I'm baaaaack!!

Ooooohhhh, i'm sorry, i haven't been blogging much, have I? Okay, no excuses, no, 'oh, I've been busy Christmas shopping'...I won't subject you to such lame cop-outs. So let me just jump in here and share with you something delicious that I cooked up tonight when I got home from work.  Spaghetti with kale.  Actually, it was drunken spaghetti with kale.  The drunken because you use a whole bottle of red wine.  Great name, huh?  Great dish too.  Especially on chilly, almost-winter nights like the one we're having right now.  It's been raining all day and when I got home, I felt like something comforting, warm, and high in carbohydrates!  This recipe comes from the one and only Rachel Ray.  Admittedly, Miss Ray is not one of my favorite cooking personalities out there.  She was once cute and bouncy when she first debuted on the Food Network years ago,  but I've grown tired of her sugar and spice and everything nice persona.  But I digress...
This recipe is solidly good and pretty darn quick too. I didn't have pancetta so I used good old bacon instead.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Click here for the recipe.  Enjoy!

Pizza for my pooches

My friend turned me on to these scrumptious goodies when her pug Kevin turned 4 years old recently.  Made with whole wheat flour, corn meal, cheese, and sausage, I couldn't resist giving them a taste myself.  Tate and Finn loved these and I hope your fur baby will too!

Sausage Mini Pizzas (from the Doggy Dessert Chef website):

Ingredients
Dough
2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 cup Cornmeal
1 Egg
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
3/4 cup Water

Toppings1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
1/4 cup Meat Toppings (I used Bacon bits and Shredded Chicken)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. Mix dough ingredients togeather in a large bowl until well combined.
3. Knead and roll out onto greased pizza pan and add toppings of your choice.
4. Bake for 25-30 and let cool before serving.
Refrigerate.

Just some random things

While taking my boys for their morning walk today, the skies were gray and there was a wonderful fall chill in the air.

I spotted these gorgeous Maple trees

and this colorful bench:

What kinds of things have you spotted in your neighborhood?

Let me introduce you to my two loves

Tate Rory is 9 months old and Finn Paddington is 8 months old.
They are my love bugs.

Early Turkey Day!

I woke up very early this morning to create this wonderful braised turkey dish.  Apparently, this particular recipe has been around for a few years now but the first time I heard about it was last week in my therapist's office.  Yeah, he's the one that told me about it! Go figure.

I was telling him that I planned to cook a turkey this weekend because for one thing, I felt like it, and for another thing, I have been craving turkey!  So, I checked out the recipe, another Mark Bittman winner, picked up the ingredients, and got cracking on it at the crack of dawn! Oh, how I love braising. So rich, so warm, so makes-everything-smell-good wonderfulness! This won't disappoint you. It's got a myriad of goodness in it: Italian sweet sausage, applewood smoked bacon, sage, mushrooms, oh, and the turkey of course. I got a boneless turkey breast and two thighs.  I also bought a couple legs but found out too late that not all the pieces would fit in my pan!  I originally was going to use my lovely Le Creuset Dutch oven but lo and behold, even that was too small. Thankfully, I have a huge cast iron skillet which I've used, oh, maybe twice in the last 5 years, so I reached for that and everything fit comfortably in it. I still decided to not use the legs however.  Maybe I'll roast those for later.

Have a look...this is really yummy.  I think my boys are going to love eating this for dinner tonight.

Click here for the recipe.