I have created this site to help people have fun in the kitchen. I write about enjoying life both in and out of my kitchen. Life is short! Make the most of it and enjoy!
This post is very different than all my other posts. I am asking for your thoughts and prayers for my Juneau, or my Juni Bug. She is my wild child, and we love her to bits. But this time, she got herself into a world of hurt. She literally ate one of her Christmas toys and the squeaker blocked her duodenum. We took her to the ER this morning at 3:30 AM. They had to perform surgery and removed part of her small intestine. She literally eats EVERYTHING. Fortunately we decided to get pet insurance for her. This morning’s surgery just cost us $4000. She is out of surgery now, resting and is on fluids, but she will have to stay at the vets all day today and through tomorrow. We should be able to visit her tonight. She is not out of the woods just yet, but her prognosis is looking good. Other than her blocked intestine and being a little dehydrated, she is healthy.
This looks so cute, and we laughed too, until she got blocked up and we had to take her to the ER. As soon as we got home, we threw away ALL of her toys.
My warning to ALL dog parents – DO NOT let them eat their toys. Please keep them safe. This was an expensive lesson we learned the hard way. Fortunately, Juneau’s prognosis is good. But it was still a BIG WAKE -UP CALL for us.
Now that Christmas has come and gone, and I am no longer busy with Christmas preparations and I can start sharing some of my nature shots again. This time, I saw quite a few of winter birds stopping in to say hi.
My favorite bird of the day was this big red-tailed hawk who was loving the camera.
I also saw a playful blue jay. He was a bit shy and a bit coy, but I did manage to get a few good shots of him playing in the tree.
There was also a Northern Flicker who was hard at work.
Almonds are some of my favorite nuts. I can eat them all the time, in many different ways. Green bean almondine is a very popular side dish that is green beans served with sliced butter-toasted almonds. Of course, like with anything, there are a number of ways it can be prepared. This time I made asparagus almondine instead of green bean almondine. Same thing, but I used asparagus instead of green beans. It was one of the dishes I took with me to our friends Eric and Shannon’s house on Christmas Day. Christmas 2021
Asparagus Almondine
1 lb cooked asapragus, ends trimmed
2-3 TBSP butter
1/2 cup slivered almonds
pinch of nutmeg
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1/3 cup chopped tomatoes or red bell peppers, optional
Cut off the ends of the asparagus and cook in boiling water for about 5-7 minutes or until mostly tender, but still with a bit of a crisp left. I usually cut off about 2-3 inches of the stems, but that it is up to you and your preferences.
While the asparagus is cooking, prepare the almonds by melting the butter first, then adding the almonds, nutmeg, and salt & pepper. Cook for about 2-3 minutes or until the almonds start to turn golden brown.
When the asparagus and the almonds are cooked, top the asparagus with the almonds and butter. Top with the chopped tomatoes if using and serve. You can also use red bell peppers instead of the tomatoes if you prefer. This dish couldn’t be much easier to make, but it is simply elegant. I added the tomatoes to make them more colorful and festive with the Christmas red and green. I actually do this quite a bit though, regardless of the season because I always like to mix and match a lot of vegetables together. Rarely do I ever just have one vegetable by itself. We eat a lot of vegetables and a lot of vegetable combinations.
Happy New Year Everyone. May 2022 be a good year to all. Stay safe and stay well.
This Christmas season of 2021 has been busy, though differently so than usual. We did not have any big parties at our house, though we did have a few small gatherings. I did not cook a big Christmas dinner this year, because we gathered with friends, both for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and then we got together with Julia and Bruce today. But just because I did not cook the big meal does not mean I did not cook. You should all know by now, I am almost always in the kitchen … unless I am off diving.
For Christmas Eve, we joined Priscilla and Jonathan and their daughters. As always, Priscilla had an exquisite meal with perfect decorations. She had prepared some fantastic steaks with her traditional gnochis and a Christmas tree bread, with a gingerbread cake for dessert. The only thing she let me bring was my three bean salad, which of course I made and brought with pleasure. A New Twist on Three Bean Salad
On Christmas Day we went to our friends Shannon and Eric’s house. Shannon had prepared a delicious turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing. I made the appetizers, the vegetables and dessert. I was working with some dietary restrictions, so I made everything gluten free and mostly vegetables and fruit. For the starters I made some crab stuffed mushrooms. There were only the four of us, so I did not make a lot.
Crab Stuffed Mushrooms
12 large cremini mushrooms, cleaned and stems removed
2 tsp chopped roasted Hatch chilies
2 TBSP green onions, sliced and chopped
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup large clump crab, chopped
1 tsp garlic
1 TBSP onion, diced fine
1-2 TBSP olive oil or garlic olive oil for cooking
1/2 cup jalapeno jack cheese
1/3 cup shredded cheddar blend for topping
12 Peruvian peppers, optional
Combine the onions, garlic and Hatch chilies and saute in olive oil or the garlic olive oil for about 3-5 minutes or until the onions are translucent.
Preheat the oven to 350* F or 175 * C.
Once the onion mixture is cooked combine it with all the rest of the ingredients except the Peruvian peppers and the cheddar cheese. Mix well then fill the mushroom caps with as much filling as they will hold with a teaspoon. Top the mushrooms with the shredded cheddar cheese and bake uncovered for about 20-30 minutes or until the cheese on top starts to form a light crust.
When the mushrooms are done, top them with one Peruvian pepper in the center of each mushroom. Serve hot. I love crab and mushrooms, and I love stuffed mushrooms of all kinds, so this was a deliciously festive way to serve them all together.
Thank you to both of our hosting households for allowing us to share the holidays with you.
I hope you all had a safe and Merry Christmas. ‘Til next time.
I have completed all my Christmas cookies for this season. Well, maybe. I LOVE cookies, and I am always finding new recipes I want to make, Holiday or otherwise. But officially, I am am done with the specific “holiday” cookies. This last batch was a batch of pistachio and vanilla cookies dipped in white chocolate. YUM!!!! I have them plated with my raspberry fudge bites. Chocolate Raspberry Fudge Bites
All these cookies I made went to the church for our Christmas celebrations and services. I have to find a home for all the cookies and sweets and treats I make otherwise I will eat them all, and I am already way to fat as it is. But I love to bake. Making them and then giving them away is the best option. We went through a lot of cookies last night, but not nearly enough, considering I made so many. I think I made about 400-500+ cookies, and then Priscilla made some as well. I still have about 5 dozen or 60 left, which means I either have to eat them, or re-home them once again. What a terrible dilemma, I know. 🙂
Vanilla Pistachio Cookies
1 cup or 2 sticks softened butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups pistachio nuts, chopped
6 oz white chocolate
2 tsp shortening
1-2 TBSP milk
Mix the butter, sugar and vanilla together in the mixer, then add the flour 1/2 at a time. Add about 1 cup of the chopped pistachios and mix together. Divide the dough into two and form it into logs about 7 inches long. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours.
Once the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 375*F or about 190* C. Then slice the dough into slices about 1/4 inch thick and place them on an ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake them for 12-16 minutes or until lightly golden.
Allow the cookies to cool completely before dipping them in the white chocolate.
Melt the white chocolate with the shortening and add 1-2 TBSP milk as well. Stir constantly and heat at a medium high temperature until all the chocolate is melted and the mixture is creamy.
Dip about 1/3-1/2 of each cookie into the white chocolate and shake off all the excess chocolate. Sprinkle the top with chopped pistachios. I found it is best to do this in small batches at a time so the chocolate does not set before adding the pistachios.
Allow the cookies to set for a bit and then they are ready to enjoy.
All of my Christmas cookies were a big hit, as I hoped they would be.
Merry Christmas to Everyone. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.
‘Tis the season for cookies. Lots and lots of cookies. I have finally finished all my holiday cookies for this season. They will all be on display and ready to be eaten and enjoyed tonight at our church’s Christmas Eve’s Eve celebrations. In total, I made 5 different types of cookies and sweet treats for tonight’s festivities, including my raspberry fudge bites Chocolate Raspberry Fudge Bites, my colorful thumbprint cookies The First of the Christmas Cookies, these sprinkled and kissed cookies I am about to tell you about right now, and then another batch of cookies I will tell you about tomorrow. Of course I had to sample a little from each batch, for quality control purposes naturally, and I can attest they are all delicious! 🙂
I made two batches of these chocolate sprinkled and kissed cookies, with slight variations for each batch. They were the same recipe. For the first batch, I used chocolate extract instead of vanilla, and then placed a “hugs” chocolate kiss on top. The “hugs” kisses are a combination of both white and milk chocolate swirled together. For the second batch, I used peppermint extract instead of vanilla and then topped them with a mint cream kiss to make them chocolate mint cookies. I will give you the basic recipe. The extracts and the kisses were the only differences.
Sprinkled and Kissed Cookies
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup softened butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 egg
2 TBSP milk
1 tsp vanilla or flavored extract
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 cups flour
1 cup colored nonpareil or colored sprinkles
60 chocolate kisses, or 1 for each cookie
Preheat the oven to 350* F or 175* C.
Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda together and set aside.
Mix the shortening, butter and sugars together until well combined and soft and creamy.
Add the egg, milk, and vanilla or extract and mix together again, then add the flour mixture 1/2 at a time, mixing in between each addition. Mix just until everything is well combined. Do not over mix.
Roll the dough into 1 inch balls then roll in the sprinkles.
Place them on an ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Make a well in the center of each cookie and bake for about 10-12 minutes.
Immediately after removing them from the oven, add a chocolate kiss in the center of each cookie.
Cool for a bit, then remove the cookies and allow to cool completely on a cookie rack. Once they are cooled enough to eat, it is time to set them out on a plate with some milk on the side for Santa and all his helpers to enjoy.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a safe and Happy Holiday season. ‘Til next time.
It is because of them and they sacrifices they made that we are free and are allowed to celebrate. Thank you for all you have done. You will never be forgotten. I will forever be in your debt.
After my short little fun experimentation with the wine gummies, These Gummy Bears Are For Adults Only I decided it was to get back to backing cookies and goodies for our church festivities that are coming up tomorrow night. This round of baking was some chocolate raspberry fudge bars. I LOVE the chocolate-raspberry combination. It is one of my favorites, especially with dark or bittersweet chocolate. YUM! These raspberry fudge bites are very messy, but they are rich and decadently delicious too. Maybe it is BECAUSE they are so messy that makes them so good. I’ve always said things taste better when they are messy, and these are most definitely messy. 🙂 I made them much smaller than what they are in the cookbook picture. A little goes a long way because they are so rich.
Chocolate Raspberry Fudge Bites
1 stick or 1/2 cup softened butter
1/4 cup sugar
1-1 1/4 cups flour
Combine together in a food processor or mixer until it forms into a ball then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour before using.
When ready to use, preheat the oven to 375* F or 190* C and grease an 8″ square pan. Press the dough mixture firmly into the pan with your fingers and bake for about 20 minutes or until it is lightly golden. Let it cool completely before adding the fudge mixture.
The Raspberry Fudge
1 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 TBSP powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries
1 1/2 cups dark or bittersweet chocolate chips or chocolate pieces
1 tsp chocolate extract, optional
Combine the cream and the powdered sugar together in a heavy sauce pan and bring to a boil. Immediately pour it over the chocolate chips and add the chocolate extract if using. Mix everything together to make your fudge ganache.
Once everything is well blended, carefully fold in the raspberries.
Carefully pour the chocolate-raspberry ganache over the prepared dough and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or until completely set. Then cut into squares and enjoy.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a safe and Happy Holiday season. ‘Til next time.
A Jeanne in the Kitchen 