Sweet Potato Casserole

Hello!

Sorry about the silence over the last week over here on the blog, I was really busy for the first part of the week (finals and other school stuff) and then I was super sick for the second part of the week. Good news is that I am feeling much better now and I have a few posts lined up for this week!

I made this sweet potato casserole about a week and a half ago - it's a dish that Matt always talks about. Personally I have never seen the appeal of sweet potatoes topped with toasted marshmallows but since he loves it so much I decided to give in especially since he was really sick over thanksgiving and wasn't able to eat any of his Mom's. Leading up to Thanksgiving he talked about how he was looking forward to it pretty frequently, I felt so bad when I found out that he got sick as soon as he arrived at home. Once we were both back in Portland - and he was feeling better - I decided to surprise him with a semi-Thanksgiving, meaning I roasted some chicken breasts in the oven, made some mashed potatoes, and made the sweet potato casserole.

 Sweet Potato Casserole (makes 2 servings)
1 large sweet potato
A couple of handfuls of mini-marshmallows
Salt
Butter
Pepper

To make:
Cut the sweet potato into uniform pieces (the smaller the pieces, the quicker it will cook). Place in salted, cold water - just enough water to cover the sweet potato. Bring the water up to a simmer - don't let it boil or the potato will start to break up. Cook for ~10-20 minutes (depending on the size), until a fork will insert easily into the pieces. Drain them and return them to the pot, now mash them. I used a fork but you could also use a masher, ricer, or an electric mixer. Add about a tablespoon of butter and season them with salt and pepper. Once they are seasoned split the mash between two small baking dishes. Top with marshmallows and bake in a 350˚F oven until the marshmallows are melty and golden brown (or you can just pop them under the broiler if you are in a time crunch!) Serve hot.

I was surprised that I actually liked these sweet potatoes. For years I remembered disliking the dish from the one time I had tried it (I think I was about 6 or 7). But now I am realizing that I am liking sweet potatoes more and more!

This would be an excellent and easy addition to any Christmas or holiday spread you might be planning this winter!

Have a good night!
xx C

Holiday Cookie Inspiration

Good afternoon,


I hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was filled with yummy food, good friends, and lots of cuddles. Christmas is my favorite time of the year, and it's not because of the presents that always come along with it. I love the fact that I can count on being able to spend the day with all of my favorite people. Since getting older, I haven't been able to see my aunts, uncles, and cousins as much as when I was younger (one of the cons of moving across the country). But every year we all make the trek to my grandmother's house in Fryeburg, Maine. I always know that there is going to be a tree, lots of lights, a fire in the woodstove, and cookies...lots of cookies. For most of the year I am not a huge fan of cookies but during the holidays I am a sucker for all sorts of cookies (especially sugar cookies with the little melted cinnamon candies)!

This year I am also participating in a cookie swap with some of my friends from school so I have been trying to figure out what type of cookie that I want to make for that! Here are a few that I am considering:

// Stained-glass cookies // My mom's ginger snaps // Peppermint-chocolate biscotti //
// Vanilla-Chocolate Pinwheel Cookies //

For almost two years while I was growing up I was gluten-free so I know how disappointing it is, especially around the holidays, to miss out on some of the baked goods. Here are two recipes that I think sound super yummy (actually the almond cloud cookies are one of my all time favorite cookies) and are gluten free. The almond cloud cookies (left) are dairy-free as well and the gingerbread men could easily be made dairy free too. 

// Almond-Cloud cookies // GF Gingerbread-Men //

I hope that all of your holidays are filled with sweet treats!

xx -C

DIY: Homemade Coconut-Lavender Sugar Body Scrub

Over the past few months I have seen many different "recipes" for different homemade body scrub. Some are salt, some are sugar, and some are a mix of the two. Some have scents and some don't. A few things that all of the scrubs had in common were that they were all easy to make and most of them were made with ingredients that I already had in my pantry. After doing some research I found a website that outlined the basic necessities for a salt or sugar scrub. I decided upon a sugar scrub (since it is a bit gentler on skin) and since I only had white sugar at the time I used that. I think in the future I might try to make it with brown sugar and see how I like that. I decided to use coconut oil since it smells nice and is very gentle. I also decided to add some lavender essential oil to add a soothing floral scent.

To make it it is super easy!

You will need:
2.5 cups sugar
1 cup oil
~.5 tsp essential oil

Mix the sugar, oil, and essential oil together. Since I used coconut oil I had to warm it up a bit before adding the sugar since it is solid at room temperature. Once the ingredients are well mixed I filled a few smaller ball jars with the scrub and added a few dried lavender buds to the top for decoration.

I was a little worried that the scrub may feel really oily and not wash off all the way, but it doesn't seems that way at all. The oils help moisturize, especially at this time of the year when I notice my skin is a little on the dry side.

Happy scrubbing!
xx C

Giving Thanks

This past weekend I travelled up to Anchorage, Alaska to visit family. My aunt, uncle, and two cousins live up there and my mom and I have gone up there every year for Thanksgiving since I started college. Every year I look forward to the trip, mostly because I am always guaranteed a weekend full of snow, cousin cuddles, hot chocolate, and good food. Normally my aunt and uncle invite a few other families over so the Thanksgiving meal always involves lots kids running around and laughing. This year we went skating before the "big meal". Here are a few of my favorite snapshots.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

xx C