Music Monday + Thanksgiving Recap

First of all, just a reminder that I am offering 20% off my entire shop today (Monday).   Just enter MERRY2011 at checkout.  Okay....

I hope you have all recovered from Thanksgiving + Black Friday + Small Business Saturday + Cyber Monday.  I mean, really.  I actually had a really lovely Thanksgiving.  Sometimes I feel like the holidays are so packed with cooking, cleaning up, and so on, that you miss actual "family time" -- but this year I felt like we all got to spend quality time together and that was really, really nice.

And, thanks to Pinterest, I attempted several new recipes this year.

I made these sweet potato cupcakes, via Cupcake Project.  I made mini cupcakes, so the uncooked crumb filling didn't really work.  I ended up tossing out the first batch that went in the oven and left it out of the other batches all together.  They tasted fine without it.  Which is actually amazing, considering I managed to leave out the apple cider and oil.  This is what happens when you talk on your cell phone while you are baking.  Lesson learned.

I also made these S'mores Cookie Bars, via Lovin' From the Oven.  I have had these bookmarked for a while now.  They were really, really easy to make and were very yummy.  While I love a baked good, I'm not a big fan of really sugary desserts.  This was a little too sugary for my taste, but something I'll probably make again.

If you have been on Pinterest at all, you have probably seen this picture of the Crispy Potato Roast from Fish Food (via Martha Stewart).  It is so pretty and it seemed like a new take on a classic side (the russet potato), so I thought I would give it a try.

It really is a pretty easy recipe, and it did turn out looking just like the picture.  But I was a little disappointed in the final outcome.  The tops of the potatoes were dry and tough, while the bottom half was nicely cooked.  It's probably not something I will make again, but it was fun to try something new.


This was my third year to make stuffing.  This is my go-to stuffing recipe, via Martha Stewart.  Thanks to Whole Foods finally making it's way to Oklahoma City, I was able to use a loaf of pumpkin bread like the recipe suggests.  I gave it a nice sweetness.

What did you make for Thanksgiving this year?  Any hits or misses?  Any recipe suggestions for future holidays?

I am not doing a playlist this week, but I did want to leave you with a little something.  The Head and the Heart's entire album is really great, but this track is definitely my favorite.

The Head and the Heart singing "Winter Song"

Enjoy!  Happy Monday!

Amy