Cranberry Walnut Cinnamon Cream Cheese

My New Year's Resolution this year is one word:  Balance.

In everything.

I am an OCD perfectionist.  If I do something, it needs to be done 110%.  Which makes balancing things really hard.  I'm not great at juggling lots of things.  I get stressed out easily.

I am great at developing tunnel vision and spending an entire week a) reading a whole book series b) making forts with my children, creating snack drawers for them with little baggies of portioned snacks, and laminating everything in sight to use for an  upcoming preschool unit c) opening a closet to find a mess and spending the week reorganizing every drawer, closet, shelf, and crevice in the house (that was last week), or d) baking, photographing, and blogging 13 recipes and posting them all in one day.


This tunnel vision method just isn't working for me.  I want each day and each week to be balanced.  And it's ridiculous how hard this is for me, and how much of an adjustment it is for me to live that way.  It is taking awhile but I think it is coming along.


Obviously my other New Year's Resolution involves eating copious amounts of bagels and cream cheese, because they're so healthy and everything.


Derr.

Cranberry Walnut Cinnamon Cream Cheese

Recipe from The Spiffy Cookie

-8 oz block cream cheese, softened

-4 Tbsp cranberry sauce

-1 Tbsp honey
-1/8 tsp cinnamon
-3 Tbsp chopped walnuts

With an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, cranberry sauce, honey, and cinnamon.  Mix until well combined.  Stir in walnuts.

Taste.

If you want it a little sweeter you can add 1 Tbsp brown sugar.  If you want more nuts or more of a cranberry flavor, go heavier there.  It's all up to you. 

Store in an airtight container.  I usually keep mine in a stout 8 oz. mazon jar.


Note:  This spread is delicious on Einstein Bros. honey wheat bagels.