Recent Recipe Successes

Here we are again... another 10+ day break from the blog. Last week had its share of ups and downs, including another few days with Jordan away. Unfortunately, this time, my mom wasn't here in town to shoulder some of the work around the house. In short-- we all survived, and I'm feeling stronger and more confident managing 2 because of it.

Basically, between manning the fort by myself and nursing a cold, I've spent most of my free time snoozing...

...That and hanging out with superman.

Back to the point of this whole blog! Recipes!!

While I miss my job and all, having maternity time off has given me the ability to somewhat keep up with housework, laundry, groceries, and cooking. While I haven't quite figured out the best way to balance everything, I also don't have 12 hour shifts eating up portions of my week. We've also spent a great deal of time eating at home, which means I've been able to try out a few new recipes. I wanted to share the winners with you!

Pioneer Woman's Chicken Enchiladas

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First, I made this meal for a fellow new mom. When it turned out really well (and got rave reviews), I thought I'd make it for us on a night that we had friends over for dinner. It is muy delicioso! It is also kind of labor intensive. Nothing difficult, just lots of little steps that can't be skipped over. I assure you, however, the end result is awesome. I paired ours with some mexican rice and it was a stellar meal that my husband asked me to make again before he even finished his plate.

Vanilla Pear Muffins

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Its funny, these are delicious and EASY muffins to put together, and yet I typically only make them for other people. I made a batch recently for the same mom who got the enchiladas (Lucky girl. Love you, Carole!) and they are deceptively fancy looking. Chances are good, you have all the ingredients in your pantry already and the recipe is super simple and quick. Honestly, I do not know why I don't make them more often.

Lemon Velvet Cake

See the difference between the pretty staged photos above and my awesome iPhone shots?

Now for the good stuff... cake. So my husband's office chooses to celebrate birthdays on the second Monday of each month, which we all lovingly refer to as Cake Day. For many years, a sweet couple made cakes for the staff in honor of their birthdays, and after they "retired" last summer, I've picked up a few months' worth of Cake Days. This month, I made a Lemon Velvet Cake and a Brown Sugar Pound Cake. The Lemon Velvet Cake recipe was easy to follow and produced a fluffy moist cake, which I think is different from the texture of a traditional red velvet cake (for which the lemon velvet cake was fashioned after). Regardless, it was tasty! Next time, I'll cut the frosting recipe in half. You can see how thick the layer of frosting is and I was left with 1/3 of the bowl still full! I considered it a success when one of the office ladies told me this cake would be specially requested for her birthday month.

Brown Sugar Pound Cake

I kept referring to this cake as a "Caramel Pecan" cake this morning, which I think fits it better than Brown Sugar Pound Cake. My husband said this was his favorite of the two, and I agree with him. I'd seen this recipe floating around Facebook and made sure to pin it for later. I have a feeling I'll be making this a LOT more. It was easy to put together and the flavors were right up my alley. I may have eaten the topping with a spoon... yummmm. The topping takes less than 10 minutes to put together and quickly hardens into a praline-like consistency (ooh, maybe Praline Pecan Cake?), making it perfect to drizzle over cake. Or ice cream. Or you can just eat it with a spoon like I did.

With posts like these, it's easy to see why I haven't lost any of the baby weight yet.

Happy cooking!