A break from bread

I had kind of a funny day today -- I had the day off from work! It's a little weird to have a TUESDAY off, but heck, I'll take my comp day when I can get it! (I had 8 hours of training on Saturday, and since the economy's so bad, my work can't pay me overtime, so there I go!)

I was very busy today. I visited my dentist, chiropractor, AND fabulously amazing haircutting lady, (Dan says that my new haircut makes me look like I just stepped out of a shampoo commercial! Ha!), and also did loads of laundry, mountains of dishes, and visited one of my new favorite places, Penzey's!

I did go with a list, but a few things, ahem, accidentally fell off the shelves into my basket, so I HAD to buy them! I have heard wonderful things about Penzey's "Baking Spice" blend, so I decided to pick some up and give it a try.

What to bake? I thought about apple oatmeal muffins, but decided I wanted something more dessert-y. Solution? I made a most basic brown sugar shortbread, (1 cup butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 1/4 cups flour), and added 2 tsp of baking spice. Results?

I can't stop eating these. If somebody wants to sneak into my apartment and eat half the batch for me, I'd be thankful! Even Dan likes these, and he claims not to like "crunchy" cookies.

I also made a more labor-intensive dinner for us tonight, since I had plenty of extra time:

"Mushroom Potato Stroganoff," from The Cheese Factory Restaurant Cookbook, (no, not the Cheesecake Factory . . . this place is in the middle of rural Wisconsin, completely vegetarian, and fantastic!), buttered egg noodles, and a big, green salad as an attempt to offset all of that fat. :) Mmmm, fat! This recipe is such a winner, I really wonder why I haven't tried any of the OTHER recipes in the book yet???

What would you do if you had a random day off in the middle of your work week?