Catz in the Kitchen

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Easy Homemade Eggnog

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Ever wondered if making homemade eggnog is easy or worth trying? Well, it is...and it is. Try this simple recipe before the holidays are over!

We love eggnog in this family. I understand it's one of those things people have strong opinions about (favorable or otherwise), but we like it. A lot. Not that we necessarily drink it in large quantities - I mean, it's thick, strong, rich stuff, to be sure. But in little cups, through the holidays, it's a delectable, creamy treat. 

Ever wondered if making homemade eggnog is easy or worth trying? Well, it is...and it is. Try this simple recipe before the holidays are over!

We've tried as many different types of eggnog as we could get our hands on. Vanilla and pumpkin-flavored eggnog? I'm sorry, but blech. Not a fan. Syrupy sweet and artificial tasting, in my (possibly not so humble) opinion. Change my mind with a better recipe or brand - I'm always down for that. Almond-milk based eggnog? While we love almond milk (no lactose issues here - it's just yummy and lower in calories!), not a fan of the eggnog version. Low-fat eggnog? I mean, it's fine. Like, I'll drink it for sure, and enjoy it, but eggnog is really not supposed to be a healthy choice - let's just be real here. We drink eggnog for the same reason we bake and eat Christmas cookies - and it's not because they're good for us. 

As far as store-bought eggnog goes, our family has really settled on Southern Comfort as the best of the best. We love that stuff. So creamy and tasty. We haven't tasted every brand, but of the ones we've guzzled, that's our top pick (it's non-alcoholic, for anyone wondering...). 

easy homemade eggnog [Read more...]

Drop Biscuits

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Buttery and flaky, these easy drop biscuits are not only quick to make, but compliment just about any meal, too.
 
drop biscuit recipe

This post for drop biscuits was originally published back in April of 2014! We've continued to make it regularly, and it only seemed appropriate to update the photos and the recipe card so that it would be more accessible. We actually ended up making it twice recently - once for these photographs, and again as a last-minute side for a family dinner. That's when the all-in 25 minute start-to-finish time on this recipe really comes in handy!

Lately I've been getting up early. Well, early for me. I'm one of those girls that likes her sleep. A LOT! I could probably be perfectly happy sleeping in till 9 or 10am every morning. I was waking up in the morning whenever Christian would wake up which was between 7-7:30am because the girls are old enough that they can take care of themselves in the morning and don't really need me to chaperone them. Christian, well...he can't do much of anything for himself right now. But when he wakes up talking, which quickly turns to whining, and then crying-I'm up! That boy lets you know when he is up and wanting out in the crib.flaky drop biscuits [Read more...]

Weekly Menu for the Week of Nov 30

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I hope you all had a happy and thankful Thanksgiving. Who here is still eating leftovers from Thanksgiving? Us, too!

Now that Thanksgiving is over, it's full on Christmas now. We went out over the weekend and bought *gasp* colored lights and one of those really annoying projector things that jumps all over the front of the house. The kids love them and have been begging me for years to do and this is the year I finally caved. Today (Sunday), I think we're even going to setup the tree. SETUP the tree, not to be confused with decorating the tree. That will probably be another day.

Onto this week's menu! How are we feeling about meals now that Thanksgiving is over? Do we want light meals or hearty heavy foods. I'll include a bit of both for ya. Something else I'm sure you're tired of is cooking, so a lot of these meals should provide you with some leftovers to make dinner a little easier.

Here's what's cooking in the kitchen this week!

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Thanksgiving Leftovers in a Blanket

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Got yourself some leftover cranberries, stuffing, and turkey? Wrap those Thanksgiving leftovers in a blanket and call it a meal!

I'll admit, I thought we had more recipes for Thanksgiving leftovers on the blog than we actually do. Chels and I were discussing it earlier this week, and I said I thought there were at least nine or ten, while she insisted there were only three! Turns out there are kind of four, so I suppose I could claim one of those "we were both wrong" moral victories here, but the reality is that...she was right. So consider this post a step in the direction of rectifying the situation.

Got yourself some leftover cranberries, stuffing, and turkey? Wrap those Thanksgiving leftovers in a blanket and call it a meal!

(The hard part about blogging Thanksgiving leftover recipes is that you have to do one of two things. Either you have to make your recipe with your actual Thanksgiving leftovers, photograph it, and then save the photos and post until the following year, or you have to make a Thanksgiving dinner ahead of time so that you have all of the ingredients.)

We love (like, love LOVE) our Thanksgiving Leftover Panini recipe, but we also recognize that not everyone has a panini maker at the ready (tsk, tsk). So...Chels got to thinking about what would be easier than throwing your typical Thanksgiving leftovers (e.g., turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing) in between two slices of bread and grilling them, and she came up with this: take those same leftovers, add cheese, and wrap them in crescent roll dough. Given the proliferation of recipes available at this point, I have to imagine we're not the first ones to think of doing this, but maybe you're like us and the idea's new to you!

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Weekly Menu for the Week of Nov 16

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Well, it appears that here in Oregon, we're in lockdown for two weeks. I can honestly say that I did not think this was going to happen again or happen in the middle of Thanksgiving, but it is and here we are.

Our governor has mandated (essentially) that no one gets together for Thanksgiving, so while I don't know how many people will need quite the Thanksgiving menu they would normally have assembled, regardless, I will continue to share Thanksgiving recipes and such with you. In the end, we all gotta eat!

Switching gears because politics and COVID makes me want to pull my hair out - I finally bought a few Christmas items. Now, don't get excited, but as I was strolling through Target, I found these cute faux pine trees for $4.99 each - I bought two. Then I grabbed some Christmas name tags for gifts, and a stocking for the cat. That's it! I thought that was pretty good considering I saw so many cute things. Oh, wait - I lied. We just ordered this crockpot from Hearth & Hand. There are so many times when it would come in handy to have a third Crockpot (does that sound insane?). We bought this Hearth and Hand one because I love the color and it's programmable - which I love! And you couldn't beat the price.

Onto this week's menu - some of our meals are going to be repeats because we did have a few hiccups with dinner this week, but every recipe will be new here for you. I'll just be cooking some different meals this week.

Here's what's cooking!

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Sugar Cream Pie

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Sweet custard, flaky crust, warm flavors of vanilla and nutmeg...this sugar cream pie is the perfect holiday recipe for your sweet tooth!

Sugar cream pie

This wonderful sugar cream pie recipe originally appeared on the blog for the 2013 holiday season. Well, seven years have gone by, we've remade and rephotographed this delightful dessert for you, and updated the post and recipe card to boot! If you didn't take notice of this recipe way back then, we'd encourage you to add it to your holiday menu this time around!

Sooo, this pie. I've been thinking, dreaming, and fantasizing about this pie since last year. LAST YEAR PEOPLE! It all started when I was 8 ½ months pregnant and I got the Thanksgiving issue of The Food Network Magazine in the mail. I was flipping through it a few weeks before Thanksgiving and came across THIS PIE. OMG! I was gone at the first mention of the word sugar. I knew I had to make it.  But ya know, being so pregnant was preventing me from actually wanting to *gasp* bake...so I held off. Until last week. sugar cream pie recipe

Believe it or not, I had never even heard of this pie until I read the recipe in the magazine. Apparently, this pie dates back to the 1800's when the Quakers would bake it up because it used a lot of staples they already had on hand, like cream and sugar. I hear this pie is pretty popular in Indiana, too. Are any of my readers from Indiana? Is this little fact true? [Read more...]

DIY Shiplap Kitchen Counter Bar

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The third post in a series on our ultra-low budget kitchen refresh - this is our experience putting in a DIY shiplap kitchen counter bar!

We recently completed an ultra-low-budget “refresh” of our kitchen, which ran us about $500 all-in. This post about adding shiplap to the kitchen counter bar is the third in a series of about five articles sharing our learnings and experiences from this little project, which would be an easy, affordable one to tackle in any kitchen that needs a little breath of fresh air!

I'll link to the first two posts here, and then update with the other two after I get them written!

DIY Shiplap Kitchen Counter Bar

The first thing I'll say about this particular project is that it's a really simple one. It went very quickly, and unless you have some kind of huge kitchen counter bar, shouldn't take much in the way of materials. As far as tools go, nothing crazy there either, although you might need a table saw, especially if you're having to do the ripping of the plywood yourself (your home improvement store might be willing to do it for you. Alternatively, you could potentially rip the plywood down to 6-inch widths using a skill saw and guide like Kreg's Rip-Cut.

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Weekly Menu for the Week of Nov 9

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I'm begging for something that I've never asked for in my adult life...Josh to put up the Christmas tree early! We have a faux Christmas tree that already has lights and pinecones on it and it is so lovely! Anyways, I'm not trying to rush Christmas, just bring in a bit of winter cheer. Josh and Grace say "no." I guess I'll have to wait a few more weeks. But judging how time seems to be flying, I guess I won't have to wait long.

Anyone else put up their tree yet?

How are we feeling about heading into the holidays? Do we feel ready? Do we feel nervous? Are we excited? I already feel massively behind, but I feel this way most holiday seasons.

I do love the holidays, though! The colors, the smells, the special flavors and foods that only come out this time of year - I love all of it! I'm extra ready for it after the year we've had, I have to admit.

This week's menu is a delicious one! I hope you guys are ready!

Here's what's cooking!

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