I’m not a huge sports girl…but I have to say, GO UTES! Seriously, how AWESOME that they beat Alabama on Friday!  I know most of the people reading this are women who don’t care…but I was raised a Ute fan and I gotta shout for joy.  (Photo from ESPN.com)

And while we’re at it…Go Chargers!  Way to beat the Colts!  Woo-hoo!  Sorry, Peyton.  I know it’s really sad you don’t get to win another Super Bowl…but now you can focus on what you’re really good at.  You know, funny commercials and hosting SNL.

Menu time! Yes, I pretty much ripped off my menu from last week. Anna’s double ear infections really threw me for a loop.  Yeah, I pretty much didn’t cook one thing on the menu.  I can’t tell you how excited I am to get cooking and eating homemade food!!!

MONDAY:
- Oriental Chicken Salad

TUESDAY:
- Chicken paninis (toppings TBD)

WEDNESDAY:
- Pork chops
- Veggie
- Wild & Long Grain rice

THURSDAY:
- Leftovers

FRIDAY:
- Soup recipe from Sunset magazine…exact recipe yet to be determined - they all look GREAT!

SATURDAY:
- Eat out

SUNDAY:
- Kitchen Sink Quesadillas
- Guacamole & chips

Okay, I really need your menus this week! It’s one of those “I’m not feeling very inspiring, thank goodness other people post menus” weeks!

Oh - one more thing!  Click here and share your New Year’s resolution-making tips! I need help!!!

I’ve been intrigued by purple and orange cauliflower for some time.  I finally bought purple the other night.  It’s so pretty - I love how it looks!  Cauliflower is my most favorite vegetable, so I was excited to try this new-to-me variety.

Well, it’s good.  But I like white better.  White has more of a “buttery” flavor to me.  The purple was still good and definitely an eye-catcher, so I will get it again, perhaps when we’re having company for dinner.  Orange is next on my to-try list!

PS: Cauliflower is very good for you.  As nutritious as broccoli.  Click here to read more about it.

Eat your veggies!

I have mixed feelings about New Year’s resolutions.  In theory I want to make them. In practice, well, I think I’m just plain scared to.  Whenever I start drafting goals in my head, I feel like I’m setting myself up for failure.

Despite my resolution wishy-washiness, I do think a LOT about my “resolutions” every year, ponder on the myriad of ways in which I could improve myself.  Trust me, it’s an oversized myriad. :)  And while I am yet again afraid to pull the trigger and make any specific goals, I do have a few things I want to work on.

DE-STRESS. I’m not sure yet how to do this.  But I know I need to.

EXERCISE. Yup, the ultimate resolution cliché.  I’m thinking of getting back into yoga.  I love it. I feel good when I do it.  And it will invariably help with the de-stress goal.

WAKE UP! This involves going to bed earlier, getting up earlier, being less tired!!!

Do you make resolutions?  How do you make them?  Any sure-fire success tactics you can share?

Oh…and since this IS a meal planning website…I challenge you all to make meal planning one of YOUR resolutions this year.  Click here for a few posts about why it’s so great. Seriously, this is one good addition for your resolution list.  Yeah, and selfishly I’m hoping to get more of your menus up here each week!

Can’t wait to hear all your resolution thoughts!

Looking for a good winter cookie?  These Chocolate Mint Cookies are it!

I’m sure some of you have seen or used this recipe before.  I tried a little twist on it this week.  I had a box of See’s Milk Chocolate Peppermints, so I decided to put those on half of the cookies and Andes mints on the other half (Andes is what the recipe calls for).

I think the Andes mints work better with the recipe because they’re smaller and you can “swirl” them into the cookie when they’re hot.  However, the See’s peppermints LOOK better.  I mean, seriously, is that not a cute cookie?  So if you’re looking to make a handsome cookie, the See’s peppermints are a good way to go.

No matter how you make them…YUM!

Chocolate Mint Cookies
From Sis-in-Law Jessica
- 3/4 cup butter
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 2 Tbs water
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 eggs
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 teas. baking soda
- 1/2 teas. salt
- 2 boxes Andes Candies (mint)

1. Melt on the stove: butter, sugar, water, & chips- and cool 10 minutes.
2. Beat in eggs one at a time on high speed
3. Slowly add dry ingredients
4. Chill dough 1 hour
5. Cook @ 350 degrees for 12-13 minutes.
6. After they come out of the oven, put a candy on each cookie and as it melts swirl it around with a fork.

Wow, I really went off the grid this week…unexpectedly.  Baby Anna has infections in BOTH ears.  The last three days have mostly consisted of cuddling with our sick little girl.

Anyway, I have a bunch of yummy food to tell you about, so please keep reading!  And of course, I want to wish you all a Happy New Year!

I’m back!  What a perfectly lovely week it’s been.  Now it’s back to the grindstone…but no biggie. I’ll be able to eat homemade frozen yogurt and ice cream while I grind away, thanks to my new Cuisinart ice cream maker. I’m so excited, people, I can’t even stand it!

Before I forget…I made these White Chocolate Strawberry cookies (pictured) for Cate’s birthday party last week and they were a hit. You can find the recipe here.

Time for a REAL menu with some healthy{er} food!  Gotta love the holidays…

MONDAY:
- Oriental Chicken Salad

TUESDAY:
- Chicken paninis (toppings TBD)

WEDNESDAY:
- Happy New Year!
- Oh my, another holiday on which to indulge. I’m gonna get together a bunch of snacky food - artichoke dip, chicken tenders, some sort of salad, etc…I’ll share the real plan later this week.

THURSDAY:
- Leftovers

FRIDAY:
- I’m going to try a recipe from my Sunset magazine, which I just started reading and LOVE, by the way…still need to choose the recipe!

SATURDAY:
- Eat out

SUNDAY:
- Kitchen Sink Quesadillas
- Guacamole & chips

Can’t wait to see what you are cooking up this week!  Share your menus!

Cookies for Santa. Check. Kids in bed. Check. ‘A Christmas Story’ playing in the background. Check. More beautiful memories created. Check.

Have a wonderful Christmas and see you in a few days!

Need to warm up now that we’re in the dead of winter?

Then hop to it and make this great vanilla hot chocolate mix!  Our friends the Neilsons brought this mix over the other night (we have been so spoiled this year by homemade yumminess from so many friends!).  Nate and I have had hot chocolate the last two nights. I’m considering NOT sharing with Cate.  Yeah, I’m a great mom, eh?

Here’s the recipe, if you want to make it for friends…or yourself!

Vanilla Hot Chocolate Mix
From Epicurious
- 4 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 vanilla bean, split crosswise (see tips, below)
- 1 1/2 pounds high-quality semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 8 ounces milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process (see tips, below)

Place sugar in large bowl. Split half vanilla bean lengthwise, scrape seeds into sugar, and add pod. Work seeds in with your fingers. Cover snugly with plastic wrap and let stand overnight at room temperature.

In food processor fitted with metal blade, process semisweet chocolate and milk chocolate until finely ground, using 4-second pulses. (Process in two batches if necessary.)

Remove pod from sugar. Add ground chocolate and cocoa powder to sugar and whisk to blend.

Store mix airtight at room temperature for up to six months.

To serve:
For each serving, heat 8 ounces milk in small saucepan over medium heat until scalded (or microwave 2 1/2 minutes at full power). Whisk in 1/4 to 1/3 cup mix. Serve with unsweetened softly whipped cream or marshmallows.

Tips:
•Save the other half of the vanilla bean for another use, such as a second batch of vanilla sugar, which keeps indefinitely and can be used in baking, coffee, or simply to sprinkle on fruit or waffles.
•Dutch process cocoa has been treated with an alkaline solution, which gives it a darker color and less bitter flavor and makes it dissolve more easily. Droste is a good brand.

Wow!  100 menus!!!  Time sure does fly when you’re having fun!

We have received so many amazing holiday treats this year from friends.  And we’re LOVING IT.  (PS - you can find recipes for the molasses cookies & chocolate peanut butter squares in this picture on the Cookie Exchange post…look for Melissa & Alison’s comments.)

Now for my 100th menu.  How fun that Christmas falls during this week!

MONDAY:
- Chili
- Corn Cake Toppers

TUESDAY:
- Leftovers

WEDNESDAY:
- Chinese Take-Out (a Maynard family Christmas Eve tradition I’ve happily embraced!)

THURSDAY:
- Merry Christmas!
- Swedish meatballs (my first attempt! I’ll write more on those later), Boiled new potatoes, Vegetable of some sort

FRIDAY:
- Leftovers

SATURDAY:
- Eat out

SUNDAY:
- Pot roast
- Mashed potatoes
- Vegetable or salad

Can’t wait to see your menus! And feel free to share family holiday traditions (even if you don’t have a menu)…food traditions & otherwise!

Time to announce the ProFlowers giveaway winners…yeah, I know, I should have done this hours ago and I’m sure you’re all sitting at your computers waiting…but I was very tired today.  Hosting a party with 16 three- & four-year-olds will do that to you!

Without further ado, the two randomly-selected TWFD readers, who will each receive a $100 ProFlowers gift card, are….

Stimey, who said, “You can never have too much credit for a great florist!”  (so true, stimey!)

- and -

Adrianne, who said, “jane. i think it’s my turn to win.” (guess you were right, adrianne!)

Congratulations, ladies!  What a lovely holiday surprise for you both!  For the rest of you…you’ll get more chances, promise!  Big thanks to ProFlowers!

Lindsay Claus, my amazing friend who cooks amazing food, shared today’s Kitchen Tip with me months ago.  I finally used it for the first time last night with great success!  I’m so excited to share!

Lindsay cut these towel strips for me (from here on out called “cake strips”) and gave them to me as a little gift.  Here’s how to use them: wet with water, wrap around cake pans and attach with safety pin.

Why would you want to dress your cake pans in a pretty pink towel?  Well the cakes stay moist around the edges AND, as you can see from my picture, they stay flat!  No big dome in the center of the cake.  I am SO HAPPY to have learned this little trick.

You can buy cake strips (just Google ‘cake strips’)…but why spend money when you can just cut up an old towel and use a safety pin?

On a related note….I have pictures of the finished product on my camera.  More on that later…

Last chance to enter the ProFlowers free, random giveaway.  To enter, click here to add a comment on the original giveaway post. You have until Midnight (PT) TONIGHT!  Good Luck!

Don’t you hate it when you want to make cookies RIGHT NOW, but your butter is too cold and you have to let it sit at room temperature until it’s JUST RIGHT, at which point you don’t want cookies anymore?

Lucky for you, you read my blog.  I have perfected the art of softening butter.  Keep in mind, this is an ART, not a science.  You will have to tweak the time based on your own microwave, but the following should be a good guide.

For two sticks of butter in my 1100-watt microwave: 9 seconds at Power Level 2.  Flip butter over 180 degrees.  8 seconds at Power Level 2.

After I followed that little “recipe” tonight, my butter was the PERFECT consistency for making cookies.  Awesome.

PS: You can do this with frozen butter, too.  Just heat it longer, but it should still be at Power Level 2.

PS #2: Power Level 2 should be consistent for everyone, no matter what microwave you have.

I grew up with a mom who made amazing birthday cakes. Snoopy, rainbows, lions, cars…you name it, she’s caked it. I remember my birthday cakes. I loved my birthday cakes. I want my kids to remember and love theirs.

There’s one slight problem. I stink at it. I had trouble just frosting this tiny little cake for Anna this week! Seriously.  And the reason the bundt cake in the background looks cute is because it’s out of focus.  It did NOT live up to the image in my brain.  It DID taste good, though…anyway…

Cake masters!  I know you’re out there!  Divulge your secrets! Please share your best cake decorating tips, recipes, anything. I need help!!!

(Oh, and Cate wants a “strawberry” cake for her party later this week…any ideas on that front are welcome, too!)

If you want a taste of the ideal that’s in my head…here’s the cake my mom made for Cate last year. Too cute! Yeah, my car cake would NOT have looked like that.

This giveaway is now closed.  Thank you!

You know I love ProFlowers…and the love affair continues.  Look at this GORGEOUS wreath I just received from ProFlowers.  I seriously love it.  I saw another eucalyptus wreath at the store today and thought, “Bah! Mine is better!”  If you send this wreath to someone, they will love you forever.

It’s the holidays, which means another ProFlowers giveaway on This Week for Dinner!  Yea!  Two randomly-selected TWFD readers will each receive a $100 gift card to use at ProFlowers.com.  Yes, it’s the holidays and you can use your winnings for gifts…but I won’t tell if you order yourself a nice bouquet and some hand-dipped berries (my personal fave). You deserve it!

You know the drill…leave a comment, any comment, by Midnight PT, Friday, December 19.  Only one entry per person, please.  Winners will be announced on Saturday, December 20.

Big thanks to ProFlowers.  And for 15% off your entire order, click here, or on any ‘ProFlowers’ reference in this post…just in time for the holidays!