On the way up to Duluth.
Ice on the tree branches.
Snow, snow, snow.
The blizzard has begun.
Notice how high the snow drifts are in front of Tim's parent's house.
John, Tim and Marc shoveling a path.
John and Tim after shoveling.
Frosting Nancy's sugar cookies.
The begining of a pattern.
I love Christmas themes.
An up close view.
Chicken and White Bean Burritos
1 rotisserie chicken, chopped into small cubes
Pour 1/2 cup of the water into a bowl and mix with yeast and sugar til foamy. Let sit for 5 minutes until creamy. Put the yeast mixture, rest of the water and 3 1/2 cups of the flour into the mixer with the dough hook. Mix slowly until blended then add the rest of the flour. Increase speed and scrape down the sides til the dough comes together. (If it doesn't add a tbsp of flour at a time til it does.) Add salt and mix at medium speed for 10 minutes (or do half in mixer and half kneading) til dough is smooth and elastic.
Back in mixer add butter 1 tbsp at a time (dough may come apart, but mixing will pull it back together).
Turn dough out on lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball then place in a large buttered or oiled bowl. Turn dough so it is completely coated in the fat, then cover in plastic for 45 minutes to an hour, til it has doubled in size at room temperature.
Butter 2 loaf pans. Deflate the dough, cut in half and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out into a 9 x 12-inch rectangle. With the short end facing you, fold the dough into thirds like a sheet of paper to go into an envelope, creating a roll. Pinch the seam closed, and pinch the ends enough so it will fit in the loaf pan. Drop in the loaf pan seem side down, and repeat. Cover the loaves with buttered plastic wrap and allow to rise again in a warm place (80°F) for 45 minutes, until they double in size.
Preheat the oven to 375°F and put the rack in the center of the oven. Bake for 35-45 minutes til they are honey brown. Immediately turn out of pans onto a rack to cool. Once almost completely cool, they can be cut. Store in a brown paper bag for a day or two. Once cut, turn cut side down onto a cutting board and cover with a kitchen towel.
I've been getting tired of the same old meals and since kickball is done I thought I would branch out. I had a craving for some kind of dish with a peanut sauce. So, I looked on http://www.epicurious.com and found a recipe they call Soba with Chicken and Peanut Sauce. The recipe looked a little basic to me to I added tons veggies and some extra additions of my own. 
Melt butter with olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 3 minutes. 
Add curry powder; stir 30 seconds.
Add parsnips and carrots let saute for 5-10 minutes until tender. Add salt and pepper.
Add apples, chicken broth and cumin. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.
Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Return to pot. Add cream and salt and pepper to taste. 
Serve with Grandma's cornbread.
Some ingredients: Arborio Rice, Onion, and Dry White Wine
Bring stock to a low simmer in a medium pot. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat for 1 minute. Cook onion until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add rice and a pinch of salt. Sauté until rice is translucent, 1 to 2 minutes.
Add wine and saffron; bring to a simmer, stirring, until rice has absorbed most of wine. 
Add 2 ladles of stock to rice; simmer, stirring, until rice has absorbed most of stock.
Continue adding stock, allowing rice to absorb it before adding the next ladleful. Cook until rice is al dente and mixture is a little loose.
I decided it would be a quick nice dinner for Tim and I and I was definitly hooked. The dough was easy to use and super tasty.
We topped the pizza with left over grilled chicken, basil, red onion, cherry tomotoes, green and red pepper. 
Here's Tim chopping and getting the ingredients ready.
We decided to use a rectangular baking sheet instead of a round one since we don't have a baking stone. 
My pumpkin.
Root vegetables cut and roasted with olive oil and salt and pepper for 30-40 minutes at 400.
Garlic, Beets, Carrots, Yams and Golden Beets
Made a puree with turnips, parsnips, sweet potato. Added puree to base of shallots, roasted garlic, celery and veggie stock.
Put soup in pumpkin and baked at 350 for 35 minutes.
Tim carving his pumpkin.
Our table setting with the runner I made for Thanksgiving last year and the new fiestaware plates Tim's mom just gave us. 
The finished pumpkins.
