Friday Favorites – Episode 72

Things have been a bit crazy around here lately. Since her knee surgery last week, our doggy has needed lots of extra attention.  She’s not allowed to go up and down stairs, has to avoid all slippery surfaces (easier said than done since we have hardwood floors), and must wear one of those Elizabethan “cone” collars whenever she’s not directly supervised.  She also gets medicine a few times a day and recently started her “physical therapy” exercises, as well.

As if that weren’t enough, she has decided that she doesn’t like to sleep with the collar on. With the exception of one or two nights where she actually let us sleep through the night, she has been waking up every hour or so and wandering around with the silly cone collar on running into everything.  I’m a light sleeper, so that means that I don’t really get much sleep at all.  To add insult to injury, as soon as I take the collar off, she will curl up and go to sleep. Unfortunately, without the collar, she needs direct supervision, which means, though she is sound asleep, I have to stay awake.

The little bit of sliver lining in all of this, though, is that I had time to finally get through my RSS reader… What else does one do while “supervising” the dog at 4am? Of course, the down side to that is that, after reading all of these great blog posts and tasty recipes, I was starving by 4:30am.  I definitely recommend that you check them out… But maybe not in the middle of the night!

• This Stuffed Pepper Soup from Sugarcrafter looks perfectly comforting for a cool fall (almost winter!) evening… What’s even better is that you can make it ahead and let it simmer in the crockpot all day so that it’s ready and waiting when you get home!
• While we’re talking about comfort food, be sure to take a look at this Sweet Potato, Apple, and Caramelized Onion Gratin from Evil Shenanigans… I’m thinking it would make a pretty stellar dish for Thanksgiving, too!
• I come from a family of peanut butter and chocolate people.  So, it should come as no surprise that I am loving these Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies from Tracey’s Culinary Adventures. Plus, they are a great gluten free option for your holiday baking (just double check that your peanut butter, chocolate chips, etc. are gluten free).
• I love gingerbread… It’s just not the holidays (for me, at least) without some gingerbread cookies.  To mix things up a bit, though, I absolutely have to try this Chocolate Banana Gingerbread from How Sweet It Is.  That’s my kind of breakfast!
• When we were in Boston a few weeks ago for my birthday, we stopped at Flour bakery for breakfast… I was in love. When I saw these Pumpkin Spice Muffins from A Sweet Spoonful that were inspired by Flour, I knew they had to be included in this week’s favorites. Definitely give these muffins a try… And, stop in at Flour the next time you’re in Boston.
• I’m not usually much of a rice person.  I much prefer pasta and potatoes. Lately I’ve been craving rice pudding, though. I’m thinking that this Arroz con Leche (Rice Pudding) from A Chica Bakes is a perfect place to start.