(Earlier in the week post because of the holidays.) Many people have spent the Pandemic time baking and cooking up a storm. Well, I made it all the way until November before I baked anything.
The pumpkin pie was a given for Thanksgiving.

But then I found a recipe on New England Today. I’ve been following this magazine for some time, and it’s been especially nice since we haven’t been able to go there for over two years. The recipe was for an Apple Bundt Cake, and it didn’t use eggs. I have some family members who can’t eat eggs. I made the cake and literally devoured half of it because it was so good. So, for Christmas, I decided to make the cake and use GF flour since some family members have a sensitivity to gluten. It’s fairly labor intensive peeling and cutting up all the apples, but it was worth it when everyone loved my creation.



I also made a take off on my grandmother’s Hermits. Instead of raisins, I use mincemeat, and these cookies are like a drug to me. I haven’t made them since 2016. I can literally eat the whole batch, so I gave away half of them. My husband ate the late two a couple of days ago. Thank goodness.

The next kitchen endeavor was also fairly labor intensive. For the Christmas day meal, I made a Shepherd’s Pie from a recipe my granddaughter made during a summer cooking school. It turned out really well, if I do say so, but I had way too much, so I’ve frozen half of it.

Yummy. Glad I went to the store BEFORE reading about all your hoodies. Clever using mincemeat instead of raisins in the cookies. I have friends who have family food allergies and always looking for recipes. Yes I’ve been baking. My quarantine plan was to finally bake yeast bread and cinnamon rolls. I was never satisfied with the rising or flavor. The pizza crusts turned it great, odd shaped though. Ted helped with bread baking last week. He is great at kneading! But we both agreed it takes a lot of time.
Have Happy and blessed New Year!!
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Hey, JQ. I figured out the goodies. 🙂 Way back in the day, I’d use yeast to make pizza dough and have made bread, but golly I have no resistance for those things, so I just don’t make them. I probably won’t make the Hermits again for a couple of years. It’s been five years since I made them last. The pumpkin pie is every year. While the Shepherd’s pie took a lot of time, I can make it faster if I halve the recipe. It’s yummy on a cold night, so I’ll make it again. Please eat a piece of your fresh from the oven bread slathered in butter for me. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
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Goodies!!! Not hoodies!! I hate typing on my phone.
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Lordy! I made cheese crackers and chocolate dipped fruitcake. Then made sugar cookies w cranberries, white chocolate, and pecans. Yumm
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Hey, Vicki. Wow! You did a lot of baking. I’ve never heard of sugar cookies with cranberries. Would be interested in seeing that recipe. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
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it’s a cheater recipe from a friend: use sugar cookie mix. 🙂
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I was cooking up a storm this week with a standing rib roast for Xmas, paleo biscuits for breakfast, and a giant batch of tamales. Next up, I’ll make Hoppin’ John for New Year’s Day, so I had better make sure I have my ingredients on hand 🙂
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Hey, Hattie. Rib roast! Impressive. Also impressive you can make tamales. My mother made really yummy enchiladas. And Hoppin John? Isn’t that something with corn? We’ll be having ham, black eyed peas, and collard greens. My mother’s traditional New Year’s Day meal. Thanks so much for stopping by. 🙂
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Hi Marsha, your apple bundt cake looks delicious. I have a lot of stewed apple in the freezer, as we have an apple tree. I’ll look up the recipe.
We eat shepherd’s pie quite a lot. I think it might even have originated in the north of England, but I’m not sure. By tradition it has lamb mince in (hence the shepherd) but I stopped eating meat a while ago, so I make a version with Quorn mince, or else a veggie version. We had shepherd’s pie tonight. It’s nice and warming on a cold day.
I hope you enjoy New Year’s Eve, however you celebrate. Wishing you all the very best for 2021. x
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Hey, Helena. I’ll send you the apple pie recipe. I made our shepherd’s pie with ground turkey meat. We don’t eat as much red meat as we used to. And yes, it is really yummy on a cold winter’s night. Wishing you a happy New Year. Looking forward to getting the vaccine. Thanks so much for stopping by. 🙂
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Glad you enjoyed your holiday treats.
We have been cooking and baking all of Covid. For our 42nd Anniversary yesterday we had Bill’s Beef, Cheddar, and Potato pie.
Happy New Year!!
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Hey, Susan. I know y’all have been cooking up a storm. It all looks yummy, too. Happy New Year. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
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I have a recipe for Sugar Drop cookies from a cookbook my grandmother gave me when I was 10. I use dried cranberries instead of raisins. Yummy and simple. 🥰
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Hey, Alice. The sugar drop cookies sound easier than the roll out kind, and I do love cranberries. Nice to use family recipes. Thanks so much for stopping by.
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