Barefoot Bloggers: Vegetable Pot Pie

JUST IN TIME!!! I was finally able to make Ina's Vegetable Pot Pie, as selected by Deb of Kahakai Kitchen. She has a wonderful blog, complete with gorgeous pictures and yummy recipes; not to mention I'm a big fan on the basis of her being from Hawaii! I did a lot of growing up there and my mom's side of the family is from there. Anyway, I actually waited until today to make the pie since I had company coming over. There's nothing like some good comfort food to indulge in on a beautiful, fall Halloween evening, and I'm sure my Uncle Raymond and Anna would agree!

Okay, so I'm guilty....I snuck chicken into the recipe (like many other BB-ers). I simply couldn't have it any other way. I also did away with the fennel, the small onions, asparagus and butternut squash and substituted the Pernod with some brandy (only because I couldn't find any Pernod), since some people made the recommendation. However, what scared me most about the entire recipe was making the pie crust. I'd honestly never made pie crust by hand before, nor have I ever made a pie without the ready-made pie crust already in the pie pan! Well ladies and gents, I finally broke out of my comfort zone and made it all happen. And let me just say that it was delicious! The crust was perfectly done, and the filling was so hearty and seasoned to perfection!

I used small baking dish, since I wasn't expecting too much company. I had so much filling left over, I was able to create another pie, which I put in the freezer for another evening.

Now, don't laugh! The only cookie cutter I have is of a small dog bone and I wanted to make it look nice. I thought it was appropriate seeing how I had my own dog and Anna's dog over. Let's just say it was tribute to the fur-babies! Not too bad for my very first pie crust, huh?

Ta-da! The finished product. I had so much fun making this and am so glad that it turned out so well. I am definitely going to make this again and try to play around with the fillings.

If my husband were here, he would have enjoyed this. He loves anything and everything with chicken in it. He's checking on this blog from time to time, so here's a bowl of the good stuff for you baby!

Should you want to try this upscale version of your frozen-aisle favorite (that version doesn't even compare!), then scoot on over to Deb's blog for the full recipe. And Deb...Mahalo! For choosing a great recipe! Stay tuned for tomorrow, I'll be posting the recipe for a Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake I made today.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes

Clara of I Love Food for Thought chose this week's recipe challenge, Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes. Since I didn't get to make my cupcakes until this afternoon, I had a chance to check out other TWD blogs and people have whipped up some of the most creative cupcakes I've ever seen. Most of the cupcakes are appropriately decorated for Halloween. Prudence Pennywise's blog, for example, has some spectacularly decorated cupcakes...you should definitely check hers out! I mean, making words with melted orange chocolate? Too cool!

I loved making these cupcakes. Could it be because of the CHOCOLATE??? Absolutely. I made these just before I got picked up to go to school. And since my carpool mates are such fantastic friends, I shared my chocolatey creations with them. Totally lacking any creativity with cake frosting and decorative tools, I opted to cheat by buying these fall-themed cupcake cups, equipped with these cute pumpkin decorations/toothpick thingys. I thought they added a nice touch to my cupcakes, if I may say so myself!

Many TWD-ers mentioned that this cupcake came out dry. Unfortunately, I had the same result. Nevertheless, the cupcakes were quite tasty....and very chocolatey! I honestly don't think they taste any better than the mix I usually use straight out of the Duncan Hines box, but I like the fact that I can say that I made them from scratch and even more, that my friends told me they tasted really good! So thanks Clara for choosing this recipe! It was tons of fun. Rush on over to her blog for the complete recipe!

As others have mentioned, this Friday is the last day for anyone to become a TWD member, so you'd better sign up, like, NOW!!! Don't let the opportunity pass you by!

Ghirardelli Ultimate Double Chocolate Cookies...My Final Sunday Post!

I've been a baking fool lately...mostly sweet stuff. You know, gotta keep the sweet teeth happy--not to mention I have tons of lady friends who share the same passion for all things CHOCOLATE! It's no wonder we all complain about the weight we can't seem to lose! Whatever, gotta live life to the fullest right? The recipe came from a Ghirardelli ad in this month's Better Homes and Gardens issue and in all honesty, comes real close to Dorie's Chocolate Chunkers recipe. It was perfect because for the past week or so, all Ghiradelli baking chocolates have been on sale at Wal-Mart for $2.00 a bag. I stocked up--I mean STOCKED UP--on bags and bags of these, from bittersweet, to white, to milk and semi-sweet chocolate chips. You name it, I got it! Maybe you can rush on over to your local Wal-Mart to see if you can snag some.

Anyway, the recipe yielded about two dozen moist, chocolately, nutty cookies. I'll be using this recipe to send a couple dozen to my soldier for this month's round of Operation Baking Gals! And get your tall glass of milk ready...they're pretty darn rich!

Ghirardelli Ultimate Double Chocolate Cookies

(from November 2008 issue of Better Homes and Gardens)

1 bag (11.5 oz) Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips

6 Tbsp. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 bag (12 oz) Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1 cup (4 oz) chopped walnuts

1. In double boiler over hot water, melt the bittersweet chocolate chips and butter. In large bowl with electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar until thick; stir in chocolate mixture. In small bowl, stir together flour and baking powder; stir into chocolate mixture. Gently mix in semi-sweet chocolate chips and walnuts.
2. Using a sheet of plastic wrap, form dough into two logs, each 2 inches in diameter and about 8 inches long. As dough will be very soft, use plastic wrap to hold dough in log shape. Wrap tightly. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until firm.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degreees. Unwrap dough; with sharp knife, cut into 3/4-inch slices. Place slices 1 1/2 inces apart on greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until shiny crust forms on top but interior is still soft.
4. Cool on baking sheet.

Yields 2 dozen cookies.

P.S. I found that 375 was too hot. I ended up with some slightly burnt cookies on the bottoms. The next batch, I lowered the temperature to 350 and they came out much better.

Halloween Fun!

Yesterday, I went to a neighborhood Halloween party with Anna. The party was hosted by one of her friends. You know me lately...with the hubby gone, I'm constantly looking for stuff to do to keep me occupied and this was exactly what I needed. It was fun and there were tons of goodies, which I was able to capture on film. My apologies...there are only pictures. I really didn't want to have to bother the hostess for recipes. On the other hand, these goodies don't look like they'd be too hard for any of you to whip up on your own. I was able to devour my very on caramel apple--one of my Halloween faves, if not the fave.

If you're wondering what the heck I'm wearing...I was one of those 50's (or 60's?) sock hop chicks--complete with my husband's high school letterman jacket/sweater thingy. I couldn't find one of those small neck scarves, so I had to settle for one I had in my closet. Whatever, it's not like I was out to win first prize or anything. Now, pictures of the good stuff:

Carmel Apples....divine!

Look at these cute witch hats! Gotta love those Keebler chocolate cookies!

Cute little lady bugs made out of refrigerated crescent rolls and mini-sausages!

i think these are snakes. what a cute way to do up some hotdogs!

aww...a little spidey cake. I'm guessing a Wal-Mart Specialty. it was actually very moist and tasty!

i totally heart rice crispies treats...in any shape or form!

And there you have it! If you're hosting a Halloween party this weekend, I hope these made for some really inexpensive and easy ideas for you to WOW your guests with! Happy Halloween everybody!

Another Award!

You guys, I am so honored! Sarah and Alex of brokenyolks nominated me for the Premio Arte Pico award, my second award for this blog. I didn't even know they'd taken notice of my blog and I'm so touched at their generosity.

This award was created in Uruguay by a fellow blogger who makes dolls exclusively from recycled materials. Her blog can be reached by clicking here. The rules for this award include the following:

1. Pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award, creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogger community, no matter of language.
2. Advertise name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone
3. Each award-winner, has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.
4. Award-winner and the one who has given the prize has to show the link of “Arte y pico” blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.
5. Share these rules.

As such, I am first and foremost passing this award to Melissa Devoe of Love at First Bite. I feel that she is more worthy than I of the award because, truth be told, I use her recipes all the time. If I wasn't a member of Tuesdays with Dorie (which actually joined because of her), Barefoot Bloggers, or Operation Baking Gals I would only have her borrowed recipes on my blog! So Melissa, thanks so much for everything. There's no one more deserving...and check out her blog. She's got some great stuff!

And I will pass the award to these remaining, wonderful bloggers (and this is in no particular order)! These are the ones I have kept up with the most in my short time as a blogger. Actually, one of them I just found, but her blog is just awesome...and she's my Round 4 host for Operation Baking Gals! Actually, ALL of these blogs are fantabulous! These ladies are so creative and fun, I wish I had even an ounce of that talent!

1. The Dogs Eat the Crumbs
2. Madam Chow's Kitchen
3. Cookies with Boys
4. Angry Asian Creations

Now go on and spread the love ladies! Again, thanks to Sarah and Alex for totally making my weekend!

Pasta a la Vodka Casserole

I didn't have a chance to make this week's Barefoot Bloggers recipe, but earlier this week my friend Anna and I whipped up some Pasta a la Vodka Casserole. The recipe was borrowed again, from my friend Melissa's blog, Love at First Bite , and is really named Penne a la Vodka Casserole. However, we didn't have any penne on hand, and just used a mixture of different kinds of pasta, hence the Pasta a la Vodka Casserole. We were both so excited about making this recipe. She's Italian and I love, love, LOVE Italian food! Plus, Anna had taken a peek at Melissa's blog through mine and called to tell me that she wanted to make it. So we did, and let me tell you, it is wonderful! Can't you tell? Even Anna's dog, Howard, was itching for a taste. Isn't he cute?

Although preparing the dish took a long time, it was all worth it. Everything worked out really well. I had about half the ingredients and Anna had the rest, including the main ingredient--the vodka! The recipe calls for both hot and sweet Italian sausage, but I was only able to find sweet Italian turkey sausage, as seen below. I tend to prefer sweet over spicy anyway.

Here, we sauted the sausage and about 4 cups of thinly sliced yellow onions together. We added about two cloves of garlic to this mixture and the aroma was just so invigorating!

Here, we later added whole tomatoes and heavy cream and the resulting sauce was mixed with our pasta. We had enough of the pasta mixture to fill the entire baking dish and then some. So we were each able to help ourselves to a serving. The pasta mixture could very well be served without baking it. I actually preferred the unbaked pasta to the baked version, but you find out which version works for you!

The baked pasta came out looking like this....cheese all bubbly and just downright yummy! Again, the dish took a while to prepare--about 40 minutes to make the sauce and then the same amount of time to bake. But you will find that it was time well spent! Here is the recipe below, which Melissa adapted from Emeril. And thanks again Melissa for another great recipe!

Penne A La Vodka Casserole

(recipe adapted from Emeril)

4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 lb. sweet Italian sausage, cut crosswise into 1-inch slices

1 lb. hot Italian sausage, cut crosswise into 1-inch slices

4 cups thinly sliced onions

1 and 3/4 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

1/2 cup vodka

Two 16-oz. cans whole tomatoes, crushed in their juices

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 pound penne pasta

15 oz. ricotta cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese

1 and 1/2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

1. Heat 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet or saucepan over high heat. Add the sausages and cook, stirring, until browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the onions, 3/4 tsp. salt, and the black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are just soft, about 4 minutes. Add the basil and garlic, and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the vodka and tomatoes, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 40 minutes. Add the garlic powder and heavy cream, stir to mix, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
2. To cook the pasta, combine 4 quarts water, the olive oil, and the remaining tsp. salt in a large pot over high heat. Bring to a boil, add the pasta, and cook until al dente, 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from the heat and drain well. Combine half of the ricotta cheese and half of the Parmesan-Reggiano with the remining 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil in a large mixing bowl. Add the pasta and toss to coat evenly. Add the sausage mixture and mix well. Add the remaining ricotta cheese and the remaining Parmesan-Reggiano and mix well.
3. Transfer the mixture to a 9x13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese. Bake until bubbly and golden, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven. Serve with warm crusty bread.

Delicious! Just you wait and see!

Barefoot Bloggers--need to postpone!

Hey all! I'm going to be postponing this week's BB recipe--vegetable pot pie--to another day; most likely this weekend. I wasn't able to get all the ingredients in time, but I'm definitely looking forward to doing it! Stay tuned, it'll be on here before the 31st!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Pumpkin Muffins

I love fall! This recipe was the perfect recipe to ring in the fall season. There's nothing like the sweet aroma of pumpkin, allspice, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg all mixed together in one concotion that made up Dorie's Pumpkin Muffins--a recipe chosen by Kelly of Sounding My Barbaric Gulp. If you share my love for all things pumpkin--pies, muffins, rolls--head on over to her blog for the recipe! The recipe called for sunflower seeds and golden raisins, neither of which were in my pantry. I did have red raisins though and if I had done a little bit more thinking, I would have done what most TWD'ers did and added the chocolate chips I had on hand. Next time! When Rosie (my Kitchenaid) mixed up the batter, it was quite thick. Not surprising since I piled on the raisins and chopped pecans.

I used my cookie scoop to distribute the batter evenly (and with minimal mess!) into my muffin cups. I really packed the batter in. The recipe calls for about 20 minutes baking time and it's a good thing I thought to check in on the muffins a little early. Around 17 or 18 minutes, they had reached a very golden brown. I immediately pulled them out!

And this is what I got. I immediately took a taste test...well, both Lucy (my dog) and I did and we agreed that these muffins truly rock! They were warm, moist and so flavorful!

Since I didn't want to get stuck with a butt-load of muffins for the next week, I bundled the muffins up and took them to my Auntie's house for her potluck. I guess they were a hit because I didn't have any left over. I am definitely going to make these again...probably on Halloween because I plan on having some company over and the goal for that evening is to pig out on a smorgasbord of junk food! I can't wait!

By now, you should be dying to try these muffins! Then get on over to Kelly's blog for the recipe. And Kelly, you are to be commended for choosing it!

Pasta! Pasta!

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amore! And I LOVE Italian food. In the last few weeks, I've whipped up a few pasta dishes; two of which I'm able to share with you. They're so simple and so delicious!

One recipe I borrowed from Melissa of Love at First Bite. It's a spaghetti pie! Who knew that spaghetti could be mixed with a few ingredients, smushed into a pie dish and topped with mozzarella? It's the perfect dish to make especially since most of your cupboards or pantries already have the ingredients. It's also great because it's something that can be put together at the last minute and stored as leftovers. I actually thought it tasted better the night after, when my friend Anna dropped me off from school (we carpool). Anna is an international student from Germany, but her father is Italian and a wonderful cook. I was actually nervous to hear what she thought of the dish. And she said it was great, so I must be! Here's the recipe (taken from the Good Housekeeping magazine), and thanks to Melissa for sharing!

Baked Spaghetti Pie

1/2 pound spaghetti

2 large eggs

1 container (15 oz.) part-skim ricotta cheese

3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

1 cup marinara sauce

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain.

2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 9-inch pie plate. In large bowl, with fork, beat eggs. Stir in ricotta and 3/4 cup Parmesan until blended.

3. Add spaghetti to ricotta mixture and stir until well coated. Transfer spaghetti mixture to prepared pie plate; top with marinara sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and remaining 2 Tbsp. Parmesan.

4. Bake pie 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes for easier serving. Cut into wedges to serve.

Then, this past Thursday, I was dying for something somewhat homemade, rather than the TV dinners (SmartOnes) I've been heating up in my microwave. So I whipped up a quick pasta dish, again, with a few ingredients already in my pantry. Malu and I have made this a few times before and it's very good! No official name, but I think I'll call it Bacon Pasta Toss.

Bacon Pasta Toss

6 to 8 slices of bacon, chopped into small pieces

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves of garlic

14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes (any kind)

6 oz. can of tomato paste

2 tbsp Olive Oil

1/2 bag of frozen peas

1 lb. farfalle (bowtie) pasta (or any pasta)

Sugar, to taste

1. Heat oil in a large skillet. Bring water to a boil in a large pot.

2. Saute garlic in oil for about 2-3 minutes and add onion. Saute until onion is transparent. Add bacon and saute for about 5 minutes.

3. Add pasta to boiling water and cook according to package directions. In the last two minutes add the frozen peas then drain.

4. Add diced tomatoes to onion mixture; then add the tomato paste and mix until well incorporated. I like my sauce sweet, so I added about 1 tablespoon of sugar.

5. Once sauce is heated through, add drained pasta and toss well.

Yummy in my tummy! This dish also tastes tons better the next day...or the next! Oh, and if you're wanting to make the dish sweet without adding sugar, then try maple bacon. I like it better that way!

My First Blog Award!

I am so flattered you guys! Pamela of Cookies With Boys gave me my first-ever blog award for excellence! I met Pamela when I first joined Operation Baking Gals about a month ago. She has a wonderful blog with great recipes and pictures and sends me encouraging messages almost daily. I truly appreciate her and the award that she's been so kind enough to share with me.

Most of the people that I would like to share this award with already have one (i.e. my great friend, Melissa of Love At First Bite), but I've found a few others whose blogs I browse through on a regular basis (whether they know it or not) and couldn't tell whether they've received the award or not. I want to thank these bloggers for the joy they bring me through their great stories and recipes. Because of all of you, I have something to look forward to each and every day! And if I'm mistaken and you already have this award, well, now you have another one!

• Madam Chow's Kitchen
• Mischief by Misty
• Del Sisters Kitchen
• Superfluous
• Pink Stripes

Again, thanks to Pamela for the recognition! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

TWD on Friday: Lenox Almond Biscotti

I finally made the biscotti! After a week of emotional turmoil, caused both by midterms and my husband's departure, I finally made some time (and mustered the energy) to make these yummy treats! When I was in Iraq, my mom sent me economy-sized containers of biscotti. Most were chocolate-dipped, which my roommate and I practically had to battle for. Since then, my love for biscotti has only deepened. Can you imagine how excited I was to find that it would become this week's recipe challenge? And I have Gretchen of Canela & Comino to thank for it. She chose the recipe and if you want it, you're going to have to run over to her blog. And by the way, her blog is totally smokin'! She's got great pictures on there and so much more!

I was actually pretty nervous when I started out. I've had a few baking mishaps the last few weeks and I really didn't want to jack this one up! So after reading the directions a thousand times, I got to it! Since I had neither almonds nor almond extract in the house, I substituted the almonds with a mixture of Ghiradelli white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts and the almond extract with vanilla extract. I also found it a little strange that the recipe called for so much corn meal. Anyway, I was so nervous for the part with the logs, but I made sure I had them rolled/laid out to a tee at 12 inches long and 1.5 inches wide, as you can see above. I'd read on others' blogs that the batter spread, but I found that mine didn't as much, about 4 to 5 inches, as you can see here.

I was so anxious to get them going, I didn't wait the full 30 minutes for them to cool, which ended up being okay. I was able to actually lift the entire logs with my hands and onto my cutting board where I was able to arrange my "marching band" of cookies and send them back into the oven.

And the result? The most delicious homemade biscotti. I actually gave myself a pat on the back for not messing it up. Once they were cooled, they were so crunchy and the white chocolate and macadamia nut combo--classic! I love these. They were so simple to make. I'm definitely going to make them again, perhaps chocolate-dipped next time...or even to hand them out as Christmas gifts in December! Too cool! And just a note, I don't think I'll be using as much cornmeal next time. They may have been a little too grainy for my liking, but hey...my whole family didn't even notice, so whatever!

Once again, scoot on over to Gretchen's blog and check out the recipe! And thanks for the great pick for the week!

Postponing TWD to Tomorrow

Sorry guys! I didn't have a chance to make the biscotti this weekend and fully intended to tonight after class, but as it turns out, there's no butter in the fridge and I don't feel like making a run to Wal-Mart this late. I seem to be making a pattern of Tuesdays with Dorie on a different day, but I just don't want to miss out on the weekly assignments! So please bear with me! I plan on making them tomorrow!

Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins

I borrowed this recipe from Susan's blog, She's Becoming DoughMessTic. I've found some of the most creative, delicious recipes on her blog, so you should check it out. If you click on the link I've provided, it'll take you directly to the recipe for these delicious Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins. I baked these, not only because my family came over for dinner last night and I needed to prepare a dessert, but because I needed something to cheer me up since my husband departed earlier that day (he'll be leaving for his deployment sometime this week)--and it sure did the trick!

What I liked was that they were so simple to put together. I was able to make a dozen and a half of these muffins. The sweet cream cheese in the center was the perfect compliment to the tart fresh strawberries and they were just so moist. All in all....they're to die for!

So if you're big on strawberries like me, or just want something to tickle your sweet tooth--this is it! Scoot on over to Susan's blog and check the recipe out!

Weekend TWD: Caramel Peanut-Topped Brownie Cake

I postponed making the cake until Friday so that my husband could have a taste of it while he was visiting for the weekend. Well, the whole thing had DISASTER written all over it. You well-seasoned cooks and bakers out there probably took one look at the picture and could immediately spot what went wrong. Yes, it was the caramel! I got the cake done with no problems, but when I got to the caramel, everything went downhill. I had worried that the caramel hadn't turned amber in 5-10 minutes. So, not knowing any better, I hiked up the heat a little bit more. It turned amber so quickly and by the time I got it off the heat, it was a dark brown. Still not knowing what happens when you cook caramel for too long, I poured the mixture all over the top of the cake. It wasn't until I decided to take a taste of the caramel off my rubber spatula that I noticed how BITTER it was. I was mortified! Not only did it taste disgusting (except for the cake part), I had guests coming in a few minutes and had to prepare a backup dessert at the last minute.

It's too bad...the cake actually looked beautiful. And being the good sport that my husband is, he said, "it's still good babe," and proceeded to cut the entire caramel-peanut part off the cake, folded what was left in half and chomped on it like a hamburger. See picture below:

Leave it to Malu to be so encouraging! I love you baby! But yeah, I'm 0-1 at making this dessert and I will conquer it one day.....after I master the art of caramel-making! Thanks to Tammy of Wee Treats by Tammy for picking this week's recipe, which you can find on her blog!

Barefoot Bloggers: Butternut Squash Risotto

Rachel of Rachel Likes to Cook chose this week's BB recipe challenge--Butternut Squash Risotto. I'd like to thank her for allowing me to step out of my comfort zone to make something new and different. I love butternut squash, so I figured this would be a wonderful dish. Lucky for me my friend, Vickie, was visiting from Texas and she was excited to get a taste of it too. We prepared it late at night after returning from the gym.

I had purchased the ingredients earlier that day. Can you believe that I spent about $13.00 each for the pancetta and the saffron? I was thinking, "man, for all the money I'm spending, this better be good!" I loved the smell of the pancetta and the onions. I'd honestly never cooked pancetta myself until this moment and I was so excited.

And then came the saffron. I don't know if there's any other saffron but the Spanish kind, which is the only kind the grocery store carried. It just smelled funny to me and at that point, I was hoping it came out tasting better than it smelled.

Well, the saffron gave the mixture a nice color and even more so when the butternut squash pieces were added. The squash came out so nicely, I had to sneak a few bite-size pieces before I added it.

Once everything was mixed, I ladled the risotto into bowls and Vickie and I both set out to try our new concoction. She liked it, although she said it was a little salty (probably from the pancetta). Me? I didn't like it so much. I just couldn't get over that strong saffron taste. Maybe it was just me. I had some of the leftovers the next day and it actually tasted better then. But I'm not sure if I'll ever make this dish again. I don't think enough of my friends and family like butternut squash enough to see it in this dish. Who knows? But thanks again to Rachel for the challenge!

Sitting this one out just for today

Hey there, fellow TWD members! As you will notice, I don't have this week's challenge posted today. I've got to much to do for the next day or so. It's finals week and my husband will be home for the four-day weekend (amidst a deployment mobilization), so you can imagine how crazy things are right now.

We will be having a get-together at my house on Friday night and I'll be making the chocolate peanut cake then. So come back and check me out in a few days!

Operation Baking Gals: Supporting the U.S. Marines!

This was my first assignment with Operation Baking Gals. I was a part of a team hosted by Susan Whetzel of She's Becoming DoughMessTic and it was so much fun! With the help of my sister and friend Anna, I was able to send at least two dozen White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies (along with chocolate chip cookies) to 1LT Jarrod Robinson of the United States Marine Corps. We didn't get too much information about this officer, other than the fact that he worked in Air Traffic Control and that there were 50 other Marines in his Detachment expecting some delicious baked goods from our team.

Being in the military myself, having a brother-in-law in the Marines working in just about the same specialty, and having served in an Air Traffic Control battalion before and in an aviation brigade for years myself, I felt a strong bond to these guys and I couldn't wait to show them my appreciation and support for their service by sending them these cookies along with some other goodies.

Well, I only had enough stuff and time to put two boxes together. Each box held about two dozen cookies, which I placed in plastic containers and affixed Colorado postcards to. I included some other stuff like sunflower seeds, tuna packets, granola bars, and hard candies--the essentials! I didn't think to send toiletries or anything this time around. Maybe next time, but if this unit is anything like mine when I was deployed, there was one room in the unit dedicated to excess package inventory. Much like a mini-PX, this little room housed all the extra baby wipes, toothpaste, hand sanitizer, and other toiletries that so many people sent in bulk. So it's not like that stuff isn't readily available.

I met my husband while deployed in Iraq over three years ago and we can attest that there is nothing that beats home-baked goods--NOTHING! I mean, you can only eat Girl Scout cookies for so long. I mean, I devoured so many boxes of them over there that I can't even stand to look at a box anymore! So these little "tastes of home" really mean so much and I am glad that I could be a part of this wonderful service!

Here is the recipe for the cookies that we made:

White Chocolate and Dried Cranberry Cookies
(from quickandsimple.com magazine)

1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup quick cooking or old-fashioned oats, pulsed well in a food processor
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. kosher salt
12 oz. white chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup dried cranberries

1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2) In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or using a hand mixer, beat butter and both sugars until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides of bowl, then add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla, one at a time, mixing well between additions. Scrape down sides of bowl; add oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and mix until well incorporated. Scrape down sides of bowl; add chocolate and cranberries, and mix again.

3) Drop dough by heaping teaspoonfuls, about 2 inches apart, onto prepared cookie sheet. Bake until cookies begin to brown at the edges, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and repeat with remaining dough.

Yields 3 to 4 dozen.

These cookies were a cinch to prepare and so delicious! I'm definitely going to make them again. I'm crossing my fingers that they'll arrive overseas intact and still edible, and most importantly that the troops will like them! I can't wait until the next round! Oh, and once my husband gives me an address for his unit (because he's still mobilizing in NJ right now), he'll be added to the list and I'll get to bake cookies for him too!