Marshmallow Snowmen - 40 in all!

This has definitely got to be my masterpiece! I created 40 marshmallow snowmen. The biggest challenge ever. The original recipe yielded 26 marshmallow men, but I had to double it to accomodate for my son's class, which he says is the largest in the entire school! Oh my!

Well, I did it!

3 long hours laboring in the kitchen -- from 9:30 pm till 12:30 at night. Again, the original recipe says it was suposed to be 45 min prep time, but me being a novice, I double that time into 1 1/2 hours... And since there were twice as much, you have to double that time into 3 hours! Whew!

I had to cut marshmallows in half, melt caramel, dip the marshmallows in there, melt chocolate, dip the marshmallow men in there, then dip into the coconut, toffee, sprinkles, and chocolate chips. Then lay them on their backs, add the noses, dot the faces and bellies with chocolate for the eyes and buttons. Also, backtrack a bit and add some marshmallow paste to stick the heads on if they fell off. Whew!

I'm just glad it's over. I only had enough for his 35 student class, 2 for the teachers, and 3 for myself, my son and my dad. They actually taste like a candy bar. =D

But hard work pays off. The teacher was really amazed with my handy work! =)

As for the recipe, I found it in a Christmas Cookie magazine. 

My son will be a chef one day

He created a simple presentation with just cheese and crackers. How cute! Looks gourmet to me!

Carrot Ginger Soup

 I have been trying to get over a cold. I usually go to the French cafe in downtown and get Carrot Ginger soup, but this time I decided to quit spending $5 a bowl and keep the dough in my wallet instead. So I found a recipe through allrecipes.com and made it myself. I was pleased with the results even though it tasted more like Squash Ginger Carrot soup. =)

My dad really liked it (yay victory!) but my son wasn't too enthusiastic. Oh well, maybe when he's older. =)

Sweet Potato desserts for Thanksgiving =)

What a great Thanksgiving! Everyone enjoyed my desserts.

I made Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows -- Mudslide style. This was a complete mistake. I didn't have any cream, so I substituted mudslide coffee creamer. I was really happy when family commented on how delicious it was.

The other dessert I made, I found the recipe on Emeril Lagasse's site. It is sweet potato creme brulee. My favorite dessert is creme brulee so I wanted to make a version of it for Thanksgiving. I didn't have a strainer so I had to get one really quick in the midst of making this. Haha. It came out great, except for the sugar topping, which I put too much sugar so it wasn't melted correctly. However, many members of the family commented on how yummy and creamy it was.

Pumpkin pie, fajitas (sort of), hamburger helper

 These pictures were from October, but I just didn't upload them. I had finished taking the guts out the pumpkins for Jack-O-Lanterns, and I was going to cook with them, but I decided to buy the pumpkin pie filling instead. Unfortunately, I did not read the directions carefully and used prebaked dough for the pie so it was a bit overcooked in the crust. However, the filling was Oh-So-Delish!

I felt like making fajitas, so I had used extra lean beef I had bought from Fresh Market. But instead of being slices of beef, it was ground beef, so here is what the fajita filling ended up looking like. It tasted great and my son wanted seconds! =D

 I had leftover meat, so I used it to make Hamburger Helper.

Chicken Veggie Noodle Soup -- Inspired from a trip to Fresh Market

My son and I stumbled upon Fresh Market one Sunday. We were so inspired by all the fresh veggies and fruits (it was like walking into an entire new world in there!) that we ended up making soup that day. It came out delicious, but unfortunately, we didn't put in enough broth. At first, I made the mistake of putting in stock instead of broth... who knew there was a difference? Haha. I eventually fixed that and it came out very tasty. I was pleasantly surprised when my father wanted a portion.

More old pics I found... Jamaican beef patty with peppers on top

I didn't make the Jamaican beef patty. I simply added the peppers on top. It was a great combination!