The Busy Season

It is officially here.  Know how I know?  Because I"m losing track of stuff.  I'm one of those types who writes stuff down, but only as a backup, because usually I can keep track in my head.  But now?  Well, it's getting harder, and I can't take any risks.  I'm actually having to go back and look at my notes!  But it's all good- I can handle it. Been doing it a long time, so no problem!

Anyone got a Valium??

So, this past weekend was Halloween, and we were SUPER busy.  My son had a band competition to go to, and the rest of us had a party at friends' house on Saturday.  I cooked a whole bunch, and it was SO worth it.  I even got to bring home some leftovers!  I have to tell you, this cooking magazine I got last week is really fantastic- three of the four dishes I made this past weekend were out of it!  America's Test Kitchen Special Collector's Edition Best-Ever Recipes has an unbelievable number of incredible, easy to understand recipes for dishes that we all recognize and are absolutely delicious.  And I am not being paid to endorse this magazine at all- that is how much I love it!  I have only had it just over a week, and have already made four recipes from it- all with amazing success.  If I can make one point right here, right now: GET.TO.YOUR.NEWS.STAND.NOW and get a copy, because according to mine, it should only be on display until December 13.  Anyway.  For the party this weekend, I made two recipes from this magazine: Korean Fried Chicken, which I adapted for chicken wings, and Apple Slab Pie, which is an amazing glazed apple pie made in a rimmed baking sheet, the equivalent of two regular pies.  Both are somewhat labor-intensive, but so, so good!  I encourage everyone to get a copy of the magazine.  I look forward to trying many other recipes in it in the future.

Another dish I made for the party was one of my own design, a Halloween trifle.  I found this fantastic Halloween cake mix that was orange (colored, not flavored) with a fudge swirl, and that is what I used as the base.  I layered chunks of the cake with Cool Whip, chocolate pudding, and crushed Butterfingers, topping it with Cool Whip decorated with chocolate syrup.  I *attempted* to make a spider web design...but what can I say- I'm not much of an artist!  Here is my final product:

 Trust me, it tasted a lot better than it looked!  I took it to our friends' party, and I did not have much to bring home when it was over.  It was really yummy!

My exciting craft-related news this week is that I will have a table at a holiday bazaar that is put on by a friend of mine and her friend every year.  It is coming up this Saturday, so I don't have much time to prepare!  I got a table cloth and some decorations for my table, and hopefully I will have enough inventory to make it worth everyone's while!  I am really looking forward to it.  I enjoy shopping at this bazaar every year, so am really excited that I get to sell there this year!

I am trying to catch up and am still planning a giveaway, so don't think that I forgot!  Soon, I promise!