Fall Cookie Winner

I apologize for the delay in getting this posted.  I am so grateful to everyone who entered the Fall Cookie Giveaway on my SITS day.  I've had so much fun reading all of the wonderful comments and look forward to visiting all of your blogs in the coming weeks!  It has been a rough week for our family, so no new recipes today... but I did want to post the cookie winner as promised!  I will be back very soon with some really great recipes to share!

So-- without further delay... the cookie winner is...

Brandi, at "From My Kitchen to Yours"

Brandi-- Congratulations!  Please email me your mailing address at decadentdreamsbakery@yahoo.com  so we can get your cookies to you!

Pumpkin Bread

First and foremost, a sincere thank you to everyone who stopped by yesterday to make my SITS day so special!  It might take me a little while, but I plan to be by to explore each of your blogs!  The ones I have been to so far have been so much fun!  I'll give everyone another day or so to get entered in our Fall Cookie Giveaway... and will announce the winner at some point over the weekend.

The fall season brings so many great 'comfort food' recipes to mind, and this one certainly falls into that category.  When a good family friend forwarded this copy to me, she explained that it was coming to me in its original format, "complete with splatters".    I *LOVE* the charm of this recipe image that floated its way into my inbox.  Before I got married, my family threw me a bridal shower and asked for all of our friends and family to write down their favorite recipes on index cards to present to me at the shower.  One of my very wise friends (who was also fully aware of my OCD) wrote me a note and encouraged me to resist the urge to re-type all of these recipes into a standard format.  I laughed about it then. Now, as I flip through the cards and recognize the handwriting and care that went into each one, I cannot help but reminisce about many different experiences, situations, stories, and people.  To me, this is what baking and cooking is all about.  I look forward to one day passing along my box of recipe-filled index cards to my children, but not until I fill it with many of my own as well.  I want my children to look back at my handwriting and remember the many memories that we are currently in the process of creating.  Thanks, Eileen, for reminding me of that with your email! :)       

Pumpkin Bread
1 1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin
1 2/3 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup water

Mix all of the ingredients in order.  Prepare a loaf pan and pour batter in evenly.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1.5 hours (check your bread for doneness at 1 hour, 15 minutes.

Source: Eileen Patterson

It's SITS Day!

I couldn't be more excited about being the Featured Blogger for SITS today! For those of you visiting for the first time, welcome to Delectable Dining! I have been blogging for about a year, but have been cooking and baking for as far back as I can remember. I'm thrilled to have this outlet to share my passion with others!My primary role in life is to take care of my family. I have been happily married to my best friend for the last four years, but just celebrated our tenth year together. I am the proud mother of a three-year-old boy and a nine-month-old girl. Being their mommy has been one of the most rewarding elements of my life and I look forward to every moment that I spend with them, watching them grow. I also work as a first grade teacher and keep myself very busy in this position. It is such a rewarding career and I love to watch the excitement on my students' faces as they gain confidence in their abilities! Life is good!

To introduce you to some of my favorites, I have chosen the following blog posts to share some of my favorite creations! If you check out my index on the right side of the page, you can find different categories of foods and desserts to try for yourself. Now that I am back at work full time, I find the "Weeknight Cooking" recipes to be especially helpful!

The BEST chocolate chip cookies!

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day Cookbook Review

Special Occasion Breakfasts: Chocolate Glazed Cherry Turnovers

And now... in honor of SITS Day... a GIVEAWAY! :)

While I was home on a maternity leave last year, my good friend, Christy, and I started an in-home bakery specializing in customized, hand-painted sugar cookies and other unique treats. We have had so much fun within this creative outlet and enjoy sharing our love for baking with each other! As a special thank you for visiting today, we're having a cookie giveaway to celebrate! We're offering a 7 cookie assortment of fall cookies and we'll ship anywhere in the continental U.S.! You can earn one entry by leaving a comment to this post and can receive another entry if you sign up to follow my blog. (Current followers, you definitely qualify for the second entry as well!) If you have any questions about ordering cookies, please feel free to contact us at: decadentdreamsbakery@yahoo.com.

Thanks for visiting today! :)

Cranberry Chicken

Contrary to popular belief, I am still among the living! :) I so miss my blogging friends, but haven't been able to find the time to update this site as much as I'd like. I've still been cooking and baking a ton and hope to be able to get more of the recipes posted! In the meantime, I've been keeping an eye on all of your blogs and have been keeping quite a list of recipes I'd love to try.

Fall is one of my favorite seasons, and I especially love some of the traditional foods associated with the season. To me, fall is all about comfort foods-- and this is one of them! My grandmother used to make this chicken dish and just the smell of it baking brought back so many memories. It's a great classic dish that people of all ages love. Best of all, it is one that you can easily keep ingredients on hand for. I've eaten it many times, but this is the first time that I have actually made it myself. It was so easy that I can definitely see it worked into our normal rotation.

Again, I apologize for my absence and promise to share many great recipes in the months to come!

Cranberry Chicken
Assorted chicken pieces
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1 bottle french salad dressing
1 can whole cranberries
salt and pepper to taste

Wash chicken pieces and place in a 9 x 13 glass dish. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle one envelope of dry onion soup mix evenly over the chicken. Carefully, spread the salad dressing evenly over the chicken. Follow with the cranberries, spooned over the dressing. Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour, 15 minutes. Uncover and brown for another 15 minutes.

Happy Birthday!

I've been a bad blogger, but I have a good excuse! My little boy celebrated his third birthday last weekend. I can't even believe that he is already that old!! He's been a bit of a "Mickey Mouse" addict lately, so we had our very own clubhouse party. I had to post a picture of the cake that Christy and I made... but I promise to have a new recipe up soon! Hope everyone is doing well!

Blueberry Pancakes

The kids are in bed, my lesson plans are done, papers are half-way graded, and I needed a blogging break! I missed my blogging buddies! :)

One of the hardest things about going back to work full time is that I now miss out on morning cuddle time. Luckily, both of my little ones are big cuddlers and we would start every morning cuddling up, having a nice breakfast together, and starting our day. In my effort to be an optimist, I've decided that we will just have to make the most of our lazy weekend mornings. I saw this recipe on allrecipes.com and decided that it would be a great variation on our normal pancakes. It didn't hurt that blueberries were on sale and I had a pint ready to go in the fridge. I will warn that it does take a little bit of planning ahead as the batter needs to sit for about an hour before the pancakes are made. The final product was light and fluffy, and well worth the wait!

Blueberry Pancakes
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons white sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/2 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 cup fresh blueberries, plus more for serving


In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. In a small bowl, beat together egg and milk. Stir milk and egg into flour mixture. Mix in the butter and fold in the blueberries. Set aside for 1 hour. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Source: www.allrecipes.com

Sugar Snap and Beef Stir Fry

This is another great "Chinese Food at Home" recipe! Pam, over at For the Love of Cooking, has not disappointed me yet. I always know I'm going to love her recipes. This dish had an incredible flavor and was really easy to make. My one suggestion wold be to let your meat sit in the marinade for as long as possible. A very busy day (and a scattered mind) resulted in mine marinating for only about an hour and a half. It was wonderful, but would be so much better if allowed to sit longer, as Pam suggests.

Hope everyone is doing well! I haven't had as much time to post comments as I would like, but I am still checking out your blogs to get wonderful dinner ideas for my family! I promise to be better about checking in on your sites once I grow more accustomed to the new schedule!

Sugar Snap and Beef Stir Fry
For the beef marinade:
1 lb flank steak, thinly sliced against the grain
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon chili sauce
1/4 teaspoon white sugar
1 clove of garlic, minced

(Combine all ingredients in a large zip lock bag and place in refrigerator for 1-6 hours.)

For the stir fry veggies:
Sugar snap peas, trimmed
Broccoli florets, steamed until tender
1/4 cup of shredded carrots
2-3 baby bell peppers, sliced
1/4 red onion, sliced
2-3 green onions, sliced (divided)
1 clove of garlic, minced
1-2 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated

(Steam broccoli florets. Clean and chop all vegetables then set aside until ready to cook.)

For the sauce:
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons white sugar
2 teaspoons hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon chili sauce

(Combine all ingredients and whisk until mixed thoroughly. Set aside.)

Remaining ingredients:
Sesame oil (to cook meat and vegetables)
Sesame seeds (garnish)
Brown rice, prepare according to the directions (I used white rice to keep my husband happy!)

Heat 1 teaspoon of sesame oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add beef to the pan; stir fry for 2 minutes or until done. Place beef in a bowl and set aside. Add the last remaining teaspoon of sesame oil to the pan. Add onion and sauté 1 minute. Add the remaining vegetables along with half of the green onions, and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add minced garlic and freshly grated ginger, cook stirring continuously for 45 seconds. Add beef and stir fry sauce then cook for an additional minute or until thoroughly heated. Serve over brown rice and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.

Source: For the Love of Cooking