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Merry Christmas 2015

December 23, 2015 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

From our little Catz in the Kitchen family to yours, we're wishing you a very merry and bright Christmas!

We're taking the rest of the week off to spend time with our family, relax...and eat cookies. I'll be back bright and early next Monday with the weekly menu, our top recipes of 2015, and gearing up to share some new recipes with you!

In case you need some Christmas recipes in a jiffy, make sure you check our our Christmas archives or the Catz Christmas Eats Pinterest board.

"For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace."

Isaiah 9:6

God Bless and Merry Christmas!

Chels, Josh, Grace, Eden, and Christian (and Noel and Audrey...the real cats!)

Tiramisu Cake

December 21, 2015 By Joshua Rief 15 Comments

This recipe for creamy, indulgent Tiramisu Cake is the perfect treat for special occasions, whether its the holidays, a birthday, or Valentine's!

My wife loves tiramisu.

She is not alone in this, of course. I've met very few people who don't like tiramisu. After all, what's not to like? Espresso, mascarpone cheese, cocoa...the list of ingredients involved in the preparation of this delectable Italian treat is borderline dreamlike. But Chels has a serious affinity for this little gem. If it's on the menu, she's going to try it (well, truthfully...we'll split it). I have to admit, though, I'm okay with that. I'm not a big fan of overly sweet desserts, and one of the things I've always loved about tiramisu is that while it's creamy and indulgent and wonderful...it's not terribly sweet. [Read more...]

Iced Gingerbread Biscotti

December 15, 2015 By Chelsia Rief 6 Comments

Need a tasty little cookie with your morning coffee? How about one that's iced and tastes of gingerbread? Try this recipe for Iced Gingerbread Biscotti!

Biscotti and me go way back. I can remember the first time I ever ate it. I was in middle school and once in awhile my mom would treat me to a cute little cup of coffee. One time, she gave me a biscotti cookie to enjoy with my little coffee and told me that the traditional way of eating it is to dunk it in the coffee (like an Oreo in milk) and take a bite.

I was hooked.

From the first bite, I was in love with this Italian little cookie and I wanted more. [Read more...]

Tuesday's Tidings for December 15, 2015

December 15, 2015 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

Hers

1. First things first, this video of Tom Hanks acting out several of his movies is hilarious. If you need a laugh and you're a Tom Hanks fan, then you should definitely watch it and laugh! #There'snocryinginbaseball

2. I will be the first to say that I don't go out and shop at Sephora or buy Clinique cosmetics or spend an arm and a leg on hair products. I have a couple of products that I live by and will only use. That being said, I ventured out and tried dry shampoo over the weekend and I was Aaamazed at the results. I have been washing my hair daily since forever and this is now going to be my secret weapon. If you are looking for a great dry shampoo, I highly recommend, "Not Your Mother's Clean Freak Dry Shampoo." I even got my mom to buy one the other day!

3. Right now, I'm currently reading In the Garden of Beasts if you know someone who appreciate great writing and enjoys reading about the holocaust, this is a very interesting and well-written book. But, I also just started reading C.S.Lewis' The Magician's Nephew for the first time. Actually, this is my first time ever reading any of his books and so far, I am loving it. A really fun, quick read. Excellent for kiddos!

[Read more...]

Weekly Menu For The Week Of Dec 13

December 14, 2015 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

Hi friends, how was your last week? Ours was eventful, but really good overall. This week, Thursday to be exact, my little baby boy turns three! I can't believe it! I'm in shock and I just don't know where the last three years went. For the record, can I just say little boys are the best? Actually, so are little girls. Ugh, I can't choose...each brings their own set of sweetness and wonderfulness. I love food blogging, but being a mom is the best job ever...

Speaking of motherhood, this mother right here homeschools (in case you didn't know) and this will be our last week of school. I'm trying to decide if I want the kids to do a full week or just surprise them and say, TA DA! You're done until next year!

Lastly, we have a few repeat dinners on this week's menu because a few fun things came up last week, so we're just adding them to this week's roster. Josh also added a button to the top of our blog page so you can easily "like" our Catz Facebook page. And as always, if you're looking for specific recipes from old menus, you can find them on our Pinterest page or the recipe archive.

Have a great week everyone - here are the recipes: [Read more...]

Candy Cane Chocolate Tart

December 10, 2015 By Chelsia Rief 2 Comments

This candy cane chocolate tart recipe is easy, velvety smooth, and quite festive. Make it, and I dare you not to finish it in one sitting!

If you haven't heard yet, Portland (as in Portland, Oregon - not Maine) is under attack! The villain? Massive amounts of rain and wind that is wreaking havoc on our fair town. Now, I know we live in the Pacific Northwest, and that alone promises that it will be consistently wet about nine months out of the year, but this weather we've been having since Sunday is on the extreme side. It's not a hurricane or a tornado or anything, but for our very mild part of the world...

It's pretty wild.
[Read more...]

Vodka Penne

December 8, 2015 By Joshua Rief 2 Comments

This easy, quick, low-calorie recipe for vodka penne is an addicting take on a hearty pasta dish. The unique creamy tomato sauce is a hit with all ages!

We have been meaning to bring you this vodka penne recipe for so long.

I don't even really know how long. Three years? Five? A long time. The first time we made it, we had no idea what we were doing, but it's so easy, even I couldn't mess it up, and we were absolutely blown away by how creamy, indulgent, and unusual it was. I'm assuming many of you have tried vodka penne at one time or another (many Italian restaurants and a few major restaurants chains have a version on their menus), but if you haven't (or even if you have!), what makes it unusual is the combination of a cream sauce and a red (or tomato) sauce. Typically, these things are separated in Italian cuisine, since they (literally!) don't mix! As I understand it, when you mix an oily sauce (cream) with an acidic sauce (tomato), the combination becomes unstable as the water base of both separates (any chemistry majors out there - here's where you jump in!).

That's not good. [Read more...]

Tuesday's Tidings for December 8, 2015

December 8, 2015 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

At long last, we finally watched Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and believe it or not, I liked it. Even stranger, I'm now looking forward to seeing the new Star Wars movie...which is a shock to me because I didn't care at all. But now I do!
I'm just saying, it will be a sad, sad day when Netflix decides to take Gilmore Girls off its programming. I'm on my third time watching it. I know, I've got problems.
If you're looking for a great list of Christmas gift ideas for "the guys" in your life, then you should check out this list. It's really good, and the best part is, each gift is under $25!

Weekly Menu for the Week of Dec 7

December 6, 2015 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

I'm not sure, but I think that this year we won't be hanging Christmas lights up outside! *Gasp* It's just that it's been pretty much raining ever since Monday and last I checked the forecast doesn't seem to be changing. Rain, rain, and more rain. All this rain is making me all the more thankful that we got our tree when we did.

How many of you have decorated your houses? Our house is decorated, but it's kind of lacking, so I guess that means next year I need to start buying Christmas decor a little bit earlier.

Josh made a few new updates to the blog. On our site, we now have easier sharing buttons on the left hand side (to make your sharing so much easier) and he also made a FB like button - so you can get updates, posts, and funny little anecdotes on your Facebook news feed. So if you haven't liked our Catz Facebook page yet, please do. We're so close to 1,000 likes and once we do, it's giveaway time!!

Okay, here's the menu guys! Remember you can always visit past menus for dinner ideas: [Read more...]

Eggnog Thumbprints

December 4, 2015 By Chelsia Rief 2 Comments

These eggnog thumbprints are the cutest, tastiest little holiday cookies! The recipe is simple & fun, and you get creamy & crunchy altogether in one bite!

I seriously wasn't going to post this eggnog thumbprint recipe until sometime next week. For today, I had planned on sharing one amazing pasta recipe that will blow your mind. Well, actually, Josh was going to get behind the keyboard and share the recipe with you, as he is the one who initially discovered it and is always the one to prepare it. But seeing as how life happens and gets busy, that incredibly flavorful and simple recipe will have to wait till next week.

But for now, I have cookies. [Read more...]