, I couldn't have gone wrong either way. This new friend and I got acquainted the night before our dinner party (make-ahead dishes = my best friend), and well, let's just say I almost had to make a second batch (good thing the pears were only $0.58/lb.). And then, when I thought it couldn't get any better, out popped the Blue Cheese Bruschetta accompaniment.

And in an instant, my "summer-entertaining-burn-out" blues were gone... and long-since forgotten.

Doing My Part

Heading into this fall season, I detected a bit of unexpected trepidation. Sure, at the outset, everyone who could was proclaiming how excited they were for the changing colors and cooler weather (which are certainly a package deal along with their autumnal cousin). But lurking beneath the exuberance was word that there was a shortage of the worst kind... and could the timing have been any worse?!

Given the situation, it seemed like one could respond in one of two ways... 1) run out and buy up every can of the beloved Libby's before anyone else could, no matter the price or 2) search high and low for every fall-ish non-pumpkin recipe.

So what was my personal response? I opted for... actually both. Since trips to three different grocery stores left me empty-handed, I turned to option 2). My search turned up this amazing looking Praline-Apple Bread - and the result? Dare I whisper that we didn't miss the pumpkin one bit?

Now that's not to say that I won't be back with some pumpkin recipes in the near future (subsequent trips to re-stocked grocery stores served me well) - it is autumn, after all. But you can bet this apple bread is in the queue - just doing my part to keep from driving up the price of our precious pumpkin (or... just an excuse to eat more of this delicious bread).

Treats Only, Please

Oh Halloween... how you haunt me each and every year (of my adult life).

I think I have finally diagnosed why Halloween and I have what you might call issues: growing up, I had (still have... hi, mom!) an amazing mom who (with less than adequate help from yours truly) dreamed up and handmade each and every one of my very creative costumes. It'd be here, if I was a savvy blogger, that I would post some black-mail worthy pictures of myself traipsing around in the likes of a Christmas tree (complete with battery-powered twinkling lights), a carrot, or a bunch of purple balloons, er... grapes.

With such a prestigious list, it's pretty clear that there's just no way I can live up to the Halloweens of my childhood. And I certainly don't want to re-live them. So that leaves me no choice but to ignore the holiday completely. But turning your back on one of the most ostentatious holidays has proven no easy feat.

Instead, it's much easier to hide out in the kitchen churning out some cute goodies to distribute to our neighbors - after all, just because I've got no tricks (and the best I can do for a costume is to change up which apron I normally wear), doesn't mean I can't participate in the treats. And I certainly don't want to miss a single chiming of the doorbell (the only other part of the holiday I look forward to) - greeting all of the adorably clad little ones.

And with that, maybe just maybe we can co-exist. If Halloween'll let me remain costume-less (no tricks either, please!), then I promise to always enthusiastically celebrate the holiday's better half - "... or treat".

Easy Ghost Cookies

a package of Nutter Butters (yum)
your choice of candy coating (white chocolate or bark, etc.)
large handful of mini-chocolate chips (you'll need at least 64 for one pkg of cookies)

Cover a half sheet pan with wax paper and set aside.

Melt the candy coating in a small saucepan, stirring constantly, over very low heat so the coating does not scorch. Dip the cookies into the candy coating and using a small pair of tongs (a fork would work as well), fish the coated cookie out and tap it against the side of your pan to ensure complete coverage. Place the cookie carefully on your sheet pan and immediately apply two mini chocolate chips for eyes. Let sit until dry, usually a couple of hours.

The Seasons

Just as I was about to open this post with a big proclamation of "I love fall" I realized... it's not so much fall that has me all sorts of giddy these days... sure, I love the changing leaves, the chill that makes you zip up those boots and throw on a sweater, the crockpots and soup bowls being dusted off... but what I like best is simply the good ole' fashioned dawning of a new season. Just when you think you can't take one more day of Mother Nature's creation, she delivers another... and this next season, again full of promise and anticipation.

Or, er - maybe it's just me.

Either way, I know this is where I am right now; I'd had just about all I could take of the humidity of our summer, ready to give up entirely on these seasons when suddenly fall poked its head out reminding me of the beauty of that elusive next page on the calendar.

And lovely she is...

The very best part about this? I'm confident that right when I'm done with the uneven temperatures and sometimes dreary, rainy days of fall, along will come Christmas-time (it's right around the corner - already!), in all its 'decked-the-hall' glory and a whole new, exciting season.

Second Time's a Charm

I haven't been slapped in the face in a while... a good, long while. So I guess it was due. It may have been warranted, though in my defense, I've only ever had one good 'good-for-you' baking experience... yes, only one in my 29.99999 short years... so why would I think otherwise?!

Apparently, lightened-up baked goods are sick 'n tired of being overlooked. They want their day to shine... and who am I to stand in their way!!

Thus I present my second ever healthy baked good... (lightened-up) Butterscotch Bars. This recipe was a no-brainer since we keep a healthy (read: enormous container full) of oatmeal in the house and I'd been looking for a recipe to use up some left-over butterscotch chips. Once the bars were baked, though (after maybe one TINY test!), they were wrapped up for my next Baking GALS recipient; thank goodness, otherwise between Chris and me, they'd have been gone.

By the way, for any of your numbers-folks who are saying "hey, 2 for 29.99999 isn't that bad"... look again. Sophisticated calculation aside... I am dealt a meager 'batting' average of barely 0.067! Even though that might be good enough for the Nats to come knockin', most others won't be impressed.

My Turn

When I was younger, I was never one of those kids who would just endlessly ask "why" (I think my brother did enough of that for both of us). Sure I had my own ways of prolonging conversations (i.e. trying to get the answer I wanted), but rarely did I just say "why... okay, but why... great and why?"

I know better... never say never.

For your sake (and frankly, my own, too), I've been doing some thinking about why I have this blog (not to mention, why I spend a decent amount of time thinking about it). Even though I had the best intentions, my jump into this little venture was quite haphazard. I was inspired by a good friend's fun blog and since I'd been tinkering around more in the kitchen and with a camera, I thought I might try my own. Not much more thought was put into it.

I should have known that one day I'd be back here, examining the goals I have for this site - after all, the better part of my day job is spent helping our employees set, meet and even exceed their own goals so it's high time that I take some of my own medicine.

So... Kara's Kitchen? Why do I sit at this computer posting pictures and crafting my stories, especially since I talk about decidedly more than just food (and the mediocre pictures I take of it).

I've come up with a very non-exhaustive list to explain my existence here (and it's good for about 5 minutes, until I change my mind):

• First one is easy - a hour and a half flight separates my parents (Hi, Mom!) and us, so this is one way I can keep them posted on what we're doing; other sadly far-away friends fall in this category, too
• To share cooking successes (and learn from failures) although I certainly don't consider myself a real-live food blogger - my pictures aren't good enough and the recipes usually aren't my own, though I'm working on this
• To discuss collegiate (and other) sports, the ACC in particular; it should be said that this highly biased, unprofessional sports-writer happens to believe that the only team worth mentioning is Wake Forest (and Navy, the Nationals, and Redskins)
  
• To talk about entertaining and cooking within a tight food allowance; some occasional budgeting tips and coupon mentions (plus, I can't help it - the frugal part of me just leaps out sometimes)
  
• To keep a list of various things about DC... fun restaurants that we've tried and some of the different events going on in this great city that we are fortunate to call home
  

At the end of the day (or just this post), it turns out that Kara's Kitchen is merely one big record of some (often not) interesting parts of our lives and that lo-and-behold, I'm here just to write and kind of like it! Whatever you do, don't tell my elementary and middle school teachers - back in the day, I wasn't tops in my creative writing endeavors... for a while after a teacher suggested we vary our writing by starting or ending our assignments with a question, I ended everything I wrote with "how about you?"

Thus, and you already know this if you've made it this far, I usually sit down with some topic in mind, sometimes distantly-related to a recipe recently tested, and proceed to ramble.

This time, I wasn't able to come up with even the most remote relation to this delicious, healthy, crunchy, made-from-pantry-staples Coconut-Almond Granola, but you deserve, at the very least, to know where to find the recipe. It's so good that only a good cause such as Baking GALS could keep Chris and I from having an all-out brawl over it; the granola was quickly mailed off with the Celebration cookie bars.

How about you!? Am I the only one who does this blog-soul-searching? Yeah, I thought so.

Yaaaaaaaawn

I'm tired. Nothing more to it. Just plain ole' tired. Course it goes without saying that our gray weather isn't helping either but enough with the excuses.

You'd naturally think, then, that I don't have a lot to say (possible but not probable - any statisticians out there?)... or better yet, how about a no-brainer, perfect for people who are tired, recipe. And even worse (watch as I throw myself under the bus)... I've made this before! Here, right before your eyes. I believe this may constitute the epitome of laziness.

HA! (laughing to myself) It's worse than I thought.

When I first introduced you to these yummy Celebration cookies, they were just that... cookies. Would you believe, though, that almost all cookie recipes are just as good, sometimes better (and 100 trillion times easier - that's a precise calculation), pressed into a 9x13 pan and extracted as bar cookies?

It does require the slightest bit of tweaking - cooking times, temps, whatnot - but nothing an amateur like me had any trouble with... so you are sure to master it in no time.

*Tweaks to original recipe:
- Spray, butter, choose your own adventure - just prepare your 9x13 baking dish to avoid any sticking
- Bake at 350 (usually 25 degrees less than your recipe calls for)
- Start with the baking time for the cookies, check them at the end of that time and adjust from there (these took just under 35 minutes)

Speaking of non-traditional cookies... if I mysteriously disappear from here one day, it'll be due to a delightful overdose on these.

Oh - I should mention that I did actually get these (and a few other treats) in the mail to my latest Baking GALS recipient... finally (and late, of course). But hey, that's something, right?

Old-Fashioned is "In"

Either the world of blogging has corrupted me (which is saying something since many people have been unsuccessfully trying to accomplish this my whole life) or I officially am the most easily amused person in history. The natural follow-on to that is "what's so funny?" right? That's just it - probably pretty close to nothing! (not a very auspicious start to this post, I'll admit, but stick with me)

I knew before I made this moist and delicious *Coca-Cola Cake that it was a bit old-fashioned... that was part of the charm (and after all, Anthony Bourdain dined on this in cute little Charleston and raved endlessly about it). But I didn't quite expect to get slammed over the forehead with this fact.

Now keep in mind that the recipe I used for this cake was from a recipe-bridal shower 'cookbook' (not sure that aptly describes the little xeroxed pamphlet I'm referring to) and when I started writing this post, I was too lazy to go and find it; besides, isn't that what the internet is for? I was happily overwhelmed with hits in response to my search. It seemed obvious that one particular link would be my answer - the Coca-Cola website.

This is where it all went down (you were wondering weren't you)... my recipe wasn't in Coke's everyday list of recipes - you have to scroll to the Heritage section!!! *yes, I'm serious, this is the punchline... see, I told you, I'm easily amused! Talk about making me feel like a lady standing in her completely dated kitchen (here my head goes immediately to Julia Child's kitchen, yeah, the one we saw this past weekend in a museum - you heard right, I felt archaic enough to be transported to something relegated to a museum).

Enough about me feeling old and decrepit - hopefully you will make this yummy cake and not feel the slightest bit age-d.

*we only ever have diet Coke products so this would more accurately be renamed "Coke Zero Cake" in our house - oh, and I'm on a grocery spending hiatus so as you can see, I used walnuts instead of pecans

Unlocking

We are a pretty healthy people around here... I think most of the people who know me would agree with that. I also am pretty sure those same people would say the reason I cook and eat health-fully is so that I can splurge on something sweet at the end... and those people would be well, they'd be correct, too.

In my experience, the words "baking" and "healthy" just can't co-exist in the same sentence... or really even anywhere near each other - unless it's to say "good and tasty baking can't be healthy".

But as life should have taught me long ago, I should know to never say never. (okay, I didn't say never to begin with but you get the picture) As soon as Susan posted these, I knew they'd be coming out of my kitchen - I have had a bag of left-over fresh cranberries waiting their turn and these cute, adorable Banana, Cranberry, and Honey mini-muffins were just the ticket.

And as Susan's commitment to healthy eating puts mine to shame, of course she's developed a wonderfully healthy but still unbelievably (though I am a believer now) tasty recipe. While her recipe was like nothing I've ever cooked (though all the ingredients are "normal" and required exactly zero special trips to the grocery store), it was so good, and good for you that if I do ever risk branching out, I will always use her base recipe as my starting point. Why mess with something already so perfect!

Watch out world of healthy baking... this could get ugly.

Hand-Written Recipes

Have I mentioned that it's cold here? (I know you've been wondering)

Unfortunately these little bites of deliciousness won't warm you up, but you should still stop whatever you're doing and make.them.right.now. I'm serious.

This is a page out of the archives (though don't bother go looking for an archive, it's just an expression), and I consider it a serious stroke of luck to have recently stumbled upon the old recipe. These Peanut Butter and Chocolate Crispy Bars were a tasty treat that I grew up enjoying - and I think may have been one of the first things I made when I decided that baking for others and/or giving away the baked goods would forever define my life. And now that I've set your expectations (read: these are easily made - give me a break, I was only in 5th grade)... how can you make these your very own?

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Crispy Bars
yield: depends on how big you cut them, makes one cookie sheet

1 c sugar
1 c light corn syrup
1 c smooth peanut butter (make sure you get non-recalled PB!)
6 cups rice krispies (of course I used a generic brand)
12 oz (or more) chocolate chips

Prepare your cookie sheet (with a lip) by a hearty coating of cooking spray or good ole' fashioned Crisco.

In a heavy saucepan, bring to a boil the sugar and light corn syrup. Remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter. Add all of the rice cereal and mix carefully, ensuring that it is completely coated. Pour the mixture into the cookie sheet and using the back of a rubber spatula, press evenly into the pan.

Over hot but not boiling water, melt the chocolate chips. Immediately pour the melted chocolate over the bars and spread to cover completely. Chill for about an hour (if you can wait that long) and then enjoy.

So far, these have about a 200% approval rating (though few people dare to get in between Chris and me and these bars). I'm sure it's been said before but this absolutely proves to me that there truly is delight in simplicity.

Seven

Why seven? Well, besides being the number that both 2009 Superbowl Champion Ben Roethlisberger and I wear... that's the number of hours of sleep I got last night! That's a LOT of sleep, people. Actually, I'd say it's easily almost two hours more than our average.

And I owe it all to my trusty slow cooker. Our relationship has significantly improved in such a short time and I couldn't be happier.

I think I'm in love. How could I be anything else? A mere 5 minutes of prep yesterday morning resulted in a deliciously flavorful Chicken Taco Soup, ready the moment I walked in the door. Okay, so I did throw together a quick garden salad before we were actually able to sit down for our meal - but a homemade and healthy meal turned around that quickly is pretty much unheard of in this house at least.

Have I caught your attention yet?

If not, the fact that all but two of the ingredients came in a very inexpensively purchased can should be the clincher.

Slow-Cooker Chicken Taco Soup (serves 6)
adapted from All Recipes

3/4 onion, chopped
1 can (16 oz) chili beans (I used Hormel Vegetarian beans)
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained
1 can (15 oz) can corn, drained
1 can (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 can (12 oz) beer (I used Miller Lite)
1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained (I used Rotel)
2 TBSP chunky salsa
1.25 oz package taco seasoning
4 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
shredded Mexican blend cheese (optional)

Place the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer and diced tomatoes in slow cooker. Add taco seasoning and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until covered by the liquid ingredients.

Set slow cooker on low heat for 6.5 hours. Shred chicken breasts (which really amounts to just pulling the breasts out with tongs because they will "self-shred" right then and there) and stir chicken back into the soup.

Turn the cooker up to high and cook for another hour. Serve with shredded cheese if desired.

Oh, and see this?!?

That enormous pot of delicious soup means only one thing - left overs (and another 7+ hour night of sleep)!!!

Special Sauce

This is no time for mincing words - I'm ready to declare that I've 150% officially joined Team Velveeta. I fought it for years, having not ever tasted it until the great year of 2007, but no longer; I believe the words "we're stocking up on that stuff if it ever goes on sale" have been uttered more than twice in the past few weeks in our house.

Some pretty obvious foreshadowing preceded this revelation; last fall, my mom first introduced us to Spicy Chicken Pasta (after which Chris declared that it might be one of the best meals ever), so of course, I made it again (to the same rave reviews... admittedly by the same person), and then we indulged in Heather's Rotel down in Mobile earlier this fall (try "her" recipe but when you're reaching for your elastic waisted pants, don't say I didn't warn you) which I quickly made again once we got home.

Suddenly it all become clear, it was so obvious - staring me right in the face. That beautiful rectangular box - goldish-yellow with those magic red letters... VELVEETA. It really does make everything better.

Spicy Chicken Pasta

12 oz. spaghetti
2-3 TBSP butter
1/2 one large onion, chopped
1 can Rotel (undrained)
8 oz. Velveeta, cubed
4 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1 can cream of chicken soup

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook spaghetti according to package directions.

Meanwhile, melt butter in large saute pan over medium heat; add chopped onion and cook 2-3 minutes, or until soft and mix in Rotel stirring thoroughly. Turn heat to low and add in cubes of Velveeta stirring occasionally to melt. Add chicken and cream of chicken soup, mixing until smooth and incorporated.

Put cooked spaghetti into greased 9x13 baking dish and pour chicken-cheese mixture over the spaghetti, stirring ever so slightly to ensure even coverage.

Cook for about 45 minutes or until mixture is bubbly!


BONUS recipe: Heather's Rotel
*quantity can be increased or decreased using the same ratios

16 oz. sausage (flavor and heat to your liking)
16 oz. Velveeta
1 can Rotel

Brown sausage in skillet. Drain and add to the Velveeta and Rotel in a large saucepan on low heat or in a crockpot over low heat. Stir occasionally until combined.

Can be served on Buffet setting in crockpot or directly out of saucepan. *it really doesn't matter, it won't last long anyway

If not using a crockpot, monitor dip occasionally and reheat over low heat as needed.

For Your Service and Sacrifice

Today is Veteran's Day! Take the time today to thank anyone you know (and even those you don't!) who's served our great nation!

click above for a beautiful tribute to our troops

To commemorate the special day (and of course, since this round of Baking GALS happens to coincide perfectly with this great holiday), I baked some delicious Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip muffins to send along with some Great Pumpkin Cookies to my soldier this month!

And what a delicious fall treat! I'm pretty sure the soldiers aren't too picky anyway, but these little gems are certain to be enjoyed (don't tell, but we just HAD to taste-test!).

Thank you to all of those (and their families!) who have felt the call to sacrifice for the freedoms that the rest of us are so lucky to live with!

"Some Like It Hot"

While these cookies do remind me of everything delicious and fragrant about fall, they aren't the least bit hot... however, that saying was the first thing that came to mind when I saw Anita's post that she'd be hosting Sugar High Friday this month, and her selected theme was "Spice Up Your Life"!

I admit that there are more creative uses of spices in the wide world of baked goods than these cookies, but you really can't get a better mix of fall flavors packed into one cookie than these so without really a whole lot of deliberation, I knew they would be my entry... even though these yummy treats might only make use of cinnamon in the spices category, there's just no better combination than cinnamon and pumpkin!!

Great Pumpkin Cookies
makes about 20 large cookies

2 c flour
1 c old fashioned oats, uncooked
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 c butter, softened
1 c brown sugar
1 c granulated sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c solid pumpkin
1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Cream butter; gradually add sugars, beating until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Alternate additions of dry ingredients and pumpkin, mixing well after each addition. Stir in morsels. For each cookie, drop 1 TBSP to 1/4 c (depending on your preference) dough onto lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake 20-25 minutes, until cookies are firm and lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheets, cool on racks.

Prepare to enjoy one of our favorite fall treats - but act fast, they will go quickly!

By the way, if you haven't checked out Anita's blog, Dessert First, you MUST. She has absolutely breath-taking pictures of even better sounding recipes. Check back for my attempt at her favorite cookie ever... how can you pass up a cookie with that kind of a recommendation!

Dilemma

Is it wrong that every morning when I get on the metro heading to work I just want to be left alone? I am usually an outgoing person (I swear, after the following incident occurred, I then helped a family touring DC find their way so I'm really not completely anti-social), but especially at times like this (read: in the middle of a season of political warfare), the last thing I want to be greeted with is a politician pushing his or her ideals in my face. I will say, for the record, that this has nothing to do with whether or not I agree with said politician.

This morning it was Mark Ellmore (and I hesitate putting his name on here lest someone should find my blog and think I'm advocating for or against him), whom while I am trying my very best to be an informed voter, I honestly have no clue if I support him - either way, neither the prospect of talking with strangers about politics AND it being the early morning interested me in the least.

On the other hand, Operation Baking GALS IS something that I support, and without any reservations (which I will go out on a limb and say I won't find a political candidate that I can say the same for).

Round Three has just finished up and I sadly made a late entry due to our (wonderful) European excursion (pictures to come). But if my soldier this time is anything like Colin, I know cookies are cookies, no matter the time or place.

This time I sent a double-batch of a new favorite of ours, Oatmeal White and Milk Chocolate Craisin cookies, along with some fun candies.

Not that I ever have trouble getting into baking but somehow it's just more fun when there's such a great cause waiting at the other end.

*And since you will inevitably notice, yes, it does appear that I left my picture-taking abilities (meager as they were) somewhere along the banks of the Danube. Hopefully my forthcoming trip pictures will make up for these.

Some Things Never Change

We've all felt the crunch of the recent rising costs... at least around here, seems the cost of everything, from gas to food to other everyday items, creeps higher and higher.

It hasn't been all bad - it's just caused us to get creative... and thankfully since I got out of my "only from a cookbook cooking" a few years ago, it's been a pretty fun time in our kitchen.

One thing that hasn't changed, though, is our habit of eating breakfast for dinner. Apparently some people have a "thing" against this but in this household, we are all for it. Most recently though, thanks to some inspiration from the fun brunch spot we visited in New York, The Barking Dog, I decided we'd try their combination of breakfast sausage and fruit. We enjoyed (and will enjoy again!) the different textures of the cooked fruit and the pieces of the flavorful sausage.

Apple and Chicken Sausage Frittata

3/4 cup firm apple, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
3/4 cup herbed chicken sausage, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
3 TBSP onion, chopped
Cooking spray
5 eggs
1 egg white
2 TBSP mixed herbs, chopped
1/4 cup shredded cheese
salt and pepper, to taste
1 green onion, sliced

Spray heat-safe 10-inch fry pan with cooking spray and saute apple, sausage, and onion until soft and cooked through, about 10 minutes over medium heat.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Meanwhile, whisk eggs and egg white with herbs, salt and pepper, and finally the shredded cheese. With the pan over medium-high heat, pour the egg mixture over the meat and apple mixture; scrape the sides and the bottom of the pan with a spatula to ensure the egg gets mixed for even cooking. You will see cooked egg scattered throughout, but loose egg in between.

Sprinkle 1/2 of the sliced green onions overtop the frittata before putting the pan into the oven. Cook for up to 5 minutes, or until the underside of the frittata is set.

Cut into wedges and garnish with the remaining sliced green onions just before serving.