Cook. Craft. Enjoy.

Sticky Chicken

How's your holiday shopping going?  I am happy to report I am about 85% done (yeah!).  There were some good deals this past weekend, but honestly most of what I bought I bought online.  Now just waiting for it to all show up and wrap.  I love this time of year when you can actually enjoy it.  Hopefully that'll be the case for us this year (and you too!)

We did get out this weekend and saw the Muppets.  I have to tell you I really enjoyed it.  It was so cute!  The storyline is pretty much one you'd expect from the Muppets - corny, goofy and just plain silly in some places, but that just works for them.  Took me back to my younger years and it was nice to just have a fun movie to watch.  If you haven't seen it ... go.  You won't be disappointed.

The recipe I want to share with you today is one we make often but I've tweaked it now to perfection I think.  It started out with this recipe on All Recipes but I think you'll enjoy my changes if you give it a try (and you should!)

Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes

Heavy sigh.  I have a group of photos that I can't find the recipes to.  These, unfortunately, are one of those that I have an idea where the recipe came from but I can't really find it.  So, you'll have to have pictures and when I find the recipe I'll let you know.  Sigh.

Adrienne has become quite the baker.  She's willing to tackle any recipe head on with minimal help - and the best part is she enjoys it.  She's also really really good at it.

Kale

Now that Thanksgiving is over for us here in the United States, I'm really going to try to focus on making the holidays feel like the holidays.  Today that means braving the crowds this afternoon (when most of you Black Friday shoppers are back home taking a nap) and purchasing some lights for outside the house (the only lights we have are the tiny ones and darn it, I want icicle ones this year).  It also means planning out my holiday cookie tray (that Adrienne said she'd help me with - yeah!) and food related gifts.  This is going to be a busy next few weeks, but I want to make the most of it unlike most years when we hit New Year's Eve and I wonder just where the time went.

One of my early resolutions is to make sure we all eat enough vegetables to offset all the not so healthy choices offered this time of year.  Don't get me wrong, I love vegetables but it's rare that I make them the star.  I think because they just don't get me excited when I eat them.  Or serve them.

Take kale for instance.  It's a member of the broccoli family that's very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, and vitamin C.  It also provides a good amount of calcium (and heaven knows I could always use more calcium since I don't drink milk).  But how often do you hear people ask for kale?  Um.... not often I'd wager.

I love the raw kale salad that Whole Foods makes.  I wish I could find their recipe (anyone have it?) because unfortunately that's another one of those stores that I'd have to drive to New Jersey to visit (sigh).  I've tried making my own and haven't found the right mix of ingredients to satisfy my palate.  That quest will continue but until then I've found a way to make it that even Liam will eat.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here's hoping you and your families have a bountiful, blessed Thanksgiving!

PPN: Sesame Noodles

Ha ... I feel all official now that I decided to use the logo for Presto Pasta Nights.   Can you believe it's at 241?   This week Ruth over at Once Upon a Feast handed the reins over to Simona at Briciole.  Check over there Friday and see what our wonderful blogging community has come up with this week.

This week I went a little off the beaten track and went with sesame noodles.  I should say, however, these are more peanut sesame noodles than really sesame noodles.  The ingredient list is pretty easy:

As a side note, I love Ronzoni's Smart Taste pasta.  I really can't get on the whole wheat pasta bandwagon (just can't get over the taste - bleh!) but while this has extra fiber, some calcium and vitamin D, you can't tell the difference between it and "regular" pasta except that it's more filling (yeah, fiber!). 

Dreaming of Spring

I know, I know, it's not even winter yet but I'm in the mood for something springy today.  Maybe it's because it was 32 degrees when I left the house this morning.  Or maybe it's because I had my snow tires put on today.  Or even maybe it's because my hands are freezing as I type this.  Whatever the reason, I have a good waffle recipe to share with you.

Lunchtime

School lunches have taken a life of their own around here.   Liam's been easy ... he hit middle school (okay, I still say it's wrong that 5th grade is middle school here) and he only wants to buy lunch.  I can understand that completely.  I know when I was in school it was embarrassing to bring a school lunch and I can't imagine it's much different today for some kids.  I'm happy to say that they do have healthier options at his school so he's not just eating junk food.  The other thing I like is on his lunch account it links what he buys so I get an idea of what he's eating every day.

Adrienne, on the other hand, refuses to buy lunch.  She used to be happy with sandwiches, but not so much anymore.  Her favorite, though, is pepperoni rolls.  I try to make them every couple of weeks, but sometimes my days don't quite go as planned and I end up not getting them made.  When they're not made, she takes cheese, meat and crackers along with the every day yogurt, fruit and chips or a cookie.  This past weekend, though, I made them a little differently.

Now on Facebook

See the little "like" button on the side?  I created a Facebook page for the blog - if you're interested in having posts delivered to your Facebook page, just "like" it.  When I post something new, it automatically posts to there as well.  (Cook Craft Enjoy on Facebook)  Thanks!

Wordless Wednesday

I am missing my friends in California something fierce so today's Wordless Wednesday is pictures from our trip there in July.

PPN: Spaghetti Something

I knew this week for my Presto Pasta Nights post I wanted to do something with a tomato meat sauce.   In preparation, I scoured the web for a bolognese sauce recipe - found one that sounded good yet easy - bought the stuff for it - and then the night came to make it I couldn't find where I had bookmarked it.  You might find that amusing (I do now, but didn't then), but it actually ended up turning out okay.  (Ha!  Take that my failing memory!)