Thursday, October 21, 2010

A Lovely Fall Day

Today was pretty great. My husband only had class from 3-5 and so we spent most of the day at home.

I have been trying to take in these last few days of unemployment to the best of my ability. Savoring them. Cooking and Baking as much as possible. Blogging. It's been great.

So, today I slept in a little. Woke up, Matt and I made some breakfast sandwiches that were scrumptious. Then we relaxed on the couch for quite a few hours. It was a great mail day! I got my new Robbie Moto wallet I won from Jessica's giveaway over at Wayside Violet. (image via Robbie Moto etsy)


The one I won is like this but green leather with cream color wings. Very cool. I am loving it! Already in the purse! ;-)


So, my cousin sent me a care package yesterday (2 good mail days in a ROW!) with a new Taste of Home cookbook for my collection. It's called Cake Mix Creations and it has 216 Recip
es that all began with a mix. The recipes in it are AMAZING! Matt and I looked through it together the first time right before dinner and we were like, "WE'RE GOING TO BE SO FAT!"

I am kind of a mix snob though. I don't like to follow recipes exactly and I don't like to use mixes if I can avoid it. Although, I do love Funfetti cookies! So, for our dessert night tonight with our Apartment neighbors I thought I would make Butterscotch Pecan Cookies. Nix the pecans, *gag* I hate nuts in desserts. So, I replaced the nuts with butterscotch and chocolate chips. Here is the recipe: SO EASY!

Butterscotch Pecan Cookies (nix the pecans... GROSS!)
What you'll need:(it's late and I don't feel like editing my pictures so you get the raw footage...) *1 Package (18- 1/4 oz) butter recipe golden cake (i used a yellow cake and it was fine) *1 Package (3/4 oz) Instant Butterscotch Pudding Mix *1/4 Cup All Purpose Flour *3/4 Cup Canola Oil ^1 Egg ^1 Cup Chopped Pecans (I used Chocolate Chips and Butterscotch Chips instead of pecans) In large bowl, combine the cake mix, pudding mix, flour, oil and egg until well blended. Stir in Pecans (Chips) (your dough will be crumbly). Roll rounded tablespoonfuls of dough into balls, place 2 in apart on GREASE baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 min or until golden brown. Cool for 2 min remove from pan to wire racks to cool completely. ENJOY!


The cookies were a big hit and everyone liked them! ;-)
It's such an easy and quick recipe! Perfect for last minute events!


For dinner tonight I made::

Tomato and Basil Tilapia




Here are the goods:

Tilapia:: 2 filets of Tilapia. Place fillets in shallow baking dish. spray dish with cooking oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper lightly on top of fillets. Then add your spices of choosing (I used oregano, basil leaves and garlic salt) then drizzle EV olive oil and add sliced tomatoes and drizzle more olive oil and sprinkle paprika on top. Bake in oven at 400 degrees for 20-25 min.

For sides I made a yummy veggie dish: (no picture... sorry!)

Here is the recipe though!

Veggie Dish::
Chop up an veggies you choose. (I used carrots, celery, onion, 1 can of corn, and frozen brocolli but zuchinni and squash would be really good in it too). and tomatoes, add them later though, they cook up really fast. Add salt and pepper and 2 cloves garlic (minced) and whatever spices your heart desires. (I used oregano and crushed basil leaves) Sautee in Extra Virgin Olive Oil for about 20 min or until veggies are cooked up and soft. Add tomatoes and 1 (5 oz) can of V8. Cook for another 5-10 min. Serve over white or brown rice.
DELICIOUS and very healthy dinner! I got both of those recipes on Taste of Home's website I believe, but in my true cooking snob style, I altered a lot to my liking!

So I've been trying to do some crafting and knitting as well before work begins! Here is something I made yesterday. I'm a little behind on the whole "garland" trend, but I thought I'd attempt my own.

Here is what I got:


I was going to write out "HOME SWEET HOME" on it, but decided once I got it made that it looked better with just the paper. So I left it. I made 2, I am going to hang the other up above our doorway once I get motivated to stand on the chair and do it. haha!

Cute huh!? It gives our bookshelf a cute little touch. ;-)


Well I'm exhausted, so, BEDTIME! ;-) Goodnight blog world.

4 comments:

Taylor said...

Hey, I love finding other Chicagoans with blogs! We live in Rogers Park on the lakeshore. How about you? How long have you lived in the city? I hope you feel welcome :)

Krysten @ Why Girls Are Weird said...

I am TOTALLY doing that to my bookcase!

Lady Grey said...

The bookcase looks great! Oh and I adore telapia, and that recipe sounds delicious!
oxo

Mattie said...

Katy,
Thanks for stopping by my blog and introducing yourself! You have such a great thing going on over here and I'm glad I get to read it all. Can't wait to catch up on your blog and looking forward to being bloggie friends!!
-Mattie
Odelma Vintage