home.: 5 things

I hope you don’t mind if we return to the land of food blog for a bit. Nothing like 6 inches of snow or boys home sick from school nudges me into the kitchen to try out some new recipes. 'Cuz some days digging out the car for a trip to the store feels far more cumbersome than digging in the pantry and pulling together what you’ve got.

Here's 5 of my kitchen favorites from the week:

1. Diana Krall {Holiday} on Pandora, non-stop.

{Yes, that is a turkey in a football uniform hanging on the fridge and a Bionicle dancing to Harry Connick Jr…those are some of my favorites too.}

2. Jalapeño-Goat Cheese-Prosciutto-Cream Cheese Dip…need I say more?

Ok. Yes, I do...

Roast 5-7 jalapenos (cut in half, take the seeds out, drizzle with olive oil, roast at 400 for 15 minutes.) Chop them well.
Blend jalapenos with 4 oz. goat cheese, 8 oz. cream cheese (softened).
Place in baking dish.
Top with 2 oz. prosciutto ham, chopped.
Bake at 350 until prosciutto is crisp (15-20 minutes).
Serve with tortilla chips.

3. Homemade Hot Chocolate
This is one of those recipes I came across in desperation after promising boys playing in the snow hot chocolate when they came in…only to realize we were out of the powdered mix. So because I would rather google and make than bundle and scrape... {Edit: Thanks LKL for pointing out the irony of having prosciutto on hand, but not hot chocolate mix :) Confession: We're a little obsessed with that dip, and it's easy to throw together for company, so there's usually prosciutto in the freezer.}

I used this recipe, but increased cocoa powder to 3/4 cup and used sucanat instead of sugar. I also made our hot chocolate with half whole milk-half coconut milk, and no one seemed to mind :)

4. Trail Mix Cookies

*Vegetarian*Gluten Free*Dairy Free*SO Yummy!

½ cup peanut butter

½ cup almond butter

{You could use all peanut or all almond butter, or a mixture of what you have}

1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup packed sucanat or brown sugar
½ cup raisins
½ cup oats {I use GF}
¼ cup sunflower seeds
¼ cup maple syrup
1 large egg
½ tsp vanilla
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
Preheat the oven to 350⁰F. Place all of the ingredients together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on medium speed until the ingredients are well incorporated. Drop generous tablespoons of dough onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes until cookies are set, but still soft. Remove from the oven and let cool on the cookie sheet. Makes 2 dozen...which are gone way too fast!!

Source: http://onceagainnutbutter.com/Sunflower_Butter_Recipes.html (adapted with what we had in the pantry)

Try to snatch a few before all the hungry critters do!

5. Not sure what to call this...Stovetop Potpourri?

We’ve been peeling and eating lots of oranges these days, and I’ve been saving the peels in the fridge, then putting them in a pan with water, 2 cinnamon sticks, some whole allspice and cloves. Set to simmer, and sit back and enjoy the wafting scent of a Winter Wonderland.

6. Ok, maybe one more...

Because it's truly the little things that brighten a day.

The boys have all had colds this week (hence all the oranges...) Jack literally lost his voice yesterday. Poor guy, that's rough for a 7 yr. old! But, I can't say I mind all the cuddles and...boy, our house is quiet! :)