Are you sick of eating
Thanksgiving leftovers YET AGAIN for dinner?
Is your extended family looking at you wondering what’s for dinner? Are
you still tuckered out from cooking the Super Bowl of all meals days after the
big event? Well, here is a fantastic
recipe that is SUPER quick (25 minutes max prep & cook time). Last week I stumbled across it just after I
got home from traveling/eating out for a week.
I was exhausted from being on the road and I was craving a home cooked
meal (I have no clue how Ann, my sister, and Matt, her boyfriend, travel full
time).
Each year when cleaning up after
Thanksgiving dinner, I always seem to notice the cranberry side dish usually isn't touched much. Does this sound
familiar? Well, Susan Crawford, one of
my dearest friends, passed along a recipe that her family SWEARS by. I haven’t posted any recipes that I haven’t
tried myself, but since she is a close friend (and lover of cooking), I trust
her judgment and taste buds. Below is a
fun recipe to try if you are looking for a new cranberry recipe!
A few weeks ago Quaker (where I
work) had their annual Chili-Mac-Cornbread cook-off. Unfortunately this is the second year I haven’t
been able to participate. I had
originally entered this year, but it was being held the Friday I was heading
out of town for Tamara’s Baby shower, and didn't have enough hands to carry
everything while navigating to work on public transportation. All I kept seeing was me losing my balance
on the bus and the pan of cornbread pudding being flung all over innocent
bystanders. Thus I accepted my role as
taster/judger, which isn't a bad gig!
There were so many amazing entries (even a chili that tasted like
buffalo chicken dip – won most creative chili and I am trying to get my hands
on the recipe). The one I am sharing
with you today will be a great addition to your Thanksgiving menu. It was made by my co-worker, Katie Ciepierski
and she passed along her recipe to share.
I have seen many variations of this recipe online. If you want it creamier, decrease the amount
of Jiffy corn bread mix and increase the amount of corn to your liking!
Last weekend was a very special
weekend…it was my best friend, Tamara’s, baby shower. She is the first out of our group of friends
to have a baby so it has been a fun 8-ish months watching her belly grow. Thankfully she doesn’t mind friends
constantly touching her belly, which I do every time I see her. Even after the shower a few of us were
hanging out in the hotel room catching up and we each had a hand on her belly,
just waiting for Baby Gibbs to make a move.
November 1st, the day
after Halloween and apparently Christmas season, as marked by the festive red
Starbucks Holiday cups that have arrived in stores. Kids are still coming down from their
Halloween sugar high and yet, we seem to have blown through Thanksgiving and gone
straight to Christmas. Target started
their Spot, the dog, Holiday commercials a few weeks ago, along with Walmart
and Kmart touting their layaway options for presents. If we continue on this trajectory we will
soon be giving a whole new meaning to Christmas in July! Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE that it is holiday
season, and I LOVE when Starbucks transitions to their holiday cups. I will love it even more after daylight
savings this weekend. Living in Chicago
means the sun will set by 4pm after we “fall back.” One of the perks of early holiday
celebrations is the fact that Chicago puts up Christmas lights early, so even
though it is pitch black at 5pm, I get to see all the twinkling lights on my
bus ride home.
Calling all procrastinators! Did you forget you are supposed to bring Halloween
cupcakes in for your kid’s class today?
Are you headed to a Halloween gathering this evening and want to bring a
little something special? Well, forget
those store bought Halloween cupcakes. By
now they are probably picked over and only the smushed frosting ones
remain. Here are a few spooktacular cupcake
ideas!
Okay friends this recipe is going
to be a bit polarizing…even I wasn't 100% sure about it. I am not a huge fan of cinnamon in savory
dishes (love it in sweet dishes), but thought to myself: chicken, good, dates,
good, olives, gooooood! The next
time I make it I will cut out the cinnamon stick, but those are just my taste
buds so feel free to keep it in. I made this recipe a few weeks ago on a Sunday
for the season premiere of The Good Wife.
If you have not checked out this show, it is a MUST see and it is set in
Chicago – what what!! I was also missing
my good friend Katherine who used to live in my building and was my Good Wife
watching and cooking buddy. Sadly for me
and happily for her, she moved back to Cincinnati to get married.
