Obvisously I'm a slacker.

Oh my goodness you guys! I can't believe it's been so long since I posted last. I am so sorry!!

It's not like I haven't cooked any wonderful food! I have! My 7 lb. weight gain can testify to that. Yikes.

How were your holidays? Ours were spent at home with our kids and for the most part, it was stress free. My parents and Sister {Leslie, who posts here regularly} weren't able to make it to our house for Christmas which made me sad, but not having to cook for 9 people for 2 weeks was somewhat enjoyable. Don't tell them I said that. Hee-hee.

I didn't cook for Thanksgiving, but I DID make a whole turkey dinner for Christmas day dinner. When my parents are here, we cook on Christmas Eve. Usually all the yummy dishes my Sister and I don't get the rest of the year, like Spinach Torta, Wine Cake, and Chicken Cacciatore. Yum! I came to the same conclusion I do every time I cook for hours on end. It almost doesn't seem worth it to cook that much and for so long if it only takes my family 17 minutes to eat it!! I loved it and my gravy was the BOMB!!
One way I can tell I still love cooking despite the time it takes to eat it, is we got a new roasting pan at World Market for 7.99!! With a rack and everything!! I also got a new aqua and green silicone whisk for Christmas from my sweet hubby that I used to make the gravy. It was probably the best gravy I've ever made.

Pretty good looking turkey, huh? First one I've cooked in about 7 or 8 years. It was delish!!

I also made a really yummy cookie/brownie that I found while surfing the internet. Picky Palate's recipe for these little babies made our New Years Eve gathering at our BFF's house THAT MUCH BETTER! I even used Candy Cane "Oreos" from my favorite store, Aldi. Can you see where the 7 lb. gain has come from?!

I don't have pictures of the cookies, and they didn't turn out as pretty as Picky Palate's recipe, but they tasted so good! They were gone before I could snap a picture!

I hope the New Year is filled with many tasty dishes that are easy to prepare and budget friendly! That's my cooking wish this year. Oh and healthy too, but I think I need to work on that one! My pants shrunk!




Love and fudge covered cookies,