After Christmas blues

Christmas is over, and I am glad... and sad... I did sooo much baking I don't even believe it! During the break I was having some second thoughts about school but now I am more energized than ever! I just hope I am not going to overwork myself. I find myself as one of those people who puts myself 100% into everything I do and burn myself out.

Anyway, I have also seen a lot of new movies lately. I have seen: The Other Guys, Black Swan, and Julie and Julia.

I LOVED Julie and Julia. Probably because I blog and cook/bake even though I am just getting into it. However, the movie was so well done how the two plots parallel each other! Fantastic!

The Other Guys was a great movie, very funny albeit a little crude, but still great!

Black Swan, I feel this movie would have been better had I knew what it was about or had read the book. She becomes psychotic by the end and my mother (as always, she teaches psych nursing) began diagnosing her with numerous psychological fallacies. I believe the mother sexually abused her, as she was clearly very sexually repressed and the mother was a very controlling, overbearing sign of anxiety for the lead. Wonderful acting, could have used a little more explanation though.


So over this break, I have baked: (click on the purple items for links to their recipe)

Peppermint crisps

Gingerbread cake 
2 of them! The recipe makes WAYY too much icing- I only made one batch of icing

Buckeye balls
I used less powdered sugar than the recipe called for and instead of doing all of them covered in chocolate, I covered some in gingerbread icing. They made about 50!

Icing covered cashews and pretzels
using leftover gingerbread icing

Marshmallow bars
I did not add any icing, and I used only about 1/4 a cup of margarine because I ran out, I used smart balance light with flax- it's vegan! I also used semi-sweet chocolate chunks instead of butterscotch, Baker's brand is vegan. I would suggest using smaller marshmallows like she has because it is difficult to cut with bigger ones and leaves the baker eating too many scraps! Not that that's a bad thing, but I have a big event coming up and can't afford the calories. However, this is by far my favorite dessert EVER!

Goddess bars
The recipe doesn't tell you this, but make sure to break up your shredded wheat! I added some coconut to the top!

Gingerbread cake cutouts, buckeye balls and coconut covered goddess bars!

Chocolate chunk oatmeal peanut butter cookies

Cashew Butter cookies

Peppermint Cheesecake
I used a little less than 16oz of toffuti, and I skipped the lemon juice and added at least a half a teaspoon of peppermint. Peppermint is very potent so add to it in little portions, I used 1/8th a teaspoon at a time until I found a taste I liked. I also added two drops of red food dye to make it pinkish

Over this break I have cooked:

Bean tacos

Cheezy Rice and Bean Cass

White Bean Chili- This is actually my aunt's recipe and originally included chicken and chicken stock.

• 3cans Great Northern Beans drained
• 32oz Vegetable Stock
• 1 chopped onion
• 4 tablespoons minced garlic
• cumin, cayenne, and cloves were also included but cannot remember the exact amounts, start with 1/8th or 1/4th teaspoon and adjust to taste
• I bag daiya cheese (possibly more for topping)
• 1tablespoon olive oil

1. Add olive oil to a sauté pan, then add onion until translucent. Then add in garlic and the rest of the seasonings. 
2. Pour beans and vegetable stock into a big pot (it makes about a gallon) add seasoning and cheese. Heat until cheese is melted. 
3. Pour into a slow cooker (4quart or more) and cook on light for a while or until ready to serve. If you do not have a slow cooker just keep in the pot until ready to serve on a light setting. This has a bit of a kick to it but is super good with cornbread!

Cornbread
I made this for thanksgiving so this was the third time I made it. It fills an 8x8 pan nicely. It is soooo good!

Mac 'n Cheez

and others!