2011 November

Chocolate Dipped Lemon Cookies

November 30, 2011 by Marci 1 Comment

Tomorrow is December and that means it’s time for holiday cookies! I think I enjoy the process of baking just as much and probably more than the eating part. It is very much an art and craft and such a fun hobby for me. Baking and cooking really are a science, and I like taking ingredients and putting them together and making flavors complement each other, like we did here with lemon and chocolate.

The first of the holiday cookies this year are lemon cookies dipped in chocolate. Jeffrey’s sister, Amy, requested a lemon dessert for a Sunday night dinner, and I didn’t have anything in mind. I decided on a lemon shortbread cookie from Martha Stewart, and then decided to dip them in chocolate to make them more exciting.

Holiday cookies I show here are most likely not of the healthful variety unless I say so. These have two sticks of butter and two kinds of sugar. Jeffrey said the dough tasted like lemon butter. Delish, right? The chocolate helped make them more yummy.

These cookies were just like a sugar shortbread cookie but I liked the extra chocolate on top. They were a little breakable, but that means more for sampling. An extra zing would be to add lemon zest to the chocolate before it dries. That would be delish too!

Chocolate Dipped Lemon Cookies

Adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 large egg yolks
1/4 cup granulated sugar, for rolling
4 oz Baker’s Chocolate, semi-sweet

Directions

In a food processor, pulse flour, confectioners’ sugar, salt, and lemon zest until combined. Add butter and process until sandy. Add egg yolks and lemon juice; pulse until dough comes together. Divide dough in half and form each into a 1 1/2-inch-wide log. Wrap in plastic and freeze until firm, about 2 hours (or up to 1 month).
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Spread granulated sugar on a piece of parchment; roll logs over sugar to coat. Slice logs into 1/4-inch-thick slices and arrange, 1 inch apart, on two parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until cookies are golden brown around edges, about 15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool.
Once cool, melt four squares (4 oz) baking chocolate in a microwave safe dish. Quickly spoon or dip cookies in the chocolate and place back on wire rack to harden.
Freeze or serve within a day.

As a reminder going into cookie month, my Recipes page is current and separated by meal. Lots of desserts and treats on there if you’re looking for something! Also, there are Tags on the sidebar for Cookies, Dessert, Baked Goods, and Hanukkah/Xmas, so check those out too for posts from last year.

Chocolate Dipped Lemon Cookies

Ingredients

Chocolate Dipped Lemon Cookies
Adapted from
Martha Stewart
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 large egg yolks
1/4 cup granulated sugar, for rolling
4 oz Baker’s Chocolate, semi-sweet

Instructions

Directions
In a food processor, pulse flour, confectioners’ sugar, salt, and lemon zest until combined. Add butter and process until sandy. Add egg yolks and lemon juice; pulse until dough comes together. Divide dough in half and form each into a 1 1/2-inch-wide log. Wrap in plastic and freeze until firm, about 2 hours (or up to 1 month).
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Spread granulated sugar on a piece of parchment; roll logs over sugar to coat. Slice logs into 1/4-inch-thick slices and arrange, 1 inch apart, on two parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until cookies are golden brown around edges, about 15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool.
Once cool, melt four squares (4 oz) baking chocolate in a microwave safe dish. Quickly spoon or dip cookies in the chocolate and place back on wire rack to harden.
Freeze or serve within a day.

Filed Under: Dessert · Tagged With: Baked goods, Cookies, Hanukkah/Xmas

The To-Do List

November 29, 2011 by Marci 3 Comments

I’ve skipped a few pregnancy related posts for Thanksgiving week, but I’ll have more to share on Thursday for the Week 25 update.

Although I haven’t updated much here, I have been busy making decisions on many big things hanging over our heads. I am very happy with our decisions, and also happy that there are still no baby items in our house. Not ready for it yet!

Here are a few decisions we’ve made over the last few weeks:

Picked a hospital to deliver at and registered for classes in late January and early February.
Ordered a crib and bedding. I will be using bumpers, even if I take them off for a few months and put them back on.
Created a registry.
Picked a car seat to register for.
Ordered a rocking chair (takes the cake for most expensive item in the nursery! Hope it’s worth it.)
Picked out a dresser but haven’t ordered it yet, it has a short order period.
Finished reading On Becoming Babywise and understand the theory as well as I can for now.
Picked a pediatrician practice.

Many of these items had a lot of back and forth, and I spent a lot of time researching and asking questions. I’m vague on many of them because it’s a lot of personal preference, but happy to answer questions if you’re curious.

Back tomorrow with the first cookie recipe of the holiday season!

Filed Under: Pregnancy · Tagged With: Pregnancy

Thanksgiving Week Traditions

November 28, 2011 by Marci Leave a Comment

Hello! Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving break. We were in San Antonio with my side of the family for my favorite holiday of the year, then back here on Friday for the weekend in Houston. Here are a few pictures of our weekend.

Above, every Thanksgiving on the Wednesday night, we go to our aunt’s house for Rudy’s BBQ and cookie decorating. It is a fun family tradition and so much fun. Messy and fun, and the cookies are just for decoration–no one actually eats them. That picture is me, my sister, and two cousins– Shannon and Lindsey.

Below–one of my cookies–a decorated turkey.

This is Molly, one of my grandparents’ labradoodles. She is very sweet and is always nice to me when I visit her.

And this is Cowboy and Molly. Both Labradoodles but with different looks, and now siblings. They are both very sweet dogs.

And this is our little family photo. Lily was so photogenic this trip. I think she understands the camera.

This may be Lily’s best picture.

Another Thanksgiving tradition–the cousins picture on the curb. It started around 1988 with just three cousins, and now there are 9 plus Jeffrey! Next time we’ll be starting over with #1 great grandchild!

Our pretty Thanksgiving table with a centerpiece for the Longhorns too. They won! And now that tradition of UT vs. A&M on Thanksgiving Day is over. Everyone was very happy for a Longhorn and Cowboys win on Turkey Day!

Lily likes sitting under tables because she doesn’t have to worry about being stepped on or tripped over. And maybe she’ll get some crumbs.

My food contribution were the marshmallows we made a few weeks ago. We made them again the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, then cut them on Wednesday morning. This time, we added about 1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon to the batter at the very end of mixing, and then sprinkled on cinnamon sugar to the top of the batter after we poured it in the dish. It was even better with extra hits of spice and sugar.

Another great picture–my parents, sister, husband and Lily.

That’s it for our Turkey Day. More excitement for the next big holiday–Passover in April with a whole new person at the table!

Filed Under: Thanksgiving · Tagged With: Holidays, Thanksgiving

What I’m Thankful For

November 22, 2011 by Marci 1 Comment

Seems fitting to list out what we’re thankful for during the week of Thanksgiving. Although not over yet, 2011 was a great year for us with lots to be thankful for. Here are some on my list this year in no particular order.

I am thankful for my doggy Lily for making us so happy and being so loving and friendly.
I am thankful for my husband who keeps our social calendar booked and is a great dad-in-training to Lily. And always challenges me to be better.
I’m thankful for our families who enjoy spending time together and coming to visit us. We see both our families a lot in our cities or another one!
I’m thankful for the baby in my tummy for being very easy and following the rules so far. It is growing and behaving like it should. We are very grateful that my pregnancy has been very good so far. I’m thankful for frequent kicks and rolls to let me know something is really in there.
I’m thankful for my body for tolerating this pregnancy so well so far. I am really impressed with how my body has handled the changes and hope it continues to stay strong and healthy.
I’m thankful for my job, also new in 2011. It’s the first time I’ve really enjoyed going to work and find the work fun and meaningful.
I’m thankful for a good group of friends in Houston. I complain about the weather here a lot, but we do have great friends that live here. Our friends are helpful and kind and fun. Our baby will also have a nice group of friends, we’re building a play group.
We are thankful for our house. Even though we’re trying to sell it, we are thankful that we live in a pretty home with an extra bedroom next to us and in a safe neighborhood in a good location.
I am thankful for the ability to travel frequently. We have great jobs that allow us a nice travel schedule and great parents who take us with them on many trips. We also are healthy and enjoy being active on vacation. There’s a lot to see and a lot we’ve seen this year!

I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving with your family. See you back next week!

What are you thankful for this year? Sharing is caring!

Filed Under: Thoughts · Tagged With: Thanksgiving, Thoughts

Thanksgiving Recipes

November 21, 2011 by Marci Leave a Comment

Hello and Happy Thanksgiving week! I’ve mentioned before that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year, and I’ve been eating the flavors of the season since October. If you’re looking for easy last-minute recipes for your table, here are a few I’ve posted this year.

For a list of recipes I wrote about last year, see this post.

You’ll notice lots of focus on pumpkin and apple, and even a few veggie dishes.

Enjoy spending time with your families!

Apple Cranberry Sauce

Sausage Apple Stuffing

Homemade Marshmallows

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Pumpkin Gingerbread Loaf

Apple Cake

Squash and Farro Salad

Sweet Brussels Sprouts with Pecans

Filed Under: Recipes, Thanksgiving · Tagged With: Recipes, Thanksgiving

Week 23 Pregnancy Update

November 17, 2011 by Marci 6 Comments

Hello all! Welcome to Week 23. Do the weeks seem to be ticking away slowly to you? I am starting to lose track. Somewhere in the mid-20s. Next big milestone is probably Week 28 when I move into the 3rd trimester and the baby would be viable if something happened.

But here at Week 23, we are the size of a large mango! That doesn’t seem bigger than a squash, but that’s what BabyCenter says. It weighs over a pound and is over 11 inches long. Just to give you something to compare to, when the baby is born, usually they are around 17-19 inches long or so and 6-9 pounds (hopefully closer to 6 than 9 but I don’t have a lot of hope for that). And this 23 week old fetus is already 11 inches long! So it’s done a lot of growing and has a lot of weight to gain!

Another interesting thing the books say is that the baby likes movement, like exercise, walking, or just moving around. It really makes sense because I feel it most when I’m not moving, like in the morning after breakfast or at the end of the day. The movements are pretty weird and cool.

As you can see in the top picture, something is taking up a lot more space! I still don’t feel as big as I look, and I hope that continues because I feel like I’m growing everyday.

In the second photo, you can see that my belly gets in the way.

Other random things–

I am still sleeping pretty solid and long.
I feel great during the day.
I eat normally but do feel a little more hungry before meals.
We bought our second big purchase–a glider. One big one to go–the dresser. We’re waiting a few more weeks because it has a short delivery time.
Lily likes to snuggle against my belly while she sleeps at night. It is the sweetest thing! I don’t know if she senses something, but we’ll pretend she does.

The highlight of Week 23 was my weekend of exercise and a prenatal massage. I wrote about that on Tuesday.

And coming up before next Thursday are two more trips within a week. One plane and one car. It’s a lot, but good to be moving while I can. And I have a doctor’s appointment today, so I’ll report next week of anything new.

And happy birthday to my sister! Woohoo she’s 25! See you tomorrow!

Filed Under: Pregnancy · Tagged With: Pregnancy

Sausage Stuffing

November 16, 2011 by Marci Leave a Comment

Here is another Thanksgiving recipe. New to our kitchen for this year! I wanted to try making a stuffing, but thinking of the ingredients that we both eat is a little limiting. I also wanted it to be substantial enough to eat as a meal. I searched some magazines and online and found this sausage one with vegetables we both like such as carrots, fennel and onion, and even had some delicious seasonal apples.

The recipe I found made a whole side dish for Thanksgiving, so I cut the recipe down. I really liked using the Italian sausage. I went to the meat counter at Whole Foods and the butcher knew what I wanted, and took the casings off for me so it was easier to break apart.

Jeffrey commented that he wished the pieces of everything were smaller, so spend more time chopping. I didn’t mind it as bigger pieces. He really liked the dish and it was his kind of flavors. Very savory and filling.

The cooking process was pretty straightforward and clean. I started cooking something on the stove, then dumped it in a mixing bowl. Then more on the stove, then into the mixing bowl. And repeated about four times before going all together in the oven.

Sausage Stuffing

(This is the full recipe from myrecipes.com. I halved the recipe (except where noted) and put it in a smaller dish for cooking.

Ingredients:

12 ounces sourdough bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (I used a little under 1/2 loaf)
Cooking spray
9 ounces Italian sausage, uncooked (I used about 3/4 pound)
5 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
4 cups chopped onion
1 1/4 cups sliced fennel bulb
1 1/4 cups chopped carrot
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed (didn’t use)
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
3 cups chopped Golden Delicious apple
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
2 large eggs

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400°.
Arrange bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 16 minutes or until golden, stirring after 8 minutes. Place in a large bowl.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove casings from sausage. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add sausage to pan; cook 8 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Add sausage to bread.
Return pan to medium-high heat. Add 3 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion and next 5 ingredients (through garlic). Add 1/4 teaspoon pepper; sauté 8 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Add vegetables to sausage mixture.
Return pan to medium-high heat. Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add apple and sugar; sauté 5 minutes or until apple caramelizes, stirring occasionally. Add to the sausage mixture.
Combine broth and eggs in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add broth mixture and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper to sausage mixture; toss well to combine.
Spoon sausage mixture into a 13 x 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. Cover with foil. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes. Uncover dish; bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until browned and crisp.

I made this on a weekday and the start chopping to on the table process was about 90 minutes. We served it with roasted asparagus (on a baking sheet, same temperature as the stuffing, with salt, pepper, EVOO and paprika), and leftover cranberry sauce. A very hearty dinner for a weekday in our house!

Sausage Stuffing

Ingredients

Sausage Stuffing
This is the full recipe from myrecipes.com. I halved the recipe (except where noted) and put it in a smaller dish for cooking.
12 ounces sourdough bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (I used a little under 1/2 loaf)
Cooking spray
9 ounces Italian sausage, uncooked (I used about 3/4 pound)
5 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
4 cups chopped onion
1 1/4 cups sliced fennel bulb
1 1/4 cups chopped carrot
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed (didn’t use)
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
3 cups chopped Golden Delicious apple
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
2 large eggs

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°.
Arrange bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 16 minutes or until golden, stirring after 8 minutes. Place in a large bowl.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove casings from sausage. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add sausage to pan; cook 8 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Add sausage to bread.
Return pan to medium-high heat. Add 3 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion and next 5 ingredients (through garlic). Add 1/4 teaspoon pepper; sauté 8 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Add vegetables to sausage mixture.
Return pan to medium-high heat. Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add apple and sugar; sauté 5 minutes or until apple caramelizes, stirring occasionally. Add to the sausage mixture.
Combine broth and eggs in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add broth mixture and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper to sausage mixture; toss well to combine.
Spoon sausage mixture into a 13 x 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. Cover with foil. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes. Uncover dish; bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until browned and crisp.

Filed Under: Dinner, Recipes · Tagged With: Dinner, Thanksgiving

A Weekend for Me

November 15, 2011 by Marci 1 Comment

As part of my usual Tuesdays to write about something pregnancy related, I wanted to write about my weekend activities. In our only weekend without travel for the whole month, I planned a few out of ordinary activities for just me.

On Saturday, I signed up for a pregnancy workshop at Define Body, the studio I’ve been talking about for a while. With only four other people, we learned how to modify movements we do in regular classes to help us. Then we had snacks, and then we did a short Mind class, which is all stretching. It was really nice to not be the only pregnant person in the class, and to be the focus of how to modify instead of trying to guess or have to give the instructor a look of “is this safe for me? or “what am I supposed to do here instead?” I also would like to take a mixed Body and Mind class to get a little of each in an hour’s time.

Before that, I walked three miles. I did another three miles on Friday morning. And the elliptical and light weights on Sunday morning.

Then on Sunday, I scheduled massages for me and for Jeffrey. I did my first pre-natal massage, which I never thought I would like before I got pregnant. I didn’t think I’d like the idea of getting rubbed being so much bigger, but I can tell that different muscles get worn more easily, like legs and hips. They’re holding more weight and getting pulled in different ways.

My massage was a little more wimpy than I expected, but I probably should have expected something very moderate. Better to be careful, but it wasn’t as hard, and more limited on body parts than I expected. Rolling on the foam roller or a hard ball gives me more release than that massage. And I already own that! So I guess I’ll spend more time foam rolling. Who knew that thing would still be coming in handy?

Before I got pregnant, I hoped that exercise would be a big part of my routine still, and I’m glad it is. I hope to be able to continue walking, stretching, and doing light weights until the end, and I really think it helps me stay limber and feeling good. I’m hoping it helps with labor and recovery and I hope I bounce back quickly because I stayed in good shape. I am glad I have found some activities that I enjoy doing and a studio that embraces pregnancy modifications.

So that was my weekend–four workouts between Friday and Sunday, all moderate, nothing really intense, just nice to keep moving and stretching!

Filed Under: Exercise, Pregnancy · Tagged With: Exercise, Pregnancy

Apple Cranberry Sauce

November 14, 2011 by Marci 1 Comment

This week, I have a few Thanksgiving themed recipes to share. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the whole year. I love spending time with family, I love that the weather is getting cooler, and I love the food better than any other holiday of eating.

Probably my very favorite Thanksgiving dish is cranberry sauce. In the last few years, I’ve been enjoying the flavors for the whole month of November, and this year was no exception. I tried a different recipe for cranberry sauce this year, one I read in Cooking Light and then made some changes to it. The one I made last year and in year’s past is great too! It has a lot of fruity flavors like apricot and orange. But wanted to try this one this year, which has a lot of apples.

Apple Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:

1 bag (12 oz) fresh cranberries
3 apples, I used Granny Smith, peeled and chopped
1/2 C maple syrup
1/2 C white sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
1 bay leaf
1 C Apple juice or apple sider
3/4 C Apple cider vinegar
1/4 C lemon juice
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 C Dried apricots, chopped

Instructions:

Add everything to a pot and bring to a boil.
Reduce to a simmer and let cook until cranberries start to pop and bubble. Remove bay leaf.
Serve hot or cold. Keeps in the refrigerator 4-5 days.

What I loved about the sauce was the bites of apple, and apricots and the pops of cranberries. While refrigerated, it gets thick and delicious. From the original Cooking Light recipe, I added the sugars and apricots because I like my cranberry sauce sweet.

To go with the sauce, we made cheddar chicken fingers from How Sweet Eats. I am trying to like chicken better and wondered if I just don’t know how to make good chicken, so we followed a recipe that looked delicious and hoped we liked it. Jeffrey thought it was great, I thought it tasted like chicken. And also took poor pictures of it, sorry. The link’s pictures make it look much better!

Easy to make, smelled good, nice concept of soaking in buttermilk and dunking in bread crumbs and cheese, but I still can’t get over the chicken. Bluggghhh is what I say to chicken.

Filed Under: Dinner, Recipes · Tagged With: chicken, Dinner, Holidays, Thanksgiving

Cute Food Pictures Friday

November 11, 2011 by Marci 1 Comment

Hooray for Friday. It’s 11-11-11. I have some recipes to share, but thought that can wait for a fresh week. Instead, lets look at some pretty pictures from around the web. If you aren’t on Pinterest as a big time sucker, it’s a fun way to waste time. I would say it can give you some neat ideas for home design or recipes, but I just like looking at pretty pictures that I’ll probably never do anything with. If you don’t know what Pinterest is, I wrote a post about it a few months ago.

These are place card holders! How cute is this? The link has a tutorial of the steps to make this. How fun for Thanksgiving?!

If my cousins are reading this, why do our turkeys not look like this? Every year on the night before Thanksgiving, we eat Rudy’s BBQ and decorate cookies. They aren’t this cute.

Source

And how fun is this guy? Who thinks of these things? Even if I made something like this, I don’t think it would turn out as cute.

Source

And then I found this on Craft Gawker. I don’t know who spends time making turkey sandwiches like this, but it’s pretty fun too.

I mean, omg. Source.

Do you do cute things with food too? Are you on Pinterest? Follow me so I can follow you back!

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: Holidays

Chocolate Dipped Lemon Cookies

Chocolate Dipped Lemon Cookies

The To-Do List

Thanksgiving Week Traditions

What I’m Thankful For

Thanksgiving Recipes

Week 23 Pregnancy Update

Sausage Stuffing

Sausage Stuffing

A Weekend for Me

Apple Cranberry Sauce

Apple Cranberry Sauce

Cute Food Pictures Friday

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