Fried Ravioli

Need a quick appetizer for the holidays?  I attempted this one tonight so that I can make it later this week for a dinner party (I get nervous trying new recipes the day of).  It turned out great, was simple and fast!

Ingredients:
1 bag of frozen ravioli (I used cheese)
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 eggs 
1/2 cup milk
olive oil for frying
your favorite marinara sauce 

Cook frozen ravioli in boiling water for about 5 min
Remove and allow to cool
Meanwhile mix together in a bowl breadcrumbs, oregano, salt, and parmesan cheese
In another bowl mix together eggs and milk
Heat olive oil in a small saucepan for frying
Drop cooled ravioli (they don't have to be completely cool just not really hot or your eggs/milk may cook) in the egg/milk mixture then coat with the breadcrumb mixture
Drop into the oil and fry until golden (make sure to only fry a few at once so the temperature of your oil doesn't drop)
Remove from oil and drain on paper towels
Serve with warmed marinara sauce

That's it!  So simple!  I wish I had a picture but unfortunately they were all gone before I even had a chance.
Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Pumpkin Dip with Gingerbread Chips

"I have the biggest sweet tooth. After the holidays, I gotta start working out."

The above quote is so true for many of us... including myself sometimes. However, I recently stumbled upon a recipe that's healthy, tasty and festive.  I'm currently at my best friend Amanda's house (you may remember her from 2 prior posts here and here) and she had some of the Stacy's gingerbread pita chips which are amazing!!!  She had read about a recipe for pumpkin dip on Pinterest (we're slightly addicted to that site).  So we decided to experiment and try it out for ourselves.  The result was an amazing, quick and cheap dip that's perfect for the holidays.  Not only will it save you some calories but it will also save you some cash to spend a little more on that someone special.  While the dip was good we did say it would also be great if you cut the cool whip in half and added a block of cream cheese instead.  As is it is a little sweet (great if you're looking to satisfy the sweet tooth) but the cream cheese might help balance out the sweetness.  Enjoy!

Christmas Goodies and Coffee Creations!

Christmas, my child, is love in action. Every time we love, every time we give, it's Christmas.

Dale Evans Rogers

Don't you love this turquoise wreath?

I cannot believe Christmas is this weekend!!!  Last week I got the stomach flu and was sick for a whole week!  This made for absolutely no cooking during the week.  (I think the husband was a little tired of canned chicken noodle soup for me and "fend for yourself" for him)  However, my best friend is leaving to go to NYC and I had her Christmas party at my house on Friday night which meant I had to cook. I had decided to do "Caitlin's Favorite Things" for the menu and they turned out really well so I wanted to share... enjoy!

Christmas Catering Concoctions

Traditional Christmas Dishes from the countries my family originated from:
Ireland: Turkey with whiskey glaze - whiskey and honey together with a splash of orange will give an impressive and great tasting twist to the traditional bird.
Germany: The Germans tend to have a game feast on Christmas day, usually wild boar or venison. According to German tradition, partaking in a roast of pork dinner on Christmas Eve will prevent evil and promote prosperity in the New Year.

Martha Stewart KitchenAid Mixer

In case you haven't figured it out yet, I LOVE to cook. One of my favorite stress relievers is coming home and trying to make up a new dish out of whatever I have on hand (by the way the husband finds this very strange that I actually enjoy this but he can't complain as it means food for him). However, in the last 2 years several older ladies that I know have recognized this joy I get from cooking and have enlisted me to cater and/or assist with their Christmas parties. This is so fun for me because I get to try out a ton of new recipes and have tons of people to share them with when I'm done! Plus I absolutely love the preparation that goes into putting out really nice food for a party, so I get so much joy out of doing this. Last year I did a party for a very sweet lady and she asked me to come back and do this party again. Now hers is a little different as she orders several gormet finger sandwhiches and desserts from a local bakery so for her I make just a few simple side dishes that she requests but I thought I would share some of them as they are good and simple to help make your holiday party a feast!

Chocolate Dipped PB Sandwiches and other Christmas goodies

Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas.

Peg Bracken

ShopEnSky Cupcake Liners

I have an admission to make.  I don't like peanut butter.  Honestly!  I can manage to eat the reduced fat kind but the regular kind just tastes awful to me.  Which really is a disappointment when you think of how many food items are made with peanut butter, especially at Christmas time!  However, I have a husband who LOVES peanut butter, he will basically eat anything with peanut butter in it.  However, I was making another recipe this weekend and decided to throw together a few ingredients that I had left over to make these peanut butter wonders.  My second admission is... I didn't try them after I made them, like I said I don't like peanut butter so I wasn't about to use my hoarded calories for sweets on these.  However, everyone who tried them loved them and they were so easy so I had to share... ENJOY!