{Not So Confidential} - December in Review

Happy New Year!  Mother Nature decided to ring in the new year here with a deep freeze.  Brrrr!  I would have much preferred a nice snowfall like this one earlier in December.

{What I made} Craft Projects

And in case you missed the posts on a couple of them:

{Handmade Christmas} Pinecone Ornaments

{Handmade Christmas} Felt Ornaments

{What I made} Yummy Eats

• Chicken Pesto Lasagna Rolls from Tracey's Culinary Adventures
• White Chocolate Peppermint M&M Cookies from Two Peas and Their Pod - My second thought when I first tried the white chocolate peppermint M&M's was that they would be great in a cookie.  And they are.  {My first thought of course was mmmm these are yummy.}
•  Pomegranate White Chocolate Chunk Cookies from Two Peas and Their Pod - I love pomegranates and they add a fun pop to these cookies.
• Chocolate Fudge Pomegranate Cookies from How Sweet It Is - Two of my favorite things - chocolate and pomegranates.  So good.
• Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies from Sally's Baking Addiction - This recipe takes the chocolate chip cookie to the next level - awesomeness!
• White Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cheesecake from Baked by Rachel - I didn't make this one but I definitely eat it.  I suggested it to my mom for Christmas dessert and she was nice enough to make it for us.  We all loved it.  Probably one of the best cheesecakes ever.

{#FMSphotoaday} Favorite

4. Black & White...#dearsanta #fmsphotoaday

{Not So Confidential} - November in Review

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving.  I sure did.  I spent the long weekend at my parents.  Every morning I would go for a walk with their dog, Sasha.  Saturday morning I spied this bald eagle.  Perhaps he was waiting for his breakfast?

{What I made} Craft Projects

{What I made} Yummy Eats

• Oatmeal Brulee with Brown Buttered Pears and Cinnamon Ginger Cream from Simply Scratch - I knew when I saw this recipe it would be good.  Turns out it was great.  So yummy and delicious.
• Low-Carb Spaghetti Squash & Meatballs from Iowa Girl Eats - I probably had spaghetti squash when I was a kid but I don't remember so I'm considering this the first time I've tried it.  And guess what - I really like it.  This recipe was really good.
• Homemade Meatballs from In the Kitchen With Stacey - I made this with turkey and had them with the spaghetti squash (see previous bullet point.)  So easy and so tasty.
• Roasted Pear and Chocolate Chunk Scones from Smitten Kitchen - Yes, I'm a sucker for scone recipes.  I love to freeze them to bake later.  These were good.
• Sausage and Quinoa One-Pot Supper from Whole Foods Market - Aren't one pot meals great?  The fewer dishes to wash the better.
• Harvest Chicken Quinoa Soup from Iowa Girl Eats - So many great things in this soup. No wonder it tasted so good.
• Cauliflower Rice from Delighted Momma - I like cauliflower but I just don't buy it very often.  I suppose that's because I don't like it cooked.  This might change that - what a great way to eat this vegetable.
• Potato Parsnip Mash from Skinnytaste - I made this for Thanksgiving dinner.  I also made a rookie mistake - forgot to drain the vegetables before mashing.  My mom had to rescue it with some potato flakes.  They were still really good though.
• Sausage, Sage and Apple Stuffing from Eat Yourself Skinny - Another Thanksgiving dish.  I liked it but it wasn't a favorite for everyone.
• Fresh Green Bean Casserole from Brown Eyed Baker - Hands down my favorite dish at Thanksgiving dinner.  We have never had green bean casserole before but with this recipe, I forsee lots of green bean casserole in our future.  Our version omitted the mushrooms as we are not big fans.

{#FMSphotoaday} Favorite

16. The view from my window...good morning #nothingtoseehere #fmsphotoaday

{Not So Confidential} - October in Review

Goodbye October.  Goodbye walks in the park with beautiful scenery like this:

Hyland Lake Park Reserve

{What I made} Craft Projects

{What I made} Yummy Eats

• Stuffed Acorn Squash from Rachael Ray
• Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto from the Star Tribune - At first I thought this was a lot of work for something that only tasted all right.  But the leftovers changed my mind because they tasted great.
• Apple, Sage and Turkey Meatloaf from Whole Foods Market
• Orzo with Parmesan and Basil from My Tiny Oven - This reminded me of Pasta Roni only homemade and better.
• Whole Wheat Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins from Tracey's Culinary Adventures - I loved these.  They were great for breakfast and for dessert.

{#FMSphotoaday} 

Last month I joined the fun that is the Fat Mum Slim Photo a day challenge.  While I haven't managed yet to complete a whole month of the challenge, I love playing along when I can and putting my creative hat on.  I post my photos on Instagram and would love to have some followers {I'm lynnbodensteiner}  I'll follow back.  Here is my favorite from October:

20. 4 o'clock #lateasusual