Recipe challenge back on!

Well, I am settled into my new house. I have a stove, and all of my utensils, pots and pans are unpacked. I even bought a tortilla press with a housewarming gift card from Bed, Bath & Beyond.

The one-new-recipe-a-week challenge is back on.

I have no idea what this week's recipe will be. I guess I have a few days to figure it out.

Crockpot barbecue beef

You know how when you go to a funeral and everyone says "let's just remember Aunt Betty in her better days?"

That is how I feel about this recipe. It looked beautiful in the crockpot. I was excited about having supper waiting when I got home.

So imagine when I got home, set my bag down and smelled...burning. for the first time ever, the crock pot set on low burned up my meal.

Because the guinea pigs were counting on me, I tried to eat it, but it was way too smoky tasting to be appetizing. It looked pretty gross too.

Therefore, this is this week's recipe.
1. Pick up phone
2. Call pizza hut
3. Order stuffed crust pizza and wings.

I took a picture before I left the house. Or, as I like to call it, "Aunt Betty in her younger days."

2012 Recipe Challenge

If there's anyone still reading this blog, my apologies for sucking at maintaining it. However, you're in luck, because I have issued myself a challenge, and it's going to take place right here.

There are 51 weeks left in 2012. And for each of those 51 weeks, I am going to try at least one new recipe. It might be a drink, appetizer, entree, side dish or dessert, but it will be brand new, and it will be posted here, along with commentary and (I hope!) photos.

And, I am in the process of assembling a team of guinea pigs for the test kitchen. So, it won't just be my opinion on the dish, but the opinions of those I force to eat whatever it is. There might even be videos if I can get them to do that. Allegedly my new smart phone can capture all this stuff.

I'm hoping to expand my repertoire of Southern dishes, but my constant need for stretchy pants means there will be some waistline-friendly meals as well. If you have any special requests, feel free to drop me a line in the comments.

Tomorrow's dish is Crockpot barbecue beef, so stay tuned for an update later this week.

Candy corn martinis

I made the chicken pot pie I told you all about. I also forgot to take a picture when I was finished. Oops.

I also made buffalo chicken chili and other yummy things.

But, why eat when you can drink. And my Halloween drink has been candy corn martinis. Easy and yum.

First, you have to make Candy Corn vodka. To do add one cup of candy corn to one cup of vodka. You can use any type of bottle with a lid to do this. Let it sit in the fridge overnight or at least four hours, if you're desperate.

Once it's ready, strain the vodka to remove what's left of the candy corn. Now it's martini time.

In a shaker full of ice: add 1 shot vodka, 1/2 shot triple sec and 1 shot of pineapple juice. Shake, then serve in a martini glass. You can put a couple of pieces of candy corn in the glass for decoration if you want.

No tricks here. Only treats. Enjoy!

Fall=comfort food

It's fall. That means it's time for casseroles, big pots of chili and lots of pumpkin-filled baked goods.

Today, we ask ourselves the question: What do chicken breasts, jiffy cornbread mix and some frozen veggies have in common?

They're about to become tonight's chicken pot pie. And here's the biggest thing: I'm just making it on my own without a recipe. Totally winging it!

I think I might take photos. Meet me back here after my Thursday night TV shows are over.

I've mostly been letting everyone else do the cooking for Christmas. That was nice.

For New Year's, I am debating whether or not to make my big Polish feast. It's pretty time-consuming, but it's also pretty delicious. And might be a good way to ring in the new year and have one last hurrah before the big diet. We'll see.

If I do, this will be the menu:
Kluski with kielbasa and cabbage
Cabbage rolls
Pierogi

Just typing it out makes me hungry. The good thing about being a Pole is that we are not a wealthy people, and it wouldn't take much to make this. I have eggs, flour and potatoes, so I'd just need a pack of sausage, a head of cabbage, some sauerkraut. I think cabbage is on sale at Kroger this week.

Oh, who am I kidding? I am totally going to do it, and it's totally going to be delicious! Stay tuned for recipes, although these will definitely be Grandma's "throw a little of this in" kind of recipes.

Holiday gifts

Last year, I bought a whole bunch of Christmas bread pans at Michael's on sale and baked bread for all my coworkers for an inexpensive homemade Christmas gift. Everyone seemed to like it, but it was a lot of work.

This year, I bought Christmas mugs on sale and made everyone a little packet of mulling spices for cider or wine. People seem to have reacted well. I tried the spices in some leftover cider here at the office and they were pretty tasty. They smelled amazing. I had to buy a few spices (translation: I bought orange peel because no way was I peeling that many oranges), but it maybe cost $20 to give everyone in my office a little gift.

I wanted to share a link to the recipe. The website where I got it is chock-full of ideas for crafts and such. Which is good, because I have no idea how I will top it for next year.

Check out the recipe and then poke around the site for some great ideas. It makes a pretty big batch, but there is also a spreadsheet where you can type in what size gift you want to do and how many people and it tells you the proportions to make a batch that is just the right size. If you have kids, it would be cool to save baby food jars and fancy them up as packaging. I used ziploc bags and just put them down inside the mug.

Sometime before New Year's I am going to post my favorite Christmas recipe: the cheese spread my Aunt Rita made every year that we all missed very much until I started making it a couple of years ago.

Happy Holidays!