January’s Tasty Treats
January is always a busy month in the kitchen at my house. We had lots of great tasty items for Thade’s birthday, lots of homemade cookies for snack time, and I even got the family to try a new recipe too. Here’s what tasty treats kept me busy in January.
I had a few cans of pumpkin hanging out in the pantry, so I decided to give a pumpkin roll a try.
The cake turned out great, but the filling needed something a bit more. I’m going to tweak the recipe a bit, and see if I can make it even tastier.
Sticking with the roll theme, I made a lot of dinner rolls in January. I love to knead dough, I count it as an arm exercise.
The dinner rolls were buttery and yummy too. They make a great side for Chicken and Noodles, or Beef Stew too. You can even just eat them all by themselves, they are awesome.
I had a yellow cake mix, and I tried my hand at Chocolate butter-cream. The frosting was awesome!
To celebrate the sorta snow day we made a batch of iced sugar cookies. The family loved them, but I got tired of rolling them out. They were really tasty though.
I made some banana muffins using frozen bananas. I let the frozen bananas defrost in the fridge, and they worked out just fine. So save those bananas, and bake with them.
I also made biscuits for breakfast for dinner night. I love to make biscuits, they make some tasty breakfast sandwiches too.
I’ve been trying to use what I have on hand, and use up what I’ve got. One day we needed cookies for an afternoon treat, so I made up a batch of toffee shortbread cookies. The kiddos didn’t care for them too much, but I thought they were awesome. They wern’t too sweet, and they had a great snap to them. Great for dunking in milk or tea. (P.S. they tasted like pecan sandies without the pecans)
To make amends with the kiddos for the shortbread I raided all of the chocolate candies left in the house from Christmas, and made some candy cookies. The boys loved them, they were their favorite colors red and green. They were really tasty, and a great way to use up some leftovers.
So when it was time for Thade’s birthday, he asked if he could bring cake pops to school. If you have made them before, you know it takes a bit to get them done. Thade was happy though. I ended up making enough for his class, his favorite teachers, and then a batch for us at home too.
To package the wraps, I wrapped them in little squares of waxed paper (my favorite kitchen tool), and tied them with silver twist ties. They were gone in a flash, everyone loves cake pops.
I finally had success with Chocolate Chip Cookies. They were my kitchen nemesis, but we’ve made friends. My family is thankful for it too. I think homemade chocolate chip cookies make the best afternoon snack after a really long day at school, or after a night of no sleep, and not enough coffee.
So here we are in February, and I’ll be busy cooking some tasty homemade treats. I need to restock the pantry again though, I’ve run out of sugar and flour.
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Sneak Peek of January’s Tasty Treats
I’ve been cooking a lot this month, and baking a lot too. I’ve got lots of tasty pictures to share with you, but here are just a few.
Thade’s Party Snacks
Last year Thade wanted to celebrate his birthday Harry Potter style. It sounded like a fun theme to me, and my mind was buzzing with party ideas. He wanted to invite his best buddies from school too, and the day was a lot of fun.
His 8th birthday is just around the corner, and I have no idea what kind of party he wants this year. Last year’s party was really great, and the Harry Potter themed treats were a big hit with the kiddos.
We made magic wands, with large pretzel rods.
Yummy snack mix.
There was a magic potion station, everyone could fill a little cauldron with magic finds. The boys really loved this one.
I lucked out and found cute “Hogwarts houses” colored candles for Thade’s favorite cake.
Time to get to planning for this year’s birthday bash!
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December’s Tasty Treats
December was another one of those months where I was in the kitchen all the time, but I didn’t take too many pictures… This time around I am also sharing a few photos of tasty treats that I didn’t make, but they are too good not to share.
My family loves Panko chicken, and my family loves popcorn chicken, so I decided to give Panko-popcorn chicken a try. It was so tasty, and it has become a family favorite. It will be on the menu a time or two in January.
We needed a football snack one sunny afternoon, and I had everything on hand to make Chocolate Chip cookies. To be honest, I really don’t like to make Chocolate Chip Cookies, I can never get them quite right. My family really liked this batch, or they were just so happy to have Chocolate Chip cookies that they wouldn’t complain otherwise.
I usually skip breakfast, but one morning I made oatmeal. I added in some dried cranberries for extra sweetness. No matter what I try breakfast and I just aren’t the closest of friends.
One fantastic take-out Tuesday James and I opted for a local favorite NuGrille. It is a fun 1940’s diner that makes some killer Onion Rings. I always get the Pork Tenderloin sandwich (plain) it is crazy good. Now I need NuGrille stat!
I had some leftover Croissant dough hanging out in the freezer, and I wanted to see how it proofed after freezing. It worked out well, and these tasty beauties made a delicious side to Beef Stew and a bottle of Red. It’s probably one of my favorite Winter dinners.
I brought back Ham& Beans with cornbread, and my family still isn’t a fan. The cornbread muffins were so cute though. They are a little bit of sunshine on a cold Winter day.
One of my favorite lunches, steaming-hot Ramen Noodles with Edamame.
When it was time for Thade’s Christmas party at school, I lucked out when the head room-mom called and asked if I wouldn’t mind sending along some cookies. She loves to bake, and so do I. We each sent two dozen cookies for the party, I made a batch of Chocolate Chip Oatmeal cookies.
When it was almost Christmas, the kiddos wanted to make some cookies for Santa. Thade and Dylan were worried that we wouldn’t have enough, so we decided to make about 12 dozen. We made Chocolate Chip Oatmeal cookies, Vanilla Sugar cookies, Cakerdoodles, and White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal cookies. I also served them for dessert after the large Christmas dinner, and I sent home plates filled with cookies for the guests that visited.
One of my very favorite Christmas treats comes from my Mother-in-law, she always brings along a candy tray filled with sweets, cookies, and homemade fudge. She also sneaks in a second tray filled with Peanut Butter Fudge just for me. I stash it in the fridge right away, and I might share a piece or two. It is seriously the best Peanut Butter Fudge I’ve ever had. I’ve tried to make it a time or two, but her’s is seriously the best. I wonder if I can talk her into making a batch for me for my birthday…
So here we are in January, and I haven’t been in the kitchen too much. I think I’m still all cooked-out from Christmas… I have a few treats in mind to make, I just need the motivation to get to it.
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