Queen of the Kitchen

Lately, all I want to do is bake and cook. It's the fall like weather we've been having I think. I got my first batch of apples from Ben's uncles farm this past weekend, and a butternut squash bigger than my head, from his cousin who had paid a visit, and it has my wheels turning of what to do in the kitchen.

Luckily, most of the time I want to make healthy or healthier recipes. Yesterday, I made this Pioneer Woman Recipe, and tried to make it healthier (I only used half and half, and didn't use the heavy cream she called for) and halved the recipe since it's just Ben and I.

It turned out great!
I also made a batch of No Pudge Brownies for dessert, but had 2.5 of them... they're not No Pudge when you have that many!

Maybe the baking and cooking stems from my marathon training, and the fact that running this much, combined with strength training at physical therapy has me wanting to consume extra calories.

Maybe it's from the fact that I'm so bored with food lately, I just want to spice it up a bit.

Or, the fact that Ben and I have pledged to eat at home more, for healthful and monetary reasons. However, I have to be careful not to blow the monetary reasoning out the window by spending my well earned dough on obscure ingredients that I'll only use a pinch of for a recipe, and may never use again.

My next plans of attack in the kitchen includes:

• This Giada De Laurentiis Butternut Squash Tortellini, but my own version of it. I'm going to try and make homemade pasta, instead of using the wonton wrappers.
  
• This Scones Recipe from Savvy Eats, but with raspberries and a drizzle of my mom's recipe for homemade icing that makes her Thanksgiving Apple Pie Squares so irresistible.
  
• Bethenny's Lowfat Pasta Carbonara
  
• Lastly, this Spark Recipe for Zucchini Bread. Now that I have a food processor, I feel like the possibilities are endless for what I can do with squash and zucchini!

Stay tuned for reviews!

Got a favorite recipe as of lately? Feel free to share!