New Goodies in the Kitchen.

I like to bake. It's no surprise to those that know me and when I come across a recipe that I get excited about cooking then there's little anyone can do to stop me.

I present to you Peanut Butter Pillows. Odd name yes, but wonderful taste and guess what, they are completely Vegan. I have to admit, the idea of being a Vegan really appeals to me, not because I'm against killing animals or anything, but just how healthy it seems to be and how the food choices seem to be better fuel for ones body. Anyway, the kids ate these cookies up like crazy and so did I. They are super rich and aside from a syrup after taste (which I didn't like because I don't like syrup) these were wonderful and will be made again

The next thing I had on my list to bake up was Pumpkin Bread. I cleaned up my kitchen after the Peanut Butter Pillows and went to work on the bread. I must have cleaned the kitchen better than I realized because I cleaned up the bag of sugar and totally left the sugar OUT of the mix. Sadly, I didn't even realize my oversight until I bite into a nice, warm piece of salty pumpkin bread. Ehhh...it's not so good without the sugar.

A pumpkin factory, the one that apparently supplies my local grocery stores, burnt down. Honestly, there was a can pumpkin shortage everywhere. Ever store I stopped had no pumpkin, whatsoever. I really wanted to make this bread for Christmas and my dad was kind enough to stop at a not so frequented market and found an enormous can of pumpkin. I remembered the sugar this time and wow this bread is amazing. So moist and rich. It's almost like a slice of pumpkin pie especially if you dollop a little cool whip on the top of it. The 2nd day of this bread is even better than the first, it seemed as if the bread pulled in more moisture goodness overnight. I'm going to make up another batch of these 5 mini-loaves and give them to family along with their Christmas present.

All the while I was baking my wonderful goodies I was using a new kitchen gadget that I picked up at TJ Maxx. Love that place!!! It's called a Misto. It allows you to use your own oil for spraying pans, pots and the such instead of using the expensive store bought kind. Plus, I put in Extra Light Olive Oil which makes it healthier than the spray kind as well. The only difference in this Misto than Pam is that you have to pump it 10 times before you spray. But once it's been pumped it sprays well for 15 -18 seconds. I'm all for saving money and going green. I think this pump is both so it's perfect for this family.

After all the baking I grilled up a cheddar, feta, turkey sandwich on homemade sour dough bread with an oh so thin slice of tomato. Oh yummm. If you like feta you must must add it to a grilled cheese one day, the subtly tang it gives to the sandwich is divine. :)