Food & fitness obsessed girl.
I am remiss that I haven’t posted this recipe in the past two years. This recipe is a staple at our Thanksgiving table every year. My kids, along with everyone else, devour it. It is not a healthy, super clean eating recipe that I gravitate towards yet one of those indulgent dishes that is a must at your holiday table. And thankfully NO marshmallows here!
— Knead to Cook
I love anything and everything pumpkin except for pie. I have no idea why, I just have never been fond of the texture. So I wanted to test out a mini pumpkin cheesecake recipe in preparation for Thanksgiving and use my new mini pie pan in the process. These came out perfectly with a lovely texture. Not overly sweet but with the perfect balance of pumpkiny (yes, I know, not a real word) flavor. The crust is homemade and “rustic”. It’s very forgiving as it only has two ingredients. I’m all over personal sized desserts too for portion control and for the cuteness factor.
— Knead to Cook
I know, I know. I’m jumping holidays here and I hate to do that but with a fridge that has a bit too much eggnog in it and a fresh loaf of egg Challah bread – this was a no brainer when I got home from the gym. The kids were still snuggled in their beds on this frigid Sunday morning (well to be honest very late morning) and I thought I would surprise them with a special festive (albeit Christmas) treat. I think I’ve OD’d my kids on pumpkin already so eggnog would be a nice variance.
I grabbed my griddle and got it fiery hot, my Kerrygold Irish butter and I started working on this recipe. It’s pretty fail-safe for those who are a bit timid in the kitchen. And let’s face it, how perfect would this be on Christmas morning after the present tirade was over?! Christmas is my favorite time of year… I think I’m finally getting into it. Christmas cards are done, addressed and stamped. Presents ordered have started to arrive at our door. Next Friday we get our tree… sparks of excitement are happening!
— Knead to Cook
This week has been filled with a lot of preparation especially with Thanksgiving being next week – how did that happen already? My girls are both full-on into swim practice, in fact my oldest swam 7200 yards at 2 practices yesterday. I need to have healthy and indulgent snacks around that provide with some much needed refueling and protein/calories for muscle rebuilding (and a sweet treat as a reward for all their hard work). Being a bit short on time today, I wanted to whip up some oatmeal cookies as I noticed the chocolate chip cookies I made were long gone with not even a crumb remaining in the cake stand. These are a family favorite – crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, just like the cookie should be. Grab your milk!
— Knead to Cook
I have so many thoughts going through my head as I’m finally sitting down to blog this week. First, I apologize for not blogging sooner. Monday was spent prepping for my guest teaching gig on Tuesday. Tuesday, I was honored to guest teach at my daughter’s high school. I taught 7 culinary classes (164 kids) and spoke about healthy eating, carbs, Thanksgiving, being a vegetarian and pretty much anything food related. My takeaway is that teachers and aides are grossly underpaid (I already knew this but standing in their shoes confirmed this for me). The kids ranged in age from freshman to seniors. Encompassed all socio-economic groups. Athletes to non-athletes. It was as much a learning experience for me as it was, hopefully, for them. My last class, I was blessed to teach my favorite freshman – my daughter. It was, without a doubt, the highlight of my day seeing her. My heart fills with pride every time I lay eyes on this girl who is morphing into an amazing adult. But enough on that… here is a pic from yesterday. Sorry to my daughter who was eating/carb loading before her two hour swim practice right after class but mama want a shot to remember the day!
— Knead to Cook
I have 2 pieces in my kitchen arsenal that I couldn’t live without and my Vitamix is one of them! I jokingly say that the power behind a Vitamix could turn cement into a tasty smoothie (of course I’m joking here and do NOT recommend trying that) but you get the point. It is crazy powerful makes the creamiest soups to smoothies. Chops up the most insane salsa. It’s a timesaver for sure! And if you already are lucky enough to have one… think what an awesome holiday gift this will make for someone special!
Here is the official product description:
The low, wide shape of the Series 300 allows it to blend faster, finer and more efficiently—and fit on under-cabinet counters better – than conventional blenders. It boasts a 64-oz. capacity (nearly double what most blenders allow) and fully variable speed that you control with a smooth turn of the dial.
The official rules:
You must be a US resident.
You must be 18 years or older to enter.
Giveaway dates: November 19th, 2013 – November 26th, 2013
— Knead to Cook
I hope my grandmother and aunt aren’t rolling in their graves with these meatballs. My family’s meatball recipe which is here is a combination of three meats. I wanted to mix it up and make an organic, grass-fed beef meatball. My family loved them! In fact, my father, while on his way out to the gym just commented again on how wonderful dinner was last night. If I have his approval… I’m hoping my grandma would also approve. My sauce recipe can be found here. And the baguette recipe can be found here. Now onto the recipe…
— Knead to Cook
I was meandering through the organic, gluten free section of my grocery store yesterday and stumbled up on this little treasure. Black rice. Hmmm… looks interesting enough. Gluten free. Good nutritional profile. I was sold! Plus I thought my family would be intrigued as well and they were. Especially when they all tried identifying what they thought it was… black quinoa? No. It’s too big. No one guessed black rice but everyone loved it.
— Knead to Cook
Growing up Italian, I think I was given biscotti as a teething cookie while a toddler. I always remember them being around in a big glass jar. The adults would imbibe in a dark coffee dipping their crunchy biscotti in between gulps. This crunchy cookie is the favorite of kids (especially when dipped in chocolate) and adults. The crunchier the better. They are so versatile too. You can add whatever your favorites are from nuts to fruits and chocolates. My Meyer lemon tree is bursting with lemons and I wanted to use them as the fresh essence in these delectable cookies.
— Knead to Cook
This weekend we popped by the most enormous Trader Joe’s that I’ve ever seen and I was thrilled with their holiday section. I stumbled upon my favorite Peppermint extract and wanted to create something chocolate/pepperminty. The girls in my family are all huge fans of the combination. The flavor combination is reminiscent of the holidays and today, with our frigid temperatures, are also pushing me in that direction. Hard to believe that in just a few weeks we will have a Christmas tree in our house! Wasn’t it just summer?
— Knead to Cook
