Autumn in Kentucky: October 2015

Hola! I'm here with a Saturday post to show you some beautiful October leaves here in Kentucky.

This (above) was the view of the road right after leaving my house. That is, until the leftovers of Hurricane Patricia went through the area, viciously taking down those oh-so-gorgeous October leaves we had going on. Well, boo to you Hurricane Patricia. We were having the most beautiful fall that I can remember around here. 

That could be because 2 years ago, we spent October in Oregon and last year we spent the last 2 weeks of October in Mexico... Hmmm...

At any rate, the hillsides have been awash of gold and red, with the occasional evergreen poking out here and there. If I were to go back and take pictures today (these were taken last weekend), everything would look vastly different. Plus, they would all be gloomy and gray and who wants to look at those right??

Chicken, Spinach, and Mushroom Melts

I love sandwiches. Love, love, love them. Before this summer and my guacamole-a-thon, I had been on a sandwich kick for a long time. A long, long time, eating a sandwich every day for lunch. I can't explain this behavior, it just is. I get stuck on something, and then I eat it. And eat it, and eat it, and eat it. Pretty much until I'm sick of it. So happened with my turkey sandwich. Here's the thing about my sandwich kicks- they last a long time and they always come back. When I lived in Oregon, I spent most of 2009 on a sandwich kick. The building I worked at had a cafeteria where I found the most magical turkey sandwich. I ate it almost every day that year. Yep, I'm that weirdo. 

Blackberry Mojitos

Cocktail time!

This might seem like a summery drink to you. I say, what better time to remind myself of summer than when the remnants of Hurricane Patricia are passing over our parts? Our weather has rapidly changed from a mild, sunny Indian summer to a soggy, gray, dreary mess. Our leaves had turned the most beautiful colors, and now the wind has selfishly knocked most of them to the ground. Luckily, the hubby and I went out the day before the weather hit and took tons of fall pictures around the area. I took a lot of photos, so I'm hoping to edit them and post about fall leaves this weekend. Maybe I'll edit them tonight with a Blackberry Mojito in my hand? Hehe :-)

Beer-Battered Fish & Chips

This one's for you Dad! :-)

I cannot tell you how much my family loves fish and chips. When my younger brother and I were little, little kids, I can remember Skippers being a family favorite destination. We would get soooooo excited if my parents said we were going there. I mean, I know we loved the little red jello's that Skippers hands out with every meal, but we also liked the fish. And the chips. While Skippers is kind of a no-go these days, fish and chips is still a classic. It's one of those meals where if it's on a menu at a restaurant I'm currently calling on, I'm likely to choose it. That being said, the selection of fish and chips around these parts is sadly, nonexistent. The hubby and I love to go to our local brewery for pizza and beer, but I expressly avoid their fish and chips. First of all, they use haddock. Not a favorite of mine. Plus, they bread theirs and it doesn't have a lot of flavor. The other restaurants in town? They all seem to order (and serve) exactly the same frozen food, so I can honestly say, there's no where to get fish and chips around here. We'd have to drive an hour to Huntington, and needless to say, we don't do that often. 

Lasagna Soup

Ah, a recipe other than chicken. It warms my heart.

In all seriousness, it does feel like the hubby and I have been on a chicken rampage. We already don't eat a lot of red meat, we rarely eat pork, and all the other animals are not nearly as affordable and easy to buy at the store as chicken. Plus, our local grocery store has a pretty decent selection of organic chicken. The free-range kind with no hormones or antibiotics type of chicken. It's 100% more expensive, which might be why we've cut down on all others meats, but it's better for everyone. 

Except maybe our wallet.

Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts with Vanilla Cream Cheese Glaze

Last week I confessed that I'd had a doughnut pan for over 6 months that I hadn't tested out yet. There must be something about putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) that made me want to change that. And since everyone, their mother, their mother's mother, and their 2nd-cousin-twice-removed is posting pumpkin recipes, I thought I'd throw my hat in the ring.

With homemade doughnuts! 

Recipe Redux: Chicken Stroganoff

Time for this month's Recipe Redux! This month, I'm taking on one of our house favorites, Chicken Stroganoff. Beef Stroganoff is a childhood favorite of mine, and one that my mother made often. However, the hubby and I don't eat a lot of red meat. And if I have steak in the house, you can bet I'm not disguising it under stroganoff. So, we substitute chicken. Looking back at my original pictures, it was time for an update-

I'm always surprised what pictures lead people to my website. Shockingly enough, often times it's really old recipes. Like this one. I first posted Chicken Stroganoff on May 7, 2012.  Just in case you might have forgotten, here's what was happening the world when I first posted this recipe:

What I Learned In My 2nd Year of Gardening

Well, I think it's time.

I officially put the garden to bed yesterday. Actually, I did most of the work on Friday before our first heavy frost. I was at the gym, walking on the treadmill, minding my own business when the local garden guy came on the news. He advised getting any vegetables you might have in the garden, out of the garden before the cold weather. I still had a few tomatoes and peppers on the vines, so I got to work. 

I pulled the last few green tomatoes, and put them in closed paper bags in the basement. They'll be ripe in a couple of weeks, and that will be a nice treat. I pulled up the tomato and pepper plants, and added them to the compost. 

Soy & Citrus Marinated Chicken

I have found THE marinade.

The marinade above all marinades, the one that will make your toes curl and your mouth do the happy dance. It adds flavor. Saltiness. Moisture. And, it's oh-so pretty.

This happened on a typical weekend day for me and the hubby. True to form, we'd gone for a run and come home to collapse on the couch. Normally, we grab something while we are out to eat (usually beer and pizza, ahem), but we had decided to come home instead. I have a habit of always asking the hubby what he wants me to make for dinner. He has a habit of telling me to make whatever. He's notoriously non-committal when I needle him for suggestions. Not that day.

25 Things You May Not Know About Me: October 2015

Happy Wednesday friends!

I was all set to post a roundup of 25 chocolate recipes. Yummy, right? Then, I had a change of heart. We can get to those chocolate recipes at anytime. I decided to do something fun instead. Everyone likes to get to know the blogger behind the blog. I actually haven't done a post like this since June 28, 2013. I really tried to dig deep this time. So, enjoy! I'll be back with a new recipe on Friday :-)

Creme Brûlée Cake

You knew it was coming. I warned you. 

And now it's here. It was a smashing, delightful success that I must share. Soooooo good.

First, I must admit this is a decidedly untraditional cake. It's light, moist, creamy, and dreamy. It is the opposite of rich. Which is just crazy, because I was afraid the cake was going to be insanely rich. Not so. The cake is just perfect, airy but moist. The pastry cream is also surprisingly light. Together, they make a delicious combination. This is a very un-Southern cake, meaning when the hubby's Southern relatives tell me this cake would go excellent with coffee, I know it's a low-sugar cake. 

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Garlic Butter

What?!

It's Friday, and I'm going to talk about Brussels sprouts? That most odiferous, often chucked-through-the-air-by-a-toddler, root-type vegetable that everyone seems to hate?

Yep. I sure am. Because Brussels Sprouts are one of my favorite things. I'm one of those weird people that has always liked Brussels sprouts. Especially when crispy from the oven with a smidge of salt and melty garlic butter for dipping.

I even got the hubby to eat these. He is one of those aforementioned vegetable-throwing people. We've been together almost 10 years, and I can count on two fingers the amount of times I've seen him eat Brussels sprouts. One of those fingers was this recipe.

Creamy Tomato Pasta with Smoked Salmon

You might be asking yourself, "What is up with all the smoked salmon??" Well,  the answer to that is I can get very good smoked salmon around here. I can get fairly decent frozen salmon around here. I say fairly decent, because it's not fresh and to me, frozen salmon always has a different texture. A drier texture. I grew up on fresh salmon, and therefore am used to succulent, moist, delicious salmon. In Oregon, all it takes is a trip to Costco. Even though we lived about an hour from the coast, the grocery stores around us always had fresh fare.  Fresh fish is one of the things I miss most about Oregon. We tried a fresh salmon from our local big box store one time, and it was gross.  So, I stick to frozen fish and smoked salmon. Such is life.

Frozen Blueberry Popsicles, 3 ways

Popsicles?

Yes, you read that right. I'm posting popsicles today. In October. 

Summer may be long gone, but you know what? I don't care! I love popsicles. I really do. I eat them year round. Homemade popsicles are a great snack and one of my go-to's after dinner. Mine are mostly fruit, unlike those heavily preserved store bought ones that claim they are 0.000001% real fruit. These ones only require a few ingredients, and you can make them all year round by utilizing frozen fruit. Thank goodness for frozen fruit, I don't know how I'd survive all winter without it!

Pumpkin Spice Oreo Cookies

Please forgive me. I'm all about the cookie lately. There's something about fall that makes me want to break out the pumpkin, the cinnamon, the spicy spices that make Spice Cake magical... so when I saw Pumpkin Spice Oreo's at the grocery store, I jumped. I grabbed 2 packages to put in the cart as the hubby rolled his eyes.

"More truffles?" He said, eyeing the cream cheese that was also in the cart.

"No," I said, nose in air. "I'll make something else."

In my head, I racked my brain. I had been planning on truffles. Now what?