Wassail

*My favorite wassail spice blend!

*A snowy evening outside the Biltmore Home in Asheville, NC!

Fall is here!! I'm so excited that the weather has finally gotten a little cooler...and the leaves are starting to change colors. It just makes me want to surround myself with pumpkins and the smell of cinnamon and cloves. Since I have been a little under the weather this week I decided to break out the slow cooker and steep some wassail. It is so warm and comforting to a sore throat...and the cinnamon is a great antioxidant!
On our vacation to the Biltmore Home in Asheville, NC we picked up a bunch of their wassail mix. It is a really great blend of mulling spices with a little extra orange zest flavor. I usually mix several tbsp fulls with apple juice or apple cider (my fav is the Simply Apple Juice) and let it steep for a few hours on low in the slow cooker. You can also just pick up a package of mulling spices at your local grocery store to blend with the apple juice/cider. I still place a few extra cinnamon sticks in...just for a little added cinnamon~ey taste :)

Baking For The Ladies At Church!

*Four dozen (minus one or two) Double Chocolate Chip Cookies*

*Four dozen Fall Oatmeal Cookies*

**8 dozen cookies all packed up and ready to go to the church**

This past week I had the honor of bringing some yummy baked treats for our monthly woman's ministry meeting at church. I really love these ladies...and most of them are wonderful cooks...so I was really feeling the pressure! I decided to make one "fall" cookie (since the weather is finally cooling off) and one chocolate cookie (I mean...what woman does not like chocolate). I finally decided on my friend Monica's Double Chocolate Chip Cookies...and a new recipe for Oatmeal Cranberry and White Chocolate Chip Cookies. Both the cookies were a big hit...and I have even received an invitation to bake for next months meeting :)

The recipe for the Double Chocolate Chip Cookies was in an earlier post...but you can find it HERE!

Fall Oatmeal Cookies

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats (not instant)
3/4 cup dried cranberries
6 oz white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl using electric mixer combine sugar, brown sugar, and butter and cream together.
Add in eggs and vanilla. Mix until combined.
Add cinnamon, baking soda, salt and flour and mix well.
Fold in the oatmeal, cranberries and white chocolate chips. Make sure all ingredients are well distributed.
Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place 2-3 inches apart onto a greased cookie sheet.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden.

**I added slightly more cinnamon and a good sprinkle of nutmeg to the batter for a more "spicy" flavor!

Each batch will yield approx 24 cookies!

recipe adapted from Julesong on Food.com!

Senseo Giveaway!

Check out my new blogger friend "Truthful Mommy". She is giving away a Senseo in honor of her upcoming birthday! Stop by her blog for a chance to win...and if you do...you owe me a cup of joe :)

Click For Link!

Crockpot Cajun Boiled Peanuts!

This is another recipe from my fall cooking that I forgot to post! Sorry again!!

I am from the South. And being from the South I LOVE me some cajun boiled peanuts! They are such a great snack. But they can really be a labor of love. I found this recipe while searching around on Recipezaar.com. I added a good bit of cajun seasoning and hot sauce to spice things up a bit! I have a large crock pot with a lid that locks in place for transporting. It really came in handy with this recipe. As the peanuts cook and water fills the shells...it will begin to lift the lid!
**Original recipe from PugsandHugs on Recipezaar.com**

1 1/2 quart green uncooked peanuts (I used 1 lb peanuts in shell)
1/2 cup salt
2 1/2 quarts water (I just added enough water to cover the peanuts)
*4 tablespoons cajun seasoning
*hot sauce to taste (I like things spicy so I added just over 1/2 cup of Franks Red Hot)

Wash peanuts until water runs clear. Place peanuts in crock pot. Add salt, seasoning, hot sauce, and water. Cook on high for 6 hours. Then cook on low an additional 4-5 hours.
Add additional water during cooking to keep peanuts covered.

Super Easy Pumpkin Bread

I would like to start by saying...I know I am super behind on this one! My apologies in advance!

I started (finally) clearing the memory card on my camera the other day. I found the pics of these muffins and realized I never posted this recipe! So I am taking a few steps back to October of 2009. These were so super easy to make. Instead of making a loaf...I made mini muffins. The recipe made about 24. I made two batches so I could share with my neighbors...and friends at work :)
**This recipe came from Mrs. English on Recipezaar.com**

1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup pumpkin puree (I used canned pumpkin)
1/2 cup olive oil (I used canola)
2 eggs beaten
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup walnuts (I omitted)
**I doubled all the spices in this recipe. Since I like a very strong nutmeg/cinnamon/allspice flavor**

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda. In a separate bowl combine pumpkin, oil, eggs, water, and spices. Then combine with dry ingredients. Do not mix too thoroughly. Add walnuts. Pour into well buttered 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Bake 50-60 minutes until a thin skewer poked into the middle comes out clean. Turn out of the pan and let cool on rack.
Makes one loaf.

If desired you can make them in a muffin tin as well. They come out just as moist! Just bake for 12-15 minutes! (mine came out perfect at 12 mins)

Food & Family

I just got my spring Food & Family mag in the mail today! WooHoo :)

I love**love**love the Kraft Food & Family magazine! It is just filled with all kinds of fun and easy recipes...and neat little cooking tips. I have been enjoying this little magazine for close to five years. So it shocked me to find out that most of my friends had never seen it....**gasp** So...for my friends and work peeps...here is the info!

The magazine is sent out quarterly. It is seasonal...so most of the recipes focus around that specific time of year! It is very cost~friendly. A two year subscription is only $13.98! You can go to www.KraftFoods.com to subscribe!

Ok girls! No more excuses...go sign up :)

A Trip To Marietta!

Since I have had a rough week with recovering from oral surgery. My hubby decided to surprise me and take me on a quick trip to GA...to eat at the famous Marietta Diner! I have wanted to visit for a while...and it just so happens that an episode of Diners Drive-In's and Dives that featured the restaurant had just aired the night before.

As soon as you walk in you are mesmerized by glass cases filled with amazing looking desserts of all colors...shapes...and sizes! The place actually has a very warm and friendly atmosphere. Since there was a pretty long wait...the owner opened a huge bottle of wine and started passing out glasses to guests that had been waiting for a table! Everyone goes above and beyond to make you feel like a member of the family!

For dinner I tried the baked pastichio...a Greek specialty. It kinda reminded me of a Greek version of lasagna. All baked in cheesy goodness :) All dinners are served with warm house made bread...a Greek salad or soup...and a huge slice of spinach pie! For dessert....there is anything and everything you could ever want..lol! We tried the carrot cake cheesecake....and it was so good....it will make you slap yo' momma :P

The joint is open 24 hours a day. So no matter what time you find yourself in the ATL area....you can always enjoy a great meal :)

Neely's BBQ

Anyone who knows me...knows I love me some Food Network! I could just sit on my couch for hours on end and watch their shows....and just be as happy as a pig in the sunshine..lol!

The hubs and I decided to take a quick weekend trip to Memphis. It's not that far and it would allow me to finally eat some good 'ol Memphis BBQ.....at the original Neely's! I love some good Southern BBQ...and I also enjoy watching Down Home With The Neely's. It was a win-win situation for everyone :P

It was a bit of a difficult time trying to find the place. We decided to take the trolly....then took the wrong trolly....got lost....got off at the wrong stop.....had to walk forevah in the rain!!! We finally made it...and let me tell you....it was worth all the hassle!

The BBQ starts off with a dry rub to give the meat tons of great flavor while it cooks. The BBQ and BBQ chicken were both so amazing. Tons of flavor! Their baked beans had pork cooked in with the beans for added bits of yumminess. Mark had their chicken fingers...and there was enough to feed a small army! The food was great and the service was even better! If you find yourself in the Memphis area.....check them out :)

**Just a note! The plate in my pic was the SMALL plate! Holy Smokes!!**

If you need a link to their site......http://www.neelysbbq.com/