A Week's Worth of Food

Sorry for not posting for a whole week, but things have been busy and I have been a little lazy with my free time. :) (And to be completely honest, I just needed a little blogging break.)

Our Thanksgiving was very nice; we went out to my aunt's house around 4pm and enjoyed a wonderful traditional turkey dinner with my extended family. The desserts I made got rave reviews and so I have earned the job of bringing dessert every year now, which is fine with me - I love to bake! I brought Lemon Bars, White Chocolate Cheesecake and Kolacky Cookies. Here is the cookie recipe:

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KOLACKY COOKIES

1 - 8oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 cup salted butter, softened
2 cups flour
1 cup powdered sugar, plus 1/2 cup
2 tsp. baking powder
2 - 12oz. cans Solo Fruit Filling

In a stand mixer, beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed until soft and fluffy, about 1 minute. In another bowl, combine flour, sugar and baking powder. Slowly beat flour mixture into cream cheese mixture, beating until dough is smooth. Shape about 2 tablespoons of dough into a ball with your hands and place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Press your thumb into each ball to make a small well and spoon in about 1 teaspoon of fruit filling. Bake in a 350 degree oven until the bottoms are lightly browned, about 10-12 minutes. Remove cookies to a wire rack and cool completely. Dust tops of cookies with remaining 1/2 cup powdered sugar using a sifter. Store in an airtight container.
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These cookies are soft and not too sweet, perfect for after dinner (or with breakfast) with coffee.

Last Tuesday I made Hot Dogs with Mac'n'Cheese, on Wednesday I made Pepperoni Pan Pizzas, Thursday was Thanksgiving, Friday was dinner out, Saturday I made Black Bean Chili, and last night we had Tacos.

Tonight we are having Spicy Marinara Pasta with Garlic Toast. I have been using Hunt's Zesty & Spicy pasta sauce and we really like it. Also on the meal plan for this week are: Baked Potato Soup, Chicken Quesadillas, Breakfast and Shepherds Pie.

Here's a cute story for you: On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving as I dropped my daughter off at her classroom door, the kindergarten classroom bulletin board caught my eye. On it were little hand-print turkeys with each child's name and the words "I am thankful for..." Most of the kids had written "my family" or "my mom" or "my dog", but one little boy had written "corndogs". Too funny! It put a smile on my face that whole day.

Tomorrow is December 1st - are you ready for the Christmas craziness to begin? Have you started your shopping? Do you know what you are getting for each person on your list? Do you have your Christmas Eve/Day meal plan ready? My biggest goal this year is to get a picture of my daughter with Santa. I have a sweet one from when she was 3 months old and sleeping in his arms, and then the next year she was a screaming, crying blur. The last few years have been amusing; we go to the mall and walk back and forth in front of the big Santa area a few times while she gives him sideways glances before announcing that there is no way in heck she is going anywhere near Santa. >sigh< This year I have hope because there is a Breakfast With Santa event at her school. Maybe she will see her friends sitting on Santa's lap and feel more comfortable doing it herself. I've got my fingers crossed!

Happy eating!