Coffee and Cannolis

I'm jumping back on the menu planning bandwagon.  I was very productive in planning this weekend and was able to build up more pantry staples, as well as take advantage of a fantastic meat sale at the grocery store.  It was not a cheap weekend, but it was productive.  S: French Bread Pizza M: Sweet Bourbon Chicken and Rice bowls, using this glaze from the grocery store.  Totally a cop-out but my mom made chicken wings with it once and they were great so I've been wanting to make something with it ever since! T: Meatloaf Muffins and Twice Baked Potatoes W: Chicken Parmesan R: Teriyaki Pork Chops F: Hockey Game S: Cannelloni, using fresh pasta!

So, one of both mine and my husbands favorite cookies is the Snickerdoodle.  I love anything cinnamon so I really don't think you can go wrong with any Snickerdoodle recipe, however let's face it - some are better than others.  I love how Bridget , a food blogger with a blog I covet, does experiments with recipes and shares the results with us.  I've had her Snickerdoodle experiment post starred in my Google Reader ever since she first posted it a month or so ago and I finally made the snickerdoodles.  In her post she's comparing Snickerdoodles made with shortening and butter and the same cookie made with just butter.  I made my cookies the shortening/butter way, because I actually had some shortening to use up.  My husband and I both LOVED these cookies, and in fact last night (a few weeks after we last had some) he told me that I need to make these at the holidays and that his brother who I gave some to said they were the best cookies he's ever had.  Well, if that

I'm not a huge pretzel fan, but I do like soft pretzels with cheese when I'm at a sporting event, and pretzel dogs.  My husband LOVES pretzels though, and I've had a few soft pretzel recipes saved to try but I've never really had an excuse to make soft pretzels, especially considering I don't really eat pretzels too often.  Ever since we went to a Cardinal's game mid-Summer and I saw people walking around with their pretzel dogs I've been craving them, but there aren't a lot of places that serve them, at least not a lot of places I frequent.  One of our good friends was having a Halloween party and I wanted to make something to take to help sop up some of the alcohol and initially thought of pretzel dogs (I said I'd been craving them), however not knowing how many people would show up, want one, etc. I had no idea how many to make. Immediately I went to work trying to find the best recipe to use to make mini-pretzel dogs, or Pigs in a Pretzel as I&

I've made these a few times before for shower favors and just noticed that I haven't blogged them!  I cannot stress how adorable these cupcake pops are.  If  you make these please note that the complements you'll receive totally negate the amount of time needed to create these little balls of deliciousness.  Plus, it's not even that they're THAT time consuming if you plan properly.  ** Please ignore the formica in these pictures - this time I made them for a bakesale at work to raise money for the family of an associate that passed away a few weeks ago and I took the pictures at my desk.  Yes, the walls in my office are that color yellow!** Cupcake Pops Source: Bakerella Printer Friendly Recipe/Instructions Ingredients/Materials Needed: 1 13X9 baked cake (from a box cake mix or from scratch … any flavor) 1 can cream cheese frosting (or about 2 cups equivalent from scratch) 1 flower shaped cookie cutter (1.25" wide) 1 package chocolate bark or dar

When you want something super simple to make for a quick and delicious dinner, however fat and calories are not a concern then this is without a doubt one of the best meals to make.  OMG it was fantastic and so simple.  I mean, what's not to love - chicken, pasta, cream sauce, and my favorite food in the entire world probably - PARMESAN CHEESE!!!  Delish! Fettuccini Alfredo with Chicken Adapted from Williams-Sonoma's Fettuccini Alfredo Printer-Friendly Recipe Ingredients : 1 1/2 c. heavy cream 3 T unsalted butter 1 c. Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese S&P, to taste Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste 1 lb. tagliatelle or fettuccini 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, grilled and thinly sliced Directions: - In a large saucepan over high heat, bring the cream and butter to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 1 minute. - Add 6 T. of cheese and whisk until smooth, about 1 minute more. Remove from the heat and season with S&P and a generous pinch of nu

** Post edited on 12/2/09 with new picture and new cooktime (as noted below)** WOW - that's all I have to say about this... W.O.W!!! Because of going two places in a short amount of time on Thanksgiving I'm never asked or expected to bring a dish because we're never in one place for a full meal. Well, this year I insisted on taking something to my families Thanksgiving dessert and the pies were taking care of so I opted to make a cheesecake. While talking to my mom, out of nowhere I decided to make a Snickers Cheesecake. It wasn't hard to find a recipe but it wasn't as easy as I'd expected. Being that I've never made a cheesecake before I didn't want to just wing it with a standard recipe and add-ins, though I'm sure I could have. This recipe ended up being a winner because all but one piece were eaten by my small little family... other desserts didn't even look to have been touched aside from the pumpkin pie of course. SNICKE