It's The Most Wonderful Time of the YEAR!

December is upon us and that means the holidays are right around the corner! Christmas is definitely my favorite holiday and not just cuz of the presents. I LOVE the lights, the decorations, the carols and of course, the FOOD! Nothing says Christmas like Gingerbread Cookies so that's what I made for the first Cookie Friday of December. I totally cheated and used the Betty Crocker Gingerbread Mix but I did take the time to roll out the dough so I could cut them into festive shapes. I received a Christmas Cookie-Making Set 2 years ago from Greg's mom and this is the first time that I've used it. Aren't they cute?


Here they are getting ready to be baked...

...Now ready for Santa (or my coworkers)!

Can't Waste That Good Greek Yogurt!

I had half a container of Greek Yogurt left from making the yogurt sauce for my Lamb Gyros and didn't wanna waste it. I also had a pear laying around so Pear Nut Bread was born! Of course, you can substitute regular yogurt in any flavor you like but the creaminess of the Greek yogurt made this bread really rich and moist. The crunchy pecans also added a nice texture. I can't WAIT to have this for breakfast tomorrow!

Ingredients:

1/2 c butter, softened
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1 c all-purpose flour
1 c whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 c Greek yogurt
1 c coarsely chopped pears (leave skin on)
1/4 c chopped pecans
1 tsp vanilla extract

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. (I used my stand mixer but a hand mixer would work.)

2. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, making sure they're well incorporated. Then beat in yogurt until smooth.

3. Combine the flours, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Add to the egg mixture.

4. Stir in the pears, pecans and vanilla.

5. Pour into a greased 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in the center come out clean.

Dilly Salmon Tortellini = YUM!

Salmon has proven to be the perfect mate for dill as shown in my Benedict and Patties. So when I found this recipe for Tortellini with Salmon-Riotta Sauce, I knew I had to give it a try. The only changes I made were substituting half of a diced up white onion instead of the green just cuz that was what I had in the fridge and adding some mushrooms cuz Greg loves them in pasta dishes (and pizza!). (Oh, and I also didn't have any lemons so I just added some juice from a bottle and omitted the peel.) At first I was afraid the canned salmon would taste too fishy with the tortellini but the flavors actually worked really well together. I guess you just can't go wrong with Ricotta and Mozzarella paired up with cheese-stuffed pasta! This was definitely an easy weeknight dinner and we're always told to eat more fish right? :)

Lamb Meatballs Take 2!

We had a LOT of lamb meatballs left over from Sunday so I decided to make some Gyros for a quick and easy dinner. (I also had more mint to use up so it was perfect!) All I did was toast up some pita bread and stuffed 4 meatballs inside each. Then I made a very simple yogurt sauce using Greek yogurt, S&P, lemon juice and mint. I'm not sure how authentic these were but they were yummy!

I Have WAY Too Much Dill!

It seems like every time I turn around, my dill has shot up an inch! I really hate to waste my fresh herbs so I went online to see what I could make with them. I found this Cheddar Dill Biscuits recipe from one of my favorite blogs, Baking Bites, and decided to give them a try. They were super easy and quick to make and I love the fact that I only ended up with 4 biscuits instead of a dozen! I also used my mini food processor instead of dirtying up my big one. These biscuits tasted very similar to the Cheddar Dill Scones I made before but a lot softer. You don't really NEED to butter them but you really should! They taste AMAZING with a good smear of Land O Lakes!

When Life Gives You Mint...

...You make Minty Lamb Meatballs! (Ok ok so when your AeroGarden gives you mint!) I noticed this morning that my mint was getting pretty high so I decided to make this Minty Lamb Meatballs recipe I found a while ago. I always have some stuffing mix in my pantry so all I had to do was pick up some ground lamb. I realized only AFTER I got home from the store that I had only picked up 1 lb of meat and this recipe asked for 2. SO, being the creative chef that I am, I substituted a couple of Johnsonville Italian Sausage Links instead. You know what? The flavor was PERFECT with the lamb, especially simmered in this tomato-flavored sauce. I served the meatballs over some Israeli Couscous from Trader Joe's and it was the PERFECT Sunday night dinner! We also have a LOT of meatballs left over, which I'm totally happy about! Hum, maybe I'll freeze some for a rainy day... :)

Back from Another FUN Turkey Day!

I can't believe another Thanksgiving has come and gone but we had a great time (as usual)! We arrived Wednesday afternoon (no delays on Southwest...SHOCKING!) and stayed until Saturday night. Greg and I were in charge of dinner Wednesday night and we decided to make Chilean Seabass with Hollandaise Sauce (blender style!). It was a total hit with the parents! His dad even said that the meal was "restaurant quality"! And of course, we had my Jalapeño Corn Muffins on the side. (Yes I brought them onto the plane!)

Turkey Day preparation started early the next morning with 2 turkeys, 1 in the oven and another on the rotisserie! (Yes, there are 6 of us and we absolutely NEED 2 turkeys!) We also had all the usual goodies on the side like mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing (2 kinds as well, 1 regular and 1 cornbread), cranberry sauce (also 2, 1 jelly and 1 more saucy) and roasted veggies. AND to top it all off? 2 pumpkin pies, of course! Needless to say, everyone was happy and stuffed afterwards. The next couple of days included a LOT of turkey sandwich-making and of course Black Friday SHOPPING! I confess that I bought WAY more stuff for myself than presents but hey, I got good deals! I've got a whole month left to find gifts. :)

We also had 2 birthdays to celebrate since Kanika's was last week and Greg's is next week. His mom baked 2 really cute cakes for them! A Red Velvet for Kanika and Carrot Cake for Greg (his favorite)! How thoughtful is that, right?

We had such a good time and I was sad to leave. BUT we're getting together again for Christmas and they'll finally get to meet my mom! I'm REALLY excited!