Straw and Hay Pasta

YUMMO!!! This pasta dish is simplistic and oh so tasty! A HUGE winner all around and a real crowd (child) pleaser!  I blended some up for my infant, chopped some up for my preschooler and had it straight up for my husband and I and everyone licked their plates clean! Honestly I think you should put this on your meal plan next week and give it a try! I'm thinking this may be a good freezer meal too and I might try it in my big cook that I am planning before my return to work. 

Go to Recipe! 

Holiday Catch up

Good grief the last time you heard from me (other than my Meal Plan) was on the 24th! I didn't mean to keep you hanging like that, I have just been soo busy (as we all have I am sure) 

So here are the remaining items from the last couple days which will catch up up to today... 

Chocolate Coffee Oatmeal Pie

Christmas Eve we had Mandarin Cake and Chocolate Coffee Oatmeal Pie. Manadarin Cake has always been a regular staple of mine and it turned out just as good as always. Last you heard I mentioned my mishap with the Chocolate Coffee Oatmeal Pie, but not how it tasted. It tasted terrific! It was like a gigantic butter tart, so if you like those like I do, you'll love this pie and the lack of Liqueur had no bearing on it at all! 

2 Bite Pumpkin Pie

Mini Oreo Cheesecakes

Christmas day we had 2 Bite Pumkin Pies and Mini Oreo Cheesecakes. As I had mentioned before the Pumpkin Pies were AWESOME and I made a batch for the 28th as well. The Mini Oreo Cheesecakes were yummy, but I found the cookie on the bottom to be a little hard still - the next day they were better. So if you make these, I would do so a day early and keep them in the fridge. You can also put any kind of cookie you can think of on the bottom as the cheesecake itself is VERY neutral.  

Boxing Day - nothing to report, just left overs! 

December 27th was my son's 3rd birthday so we had a pizza party where we all got to make our own pizza. I just put the toppings in bowls and let everyone choose their own and baked them in the 350 degree oven right on the rack. The one tip my Mum gave me about mixing cheeses (because I like to mix Cheddar and Mozza for our pizzas) is to add a little of the powdered Parmesan and it helps the cheese to not stick together. Brilliant really!

December 28th - we went to friend's for dinner and I brought Magic Bars and 2 Bite Pumpkin Pies. Nothing new here. 

Snow Log (cut up)

December 29th -we had company so I decided on Roast Beef, Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Carrots, Gravy and Yorshire Puddings. No real recipes here - sorry - other than the Yorkies and I must say I was not loving them. They didn't rise really high and they were a little more dense than I like. So I think I am on the market for a new recipe there. I do have my Mum's fabulous Yorkie recipe hiding somewhere in my house, I will try to dig that one up the next time. Everything else turned out great - in my mind you cannot go wrong with Gravy...EVER. For dessert we had Snow Log and I could not stop eating it... so easy, so cute and so delicious and not too sweet either. These will make another appearance for certain. The only change here is I rolled it in Flaked Coconut, not Vanilla crumbs - AHH-SOME!

Well, sorry this post was so long, but now we are up to speed. Tonight is Chinese Chicken with Pineapple - an easy, returning meal so no post this evening.

-Jill

Meal Plan ~ Week 1 - 2011

I hope you had a wonderful week last week full of Good Times, Great Friends, Fabulous Family, Peace, Love and Wonderful Food and that this week's Holiday food hangover is kind to you! (I will post my holiday meal review catch up as soon as I can) 

Can you believe that 2011 is upon us? I can't hardly. It means that in 6 short weeks I will be going back to work after my year long maternity leave. BOO! Of course along with everything else in my life, this Blog will be changing at that time as well, BUT until then... here is this week's meal plan!

Monday ~ Homemade Pizza Party with Ice Cream Cake (Son's Birthday)

Tuesday ~ To Friend's House bringing dessert - Magic Bars and 2 Bite Pumpkin Pies

Wednesday ~ Company coming - Roast Beef (no recipe), Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Carrots, Yorkshire Puddings and Snow Log for dessert

Thursday ~ Chinese Chicken with Pineapple served with Rice

Friday ~ Straw and Hay Pasta served with Tossed Salad

Saturday ~ Marinated Pork Chops served with Baby Potatoes and Steamed Broccoli

Sunday ~ 3 Cheese Beef Pasta Shells

for more meal plans and organization advise visit www.orgjunkie.com

Christmas Desserts - All prepped and ready to go!

Well I switched up the dessert line up a bit. Christmas Eve we are having Mandarin Cake and Chocolate Coffee Oatmeal Pie which means that we are having 2 Bite Pumpkin Pies and Mini Oreo Cheesecakes for Christmas Dinner. 

I have made them all, but have only had a chance to try one so far... 2 Bite Pumpkin Pie... SO DELICIOUS and so easy! I made an old stand by recipe for pumpkin pie yesterday (without crust) and then made the little "bundles" today. You could use a ready made pumpkin pie and just scoop out the filling and that coupled with the Pillsbury pie crust makes for a Uber fast and easy dessert. Serve it with whipping cream and you're good to go! I strongly suggest this recipe! (I bet it would work well with Apple Pie Filling, or Cherry Pie Filling too - the sky's the limit!)

Go to Recipe!

 

The other dessert I can post about right now is Chocolate Coffee Oatmeal Pie. I haven't tried it yet, but I can tell you a couple things about the making of it. The recipe says not to pierce the crust when you "pre-bake" it I tried that and it puffed up to no end, I tried to gently push it down with a spoon as the recipe says and it flaked and fell apart. So it was back to the drawing board and the second time I did pierce the dough and it turned out fine! I also did not have any Coffee Liquer so I used 2 Tablespoons of cooled, prepared Expresso and 1 Tbs Rum extract - so we will se if that was to the tetriment of the flavour or not... 

Go to Recipe! 

I did make my Individual Oreo Cheesecakes, but I have to let them cool prior to adding the finishing touches so I will post about those after the big day as well as my Hot Artichoke Parm Dip. Lastly I made my Mandarin Cake (which has been made numerous times before - so I won't bore you with details because it turned out great as hoped)

So that's it from me until after Christmas when I will review all the missing items and bring you my first meal plan of 2011! have a Very Merry Christmas! And hey, while you are waiting for Santa to arrive why not check out NORAD and see exactly where he is! (As I finish this post he is in Zimbabwe!) Ho Ho Ho!! :o)

Bark and Bacon - Christmas Prep is well under way

Today's post is all about more of my Christmas prep. A couple more items were checked off my list today and both were new recipes to me. 

First up - Peppermint Bark. Not new to many of you I am sure, but personally I have never been a fan of peppermint and chocolate, until I tried this the other night at a party. SO yummy! Semisweet Chocolate and White Chocolate with crushed Candy Canes on top. Such a pretty presentation for something so simple. BUT don't do what I did - I didn't follow the recipe I just melted a box of Baker's Semisweet and a box of Baker's White (separately) and thought I would need a box of Candy Canes crushed, so I did the infuriating task of unwrapping a whole box of Candy Canes and crushing them when in reality all I needed was maybe 3. So I have OODLES of crushed Canes leftover for another batch and another (oh darn!).

Go to Recipe! 

Secondly - Breakfast Cookies. I saw this recipe and thought that it would be a lot of fun for Christmas Morning brunch. Really more of a novelty than anything, but they are the last ones laughing... Bacon Cookies are DELICIOUS!! I used about 3/4 Cup Crumbled Bacon from Costco and unsalted Butter. I also switched out the Raisins for Craisins as I find Raisins are not a big crowd pleaser. Honestly, I think this is a "try it to believe it" recipe because not only are they awesome, but the bacon is not overly salty... This recipe is going to be a staple around here for special brunches for sure!!

 Go to Recipe!

Lastly - this evenings supper was nothing new so I won't get into it, but click here for my previous review. 

In a nutshell that was my day (along with last minute shopping and wrapping and card mailing): phew! I love this holiday, but I have to ask "Is it Wine O'Clock yet?"  

Meal Plan ~ Week 52 - 2010... Here we go!!!

Well this week's meal plan has got it all... easy, fast meals, lots of returning favorites, brunch, appies and desserts... There's a lot to cover and not much time so let's jump right in!! :)

Monday ~ Spaghetti and Meat Sauce served with Garlic Toast (no recipe)

Tuesday ~Creamy Pesto Chicken Bake

Wednesday ~ Crispy Fish Bake

Thursday ~Penne with Cheesy Sausage Sauce served with Crusty Bread and Tossed Salad

Friday ~Not making Dinner

              ~ Dessert - Mandarin Cake
                                - 2 Bite Pumpkin Pies
                                - Peppermint Bark

Saturday ~Brunch - Bacon Egg Breakfast Sandwiches, Hash browns and Breakfast Cookies

                  ~ Appies - Meat, Cheese, Cracker Platter, Chips, Salsa and Hot Artichoke Parm Dip

                  ~ Not making Dinner

                  ~ Dessert - Individual Oreo Cheesecakes

                                    - Chocolate Coffee Oatmeal Pie

                                    - Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

Sunday ~ Leftovers!!!

With the Holidays, this week's posts will be sporadic as there is a lot of coming and going and company and entertaining this week. Please bear with me, I will get to all the reviews eventually.

I also want to take this time to say thanks to you all for following me on this crazy quest and helping to make my little blog successful, it can only get bigger from here! 

I wish you all very Happy Holidays and all the best to you and your families for 2011! 

Season's Greetings from my family to yours! 

for more meal plans and organizational advise, visit Organizing Junkie

No Meats, just Sweets and Treats

Today was a snowy chilly day and also "a day after" a Christmas party - so we were in the market for comfort food. Instead of the scheduled Fish, Chips and Mushy Peas from Jaime Oliver we had Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes and Creamed Corn... mmmm, hit the spot as usual. Not really much to write about there. 

I DID manage to get in the kitchen and make 2 Holiday Treats today in preparation for the festivities ahead that I would like to share with you: My rendition of White Chocolate Haystacks and Chocolate Peanut Squares. Both are UBER easy to prepare, no baking required and both are delicious! I believe that these may become yearly staples in our house. Let's just hope they last the week so company can sample them! :)

See you tomorrow for Meal Plan Monday!

-Jill

Killer Mac 'n' Cheese

Killer indeed! This Mac 'n' Cheese recipe from Jaime Oliver is fabulous! Not too Cheesy and just Creamy enough. The addition of the homemade spiced breadcrumbs was great. I did find that we needed to add salt to brighten the flavour, but otherwise everyone enjoyed their supper tonight. As you can see I used Penne noodles instead of Elbow and it turned out just fine - I think you could use any large noodle really; Rigatoni, Fusili, Rotini, or Tortiglioni, with positive results.

This meal will reappear again someday for sure - thanks Jaime!

Go to Recipe!

DIY Chocolate Truffles

My photos never seem to do the food justice!

Last night we had company for dinner and I served Speedy Sausage and Bean Ragout with Crusty Bread and an easy Tossed Salad (Mescalin Greens, Almonds, Flax Seeds, Craisins, Raspberries, Sugar Snap Peas with a Poppy Seed Dressing).

For Dessert we had Jaime Oliver's DIY Chocolate Truffles. While I was making it the other day I noticed that the Dark Chocolate was a little bitter (I used 85% Cocoa Lindt Chocolate), so I drizzled White Chocolate and Butterscotch on top - that helped tone it down a bit. Needless to say dessert was DECADENT to say the least. I served the Truffles with crushed Hazelnuts, crushed Almonds, shredded Coconut and Skor bits to roll the Truffles in and my Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti to spread it on (which DID freeze well by the way). It was a exquisite and super fun dessert buffet great for a dinner party and it goes well with Red Wine, Dessert Wine, Tea or Coffee; so very versatile and can please any palate.

-Jill

Now onto next week's meal plan - it's a doozy! 

Beef and Broccoli Stirfry

This was a terrific and simplistic stirfry, so my Jamie Oliver Meal Plan is back in my good books. I wasn't too sure what purple sprouting broccoli was, so I used regular broccoli and it turned out great. With the use of Soy Sauce I found it to be a touch salty, so next time I make this I will not be seasoning the beef with salt, just pepper and coriander. I did not add the sliced red pepper because I thought it may make it too spicy for my son. Overall this was a speedy and delicious stirfry that will make it to our table again for certain. 

Today I made my De-constructed Chocolate Truffle so it's ready for Friday's dinner~ so good and decadent! Look for that review on Friday/Saturday.

Go to Recipe!

Bread and Tomato Soup (Pappa al Pomodoro)

Sorry Jamie, but I found this soup mediocre, my husband enjoyed it though. I made my son a grilled cheese sandwich to dip because I knew he wouldn't be keen on the big chunks of tomatoes and that worked like a charm and with the dipping he ate most of his soup! This would be a good summertime soup, but honestly it's not one of my favourite tomato soup recipes out there. So you can try it and see if I am wrong, but I probably won't make it again.

Go to Recipe!

Parmesan Chicken with Posh Ham and Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

Can you really go wrong with a meal that includes Prosciutto Ham? I personally think not. This was my first meal of my Jamie Oliver Meal Plan, I am glad this was my introduction to his style of cooking. This was so AWESOME! I served it with steamed broccoli which I just topped with Lemon Zest and Pepper and Mashed Potatoes that I topped with Grated Parmesan, so it was a nice light meal. It is also a good meal to make if you have some frustrations as Jamie tells you to beat the Chicken with a Sauce Pan- now I have a Mallet, but there is something satisfying about hitting it with a pan. :) I definitely recommend this meal!

Go to Recipe!

I also felt like I had a little extra time today so decided to attempt my first try at making biscotti. I made a batch of Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti which will be served with my DIY Chocolate Truffles on Friday. I personally am not a huge fan of the incredibly hard, crunchy ones that cut your gums so I under cooked them just slightly so that they still have a tiny bit of give. I also drizzled melted White Chocolate on top and they turned out amazing! The red of the cranberries and the green of the pistachios make them festive indeed and they apparently freeze really well (I will soon find out!), but they sure tasted great fresh!!

Go to Recipe!

Meal Plan ~ Week 51 - 2010

All recipes in this week's Meal Plan (except one) come courtesy of Jamie Oliver and his awesome website. It is a wealth of knowledge, recipes, products, and information on his foundation. I personally have never made any of his meals before, but I am thoroughly looking forward to the challenge and am going to give it my best try. 

Right off the bat, my first hurdle was trying to figure out one of the measurements he uses frequently; a "knob" of butter, so I "Googled" it and found this. In my meals, a knob will equal approximately 1 heaping Tbs give or take.

Monday ~ Parmesan Chicken with Crispy Posh Ham served with Mashed Potatoes and Steamed Broccoli

Tuesday ~ Bread and Tomato Soup (Pappa al Pomodoro)

Wednesday ~ Beef and Broccoli Stirfry

Thursday ~ Mom out!

Friday ~ Company coming! Speedy Sausage and Bean Ragout served with Crusty Bread and Wild Salad & Dessert =  Amazing DIY Chocolate Truffles

Saturday ~ Killer Mac'n'Cheese

Sunday ~ Fish and Chips served with Mushy Peas

Looking for a Child's weekly Lunch and Snack Idea Plan? I posted one yesterday as per a follower's request. Check it out here.

Phew! Can you believe next week's Meal Plan is going to include Christmas Dinner??? I am a lucky duck this year because even though we are hosting Christmas Dinner at our house, I am not cooking the feast. A friend will be doing all the cooking, BUT I am in charge of desserts for the 24th, 25th, 27th, 28th AND the 29th as well as Brunch for the 25th, and Appies for the 25th, and 29th!!! 

I have my work cut out for me next week for sure... I better start hunting down some good recipes. If you have any tried, true and beloved holiday recipes that you would like to share please comment on this post or drop me a line. I appreciate any ideas!

Have a great week!

For more meals plans and organizational advise visit Organizing Junkie.

Child's Lunch and Snack Plan

A request was made for me to come up with a Kid's Lunch/Snack Meal Plan for a week. Now I have to say I am not a nutritionist or a child's diet expert, but here is what I have come up with and a lot of this is already in my preschooler's meal plan rotation. I have not put them in any specific day order, just make sure you have the ingredients on hand and let the child choose what they are in the mood for. Also I have to say that my son is a big eater, so you may find that some of the snacks are pretty large, honestly you just need to mix and match and experiment to find what works for you and your child(ren). I hope this gives inspiration to any of you Mom's out there that may have a "meal block" and if you have any of your own ideas or meal plans, please feel free to share; I'm always looking for new ideas!

Day 1 ~ Lunch - Grilled Cheese Sandwich with a slice of Turkey meat served with sliced Banana

                Snack - Toast with Peanut Butter and Honey served with a yogurt

Day 2 ~ Lunch - English Muffin topped with Tomato Sauce, slice of Peperoni, sprinkle with Mozza - heat in oven

               Snack - Banana slices topped with Peanut Butter and a Raisin served with Yogurt

Day 3 ~ Lunch - Soup with Crackers (my son likes Campbell's Tuscan meatball with Farfalle Pasta)

                Snack - Cheese String and Mandarin Oranges in Pear Juice

Day 4 ~ Lunch - Shredded Cheese put in Flour Tortilla, fold over and nuke for 25 secs. serve with Mild Salsa and Grapes (we always eat this picnic style on our living room floor)

               Snack - Granny Smith Apple cut into slices and Peanut Butter for dipping

Day 5 ~ Lunch - dice up 2 slices of Ham Sandwich meat, mix with 1/4 Cup Shredded Cheddar and 1 Tbs Mayo, spread onto slice of Bread and put on baking sheet in oven until melted serve with unsweetened Apple Sauce

                Snack - Treat day! Teddy Grahams and Banana Slices served with Nutella to dip and Milk

Day 6 ~ Lunch - Carrot Raisin Rollup served with Dried Mango

                Snack - unsalted Saltine Crackers topped with Cheese Whiz and served with Grapes

Day 7 ~ Lunch - Peanut Butter and Jam Sandwich served with a glass of Milk

                Snack - Trail Mix (we do Multigrain Cheerios, Shreddies, Craisins, Dried Blueberries and a few Dark Chocolate Chips)

Other great snack ideas are any kind of baking like Banana Bread, Muffins, Homemade Granola Bars, etc. The possibilities are endless and if your child loves to help in the kitchen, it becomes an activity too!

Low-fat Beef with Spinach and Rice

The one positive about this meal is it was just like baby food, so it was perfect for my infant to try. The flavour wasn't horrible, but wasn't great. I had issues with this meal from the get go, once I put all the ingredients in the pan to simmer, as per the recipe, it was already thick and the rice wasn't cooked yet, so I had to continuously add water (probably about 2 Cups all said and told) and I had to cook it for about 10 minutes longer than called for. So this meal took FOREVER considering what we ended up with. 

No thanks, not for us, but both my sons LOVED it, so all the leftovers are being frozen into child serving sizes. If you have a picky eater aged 1-4 at your table, throw a little cheese on top and I bet they just might eat it. 

Go to Recipe!

Black Bean Soup and Quick Cheese and Pepper Bread

 

Super simplistic yet tasty soup. And very hearty too. I'm not a black bean fanatic so I did feel there was a few too many (if that is possible) but I also realize that this IS Black Bean Soup so that is to be expected. I think next time I make this I will use just shredded cheddar cheese as I found the melted mozza "strings" were a little annoying. You could also make this "veggie friendly" by using vegetable stock instead of the beef broth.

To go with this soup I made a quick cheese bread and it was a super "stress-less" and a nice complimentary bread that didn't take very long to make. In my convection gas oven it took 30 minutes, so by the time it was baked the soup was ready - perfect timing! 

This soup/bread combo will make another appearance in our house for sure - I hope you enjoy it!

Go to Soup Recipe!

Go to Bread Recipe! 

-Jill

The Plan-it will go on

I just want to say that I did not abandon you; I am still here! I just feel that there is no need to re-review meals that I have already posted about and it just so happens that every meal this week so far falls under that category.

So here are links to the original meal reviews and I will be back tomorrow with a brand new meal that I am looking forward to trying - Black Bean Soup!

  

Mushroon Smothered Salisbury Steak

 

Totally Tubular Pasta

Seared Chicken with Pan Gravy

Enjoy and we will see you tomorrow! 

-Jill

Meal Plan ~ Week 50 - 2010

For other meal plans and excellent organization advise visit The Organizing Junkie

I was asked to come up with a Meal Plan of "Weight Watcher" meals. Most of the meals are "official Weight Watcher" meals and have been posted before and the rest are meals that I got from other resources. 

Also, as a heads up - Some time this week or next, I will be posting a Toddler Lunch/Snack meal plan idea as per a request.

Monday ~ Mushroom - Smothered Salisbury Steak served with 1/2 Cup Mashed Potatoes, 1/4 Cup Sauce and Steamed Green Beans (7 points)

Tuesday ~ Totally Tubular Pasta - 1 Cup = (7 points) - "unofficial"

Wednesday ~ Seared Chicken with Pan Gravy served with Steamed Carrots and 1/2 Cup Mashed Potatoes with 3 Tbs Gravy (8 points)

Thursday ~ Black Bean Soup - 1 1/4 Cup Soup and 1 Tbs  Cheese = (4 points)

Friday ~ Pork Chops with Fruit Relish served with Baked Sweet Potato (9 points)

Saturday ~ Mom and Dad out for Christmas Party!

Sunday ~ Low fat Ground Beef with Rice and Spinach  - 1 Cup = (7 points) - "unofficial"

Please know that this site is not affiliated with Weight Watchers International, Inc. WEIGHT WATCHERS and its point system are registered trademarks of Weight Watchers International, Inc. Weight Watchers has not reviewed this site for accuracy or suitability for its members. It is not endorsed by Weight Watchers.  

 I did find out that they have recently "overhauled" their point system and have made many changes for the first time in 13 years. Complete information about Weight Watchers is available via the Weight Watchers' website and local Weight Watchers Offices.  I did find a wonderfully informative blog which sums up these current changes quite nicely.

Dirt Birthday Cake and Cheese Enchiladas Verde

Last night was my son's 3rd birthday party (his birthday is not until the 27th, but it is so hard to celebrate so close to Christmas). We had a party at a local Gymnastics Club and had it over the supper hour so we had to ensure there was enough food. We served Chili, Hot Dogs, a Veggie and Dip Platter, and a Crackers, Meat and Cheese Platter, and of course Birthday Cake. My son wanted a "Construction" themed party so I made a Dirt Cake. I had found many recipes, but kinda made this one up as a combination of a few ideas I had seen. It was a huge hit and SO easy to make and it REALLY doesn't matter how it looks... actually the yuckier the better! :) 

 Go to Recipe! 

Tonight's supper was Cheese Enchilada Verde and it was a fabulous Meatless Meal choice after copious amounts of Chili last night. It was light and I loved that it had shredded zucchini hidden inside and let's face it; I am having a love affair with fresh Cilantro. At first my son refused to try it, I got him to eat one tiny little piece and he declared that he loved it and proceeded to gobble it up! This meal will make another appearance to our table for sure. I am still new to the sweet heat of Salsa Verde, but just love it - you should try it too if you like a little spice! 

Go to Recipe! 

Change of Plans

 

I was absent last night because I was at my company Christmas Party (1 of 2) and I decorated my house and got my tree up! (see below) 

Tonight I was supposed to make Tuscan Chicken Simmer, but I just didn't feel like venturing into unknown territory so I made an old stand by: Speedy Chicken Stirfry from the Kraft Canada Website. It is SO easy and everyone at the table LOVES it. Even my 3 year old devoured his whole plate. 

Today was another busy day (aren't they all in December???) I was getting ready for my 3 year old's birthday party tomorrow. Hopefully tomorrow's post will include a photo of his Construction Themed Cake and some of the platters and food that I made today...phew, I'm BEAT...

...but, back to tonight's supper... I strongly suggest it, it is SO fast, simple and yummy - you can't go wrong in giving it a try!

Go to Recipe!

Photos of Christmas Trees NEVER work for me!

Speedy Sausage and Bean Ragout

Tonight's recipe came courtesy of a friend of mine who made this for me last week. It was so awesome that I hurried home and made it for my family. It turned out wonderful! She had used a very special spicy sausage that added a great zip. I had to think of the wee ones, so I opted for less spicy a sausage and it turned out tasty anyway. I served this over a bed of rice, but I bet if you just serve it with a salad and a crusty roll to sop up the juice it would be a really great meal too.

Go to Recipe!

P.S. - Did you happen to see my "bonus post" this afternoon? Today was Kathy of JAX Does Design's Bake-n-Blog; Holiday Edition - check it out! :)

Bonus Post - Bake-n-Blog: Holiday Edition

Today is the big reveal for the Bake-n-Blog: Holiday Edition hosted by Kelly at JAX Does Design. The basic idea is that of a virtual Cookie Recipe Exchange for bloggers and the way it worked was we chose a recipe out of MANY and then we make that recipe and blog about our experience. 

My choice was "Pummies" by Cindy @ Bandaids Required. A pumpkin based cookie with 3 possible variations. I must say that there are 4 good reasons why I am glad that I chose this recipe. 

1: They are FORGIVING ~ I got Pumpkin Pie Filling, not canned Pumpkin. I thought that it might make the cookies too sweet, but I powered through and made the recipe as stated and they turned out delicious!

2: They are EASY ~ I whipped them up today while I made my sons' lunch and they were a breeze. I mixed all the "wet ingredients" in my electric mixer bowl and just added the "dry ingredients" one at a time into the mixture. One bowl!

3: They are VERSATILE ~ Did I mention that there are 3 variations? Rum, Chocolate Chip (my choice), Maple, Lemon, Ginger, and Pumpkin Pie Spice, Raisin, Nut. 

4: They are FABULOUS!! ~ They have an awesome cake-like texture and are nice and soft. Love, love, love these! I will definietley add these to my Autumn baking list for next year. 

I hope you try them too! 

Go to Recipe!

Thanks to Kelly for hosting this wonderful Bake-n-Blog and thanks to Cindy for a wonderful recipe! 

Now, if you have the time, you should go check out the rest of the recipes (Right now there are 16 besides mine!)

On the same topic, but different vein. This morning I received a pleasant surprise in my email inbox... my Cookie Countdown to Christmas by Allrecipes.com. All you have to do is sign up for a free account and then manage your subscriptions and you can get a cookie recipe emailed to you everyday until Christmas. (If you already have an account, just go to your email subscriptions and sign up) This is my second year receiving them and have yet to be disappointed. If you do not feel like getting them everyday, you can simply go to the site and view all the past cookies. 

Today's cookie was: Ultimate Chocolate Chip