The Joy of Baking

Happy Monday!! Because Mondays can be just as wonderful as a Fridays if you want them to be. Each day is whatever you choose to make it. Today, I am choosing to be mindful of all the blessings God has given me. Life is wonderful when we dwell on the beautiful things in it.
My sister, Katie, blessed me with a gift last week--Joy the Baker's cookbook!! Woohoo! I've already made two recipes from it and I am planning what I want to make next. First, I had been thinking about what to do with an extra sweet potato we had. When I saw her recipe for sweet potato chocolate chip cookies, it sounded perfect. Those cookies were delicious.
 I was a bit wary of her recipe for Texas sheet cake due to her odd ingredients (coffee and sour cream). It turned out well, though! We shared it with our small group and still had leftovers so I took the rest to work. Matt was disheartened by how quickly it left us. Maybe I'll make a 1/2 recipe for us later. :)
This is what we had for dinner after church yesterday! Doesn't it look beautiful? I will admit that was part of the reason I wanted to try it. This is a chicken and broccoli braid from a cookbook we got from my great aunt Jeanette for our wedding.
It was so good! And simple! And yet I felt a little fancy too. It's good for a girl to feel fancy every now and then. Especially when baking. I've been on a baking spree lately. Today I'm thinking about making this bread from Cooking for Seven. Apparently, it is the best bread ever. We'll see! Hope you all have a brilliant start to your week!