Progress and The Most Disgusting Thing I've Ever Tasted

Before I get started for the day, I thought I'd let everyone know how it's going.  I didn't get nearly what I wanted to get done yesterday.  I did manage to make the appetizer dips and salad dressings.  Today I'm starting the day with making the cheesecake... mostly because I know it is the hardest thing I'll be making (other than the turkey of course).

I also wanted to share a huge mistake I made yesterday.  I was making Light Blue Cheese Dressing and the recipe called for Low-Fat Plain Yogurt.  We usually keep a large container in the fridge for smoothies, so when it was time, I grabbed it and started mixing.  I took a little taste before I mixed in the blue cheese and it tasted off.  I figured the blue cheese had to finish it off.  I mixed in the Blue cheese and gave it a taste.

It was one of the most disgusting things I've ever tasted... EVER!

It was so sour that I immediately thought I had something that had expired or gone bad.  I started picking up cartons and containers checking dates and smelling the food.  Nope.  Then I spun the yogurt around and looked at the label.

My husband had bought Vanilla yogurt.   

The sweet against the lemon and blue cheese created a curdled taste in the dip.  I've vomited before and had a better taste in my mouth.  It was horrifying and I drank a glass of water and chewed a piece of gum to stop the offensive breath that was sure to form.  I tried to figure out a way to salvage the dressing, but it wasn't going to happen.  Mostly because I wasn't willing to taste it again to see if it was getting any better.

Thank all that is holy that I bought extra blue cheese and still had a gigantic tub of Greek yogurt left over.  I started again and this time, the dressing turned out SUPERB.  I even thought about cooking up some buffalo chicken so I could eat it right then.  

I'm going to also throw out there that I'm glad I made the mistake.  I had never tried Greek yogurt before now (I know - what was I thinking) and was totally unaware of how creamy and rich this low-fat yogurt was.  The regular low-fat yogurt was downright watery compared to it.  The remake with the Greek yogurt was creamy and delicious.

Hope your holiday plans are coming together!

Things Are Coming Along Nicely

What a crazy week it has been!

I'm an esthetician and I was the make-up artist for a very large bridal party.  I love sharing in someone's special day, but I kept thinking about what I had to do to get my house Thanksgiving ready.  Of course, by the time I was done, there was NO WAY I was going to be doing any cleaning.  Then, my crazy chihuahua got tape worm causing the entire pug and chihuahua army to go through the deworming process.  While getting the dogs checked out, we found a lump on our pug we've had since we've been married.  Luckily it isn't anything serious, but emotions have run high throwing my cleaning/cooking schedule off kilter.  I'm kind of back on track  now and the cooking process was supposed to have started, but I've gotten sucked into 16 and Pregnant marathon, so I thought I'd update you on my process to keep me from screaming at the television.

And the Thanksgiving Planning Begins

If you haven't already heard from my Facebook page, I found out that I will be hosting Thanksgiving dinner for about 10 people.  Although I've had large dinner parties before, none of them have been the scale of a traditional holiday meal.  Oh, I've never made a turkey before either.

YIKES!!!!!

So I’ve nailed down my Thanksgiving menu and ordered my turkey (a 16-18 pounder since I want plenty left over for casseroles, sandwiches and soups).  The preparations start tomorrow with a trip to the store for all the non-produce items needed for dinner.  Of course, we’ve determined that our eat-in kitchen won’t seat all 10 people (or really give enough room for us to put the leaves in our dining room table) so there’s going to be a lot of furniture re-arranging to turn our living room into a dining room while keeping it functional for people to relax before and after dinner.

And I don’t want to talk about the cleaning.  I’ve already assigned bathroom detail to my husband.

I have to admit that I’m a little frightened about making the turkey.  I’ve gotten a lot of advice on how to do it, but a lot of it conflicts with each other.  For example, some people say to cook it upside down, some say to brine it, some say to not baste it… my head is spinning!!!  What I decided to do is pick a recipe that closely follows the advice of the Butterball experts so if I get caught in a pickle, I can call them for help.  Just in case, I’m thinking about making sure I have a ton of chicken just in case I need to whip up a meal quickly. 

Here is the menu:

Weekend Recipe Round-up for November 4-6, 2011

If anyone makes one of these recipes, I’d love for you to let me know, give me your thoughts and even take a picture or two.  I’d LOVE to start posting updates from other cooks, such as myself.  Don’t worry if it isn’t perfect.  That’s the point of this blog.

Betty Crocker

“Steak” and Cheddar Melt

Prep Time: 20 Min

Total Time: 25 Min

Servings: 6

Daily Recipe Round-up for November 1-3, 2011

If anyone makes one of these recipes, I’d love for you to let me know, give me your thoughts and even take a picture or two.  I’d LOVE to start posting updates from other cooks, such as myself.  Don’t worry if it isn’t perfect.  That’s the point of this blog.

Betty Crocker

Chocolate Lover’s Dream Cake

Prep Time: 20 Min

Total Time: 3 Hr 35 Min

Servings: 16

October Recipe Round-up: epicurious & Southern Living

Here’s Round #12 (also the final round) of the End of October Recipe Round-Up!  If anyone makes one of these recipes, I’d love for you to let me know, give me your thoughts and even take a picture or two.  I’d LOVE to start posting updates from other cooks, such as myself.  Don’t worry if it isn’t perfect.  That’s the point of this blog.

epicurious

Black Rice with Squid

Yield: serves 6

October Recipe Round-up: Pillsbury

Here’s Round #11 of the End of October Recipe Round-Up!  If anyone makes one of these recipes, I’d love for you to let me know, give me your thoughts and even take a picture or two.  I’d LOVE to start posting updates from other cooks, such as myself.  Don’t worry if it isn’t perfect.  That’s the point of this blog.

“My” Pot Pie
Prep Time: 5 Min

Total Time: 25 Min

Makes: 2 servings

October Recipe Round-up: Cooking.com

Here’s Round #10 of the End of October Recipe Round-Up!  If anyone makes one of these recipes, I’d love for you to let me know, give me your thoughts and even take a picture or two.  I’d LOVE to start posting updates from other cooks, such as myself.  Don’t worry if it isn’t perfect.  That’s the point of this blog.

Peanut Butter Brickle Drops 

Active Time:  10 Minutes
Total Time:  20 Minutes
Yield:  Makes about 64 cookies

October Recipe Round-Up: Real Simple

Here’s Round #9 of the End of October Recipe Round-Up!  If anyone makes one of these recipes, I’d love for you to let me know, give me your thoughts and even take a picture or two.  I’d LOVE to start posting updates from other cooks, such as myself.  Don’t worry if it isn’t perfect.  That’s the point of this blog.

Sweet and Salty Pumpkin Seeds 

Serves 8

Hands-On Time: 15m

Total Time: 1hr 30m

October Recipe Round-up: MyRecipes

Here’s Round #8 of the End of October Recipe Round-Up!  If anyone makes one of these recipes, I’d love for you to let me know, give me your thoughts and even take a picture or two.  I’d LOVE to start posting updates from other cooks, such as myself.  Don’t worry if it isn’t perfect.  That’s the point of this blog.

Hot Caramelized Onion Dip with Bacon and Gruyere 

Yield: Makes 2 cups
Cook Time: 40 Minutes
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Bake: 20 Minutes Total: 1 Hour, 10 Minutes

October Recipe Round-up: Allrecipes

Here’s Round #7 of the End of October Recipe Round-Up!  If anyone makes one of these recipes, I’d love for you to let me know, give me your thoughts and even take a picture or two.  I’d LOVE to start posting updates from other cooks, such as myself.  Don’t worry if it isn’t perfect.  That’s the point of this blog.

Loaded Potato Soup

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 1 1/4 cups)
Total: 20 Minutes

October Recipe Round-up: Kraft Recipes

Here’s Round #6 of the End of October Recipe Round-Up!  If anyone makes one of these recipes, I’d love for you to let me know, give me your thoughts and even take a picture or two.  I’d LOVE to start posting updates from other cooks, such as myself.  Don’t worry if it isn’t perfect.  That’s the point of this blog.

Spaghetti and “Oozing Eyeballs”

Total Time: 45 min

Prep: 20 min

8 servings

October Recipe Round-up: Taste of Home

Here’s Round #5 of the End of October Recipe Round-Up!  If anyone makes one of these recipes, I’d love for you to let me know, give me your thoughts and even take a picture or two.  I’d LOVE to start posting updates from other cooks, such as myself.  Don’t worry if it isn’t perfect.  That’s the point of this blog.

Lollipop Ghosts

10 Servings

Prep/Total Time: 30 min.

October Recipe Round-Up: Every Day with Rachael Ray

Here’s Round #4 of the End of October Recipe Round-Up!  If anyone makes one of these recipes, I’d love for you to let me know, give me your thoughts and even take a picture or two.  I’d LOVE to start posting updates from other cooks, such as myself.  Don’t worry if it isn’t perfect.  That’s the point of this blog.

 

Polenta-Topped Lamb and Eggplant Pie

4 servings

30-minute Meals

October Recipe Round-up: Cooking Light

Here’s Round #3 of the End of October Recipe Round-Up!  If anyone makes one of these recipes, I’d love for you to let me know, give me your thoughts and even take a picture or two.  I’d LOVE to start posting updates from other cooks, such as myself.  Don’t worry if it isn’t perfect.  That’s the point of this blog.
 

Quick Turkey & Bean Chili

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 1 cup chili and 1 lime wedge)
Total: 20 Minutes

October Recipe Round-up: All You

Here’s Round #2 of the End of October Recipe Round-Up!  If anyone makes one of these recipes, I’d love for you to let me know, give me your thoughts and even take a picture or two.  I’d LOVE to start posting updates from other cooks, such as myself.  Don’t worry if it isn’t perfect.  That’s the point of this blog.
 

Candy Corn Cake Wedges

Yield: 12 wedges (serving size: 1 wedge)

Prep Time: 45 Minutes
Bake: 25 Minutes
Freeze: 30 Minutes

October Recipe Round-up: Betty Crocker

It’s been a rough couple weeks so I haven’t been keeping up on my posting.  I have been saving my Halloween recipes for a round up and figured if I didn’t do it now; it was never going to happen, so we’re doing the End of October Recipe Round-Up!  To make it easier on you, I’ve broken the collections down by publication, so you’re going to be seeing a lot of posts today.

If anyone makes one of these recipes, I’d love for you to let me know, give me your thoughts and even take a picture or two.  I’d LOVE to start posting updates from other cooks, such as myself.  Don’t worry if it isn’t perfect.  That’s the point of this blog.

Betty’s Classic Beef Stew

Prep Time: 25 Min

Total Time: 3 Hr 45 Min

Servings: 4