Holy Cow! And I mean that literally

We picked up our MEAT PACKAGE! today. Have you ever wondered what 120 pounds of beef looks like? Check it-(coke bottle added for reference)



Not pictured? 20 pounds of ground beef that wouldn't fit on the table.

I've spent my day reading through cook books and choosing recipes. We don't really eat beef, maybe 2 twice a month? So the things I know how to make with it are limited.

Tonight-Fajitas!

Done!

So....tired......picture....quality....bad.....

The lemon bars ended up being a learning experience. You're supposed to add the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, but I got impatient and it turned into a big dough blob. I tried to use it anyway-



Then I realized that was completely lame,threw the dough in the trash, and started over.



More crumb like, no? After baking-



Youngest helped with the powdered sugar-



They look like hell, but my god, they are GOOD! Recipe here.

And finally, Youngest and I finishing the sugar cookies. Hubbs found it hilarious that I had a flour hand print on my booty,so I thought I'd share.



Now, off to brine the turkey, make guest beds, cook dinner, sjfihuh.....sorry, fell asleep there.

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!!

She CAN Bake A Cherry Pie!

Holy cow I did it. Granted, it was with all store bought ingredients, but still.
There is no real recipe-just grab 2 cans of cherry pie filling and 2 ready made pie crusts.



This is where it got difficult. I decided to make a lattice top-not easy.



Even with instructions, which I found here, it was still a little confusing.




Frustrating! It's a little uneven-I prefer the term 'rustic'. I brushed it with milk, sprinkled it with cinnamon and sugar-




And voila!



Not bad, not bad at all.

Up next-lemon bars!

So Far, So Good!

I have been busy busy busy! Come on, let's take a look at my progress.

Here's how my kitchen table usually looks. There's Cleo, waiting for dinner.



The table was made in 1890-something. We got a hell of a deal on it. It has three leaves, so it can expand to 6 feet.



Is that beautiful or what?



Here it is this morning, with all my baking ingredients. And yes, I used store bought pie crust. Give me a break-I'm new to this baking nonsense! Hard to believe I'm going to turn all that stuff into delicious treats.



The first thing I made was a pecan pie. (Recipe here-thanks Pioneer Woman!)Here it is prior to baking, looking like an ooey, gooey mess.



Finished product! I know the crust is kind of wonky, but it looks delicious!




By the way, in between pies I made the most delicious mashed potatoes I have ever had in my life. And you can make them the day before, then pop them in the oven when the turkey's almost done. Recipe here. And again, thanks Pioneer Woman!



They are truly the best mashed potatoes I have ever made. I had no idea that using a hand mixer was not the preferred method of making good mashers. I got quite the workout mashing those bad boys!

Up next-cherry pie!