At least one of us is back from New York City, and I had a blast. (Paul comes home late tomorrow.) I can't wait to share all the photos and reviews of some really good food. Although, I'm sorry to say sometimes we only had two meals in the day because we were so busy being tourists.

When I got back, I got really nervous cause my fridge was completely empty. I had to make a trip to Publix for some basics like fruit, cereal, and milk to survive tomorrow. My plan for the remainder of the week is to eat what we have in the pantry and freezer because I still want to clean out and restock after the first of the year. Two meal ideas: Wild Rice, Brussel Sprouts (Me) or Peas (Paul), and Butternut Squash; and Pasta in a Garlic-Almond sauce (similar to Gourmet Mag, only the almonds in the pantry are already cooked. I don't foresee it being a problem and will be creative necessary.

I finally got some cream to make these biscuits from Smitten Kitchen. My hope is that they will be extra speedy as my feet cannot be down long, especially the hurt one. I plan to freeze them for next week when we have family come into town. I'll also take out some homemade applesauce to defrost and serve for breakfast. There will be another trip to the local grove for fresh citrus toward the end of the week.

This evening I really winded down my Christmas shopping and packing. Office presents get delivered tomorrow because I can't trust myself to be that organized next week. If you aren't finished with your planning yet and have some time on your hands, I came across some interesting blog posts today. I haven't finished reading them, but the pictures were so tempting, I felt I had to share.

I'm hoping some of the recipes in this free e-book download can be done with leftover peanut butter jars cause that's what we have!

I can see homemade cookie mixes being so charming in a festive jar. I'm thinking some of them will make great birthday presents for the staff this coming year.

Almost forgot one last post about giving away granola and brownies.

Are you spending less time in the kitchen this week as the holidays will require more time in there? Or, are you getting a jump on things? Feel free to share your plans in the comment section below.