Turkey Day Meal

Here are some snaps of our Turkey Day meal. The food was incredible. I prepared the turkey {the same as I have for the past two Thanksgivings}. Again, it was brined and roasted to perfection. Mom's homemade apple pie, cheesy potatoes, sweet potatoes, and green bean casserole were incredible {as always!}. I also made the stuffing {cranberry, fig, sausage} and cranberry-apple chutney. Both turned out incredibly delicious.



Overall, it was a great day spent cooking, baking, and spending time with family. So good. Now, I have to roll myself out of bed tomorrow morning to go back to work. Boo.

xoxo,

PJ

Foodie Monday: Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

To kick off the month of October, I thought it would be fun to try out a new seasonal recipe using pumpkin {my fave}. I found a basic recipe for chocolate chip pumpkin cookies and tweaked it a little bit to make it my own. These cookies turned out absolutely amazing, and I'm going to be baking them on a regular basis throughout this season {sharing them with friends & family, of course}. They're a really substantial cookie, with almost a muffin-like consistency. Next time I'll shape them better knowing that they don't flatten out while they bake.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter {softened}


• 3/4 cup brown sugar


• 3/4 granulated sugar


• 1 cup canned pumpkin


• 1 egg


• 2 tsp vanilla extract {the good stuff}


• 2 1/2 cups flour


• 1/2 tsp ginger


• 1/4 tsp cloves


• 1/4 tsp nutmeg


• 1 tsp cinnamon


• 1/2 tsp salt


• 1 tsp baking powder


• 1 tsp baking soda


• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees


• Cream butter and sugar, add pumpkin, incorporating well; add egg and vanilla {I love using my Kitchen Aid stand mixer}


• Mix dry ingredients: flour, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, baking soda


• Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture, 1/4 of mixture at a time, make sure batter is mixed well


• Fold in chocolate chips


• Spray cookie sheets with non-stick cooking spray


• Spoon mixture onto cookie sheets, bake for 15 minutes or until cookies are lightly golden brown


• Cool on wire racks

I hope you enjoy them! These are some of the most delicious cookies I've ever made. Is it just me, or do cookies instantly taste better when you've made them yourself?

xoxo,

PJ

Milk Chocolate Bundt Cake

I love sweets. This is a bit of a problem, especially since I'm working my tush off with Ms. Jillian Michaels. I figure I need to splurge once in a while {right?!}.

I chose this recipe primarily to use up an embarrassing amount of milk chocolate that has collected in the kitchen pantry. I used this easy recipe, and I had all of the ingredients on hand. Sadly, I didn't think to take photographs until the final product was finished.

Ingredients:

• 7 ounces milk chocolate


• 1 cup butter, softened


• 1-1/2 cups sugar


• 4 eggs


• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract


• 2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour


• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder


• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda


• 1/2 teaspoon salt


• 1 cup buttermilk


• Confectioners' sugar, optional

Instructions:

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees


• In a microwave, melt chocolate; stir until smooth. Set aside to cool.


• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in chocolate mixture and vanilla.


• Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition.


• Pour into a greased and floured 10-in. fluted tube pan {bundt cake pan}.


• Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.


• Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes.


• Remove from pan and cool completely.


• Note: Instead of dusting with confectioners' sugar, I melted a bit more chocolate and drizzled on top of the cake. 

Enjoy!

xoxo,

PJ

recipe: black bean brownies

you may not think that black bean brownies are particularly fashionable, but i will vehemently disagree.  it's often trendy to be vegetarian/vegan (mostly as represented by celebrity culture). i've been both in my life, and i simply could not stick to it. serious props to all of my life-long vegetarian and vegan friends. i still don't eat a ton of red meat and other carnivore heavy foods, but i do enjoy myself a good burger every now and again. but, i digress...

brownies are supposed to be delicious and guilty delectable treats. right? right? these brownies really are an amazing invention. i'm always on the lookout for ways to enjoy sweet treats without all of the added bad stuff (butter, loads of refined sugar, calories, etc.). these brownies do just that! the black beans replace the flour, so friends with gluten allergies can still enjoy these babies! and with only eggs, the animal products are limited.

ingredients:
1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

3 eggs

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder*

1 pinch salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup white sugar

*i added the baking powder based on some of the reviews of the recipe, to make the brownies more cake-like. i also omitted chocolate chips and instant coffee from the original recipe.

instructions:

preheat oven to 350

lightly grease 8x8 square baking dish with non-stick cooking spray

combine black beans, eggs, oil, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla extract, sugar, and baking powder into a blender (i used my food processor)

bake in preheated oven until the top is dry and the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan, approximately 30 minutes.

nutrition information: calories: 126 | fat: 5.3g | cholesterol: 40mg

enjoy!

it's coming on christmas

i've always loved christmastime: lights, great food, and gift-giving. it's such a great season! this year i waited until the absolute last minute to pick out gifts, but i think my family & friends will love their presents (at least i hope they do!). i handmade christmas cards again this year, and my hubby contributed by assisting with the design & adding snowflakes to each one :) so cute. i also made winter bark & peppermint-chocolate cookies to give as gifts. i purchased star tins at target, and printed labels to attach to each tin, lined them with parchment paper, and tucked the goodies inside.

[this is a terrible photo, but you get the idea]

both were really easy to make:
peppermint-chocolate cookies and winter bark.

i finished the semester with a 4.0! i am ecstatic! i balanced 3 classes, tons of homework, three days at my internship, and 30 hours of work, not to mention my personal life... i'm so thankful for my family & my hubby for supporting me throughout the semester.
one more semester to go!