Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

I hope you all had a great New Year's and are enjoying 2011 so far!

I don't know about you, but my New Year's Eve was pretty uneventful.

We took down our tree & did some housecleaning.  Then that night we went to dinner, and I made these muffins for brunch the next day at my Aunt Jody's house.

Mr. Vittles... was a little less productive.

Here he is at 10PM that night.

And then at 11PM.

And just a few seconds before midnight.

Finally I woke him up because I could not bear to do "3...2...1" with Dick Clark alone!

But the year is off to a good start.  It's been really warm out, so the giant mountains of snow are melting into small hills.

And we had a great time at my aunt's house on New Years Day.

Aunt Jody, Me, and Mr. V

I thought the muffins came out great and even Mr. V (who does not like cooked bananas) said they were pretty good.  Since they only use one banana, the taste is a little more subtle.

The rest of brunch was delicious too, and my aunt & uncle just put in the most fabulous bar - which I am so jealous of!

Uncle Bob & Aunt Jody

Needless to say, we sampled a few beverages.

The pictures don't really do it justice, but take my word - it's unbelievable!

On another note, I am sad to let you guys know that I have to take a little break from blogging.

For one, my faithful laptop has broken :( I am using Mr. Vittles' computer temporarily until my new one arrives in the mail.

And secondly, I am having surgery on both my feet tomorrow.  Nothing serious, but it is going to be slow going over here for a bit while the tootsies recover.

The bad news is I won't be back to cooking or baking for a while- but the good news is I have some photos and recipes up my sleeve that I haven't gotten around to posting yet.

So... that should get us through the next month together, and then hopefully I will be back in action.

Wish me luck, I'll miss you!

In the meantime... enjoy these scrumptious muffins with my compliments :)

Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

• 2 C. all purpose flour
• 1 T. baking powder
• 1/4 t. salt
• 2/3 C. firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 ripe banana, mashed 
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 C. milk
• 6 T. canola oil
• 1 t. vanilla 
• 2/3 C. peanut butter (I used creamy, but crunchy would work too)
• granulated crystal sugar, for topping (optional) 

Preheat oven 400 degrees.  Grease a 12-cup muffin pan or line with 12 paper liners.

In large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt, and brown sugar.  Set aside.

In medium bowl, mash banana.  Add eggs, milk, canola oil, vanilla, and peanut butter.  Mix until combined.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.  Pour wet ingredients into well, and stir gently until combined.  Do not overmix!  The mixture should be lumpy with a few traces of flour.

Spoon batter into prepared pan.  Sprinkle with granulated crystal sugar, if using.  Bake about 20 minutes, or until well risen, golden brown, and firm to the touch.

Let muffins cool in pan 5 minutes, then cool completely on rack (or serve warm, if desired.)

Recipe Adapted from 1 Mix, 100 Muffins, by Susanna Tee

Crème Brûlée French Toast

So by a few of the comments I received on my post about Russian Tea Cakes, I can see that not all my readers are familiar with the game of beer pong.

I'm sorry that you were forced to 'Google' it :(

I'd say, if you are a college student or the parent of one, you should probably know what beer pong is - even if you've never played it personally.  Anyone else, I'll be happy to give you a pass on that one and explain the game.

To play beer pong, you set up plastic Solo cups in a triangle on each side of a long table (ideally, something the size of a ping pong table).  The object of the game is for two teams of two people to toss a ping pong ball into the cups of the other team.  If it goes in the cup, someone on that team must drink it and the cup gets taken away.  The game continues until all the cups on one side are gone.

My husband's family started playing beer pong on Christmas night the year before I met him.  Some people might think this is a strange thing for a family to do, but I thought it sounded like so much fun!

However, I did not attend Christmas Eve with Mr. Vittles our first year together, so I missed out.  But the next year, they decided to continue their new tradition and I was invited to get in on the fun.

Ok, so you know how there are people who just naturally amazing at everything they try to do?

I am not one of those people.

I am, however, excellent at getting bunny ears in family photos...

...but that's neither here nor there.

Otherwise, I'm typically awful at anything that requires coordination, skill, or athletic ability - especially if I have never tried it before, or it's been years since the last time I've done it.

And I hadn't played any beer pong since I was in college.  So needless to say, I was not helping Team Gopher (Mr. V's tribute to the gopher from Caddyshack) much at all.

Thankfully Mr. Vittles is one of those people, and he is still pretty good at the game.  I was able to hit a few cups, but he basically 'carried' our team to victory that year.

Mr. Vittles & I : Team Gopher, 2008 Champs

The next year, I played a little better, but so did everyone else! So were unable to duplicate our success and we lost to "Team Blackout," which consisted of my brother & sister-in-law:

C. Ochovittles and Mel V : Team Blackout, 2009 Champs

Now as you can see, some teams made homemade shirts in the past, but this year, my in-laws bought us all fun t-shirts for the big game.  They picked ones that fit our personality, which was hilarious.  Like, Mr. V's said "On your mark, get set, go AWAY."

(He's a real people person.)

And in honor of Vittles and Bits, mine said "Food Fight" with cartoons of food items duking it out.

They also bought us stick-on mustaches... not for any particular reason, but because they're just cool.

2010 Competitors

Now in past years, I would just haphazardly chuck the ball and hope it landed somewhere near the cups.  I also couldn't get enough of an arc on my throws for the ball to drop nicely into the cup.

So with these problems in mind, this year I decided it was time to concentrate a little harder. And it actually paid off.  I not only hit a number of cups during our games, I also managed to hit the very last (i.e. hardest) cup in 3 out of 4 of our games.

Competition was pretty stiff, so our last game went into overtime (thanks to me, if you can believe it!)  But in the end, Mr. V locked it up and we went home with our second trophies AND championship shirts.

2010 Champs

So, now that you know what beer pong is and how fun it can be, maybe you and your family will decide to play a New Year's Eve tournament? So let's talk about a nice hearty breakfast for you in the morning.

I am not usually a fan of french toast casserole (from my post on Puffed French Toast, you already know I like it to have some crunch!), but I think this Crème Brûlée French Toast is absolutely delicious.

Actually, this is my own new Christmas tradition.  A few years ago, I started having my mom and my stepdad over Christmas morning for breakfast, and that's when I made this for the first time.  It was a hit, so I've made it every year since.

This year, my stepdad came over with my stepbrother Garrett Vittles and we had a delicious french toast breakfast with bacon and melon.

It's nice because it's prepared ahead of time and can feed a number of people (although that number depends on how much each of your guests can eat!).  And between the powdered sugar on top and the caramel on the bottom, it's sweet enough that you don't have to use syrup if you don't want to.

Crème Brûlée French Toast

Note: this is a casserole best made the night before & then baked the next morning

• 1 loaf challah or brioche, sliced in 1 1/2" thick slices (discard ends of loaf or reserve for other use)
• 1/2 C. butter (1 stick)
• 1 C. packed brown sugar
• 2 T. corn syrup
• 5 large eggs
• 3/4 C. heavy cream
• 3/4 C. milk
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1/4 t. salt
• optional:  
• 2 t. Grand Marnier or Cointreau
• powdered sugar & cinnamon, for dusting 

Grease a 9x13 baking dish.  In small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter with corn syrup & brown sugar.  Stir together until sugar is melted & mixture begins to bubble.  Pour into prepared baking dish.

Arrange bread slices in single layer on top of caramel mixture, squeezing edges slightly to fit.  In a large bowl, whisk eggs, cream, milk, vanilla, salt & liquor, if using.  Pour mixture over bread.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap & refrigerate overnight, or at least 8 hours, up to 1 day.

When ready to bake, let dish stand at room temperature 20 minutes and preheat oven 350 degrees.  Bake 30-40 minutes until golden & puffed.  Serve with powdered sugar and/or cinnamon on top, if desired.

Recipe Adapted Slightly from Gourmet, at Epicurious.com

Cookies & Cream Fudge

I know that between the milk chocolate chip oatmeal cookies and Russian tea cakes, I've been loading you up on the cookies lately.

But technically fudge is candy.  Somehow that makes it different in my mind?  And this fudge was so delicious that I could not resist sharing the recipe with you ASAP.

I was originally going to make it with all white chocolate, but then I ran out of white chocolate chips, so I threw in some regular semi-sweet.  Which was an amazing decision because it cuts down on the sweetness of all-white chocolate, and also compliments the Oreo cookie chunks well.

Fudge is one of my sister-in-law Melissa Vittles' favorite treats.  At Thanksgiving this year, she wanted nothing to do with any of the pies or cookies, and did not hide her disappointment that there was no fudge to be had.

So for Christmas, I knew I had to make some fudge to bring to my in-laws.  And I'm so glad that I did, because she gave me a Christmas gift that far surpassed any fudge I could create.

It all started on Thanksgiving when she casually mentioned in conversation that there are people out there who dance with cats, and that she knows this because she found a book in her new apartment called Dancing With Cats.

A book that I just so happen to own, thanks to my college girlfriends Nat and Flav Vittles (who decided many years ago that I could not live without these full page photos of crazy people dancing with their cats).

© 1999, Dancing with Cats

Mel V and I got so giddy about this commonality that we could hardly contain ourselves.  We probably told every person at Thanksgiving, and even did a search on You Tube for some potential cat-dancing videos.

Much to our disappointment, we did not find any.

We did, however, find the sequel to Dancing With Cats, called Why Paint Cats.  Mel V was so kind as to purchase this book for me for Christmas, to add to my library - here is an example of the truly beautiful artform of cat painting:

© 2002, Why Cats Paint

To be honest, I can't tell if these books are supposed to be funny... but they certainly are.

And what's ironic is that we both had the same thing on the brain this Christmas, because I decided to make a shirt for Mel V that said "Cat Dancer" on the front, with her face superimposed on the body of a cat dancer from the book on the back:

It's a little hard to see, so here's the full image:

I know... you're jealous.  I am too.

But the true highlight of my night came when Mel V brought her parents' outdoor cat Charlie inside for some cat dancing of her own.  Wearing the shirt AND a stick-on mustache.

It doesn't get any better than this, folks!

At first I was surprised Charlie was not trying to get away, but someone made the excellent point that he was probably just happy to be indoors.

Or... maybe he was born to cat dance.  Either one.

If you want to see them in action, here is a You Tube video I uploaded of the glorious moment:



So in the end, I guess my fudge paled in comparison to Mel V & Charlie's show.

But unless you are planning to bring it to the home of a semi-pro cat dancer, I assure you - the fudge will be tough to beat!

Cookies & Cream Fudge

• 12 oz. white chocolate chips (about 2 C.)
• 6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips (about 1 C.)
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1/8 t. salt
• 1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
• 2 C crushed Oreos, or other chocolate sandwich cookies (about 15 cookies)

Line a 9x13 baking pan with foil, allowing excess to hang over edges, and grease foil.

In large, microwave-safe bowl, toss chips with baking soda and salt until evenly distributed.  Stir in sweetened condensed milk.  Microwaved in 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until all chips are melted and mixture is smooth.

Add vanilla & cookie pieces and stir to distribute evenly.  Quickly transfer fudge to prepared pan, and spread in even layer with spatula.  Refrigerate about 2 hours, until set, and remove from pan using foil.  Cut into squares.  Can be kept at room temperature in airtight container up to 5 days, or a bit longer in the refrigerator.


Recipe Adapted from Cooks' Illustrated

Russian Tea Cakes

Ok so first things first - MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Or Happy Holidays, Happy End of December, Happy Blizzard - I mean, seriously, whatever it is you're celebrating right now, I hope it's happy.

All I know is, the last six days have been filled with so much shopping, decorating, gift-wrapping, gift-opening, baking, visiting, eating, laughing, family beer pong(!), cat-dancing (!!), and SNOW that I don't even know what to write about first.

But this is what it looks like outside my house right now, so since I had already taken today & tomorrow off from work anyway, I don't think I'll be doing much until Wednesday.

We got about 2 feet of snow since mid-day yesterday (it's stopped now, thankfully) but the wind has caused it to drift much higher in parts.  

To give you an idea of what you're looking at, here is a comparison of our back deck in the summer and now.

this summer

today

You can barely see the top of the hammock post ha!  Pretty crazy, huh?

Now if it wasn't so awful out (a state of emergency was declared in New Jersey this morning) I'd probably be out somewhere, fighting my way through the crowds of after-Christmas shoppers for some deals.

But since Mr. Vittles and I have not stopped since we got back from Lake Placid last Monday, it's actually pretty nice to be home on the couch with you guys :)

So on that note, down to business.  Mr. V and I had an amazing holiday.  We are so thankful to have not only each other, but such wonderful family & friends, and the last few days have been a blast.

We got to decorating our tree a little late this year but I think it looks great.
           

As Mr. V reminded me, this was our 4th Christmas together and our 3rd tree.  Already, we are building a nice little collection of ornaments that are special to us, like this handmade one from my mother-in-law who does the most beautiful needlepointing:

and another of Lady and the Tramp from my mother, who also wrote us a sweet message on the box:

 

It says, "May you always have butterflies when you look into each others' eyes.  We wish you love.  Happy first tree."

I also love having an excuse to use my very favorite Snoopy winter plates.  Aren't they so fun?

It's the little things that make me smile.

What also makes me smile is holiday goodies.  It's a lot of work but what's Christmas without sweet treats?

I made three types of cookies and two types of fudge this year, though, so it was tough to decide what recipe to share with you today.  

This one is actually not one of my personal favorites, however it is a family favorite on my mom's side.  And when I asked my dad if he had any requests for Christmas cookies (I figure, if you're gonna break your diet it may as well be with something you love), even he asked for 'those white snowballs with nuts.'

Which I guess is especially appropriate with all the snow we just got?

Anyway, my family calls them Russian Tea Cakes, but you may know them as something else.  I'm not sure where the recipe originated, but Grammy Vittles has been making them for years and it has become a family tradition.  So my aunt just had to put the recipe into a cookbook she & my mother put together years ago for her antique & country store in Connecticut, and this is the first year I've tried making them myself.

I did have to double check my eyes though, because the recipe doesn't call for any eggs and that threw me off a bit.  But no worries- anyone I've ever known who likes nuts just loves these rich, buttery cookies.

So while I know it's a little late - hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season!  And as always, thanks for reading - without you, this would not be any fun :)

Russian Tea Cakes

• 1 C. butter (2 sticks), softened
• 1/2 C. powdered sugar (plus about 1 1/2 C. more for decorating)
• 2 1/4 C. flour
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1 t. vanilla extract
• 3/4 C. finely chopped nuts (I used walnuts, but you can use pecans or whatever you choose)

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy, then add remaining ingredients & beat to combine.  Chill dough about 30 minutes, covered.  Preheat oven 350 degrees, then shape dough into 1" balls.* 

Bake 14-17 minutes, or until golden.  Roll in powdered sugar while still warm, then roll again once cookies are cooled.

*Note: I used a spring-loaded cookie scoop to form the dough into balls, and that seemed to work fine - just ensure the scoop is packed hard, so the cookies don't crumble apart when you squeeze the lever.  

Family Recipe - Origin Unknown

Spiced Coffee

Mr. Vittles and I just returned from a fabulous ski weekend in Lake Placid, New York with another couple.

 Kristen, Chris, Mr. V, and myself

Not that I actually did any skiing.  I spent most of my time shopping, spa-ing, and eating with Kristen (remember her delicious warm potato salad?) while our husbands went off to the mountain.

Normally I hate the cold & snow, but I must admit that the setting was so beautiful and serene.  Here is what our hotel, the Whiteface Lodge, looks like from the outside.

 ©2010 The Whiteface Lodge

Not to mention our suite was amazing and incredibly cozy.  This was exactly what our living room looked like:

©2010 The Whiteface Lodge

Seriously, I might have moved in if they let me.  And I have no doubts that it would have been a marvelous few weeks, before my life savings were drained and I was thrown out of the hotel... penniless, but thoroughly relaxed.

 the hotel's beautiful christmas tree

So in the spirit of winter fun and warm drinks sipped by the fire, I wanted to share this coffee with you.  Mr. V says its like mulled apple cider in coffee-form.  If you are not a fan of citrus, just leave out the orange zest.

Spiced Coffee

• 8 T. ground coffee (freshly ground is best)
• 2 t. ground cinnamon
• 1 t. ground nutmeg
• 1 t. ground cloves
• 1/4 t. freshly grated orange zest 

Fill coffee maker with enough water for 8 cups (using measurements on your pot, not a measuring cup).  Fill coffee filter with ground coffee, then add spices & zest.  Brew per manufacturer's instructions.  Yields 8 cups (the number of servings depends on how much you put in your mugs).

Recipe slightly adapted from Food Network's Anne Thorton

Milk Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Sometimes I wonder if famous chefs and bakers ever mess up in the kitchen.

Does Martha Stewart ever make a cake and say, "Oops, I forgot the eggs?"

Does Emeril Lagasse ever slice his pork roast and realize its half raw in the middle?

Does Maggie @ Vittles and Bits ever decide to make oatmeal cookies and forget to put the oatmeal in?

Yes... yes she does.

Ok so unfortunately I'm not famous.  But can you believe that I specifically wanted to make oatmeal cookies and almost neglected to put in the main ingredient?

After finishing up mixing the ingredients, I licked some of the batter on the beaters and thought "This batter is awfully buttery."

So I added some extra flour and placed the dough in the refrigerator to chill.

A while later it dawned on me... I had no recollection of opening the canister of oats?

Good to know pre-Christmas baking is off to a glorious start. 

Milk Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 C. + 2 T. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1/2 t. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 t. salt 
• 1 C. rolled oats
• 3/4 C. milk chocolate chips

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Stir flour mixture into the butter/sugar mixture. Then stir in the oats & chocolate chips.

Chill dough in refrigerator 30 minutes, covered.  Preheat oven 350 degrees.

Drop rounded tablespoons of dough 1" apart on a parchment-lined (or nonstick-sprayed) baking sheet. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, taking them out when golden at the edges but still a little undercooked-looking on top. Cool on baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

Recipe adapted from SmittenKitchen.com

Skillet Pizza

The other night, I had a craving for homemade pizza... but I didn't have any dough.

Which is usually enough to dissuade me from making pizza, because I hate making my own dough.

I don't know about you, but yeast and I have never gotten along real well.  I pretty much avoid it at all costs.

Plus, it takes too long to let the dough rise.  After a long day at work, I don't have time for those shenanigans. 

Recently I signed up for a year's subscription to Cook's Country online, so I checked their website for any homemade pizza recipes that didn't take all night to make.

There I found this recipe that uses a very interesting ingredient - beer.  Apparently, it gives the taste of a yeast bread, but without all the work.

I was definitely on board for that.  Not to mention the fact that it was made in a skillet, which was very intriguing (apparently, I'm on a roll lately with the skillet dinners?)

I must say, the result was pretty awesome.  Mr. V and I both enjoyed the twist on traditional pizza, as without the yeast the dough is very thin and cracker-like.

It was also nice to have two personal pizzas so I could put some different toppings on mine... like feta cheese & roasted red peppers.  Mmm :)

Skillet Pizza

Dough

• 1 C. flour
• 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. sugar
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/3 C. beer (rich, brown ale is recommended but I used Yuengling)
• 1 T. olive oil (plus 4 T. more, for cooking)

Toppings

• 1/2 C. tomato sauce
• 1 C. mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 3 T. parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• any toppings of your choice - pepperoni, olives, roasted red peppers, cooked sausage, spinach, etc.

Combine flour, baking powder, sugar & salt in food processor.  With processor running, slowly add beer and 1 T. olive oil.  Process until dough pulls away from sides & shaggy ball forms, about 1 minute.  Using floured hands, form dough into tight ball & cover loosely with plastic wrap.  Let rest 10 minutes.  (Dough can also be wrapped tightly and frozen for up to 1 week).

Divide dough in half. On lightly floured surface with floured rolling pin, roll each half into very thin 9-inch round. Heat 2 T. olive oil in 10" nonstick skillet over medium heat until just smoking. Transfer one dough round to skillet and cook, poking any air bubbles that form with fork, until bottom is deep golden brown and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes.

Flip dough and cover with 1/4 C. of sauce and half of cheeses/toppings. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, until second side is crisp and cheeses have melted, about 5 minutes. Transfer pizza to cutting board. Wipe out pan and repeat with remaining oil, dough, and toppings. Slice into wedges. Serve.

Makes two 9" pizzas. 

Recipe Adapted from Cook's Country

Boursin-Style Cheese Spread

For me, one of the best parts of the holiday season is getting together with friends & family I don't see that often. 

Yesterday I went to Brooklyn for an annual holiday get-together with my friends Hayley, Whitney & Janine Vittles and we had a fabulous time.

The four of us met at my first "real" job out of college, working in client services for a company that does pre-employment background checks in New York City.  I started there in April 2005, then Janine, then Whitney, and then Hayley- all within a few months.

Somehow it worked out that the 4 of us had cubicles next to each other, and we had sooo much fun.

In fact, without those girls, you may not be reading my blog right now... because I probably would have jumped off the roof of our office building out of stress and sheer frustration.  But they always kept me laughing and they were one of the reasons I stayed at that job as long as I did.

 Me at work in 2006

Now over five years later, we are no longer "cubby buddies" but we are still great friends...even though Janine still (jokingly?) insists that we are her co-workers, not friends.

And while it's hard to coordinate schedules with four busy ladies- Whitney has her hands full with work, Janine is in her second year of law school, and Hayley and her husband welcomed their first baby this August - we manage stay in touch through joint emails and try to get together as often as we can.

But even if it means we have to meet up after Christmas, we have not missed a holiday gift exchange yet.  We always look forward to catching up, eating good food, and seeing Janine's homemade cards made from construction paper she's saved since elementary school.

Me, Janine, Hayley, and Whitney

This year we decided to meet at Hayley's house first so we could spend some time with her baby.  Reed is absolutely adorable and looks so much like his mommy!

And I think the hit gift of the evening was the matching Snuggies Janine gave us with our nicknames written on them.  Apparently, iron-on letters do not stick well to polyester fleece, but that didn't stop Janine from trying.

Hayley also made a beautiful spread of appetizers for us to snack on before we went out for wood-fired pizza in her neighborhood. 

So in the spirit of holiday merriment, I decided to share with you all one of my favorite party appetizers.  My mom used to make it for company, and it is great paired with raw vegetables or crackers.

Boursin-Style Cheese Spread

• 2 sticks butter (16 tablespoons)
• 2 8-oz. packages of cream cheese
• 1/4 t. onion powder
• 1 t. garlic powder
• 1 1/2 t. oregano
• 3/4 t. salt
• 3/4 t. dill
• 1/4 t. celery seed
• 1 T. minced fresh chives
• 2 T. grated carrot (I used a microplane grater)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix with electric mixer until smooth.  Let sit in refrigerator least an hour before serving (I think it's best made a day in advance).  Makes about 3 cups, keep refrigerated.

Recipe Origin Unknown

Skillet-Glazed Pork Chops

Oh my goodness... I'VE MISSED YOU GUYS!

I did not intend on being away from you this long, and for that I apologize! But things got a little crazy around here after Thanksgiving.

I have some good news and some bad news... let's get the bad news over with first because I don't like to dwell on sad things.

Unfortunately, my grandfather passed away the weekend after Thanksgiving after 85 glorious years on this earth.  I told you all a bit about him over the summer - he was definitely one in a million.

My cousin and I had the honor of giving the eulogy at his funeral, and our family was humbled by the hundreds of people that came over the course of two days to pay their respects.  He will be VERY missed, but the awesome part is that he led a full life and kept us all smiling and laughing for many years!

This is super tough because I also lost my very dear great aunt over the summer - Aunt Joyce was like a grandmother to me.  She was super spunky and forward-thinking, and she gave great advice.  She was also incredibly easy to talk to.  I know that part of life & aging is moving on, but it's hard to say goodbye to people that mean so much to you!  

That being said - on to the good news.  The rest of my hiatus was spent with my new boyfriend.

Mr. V is painfully jealous as he is very handsome & a younger man.

Much, much younger.

16 days old, to be exact.

My best friend Lauren had her baby on November 22!!  I just got back from Myrtle Beach visiting Holt Vittles and he could not be sweeter. 

But let me tell you... after spending 4 days with a newborn baby, I realized that I'm just not cut out for having children.

....

I'm totally joking, I just thought that might give my mother-in-law a little jolt in her seat since she is SO looking forward to having grandchildren.

Don't worry Pammy Vittles, we're still planning on being parents... someday :)

But actually, the visit opened my eyes in a different way.

See, I'm an only child but I have a bunch of younger cousins, I started babysitting neighborhood kids at 13, and worked in both a nursery and a summer camp.  So I'm no stranger to the kiddos.

But babies have always kind of weirded me out.

Which sounds horrible, I know, but I mean - they just seem so fragile and mysterious.  I'm that girl who gets offered to hold someone's infant and says "Oh... no thank you."  I am just not a baby person.

I have always felt confident that I could be a good mother at some point, but the whole infant stage makes me a little wary.  Especially since that part comes first!

However, Lauren is like my sister... which makes Holt my nephew.

 Lauren & Holt

So as soon as I got into her house I was basically like "Ok, let's cut to the chase - now give me that baby."  She gladly obliged and... the rest is history.

I'm in love!

"Holt Hogan" & I

How cute is he?

But as I've learned from both Lauren and Nat Vittles, being a new mom is a ton of work... so I am thinking Mr. V had better enjoy meals such as this while he can :)

Skillet-Glazed Pork Chops

• 4 boneless center-cut or loin chops , 3/4 to 1 inch thick
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1/2 C. maple syrup (since good maple syrup is expensive, I used half honey)
• 2 t. Dijon mustard 
• 1/4 C. cider vinegar 
• 1 t. minced fresh thyme 
• 1 T. vegetable oil

Trim chops and slash through fat and silver skin on thin sides of each chop, making 2 cuts about 2" apart on each (this helps to prevent the sides of the chops from curling up in the pan as they cook). Pat chops dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Combine maple syrup, mustard, vinegar, and thyme in bowl or large measuring cup.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add pork to skillet and cook until well browned, about 5 minutes. Turn chops and add glaze mixture. Turn heat down to medium-low and cook until internal temperature registers 140 degrees (5 to 8 minutes).  Remove chops to plate and tent with foil.

Then, reduce glaze: return any accumulated juices to skillet and simmer glaze over medium heat until thick and syrupy. (Tip: you want the liquid to have small but plentiful bubbles, and a spatula dragged through the mixture should make a trail.)  Pour reduced glaze over chops & serve.  Serves 4, 1 chop per person.


Recipe from Cook's Country