Peppermint Cookies...

I have to confess, I am a Christmas loving gal- I love everything about the holiday including the desserts, and my favorite--- anything pepperminty! I love the Peppermint Mocha at Starbucks, I love the chocolate dipped thin candy cane thing-ies, I love the Peppermint Joe-Joe's at Trader Joe's (honestly, you haven't experienced Peppermint heaven until you try these!!!)

**Side Note Picture of Peppermint Heaven, Trader Joe's Joe Joe's**

Ok, back on track now----So, I am always (well, that's not true) almost always in the mood to try a new recipe, so when I saw these in a Rachel Ray Magazine and they looked so divine all sprinkled with peppermint goodness, I have to give them a go. They turned out pretty good, so for the sake of not rewriting a recipe, I thought I would just link it here and you can follow hers if you are feeling in the mood for something new and pepperminty! I will include my pictures, because I am a visual learner and thought some of you may be too.

Side Note- She recommends baking cookies for 18 minutes- that will give you a crispy cookie (like an oreo) but if you want a fluffy or chewy cookie, I would remove them after about 10 minutes. You choose... or maybe do a sheet of each :)

Here's this weeks meal plan... and if you need a movie plan and want to stir up the way you feel about food and how it goes from the processing to your table--- check out the film "Food, INC." if you haven't seen it already. It will definitely get you thinking on what you buy and what you eat. (And if you're interested in some Grass Fed Beef and you live local, let me know, I have a great rancher that sells and drops off here from Tehachapi).

For now, the menu:

Monday: Steak Cob Salad

Tuesday: Dover Sol, Green Salad, Sweet Potatoes (the farming connections have hooked us up with a 40 pound box of sweet potatoes, so we have a lot of them to eat- Thanks Buddy!)

Wednesday- Firehouse Tortilla Soup **New Recipe**

Thursday- Turkey Chili, Asparagus and Cornbread

Friday- left overs

Saturday- out

5 Minute Fudge

This is one of my favorite desserts to make and give away during the holidays, probably because it's so easy and yet so incredibly tasty! It really only takes 5 minutes to make (REALLY!), refrigerate until it hardens, and then it's ready to cut and serve!

Ingredients:

12 oz chocolate chips

9 oz butterscotch chips

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions:

Super simple. Put your chips in a glass bowl and microwave them for about 1 minute, stop and stir, and continue in 30 second intervals until the chips are completely melted (be careful, the glass bowl will be hot!). Once the chips are melted and mixed, add your condensed milk and vanilla, give it another swirl, add your chopped walnuts, and mix until it's consistent throughout. Using a 8 x 8 greased baking dish and spatula, scoop the fudge out and smooth until it's evenly distributed. Refrigerate until firm, cut into squares and put on cute Christmas Plates! Wasn't that easy??? and it really was 5 minutes huh??

(Thanks for your request Katy~ sorry it took me so long! Happy Fudging!)

Quinoa, Chicken, & Veggie Pilaf...

Ok, so here's what I do when I don't feel like a lot of prep (or brain effort) but still what a good meal loaded with protein and lots of yummy veggies. Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-WA) is a great staple to have on hand- it's packed with protein, calcium, and iron plus it cooks quickly! At the end of the week, I pull out whatever veggies are left, saute them, and throw them in this dish. It's different every time, but easy all the time!

Chicken pieces browning

Sauteing vegetables; red pepper, onion, & garlic

Everything combined in one skillet before adding it to the quinoa...

Ingredients:

3 cups chicken broth

1.5 cups quinoa

2 cloves garlic

1/3 onion (use what you have)

1-2 chicken breasts

veggies of your choice; I have used these combinations:

• red pepper, brocholi, red onion, chicken
• mushroom, snowpeas, yellow bell pepper, green onion chicken
• carrots, celery, onion, left over turkey pieces

Directions:

In a large skillet, add your chicken broth and quinoa, and let comet to a boil while you prep everything else. Once it reaches a boil, reduce heat and let simmer 10-12 minutes. Wash & dice you veggies (if you are adding chicken, wash & dice that too and brown it in a separate pan, seasoning it with s & p and some garlic powder). Once all your veggies are chopped, add a TBSP of grape seed oil into a hot pan, add your veggies & garlic and let sautee for about 3-4 minutes. At this point, hopefully your quinoa will almost be done cooking, so add your veggies and chicken, stir altogether, cover and let cook for another 4-5 minutes. Add any seasoning you prefer, or leave it as it is with its light flavor and yummy vegetable taste.

*** Lots of times people give me feedback in person, so I will try to pass it on when I remember to add it to the post. A recommendation for this dish was to serve it with Soy Sauce or Bragg Liquid Aminos if it is to bland for your pallet.

Meal Plan for Nov. 30- Dec. 5th

Hope you all had a wonderful and tasty Thanksgiving Dinner, now, back to the ol' stomp and grind...

Monday-Caesar Salad with Seasoned Chicken

Tuesday- Ginger Glazed Mahi Mahi, Swiss Chard, Brown Rice

Wednesday- Quinoa, Veggies & Shredded Chicken

Thursday- Mexican Lasagna

Friday- left overs plus White Bean Salad (to snack on & have for lunch)

Saturday- out

17 Mixed Beans & Turkey Soup

Here's a little concoction that I came up with, super easy, very hardy, and very little to it! This is a different soup with chunks of ground turkey in it or try it with left over turkey chunks if you're feeling adventurous! The red wine in it gives it a really great flavor, making it taste different than most typical bean soups. **Warning, you need to soak your beans the night before, so this isn't a last minute guy!

Ingredients:

2 TBSP Grape Seed Oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 large (or 2 medium) yellow onions, chopped

5 stalks celery, chopped

2-3 carrots, chopped

1 bag of mixed beans (I buy mine at TJ's)

1 package of ground turkey

1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes

2 (32 oz) cartons of Vegetable Broth (also from TJ's)

3 handfuls spinach, rinsed

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp marjoram

1/8 cup red wine

Here's the bag of Beans & Barley I used...

Directions:

This recipe does require a little fore-thought, you need to soak your beans over night in a large bowl or pot of water. When you are ready to cook, use a slotted spoon and remove and floating ]extras and drain and rinse your beans. Then, in your biggest pot, add your oil and all your chopped veggies. Let those saute while you brown the ground turkey in a separate pan, adding some salt, pepper, and garlic powder to the turkey while it's cooking. When the turkey is browned and the veggies are sauteed, combine them and add your drained beans and veggie broth. Dump in your tomatoes and add your seasoning and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, reduce and let simmer for 1 hour. Add spinach for the last 5 minutes and serve with french bread or solo- you choose.

Beans soaking over night...

Drain your beans and rinse in a collander...
All the ingredients before the broth...

Pumpkin Pie- (not from scratch!!!) and Homemade Whip Cream

Now, I know a lot of you out there are working hard at gettin' food on the table... so here's a little something you can do to cut some corners. With the holidays coming up, kids running around your ankles, and the calendar overflowing, there are some short-cuts that I prefer to take... especially when I am bringing more than one dish (more like 4!!!) to our Thanksgiving Feast! If you want that yummy pumpkin pie that everyone will ohhh and ahh over, here's your ticket- and they'll be amazed, it's still warm in a homemade dish not a store bought container!!! The secret, it's on the back of "Liby's" can!!!

1 can Liby's pumpkin (& follow her recipe plus 1 secret ingredient!)

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp nutmeg ** the one thing I add to the mix

2 large eggs

1 can evaporated milk

Pie Crust- if you have the necessary tools, make your own crust, if not, go out and get your self a premaid, prerolled, uncooked refrigerated pie crust by Pilsbury.

Directions:

Mix sugar and spices together in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, beat eggs, add sugar mixture and pumpkin and gradually stir in the evaporated milk. Lay your pie crust in a pie dish and push it to the sides of the dish, pour the mixture and bake for 15 minutes on 425 then turn your oven down to 350 and let it bake another 40 -50 minutes until you can stick a knife in towards the center and it comes out clean. Let it cool about 2 hours before serving.

TIP To save your crust from getting too brown, cut strips of foil and cover the crust all the way around the pie, then 20 minutes before it's done, remove them and they will turn a beautiful golden brown!

Don't forget the homemade whip cream!!!

Ingredients:

1/2 pint heavy cream

3 TBSP powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Pour ingredients in a glass bowl and beat on medium-high until it's fluffy! Refrigerate and serve a dollup with your pumpkin pie!