Christmas is coming...

Where has the week gone? And 10 days until Christmas? Unbelievable. Well, I have good news to report regarding my cooking…it’s been much more successful than last week, thanks in a good part to Mama Pea at www.peasandthankyou.com, which is one of my favorite blogs to read (I’m sure I’ve mentioned that before). Below are some items that appeared on the menu this past week, my husband’s responses to them (for any of you that think I am depriving him of taste because I don’t cook meat!) as well as the recipe website:

Spinach and Cheese Bread Pudding, and I did put pepperoni on his half:  (“This turned out much better than I was expecting!) http://www.delish.com/recipefinder/spinach-jack-cheese-bread-pudding-1784?k=1

Slow-Cooker BBQ Tofu : (3 sandwiches later…“I could eat tofu like this. It’s not BBQ brisket, but it’s good.”) http://peasandthankyou.com/recipage/?recipe_id=6000646

And my favorite recipe, which made the house smell amazing for 5+ hours…Spicy African Peanut Stew: (Let’s just say a picture is worth a thousand words…notice he is using not 1, but 2 spoons.) http://peasandthankyou.com/recipage/?recipe_id=6000512

Don’t get freaked out by “garam masala” in the recipe, I just used Google to figure out a substitution, and it ended up being just a combination of spices I already had in my cabinet.

P.S...I know I often refer to Pinterest, www.pinterest.com, but have you seen FoodGawker, www.foodgawker.com?!?!? It is the most exciting culinary thing I have ever experienced. It will blow your mind...similar to Pinterest, but strictly food/recipes. Go, right now, get yourself a big helping of your favorite food (I suggest something sweet, like cappuccino truffle cake) and look at this website. If you don't nosh on your favorite delight while perusing these delicious photos, you will drool all over the computer. You might anyway. You can choose random categories at the top, or they are all organized at the very bottom. There are literally THOUSANDS of recipes. You won't regret this. Go now... feed your eyes.

We finally decorated our tree…I had been waiting to buy some tree decorations until I was ready to make this great wreath I saw on Pinterest. It's a little lobsided, but hey, it was fun! 

We used the rest of the bulbs to decorate our tree. It just kills me to pay full price for tree decorations…because I know they will go on major clearance after Christmas. I think I got that from my mother, who is the queen of buying things after Christmas and saving them until the next year (including candy and such, but don’t worry, she puts them all in the freezer…andnibblesonthemallyearlong<ahem>! :)

Yesterday, my dear friend Rebekah and I go together to make Christmas cookies. We baked for 6 hours. Seriously, how does that happen?! We made 4 different cookies: Gingerbread, Chocolate Mint Thumbprint, Magic Peanut Butter Middles, and Cranberry Dark Chocolate Oatmeal. She had a function to take hers to last night, and I plan to make little goodie bags with mine. At the end of the day, we felt exhausted…but very domestic and accomplished at the same time!

This weekend's agenda: Christmas shopping...along with probably everyone else in the area. Should be a good time though!

Until next time...