Cooking A-Z: X is for Xocolatl

Blank…blank…blank…this is what was going on in my mind for days trying to figure out what to make for my letter “x”. Even though “X-tra Cheesy Macaroni and Cheese” did sound AMAZING, I felt that was a bit of a cop-out. Even better would have been “X-tra Peanut Butter Peanut Butter Cookies” but that’s a mouth full and again a bit of a cop-out. I might make those later because who cares when that much peanut butter is involved!

There is really nothing great to choose from so I was super excited when I came across another blogger who cooked her way through the alphabet also. Xocolatl translates to bitter water  and is a traditional Aztec drink but is pretty much hot chocolate. I know this is not technically a food like my other recipes but I’m all out of options and we can all get past the small technicality. 🙂

This drink has a great classic hot chocolate flavor that will take you back to childhood but also has a hint of spice.It’s worth trying if you are a chocolate fan. Hope you enjoy!

Tomato and Spinach Pasta

I haven’t made pasta in what seems like forever! I found a great recipe on Kraft.com and replaced the sausage with grilled chicken. This was super yummy and all the flavors were perfect together! It’s so quick and easy too. The hubby came home and devoured half of it right away…this is always a good sign that I have made something fantastic 🙂

I plan on finishing my letters x, y, and z this weekend. My abc cooking adventure has been so much fun and a great learning experience. I highly recommend it for anyone who is new to cooking who just wants to have a new blog experience. 🙂

Hope you enjoy the pasta in the meantime 🙂

Cooking A-Z: W is for Chocolate Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies

Wow, this title is a mouth full but the “Whoopie Pie” is what I was eventually trying to get to. Besides a Little Debbie Oatmeal pie I’ve never had another version. I suppose I never felt the need to since they are so damn good! Even though I’m no Little Debbie, I must say my Whoopie Pies came out pretty darn good 😉 I don’t think you can go wrong when peanut butter is involved and you pair it with chocolate…ahhh, perfection! I took too different recipes to get the exact flavor I wanted. For the chocolate cookie pie I used a recipe from TreatsSF and for the Peanut Butter filling, I used a recipe from Williams-Sonoma. I think mine came out looking like little chocolate hamburgers but they are still delicious! These are a great dessert to indulge in and I hope you enjoy!

Cooking A-Z: V is for Vegetable Bake

These last few letters are getting a little more difficult  to find recipes but I’m in the home stretch now and can see the finish line!
The letter “v” was challenging because everything that I haven’t made before seemed vegetarian or veal (which I wanted no part of!). But I am a big fan of meat so going all veggie didn’t like it was meant to be. However, I did find a nice vegetable bake dish would compliment a great piece of chicken! 🙂 And in the future I think it would taste great to add shredded chicken in it.
For now though, it tastes great on its own. The sour cream and cream of chicken addgreat flavor to the veggies. I hope you enjoy with or without meat 🙂

How to Create Your Own Craft Room!

My dream craft room is finally finished! I could not be happier that this day has arrived! It took a lot of patience, time, planning, and help from the husband. I bought new items, recycled old items, and built my own craft table, which I’m very proud of! I had sooo much fun filling all my shelves, cubes, baskets, and jars…maybe a little too much fun! I love, love, love to organize so I was in heaven. 🙂 Having a room of my own to craft, create, be messy (sort of) and make a ton of great Pinterest DIY projects is awesome! This is so much better than cramming all of my things in the closet. I’m going to take you through a tour and show you all the wonderfulness of my dream craft room.