It's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas...

I broke down and spent the day baking. I couldn't help myself. It just didn't feel like Christmas without a few cookies.

I set aside a half dozen of each kind I made, and then packed up the rest to give away. I know it's hard to give away cookies this time of year because everyone is baking, but I found a loop hole to that rule and decided to take advantage of it. Guess who doesn't have a ton of Christmas cookies this time of year? Single guys. Who work with my husband.

I made three kinds of cookies, plus chocolate covered pretzels. I'd been dying to try the Andes Mint Cookies I read about on the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies at The Girl Who Ate Everything so I made those first. The cookies taste like cake batter, and I appreciated the mint that bumped the cookie from everyday to holiday. They were good, and I'll probably keep them in the holiday cookie rotation, but I don't know if I'll make them every year. I'm sure they'd be awesome if I could bake.

My mother-in-law makes toffee bars every year and they are my husband's favorite, so I made a quick batch of those as well. I made them without nuts because my husband is allergic to them but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. After they cooled, I popped them in the freezer because that is how my husband prefers to eat them, and I have to admit, I agree with him. Frozen toffee bars are delicious.

The other cookie I made was an Oatmeal Craisin White Chocolate Chip Cookie that I slightly adapted from this Ocean Spray recipe. The "foodie" at my husband's office said it was one of the top two cookies he's ever eaten, and I'd have to agree. If I baked it and they're good, they are truly delicious cookies. You should bake them immediately.

Oatmeal Craisin White Chocolate Chip Cookies
INGREDIENTS

• 2/3 cup butter, softened
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups quick oats
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup Craisins Original Dried Cranberries
• 1/2 cup Craisins Pomegranate Juice Infused Dried Cranberries
• 1/4 cup Craisins Blueberry Juice Infused Dried Cranberries
• 2/3 cup white chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat oven to 375ºF.
• Using an electric mixer, beat butter or margarine and sugar together in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, mixing well.
• Combine oats, flour, baking soda and salt in a separate mixing bowl. Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition.
• Stir in Craisins and white chocolate chips.
• Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
• Cool on wire rack.

I put on some Christmas music while I baked, and the house finally began to feel like Christmas. I realized that I can continue some of my Christmas traditions if I just tweak them a bit to fit my new life in Charlotte. While my family might not get to enjoy my sugar cookies this year, I know the single guys in my husband's office appreciated some Christmas cheer. And my husband has definitely enjoyed having a cookie or two (or six) for dessert.

I'm such a good Christmas housewife.

Thanksgiving leftovers 3: Thanksgiving Braid

In my family, I am the queen of braids. I'm referring to the edible kind of braids, made with crescent rolls and stuffed with all sorts of deliciousness. My husband would eat the chicken and broccoli braid three times a week if I'd make it for him.

Last year I created the Thanksgiving braid. I made it before Thanksgiving, using ingredients that reminded me of Thanksgiving rather than leftovers. This year, I reworked it to use some leftovers and some readily available ingredients with similar results.

Thanksgiving Braid
Ingredients:
1 package crescent roll
2 cups diced turkey
1 cup diced brie, divided
3/4 cup craisins
1 cup frozen green beans, thawed
1/3 cup fried onions
1/3 cup low-fat mayo

1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp lemon pepper
1/2 tsp marjarom
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt

Substitutions:
- If you have poultry seasoning, substitute about 2 tsp poultry seasoning for all the spices, but still add lemon pepper or lemon zest
- If you have leftover green bean casserole, use that for the green beans and onions and reduce the mayo to 1/4 cup.
- If you don't have leftover turkey, substitute chicken or pork or cook a few turkey cutlets or tenderloins. I recommend seasoning them with the poultry seasoning or all the spices for even more flavor.

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix together the turkey, 1/2 cup brie, craisins, green beans, and onions (or green bean casserole).
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the mayo and all the spices.
4. Unroll the crescent roll on a baking stone or cookie sheet, press together the seams, and press into a single rectangle.
5. Spread about 2 tbsp of the mayo mixture lengthwise down the center of the braid.
6. Mix the remaining mayo with the turkey mixture.
7. Dot the mayo on the crescent roll with the remaining chunks of brie.
8. Evenly spread the turkey mixture over the mayo and the brie.
9. Cut the dough into 1 1/2 inch wide strips on each side, leaving about 3/4 inch from end of the cut to the filling. Lift each strip to the center of the filling, twist once, and tuck the ends under the filling. (This describes the braiding process pretty well).


10. Bake at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes. The top may brown before the bottom is cooked completely. If this happens, put some aluminum foil over the top and bake a few minutes more, until the bottom of the braid is cooked through.

I don't have an after picture because my husband cut into and devoured half of it before I got the camera out again.

With all the spices, the mixture tasted a lot like stuffing, but the green beans and craisins sweetened it up and kept it from being too savory. I considered substituting cream of mushroom soup for the mayo, and I bet that would provide even more flavor and amp up the green bean casserole element of the dish. Overall, I liked it and would probably make it again. It's definitely a good use of leftovers, or in my case, a good use of ingredients that are available cheaply this time of year.

Thanksgiving leftovers 2: Macaroni and cheese

Butternut squash is a staple at my family's Thanksgiving dinner. I am not a fan.

I like butternut squash when it's cut into chunks and roasted with something sweet, like brown sugar or maple syrup, but this is not how butternut squash is served at our Thanksgiving dinner. Instead, my mom cuts the squash in half and roasts it in the oven with a little butter (or butter spray), and then mashes into a baby food consistency. Yes, baby food. I remember my mom defrosting boxes of frozen squash and using them as baby food, and that is exactly what our Thanksgiving butternut squash looks like. As my husband says, it looks exactly like it sounds - squashed.

However, I discovered that this preparation of squash or those boxes of frozen squash are great for making some awesome macaroni and cheese. Macaroni and cheese is a traditional Thanksgiving side dish in the South, so combining squash with mac and cheese is doubly festive. Plus, the 10-ounce boxes are on sale for $1 this week at my grocery store, so they're definitely a good bargain this time of year.

The recipe I use is Rachael Ray's Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese (FYI - Boo is her dog). She uses the frozen squash in a box, but if you have Thanksgiving squash like my family (or the fresh is on a great sale), you could substitute the mashed fresh stuff instead. If you're a fan of baked macaroni and cheese, I recommend the Harvest Moon Macaroni. It's almost the same recipe, but finishes with a few minutes under the broiler to get that nice brown top on it.

The squash really makes the sauce creamy and adds great depth of flavor without really changing the taste of macaroni and cheese. These recipes use ingredients that are already inexpensive, but also takes advantage of some Thanksgiving ingredients that can be picked up for a bargain this time of year - squash, chicken stock, and fresh thyme.

And who doesn't love macaroni and cheese?

Thanksgiving leftovers: Chicken and sweet potatoes

The Food Network has been highlighting Thanksgiving recipes for the last couple of weeks, and I have been completely into it. I now know how to brine, deep fry, roast, smoke, and grill a turkey. Of course, I'm having my Thanksgiving dinner at the country club so I'm not sure how useful any of this information will be, but I'm available in case you have a Thanksgiving-food related question.

My favorite shows are related to what to do with Thanksgiving leftovers. I love watching food morph into different food with a completely different flavor. This is the essence of Robin Miller's Quick Fix Meals and Sandra Lee's Round Two Recipes. Who hasn't had leftover chicken and thought, "What should I do with this?" These types of recipes are really helpful for me because my husband is not a fan of leftovers. I can freeze something and he'll eat it weeks later, but he's not interested in having last night's dinner for lunch tomorrow.

The leftover segments got me thinking about my own leftover situation this year. Because we're eating at a buffet, we sadly won't have any Thanksgiving leftovers. We're also eating at 1pm so I fully expect to be hungry again by 8pm. I might actually have to cook something... but what? It seems like this would be the perfect time for Thanksgiving leftovers, but I don't want to make Thanksgiving dinner just to have leftovers! Hmm.

I'm also being fairly budget conscious, especially as we head into the holidays. Even though I'm not making Thanksgiving dinner, I'm still taking advantage of the great sales on Thanksgiving foods - cans of pumpkin, crescent rolls, sweet potatoes, chicken stock, cranberries, etc. These are foods I either already use frequently or like but don't usually make because of availability/cost. But now is a great time to stock up or plan menus around these items.

This is what I offer to you. Over the next couple of days, I'm going to post some ideas and recipes for using "Thanksgiving ingredients" in different ways. I'll also post a few leftover recipes for good measure (I may finally share my Thanksgiving braid recipe).

I'll start with what we had for dinner tonight. These recipes highlight sweet potatoes, which I've been eating a lot lately, and those French's Fried Onions that I've only ever used for green bean casserole.

French's Crunchy Onion Chicken
I linked the recipe from the French's website (it was also on the back of the can) because it is pretty close to what I made. I made the three-serving (read: 3 chicken breasts) Dream Dinners version tonight, and I don't remember exactly what was in it. The major variation is that instead of an egg dip, I melted minced garlic (1 tsp maybe?) and worcestershire sauce (1 tsp maybe?) in a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil in a small sauce pan and dipped the chicken in that before rolling it in the crushed onions (I didn't use flour). I baked at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes and then broiled for 2 minutes. It was absolutely delicious - very moist and full of flavor. It was a great way to use those onions so buy the big canister when you're making the green bean casserole!

Candied Carrots and Sweet Potatoes
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
2 carrots, sliced
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup water
salt to taste - I used about 1/2 tsp

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Steam the sweet potatoes and carrots until tender. Put vegetables in a baking dish (probably a 9x13 - I used an 8x8). Melt the remaining ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat until the brown sugar dissolves and it starts to bubble. Pour the brown sugar mixtures over the vegetables and bake for 45min-1 hour. I stirred up the vegetables a couple of times to make sure the brown sugar and butter continued to coat the vegetables.

These vegetables are definitely sweet - they are called candied afterall - but I thought they were a great balance to the savory and somewhat salty flavor of the chicken. Sweet potatoes are full of Vitamin A and inexpensive right now so I am a huge fan of playing with different preparations, flavors, and textures right now. Stock up!

Follow up: Just say no

In follow up to my post, Just say no, here's a picture and a review:

My outdoor fall decorations:

See, I told you it was cute.

As far as the orchard salad, my husband and I both thought it was good and my guests wanted seconds so I think that's a pretty good endorsement. I added some Craisins and and used an extra sharp (as opposed to a sharp) white cheddar cheese from Trader Joe's, but I think goat cheese would also be delicious. Then again, I love goat cheese. My only complaint is that I thought there was too much dressing for the salad, but I suppose that could easily be rectified by adding more stuff or saving the dressing for later!

And as further proof that you should just say no to Trader Joe's: My guests loved the Trader Joe's apple cider. They live very close to a Trader Joe's and said many times that they were going to have to buy some when they got home. I told you Trader Joe's is dangerous. But of course, I'm going back tomorrow to get more cider.

Ode to the Crockpot

Dear Crockpot,

You make me happy.

When I was in grad school and working 12-14 hour days, I used my crockpot all the time. I mostly made big batches of soup that I could eat throughout the week, and I loved retreating from the cold Chicago winters, smelling something wonderful in the air of my apartment, and knowing I had a hot meal to enjoy while I studied.

Now I use the crockpot even when I'm not going to be gone all day. It's convenient, and I like that I can make everything in the morning and have dinner ready whenever my husband gets home from work. His work hours are unpredictable, and he could be home anywhere from 6pm to 9pm. That variation is fine when I know it will only take me 20-30 minutes to prepare dinner, but when I want to make pork roast or soup or something that needs to cook longer, I'm often left (incorrectly) playing the timing guessing game. And I HATE when my food gets overcooked and dried out. Hence the crockpot.

I also try to make food that is somewhat healthy. I admit to being a junk food junkie, and I'm not a huge fan of vegetables, but I really try to make well-balanced, nutritional food for my family. I once heard that the sweet potato is the most nutritious food in the grocery store, and I like sweet potatoes, so I've been looking for new recipes to incorporate them as more than just a side dish. I also have a slight obsession with canned pumpkin. Pumpkin is also full of vitamins, and I've found that I can add pumpkin to a lot of things without altering the flavor too much. I put it in my chili and tomato sauces quite often, and sometimes make pasta with pumpkin instead of tomatoes altogether.

So when I found a sweet potato chili recipe, I thought I hit the jackpot. The original recipe is here, but I changed it up a bit based on what I had available to me. And of course, I peeled the sweet potatoes so I lost some of the nutritious fiber, but the beans certainly bump it back up!

(Vitamin) A+ Soup

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in 1-inch chunks

1 yellow onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 chipotle in adobo, diced (I store the remaining chipotles and sauce from the can in a ziploc bag in the freezer - actually, I used a frozen one today - just chopped it and put it in the crockpot frozen)

8-10 baby carrots, sliced (just because I had them)

2 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 (14.5 oz) cans roasted diced tomatoes with garlic, with the juice

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin

2 T chili powder

1 T paprika

1 T cumin

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth (the original uses 1 c water and 1/2 c OJ - I bet that would be delicious here or vegetable broth would work too)

2 T liquid smoke


Add everything in order. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

I ate this with a rosemary foccacia bread for mopping up the soup. I felt like the soup could handle a little more heat and might add a jalapeno or an additional chipotle pepper next time. The flavors can be changed easily - like using thyme, sage, and rosemary to give the soup a more earthy feel - but the base of the soup is healthful and full of Vitamin A. This recipe made plenty and it was even better when I ate it for lunch over the next couple of days. I added a spice here and there when I reheated it, but my favorite version was topping it with the leftover guacamole and tomatillo mixture I had from making this recipe (found from the Rut Buster blog).

Making it in the crockpot made the house smell great as it heats up throughout the day, and all the vegetables softened to create a very thick consistency without needing to puree the mixture - one less step! I love that dinner was ready the moment my husband walked in the door, and just as good (maybe better) at 8pm as it would've been at 6pm.

Just say no

I've spent the last couple of days preparing for our guests, which basically involves a lot of cleaning. I believe I've made my feelings about this subject known - I hate cleaning. But I'll do it if it means I will have happy guests!

I've also done quite a bit of decorating in preparation for our guests. My living room is cute, but my porch is cuter! I took some pictures, but haven't uploaded them to my computer yet. When I do, you'll be impressed by my decor I promise.

But even more than cleaning and decorating, I've been shopping! My trip to Michaels did some damage, but my second and third (!) trips were worse. It wasn't all random fall decorations though. I bought two picture frames for photos I've been meaning to hang since we moved - the rest was random fall decorations. But aside from trips to Michaels, I've been doing lots of grocery shopping, including a trip to Trader Joe's.

I am not obsessed with Trader Joe's, unlike many of my friends. I used to drive by Trader Joe's every day on my way to and from school in Michigan, yet I only shopped there once. I live fairly close to a Trader Joe's in Charlotte, and yet I've only been there twice. It's just not a place I feel the need to visit very often because I can't find what I want, but I end up buying stuff I absolutely don't need. It's a sneaky place like that.

My first trip to Trader Joe's in Charlotte was more out of curiosity than anything. My sister told me about their pizza dough so I thought I would try it out, and I was curious about what other fun stuff they had. I did buy the pizza dough, but my favorite item was the apple cider - yum! My family has a tradition of drinking hot apple cider at Christmas, and this stuff rivaled the mulled cider my mom makes. I quickly realized that any apple cider I bought this season would have to come from Trader Joe's.

And the cider is what brought me back to my second trip today. I decided to make an orchard salad, and the dressing called for apple cider. I knew immediately that the Trader Joe's cider was the only appropriate cider. I also thought that I'd have a better chance of finding organic apples and pears at Trader Joe's than at the regular grocery store - mostly because I'd already looked and we had neither. So I made my special Trader Joe's trip today, and yet again found myself getting sucked in to the random stuff they had - Dark chocolate covered cranberries! Plantain chips! Pumpkin cream cheese spread! Spices for $1.99! Clearly I absolutely had to have all these wonderful items!

Except I didn't. Well, except for the $1.99 rosemary because I ran out and it cost $4.00 at the grocery store. But I didn't need or really want a single one of those other things. Chocolate covered cranberries? I'm sure they're delicious, but I'm not even a chocolate fan. But they just looked so good!

This is why I can't shop at Trader Joe's, or places like Williams-Sonoma or Crate and Barrel or even Michaels. I see things that are unique and interesting and somehow I think, "I must have this item!" even though I have no need for said item. I'm easily swayed and impulsive, which is an expensive combination in stores that offer unique products to bored housewives.

I think one of the hardest parts about being a housewife is looking for ways to fill my day that doesn't involve spending money. It's so easy to run to Target for a few "essentials" and end up dropping an extra hundred dollars on things I really don't need. In the same vein, I find myself becoming easily bored and seeing new and different products at a different grocery store is an easy way to break a cycle of boredom. However, I know I need to be careful and not let my impulsivity overtake my practicality just for the sake of doing something different. I'm sure the chocolate covered cranberries are delicious, but for the sake of my waistline and my wallet, I have to remind myself that it's okay to "just say no."

Cravings

One of my favorite desserts is key lime pie. If I'm getting dessert and key lime pie is available, that's what I'm ordering. I have no idea why.

For as much as I love it, I never make it. Maybe it's because I think of it as being a special treat when I go out to dinner or maybe it's because I would probably eat the whole thing by myself at home. Either way, I don't ever make it and I don't ever think of making it.

Until yesterday.

I was reading one of my favorite blogs, A Year of Slowcooking, and came across a post for cooking sweetened condensed milk in the crockpot to make dulce de leche. I started thinking of all of the awesome things that could be made with sweetened condensed milk and key lime pie was the first thing that popped in my head. Once it was there, I fixated on the tart and tangy flavor and I had to have it.

When I get a craving for something, I try not to indulge myself immediately. I wait and usually the craving subsides, and I'm proud of myself for not giving into whatever fattening or sweet treat I wanted. Or I develop a craving for something else. However, I dreamt about key lime pie last night, so I was positive this craving wasn't going anywhere until I had some.

I seriously have no idea why I don't make this more often. It took 5 minutes to make and now it's chilling in the fridge, waiting for me to have a slice after dinner. My husband will be pleased because we rarely have desserts in our house, unless you count popsicles and I don't.

Of course, now that it's made, I'm no longer craving key lime pie. I really want a Chicago-style stuffed pizza. I don't think I can make that with sweetened condensed milk.

Grocery store musings

I've been mulling over this idea since my trip to the grocery store a few weeks ago to buy organic spinach leaves.

I had a very specific purpose for the spinach leaves - spinach pesto. I love pesto and don't mind buying the prepared stuff, but I like to customize mine when possible to boost the nutritional value. A few years ago, I made a spinach, parmesan cheese, and garlic bread for Halloween, a recipe I got from an episode of 30 Minute Meals, and the color and flavor reminded me of pesto. Then, I read about adding kale to pesto to boost the nutritional value, and I was reminded of the spinach mixture I spread on the bread. Thus, spinach pesto was born. I made a batch and made some sandwiches and tossed it with two different pasta dishes, then froze the rest in ice cube trays so I can defrost and use it whenever I'm in a pesto mood.

(I'd post a recipe, but I don't really have one - it was a container of spinach, 2 cloves of garlic [too much], a lot of basil, a handful of parmesan, zest and juice from one lemon, and olive oil blended in the food processor. No pine nuts - I have a fear that my husband, who is allergic to some nuts but has never had a reaction to prepared pesto, will die if I put them in and I'll get arrested for murdering my husband - but technically they should be in the recipe too. You figure it out.).

As I shopped for my organic spinach leaves, I found myself questioning why I had to buy organic spinach leaves. I knew from experience that the frozen spinach didn't work as well in the pesto (too much water, even if it's squeezed out really well). And because the spinach would remain raw, I knew I needed to be especially aware of the chemicals and pesticides. So I shelled out an extra two bucks for the organic spinach.

It struck me as silly that I was buying spinach leaves, let alone organic spinach leaves, to make pesto when I could so easily buy a container of pesto that would probably be cheaper. Sure, it may not be as nutritious, but I could easily cook some extra vegetables to go with my meal and still come out ahead money-wise. I was also bothered by the price of the organic spinach compared to the pesticide-laden variety. If the chemicals and pesticides are really as bad as we're told, shouldn't they be banned?

As I tooled around the grocery store picking up a few other items, I felt like I was being ripped off. Organic milk costs twice as much as regular? Whole wheat bread is 50 cents more? Generic cereal is a dollar less but has more sugar in it?

I hear and read news reports about how American, and children in particular, are injesting too many chemicals, eating too many empty calories, and not eating enough greens or whole grains. In those same articles, I hear calls for the end of convenience foods, the end of hormone injections, the end of processed sugars! We must save the children!!!

I'm very fortunate to be married to someone who makes a good salary, but I don't have amnesia. That is to say, I remember 10 years ago when I was in grad school and I had to buy books at the beginning of each semester, so I ate ramen noodles for three weeks because they were 10/$1. I'm thankful I'm not in that position at this point in my life, but I'll also never forget those days either. Some might call that experience "character-building." I call it being broke and doing what it took to get by.

The thing about that time in my life is that I was extraordinarily busy. I was taking 14 credits each semester, which is full time for an undergrad and super full time for a grad student, and working 20 hours at a graduate assistantship that covered 9 credits of tuition each semester. I also had an unpaid internship as part of my schooling that was supposed to be 16 hours each week (it was always more). I left my apartment at 7:30am and arrived home around 9pm Monday-Thursday, studied into the wee hours, and worked all day Friday as well.

Ramen not only fit my budget, it fit my lifestyle. I was busy, I was broke, and I didn't have time to grocery shop or cook. In retrospect, I was pretty much eating salt and getting no nutrition except the calories I needed to function on a daily basis. But, bad for me food was better than no food at all and that was a decision I had to make. I got by.

I made my schedule like that out of necessity. I had to work, I had to take my classes, and I had to pay for it. I empathize with people who have to live and work this way. In this economy, it seems more people are working just to make ends meet and everyone seems to be looking for ways to save money. At the same time, everyone is looking for something quick and convenient because they just don't have time to cook. Everybody is working more, running from one commitment to the next, and doing more with less.

And as I wandered around the grocery store with my organic spinach, something just clicked in my head.

We eat based on our lifestyle. We buy foods we can afford, and we buy foods we can prepare in our given schedule. We don't eat organically because it is expensive. We don't buy fresh fruit and vegetables because they go bad. We buy prepackaged food that is loaded with sodium and fat and preservatives because we only have ten minutes to make and eat dinner. We live in urban and suburban areas where houses are built on top of each otherwith no room to grown our own gardens, and where farmers markets are run on Wednesday mornings while we're at work or Saturdays when we're running kids to soccer games (and don't forget about the lack of parking!). We get fast food because it's all of the things we need - fast, convenient, and (usually) cheap.

I've read all sorts of articles, blogs, and comments about how we need to change our behaviors and change our mindsets in order to be healthy Americans. But as I think about how I ended up as a real housewife of Charlotte - essentially out of economic necessity- I wonder if we really can change. Sure, I'm a housewife who has the luxury to buy organic spinach so I can spend the time to make spinach pesto - but could my friends? Could I do this if I was a single girl, living on a social worker or teacher salary?

And frankly, if I was a single girl, living on a social worker or teacher salary, would making organic spinach pesto even be a concern of mine?