Day 6 and 7

I'm finally done with the diet! It was a looooong week, but I did it! Yesterday's diet consisted of the soup for breakfast (gross, I know), tomato bisque soup for lunch (there wasn't much in my house besides that), and a guiltless steak and broccoli from Chilis. I did cheat last night by drinking alcohol, woops! Today, I had Pollo Tropical, and ordered brown rice, black beans, veggies, and chicken. The chicken wasn't allowed today, but I didn't really care. For dinner, I had salad, brown rice, and steamed broccoli. I'm not having the soup today, it's just not happening. I probably will never eat the soup again, and I wont miss it really.

Conclusion of the diet. The diet was a great success. It was a great detox, but it's definitely not something for the faint at heart. You have to have a lot of self control and the ability to want it. Some people get light headed and are easily irritable. I didn't have that problem, but prepare yourself for it to maybe happen to you. My stomach feels flatter and I love looking at 7 pounds less on the scale. 7 pounds in 7 days isn't too shabby! If you have an event to get ready for, and want to look 7 pounds lighter, then this diet is definitely something you should look into. It is a very low calorie diet, dangerously low in fact, so process with precaution.

Tomorrow I'm eating normal food, and I couldn't be happier about it. I also will for real be starting the Couch to 5k program, and downloaded some good podcasts that tell you when to walk and run and provide great music cohesively. Have a great MLK weekend everyone!

Day 5

Finished with Day 5! Today was beef and tomato day. The good thing about the beef is that you could substitute some beef for chicken or fish. For breakfast, I had deli chicken breast. It was so nice to eat meat again! For lunch, I went to Publix and bought a rotisserie chicken and some tomato bisque soup. I cut the breast up in little pieces and put it in the soup...divine! That held my hunger until dinner (which was a great change to being hungry constantly). Then for dinner, I had a beef pot roast, tomatoes, and onions cooked in a crock pot, which was scrumptious! Dinner was around 6, so around 9:30 I had a bowl of the soup. The soup is good tasting, I'm just beyond tired of it. So don't get the wrong idea about this diet, the soup is good, it just gets old quite quickly. 2 more days to go! I CAN DO IT!

Oh, and by the way, I'm down 6.2 pounds in 4 days. I've been losing 1-2 pounds each day. It's mostly water weight, and a few of the pounds will come back once I'm off the diet and eating healthy. That's okay with me though. It's always nice to see the numbers go down on the scale, no matter the circumstance.

Day 4

Day 4 down, 3 more to go! The bananas and skim milk today weren't as bad as I was expecting. I hate drinking milk, but forced myself to drink about 10 oz (I really don't see why people love milk, it's like water and something weird tasting mixed together). I made a protein shake with the bananas, milk, and some vanilla protein powder, which was rather filling and surprisingly tasty. For lunch I had the soup. I am definitely sick of the soup already. Tomorrow is beef and tomatoes day, which I'm rather excited about. You can substitute some of the beef for chicken, which I definitely will be doing.

I also started a program today, designed to get you running a 5k in 9 short weeks! You follow it 3 days a week and gradually get yourself up to running 3 miles non-stop. If you're interested in trying it, check it out HERE. There's some podcasts you can download that will play music and tell you when to walk and run, which is pretty cool. I haven't downloaded any yet, but I will for sure post my recommendations once I try them out.

Day 3

Day 3 complete! Today was probably the easiest of the 3 days because I was able to eat both fruit and veggies. Not eating broccoli at 7:30am was fantastic! Today, I ate a tropical fruit salad (pineapple, strawberry and kiwi) for breakfast. I fed Mandie some blueberries, so I snatched a few of those. I ate the soup for lunch (mmmm boy!) and for snacks I had a pear, finished off my fruit salad, broccoli with salsa, and had an apple right before my workout. Dinner was delicious! I will definitely be incorporating it to my normal dinners. I had a portobello mushroom, grilled and topped with onions and sauteed spinach and tomatoes. I also made a side salad with spinach, strawberries, grapes, broccoli, slices of orange, and I squeezed the orange's juice and a splash of red wine vinegar for the dressing. Mmmmm! I'm not looking forward to tomorrow at all. 3 bananas I can handle, but eating nothing but that, milk and the soup does not sound appeasing. I'll let you know how it goes! Wish me luck!

*I changed my blog background, hope you like it!

Day 2

Day 2 on the soup diet. Still going strong, but today has not been easy. After eating the soup twice yesterday, I really have no interest in eating it anymore. I'm going to because I have to, but that doesn't mean I'm happy about it. Today was veggies all day, so I had to eat it even for breakfast. Have you ever eaten broccoli, carrots, and tomato for bfast? It's weird and not exactly satisfying. I ate bfast at 7:30, so I was ready for a snack around 10. Here, I had a salad with red wine vinegar. I don't know if the vinegar was allowed, but I was not about to chow down on raw lettuce. For lunch, I had black beans with tomatoes, green peppers, and onions; it was delish! For snack, I had broccoli dipped in salsa, which was really good. I'm going to eat some soup in a few minutes, and for dinner will be a baked potato with butter. I want to go get some edamame and natural hummus to add to my veggies. I'm looking forward to the fruit tomorrow very much. I'll keep you posted on my progress!

Day 1 Cabbage Soup

I decided to do a very unique diet/detox this week. It is called the Cabbage Soup Diet and is a 7 day plan. Bear with me, it has very strange limitations. My mom's friends did this diet and had great results. I hope to lose 8-10 pounds this week (water weight), and then follow it with an incredibly healthy diet, complete with tons of veggies, fruit, and lean protein. If you want to do something out of the ordinary and get a jump on your weight loss, try this diet! I'm going to keep a log this week to let you know how my progress is going. I will let you know how many pounds I have lost for the day and my experiences throughout the diet. Feel free to join me - below is the recipe and 7 Day Plan! Check it out for yourself HERE.

Day 1 Log: Today was the start of my diet. We made the soup yesterday and I started eating it today. The soup is very tasty, but I can see getting sick of it by the end of the week. Breakfast was a grapefruit and cranberry juice. Lunch was soup, a few strawberries, and unsweetened ice tea. I added chipotle hot sauce to my bowl of soup for lunch, which gave it a little zing. So far, so good. Snack will be a pear and grapes, and dinner will be soup, water, and an apple. Before bed will be a cup of hot tea.

Cabbage Soup Recipe
6 large green onions
2 green peppers
1 or 2 cans of tomatoes (diced or whole)
3 carrots
1 container (10oz or so) mushrooms
1 bunch of celery
Half a head of cabbage
1 package of Lipton soup mix
1 or 2 cubes of bouillon (optional)
1 48 oz can V8 juice (optional but recommended)
Season to taste with salt, pepper, parsley, curry, garlic powder, etc.

1. Slice green onions, put in pot and start to saute with cooking spray
2. Cut green pepper stem end off and cut in half, take the seeds and membrane out. Cut the green pepper into bite size pieces and add to pot.
3. Take the outer leafs layers off the cabbage, cut into bit size pieces, add to pot.
4. Clean carrots, cut into bite size pieces, and add to pot.
5. If you would like spicy soup, add a small amount of curry or cayenne pepper (or add it per bowl).
6. You can use beef or chicken bouillon cubes for seasonings.
7. Add Lipton soup mix.
8. Cut celery into bite size pieces and add to pot.
9. Add tomatoes to pot.
10. Use about 12 cups of water (or 8 cups and the V8 juice).
11. Cover and put heat on low. Let soup cook for a long time, 2-3 hours. Season to taste.

The 7 Day Plan
Day 1 - Fruit. Eat all the fruit you want (except bananas). Eat only your soup and the fruit for the first day. For drinks - unsweetened teas, cranberry juice and water.

Day 2 - Veggies. Eat until you are stuffed with all the fresh, raw or cooked vegetables of your choice. try to eat leafy green vegetable and stay away from dry beans, peas and corn. Eat all the vegetables you want along with your soup. At dinner, reward yourself with a big baked potato with butter. Do not eat fruit today.

Day 3 - Fruit and Veggies. Pair day 1 and 2. Eat all the soup, fruits and veggies you want. No Baked Potato though.

Day 4 - Bananas and Skim Milk. Eat as many as 8 bananas and drink as many glasses of skim milk as you would like on this day, along with your soup. This day is supposed to lessen your desire for sweets.

Day 5 - Beef and Tomatoes. 10-20 oz of beef and up to 6 fresh tomatoes. Drink at least 6-8 glasses of water this day to wash the uric acid from your body. Eat your soup at least once this day. You may eat broiled or baked chicken instead of beef (but absolutely no skin on chicken). If you prefer, you can substitute broiled fish for the beef one of the beef days (but not both).

Day 6 - Beef and Veggies. Eat to your heart's content of beef and veggies this day. You can even have 2 or 3 steaks if you like, with leafy green veggies. No Baked Potato. Eat your soup at least once.

Day 7 - Brown rice, unsweetened fruit juices and veggies. Again, stuff, stuff, stuff yourself. Be sure to eat your soup at least once this day.

*This diet should only be followed for 7 days at a time, with at least 2 weeks in between. It is great for quick weight loss, but not suitable for long-term weight loss. It is is a low-fat, high-fiber diet that will get you into shape fast before you embark on a more moderate long-term eating plan.

Refrigerator cookies

I make a few different types of cookies each Christmas. One of the many cookies I make we call "Refrigerator cookies." I don't know why we call them that, my mom has just always referred to them as that. Mainly, they need to be refrigerated over night so the dough sits well, so that's probably where she gets it from. Anywho, enough of my rambling, here is the recipe. 

You will need: 

2 eggs

1 cup Crisco

½ cup sugar

½ cup brown sugar packed

2 ¾ cup flour

½ t baking soda

1 t salt

2-3 t cinnamon (red food coloring) OR 1 ½ t vanilla (green food coloring). Add with eggs

1. Mix eggs, Crisco, sugar, and brown sugar together thoroughly.

2. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt together and stir into mixture.

3. Mix with hands.

4. Wrap in wax paper. 2 ½” diameter

5. Chill until still. Several hours.

6. Cut into 1/8” thick

7. Place a little bit apart on ungreased sheet.

8. Bake at 400° for 6-8 minutes. Makes 6 dozen cookies.

9. Feel free to get creative with food coloring and flavoring extracts! We usually do the 2 above and also use peppermint extract (1 1/2 t) with the red food coloring.

10. Enjoy!

Drink this, not that

Did you know that your favorite holiday beverages may average around 700 calories?? What used to just be a mid-day pick me up has turned the other foot and has become a plump me up! This segment was on the Today Show and is called "Drink This, Not That." Here are some of the examples on the show.

NOT THAT: A venti Starbucks peppermint white chocolate with whole milk with whipped cream has 700 calories! It contains 27g of fat and 95g sugar! Holy goodness! That's the equivalent of a Christmas dinner!

DRINK THIS: Instead, get the Starbucks cafe mocha with skim milk, which only contains 220 calories.

NOT THAT: Dunkin' Donuts gingerbread latte (large) contains 440 calories. That is 12g of fat and 68g sugar. That's the equivalent of 4 1/2 holiday donuts with frosting and sugar!

DRINK THIS: Instead, get the Dunkin' Donuts gingerbread coffee (medium), which only contains 170 calories.

NOT THAT: Panera Bread peppermint hot chocolate (14.5 oz) contains 610 calories, which has 17g fat and 83g sugars. That's the equivalent of 2 slices of pumpkin pie!

DRINK THIS: Instead, get the Panera hot chocolate (10oz), no whip at 270 calories.

NOT THAT: McDonald's large frappe caramel contains 680 calories, which includes 29g of fat and 88g of sugar. That's the equivalent of 31 caramel chocolate candies!

DRINK THIS: Instead, get McDonald's non-fat caramel cappuccino (medium) at 190 calories.

NOT THAT: Starbucks eggnog latte with whole milk (venti) contains 630 calories, which has 30g fat and 64g sugars. That's the equivalent of 16 candy canes!

DRINK THIS: Instead, get Starbucks skinny cinnamon dolce latte (grande) at 130 calories.

Peanut butter kisses

Every Christmas time, my mouth waters at the wonderfulness that is cookies. I love how every family seems to have their own take on Christmas and how every family claims that they make the best cookies in the world. In most cases, this is true...because not every family makes the same cookies in the same way. Even when following the same recipe, it's amazing how the same exact cookie recipe can taste different due to the different cook that prepared it. Every Christmas, my family and I make a very common cookie, Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies. I'm sure there are tons of recipes for this cookie, but ours is the best! Here is the recipe that we follow each year.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter flavored Crisco

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

¼ cup milk

2 tsp vanilla

3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

Granulated sugar for rolling

72-90 milk chocolate Hershey's kisses unwrapped (the white chocolate striped ones are good too!)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375. 

2. Combine Crisco, peanut butter, brown sugar and sugar in large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended. Beat in eggs, milk and vanilla.

3. Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Mix into creamed mixture at low speed until just blended. (Dough will be stiff.)

4. Form dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

5. Bake 8 minutes. Press milk chocolate kiss into center of each cookie. Return to oven. Bake 3 minutes. (The tip of the kiss will be a little brown).

6. Cool 2 minutes on cookie sheet. Remove to cooling rack.

7. Makes 6-7 ½ dozen cookies

8. Enjoy!!!

Thanksgiving leftovers

Just ask Ross and he will tell you how delicious Thanksgiving leftovers are. Thanks to Martha, here's a couple recipes that include your leftovers.

Chunky Turkey-Vegetable Soup 

1T olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2T tomato paste

1 large sweet potato, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and thinly sliced

1 can diced tomatoes with juice

1 can reduced-sodium chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon dried crushed rosemary

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1 pound cooked turkey breast, cut into bite size pieces

1 small head escarole (about 8oz), trimmed, leaves torn into bite-size pieces and washed well

1. In a large saucepan with a lid, heat oil over medium. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste.

2. Add sweet potato, tomatoes and their juice, broth, 1 cup water, and rosemary; season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Cover; cook until potato is tender, 12 to 15 minutes.

3. Stir in turkey; add escarole in two batches, waiting for the first batch to wilt before adding the second. Cover, and simmer just until turkey is heated through. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

Turkey Reuben 

2t butter, softened

2 slices rye bread

2T Russian dressing (you can use thousand island too)

1oz thinly sliced swiss cheese

4 thin slices cooked turkey

3T Tangy Cabbage Slaw

2 dill-pickle sandwich slices

1. Heat a grill pan or a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Spread butter on 1 side of each slice of bread. Flip bread over, and spread Russian dressing on the other side of each slice. Place half of the cheese on top of dressing on 1 slice. Top with turkey, cabbage slaw, and pickles. Top with remaining cheese, then the second slice of bread, buttered side up.

2. Place on grill pan, and cook, pressing down occasionally with a spatula, until golden brown and cheese has melted, 3 to 4 minutes per side. (Cover with a heatproof bowl to encourage cheese to melt; use caution when removing.) Cut sandwich in half, and serve immediately.

If you were confused by my Ross reference, here is a clip from the Friends episode "The One with Ross's Sandwich."

Problem solved

Thanksgiving not going as smooth as you would have hoped? Don't lose your cool...here are some solutions to common problems that may happen to you tomorrow.

Problem #1: Not enough matching plates for your table.

Mix a few plain white dishes. The trick is to not mix in the oddball plate in pairs: try putting one at the head of the table so it looks like it belongs.

Problem #2: Spilled wine.

Don't take the linens off the table mid-meal, it will come out just relax. For temporary, blot up excess liquid with a clean white cloth. Then, cover the stained area with a clean napkin and enjoy the rest of the meal.

Problem #3: Dry turkey.

This means it's overcooked. You can still serve the dark meat, which will still be moist. Put the slices of dark meat in a shallow pan. Pour chicken or turkey broth and moisten them thoroughly.

Problem #4: Turkey doesn't thaw in time.

Never thaw it on the counter. Clear out your sink, plug it, then place the partially thawed turkey in the sink. Run cold water into the sink until the sink is covered. Every 15 minutes drain and refill the sink. Note to self, it takes 24 hours to thaw for every 5 pounds.

Problem #5: Picky eaters.

Make a couple dishes that are very plain, like a simple salad, plain dinner rolls or roasted veggies.

Happy cooking!

Cheese ball

One of my favorite dishes for Thanksgiving is actually not served for dinner. Each year, I make a cheese ball and we munch on it during the afternoon. It is requested for me to make at every family gathering. It is so delicious and easy to make and I am going to share with you my secret recipe. Guess it's not so secret anymore!

Ingredients
2 packages of 8oz cream cheese. Buy regular, not fat free crap.
1 package of Carl Buddig Beef (in your deli meat section)
3 green onions
2T Mayo
1T Lemon juice
Garlic powder

Directions
1. Let the cream cheese thaw out while you prepare the other stuff. Your wrist will thank me later.
2. Cut the beef into tiny pieces. I usually cut 3 pieces at a time. Cut into thin rows and then cut perpendicularly.
3. Cut the green onion into tiny pieces. Cut off the tip and then cut all the way down the onion in thin strips. Take the pile and chop those up too.
4. Throw the beef and green onions into a bowl and add the mayo and lemon juice. Add the softened cream cheese and mix well. Add a few dashes of garlic powder and other spices to your liking.
5. If it seems a bit dry or dull tasting, add more lemon juice, it will spice it right up!
6. Form the mixture into a ball and place on a serving platter. Tip: wet your hands before forming into a ball, this will make it easier to wash it off your hands.
7. Serve with Tricuits and enjoy!!

Carving your bird

I'm a little late in writing this post for the day, but better late than never right? Well on this Top 10 Thursday, I wanted to prepare you for Turkey Day. The best way to prepare you is to help you in your carving skills. Here are 10 steps to carve your delicious, juicy turkey. Thanks Martha!

1. Gather your materials.


2. Preparation. Before carving, let the turkey stand at room temperature for about 20-30 minutes to allow the juices to saturate the meat. Transfer turkey to carving board. Cut through the trussing with scissors.

3. Remove Drumsticks. Place the knife against the thigh and cut down to expose the leg's second joint.

4. Sever Drumsticks. Apply pressure at the joint with the knifepoint; twist the knife, and cut throug to sever the drumstick.

5. Slice Neck Cavity. Slice open the neck cavity with an oval incision that allows you to remove the stuffing while leaving the skin intact.

6. Scoop Stuffing. Use a long-handled spoon to scoop out the stuffing from the body cavity; transfer it to a serving bowl.

7. Slice Thigh Meat. Slice the thigh meat from the bone (the dark meat should be tender from resting in the juices).

8. Slice Breast. Place the knife horizontally at the bottom curve of the bird's breast, and slice in toward the rib cage to create a "guide cut." Then make a slice from the top down alongside the rib cage. Be sure to cut carefully.

9. Create Slices. Cut vertically through the breast meat to create medallion slices, being careful to preserve some of the skin on each slice. Repeat steps 6 and 7 on the other side of the breast. Place the knife at the first wing joint. Insert the knifepoint and twist it to sever the wing. Repeat with the other wing.

10. Enjoy!!

Woah, I'm stuffed

One of my favorite things to eat on Thanksgiving is the stuffing. I don't get it very often, so when Thanksgiving rolls around I eat a lot of it. There are so many recipes for great stuffing out there, some plain, some intricate in flavor. I found a couple recipes that sounded so incredibly delicious that you will for sure want seconds!

Stuffing Tip: Stuffing that is to be cooked inside the turkey should be warm or room temperature. It should not be refrigerated. Be sure you are ready to stuff the turkey soon after the stuffing is made.

Simple Stuffing - Serves 8
2 loaves Italian bread (about 10 oz each), torn into bite size pieces
4T butter, room temperature, plus more for baking dish
4 celery stalks, thinly sliced
4 shallots, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup parsley leaves, chopped
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cans (14 1/2 oz each) reduced-sodium chicken broth

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange bread in a single layer on two rimmed baking sheets. Bake until crisp but not browned, about 10 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through.

2. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add celery, shallots, and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add wine, and cook until evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.

3. To vegetables in bowl, add bread, parsley, and eggs. Season with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; stir to combine. Mix in half of broth. Continue to add in more broth just until stuffing is moistened but not wet (there should not be any liquid in the bottom of the bowl).

4. Just before roasting turkey, stuff it with 4 cups stuffing. Spoon remaining stuffing into a buttered 8-inch square baking dish. Cover with buttered aluminum foil, and refrigerate. When turkey is removed from oven to rest, place covered baking dish in oven, and bake until warmed through, 25 to 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until golden, about 15 minutes more.

Chestnut and Apple Stuffing

6T butter, plus more at room temperature for pan and aluminum foil

2 loaves Italian bread (about 10 oz each), torn into bite size pieces

2 medium onions, chopped (2 cups)

2 stalks celery, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces

Coarse salt and ground pepper

2 large Gala or Fuji apples, peeled, cored, cut into 8 wedges, and cut crosswise into thin slices

2 can (14 1/2 oz each) reduced-sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh sage

1 jar (7 oz) dry-packed cooked chestnuts, coarsely crumbled

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish; set aside. Arrange bread in a single layer on two rimmed baking sheets. Bake until dried, rotating sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add onions and celery; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Add apples; cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Transfer mixture to a large bowl; reserve saucepan.
2. In same saucepan, bring broth to a boil. Remove from heat; set aside. To onion-apple mixture, add bread, sage, chestnuts, and eggs. Season with salt and pepper; toss to combine. Add half the broth and toss to combine. Continue adding broth and tossing just until stuffing is moistened but not wet.
3. Place about 4 cups stuffing in turkey. Spoon remaining stuffing into prepared baking dish; cover with buttered aluminum foil and refrigerate. When turkey is removed from oven, place covered baking dish in oven, and bake until warmed through, 25 to 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until golden, about 15 minutes more.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Chestnut and Apple Stuffing - Martha Stewart Recipes 

Side dish quiz

Turkey is obviously the main event during Thanksgiving, but there are several other dishes that make it a feast. Want to know which side dish suits your personality most? Take the quiz!

Side Dish Quiz

What side dish am I? I am Roasted Root Vegetables, yum! I can't lie, I kinda wish I was pumpkin pie!


So, what side dish are you? 

Pumpkin spice & everything nice

One of the best things about fall is the return of the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks. Hot or cold, it's like Autumn in a cup! Enjoy a cup in honor of Favorite Things Tuesday!

Sweet potatoes with a twist

They started a really cool segment on Regis and Kelly called "Thanksgiving with a Twist." This week, they had a guest on that shared a recipe for sweet potatoes and it sounded delicious! She called it "Cat Cora's Barbados Sweet Potatoes." If you are looking for something different than you normal sweet potato, then this recipe is right up your alley.

Ingredients:
3 large sweet potatoes
1T vegetable oil
2T unsalted butter, melted
1/2t habanero powder or any pure chile powder
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3T grated fresh ginger
2/3 cup fresh orange juice
2T fresh lime juice
1T Jamaican dark rum
1/2t ground allspice

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
2. Prick each sweet potato several times with a fork and wrap each one in foil. Bake for 1 hour or until the potatoes give slightly when you touch them. Let them cool in the foil while you prepare the pan.
3. With your fingers, coat a 9-by-13-inch baking pan (preferably glass) with the vegetable oil. 
4. Remove the foil from the potatoes and, when they're cool enough to handle, peel and cut into ½-inch-thick slices. Layer the slices in the pan.
5. Mix the butter, chile powder, brown sugar, ginger, orange and lime juices, rum, and allspice in a small bowl until smooth. Drizzle the mixture over the potato slices.
6. Cover the dish with a sheet of foil and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until they are barely tender. 
7. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until the topping just begins to look crisp. Serve hot or warm.

Pumpkin seeds

Did you carve a pumpkin this Halloween, save the seeds, and don't know what to do with them? Here are a couple ideas, courtesy of Martha.

Pumpkin Seed Brittle (I'm definitely making this!)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for baking sheet
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 cup fresh pumpkin seeds, rinsed well, dried, and toasted

1. Butter an 11x17in rimmed baking sheet; set aside.
2. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in sugar and honey. Bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring, until mixture is medium amber and a candy thermometer registers 280 degrees, about 6 minutes. Stir in pumpkin seeds. Cook until mixture reaches 300 degrees, about 2 minutes. Pour onto prepared baking sheet. Let cool completely. Break into pieces.


Homemade Granola. Mix with granola, dried berries, nuts, even vanilla. Mix according to your liking.

Halloween fun

Happy November!!
I hope you all had a wonderful and safe Halloween yesterday! I wanted to make an actual post, but had so much going on that I just ran out of time. I had a great Halloween myself. My friends Kim and Janna came over and we did some fun baking crafts and watched Hocus Pocus. The crafts came out so good and were so much fun to make! The first thing we made were monster cupcakes! We put icing on Halloween funfetti cupcakes and decorated them with candies and shredded coconut. Next, we took a rather large orange, hollowed it out (harder than it sounds), and carved a pumpkin face into it (mine was a little vampire). We then filled it with orange sherbet...it was delish! Before my friends came over, I carved an actual pumpkin. On one side it is a spooky house, on the other it is a vampire face (the momma vamp). The house took me forever to make, but I was pleased with the finished product.

These are cupcakes that Michael and I decorated last week. Mine is the witch on the left and Michael's is the vampire to the right. These were fun to make and very easy to do with a 6 year old.

Our cupcake monsters!

My orange/pumpkin vampire face!

Pumpkin recipes

One of the best things about the season of Fall is the wonderful spice of pumpkins. They are easily found in pumpkin patches all over the place and are a delicious touch to any recipe. I found some recipes that incorporate the flavor of pumpkin that will make you the hit of your next dinner party! Here's a couple.

Pumpkin Ravioli with Sage and Brown Butter.
- 1 3lb sugar pumpkin, or butternut squash
- 4t extra-virgin olive oil
- 2t light-brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup Locatelli cheese
- 3 large or 6 small amaretti cookies, crushed
- 2T ricotta cheese
- 1t shallots, chopped
- Pinch of nutmeg
- Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 1/2 lbs store-bought fresh pasta sheets
- 1T semolina flour
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1T freshly chopped sage leaves
- 2T balsamic vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. On a work surface, cut pumpkin in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds; discard. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil evenly over insides of pumpkin halves; rub 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar into each. Roast, cut-side down, until pumpkin is easily pierced with a paring knife, about 1 hour. Let cool.
2. When cool enough to handle, scoop out flesh with a spoon. You'll need 1 1/2 cups of purée. Transfer flesh to a clean kitchen towel or cheesecloth; wring excess liquid into a bowl. Place flesh in the bowl of a food processor, along with egg, Locatelli, amaretti, ricotta, shallot, and a pinch of nutmeg; process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Lay 1 pasta sheet on work surface. Place 1 tablespoon filling every 3 inches. Brush water around filling. Place another sheet on top, pressing around filling to seal. Using a fluted pastry wheel, cut each ravioli into a 3-by-3-inch square. Repeat with remaining pasta sheets and filling. Transfer ravioli to a parchment-lined baking sheet sprinkled with semolina; freeze for at least 30 minutes.
4. Bring a large pot of water to a boil; season with salt. Add ravioli; cook until it just floats, 3 to 4 minutes.
5. In a large sauté pan, melt butter over high heat. Add sage; cook until butter begins to brown and sizzle, about 1 minute. Remove pan from heat; whisk in balsamic. Using a slotted spoon, transfer ravioli to pan, tossing to combine. Serve immediately with cheese, if desired.

Pumpkin Pie. 
- 1/2 recipe Deep-Dish Pate Brisee.
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1t ground cinnamon
- 1/2t salt
- 1/2t ground ginger
- 1/4t ground cloves
- 2 large eggs
- 1 can (15 ounces) Libby's 100% pure pumpkin
- 1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
- Whipped cream, for serving (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. On a lightly floured work surface, roll pate brisee into a 12-inch round. With a dry pastry brush, sweep off the excess flour; fit dough into a 9-inch deep-dish glass pie plate, pressing it into the edges. Trim to a 1-inch overhang all around. Crimp edge as desired. Prick bottom of dough all over with a fork; set aside.
2. In a small bowl, mix together, sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and cloves. Beat eggs together in a large bowl. Add sugar mixture and pumpkin; stir to combine. Stir in evaporated milk until well combined.
3. Pour mixture into pie shell and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees; bake until filling is set, 20 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool 2 hours. Serve with whipped cream, if desired, or transfer to a refrigerator until ready to serve.