List #4: My holiday cooking and baking list

Mike is our cook. I like to bake. We do a lot of it for fun in December, when he has a week or two off. I have been cleaning out the cabinets, drawers, and counters, trying to simplify and clean. Due to my RA, I just clean one appliance and one or two drawers a day. Even the first day on Monday, when I did the counters (moving unused things into long term storage, wiping everything down, and shining my pretty fridge) we were inspired to spend much more time in the kitchen.

This was 2 Christmases ago! Squeee!

Here are some of the things I hope to make in the next few weeks:

1. Maple Roasted Almonds Perhaps D and I can make these tomorrow if she has a snow day and then package them for her teachers Christmas baskets.
2. Sea-Salted Almond bark I think I will switch cashews for this, I'll roast them first and then sea salt them as well as sea salt the chocolate and perhaps put them in teachers baskets too.
3. Easiest Baked Mac and Cheese My Kids have eaten every kind of noodle in the world and Mike and I keep looking for homemade version we love that is quick to put together.
4. BUCKEYES Mike and I could eat these all. ALL of them!
5. Ginger Ice Cream This year I started trying flavored ice cream. I use to just have vanilla or cookies and cream, now I want every kind.
6. Cinna-nut Hot Chocolate I will have to try this with some chocolate what has a lower amount or no corn syrup. Corn syrup makes my joints ache. But, but, but, chocolate and peanut butter makes my stomach oh so happy.

• I should clean up my links on this blog. I know that some don't exist anymore.

• Everyone I know likes baked beans. They have always been disgusting to me. I wonder if this recipe would change my mind.

• We recently watched Freaks and Geeks and I think it is one of my favorite shows of all time. Except I kept relating to the parents more than the teenagers. Yikes old lady Cosper.

• In a conversation with Mike I kept saying Tyler Perry meaning Tyler Florence.

• Anyway I was talking about it because I always want to like coleslaw because Mike loves it, but I can't discuss the issues that broccoli and cabbage have with my digestive system. It wouldn't be lady like. So I LOVE butternut squash and Tyler (the chef, not Madea) has a butternut squash coleslaw. We are getting ready to make it for lunch right now. Mmm.

• Speaking of fall recipes, Tera has some here. Yum.

• I have been making crepe paper roses for the last week for my parents 40th anniversary party. The first one took me about 15 minutes to make, but I can make them in about 2 minutes after all this practice. I love this kind of stuff, but finishing over 30 so far...it might be a long time before I craft with paper again.

I love this recipe: Creamy Chicken Lasagna. Even more than that, I have been making the creamy sauce and using it for spaghetti. D loves tomato sauce, but she still has a hard time eating really acidic foods so adding the cream cheese helps.

A new recipe!

I go to the Old Spaghetti Factory just for the salad dressing. It is so good. I could drink it. Then I found it online and I think maybe eating it too often or drinking it as a refreshing beverage may not be so healthy. But despite being made of mayonnaise and buttermilk, it's SO good, I mean that is why it is good.
CREAMY PESTO SALAD DRESSING. Enjoy!

Today's look back at Dorothy Jean:

Six weeks old with giant pacifier face.

And why do babies stop stretching like that?
They should never outgrow that cuteness.