I believe I have my Christmas baking list all ready to go. This year, I plan on making:

• pecan tassies
• peanut butter blossoms
• peanut butter cups
• peanut brittle
• spritz cookies

That’s basically what my list is every year. But this year I decided to make the spritz instead of my butter cookies. I want something different. And that butter cookie recipe (uses a cake mix) makes a ton (around 7 dozen if I remember). And I’m hoping the spritz cookies will make my cookie press happier. The pressure builds up quite a bit with other ones. But I’m assuming I’ll have the same issue with these.

I might also make some hopscotch (haystack) cookies as well (they use chow mien noodles). I kinda wanna do something different.

Do you bake any goodies at Christmas-time? Are you willing to share? As I said, I’m looking for something new to make this year. Something fun and nummy. I’ll share my recipes in return if you’re interested in any of ‘em.

Mood: cold   America’s Next Top Model

Urg … I ate too much for supper … I’m gonna go crash on the couch for a while ’til I feel better. I have to go to Walmart yet tonite. But then again … I *could* wait ’til tomorrow after work …

‘Cuz I’m sure my Mom would like to see what I had for supper … here it is …

I made a salad for dinner today. It was a real healthy salad … at least to start. It was a bag iceburg lettuce mix. I added green pepper, yellow pepper, onion, green onion, radishes, and cucumbers. After that … that’s where it all goes bad. I added french fried onions, chow mein noodles, crutons, bacos, cottage cheese, and ranch dressing. I had more cottage cheese in the salad than ranch dressing (for a change), but I still made it less than healthy. LOL But boy was it tasty …

I made another salad for supper. This one isn’t all that healthy either. But DAMN is it good.

I’m kinda having a picnic meal for supper. I made potato salad. I pride myself on my ‘tator salad, just ask my mom and sister. When Mom makes it and I’m at home, she usually has me make the dressing. I like a LOT of mustard in my dressing. Nice and yellow … mmmmm. And the one I made for tonite is one of my best, I’d have to say. I’m also having baked beans. I’ve got those in the oven right now. Yeah … I start with a can of baked beans, but I add some brown sugar to doctor ‘em up. And I’m cooking ‘em low and slow in the oven to get ‘em just how I like ‘em. My aunt Ruth makes the BEST baked beans that I’ve ever had. Mine come kinda close to hers, but they’re still not quite as good. I need to find out her secret … LOL.

The only thing I’m missing is a grill. I’m gonna have brats with the potato salad and baked beans, but I’m gonna have to cook ‘em on my Foreman grill. I do plan on getting a small propane grill at some point (hopefully before the end of the summer). I’ve got a balcony now, so I’ve got a place to use it. But for now, my Foreman grill and my grill pan serve me well.

I’d better go check on my beans to make sure they’re not getting over-cooked. Then I’ll be plopping myself on the couch to watch the NASCAR All-Star Race tonite. Dale Jr is already in the race, and hopefully Martin Truex Jr will win and get in it too … or at least win the fan vote. I just wish I had some beer to go with this nite. And maybe some people over watching the race and enjoying the meal. But then again, I never asked anyone.

Mood: cheerful

I actually cooked tonite. I’ve been craving beef stew for the last week or so. Don’t know why. I think it’s ‘cuz I saw one of the chefs on the Food Channel make a beef stew on one of their recent shows.

It turned out awesome. Mmmmm …. I had a nummy supper tonite. And I’ve even got leftovers …

And here’s my entire supper …
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I hate when I don’t know what it is that I want to eat. That seems to be happening a lot lately. I was like that tonite. I’ve got boneless chicken breast (a ton of it … I stocked up when it was on sale a couple weeks ago). I was gonna make some Chicken Helper. But I didn’t really want that. Then inspiration hit when I was watching 30 Minute Meals … it’s never a good thing to watch the Food Channel when you’re hungry … LOL.

I decided to make some Parmesan Chicken Nuggets. I’ve made a form of Parmesan Chicken a few times before (I don’t know if it’s the official way to make it, but it’s how I like it). I chopped up a couple chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. I mixed up some Italian breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese (I’ve got the shredded stuff, but I think the grated stuff would have worked better. It would have mixed better with the breadcrumbs and stuck to the chicken better. Oh well … next time … ). I coated the chicken in an egg wash (seasoned of course) and then into the breadcrumb mixture. I cooked it in some olive oil and margerine for a couple minutes on each side. Nummy!!

I cooked up some frozen broccoli (I didn’t have any fresh … it hasn’t been on sale recently) and threw in some margerine and parmesan cheese (But it didn’t melt very well. I need to find a better melting cheese for when I do that.).

It was a very good supper. Now I’m gonna go crash on the couch and watch CSI … I think there are a bunch of episodes on tonite on SpikeTV. I might even have a beer later … <Homer voice>mmmm … beeeeeeer</Homer voice>

Mood: okay

I made some homemade chicken noodle soup this afternoon. I had 2 thighs, 2 legs, and 1 breast up in my freezer waiting for me to make soup with them. I bought some frozen egg noodles yesterday (I could have made them myself, but I don’t have a rolling pin).

I’m eating a bowl of the soup as I type this. Talk about nummy. I’m almost tempted to add some dumplings to it. But the kettle is too full. There’s no room for dumplings. It’s still good without ‘em.

I have so much soup that I’m set for meals this week. I doubt I’ll eat soup for all of them, but I could if I wanted to.

Mood: hungry

Rachael Ray better watch her back. LOL I could give her a run for her money on 30 Minute Meals. Okay … maybe not. But I’ve got some good ideas that she could do on there (but only if she gave me credit). I made a nummy chicken pasta for supper tonite. I made it when Lisa was here last. Really quick and easy and delicious. I’ll even share my secret with you … but don’t tell.

Becky’s Quick and Easy Chicken Pasta
Ingredients:
pasta (Whatever your favorite is. I like the bow tie stuff for this.)
pasta sauce (Again, whatever your favorite is.)
chicken breast - skinless, boneless
cheese (for garnish)

Cook your pasta according to the box (don’t forget to drain off the water). In the meantime, start heating up your pasta sauce. Cook your chicken breast … I do mine on my Foreman Grill (I LOVE that thing). I pound it out a bit first to even it out. Season and throw on the grill or in the pan or whatever and cook ’til done.

Cut up the chicken into bite-sized pieces when done. Put in with pasta sauce and toss to coat. Pour the pasta sauce/chicken mixture into the drained pasta and mix well. Then eat. I top mine with parmesan cheese and mozzarella.

Eat and enjoy.

——–
If you try this, let me know what you think.

I watch WAY TOO MUCH of the Food Channel. If there’s nothing else on, I’ll probably end up watching the Food Channel … unless the Iron Chef is on, I don’t like that show. I love watching 30 Minute Meals (even though Rachel Ray annoys the hell out of me … LOL).

I made my own 30 minute meal type meal (it might have taken just a bit longer). I had a couple of boneless chicken breasts, some broccoli, and bow tie pasta. I wanted to do something with that. I ended up frying up the chicken breast in some olive oil (or EVOO as Rachel would say … ) and butter (actual butter, not margarine. I had butter left over from Xmas baking). I cooked up the pasta and blanched the broccoli. I cooked some onion and garlic in the chicken drippings and added a bit more butter. Then I added some chicken stock and let that reduce. I could have added more so there would have been more sauce, but oh well … next time. After the sauce was how I wanted it, I added the pasta to it, the cut up chicken, and the broccoli and stirred that up.

It tasted better than I thought it would. I wasn’t sure what to expect since it was the first time I had tried this method. But I liked it. The only thing I’ll do differently next time is to add more chicken stock so there’ll be more sauce. Maybe some more onion and garlic too. I also added some grated Parmesan cheese (and not the cheapie stuff you get to sprinkle on pizza … this was the real thing).

I’ll definitely try this again some time. Now I need some ice cream for desert. Cookies and cream …

Mood: lazy

I made a double batch of pecan tassies tonite after supper. Got about 4 1/2 dozen again. After I got done with those, I made a batch of peanut brittle (microwave recipe). Just finished that. It’s cooling now. I’ll have to make at least one more batch of that … probably 2. I’ve got enough ingredients to do it. And it’s quick too. About 10 minutes and it’s in the pan cooling.

Mood: blah

I made my butter cookies today. They actually went the smoothest they’ve ever gone. No issues with pressure building up. I had the cookies all pressed out at least an hour before they were done baking. I didn’t have parchment paper, so I pressed them out on aluminum foil and then put them in the fridge ’til the batch in the oven was done, and they peeled off real easy. It went to easy, I’m tempted to make another batch. But I’d have to get another cake mix. And anyways, I did get 7 1/2 dozen out of this batch.

I’m either gonna make some more pecan tassies or peanut butter blossoms tonite … not sure which one yet. I’ve got a roast in the oven now. Boy is that oven getting a workout today. It’s been on since about 12:30pm or so. Hopefully it doesn’t give out on me … LOL.

Mood: accomplished