Peppermint Fudge

Is it too late to do my holiday cookie postings??!! This holiday season snuck up on me fast. I spent hours the night before I left for the holidays baking away...dog treats, fudge, pecan pie bars and rugelach. The hours I spent baking left me zero time to write a post. I missed out on all the holiday blogging fun. So now, I will recap! I know I'm sick of all the holiday treats and the fact that I actually have to put on a bathing suit in two short weeks for vacation is motivation enough to stay away from this stuff for now. So instead of eating the leftovers, I will just talk about them.

Every year, my sister and I take on a few different cookies for our holiday celebrations. I've managed to keep one going, the Pecan Pie bars. Nothing like them. They are amazing! I use a recipe on Allrecipes.com. This year, in honor of my grandfather who passed away, I decided to try rugelach. When I saw a recipe using only puff pastry and filling, I figured I had to give it a shot! Not only was it easy, but it gave me an excuse to use Nutella. These were a fan favorite as well.

I had bookmarked this recipe for peppermint fudge months ago and was lucky enough to find it for the holidays. Was so good! We still have some of this in the fridge that I'm snacking on, but I'll try to hold back due to that looming bathing suit...

Find original recipe here. I used candy canes crushed up because I couldn't find the Andes Peppermints. And then of course I found them at my parent's house in my stocking. Oh well!

Homemade Apple Dog Treats

I've been meaning to make my own dog treats since last Christmas. My mom (or maybe my sister) gave me a mix from Crate & Barrel. All you need to do is add eggs and chicken or beef broth. Every time I think to make them, I don't have one of the ingredients. 

With our influx of foster dogs, we go through treats like crazy. The rescue gives us some they receive as donations, but it still seems like we're always flying through them. Mia got adopted on Saturday, so I figured I know needed to replenish the treat Tupperware for Izzy. Our treat jar broke last weekend...was a sad day. Good thing the holidays are right around the corner! Izzy is hoping Santa brings her a new one. 

I found this recipe on Pinterest and made few changes. This was one of the few recipes I could find that didn't use peanut butter. I didn't peel my apples because I didn't want to spend the time. I did drop them quick into the food processor, and you can see the bits of apple in there. I used an ice cream cone cookie cutter because that was all I had. Don't ask. 

See original recipe here.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 2 small finely chopped or grated apples (could probably do 1 large/medium)
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/2 cup cold water

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease baking sheet. 
• Combine flour and cornmeal. Add in apples, egg, oil, brown sugar and water. 
• Flour your work surface and roll out dough. I rolled mine about 1/2 inch thick. Cut your cookies and place on baking sheet. 
• Bake for 35 minutes. Turn off oven and leave cookies in there for another 30-45 minutes to let them crisp up. 
• Store in airtight container.

Izzy is not the world's best behaved dog, but she does have a pretty reliable "leave it" when it comes to treats. She was a good sport through my photos and got two treats as compensation for her hard work. She loved 'em!

Chicken Cutlets with Tropical Raw Sauce

I've been a Food Network fan ever since I first laid eyes on it. For no good reason at all, we didn't have cable growing up. When I turned 17 and was going off to college, my dad decided it was a fabulous time to get cable. Not only did he get basic cable, but he got the whole deal. HBO, Showtime, you name it. I spent my entire childhood running to my friend's house to watch The Real World so that I could join in the conversation.

When I first hit the Food Network scene, Rachael Ray was huge. She was everywhere! She started with her 30 minute meals, and I used to watch it around 6pm and then go help my mom make dinner. We tried a few RR recipes and I acquired a few RR cookbooks over the years. Her recipes aren't always super healthy, but are easy to modify slightly to lower the fat or calories.

This one is from her Big Orange Book. You can find the recipe here. I used white onion because that's what I had. And I skipped the cilantro. I thought it would be too much in this!