November Recipe Remake Recap

Yesterday my baby turned two. My sweet, sweet, little boy is now two... and I can no longer refer to his age in months, I can no longer call him "a baby" (even though he is MY baby), I can turn him forward facing in the car, and above all else, I can look forward to another year on the journey that is being his mommy. I've been looking forward to his birthday (and dreading it... it's so bittersweet) all month... and now it has passed. My sweet boy... how time is flying. Time always goes fast, but since I've become a mother time is on a perpetual speed race ahead and it scares me. I want to hit pause... stop the clock... and hold him at this size just a little bit longer.

But let's move on to the food... shall we? This was a VERY busy month... between regular meals and Thanksgiving, this recap is loaded!

I started off this month with baked pesto chicken. I needed an easy meal and truly this is as easy as it gets. I used a nut-free pesto so Landon could have some, but I should have known the green sauce would be a no-go. He's a decent eater when it comes to meat, he LOVES meat, but forget about veggies. He saw the green on this and refused to believe it wasn't something I was trying to sneak into him... so needless to say John and I were the only two enjoying this meal!

That same night I also made cheesy garlic biscuits. I know the two don't really go well together but I had decided to put my piece of chicken over a huge salad (and put John's over pasta...which Landon did eat, of course) and wanted something carby, so biscuits it was. I made a horrible mistake though... I didn't grease my skillet and the poor biscuits stuck so badly. Ugh. It was a pity I tell you... a real shame.

I remade three of my all time favorite meals this month. The first was chicken marsala casserole. I was recently asked what my favorite meals are to make, and after I rattled off a short list, I decide to make a menu with all three favorites in one week. It was a good week I tell you. The day I made this Landon was getting over a horrible cold which resulted in him not eating for a week. If you know his growth issues (he's off the charts for weight) it's VERY hard when he goes weeks without eating. I couldn't chance him refusing this so I sat there, diligently picking each mushroom out of his bowl. Usually if I chop them up he eats them, but I wasn't taking chances this time. Good thing too- we all loved it, and Landon finally ate a meal!

Probably my hands down favorite dinner is peanut noodles with shredded chicken and Asian veggies so I was thrilled to make it. I don't often make peanut butter dishes now that Landon has been diagnosed with his allergy but we do still eat peanuts in the house so I decided to make this. It was as good as I remembered. My only regret is I made it on a Thursday so I didn't get to take the leftovers to work since we go out to lunch on Fridays. Sure, I had to scrub every surface after eating to ensure the peanut sauce wasn't anywhere... but it was worth it!

It wouldn't be a recap without pizza... chicken bacon ranch pizza being the pizza d'jour this month. I was saddened to see my tomato was missing after I started this recipe so I used some canned diced tomatoes and overall it was a fine substitute. I love this pizza... if you've never made it, try it. It's heaven.

I had conferences this month and needed several easy meal nights. One night I simple took this sweet onion pot roast out of the freezer for my mom, John, and Landon to enjoy while I was at work late. Landon is a huge fan of this, as is John, so it was a perfect and easy dinner.

When a cookie craving hit recently I decided to make buttermilk chocolate chip cookies. These used to be my favorite. I have to say they have since been dethroned in my house, but they were nice for a little variety!

When my students won their marble celebration this month (our behavior system) they decided they wanted to cook in the class. I turned to my trusty crockpot salsa con queso recipe since I know it was kid-tested and kid-approved from my students last year. Sure enough it was a huge hit again. 10 year olds love cheese... they are very smart people!

And now onto Thanksgiving. As a food blogger there's a certain amount of "pressure" to try new recipes (or else what are you going to blog?!) but truly I don't think of Thanksgiving as the time to get crafty. Thanksgiving is a classic meal and calls for classic tried and true recipes. Each year I add a couple new things, but there are several classics that always make the table. Here's a list of what was remade this Thanksgiving:

Raspberry baked brie- this went completely, and quickly. I love it... I love the creamy cheese with the sweet raspberry... so good.

Spinach dip- seriously I think I make this recipe monthly for one event of another!

Cranberry sauce- Really, nobody eats it... a little bit here or there, but I feel it's a must for Thanksgiving. I think with all the other amazing food on the table cranberry sauce takes a back seat.

Stuffing- I pretty much wait all year for this. It's the only time I make this stuffing and it's so classic and simple, but it's just my favorite.

Corn casserole- I can assure you that my family would revolt if this wasn't on the table at any major holiday, but especially Thanksgiving. This has become synonymous with the holiday in our home. It's also become a huge hit with my friends.. I had several people I know make this for the first time this year and they all raved. I really need to take an updated picture of this... because this picture does it no favors!

And that is that! This year I tried out a new dessert (coming soon!), a new mashed potato recipe (also coming soon!), and a new turkey brine. The rest of the gaps in the meal were filled in by guests, and it was a wonderful holiday had by all! Now onto the hustle and bustle of the holiday season!