Whiskey + Aprons

I hope you all had a relaxing and enjoyable Thanksgiving break. We spent the holiday by my parents, but that didn't stop us from making our own turkey on Thursday morning. I love making roasted chicken in the oven, its one of our favorite go-to meals so I figured a turkey had to be pretty much the same thing. I preheated the oven on roast at 350 degrees and gave our bird a good scrub down of freshly squeezed lemon and kosher salt. I mixed together a baste of salt, pepper, minced garlic, smoked paprika and extra virgin olive oil and brushed it all over the turkey. Of course making my first turkey was a little nerve racking so after a few phone calls to my mother and my aunt and a quick google search on "How long do you cook a 14 pound turkey for?" I set my timer and hoped for the best. After a few hours of cooking, our bird started to crust up beautifully and I continued to baste it every couple of minutes. Once the top became browned I covered it with foil and let cook a

The mid-week hump is here and I was in the mood to get baking early this morning to kick off baking season. I love having healthy sweets in the house, but its tricky to find so called "healthy" treats at the grocery store that aren't loaded with processed ingredients. I don't enjoy baking as much as I do cooking, but these muffins are so simple to whip together and are only around 125 calories each! They are delicious with your morning cup of coffee, a mid-day snack or an after dinner treat. Here is what you will need: -1 package of spice cake or carrot cake mix -1 can of 100% pure pumpkin -4-5 tablespoons of dark chocolate chips (feel free to add nuts, too) -1 cup of water  Preheat your oven on bake to 350 degrees. Line your muffin tins with baking cups. Mix together the entire box of cake mix, 1 can of pumpkin, 1 cup of water and 5 tablespoons of dark chocolate chips. Pour about 3-4 tablespoons of your mixture into each baking cup and bake for 20-25 minu

Well, its been some time since I have written. I guess you can say life got in the way. Between vacationing this summer in San Francisco, to our big move and finishing up a couple of renovations around the house, time slipped away! Oh, and the cutest new addition to my family, my sweet nephew Christian James came early this August. I guess I have neglected you, my lovely little blog, but I'm finally back. Just because I haven't written much doesn't mean I have stopped cooking. No way, not a chance! John and I still cook Monday through Friday and save the weekends to try new local restaurants and splurge a bit. Since we've spent most of the summer working on the house and exploring our new little town, we definitely have found our go-to local spots. We have a couple of great restaurants less than a mile away and have been venturing into neighboring towns too, indulging in some yummy eats. Still, the week nights are for healthy eating and I have been cooking up some rea