My husband is (hopefully) plugging in the slow cooker as we speak so that we can enjoy some curried vegetable and chickpea stew (http://www.thekitchn.com/slowcooker-recipe-curried-vege-67520) for dinner.

Tomorrow night I'm making a dinner out of Thanksgiving sides when my inlaws come over since we were all out of the country together over the holiday and didn't have any traditional Thanksgiving food.

And my kitchen goal of the year is to make more meals in advance (including freezer meals), so that I don't have to cook every night but still have something home made.

My kitchen goal this year is more vegan food--I'm a vegetarian and the rest of the fam are omnivores, but my husband is lactose intolerant. We all love vegan cupcakes and cookies and have been cooking through Veganimacon.

I actually went out and bought sucanat and spelt flour this week and will be making "wholesome" oatmeal-pepita-dried cranberry bars from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar for my daughter's lunchbox. And a butter-free polenta--just olive oil.

I accidentally ordered WAY too much arugula, so I'll be making arugula pesto to freeze and an arugula torta to take for lunches. I might also be putting it on sandwiches, sauteeing it with garlic, and adding it to salads. It's been a very green week.

Um, well, I need to figure out what to cook for my boyfriend's parents. We have dinner with them most Sunday evenings (his dad is a GREAT cook!) and but it was decided that they should come over this weekend and have me cook for the everyone instead.

needless to say, none of my recipes seem up to the challenge!

Making oatmeal-stout-braised short ribs to put on top of pizza...inspired by a special from a local restaurant. In the oven now!

Trying to make a concerted effort this year to cook new recipes at a faster rate than I bookmark them. I have always been operating on a significant backlog.

For the last year or so, the boyfriend and I have also been idly talking about trying to brew our own batch of beer. Now that we have a big unfinished basement and a Brew and Grow is opening up down the street there's no room for excuses!

Oops, meant to post this to the resolution post. Sorry!

Roasted chicken and that yummy looking kale, pomegranate, and apple salad for tomorrow from here tomorrow night. Big batch of homemade red sauce and meatballs on Sunday.

I'm going to make a batch of broccoli-cheese bierrocks (the Russian Mennonite version of hot pockets) to freeze for school lunches. And a sour-cherry pie for the last family Christmas gathering on Sunday. My dad requested a fruit pie.

That citrus compote looks tasty. Might keep that in mind. . .

Winter comfort food! Mujadarra and either roasted broccoli or braised green beans; if the farmer's market is good, meatballs or meat sauce, and if not, artichoke heart stuffed shells from the Smitten Kitchen cookbook; and maybe a kale or roasted carrot salad on the side. As usual, I probably have more ideas than time to make them happen.

Italian Sesame Bread from King Arthur flour! Divine!

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/italian-sesame-bread-recipe

Mac and cheese with herby crouton topping. Red Thai chicken curry with lots of veggies. Burgers with emmentaler. :)

You should definitely get into homebrewing! The beer tastes better and costs less - hard to argue with that. You might want to start by checking out Charlie Papazian's books, which were the first to make homebrewing mainstream, and then move on to working out your own recipes. The most important thing: clean, clean, clean. But basically, anyone who can cook can make beer!

Making Chicken for soft shell tacos in the crockpot tomorrow. Maybe some seasoned rice too. Guacamole and Queso. All easy, yummy and make leftovers.

Tonight made a splendid simple Winter Slaw with fennel, cabbage, celery and a dressing of pureed green apple, cider vinegar and olive oil.

My cooking has been curtailed by some very intense kitchen floor scrubbing, but I hope to experiment with some unleavened breads tomorrow.

There is little on this earth that can teach you about yourself and the way your children view you as easily as cooking with your children. Of course, this is the perfect opportunity for many of us to let our hair down a little, relax, and have fun in the kitchen. Unfortunately, if you are anything like me, this is a difficult process to say the least.

Check it out and let me know what you think…

Dinner Party Tips

Thanks
Rupert

We made Homesick Texan carnitas and had them on soft tacos. Also on the list was bean chilli for lunches in the week, a chunky wholemeal fruit cake for snacks through the week and a batch of Smitten Kitchen cheesecake brownies for my boyfriend to take to his tattoo appointment tomorrow. All delicious!

I'm working full days M-T this week (usually part time) and with a commute won't get home until 5:45 or 6:00. So today I made and froze stuffed shells with ground turkey, I'm poaching chicken breasts for a chicken pot pie for tonight and tomorrow night and making something to take to the office pot luck tomorrow. What? I don't know yet.

Does anyone else feel SO satisfied with themselves (as well as less stressed) just knowing that meals have been prepped, prepared, or frozen for the week?!!!

I made a bunch of chickpea patties this week and made an effort to use them in various ways on the weekend.

Burgers: http://www.flickr.com/photos/40964542@N08/8348633454/

A sort of a takeoff on things I learned reading Jerusalem: http://www.flickr.com/photos/40964542@N08/8355117970/

Yesterday was Dia de los Reyes, or Three Kings Day, in Mexico and to celebrate, I made a cake that is traditionally eaten on January 6th throughout the country. It was my first time making it and I had fun doing so, plus my family loved it! Check it out below:

http://diningoutcookingin.wordpress.com/2013/01/06/feliz-dia-de-los-reyes/