Sunday, February 3, 2013

In the Kitchen


If I came to one conclusion this weekend
it is that I enjoy cooking more than baking

with cooking you have variables
you can omit this and add this
it's all about your taste

with baking I have to follow the recipe step by step
I guess I am more of a free spirit than I thought I was!

As you know I started my cooking challenge on the 1st
and I ate take out on the 1st

yeah ~ I know!

the thing is to cook 28 recipes that are new to you
ones that you have never cooked before
expanding your horizons ~ and your taste buds too

you can do one recipe a day or mash 5 into a weekend
like I did.


Saturday morning I hit the ground running

I will tell you that this cake is in my top 10 now of favourite cakes ever
even after all the grief it gave me

after I mixed it up and plopped it in the oven
my cake runneth over

oh yes it did

so picture this ~ the cake is still not cooked
but every time I open the oven to check on it
smoke pours out ~ the smoke detector went off
the dog is howling from the pain in her ears
and we have the windows open on this balmy -20 C
that's -4 F to my friends south of me

Trevor says to me ~ so we are not going to make this one ever again.....right?

yeah right ~ after we tasted it ~ it was worth the cold
and the smoke


the recipe can be found here
and the cooking time is not correct ~ it took about another 20 minutes or so.

Next up was a recipe I had pinned but never tried



slow cooker rolls ~ recipe here
2 thumbs up!

which went great with this soup


the best part I likes about this recipe is that I used it as a base
and made it my own by adding a few of my own things to it.

It was game night on Saturday
and this dip was a big hit


picture and recipe found here
since it is a bacon double cheeseburger dip
I added a couple of tablespoons of relish
which added a little something extra
and we all loved it.

After all the cooking on Saturday ~ I was ready to just relax today
but before I did that I made these


it's chocolate and peanut butter so basically it is a no brainer


a little more work than your normal everyday cookie
as you make the chocolate balls
then the peanut butter balls
flatten the choc into a disc and mold around the pb

well hello there ~ they are worth the extra time 


all in all my weekend was a success
every recipe that I tried ~ I would make again
so that's the glory about trying something new


this little man celebrated 6 candles yesterday
my Cooper cat
in his Playcat pose ~ just for you

he is going for a haircut tomorrow morning
shhh ~ don't tell him ~ it's a surprise!

Hope you had a fabulous weekend
I am now headed around to catch up on some blog reading
see you soon!

5 comments:

Ann said...

Oh this post got me hungry...
The dip looks amazing.
Got to try it sometime.

mimi charmante said...

That is a LOT of time in the kitchen my friend! Those rolls look divine~
Have a fabulous week,
x

Blondie's Journal said...

I love your determination! Everything looks great and what's a little smoke?! The dip looks delicious, I have to try that, we're always looking for something new. I bake like you do, I always want to throw in just a little extra of this or that!

Happy Birthday to kitty!

XO,
Jane

Leslie Harris said...

Lori. I'm so impressed with all this cooking. After the first few recipes I'd be laying down with your kitty. haha.
I want to climb through the computer screen and eat one of those rolls! But I guess I'll have to print the recipe instead :)
Leslie (aka Gwen Moss)

Farmgirl Paints said...

holy moly friend you are on FIRE! that banana cake had me licking the screen. so proud of you. you made ROLLS too! wowza!!!