Stovetop Hot Chocolate for Two

It has been a hectic day of weather in Michigan.  Since about halfway through last week, the news has been warning of a possible 'tornado outbreak' today.  Thunderstorms and a possibility of tornadoes in November?  I've been sure that something terrible was going to happen, and as a result, I have been glued to the weather for most of the afternoon - watching radar makes me feel the safest. 

+/-
+ we have power
- our street is absolutely flooded
+ we finished up the last of the raking and misc yard work yesterday
+ the worst of the storm appears to have passed
- I am completely wound up (and I feel bad for my husband)

So, we're doing okay.

To keep myself busy and use up some of this nervous energy that I didn't need for rescuing my pets or outrunning a tornado, I made hot chocolate and sweetened whipped cream - for two!  I LOVE stovetop hot chocolate, it is much more rich and decadent than the packets, and it always makes me feel like a kid to drink it.  The recipe is super easy and makes two big, warm and satisfying mugs of hot chocolate, but you can scale it up or down as necessary. 

Halloween Bark

White chocolate.

Candy corn.

Reese's pieces.

Peanuts.

Dark chocolate (for drizzling).



This is all you need to create a list minute (but delicious) Halloween treat.  And if you're looking to make it today, I can almost guarantee that the most difficult ingredient to procure will be the candy corn.

I knew I wasn't going to wear a costume to work today was going to dress up like a modern office employee today, and that likely wouldn't be well received by my coworkers.  As a preemptive peace offering, I decided to make something I wanted to call 'Halloween Bark'.  I didn't what that meant when I headed to the grocery store for ingredients.
So, I wandered the cut-price Halloween candy, picked up the fall M&M's, put them down, searched high and low for candy corn, never found it.  So, I went to a different store, found the candy corn (bought two bags for some ungodly reason), debated on the virtues of peanuts versus pretzels, couldn't find the fall M&M's and settled on Reese's pieces instead.  They look like fall all year round.

B is for Banana Bread

Over the last month, I have gone back to working normal, 40 hour weeks.

I got a new pair of glasses AND a new pair of shoes.

I have had the great fortune of watching one of my best friends tie the knot (I made her cry with my toast), and conspiring with my husband's cousin (and the best man at our wedding), who finally popped the question to his girlfriend of four years.  We've been keeping the secret (and holding her engagement ring at our house!) all summer and I'm so happy that it's official and I can take my secret Pinterest board public, and I'm looking forward to their big day!

Now, let's talk about a joyful kitchen. 

A clean one, certainly, if you take pride in a cleaning job well done.

(I just feel like a domestic goddess when I have a clean kitchen and something yummy to eat.)

A messy one, because that project baking away in the oven is totally going to be delicious.

A warm room, full of good people, good food, and if you're lucky, good wine.

A simple recipe that never lets you down.

Quick breads - no kowtowing to yeast here!  (water too hot, water too cold, blah, blah blah - I'm scared of working with yeast, can you tell?)

Banana bread.  I love it so much. 

I like to make it on the weekends and we eat it for Sunday breakfast... Obviously throughout the week too.  It takes us more than one breakfast to eat an entire loaf of bread.  It takes me back to childhood, and reminds me of this Alpha-Bakery cookbook I had when I was a kid.

amazon.com

Did you have an Alpha-Bakery cookbook?  I have no idea what happened to mine, but I can remember being obsessed with it.  Especially 'E is for Elephant Ears', although I never did make them.  I can also remember thinking it made a spectacular gift for me to color the edges of some 3x5 index cards and copy down recipes from this book.  I, of course, did not give the book proper credit.  Those recipes were 100% from the kitchen of Maggie, thank you very much. 

And so, banana bread.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

Well, just like everyone else on the interwebs, I'm about to get obsessed with pumpkin.

BUT - I'll have you know that I have yet to have any pumpkin influenced coffee.

So there.

In case you haven't noticed (or you live in one of those places

without seasons like Florida or Southern California), IT'S FALL!

Who am I kidding, pumpkin spice everything is already here.

Slow Cooker Rueben Dip

Last weekend was the best.  After so many weekends of work and crazy,

I was finally, finally, FINALLY able to take a couple of days off and spend some much
needed quality time with my husband and my friends.
 

Good friends, good food, good times.

One friend visited from California.  Another WON A DANCE COMPETITION. 

That happened.  She's awesome.

Not only did she put on her dancing shoes and pull off a win,
she organized an Afterglow at our favorite local bar.

 With so much to celebrate, and the location making cocktails practically a guarantee,

she also convinced the owner to let us put together a little potluck.

 

And thus, we arrive dear friends, at the point of this rambling entry,

my contribution to the celebration was a reimagining of a classic deli sandwich.