Geektastic Number {TWO}

I had SO much fun blog-hopping this week to come up with my list of five recipes to try that I kind of forgot about posting my own recipes. Oops. I have a delicious chili recipe to share and I plan on doing that tomorrow. It's just that everyone else's recipes looked soooo good that I didn't want to stop sifting through them.

I'm easily distracted.

It's FINALLY a real winter day here in Buffalo. We didn't get a huge amount of snow (my guestimate would be maybe five inches?) But the wind has been so obnoxious (it woke me up at 4am and I never fell back asleep) that it was a blowing and drifting mess, causing lots of accidents and most everyone I know to be late for work. No worries on my end as far as that's concerned. Did I mention I woke up at 4am?? :p

So.... today is a happy {HAPPY} day for me. It was my last day at my current job. I start in a new department on Monday and I am ecstatic!! Can't wait! I went out with some friends for dinner last night at Chef's and tomorrow I have another celebratory evening with a different friend at Ilio DiPaolo's. Gonna be lots of yumminess going on there! WNY has some great local restaurants.

Now, on to the recipes!

Homemade Taco Seasoning by Mel's Kitchen Cafe
I made tacos the other day and wondered if it would be easy to make my own seasoning, and lo and behold I stumbled upon this post. Can't wait to try this! If I make my own sloppy joe, of course I can make my own taco seasoning!

Smashed Raspberry Chocolate Chunk Pancakes by Joy the Baker
Reading Joy's blog is like chatting with a friend, and she has the yummiest recipe ideas. These sound so good and I am always struggling with breakfast ideas.

Bean and Sausage Soup by Recipe Girl
I love bean soup. When someone else makes it. Mine just never turns out right, but this simple recipe uses sausage instead of ham and it sounds so comforting for a cold winter day!

Chocolate Mascarpone Brownies by Spork or Foon
While the author of this blog post isn't a fan of brownie mixes, I admittedly love them. I'm a little more Sandra Lee than Martha Stewart most days, and I make no apologies for it. However... I absolutely love mascarpone cheese and these sound to DIE for.

Creamy Pesto Dressing by Savory Sweet Life
I love making my own salad dressings. I almost never have a store-bought bottle in my fridge. Mine usually aren't creamy dressings though, and this sounds like a delicious change of pace.

Looking for some more inspiration? Check out the list at Finding Joy in My Kitchen. Lots of great ideas!!

Happy long weekend!