Channeling my inner Katie

TWD: Pumpkin Muffins

If it's October, that means it's pumkin time...which makes this girl pretty happy. Fall is my favorite time of year...which is why Ugg and I were married in the fall....next TWD will be our 2nd anniversary! (aaawww...)

Anyway, I love the pumpkin, so when I saw this week's recipe was pumpkin muffins by Kelly, I was super stoked!

This recipe did not disappoint. Even though I didn't add the raisins and nuts (I don't like), I was still left with such a great tasting muffin. I have also toyed with the idea of making this one into bread.

Because of the buttermilk, the texture was outstanding! The mix of spices just helps you "fall" right into fall!

Thanks so much to Kelly for choosing this one! You can find the recipe on her blog, and make sure you check out the Tuesdays with Dorie blog to see how everyone else did!

Up Next Week: Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes chosen by Clara, who I <3!

TWD: Lenox Almond Biscotti

Ok, back on track. This week's TWD is Lenox Almond Biscotti. I was very excited about this one, as almond is one of my favorite flavors, and I have really grown to love biscotti.

This week's recipe was chosen by Gretchen at Canela and Comino. I thought the recipe was really interesting, and only having made "cheater biscotti" (from a cake mix) in the past, I was really excited to try this out.

The flavor did not disappoint, but, I have to admit being disappointed in the texture. I thought the dough was a little sticky to work with, and I didn't get that "biscotti shape" when I baked them. Also, they didn't come out nearly as dry as I thought they should be, which I guess is a good and bad thing....and I didn't like the cornmeal texture.

All that being said, the taste is AWESOME, and I will certainly be eating these till they're gone!

You can get the recipe over at Gretchen's blog. Be sure also to check out how everyone else did over at the Tuesdays with Dorie website!

Up Next Week: Pumpkin Muffins chosen by Kelly at Sounding My Barbaric Gulp! Very seasonal ... LOVE IT!

Woefully Deliquent

That seems to be my mantra these days! I thought I would have so much time when I was off work, and it didn't seem to work out that way!! Then, I was only off a month before I got a new GREATER job...I couldn't believe in this market that I got a job so fast. I am both profoundly lucky and grateful!

I am going to combine two entries into one today, as they are both SO late it's embarassing!

The first one is the TWD Dimply Plum Cake, chosen by Michelle at Baken-En. I shared this with the ladies at Lola's daycare, and we all just LOVED it...the texture was great, although I did end up baking mine a bit longer, because it looked to "jiggly" in the middle...it turned out awesome! You can check out this recipe over at Michelle's blog!

Next up is my deliquent Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup from Barefoot Bloggers. This was SO GOOD. Last year for our first anniversary, Ugg and I went to this AWESOME restaurant in Traverse City called Stella's. We had the most incredible dinner there, and it included this AMAZING cream of mushroom soup. When we got back from our mini vacation from Traverse City, I made a couple attempts at a good soup....but none we very close. This one was! I wish I had found it last year!

It's so good that the week after I made it (I have been making my recipes on time, just not blogging them!) Ugg requested it again. High praise, indeed!

You can find this recipe here, and make sure to check out how everyone else did over at the Barefoot Bloggers site.

I hope to be back on track soon. Although, I missed the last two TWDs (and such good ones, too), I am ready for this Tuesday! Also, I do have to make up my Butternut Squash Risotto for Barefoot Bloggers..and I'm really looking forward to that one!

Stay tuned....and I promise to do my best to keep current!

TWD: Chocolate Chunkers

Tuesdays with Dorie this week comes from Claudia at Fool for Food. More cookies! These are SO good! I was skeptical at first, because they called for so much chocolate. I was tempted to leave some of it out...but I didn't.

These are like brownie cookies!! Very tasty, and the recipe makes just enough.

A note about ingredients: I used semi sweet in the dough instead of bittersweet, and I also used milk chocolate chips and white chocolate chunks (no bittersweet). Also -- I subbed in almonds for peanuts, since that was what I had on hand....if I had thought about it, I would have subbed in almond extract...but I didn't think of that until just now!

Definitely give these a try. You can get the recipe from Claudia's blog. Also, be sure to check out how everyone else did at the Tuesdays With Dorie blog!

Up Next Week: Dimply Plum Cake as chosen by Michelle of Bake-en

Barefoot Bloggers: Grown Up Mac & Cheese

I know...I've been MIA from Barefoot Bloggers...it's a good thing Tara is such a nice person, or she'd have kicked me out on my ear by now, and I would have deserved it!....what can I say, life totally got in the way, but now, NOW that I'm unemployed and everything (thanks US Auto Industry), I certainly have no good excuse for not getting my cooking done!

I am SO glad to be coming back to this one...I mean yum. I've had my issues with mac and cheese, and I've always gone back to our old family favorite which doesn't utilize a cheese sauce. That's where I've always gone wrong....the sauce. It always ended up grainy! I could never figure it out....until I did figure out that I was getting the bechamel sauce too hot...you need to take it off the heat before you add the cheese. GENIUS!

This one came out perfect, and I dare say so delicious that I hope there is some left for Ugg. There was so many things to love about this recipe....for starters it doesn't make a VAT of mac and cheese. Second, it's not the blue box (oh, blue box, don't go away! I still love you!), after all there is a time and place for the blue box. Third.....well...there's BACON...how can you go wrong with bacon!?! Lastly -- it's just delicious....seriously, you should try it out...

So, a big thanks to Heather at Randomosity and the Girl for this one...this is going in the rotation definitely!

You can check out the recipe here, and be sure to check out Barefoot Bloggers to see how everyone else did!

Up Next: Wild Mushroom Soup (one of Ugg's FAVORITES!) chosen by Chelley