Cooking and Baking...

...has been the story of my life. As of lately, that is. But, hey, it's keeping our apartment a little warmer than the mere 59 degrees our thermostat is set to. That makes me very, very happy. It can get a little drafty in here, and we especially notice it during the winter months, when the cool air sneaks in (or bursts) through all the little cracks and holes in this crazy old house. We're just trying to save a little money on our heat bill, that's all. Even though it's currently a little cold, we're truly blessed and are so thankful we have a nice place to live while we're temporarily residing in the city.

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I made some yummy cookies a couple days ago that I found a recipe for on http://www.thekitchensinkrecipes.com/. Kristin has the BEST recipes! I've tried countless recipes from her site, all with great success, including these featured Espresso Snowcaps. They're a little bit fudgy and a little bit brownie-ish. They're super yummy. In fact, they may be my new favorite dessert.

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We've come across lots of good recipes lately. In the last week or so we've made Sour Cream Banana Pancakes from Ina Garten; Breakfast Burritos from Ree Drummond; Apricot Bars (also from Ree); Apple Brownies from one of my random cook books; Strawberry and Lemon Muffins from the K.S.R.; Homemade Stuffing from Martha Stewart; Blueberry Swirl Bread from King Arthur Flour (we substituted blueberries for the raisins); Marinated Flank Steak -- one of my mother-in-law's passed-down recipes; a delicious Sweet Potato, Apple and O.J. casserole from a food blog whose name I do not recall; Barbeque Meatballs from Ree Drummond; Salted White Chocolate Cookies from Smitten Kitchen; Whole Wheat Oatmeal Bread and Rolls from the Better Homes cookbook; Broiled Scallops from an unknown source; Chocolate Almond Bars from the K.S.R.; Corn Chowder the K.S.R., and many, many other yummy things. Oh, and don't worry. We gave away a bunch of the baked goods and froze the rest. We've been doing our very best to maintain self control with all this delicious food around. See? We get along just fine in our sub-zero degree home (just kidding). In fact, we couldn't be more content.